Watch Mr. Wizard
| Watch Mr. Wizard | |
|---|---|
 Opening titles | |
| Genre | Educational |
| Starring | Don Herbert |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 547 |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | March 3, 1951 – 1965 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Watch Mr. Wizard was an American television program (1951–1965) for children that demonstrated the science behind ordinary things. The show's creator and on-air host was Don Herbert. Marcel LaFollette said 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."[1]
It was briefly revived in 1971, and then in the 1980s was a program on the Nickelodeon children's television network as Mr. Wizard's World.
1951-1965: Original series
Watch Mr. Wizard first aired on NBC on March 3, 1951 with Don Herbert as Mister Wizard.[2] In the weekly half hour live television show Don Herbert played a science hobbyist, and every Saturday morning a neighbor boy or girl would come to visit. The children were played by child actors; one of them (Rita McLaughlin) enjoyed a long subsequent acting career. Mister 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.[3] Mr. Wizard Science Clubs were started throughout North America, numbering 5,000 by 1955 and 50,000 by 1965.[3] 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. 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.[4]
32 episodes of Watch Mr. Wizard were selected by Don Herbert and released on eight DVDs.[5] They can be found at
1971: Canadian-produced revival
It was revived by NBC from September 11, 1971 through September 2, 1972 as Mr. Wizard, based on 26 shows produced in color in Ottawa, Canada at the CJOH-TV studios. The series was legally considered Canadian content, despite the American origins of the series and its host. CBC Television carried these episodes within Canada.
1983-1990: Mr. Wizard's World
| Mr. Wizard's World | |
|---|---|
 Opening credits | |
| Genre | Educational |
| Starring | Don Herbert |
| Composer(s) |
Paul Zaza (1983-1985) New York Sound (1985-1990) |
| Country of origin |
Canada United States |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 78 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Fern Field |
| Location(s) | Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel |
Nickelodeon (1983-1990) Nick at Nite (1991-1995) |
| Original run | October 3, 1983 – 1990 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Watch Mr. Wizard |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Mr. Wizard's World, a faster-paced version of the show developed by Don Herbert, was shown three times a week on the then rising kids cable channel Nickelodeon. Once again, the revival was produced in Canada (this time in Calgary). The show produced 78 episodes from 1983 onwards, and continued to run thereafter as reruns. During its airing on Nickelodeon, Mr. Wizard's World was the channel's #3 rated show in 1983 (behind Livewire, and You Can't Do That on Television). The show was also famous for its Ask Mr. Wizard segment where Mr. Wizard answered questions sent in by Nickelodeon viewers of all ages. Episodes of Mr. Wizard's World were re-aired in 2005-2006 on the digital cable channel The Science Channel. Mr. Wizard's World still frequently airs on The Science Channel, and is considered a candidate for Nickelodeon's "Nick Rewind" DVD/VHS release. Don 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". This series was canceled in 1990, though reruns continued on Nick at Nite until 1995 and often in early morning time slots right after Nick at Nite finished, through at least March 2000. In 1994, Herbert developed another new series of 15-minute spots called Teacher to Teacher with Mr. Wizard. The spots highlighted individual elementary science teachers and their projects. The series was sponsored by the National Science Foundation and was shown on Nickelodeon. Selected episodes of Mr. Wizard's World are available on DvD from Mr.Wizard Studios Inc. in 10-Single Volumes featuring 4-Episodes on each disk. Gift Box-Sets are also available from Mr.Wizard Studios Inc.
See also
References
- ↑ 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.Subscription required.
- ↑ "Watch Mr. Wizard". Mr. Wizard Studios, Inc. 2004. Retrieved 2012-05-24.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sternberg, Joel (2004). "Watch Mr. Wizard". In Newcomb, Horace. Museum of Broadcast Communications - Encyclopedia of Television (Second Edition): Volume 1. CRC Press. pp. 2487–2488. ISBN 9781579584115.
- ↑ "George Foster Peabody Award Winners". University of Georgia.
- ↑ "Watch Mr. Wizard Main Page". Mr. Wizard Studios.
Further reading
- "Watch Mr. Wizard: Still Crazy (for Science) After All These Years". Interview With Don Herbert. Education Digest. Ann Arbor: October 1994. Vol 60. Iss. 2: pp. 68–71.
- Weingarten, Mark (June 27, 2004). "When Science Was Simple: Watching Mr. Wizard". New York Times. Interview of Don Herbert by Mark Weingarten.
External links
- "Mr. Wizard Studios Homepage". Homepage of a business founded by Don Herbert that sells DVDs containing episodes of Herbert's several television programs. The website also provides some information regarding the programs and of Herbert's life.
- Watch Mr. Wizard (1951) at the Internet Movie Database
- Watch Mr. Wizard (1951) at TV.com
- Mr. Wizard's World (1983–1991) at the Internet Movie Database
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