Documentary · 1950s
8 shows10 sequences
2 sequencesBlue Peter
1958–BBC OneDocumentary
The world's longest-running children's programme, opening on a ship in full sail and a hornpipe.
- Season 45
- Season 64
1 sequenceThe Lawrence Welk Show
1951–1982ABC / SyndicationDocumentary
Champagne music, bubbles in the titles, and thirty-one years of the same band leader counting in.
- Season 1
1 sequenceTo Tell the Truth
1956–CBSDocumentary
Three people claiming to be the same person, and the line that ends it — will the real one please stand up.
- Season 1
1 sequencePanorama
1953–BBC OneDocumentary
The longest-running current affairs programme in the world, and a theme borrowed from Rachmaninoff.
- Season 30
1 sequenceTruth or Consequences
1950–1988CBS / NBC / SyndicationDocumentary
A radio stunt show that reached television in 1950 and persuaded a New Mexico town to rename itself after it.
- Season 1
1 sequenceThe Sky at Night
1957–BBC One / BBC FourDocumentary
The longest-running programme with the same presenter in television history, opening on Sibelius' At the Castle Gate.
- Season 1
2 sequencesGrandstand
1958–2007BBC OneDocumentary
Five hours of live sport on a Saturday afternoon, held together by a man at a desk and the teleprinter behind him.
- Season 23
- Season 33
1 sequenceHockey Night in Canada
1952–CBC / SportsnetDocumentary
A theme so embedded that when the CBC lost the rights to it in 2008 the story led the national news.
- Season 70