Kenneth Clark’s ‘Civilisation’: Still Important, Still Relevant

Charlemagne is the first great man of action to emerge from the darkness since the collapse of the Roman world … without Charlemagne’s tireless campaigning, we should never have had the notion of the united Europe, we got through by the skin of our teeth,” says Kenneth Clark in the episode, “Skin of Our Teeth,” from his 1969 "Civilisation" series. Sascha Schuermann/Getty Images

The year 1969 is one to remember in the history of American television.

“Monty Python’s Flying Circus” premiered that year, and its madcap antics transformed TV comedy. Other beloved series still remembered today, like “Gunsmoke,” “Bonanza,” and “Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color,” entranced audiences as well. In January of that year, in what is still regarded as one of the biggest upsets in American football history, the New York Jets knocked off the Baltimore Colts 16 to 7 to win Super Bowl III, the first championship officially bearing that trademark name.