• What was television like in the 1950s ?

• Was it really a  "golden age" ?

• Why were there so many cowboys, cops, detectives, dogs, spies and superheroes ?

• What were the sit coms and soap operas like  ?

• What were the dominant themes, modes of characterisation and patterns of resolution ?

• How was gender represented ?

• What about the anthology plays ?

• What terrain did they traverse ?  What were the boundaries ?

• What sort of society told such stories ?
• What sort of world view did they embody ?

  viewing:   The Story Machine and Playpower fromTelevision
                             (ITV 13 part series on the history of television 1985)