Route 66

The romance of the road is alive and well as Tod (Martin Milner) and Buz (George Maharis) cruise the country in their snazzy corvette convertible and get involved in the lives of the people they meet. The series opens by explaining that the boys are lost and a "long way from Route 66," when they find themselves in a backwater Mississippi town that harbors a grim secret. From there, they're on to Louisiana where they get involved with a lady shrimp boat captain and find trouble at the New Orleans waterfront before befriending a Nazi-hunter on an off-shore oil rig.

This was the first drama to be filmed entirely on location (in 40 states and Canada) and the locations were really the key to the unique excitement of each show. The boys were mainly observers, albeit defenders of the underdog and good with their fists if need be. Each show featured many famous stars and well-known character actors; the quality of the acting and the scripts (most by Stirling Silliphant) were first-rate.

Clean-cut and twenty-something Tod and Buz bear no resemblance to the leering sex, drug, and rock and roll-crazed young men we often see on the screen today. Dressed in their button-down shirts and freshly-creased slacks, they were upstanding good guys who solved a town's problems in strictly G Rated style. It's fun to remember the old days through this wonderful series. And who could ever forget that cool theme music?

Marty Milner and his sidekick George Maharis get into intrigue and adventure on the highways and byways. Mostly across the good old USA, but one stop each in Canada and Mexico.

Ahhh, what a great concept for a TV series in this post-war period. Two virile young dudes getting into a gorgeous Corvette and driving aimlessly until the gas money ran out. This was one of the more well written and plotted series of the day, too! Some have called the dialogue intellectual and poetic. It is one of those shows that was impossible to stop watching once you were in the first five minutes. Gorgeous scenery and the perpetual sense that adventure was always just around the turnpike.

Stan Lee and Marvel Comics wouldn't admit this, but it would appear they may have unintentionally ripped off the Buzz Murdock character in creating one of their stable characters, Daredevil. According to all the trivial facts about Route 66, Buzz Murdock hails from Hell's Kitchen! Daredevil's secret identity, MATT Murdock, hails from Hell's Kitchen! It seems to me in one episode, Buzz was even blinded! Matt Murdock is blind!

Nah, I don't really care either, but thought somebody out there might find it interesting.

Just look to your left and click on guest appearances. If you do you're in for one heck of a surprise! This show had some great writing in the early years. Reruns were on the Nick-At-Night TV network in the eighties, I was so disappointed I haven't watched the network since. Every episode was a full and complete story, the writing had to be excellent to be able to pull in the caliber of talent that you see on this list. Many current and back then, future stars ought to make this show more visible than it is but sadly that's not the case. It had a great music score from Nelson Riddle and great stories written by Sterling Silliphant. Last but not least, a great car! PLEASE, SOMEBODY BRING THIS SHOW INTO OUR HOMES AGAIN.

I was about ten when this show premiered and watched it with my parents every friday night between Rawhide and Twilight Zone. As you can see Friday was a good night for TV. I was fascinated with the show and its two stars, both of whom I had crushes on. They were both so natural in their acting and always delivered some words of wisdom by the shows end. The fact that the show was always on location made it much more interesting to watch. I was sorry too when Nick at Night quit airing it in the 80's. I watched as many of the reruns as I possibly could and even now have a few on tape. It's a show I think that still holds up today because of its uniqueness and naturalness.

I got hooked on this through my obsession with Adam-12 and some tapes I bought off ebay. I've only seen 14 episodes, but they are 14 of the greatest TV episodes of any drama ever to make it into our homes. So few shows now make you think, but this does and that's good. Makes you think about human nature, the world, and your role in it. It's more than just a show about two cute guys in the world's coolest car (though there's nothing wrong with that), it's about people. I cry when I remember that no one has jumped at the opportunity to put this show on their network. What are they thinking??? This is the drama that all the dramas since have wanted to be but never succeeded at becoming.