VH1 will go reeling in the years

In the annals of pop culture, the high-flying ‘60s may have been a tough act to follow, as decades go, but VH1 has put together a block of programming that suggests that the ensuing 10 years packed some cultural clout as well.

Of course, the well-oiled machine that is VH1 can crank out a clips compendium on just about anything if it’s got a scheduling hole to fill, and when its recent “I Love the ‘80s” effort scored big with viewers, it was only a matter of time before the music channel went decade-hugging again. The result is “I Love the ‘70s,” which will air in two-hour blocks starting at 9 weeknights through Friday. Each hour is devoted to a single year, beginning tonight with 1970 and ’71 and wrapping up Friday with ’78 and ’79.

The sheer volume of material to be covered forces the producers to take a hit-and-run approach in assembling the thousands of movie, TV and music snippets, and the superficial relentlessness of the assault can numb more than entertain if not handled right. Thankfully, the production team of Karla Hidalgo, Meredith Ross, Michael Hirschorn and Shelly Tatro have infused the special with sly wit and snarky irreverence that keep things lively. A blizzard of celebrities (Demi Moore, Lisa Marie Presley, Alec Baldwin, Kelly Rowland) are also on hand to offer commentary that occasionally veers onto the raunchy side.

The music choices that accompany the various stops on the pop culture landscape are a particular delight. Highlights from the TV hit “The Waltons” roll while softly accompanied by the strains of “We Are Family” from Sister Sledge and Sly Stone’s “Family Affair.” For a piece on the E-Z Bake Oven, Bob Marley’s “Stir It Up” plays in the background. Santana’s “Black Magic Woman” serves double duty, playing under a clip from “The Exorcist” and a segment on Yoko Ono’s alleged role in breaking up the Beatles.

Some of the topic pairings are inspired. A piece on the TV show “The Odd Couple” is followed by the story behind the photo of Elvis Presley’s White House visit with Richard Nixon. The aforementioned dissolution of the Fab Four is matched with another quartet infamous for its togetherness -- “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice.”

And if the celeb insights are often lightweight (“Tito was the forgotten Jackson,” offers “Good Day Live”s’ Jillian Barberie), hang in there, something better, or at least different, is seconds away.