Big John, Little John

Last updated
Big John, Little John
BigjohnlittlejohnEdelman.jpg
Big John (Herb Edelman), from the opening credits
GenreSitcom
Created by Sherwood Schwartz
Starring Herb Edelman
Robbie Rist
Joyce Bulifant
Theme music composer Richard LaSalle
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producersRaymond S. "Ray" "R. S." Allen
William P. D'Angelo
Harvey Bullock
Sherwood Schwartz
Producer Lloyd J. Schwartz
Running time2224 minutes
Production companiesD'Angelo-Bullock-Allen Productions
Redwood Productions
Viacom
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseSeptember 11 (1976-09-11) 
December 4, 1976 (1976-12-04)

Big John, Little John is an American Saturday-morning sitcom, produced by Sherwood Schwartz, which starred Herbert Edelman as "Big John" and Robert "Robbie" Rist as "Little John". The show first aired on September 11, 1976, on NBC, and ran for one season of 13 episodes. [1] The series was produced by Redwood Productions in association with D'Angelo-Bullock-Allen Productions. In the United Kingdom, it was shown on BBC1.

Contents

Plot summary

Little John (Robbie Rist), as seen in the opening credits. Robbierist.jpg
Little John (Robbie Rist), as seen in the opening credits.

The show's main character was a forty-year-old middle school science teacher named John Martin (played by Edelman). While vacationing in Florida, he drinks from a spring which turns out to be the legendary Fountain of Youth sought by Juan Ponce de León. The water changes him into a twelve-year-old boy (played by Rist), and back again.

The changes occur spontaneously and without warning. Because Martin only sipped the water, the changes are recurring and not permanent; according to legend, had he taken a full drink, he would be age twelve permanently. Only his wife, Marjorie (Joyce Bulifant), and son, Ricky (Mike Darnell), know his secret, though Martin's students (who befriend him as "Little John") and his boss, principal Bertha Bottomly (Olive Dunbar), do become suspicious that something unusual is going on. The Martin family explain the younger John as their nephew, staying with them. Throughout the series, "Big John" unsuccessfully tries to find a cure for his predicament, but his experiences as "Little John" often give him insight into what his students are facing.

To make the two actors resemble each other more closely, Rist's blond hair was dyed brown, while Edelman wore a hairpiece that partially covered his baldness, though was absent during the credits sequences. Edelman and Rist appeared together in 1977, on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.

Cast

Rist had previously worked on Schwartz's The Brady Bunch during its final season (1973–1974), as the Bradys' cousin, Oliver.

Episodes

No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"A Sizeable Problem"Gordon Wiles Lloyd J. Schwartz,
Sherwood Schwartz
September 11, 1976 (1976-09-11)
While on a trip to Florida, John Martin stumbles upon the legendary fountain of youth. Willing to test the waters, John sips a handful of the liquid. The consequences are unforeseeable, for he begins to revert to his childhood on certain times that are neither predictable nor controllable, causing many problematic situations for John and his family.
2"Peter Panic"Gordon WilesPhilip TaylorSeptember 18, 1976 (1976-09-18)
Big John is cast as Captain Hook in his school's production of Peter Pan , while Little John ends up having to play Peter Pan at the same time.
3"Very Little John" Wes Kenney Bruce Kalish,
Ron Sellz
September 25, 1976 (1976-09-25)
John tries a new formula in the laboratory that he hopes will cure him from his conversions.
4"The Great Escape"Gordon WilesWilliam Freedman,
Albert A. Schwartz
October 2, 1976 (1976-10-02)
John Martin is detained when a sheriff demands his ID and he cannot produce it. He gets his freedom when his personality changes in prison.
5"Big Scare, Little Scare"Gordon Wiles Ron Friedman October 9, 1976 (1976-10-09)
John has summoned Mr. Boswell, Stanley’s dad, to account for his son’s continuous tardiness to class for five days. Boswell explains that the boy is afraid of crossing in front of the Crabtree mansion, an abandoned house that neighbors believe it to be haunted. John decides to find out who’s behind the Crabtree ghost.
Guest stars: Don "Red" Barry (Mr. Crabtree), James Deuter (Mr. Boswell)
6"Big Shot / Little Shot"Ross BowmanAlan Dinehart,
Herbert Finn
October 16, 1976 (1976-10-16)
It is vaccination day at the school and John turns into a man and he gets vaccinated. Meanwhile, as the kid, he's invited to join the school basketball team. Then at the end of the episode, he becomes the kid again and the other teachers take him to get vaccinated again, much to his chagrin.
7"Time for Change"Gordon WilesLloyd J. SchwartzOctober 23, 1976 (1976-10-23)
John believes he has discovered the secret of the Fountain of Youth, so he calls a press conference to announce his discovery — but his "discovery" shows no signs of panning out as he had believed.
8"The Principal Who Came to Dinner"Wes KenneyMark FinkOctober 30, 1976 (1976-10-30)
Big John's voice in Little John's body and vice versa puts not only Martin in a squeeze but his family as well.
9"Bully for You"Gordon WilesSam Locke,
Paul Roberts
November 6, 1976 (1976-11-06)
Stanley is again late for the class. The teacher is speaking to his students about the importance of facing up bullies. This leads to trouble for Little John when he's threatened by the class bully, Gasey.
10"Off the Wall"Gordon WilesBen Gershman,
Harry Winkler
November 13, 1976 (1976-11-13)
John is assigned to find who is behind the vandalism inflicted on the school walls.
11"The Missing John"Gordon WilesBruce HowardNovember 20, 1976 (1976-11-20)
Little John receives a severe reprimand for having played unwillingly a joke on the school principal.
12"Speak for Yourself, John"Gordon WilesDavid P. HarmonNovember 27, 1976 (1976-11-27)
Because of the arrangements for the annual Thanksgiving dance that is held at the school, Ms. Bottomly proposes to Professor Martin that he be one of the chaperones. At the same time, Little John is chosen by his female classmate as companion for that day.
13"Abracadabra"Norm Gray Jerome Zucker,
David Samuel Zucker,
James S. Abrahams
December 4, 1976 (1976-12-04)
In order to arrange a show for the school annual party, one of Martin's students prepares a set of different magic tricks.

Home media

The complete series was released on DVD (for Regions 1 and 2) in 2009 by Fabulous Films.

Related Research Articles

<i>The Brady Bunch</i> American sitcom (1969–1974)

The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family of six children, with three boys and three girls. After its cancellation in 1974, the series debuted in syndication in September 1975. Though it was never a ratings hit or a critical success during its original run, the program has since become a popular syndicated staple, especially among children and teenage viewers.

<i>The Adventures of Pete & Pete</i> American sitcom

The Adventures of Pete & Pete is an American television sitcom created by Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi for Nickelodeon. It focuses on two brothers, both named Pete Wrigley, and their humorous and surreal adventures in suburbia among their equally eccentric friends, enemies, and neighbors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robbie Rist</span> American actor

Robert Anthony Rist is an American actor. He is known for playing Cousin Oliver in The Brady Bunch, Martin in Grady and "Little John" in Big John, Little John. Rist is also known for voicing assorted characters in television shows, games and movies, including Stuffy, the overly-proud stuffed dragon in Doc McStuffins, Whiz in Kidd Video, Star in Balto, Maroda in Final Fantasy X, Choji Akimichi in Naruto, and Michelangelo in the films Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993), and Casey Jones (2011). Additionally, he and director Anthony C. Ferrante provided music for the Sharknado film and the theme song for the Sharknado franchise. He played Ted and Georgette Baxter's adopted son David on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He was also the voice of the stick man from the Handi Snacks commercials.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joyce Bulifant</span> American actress

Joyce Collins Bulifant is an American actress and author. In addition to recurring roles on television, including The Mary Tyler Moore Show as Marie Slaughter, Bulifant is recognized for film roles in The Happiest Millionaire and Airplane! and as a frequent panelist on game shows, including Chain Reaction, Match Game, and Password Plus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Reed</span> American actor (1932–1992)

Robert Reed was an American actor. He played Kenneth Preston on the legal drama The Defenders from 1961 to 1965 alongside E. G. Marshall, and is best known for his role as patriarch Mike Brady, opposite Florence Henderson's role as Carol Brady, on the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch, which aired from 1969 to 1974. He later reprised his role of Mike Brady on several of the reunion programs. In 1976, he earned two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his guest-starring role in a two-part episode of Medical Center and for his work on the miniseries Rich Man, Poor Man. The following year, Reed earned a third Emmy nomination for his role in the miniseries Roots.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Lookinland</span> American former actor (born 1960)

Michael Paul Lookinland is an American actor and cameraman. He is best known for his role as the youngest brother, Bobby Brady, on the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974, and all of its sequels and spinoffs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series</span> 18th season of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series

The 1996 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 48th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 25th modern-era NASCAR Cup series. The season had been started on February 18 at Daytona International Speedway, and ended on November 10 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. The season would be remembered for Terry Labonte pulling off a massive upset and winning his second Winston Cup Championship over teammate Jeff Gordon.

Michael Darnell is an American entertainment executive. As president of Alternative Entertainment at the Fox network and subsequently president of Unscripted Television at Warner Bros., Darnell was in charge of some of the most successful and longest-running franchises in television history, including American Idol, The Bachelor franchise, The Voice, Family Guy, Futurama, Hell's Kitchen, Kitchen Nightmares, MasterChef, Little Big Shots, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, So You Think You Can Dance, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?, The Simple Life, Temptation Island, and many more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunshine Days</span> 18th episode of the 9th season of The X-Files

"Sunshine Days" is the eighteenth and penultimate episode of the ninth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files, and the series' 200th episode overall. It originally aired on the Fox network on May 12, 2002. The entry was written and directed by executive producer Vince Gilligan, his thirtieth and last episode as writer for the series. The episode is a "monster-of-the-week" episode, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the mythology, or overarching fictional history, of The X-Files. "Sunshine Days" earned a Nielsen household rating of 6.2, was viewed by 6.5 million households, and 10.4 million viewers in its initial broadcast. It received mixed reviews from television critics.

Growing Up Brady is a 2000 American made-for-television biographical film based on the 1992 autobiography Growing Up Brady: I Was a Teenage Greg written by actor Barry Williams with Chris Kreski. Directed by Richard A. Colla, it starred Williams, Adam Brody, Kaley Cuoco, Daniel Hugh Kelly and Michael Tucker, and was originally broadcast May 21, 2000 on NBC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott L. Schwartz</span> American professional wrestler and actor (1959–2024)

Scott Leslie Schwartz also known as The Ultimate Bad Guy, was an American film and television actor, stuntman and professional wrestler. His size and agility at 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) and 303 pounds (137 kg) had allowed him many roles as a thug or villain for film and television.

Steven Wishnoff is an actor, casting professional and television producer who has twice been nominated for an Emmy Award.

<i>The Wonderful Country</i> (film) 1959 film by Robert Parrish

The Wonderful Country is a 1959 American Technicolor Western film based on Tom Lea's 1952 novel of the same name that was produced by Robert Mitchum's DRM Production company in Mexico. Mitchum stars along with Julie London.

"Ricky Spanish" is the seventeenth episode of the eighth season of the animated comedy series American Dad!. It aired on Fox in the United States on May 6, 2012. The episode plot mainly revolves around Roger rediscovering his alter-ego "Ricky Spanish" and Steve helping Roger's alter-ego make amends with everyone he has wronged.

<i>Get Hard</i> American comedy film directed by Etan Cohen

Get Hard is a 2015 American crime comedy film directed by Etan Cohen and written by Cohen, Jay Martel, and Ian Roberts. The film stars Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart with Tip "T.I." Harris, Alison Brie, and Craig T. Nelson in supporting roles. The film focuses on James King (Ferrell), a wealthy investment bank manager who is framed for a crime he did not commit, and asks the man who washes his car, Darnell Lewis (Hart) to help him prepare for prison.

The 2021 WST Pro Series was a professional ranking snooker tournament, taking place from 18 January to 21 March 2021 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England. The event featured 128 players, and was played over three stages of round-robin groups of eight players, with the Final Group winner as the tournament champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Championship League (ranking)</span> Snooker tournament

The 2021 Championship League was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place from 18 July to 13 August 2021 at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England. The event featured 128 players and was played as three rounds of round-robin groups of four, before a best-of-five final. It was the 17th edition of the Championship League and the first ranking tournament of the 2021–22 snooker season. It was one of two Championship League events held over the season, with a following invitational event held as the 2022 Championship League (invitational).

References

  1. Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. pp. 63–64. ISBN   0-8108-1651-2.