ABC's current Saturday morning block will remind some people of the days when shows like Wild Kingdom ruled the airwaves, back in the 60's & 70's. I haven't seen any of those shows as yet, but I can recall when this kind of programming had aired on Saturdays as a youth.
In January of 1969, NBC picked up the Canadian series, Untamed World, as a mid-season replacement to fill out the bottom of their Saturday morning block. As such, it aired after Storybook Squares in the Noon-1 pm (ET) hour, but this diversity of programming proved to be counter-productive. As we documented previously, Storybook, after being cancelled as a stand-alone series, would later be revived for special theme weeks of its parent series, Hollywood Squares. Untamed World wasn't so lucky. It, too, was cancelled after 8 months on the air, and simply continued to air in its native Canada, where it had been launched 2 years prior, and remained on until 1975. It is from around that time that we get this clip of a show close, the only clip available from the show.
What you'll miss is the body of the episode, narrated by actor Philip Carey (ex-Philip Marlowe, later of One Life To Live). Retrontario uploaded the clip:
I barely remember seeing Untamed World when it first aired, but I am disappointed no other American outlet bothered to obtain rights.
Rating: A.
2 comments:
I often envisioned a sketch wherein Marlon Perkins is droning on and on about Mutual of Omaha insurance while Jim is being mauled by wildlife. The punchline being that poor Jim doesn't have Mutual of Omaha, so is not protected.
I wasn't reviewing Wild Kingdom here, but I get your point----sort of. I'm surprised Saturday Night Live didn't try something like you suggested while Kingdom was still on the air......
Post a Comment