''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 unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

show that aired on the ABC television network from 1980 to

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

. In the tradition of ''

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

'', '' Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' and ''

Real People ''Real People'' is an American reality television series that originally aired on NBC from 1979 to 1984, Wednesdays from 8 pm to 9pm Eastern Time. Its initial episodes aired live in the Eastern and Central time zones. ''Real People'' featured "r ...

'', 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. John Moschitta Jr. (born August 6, 1954), also known as "Motormouth" John Moschitta and The Fast-Talking Guy, is an American actor, singer and spokesman. He is best known for his rapid speech delivery. He appeared in over 100 commercials as "The ...

, who made his first national television appearance on the show, as well as scientific, medical, and technological breakthroughs such as the

Taser A taser is an electroshock weapon used to incapacitate people, allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus safe manner. It is sold by Axon, formerly TASER International. It fires two small barbed darts intended t ...

and cryogenic corneal reshaping by lathe

keratomileusis Keratomileusis, from Greek κέρας (kéras: horn) and σμίλευσις (smíleusis: carving),The word is derived from Greek κέρας - keras (root: kerat-) "horn, cornea" and σμίλευσις - smileusis "carving or corneal reshaping, is ...

. 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", 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) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at ...

, 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 i ...

, and was produced by

Alan Landsburg Productions Alan Landsburg Productions (ALP) was an independent television production company founded by Alan Landsburg in 1971. The company had produced '' In Search of...'' and ''That's Incredible!'', two early examples of reality television decades before ...

. Originally aired as an hour-long program, episodes were later re-edited into 30 minute segments for

syndication Syndication may refer to: * Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system * Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips * Web 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. The show has been cited as an influence on hip-hop culture in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, where much television programming in the 1980s was American. In 1983 the show featured several dancing crews, giving youth of Pacific Island and Maori heritage, many of whom were interested in hip-hop culture and dance, a sense of connectedness to global youth culture. In the early 1980s, Army Lt. Col.

Earl Woods Earl Dennison Woods (March 5, 1932 – May 3, 2006) was the father of American professional golfer Tiger Woods. Woods started his son in golf at a very early age and coached him exclusively over his first years in the sport. He later published t ...

(Ret.) brought his five-year-old son Eldrick to ''That's Incredible'', showing his ability to putt a golf ball into a hole from different areas. Eldrick is now better known by his nickname ''Tiger''.

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 unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

about animals and their extraordinary lives. It was hosted by

Burgess Meredith Oliver Burgess Meredith (November 16, 1907 – September 9, 1997) was an American actor and filmmaker whose career encompassed theater, film, and television. Active for more than six decades, Meredith has been called "a virtuosic actor" and "on ...

Priscilla Presley Priscilla Ann Presley ( Wagner, changed by adoption to Beaulieu; born May 24, 1945) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is the former wife of American singer Elvis Presley, as well as co-founder and former chairwoman of Elvis Presley ...

and

Jim Stafford James Wayne Stafford (born January 16, 1944) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and comedian. While prominent in the 1970s for his recordings " Spiders & Snakes", "Swamp Witch", "Under the Scotsman's Kilt", " My Girl Bill", and " Wildw ...

. 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 Aqua-Lung, open-circuit SCUBA ( self-contained underwater breathing apparatus). T ...

, undersea photographers Ron and Valerie Taylor, and Joan Embery of the

San Diego Zoo The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, housing 4000 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies on of Balboa Park leased from the City of San Diego. Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, is a p ...

. 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 Cynthia Cristina Ferrare (born 1950) is an American former fashion model, actress, author and talk-show host. She had lead roles in several films in the late-1960s and early-1970s, including the comedy '' The Impossible Years'' and the Western f ...

, and

Tracey Gold Tracey Gold (born May 16, 1969) is an American actress and former child star known for playing Carol Seaver on the 1980s sitcom ''Growing Pains''. Acting career Tracey Gold became an actress at the age of four, first appearing in a Pepsi print ...

, 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.

References

External links

* *{{IMDb title, id=0094485, title=Incredible Sunday American Broadcasting Company original programming Television series by Alan Landsburg Productions 1980s American reality television series 1980 American television series debuts 1984 American television series endings English-language television shows