That's Incredible!

That's Incredible! is an American reality television show that aired on the ABC television network from 1980 to 1984. In the tradition of You Asked for It, Ripley's Believe It or Not! and Real People, the show featured people performing stunts and reenactments of allegedly paranormal events. The show also often featured people with unusual talents, such as speed-talker John Moschitta, Jr., who made his first national television appearance on the show, as well as scientific, medical, and technological breakthroughs such as the Taser and cryogenic corneal reshaping by lathe keratomileusis.

Synopsis

The show was co-hosted by Fran Tarkenton, John Davidson, and Cathy Lee Crosby, and was produced by Alan Landsburg Productions. Originally aired as an hour-long program, episodes were later re-edited into 30 minute segments for syndication. It debuted on March 3, 1980.^[1]

A number of the stunts performed were dangerous, including juggling knives, staying inside a small box for hours, and one involving a man supposedly catching a bullet between his teeth. The dangerous nature of these stunts eventually prompted producers to augment the footage with the caption "Do Not Try This Yourself". Steve Baker also known as "Mr. Escape", was frequently featured on the show.

The show has been cited as an influence on hip-hop culture in New Zealand, where much television programming in the 1980s was American. In 1983 the show featured several dancing crews, giving youth of Pacific Island and Maori heritage, many of whom were interested in hip-hop culture and dance, a sense of connectedness to global youth culture.^[2] In the early 1980s, Army Lt. Col. Earl Woods (Ret.) brought his son Eldrick to That's Incredible, showing his ability to putt a golf ball into a hole from different areas.^[3] Eldrick is now better known by his nickname, "Tiger."

Nielsen Ratings

The show ranked in the top 30 for its first four seasons, and ranked in the top 10 during its first season, but fell out of the top 30 in its final season.

• 1) 1979–80: #3 (25.80 rating)
• 2) 1980–81: #22 (20.50 rating)
• 3) 1981–82: #28 (18.40 rating)
• 4) 1982–83: #22 (18.30 rating)
• 5) 1983–84: Not in the Top 30

Reception

In 1980, Time magazine named That's Incredible "The Most Sadistic" show on television.^[4]

Revival

That's Incredible! was revived in 1988, hosted by Davidson, Cristina Ferrare, and Tracey Gold and was renamed Incredible Sunday. It lasted only during the 1988–1989 season.

Syndication

The show was seen weekends on Retro Television Network.

In popular culture

• On May 17, 1980, a "Saturday Night Live" skit combined "Real People" with its ABC rival "That's Incredible" for a parody entitled "Real Incredible People".^[5]

• MAD Magazine produced a feature cartoon in 1981 titled That's Real Incredible, People, mocking the blurred distinction between That's Incredible! and Real People. A later issue of MAD had "Wanted posters we'd like to see", one featuring a network executive "wanted for keeping The Dukes of Hazzard and That's Incredible on the air, while depriving the country of better shows such as The Paper Chase and Fame!"
• On February 14, 1983, the Fray children, as adults, appeared on the program following the premiere of Who Will Love My Children?, a film about the life of their mother.^[6]
• On February 21, 1983, That's Incredible unwittingly gained video game immortality by broadcasting the North American Video Game Challenge—an international video game tournament filmed at Twin Galaxies in Ottumwa, Iowa—which since then has gained recognition as being history's first video game world championship.^[7]
• The television show Tom Goes to the Mayor features a parody of That's Incredible! titled That's Amazing!. The parody shows up multiple times throughout the series. Before TGTTM, an episode of Whatever Happened to Robot Jones? featured the same title, That's Amazing!.
• The television show The Fast Show also features a parody of That's Incredible! titled That's Amazing!. The segment features a cynical Australian presenter whose guests bring stories and object in to relate, but they frequently fail to live up to expectations.

See also

• Is It Possible? - a similar show on the Discovery Channel
• Those Amazing Animals - animal-related spinoff of That's Incredible!

References

External links

• That's Incredible! at the Internet Movie Database
• Incredible Sunday at the Internet Movie Database
• That's Incredible! at TV.com
• Incredible Sunday at TV.com