Magazine content is available exclusively for TIME subscribers.Video: A Shock of Pleasure from the '50s
The Golden Age of Television, beginning Aug. 24, PBS stations
It passed by so quickly that most people did not even recognize it, and only later was the decade that began in 1948 crowned the Golden Age of Television. But was it real gold or just a teary gleam in the eyes of TV's founding fathers? Until now, it was impossible to say. Videotape was unknown back then, and since all the shows were done live, even the most famous were seen once, and once only. A few kinescopes—16-mm films shot directly off the TV...
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