Having watched Route 66 on Nick At Nite in 1985, I feel that the series was loosely based on Jack Kerouac's novel, On The Road which was written in 1957. The concept of the Beat Generation was certainly applied to this thought-provoking TV drama. While the two characters in the series were some what upgraded for television audiences, the basic concepts of the freedom to travel about, experiencing the lives of other people, and not settling into predictability produced a strong resonance that reverberates inside of many individuals. In some ways Route 66 could be considered a 20th century version of Mark Twain's classic novel Huckleberry Finn. In many ways. the series is very much a reflection of the human condition and of society looked at from the inside out. Striling Stilliphant was a true master at the craft of writing. May his work stand forever as an example of what solid truthful writing should be.
Review of Route 66
