In the 1990s, the first elements of the coming fantasy revolution began to come together, as special effects became cheaper and more sophisticated. Most live-action shows took place in the real world with elements of fantasy, and even those set in a different world, such as Land of the Lost, was focused on a regular family who happened to be transported to a new environment. At the time, television was considered significantly less prestigious than film, and as a result, lower budgets and a lack of special effects hamstrung many fantasy productions. Over the next few decades, superhero shows such as Wonder Woman and The Incredible Hulk and children's programs from Land of the Lost to Fraggle Rock maintained the established conventions, along with the occasional drama such as Beauty and the Beast. At the same time, several notable shows, such as Bewitched, Batman and I Dream of Jeannie continued the fantasy trend. The 1960s encompassed the peak of the Space Age, resulting in many more shows, such as Star Trek and Lost in Space, tending towards science fiction.

These programs were few and far between, and were mostly low-budget fare for a very niche audience or combined elements of fantasy with science fiction and horror in an anthology format, as in the case of The Twilight Zone. Some of the first well-known shows with elements of fantasy premiered in the 1950s, ranging from Tales of Tomorrow, Flash Gordon and The Twilight Zone to Shirley Temple's Storybook. RELATED: Watchmen Actor Reveals How the Show Resonated With Him For the purpose of this article, the Encyclopedia Britannica defines fantasy as 'imaginative fiction dependent for effect on strangeness of settings and of characters' that takes place in an 'imaginary world and features the magic of mythical beings.' Oftentimes, it becomes difficult to draw a line between fantasy, science fiction and horror - an argument could be made Stranger Things, for one, is all three, depending on how each genre is defined. Though some critically-acclaimed shows have garnered most of the attention, fantasy has had a long and varied history, and promises to continue to be relevant for years to come.Īny discussion of fantasy on television requires a working definition of what makes the genre unique.

The second decade of the current Golden Age of Television has finally brought fantasy into the mainstream.

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