8.6/107 votesLoading...#1 - The Fear & The Dream
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 11/30/1997
Following the victorious end of World War II, America was looking forward to new prosperity and relief from the shortages and rationing that the war required. New affluence, new low-cost suburban homes, and dreams of the good life resulted in a baby boom. With the advent of the Hydrogen bomb, a growing awareness of the communist threat and the beginning of the cold war, those dreams threatened to morph into nightmares.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.4/105 votesLoading...#2 - Selling the American Way
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 12/7/1997
Television makes its popular debut. TV is a great selling tool, manufacturing demand for everything from automobiles to zany inventions. Business and governments all begin to learn (and wield) the power of the new media.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.3/107 votesLoading...#3 - The Rage Within
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 1/4/1998
From Emmet Till to Willie Mays, Americans begin to seriously reconsider how they confront issues of race in America.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/105 votesLoading...#4 - The Beat
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 12/28/1997
Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Elvis. Conformity is questioned and homogenized America begins to differentiate. The teenager as a class is born. Popular music is forever changed by the advent of Rock n Roll. Beat poets push our boundaries and America begins to question everything.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.8/106 votesLoading...#5 - The Road to the Sixties
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 1/11/1998
Fast food and fast cars occupy Americans' thoughts until the Soviets launch Sputnik and the space race begins.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#6 - Let's Play House
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 12/14/1997
Conforming to the idealized visions of family as depicted on their new televisions, Americans settle into enjoying their American Dreams but discordant voices are beginning to be heard. Grace Metallious's Peyton Place, Sloan Wilson's The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, and the opinions of feminists like Betty Friedan begin to make Americans question the idealized nuclear family.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
NaN/100 votesLoading...#7 - A Burning Desire
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 12/21/1997
During an otherwise repressed time, Americans again question their ideas of "normal" when the Kinsey report is published, Marilyn Monroe debuts as the centerfold in Hugh Heffner's Playboy, and Margaret Sanger and "Goody" Pincus begin to make noise about "The Pill."
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of The Fifties
Every episode of The Fifties ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of The Fifties!
Archival footage and interviews with historians mark this fascinating documentary on the 1950s, based on David Halberstam's bestseller. Among the subjects covered: work and the...
Genre:Documentary
Network:History
Best Episodes Summary
"The Fear & The Dream" is the best rated episode of "The Fifties". It scored 8.6/10 based on 7 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 11/30/1997. This episode scored 0.2 points higher than the second highest rated, "Selling the American Way".