IT'S ABOUT TIME
Low budget TV sitcom by Sherwood Schwartz (creator of "Gilligan's
Island" & "The Brady Bunch") starring Joe E. Ross &
Imogene Coca as 'Gronk' & 'Shad', a couple from prehistoric times. Joe
E. "Ooh! Ooh!" Ross as a caveman with a Beatle haircut is hilarious!
In the first episode two astronauts, Capt. "Mac" Mackenzie (Frank
Aletter) & Lt. Hector Canfield (Jack Mullaney) break the speed of light
& somehow travel back in time to the prehistoric stone-age where they
meet a tribe of cave-dwellers. Since they look & talk differently than
the cave people, they question where they came from. The astronauts tell
them they came from the 'other side of the hill'. Let the laughs begin.
The tribal bully is Clon (Mike Mazurki) & the tribal chief is called
Boss (Cliff Norton). Boss is suspicious of the new comers & regularly
puts them in a cave guarded by Clon to await their execution. They always
manage to escape, usually with the help of Gronk & Shad, and redeem themselves
of whatever Boss has accused them of.
In the first couple of episodes, Imogene Coca's name was Shag, but when
TV censors realized the term held another meaning in the youth culture,
they changed her name to Shad in subsequent episodes. Prehistoric 'stock
footage' was lifted from the movies "Dinosaurus!" & "Beast
Of Hollow Mountain". Many of the sets, props & background special
effects music were from "Gilligan's Island".
Approximately halfway through the one-season run, the show's lower-than
expected ratings resulted in the producers suddenly retooling the series
by having the astronauts repair their space capsule & return to 1967
with the stone-age cave family in tow. The astronauts bring Gronk, Shad
& their two children, 18-year-old Mlor (Mary Grace) and 12-year-old
Breer (Pat Cardi), back to modern times. Now the laughs really begin as
watching the cave family trying to adjust to modern times is totally funny!
Meanwhile, the astronauts try to convince their superiors at the Space Center
that real cave-people are living with them.
The opening credits to It's About Time has an animation sequence that
runs during the catchy theme song. The cartoon is made by Depatie-Freleng,
who at that time were making The Pink Panther cartoons. The lyrics of the
theme song explain the premise of the show, but in 1967 when the astronauts
brought the cave family back to modern times, the lyrics were changed to
reflect the new premise. Because It's About Time only ran for one season,
there were not enough episodes to put in syndication, thereby making it
very difficult to obtain copies of the episodes today. I hope you enjoy
this rare find!
EPISODES
(1) And Then I Wrote Happy Birthday To You- In this pilot episode, Mac
& Hector have their first day in the past, and the cavemen think they
are evil spirits. They save the life of a teenage caveman, & become
friends with his family. As a rite of passage into adulthood, it's customary
to spend a night in the jungle alone. Hector, Mac & the cave family
suggest to the tribal Cave Boss that instead of having this ritual, they
throw Breer a birthday party instead. The tribesmen find the space capsule
& rip it apart to give the pieces to Breer as a birthday present. Mac
& Hector get the parts back & begin to reassemble the capsule. (9/11/1966)
(2) The Copper Caper- Mac & Hector need to find copper to repair the
space ship. Unfortunately, the only copper they can find is around the Boss's
neck, in his necklace. Directed by Jack Arnold. (9/18/1966)
(3) The Initiation- Mac & Hector decide to move into a cave, but they
must become tribe members first by performing a few customary rituals. (9/25/1966)
(4) Tailor Made Hero- Mac & Hector are again heroes to Breer after
they rescue him from a blocked cave. Mac & Hector try to think of ways
to get Gronk to look like a hero to Breer. (10/2/1966)
(5) The Rainmakers- There is a drought in the village. Boss decides to
offer Mac & Hector as a human sacrifice to the great Water Spirit. Mac
& Hector try to make it rain before they're sacrificed. (10/9/1966)
(6) The Courtship Of Miles Gronk- a.k.a. "Me Caveman, You Woman"
The village cave women want to be treated like the cave women on the 'other
side of the hill'. This causes trouble for the men until Shad & Gronk
have a wedding ceremony. w/ Kathleen Freeman as Mrs. Boss (10/16/1966)
(7) The Champ- War with tribal rivals 'The Painted Ones' is averted when
it is suggested that the strongest member of each tribe battle each other.
Gronk uses his 'sneaky punch' to emerge victorious. Guest stars are: Diana
Frothingham as Gam, wife of the Painted Ones strongman, played by Eddie
Little Sky. (10/23/1966)
(8) Mark Your Ballets- The Boss is always hassling Mac & Hector by
locking them up & threatening to kill them. In order to increase their
chances of survival, the astronauts try to get a new Cave Boss elected.
(10/30/1966)
(9) Have I Got A Girl For You- Shad thinks the astronauts need wives,
so she tries to get Hector to marry daughter Mlor. When Mac finds out that
he has to either marry Boss' daughter or face death in a boiling pit, he
plans to distract the tribe with laughing gas. w/ Mary Foran as Blob (11/6/1966)
(10) Cave Movies- On the verge of repairing their space capsule &
returning to the 20th Century, the astronauts decide to film their visit
so they'll have proof of their journey when they return home. (11/13/1966)
(11) Androcles & Clon- The astronauts make a model airplane that gets
them in trouble with Boss, who orders Clon to find them & kill them.
In his search, Clon gets a big thorn in his foot. The astronauts come &
save Clon by removing it. Clon lets them go, but doesn't want Boss to find
out. (11/20/1966)
(12) Love Me, Love My Gnook- The astronauts find a dog (gnook) which is
bad luck for the village, until the dog helps Mac, Hector & Boss from
quicksand. (11/27/1966)
(13) The Broken Idol- Boss thinks Mac & Hector made the fire god angry,
causing the volcano to erupt. In order to save their lives from Boss &
Clon, and save the village, Mac & Hector use nitroglycerin to neutralize
the volcano. (12/4/1966)
(14) The Sacrifice- Boss wants to sacrifice Mlor to the dinosaurs in an
annual custom to keep dinosaurs away from the village. (12/11/1966)
(15) King Hec- Hector's knowledge of plants & the weather lead the
cave people to think he can tell the future. Boss becomes concerned when
Hec's status in the village has grown too much. (12/18/1966)
(16) The Mother-In-Law- Shad's mother comes to visit. At first everything
is fine, but after a while... lots of aggravation with everyone in the family.
w/ Andy Albin as Lop, & David Thorpe as Zam (12/25/1966)
(17) Which Doctor's Witch?- When Gronk does not respond to the Witch-Doctor's
spell, it is suspected that he is trying to get out of going on a dinosaur
hunt. Meanwhile the villagers think that Shad has turned Boss into a monkey
& make her use Witch-Doctor chants to turn him back into Boss. (1/1/1967)
(18) To Catch A Thief- The villagers think Mac & Hector are stealing
things from their caves at night. Mac & Hector set a trap to catch the
thief that is framing them. (1/8/1967)
(19) The Stowaway- Mac & Hector find the copper they need to repair
their space capsule & begin preparations to leave. Boss's son Brack
wants to marry Mlor, but she is not willing. Hector pretends he is engaged
to Mlor. Brack challenges Hector to a fight & the winner will marry
her. This episode was originally scheduled to air Jan 15, 1967 but was pre-empted.
When the series was canceled, it was dug out & was the last one aired.
(4/2/1967)
(20) 20th Century Here We Come- In order to save the series, the producers
reverse the premise & have the astronauts repair the ship & take Gronk,
Shad, Mlor & Breer back home with them. They leave the stone age &
enter the 20th Century. Having to care for the cave family, Mac & Hector
decide to conceal them in Mac's apartment. Mac & Hector try to convince
NASA officials of their time travel & prehistoric friends. General Morley
(Frank Wilcox) makes his first appearance in the series. Patrick Waltz;
Jan Arvan; Kathryn Minner make guest appearances in this highly rated episode.
Alan DeWitt plays Mr. Tyler, Mac's Landlord. The theme song is reworded
to fit the new premise. (1/22/1967)
(21) Our Brothers' Keepers- Mac & Hector want to bring the General
to the apartment to meet the cave family. When Tyler hears that, he wants
to get the cave family a make-over. The girls get their hair done &
everyone gets dressed in the latest mod fashions. The General is not convinced
they are from pre-historic times. Joe Higgins appears as the Sergeant. (1/29/1967)
(22) The Cave Family Swingers- The cave people are often mistaken for
coffee house beatniks! In this episode they become rock stars with their
song "Dinosaur Stew" Ugh! Ugh! They sing & play on buckets,
pots, pans & sink pipes. They're soon discovered & record their
song at the Big Beat Record Studios. While recording for Big Beat Records,
they meet a 'real' band, The Apes, that features a very young Karen Valentine.
The Cave Family Swingers record hits #1 on the charts & the band appears
on The Fred Gulliver Show (think Ed Sullivan). (2/5/1967)
(23) To Sign Or Not To Sign- The astronauts teach the cave people to write
their names & they go on a spending spree all over town by charging &
signing up for things. While Mac & Hector try to return all the 'gifts',
Gronk unwittingly signs up to join the Army. Guests include Susan Brown,
Nora Marlowe, & Richard Hoyt as a delivery man. (2/19/1967)
(24) School Days, School Days- Breer goes to school in the modern day
world. When he tries to explain the experience to Gronk & Shad, it becomes
apparent that they need to attend school as well. Guests are Alan Oppenheimer,
Herb Vigran & the lovely Jackie Russell as Miss Fenway. (2/26/1967)
(25) Shad Rack & Other Tortures- The astronauts are still trying to
convince the General that they broke the time barrier & have returned
with the cave family. They bring Gronk & Shad to the General's office,
and he orders a medical exam. When it become apparant that the cave people
will be under constant medical examination, Mac & Hector lead the General
to believe that they are actors pretending to be from pre-historic times.
(3/5/1967)
(26) The Stone Age Diplomats- The cave people don't exactly 'fit in',
and are always getting in trouble with the landlord. Mac & Hector explain
that they are from Nordania, a country they made-up in order to convince
their landlord that Nordanians are just different. To impress the landlord
so the cave family can stay, Mac & Hector arrange to have the Ambassador
Of Nordania visit the apartment. They get their actor friend Tony to come
dressed in an animal skin, but the landlord soon discovers he is a fake.
When the head of the studio where Tony works comes by looking for him, he
discovers the cave family & wants to cast them in his next feature.
w/ guests Leon Askin & Herb Edelman. (3/12/1967)
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