Watch Mr. Wizard

Last updated

Watch Mr. Wizard
Watch mr. wizard.png
Genre Science education
Starring Don Herbert
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes547
Production
Production locations Chicago, Illinois (1951–55)
New York City (1955–65)
Running time30 minutes
Original release
Network NBC
ReleaseMarch 3, 1951 (1951-03-03) –
June 27, 1965 (1965-06-27)

Watch Mr. Wizard is an American children's television series that demonstrates the science behind ordinary things. The series' creator and on-air host was Don Herbert. [1] Author Marcel LaFollette says of the program, "It enjoyed consistent praise, awards, and high ratings throughout its history. At its peak, Watch Mr. Wizard drew audiences in the millions, but its impact was far wider. By 1956, it had prompted the establishment of more than five thousand Mr. Wizard science clubs, with an estimated membership greater than one hundred thousand." [2]

Contents

It was briefly revived in 1971, and a third version of the show ran during the 1980s on the children's cable television network Nickelodeon as Mr. Wizard's World.

1951–1965: Original series

Herbert in 1961 Mr Wizard.JPG
Herbert in 1961

Watch Mr. Wizard first aired on NBC on March 3, 1951, with Don Herbert as the title character. [3] In the weekly half-hour live television show, Herbert played a science hobbyist and every Saturday morning a neighbor would come to visit. The children were played by child actors; one of them (Rita McLaughlin) enjoyed a long subsequent acting career. Mr. Wizard always had some kind of laboratory experiment going that taught something about science. The experiments, many of which seemed impossible at first glance, were usually simple enough to be re-created by viewers.

The show was very successful; by 1954 it was broadcast live by 14 stations, and by kinescope (a film made from the television monitor of the original live broadcast) by an additional 77. [4] Mr. Wizard Science Clubs were started throughout North America, numbering 5,000 by 1955 and 50,000 by 1965. [4] The show moved from Chicago to New York on September 5, 1955, and had produced 547 live broadcasts by the time the show was canceled in 1965. [5] The show was cited by the National Science Foundation and American Chemical Society for increasing interest in science[ citation needed ] and won a 1953 Peabody Award. [6]

Thirty-two episodes of Watch Mr. Wizard were selected by Herbert and released on eight DVDs. [7]

1971: Canadian-produced revival

The series was revived by NBC from September 11, 1971, through September 2, 1972, as Mr. Wizard, and aired 26 episodes produced in color in Ottawa, Ontario, at the studios of CTV outlet CJOH-TV. The series was legally considered Canadian content, despite the American origins of the series and its host. CBC Television carried these episodes within Canada.

1983–1989: Mr. Wizard's World

Mr. Wizard's World
Mr wizards world opening title shot.jpg
Genre Science education
Starring Don Herbert
Composers
  • Paul Zaza (1983–85)
  • New York Sound (1985–89)
Country of origin
  • Canada
  • United States
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes78
Production
ProducerFern Field
Production locations Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Running time30 minutes
Original release
Network Nickelodeon (1983–89)
ReleaseOctober 3, 1983 (1983-10-03) –
July 21, 1989 (1989-07-21)
Related
Watch Mr. Wizard

Mr. Wizard's World, a faster-paced version of the show, was shown three times a week on Nickelodeon, the then-rising kids cable channel. Once again, the revival was produced in Canada (this time in Calgary). It produced 78 episodes from 1983 onwards, and continued to run thereafter as reruns. During its run on Nickelodeon, it was the channel's #3 rated show in 1983 (behind Livewire and You Can't Do That on Television ). It was also famous for its Ask Mr. Wizard segment where Herbert answered questions sent in by viewers of all ages. Episodes of this version of the show were reaired in 2005–06 on the digital cable channel The Science Channel.

Herbert once said: "My time on this Earth is getting shorter and shorter each day, but no matter how old I get, and even when I am dead, Mr. Wizard's World will never die". It was canceled in 1989, though reruns continued on Nick at Nite until 1995 and often in early morning time slots right after Nick at Nite finished (usually as part of Cable in the Classroom) until August 2000. In 1994, Herbert developed another new series of 15-minute spots called Teacher to Teacher with Mr. Wizard. They highlighted individual elementary science teachers and their projects. The series was sponsored by the National Science Foundation.

Selected episodes of Mr. Wizard's World are available on DVD from Mr. Wizard Studios Inc. in ten single volumes featuring four episodes on each disc. Gift box-sets are also available. Five seasons of the show, 75 episodes of the 78 total were released on Amazon instant streaming. [8] These episodes are also available through Vudu and can be streamed for free with ads or rented for a fee. [9] Paramount Global, the parent company of Nickelodeon, has also added the series to its Pluto TV service. The shows are also on iTunes and Crackle now. [10]

Segments on Mr. Wizard's World included:

Related Research Articles

A rerun or repeat is a rebroadcast of an episode of a radio or television program. The two types of reruns are those that occur during a hiatus and those that occur when a program is syndicated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">USA Network</span> American pay television channel

USA Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports cable television channels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nickelodeon</span> American childrens pay television channel

Nickelodeon is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through Paramount Media Networks' subdivision, Nickelodeon Group. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children, the channel is primarily aimed at children and adolescents aged 2 to 17, along with a broader family audience through its program blocks.

<i>Rugrats</i> 1991–2004 American animated television series

Rugrats is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series focuses on a group of toddlers, most prominently Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil, and their day-to-day lives, usually involving life experiences that become much greater adventures in the imaginations of the main characters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Herbert</span> American educational television host

Donald Jeffry Herbert, better known as Mr. Wizard, was the creator and host of Watch Mr. Wizard and Mr. Wizard's World (1983–90), which were educational television programs for children devoted to science and technology. He also produced many short video programs about science and authored several popular books about science for children. It was said that no fictional hero was able to rival the popularity and longevity of "the friendly, neighborly scientist". In Herbert's obituary, Bill Nye wrote, "Herbert's techniques and performances helped create the United States' first generation of homegrown rocket scientists just in time to respond to Sputnik. He sent us to the moon. He changed the world." Herbert is credited with turning "a generation of youth" in the 1950s and early 1960s on to "the promise and perils of science".

<i>The Amanda Show</i> American sketch comedy television series

The Amanda Show is an American sketch comedy and variety show television series created by Dan Schneider and starring Amanda Bynes that aired on Nickelodeon from October 16, 1999, to September 21, 2002. A spin-off of All That, another Nickelodeon variety show featuring Bynes, The Amanda Show's cast members include Drake Bell, Nancy Sullivan, John Kassir, Raquel Lee, and Josh Peck. Writers for the show include Christy Stratton, Jenny Kilgen, Dan Schneider, John Hoberg, Steven Molaro, and Andrew Hill Newman.

<i>Salute Your Shorts</i> American television sitcom (1991–1992)

Salute Your Shorts is an American television sitcom created by Steve Slavkin and produced by Propaganda Films, which aired on Nickelodeon from July 4, 1991, to September 12, 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Television in the United States</span>

Television is one of the major mass media outlets in the United States. In 2011, 96.7% of households owned television sets; about 114,200,000 American households owned at least one television set each in August 2013. Most households have more than one set. The percentage of households owning at least one television set peaked at 98.4%, in the 1996–1997 season. In 1948, 1 percent of U.S. households owned at least one television; in 1955, 75 percent did. In 1992, 60 percent of all U.S. households had cable television subscriptions. However, this number has fallen to 40% in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TV Land</span> Pay TV channel in the United States

TV Land is an American pay television channel owned by Paramount Global through its networks division. Originally a spinoff of Nick at Nite consisting exclusively of classic television shows, the channel now airs a combination of recent and classic television series, original scripted series and limited theatrically released movies. The network is headquartered at One Astor Plaza in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick at Nite</span> Nighttime programming block on Nickelodeon

Nick at Nite is an American nighttime programming block on the basic cable channel Nickelodeon. The programming broadcasts from prime time to late night. The block initially consisted of syndicated sitcoms and films from the 1950s to the 1970s. Nick at Nite gradually shifted its programming to primarily airing sitcoms as recent as the mid-1990s to the 2010s.

<i>Beakmans World</i> 1992 American TV series or program

Beakman's World is an American educational children's television program. The program is based on the Universal Press Syndicate syndicated comic strip You Can with Beakman and Jax created by Jok Church. The series premiered on Wednesday, September 16, 1992, on TLC, and three days later on September 19, began a concurrent run in weekly syndication on 220 television stations across the United States through an agreement with Columbia Pictures Television Distribution.

<i>Life as We Know It</i> (TV series) American teen drama television series

Life as We Know It is an American teen drama television series which aired on the ABC network during the 2004–2005 season. It was created by Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah. The series was loosely based on the novel Doing It by British writer Melvin Burgess.

<i>The Magic School Bus</i> (TV series) Animated childrens television series (1994–1997)

The Magic School Bus is an animated educational children's television series, based on the book series of the same name by Joanna Cole and Bruce Degen. Originally broadcast from 1994 to 1997, the series received critical acclaim for its use of celebrity voice talent, as well as combining entertainment with an educational series. The series stars Lily Tomlin as the voice of Ms. Frizzle. The theme song is performed by Little Richard.

<i>CatDog</i> American animated comedy television series

CatDog is an American animated television series created by Peter Hannan for Nickelodeon. The series follows the zany hijinks of orange-furred conjoined brothers of different species, with one half of the resultant animal being a cat and the other a dog. Nickelodeon produced the series from Burbank, California. The first episode aired on April 4, 1998, following the 1998 Kids' Choice Awards, before the show officially premiered on October 5, 1998. Similarly, the Season 2 episode "Fetch" was shown in theaters in 1998 before airing on television.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alpha Repertory Television Service</span> Defunct American cable TV channel

The Alpha Repertory Television Service (ARTS) was an American cable television network that was owned by Hearst/ABC Video Services, a joint venture between the Hearst Corporation and the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). The network, which operated nightly on the channel space of Nickelodeon, focused mainly on fine arts programming. It merged with the Entertainment Channel in 1984 to become the Arts & Entertainment Network (A&E).

<i>Fanboy & Chum Chum</i> American animated television series

Fanboy & Chum Chum is an American animated comedy television series created by Eric Robles for Nickelodeon. It is based on Fanboy, an animated short created by Robles for Nickelodeon Animation Studio and Frederator Studios, that was broadcast on Random! Cartoons. The series was first broadcast on October 12, 2009, on Nickelodeon as a preview, then officially premiered on November 6, 2009, after SpongeBob's Truth or Square. In the show, two slow-witted would-be superheroes attempt to rid their town of Galaxy Hills of evil, while annoying everyone around them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Nickelodeon</span> Historical timeline

Nickelodeon is an American basic cable and satellite television network that is part of the Nickelodeon Group, a unit of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, which focuses on programs for children and teenagers ages 2 to 17 years old.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nickelodeon (Brazilian TV channel)</span> Television channel

Nickelodeon is a Brazilian pay television channel focused on kids programming. It was launched in 1996 as an autonomous feed of Nickelodeon Latin America in Portuguese with different programming and series.

References

  1. ↑ Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. pp. 456–457. ISBN   978-0823083152 . Retrieved March 22, 2020.
  2. ↑ LaFollette, Marcel C. (September 2002). "A Survey of Science Content in U.S. Television Broadcasting, 1940s through 1950s: The Exploratory Years". Science Communication. 24 (1): 34–71. doi:10.1177/107554700202400103. S2CID   144331760.Subscription required.
  3. ↑ "Watch Mr. Wizard". Mr. Wizard Studios, Inc. 2004. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  4. 1 2 Sternberg, Joel (2004). "Watch Mr. Wizard". In Newcomb, Horace (ed.). Museum of Broadcast Communications - Encyclopedia of Television (Second Edition): Volume 1. CRC Press. pp. 2487–2488. ISBN   9781579584115.
  5. ↑ "N.B.C. Will Cancel 'Mr. Wizard' Show; Children's Science Program Has 14 Years Air", New York Times, by Val Adams, April 17, 1965, p41
  6. ↑ "George Foster Peabody Award Winners" (PDF). University of Georgia. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 26, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Watch Mr. Wizard Main Page". Mr. Wizard Studios. Retrieved February 11, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Mr. Wizard's World, 5 Seasons". Amazon. 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Vudu - Watch Movies". Vudu.com.
  10. ↑ "Mr. Wizard's World - Watch Episodes on Hoopla, Vudu, and Streaming Online". Reelgood.com. Retrieved April 26, 2022.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.