''That's Incredible!'' is an American

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

show that aired on the ABC television network from 1980 to 1984. In the tradition of ''

You Asked for It ''You Asked for It'' is a human interest television show created and hosted by Art Baker (actor), Art Baker. Initially titled ''The Art Baker Show'', the program originally aired on American television between 1950 and 1959. Later versions of ...

'', '' Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' and '' Real People'', the show featured people performing stunts and reenactments of allegedly

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

events. The show also often featured people with unusual talents, such as speed-talker John Moschitta Jr., who made his first national television appearance on the show, as well as scientific, medical, and technological breakthroughs such as the

Taser Taser (stylized in all caps) is a line of handheld conducted energy devices (CED) sold by Axon Enterprise (formerly Taser International). The device fires two small barbed darts intended to puncture the skin and remain attached to the targe ...

and cryogenic corneal reshaping by lathe keratomileusis. The show's catchphrase said by one of its hosts at the conclusion of a particularly amazing segment was the same as its title: "That's incredible!" Despite accusations of being "sadistic",pp. 1373-1374
the series was a huge success and influenced many entertainers.

Synopsis

The show was co-hosted by

Fran Tarkenton Francis Asbury Tarkenton (born February 3, 1940), nicknamed "the Scrambler", is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He is wi ...

, John Davidson and

Cathy Lee Crosby Cathy Lee Crosby (born December 2, 1944) is an American actress and former professional tennis player. She achieved TV and film success in the 1980s and was a co-host of the television series '' That's Incredible!'' Early life Crosby was born ...

, and was produced by

Alan Landsburg Productions Alan Landsburg Productions (ALP), later known as Reeves Entertainment Group and Reeves Entertainment, was an independent television production company founded by Alan Landsburg in 1971. The company produced ''In Search of... (TV series), In Searc ...

. Originally aired as an hour-long program, episodes were later re-edited into 30-minute segments for syndication. It debuted on March 3, 1980.Smith, Fred L. (3 March 1980)
TV Talk: "That's Incredible!" Starts Tonight; A Step Backwards
''News & Courier'' A number of the stunts performed were dangerous, including juggling knives, staying inside a small box for hours, and one involving a man supposedly catching a bullet between his teeth. The dangerous nature of these stunts eventually prompted producers to augment the footage with the caption "Do Not Try This Yourself". Steve Baker, also known as "Mr. Escape", was frequently featured on the show. In 1980,

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...

appeared on the show at the age of 5, displaying his ability to putt a golf ball into a hole from different areas.

Nielsen ratings

The show ranked in the top 30 for its first four seasons, and ranked at #3 during its first season, but fell out of the top 50 during its final season. # 1979–80: #3 (25.8 rating) # 1980–81: #22 (20.5 rating) # 1981–82: #28 (18.4 rating) # 1982–83: #22 (18.3 rating) # 1983–84: #58 (14.6 rating)

Spin-off

''Those Amazing Animals'' is a

reality television series Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

about animals and their extraordinary lives. It was hosted by Burgess Meredith, Jim Stafford and

Priscilla Presley Priscilla Ann Presley (née Wagner, formerly Beaulieu; born May 24, 1945) is an American businesswoman and actress. She is the ex-wife of American singer Elvis Presley, as well as the cofounder and former chairperson of Elvis Presley Enterpris ...

. Also appearing were explorer

Jacques-Yves Cousteau Jacques-Yves Cousteau, (, also , ; 11 June 191025 June 1997) was a French naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author. He co-invented the first successful open-circuit self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA), called the A ...

, undersea photographers

Ron Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

and Valerie Taylor, and Joan Embery of the

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. The series aired on ABC on Sunday nights from August 24, 1980, to August 23, 1981.

Revival

''That's Incredible!'' was revived for the 1988–89 season, hosted by Davidson, Cristina Ferrare and Tracey Gold, as ''Incredible Sunday''.

Syndication

The show was seen weekends on

Retro Television Network Retro TV (stylized as retrotv), formerly known as Retro Television Network, is an American broadcast television network owned by Get After It Media. The network mainly airs classic television sitcoms and drama series from the 1950s through t ...

. It was also broadcast overseas in Australia and New Zealand.

References

External links

* * *{{IMDb title, id=0080293, title=Those Amazing Animals American Broadcasting Company reality television shows Television series by Alan Landsburg Productions 1980s American reality television series 1980 American television series debuts 1984 American television series endings American English-language television shows