''Animals, Animals, Animals'' is a 1976–1981

educational television Educational television or learning television is the use of television programs in the field of distance education. It may be in the form of individual television programs or dedicated specialty channels that is often associated with cable televis ...

series on ABC about animals. The program, produced by

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with animated segments produced by

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, was hosted by

Hal Linden Hal Linden (born Harold Lipshitz, March 20, 1931) is an American stage and screen actor, television director and musician. Linden began his career as a big band musician and singer in the 1950s. After a stint in the United States Army, he began ...

.''Watching Wildlife'' By Cynthia Chris. Page 230 The show aired in most markets at Sunday mornings at 11:30am Eastern Time.

Show format

The show often began with Linden giving a monologue about an animal that was going to be that day's subject. In-between songs, animated segments, and interviews from experts about said animal was more exposition from Linden. The show looked at the presentation of animals in mythology, art and literature, as well as biology and zoology. Information about animals was provided by Roger Caras and, songs about animals were performed by Lynn Kellogg, who also performed the opening theme song. Zoo personnel and animal researchers frequently appeared on the show. During segments about animals, voiceover was provided by

Estelle Parsons Estelle Margaret Parsons (born November 20, 1927) is an American actress, singer and stage director. After studying law, Parsons became a singer before deciding to pursue a career in acting. She worked for the television program '' Today'' and ...

and

Mason Adams Mason Adams (February 26, 1919 – April 26, 2005) was an American character actor and voiceover artist. From the late 1940s until the early 1970s, he was heard in numerous radio programs and voiceovers for countless television commercials, ...

Show history and production

The show first aired on September 12, 1976, replacing '' Make a Wish'' on ABC's Sunday morning schedule. Animated segments were provided by Al Lowenheim, Arland Barron, Jeff Melquist, Jim Comstock, Ray Pointer, and Stacey Mann of Lions' Den Studio and David Labelle of David Labelle Animation Studios. Five years later, in 1981, ''Animals, Animals, Animals'' was replaced by ''

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''; this marked the end of ABC's scheduling of children's programming on Sunday mornings, a practice which began with ''

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'' (the predecessor to ''Make a Wish'') in the 1960s. Series creator Lester Cooper convinced Hal Linden to host the show after explaining to him they wanted to do a

Sherwood Schwartz Sherwood Charles Schwartz (; November 14, 1916 – July 12, 2011) was an American television screenwriter and producer. He worked on radio shows in the 1940s, but he now is best known for creating the 1960s television series '' Gilligan's Island ...

-like educational series. Originally Linden was only going to do narration but Linden requested to also be involved in live action portions of the show. "I've been chewed by a camel, crawled over by a tarantula, butted by a bull, clawed by an eagle, wrestled by an alligator, and peed upon by virtually every creature on Earth" joked Linden. Linden decided to do the show because he thought it was the rare children's television show that wasn't an "insult" to children. Taping an episode was sometimes taxing due to the on-location aspect of filming, which host Linden was prepared for due to the long taping sessions his sitcom ''

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'' would often require.''Memories Abound from Jack Benny Repeats'' by Cecil Smith, ''

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''. August 6, 1977 Linden also lamented over how the show was often the "first to go" on days when baseball was airing on ABC due to its 11:30am timeslot in most markets. Cooper worked to try and make a show educational as well as appealing to children. "We approach each creature that we examine from his place in history, in mythology, in literature, in art, in music," Cooper recalled in a 1976 interview with the ''

''.

Reception

The series won Emmys for four consecutive years and the Peabody Award. It won the 1978 Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Informational Series. The show also won the Action for Children's Television ACT Prize for excellence in children's programming. In a negative review from ''

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'', Carol Rinzler wrote that she thought Hal Linden's demeanor was "depressed" while presenting the show and said that despite the songs and animation, the expositions that bookended those segments hurt the show. Rinzler concluded that the show was "boring, boring, boring", mocking the title of the show. ''

'' columnist Cecil Smith was a lot more positive about the show, calling Lynn Kellog's songs "charming". Smith also, in a contrast from Rinzler, called Linden "the soul of the show, giving it an easy charm, a wry wit, and, at times, a naivete that matches his youngest viewer. He has a nice way of gathering in the elements of the show."

References

External links

* {{Children's programming on the American Broadcasting Company in the 1980s 1970s American children's television series 1980s American children's television series American children's education television series Nature educational television series American Broadcasting Company original programming ABC News 1976 American television series debuts 1981 American television series endings Television series about animals Peabody Award-winning television programs American television series with live action and animation