It's about time it's about space

It's About Time

I was looking for a book today and when I found it I said "It's about time" Immediately I thought about the television show that my cousins and I loved by that same name and the theme song came to mind. I wonder how many others can recall It's About Time which was a science fantasy comedy that aired 55 years ago as of this writing. The program came on Sunday nights at 7:30 PM on CBS and was created by producer Sherwood Schwartz. It aired for one season only from 1966-1967 with only 26 episodes.

The 1960s brings back memories of the old black and white floor model television sets and entire families enjoying programming together. My family found this show to be quite funny but I guess the rest of America did not. The ratings were pretty good for the first two weeks but then began a steady decline and critics were overwhelmingly against the comedy. Schwartz utilized props, sets, and incidental music from two of his other television series that were in production at the same time. They were The Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island, who knew?

It's About Space

It's About Time had a wacky theme song which is the kind that gets stuck in your mind may have been more popular than the show itself. The plot of the program was the tale of Astronauts Mac McKenzie (Frank Aletter) and Hector Canfield (Jack Mullaney). Their spacecraft traveled faster than the speed of light, which resulted in their being sent back in time to prehistoric days where they had to learn to live with a cave-dwelling family.

Gronk (Joe E. Ross) and Shag/Shad (Imogene Coca) were the parents. Ross portrayed Officer Tootie in Car 54 Where Are You? Their children were Mlor (Mary Grace) who was 18 and 14 year-old Breer (Pat Cardi). Grace played Ralph Monroe on Green Acres. The Tribal leader Boss (Cliff Norton) and his right-hand man Clon (Mike Mazurki) did not trust the astronauts and were always suspicious of them.

Swartz revamped the show in an attempt to boost sagging ratings by reversing the situation. The astronauts repaired their damaged spaceship and the cave-dwelling family returned to the 20th century with them. The show was then about how the prehistoric family had trouble adjusting to life in the future. There was merchandise sold to promote the show which included a lunch box and a matching thermos.

It's about two men in the strangest place

Swartz had three reasons that he believed the show was not a success. He believed the earlier storyline with life in the caves and dirt floors was unappealing to television viewers. He also believed the repetitious plots of the astronauts always being in danger from cavemen, dinosaurs and clubs was boring the audience. There was also the issue of the cavemen speaking in their prehistoric tongue of broken English which was difficult for the viewing audience to understand. Seven episodes were produced with the new format but it was not enough and the series was canceled.

Here is their tale

The final episode "The Stowaway" was originally scheduled to be broadcast on January 15, 1967, but was pre-empted by an episode of Lassie. This was because CBS revamped its prime time line up following the first-ever Super Bowl which aired earlier in the evening. This episode was not aired until April 2, 1967, and out of sequence as it was set in prehistoric times, and prior to going back to the 20th century. It's about Space airs in syndication and all the episodes are in the correct order, so check your local listings. It can also be found on The Antenna Network.