“It’s About Time”

As has often been the case, the theme song to It’s About Time wound up being far more memorable than the show itself. Originally, the show followed the adventures of two modern-day astronauts thrown back into the stone age. When the ratings were almost as pre-historic as the setting the show was retooled and a family of cavemen were brought to the present. The ratings didn’t improve and the show was canceled after a single season.

It’s About Time

One of numerous television programs mostly remembered for its theme song, It’s About Time was the brainchild of Sherwood Schwartz, the man behind Gilligan’s Island. Schwartz served as executive producer of the series and, as he had with Gilligan’s Island, co-wrote the catchy theme song.

When the series was announced in February of 1966, it was one of two new programs on CBS that saw the return of big name stars to television; in this case, it was Imogene Coca, formerly of Your Show of Shows [1]. The other star was Garry Moore in The Garry Moore Show, his third eponymous show (the others aired from 1950-1958 and 1958-1964, respectively). Despite high hopes from the network, neither It’s About Time nor The Garry Moore Show would return for a second season.

It’s About Time told the story of two American astronauts thrown back in time to a prehistoric period filled with cavemen and, contrary to archeological evidence, dinosaurs. Frank Aletter played Mac, captain of the space capsule Scorpio, and Jack Mullany played Hector, Mac’s bumbling second in command. Thankfully for the two astronauts, Scorpio landed only a short walk from a tribe of somewhat friendly cave people who spoke broken English.

Mac and Hector were quickly befriended by a family of cave people, headed by Gronk (Joe E. Ross). Imogene Coca played his wife, Shadd and their two children, daughter Mlor and son Breer, were played by Robyn Grace and Pat Cardi (Grace was credited as Mary Graham Grace during the second half of the series). Because their space capsule was badly damaged and would require months to fix. Mac and Hector decided to make a home for themselves among the cave people.

Gronk, Shadd, Mac and Hector

The two tried to use their twentieth century knowledge to make life a little easier for themselves and the cave people, often to comedic effect. For example, they fashioned a crude door for Gronk’s cave, which allowed Gronk to become controller of day and night. The sun, according to Gronk, was a “great big ball of fire” that he could block out with the door.

Initially, episodes followed Mac and Hector as they got themselves in trouble with Boss (Cliff Norton), the leader of the cave people, who forced them to become members of the tribe by stealing a dinosaur tooth (and getting chased through the woods by Boss and his sidekick, Clon). By using their wits and a pair of walkie-talkies, Mac and Hector were able to complete the challenge and join the tribe.

The astronauts referred to their home as “the other side of the hill,” which is where the Scorpio had crashed. They occasionally got themselves into trouble by referring to life on their side of the hill. For example, when Hector told Shadd how his people treated women with kindness and respect, Shadd and the other cave women were impressed and decided to stop being kicked around by their men (or dragged around, as cavemen are apt to do with their women).

Mlor

When It’s About Time premiered on in September of 1966 critics were hardly impressed. Clay Gowran of The Chicago Tribune calling It’s About Time “a tired, second-rate comedy, unfortunately involving some first-rate people” [2]. Jack Gould of The New York Times suggested that It’s About Time made Gilligan’s Island look good (Gowran had also made that comparison) [3].

Viewers, however, were at least initially drawn to It’s About Time. Although the Nielsen ratings for the premiere (broadcast Sunday, September 11th, 1966) are unavailable, the following two episodes (aired September 25th and October 2nd) averaged a moderate 18.3/35, tied at 39th with ABC’s Iron Horse for the two weeks ending September 25th, 1966 [4], [5]. However, while the September 25th episode was able to rank first in its timeslot against ABC’s Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and the start of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color on NBC, the following week It’s About Time sank to second.

The following two episodes averaged a less impressive 15.1 rating (share unavailable), placing It’s About Time 74th out of roughly 90 programs for the two weeks ending October 9th, 1966 [6]. By comparison, The Garry Moore Show ranked 92nd during both periods, although it grew from an anemic 10.9 rating to an equally low 11.3 rating [7]. Ratings would stay near the bottom of the charts throughout the first half of the season.

Living in the Future

By midseason, CBS was worried with the ratings and the show was retooled. Mac and Hector were able to repair their capsule and, along with Gronk and his family, return to the twentieth century. Starting with the January 22nd, 1967 episode, the series involved the cave people trying to integrate with modern society, reversing the role Mac and Hector had played initially.

Boss and the other cave people were dropped and Frank Wilcox was added as General Morley, who was Mac and Hector’s commanding officer. He was introduced to Gronk and Shadd by the astronauts to prove their story of being stuck in the past was true. Because they insisted on wearing furs and were unable to understand vacuum cleaners or other twentieth century technology, the cave people were constantly getting themselves into trouble.

After attempting to convince the manager of their apartment building (Alan DeWitt) that the cave people were a family from Nordania, Mac and Hector were forced to come clean. Thankfully, Gronk and his family were allowed to stay. The remainder of the series involved the family learning how to write, going to school, and otherwise finding ways to aggravate Mac and Hector.

In spite of the retooling, the ratings failed to pick up and It’s About Time was reported as among several new programs canceled by the networks in late January of 1967 [8]. The series was officially canceled by CBS in February of 1967 [9]. New episodes were aired through April 2nd, 1967. The final summer repeat aired on August 27th, 1967.

For many people who watched It’s About Time during its original run back in 1966-1967, the theme song is the one thing that stuck with them through the decades. The opening line, “It’s about time, it’s about space” is almost too catchy for its own good, haunting those who hear it like the most insidious of commercial jingles. Like the theme song to Gilligan’s Island, which Sherwood Schwartz also had a hand in penning, the theme to It’s About Time succinctly explains the premise of the series and, in the case of the closing theme song, entices viewers to tune in each week. Here are the opening credits for the first half of the season:

And here are the lyrics:

*Other sources state this is the correct line; to my ears, it doesn’t seem quite right.

As for the closing theme song, take a listen:

For the second half of the season, the lyrics were altered to reflect the changes that had taken place. Here is the second version of the opening credits:

And the lyrics:

Finally, the second version of the closing theme song:

Works Cited:

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Last Updated June 26th, 2008