''It's About Time'' is an American

science fantasy Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scientif ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

TV series that aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

for one season of 26 episodes in 1966–1967. The series was created by

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 Isla ...

, and used sets,

props A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

and

incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...

from Schwartz's other television series in production at the time, ''

Gilligan's Island ''Gilligan's Island'' is an American sitcom created and produced by Sherwood Schwartz. The show's ensemble cast features Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Jim Backus, Natalie Schafer, Tina Louise, Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells. It aired for thr ...

''.

Description

Astronauts Mac McKenzie (

Frank Aletter Frank George Aletter (January 14, 1926 – May 13, 2009) was an American theatre, film, and television actor. Early years Born in College Point, Queens, New York, Aletter studied acting at the Dramatic Workshop in Manhattan. He served in the U ...

) and Hector Canfield (

Jack Mullaney Jack Mullaney (September 18, 1929 – June 27, 1982) was an American actor. Mullaney acted in several television series and films throughout his career. Early life He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The 1940 United States Census show ...

) travel faster than the speed of light, resulting in being sent back in time to prehistoric days where they have to adjust to living with a cave-dwelling family led by Shag/Shad (

Imogene Coca Imogene Coca (born Emogeane Coca; November 18, 1908 – June 2, 2001) was an American comic actress best known for her role opposite Sid Caesar on ''Your Show of Shows''. Starting out in vaudeville as a child acrobat, she studied ballet and wishe ...

) and Gronk (

Joe E. Ross Joe E. Ross (born Joseph Roszawikz; March 15, 1914 – August 13, 1982) was an American actor known for his trademark "Ooo! Ooo!" exclamation, which he used in many of his roles. He starred in such TV sitcoms as ''The Phil Silvers Show'' and '' C ...

). Their children were 18 year-old Mlor (Mary Grace) and 14 year-old Breer (Pat Cardi). Tribe chief Boss (

Cliff Norton Clifford Charles Norton (March 21, 1918 – January 25, 2003) was an American character actor and radio announcer who appeared in various movies and television series over a career spanning four decades. Early years Norton was born in Ch ...

) and his right-hand man Clon (

Mike Mazurki Mike Mazurki (December 25, 1907 – December 9, 1990) was a Ukrainian-American actor and professional wrestler who appeared in more than 142 films. His 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) presence and face had him typecast as often brainless athletes ...

) were always suspicious of the astronauts. Ratings were impressive for the first few weeks on the air, but they soon plunged. Show creator Schwartz concluded that three factors were the cause of the decline in audience interest: *Repetition of the astronauts being in danger from dinosaurs, clubs, spears, volcanoes, and cavemen *An unattractive look to the show (e.g., caves, dirt streets, etc.) *The cave dwellers speaking a primitive form of English that was difficult to listen to He retooled the series beginning with the January 22, 1967 episode, after 18 episodes set in prehistoric times, essentially reversing the premise which had been shown the first half of the season. The astronauts repair their space capsule and return to 1967, with Shad, Gronk, and their children in tow. Boss and Clon make their final appearances in this episode, which also introduces two new supporting characters who remained with the show: Alan DeWitt as Mr. Tyler, manager of the apartment building where Mac and Hector live, and

Frank Wilcox Frank Reppy Wilcox (March 13, 1907 – March 3, 1974) was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films and television series, as well as Broadway plays. Background Wilcox was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Roger V. Wilcox. He was born in De Soto ...

as General Morley, their commanding officer. The prehistoric family begins adjusting to life in the 1960s, reacting to the unfamiliar surroundings and setting up home in 20th-century Los Angeles. For example, Gronk and Shad had to learn to write their names and sign them for many salesmen who brought "presents" which had to be paid for later. Mac and Hector also had to convince their disbelieving superior that they really did travel in time, and are not playing some sort of elaborate practical joke. Seven episodes were produced with this new premise before the series was cancelled at the end of the season. According to Pat Cardi who played Greer, CBS considered reversing their cancellation decision after ratings improved during summer reruns, however Imogene Coca and Joe E. Ross had already committed to other projects, officially ending the series.

Episodes

* "The Stowaway" was originally scheduled to air January 15, 1967, but was pre-empted by an episode of '' Lassie'' after CBS revamped its prime time line up following the first-ever Super Bowl which aired earlier that evening. This episode was set in prehistoric times, and clearly predates the previous seven episodes. However, it did not air until April 2, 1967. In the show's current syndication reruns on certain networks – such as

Antenna TV Antenna TV is an American digital television network owned by Nexstar Media Group. The network's programming consists of classic television series, primarily sitcoms, from the 1950s to the 1990s. Antenna TV's programming and advertising operati ...

– this episode airs in its intended order, immediately preceding "20th Century Here We Come...".

Home release

On June 27, 2017, ClassicFlix released The Complete Series on DVD in region 1.

Merchandising

The TV series was adapted into a comic strip by

Dan Spiegle Dan Spiegle (December 10, 1920 – January 28, 2017) was an American comics artist and cartoonist best known for comics based on movie and television characters across a variety of companies, including Dell Comics, DC Comics, and Marvel Comi ...

, distributed by

Gold Key Comics Gold Key Comics was originally an imprint of American company Western Publishing, created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated this way from 1962 to 1984. Currently, Gold Key Comics is owned b ...

References

External links