Perhaps one of the single biggest reasons I seem to be as old fashioned as I am is the deep and heavy influence of Nick at Nite. When Nick at Nite launched, they were playing all of the best television from the 50s and 60s.

I didn’t watch a lot of the new shows at the time when I was a kid, I was much more content to watch Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Doby Gillis, The Twilight Zone, and Car 54, Where Are You?

When I was given a chance to take a peek at the complete first season at Car 54, Where Are You? I jumped at it. I remember this show as being very funny and since I’ve been watching so much Alfred Hitchcock and Twilight Zone from roughly the same era, I thought it would be good to relearn what comedy was like back then.

The show largely centers around Officers Muldoon and Toody and Precinct 53 in Brooklyn.

Sure, the show is pretty dated. Though it was made from 1961 to 1963, this feels very much like a product of the 50s, but that’s really part of its charm. There’s this adorable innocence to the whole thing and it’s just this charming, working class look at beat cops in Brooklyn.

I’ve lately found myself quite drawn to that “working class” kind of humour and charm from the past (though mainly in older works like Chaplin’s Modern Times and The Three Stooges) but this show at times really embodies the same kind of thing. But on other levels, it feels very much like The Odd Couple. The first season covers a lot of different ground and never once did I feel like they were telling the same story over again.

Maybe the overwhelming charm of television in the sixties isn’t your bag, but if there’s one show that might change your mind about it, it’s this one.

Take this for example:

And yes, that’s Fred Gwynne, Herman Munster for those of you hip on old school comedy horror.

You can get Season One on Amazon. It’s a steal. For $20 you get 15 hours of entertainment, which is some of the best bang for your buck you can find on DVD.