It's About Time Online

Mostly because of the theme song this TV show has stayed with me for 32 years. Yet, if I ever asked anyone else if they remembered it (singing the song in hopes of loosening a memory) they would look at me as though I was truly mad. It was a silly, stupid show ... like a mutant creation through the coupling of Gilligan's Island and Lost In Space ... and I loved it! I was nine, what did I know? Still, I would like to see it again to find out if the pictures in my head match.

Later in this forum someone calling themselves Mariner719 will mention that the rendition of the theme song was twisted among his/her peers to, "It's about time, it's about space, it's about time to slap your face." No fear Mariner719, I had equally bizarre peers. :)

It is indeed a pleasure to read that someone else in this VAST UNIVERSE has heard of, and remembers the comedy series "It's About Time", for I thought that I was the only one...

I mentioned it to my Dad the other day, and he couldn't recall it....(I am 55 and he is 80!!) All I really remember is the two astronauts, stuck in the time-shift which brings them back to ancient civilization, and the fact that "over the hill" and "other side of valley" were significant.

The laughs then sort of come at you, like an episode of "F Troop", but it is still a long time ago...

The theme ("It's About Time, It's About Space,.....") has also stuck in my head over the years, and I would love to see it on DVD.

I am not THE ONLY ONE....

I think a LOT more people remember this series than you think. Everyone over 40 I ask remembers it clearly and NO ONE has forgotten the spritely, catchy musical theme. "It's about time, It's about space, It's about people in the strangest place...."

Amazing that something should hold OUT in one's mind after SO MANY years without exposure to it. It must have been a great series for your average 9-10 year old kid.

If SCI-FI.com won't bring this back...at least TVLAND should!

I can close my eyes and see Gronk (Joe E. Ross) grunting and grimacing (ooh..ooh!).

Clean entertainment folks, a rare commodity.

I really enjoyed this show when I was 8 years old! And as someone mentioned, one day it simply disappeared, without a trace.

Would I still love it now? Who knows? Time travel is always an interesting concept (even as goofy at it is here), and transporting cave people (who speak English!) to "modern" times would probably still be funny... But I used to love "Gilligan's Island" back then, and can't stand it now, so it's hard to say.

Still, it brings back good memories.

I have never seen reruns of it, but it wasn't even a full 'season' worth of shows (back then, 39 episodes a year was the norm, leaving 13 weeks open for "summer replacement" shows). I don't know why only 26 episodes were made. It must've rated pretty poorly at the time.

Here are the original, and amended, theme songs:

It's about time, it's about space, About two men in the strangest place. It's about time, it's about flight - Traveling faster than the speed of light. This is the tale of the brave crew As through the barrier of time they flew. Past a fighting minuteman, Past an armored knight, Past a Roman warrior, To this ancient site. It's about caves, cavemen too, About a time when the earth was new. Wait'll they see what is in sight! Is it good luck or is it good night? It's about two astronauts, it's about their fate, It's about a woman and her prehistoric mate.

It's about time, it's about space, About two men in the strangest place. They will be here right on this spot No matter if they like it or not. How will they live in this primitive state? Will help ever come before it is too late? Will they ever get away? Watch each week and see! Will they be returning to the 20th Century? It's about time for our goodbyes To all these prehistoric gals and guys. IT'S ABOUT TIME!

When the show's concept changed mid-season and the cave people moved to 20th century New York, the theme song changed as well:

It's about time, it's about space, About cave-people in the strangest place. It's about time, it's about flight- Traveling faster than the speed of light. About cave-people and the brave crew As through the barrier of time they flew. Past a Roman warrior, past an armored knight, Past a fighting minuteman to this modern site. It's about time for you and me To meet these people from 1,000,000 BC. It's about two astronauts and how they educate A prehistoric woman and her prehistoric mate.

It's about time, it's about space, About cave-people in the strangest place.

They will be here with all of us, dodging a taxi, car or bus. Where will they go? What will they do In this strange place where everything is new? Will they manage to survive? Watch each week and see. Will they get accustomed to the 20th Century? It's about time for our goodbyes To all these prehistoric gals and guys. IT'S ABOUT TIME!

In reply to the comment that this series was a failure, I must disagree. It not only lasted a whole season, it came back for part of another. In the second season, the astronauts and the two main cave-characters repaired the spaceship and returned to the present. I can't remember if the second series lasted the entire season, but I enjoy both the episodes in the past and in the present. These are, of course, the reminiscences of a 43 year old man remembering the long ago days of his 9th year of life. I have several times asked the SCI-FI channel to consider running the episodes to see if they would seem the same today as that time 35 years in the past.

I remember watching this show as a child of about 11 or 12 and even remember the theme song, although I do get mixed up in the words from the original story and the spin off story when the 'primatives' return to the present. I don't remember any of the episodes except I know I just really enjoyed the show. My children think I'm crazy when I am prompted by one of them saying "It's about time...." and I start to song the theme song - "It's about time, it's about space, it's about 2 people in the strangest place, etc.etc.....". It was really a nonsense show but good for a few (clean) laughs, something that is sadly missing on today's TV.

I remember this show only vaguely, but the theme song was a big hit with the school kids (I was in the 3rd grade when it came out) because we changed it as a joke on our friends. We'd sing: It's about time It's about space It's about time To slap your face (smack!) Then we'd run. Okay, it's juvenile, but we were only 8 years old! Nevertheless, that tune has stuck with me all these years. Did anyone else come up with this variation? For that matter, I believe the actual theme went: It's about time, it's about space, it's about two men in the strangest place...here is the tale of the brave crew, and through some very (ancient?) times they flew...past the fighting minuteman...past the armored knight...past the Roman warrior...to this ancient site. Let me know if I have that wrong, but I think that's how it was SUPPOSED to go, and no face slapping involved!

***SLIGHT SPOILERS*** "It's About Time" was an amusing mid-sixties sitcom that holds up nicely for those who like "Gilligan's Island" type schtick. I recently purchased the entire series (26 episodes) on tape. The show grew on me as I watched it. It was nostalgic since I recalled many of the episodes when I saw them as a kid. Mullaney is a 'Gilligan' type character and Auletter similar to the 'Skipper'. Joe E. Ross ('Gronk') and Imogene Coco ('Chad') are goofy as the cave couple and Cliff Norton generates laughs as 'Boss' who tries to come up with excuses to kill the astronauts each episode. Mike Mazurski plays his henchman/executioner 'Clon'. A typical bit of business is Clon hearing Mullaney hiding in the bushes at night and saying 'Halt, who goes there?' Mullaney replies, 'no one'. Clon nods and says 'Ah, no one goes there' and walks away. The last part of the season is better than the first. The Astronauts bring back Ross, Coco and their kids to modern times. Ross accidently joins the Army in one episode. They try to give him an injection but he grabs the syringe and says "No more stick Gronk, Gronk stick you" and stabs him in the butt with the needle. In another episode Gronk and Chad go to night school in their animal skins and set the professor straight about prehistoric history. They changed the lyrics of the theme song and animated opening to compensate for the format change. Incredibly, the show does end with the Astronauts deciding not to turn the cave people over to the military to study and exploit them. They adopt them and presumably live happily ever after as an extended family in their Los Angeles apartment. I found it funnier than 'Gilligan's Island' and somewhat charming. It's worth reviving on TVland or some other venue.

Richard W. Haines

My sister was 8-9, I was 7-8, and my bother 5-6 when the show ran and we still talk about it today. We got so into the show that our father threatened to ban us from it. I became Boss, my sister Shadd and my brother Grunk. It was our reversion to cave man language that almost led to the ban. The show disappeared without any notice or information. We were devastated. We maintained our characters for several years after the show and we still call each other Shadd, Boss and Grunk sometimes today.

We are 45, 44, and 42 now. Between us we have 7 children ages (18, 17, 17, 15, 12, 3, and 1). For years we have told them about the show and no could find information on it. Worse, none of our friend had heard of the show either. So finally I did an exhaustive Internet search and found lots of cool information including this site. From the comments on the show, CBS missed the boat for not running it longer. Like another favorite Star Trek, I believe the loyalty of the viewers would have generated grass root support to be enjoyed by generations. It would have been another Gilligan Island in reruns - but for only 26 episodes.

In my search I found someone with 20 of 26 episodes. I paid to have them duplicated and should receive them this week. We are having an It's About Time party on Jan 10th, 2004 with all the kids required to attend under penalty of no future support or food. I will let you know with a posting how it went. Also I will list the episodes that I have.

Emails about the show are welcome!

Rick Stoppe, Natick MA

This CBS sitcom ran only one season from September 11, 1966 until August 27, 1967 and starred Jack Mullaney and Frank Aletter as two sixties astronauts who break the time barrier and end up in prehistoric times. 'It's About Time' had all the elements that a kid growing up in the 1960's could possibly want. At least all that this shy, egg headed ape who had an unusual sense of the ironic and a penchant for the ridiculous could want. It had space and time travel, the theory of relativity, dinosaurs, cavemen and strangely compelling images of robustly proportioned cave women being dragged by their hair into darkened caves. Whatever for, I couldn't possible tell. But it did seem like an very stimulating pastime.

I think you will all agree, they just aren't making T.V. like this anymore.

I found the common thread through most of the member comments for IT'S ABOUT TIME to be hilarious: three pages of comments from startled people who all thought they were the ONLY ones who remember the show! And everyone can still whistle the theme song. The thing that captivated me about this show when I was a kid were the dinosaurs, lifted mostly from the movies DINOSAURUS! and THE BEAST OF HOLLOW MOUNTAIN. In fact in one scene where a tyrannosaurus (from DINOSAURUS!) is supposed to be trying to attack some cave men hiding in a cave you can clearly see that it's actually digging away at the entrance to a mine, complete with supporting timbers and a sign warning people to keep out. Later on when (I assume) the show wasn't doing too well in the rating and the producers decided to bring cave people back to the future in a sort of BEVERLY HILLBILIES scenario I quickly lost interest. The only other things about the show that really stand out in my memory are the goofy cast of cave people (Mike Mazurki, Joe E. "Ooh! Ooh!" Ross, Imogene Coca, and a sort of prehistoric Daisy Duke who always wore nylons under her animal skins) and the fact that one of the two astronauts (I think if was Frank Aletter, although I'm not sure) had to dye his hand blonde because the producers didn't want two brunettes in the leads.

You know, that's a lot to stick in one's memory after forty years!

I could easily see this show being resurrected as a big budget theatrical comedy (replacing "cheesy" stop-motion dinos with cheesier CGI effects), with Tom Arnold as the leader of the cave family and Will Farrell and Greg Kinnear as the astronauts. Ugghhhh.......

Whaddaya mean,nobody remembers it....

"It's about time/It's about space... About two people in the strangest place..."

This is a classic, rates right up there with "My Mother the Car", and stars Imogene Coca to boot!

What about "My Favorite Martian" Another great old show that no one remembers, or the TV version of "The Ghost and Mrs Muir". Now there was a REAL dog.

Check out Frank Aletter to see where he went after this, and, of course Imogene was a star long before she accepted the role in this show (check out "Your Show of Shows" - a real groundbreaker.)

Don't dis the old shows - I grew up with them and they all have their place in TV history. Much like the DuMont network and Jackie Gleason - if it weren't for them, God knows where we'd be right now..... Then again, maybe we wouldn't be subjected to "Reality Shows" or "The Gilmore Girls" - two of the worst creations to hit TV since "Ted Mack's Amateur Hour".

go this web address and see more about this great show http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/ShowMainServlet/showid-6357/ I grew up in Toronto and I watched this show every week. I somehow thought that there were more than one seasons worth of programs though hmm? Well according to all of this there was only the one. I read the information on this site about the end of the season where there flipped the concept around and had them back in 1966 but I don't recall that happening. I was 11 at the time and so I don't imagine I was hitting the sauce or anything. I wish TV land would pick this show up. Anyone from TV Land listening? Can we make a petition or something lie that?

I remember watching this show every Sunday evening during the 1966/67 TV season. I still remember the theme song as most who have seen it do. I recently bought the dubbed DVD set on ebay as I wanted just to see this show again. What amazed me the most after having not seen it in 40 years since it originally aired, is how much of it I remembered. I always remembered the characters - Heck, Mac, Gronk, Shad, Breer, Mlor, Boss and Clon. In fact, there is a fellow I encountered at work who is of French origin and his first name is Shadd. I could not help but remember this show every time I had connected with this person. Of course, when I mentioned the show to others, they just thought I was strange as no one else remembered it. As a result of watching this show I became very intrigued by cave men and did a lot of reading on the topic. At 6 years old, it did not occur to me that cave people likely did not speak in 20th century English as they did on this show. I recently viewed all 26 episodes and I was amazed by how many lines, scenes and characters I remembered from 40 years ago. The power of television! After viewing the show again it is so obviously Sherwood Schwartz. It is remarkable how much it parallels his other show Gilligan's Island which was in its third season run when this show was on. It's About Time used the same sets, the same background music, the same effects music and the exact same bumper music as Gilligan's Island. The character of Heck is clearly modeled after the character of Gilligan. Heck's speech, mannerisms and physical comedy are dead-ringers for Gilligan. Schwartz even used many of the same story lines and synopsis for this show that were used in episodes of Gilligan's Island - the belief that evil spirits turned a person into a monkey (actually, it was a chimpanzee), the women leaving the village because their work is not appreciated, primitive people's superstitions, a volcano threatens the village (same footage used!), the village holding an election, using modern technology to frighten primitive peoples etc. Seems the writers didn't have to work very hard on this one. I remember recognizing the space capsule in the episode of Gilligan where the cosmonauts land on the island, as being the same one used in this show. I also recall the dinosaur scenes which I thought were very realistic in 1966. Upon seeing them again, they're cheesy and contrived and clearly borrowed from low-budget movies. Even as a 6 year old, I knew that there was never a time when people and dinosaurs both inhabited the earth - the dinosaurs were gone before the first people appeared but I didn't care, I liked the show and watched every week. The thing I remembered most though, is when Heck and Mac brought Gronk, Shad, Breer and Mlor back to the 20th century! I remember Gronk clubbing a Volkswagon Beetle and Breer being laughed at in school (where all the kids were white, well groomed, hair combed and nicely dressed, ah the 1960s...) and picking up the pointer to use it as a spear. I also remember Gronk and Shad trying to get back to "Heck and Mac's cave" in a "car animal." All of this is on the DVD set and much the same as I remembered. I must admit, Sherwood Schwartz did have a knack for educating viewers. It was this show where I first heard, and learned the terms "Prehistoric", "20th Century", "Primative" and "BC" (in the days before politically correctness). For those who haven't seen it in a while, the copies currently being sold on ebay are not good quality but are definitely watchable. I can tell you, the show is typical Sherwood Schwartz so if you liked the Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island (come on, admit it, I know many of you did), you'll definitely like this one. If you didn't then you likely won't. It is pretty much the same show as Gilligan's Island, just a different setting, but an interesting setting to be sure. I too remembered the term "Gnook" from that episode and still think of it when I see a small dog. Glad I got see this again. It's About Time is likely the only show to actually become one of the props used in the show; a time capsule. It is not only very Sherwood Schwartz, it's also very 1960s. All good fun in this reviewer's opinion.

I can remember watching this show when I was eight years old, but no one I talk to ever remembers it. I think it must have tried to build on the 60s space-age concept like "I Dream of Jeannie". However, since Imogene Coca is no Barbara Eden, it's not surprising it failed.

It made have been labeled as one of the worst sitcoms of the mid-1960's. The short-lived series "It's About Time" ran for one season on CBS-TV producing 26 episodes in color for Gladysya-Redwood Productions in association with the CBS Television Network and United Artists Television. "It's About Time was produced by the same people who brought you "Gilligan's Island",under the creative brainchild of executive producer Sherwood Schwartz. The series starred Jack Mullaney and Frank Aletter as the two astronauts whom after their space capsule made a wrong turn somewhere in outer space,and cracked the time barrier. Astronauts Lt. Hector Canfield(Mullaney),and Captain "Mac" MacKenzie(Aletter) discovered that they were headed back to a world quite different from the one they had left. However,they landed in a swamp smack in the middle of the prehistoric Stone Age,and not far from a tribe of friendly cave dwellers. Among their new prehistoric neighbors were a friendly couple,Shad(Imogene Coca),and Grunk(Joe E. Ross),and their two children,Mlor(Mary Grace),and Breer(Pat Cardi),and their suspicious chief Boss(Cliff Norman),and his wife,Mrs.Boss(Kathleen Freeman).

This was basically a standard silly concept of a show that was basically designed for its target audience. "It's About Time" audience were mainly kids and older children,which basically got some good laughs and outrageous comedy from its two main characters who each week got into one mischief situation after another with Aletter in the Alan Hale,Jr.role(as the skipper),and Mullaney in the Bob Denver role(as Gilligan). The episode with the main characters in the prehistoric world were just as corny and laughable as they were and they prove it. One episode of the series that was telecast on January 22,1967 changed all that titled "20th Century,Here We Come!". This was the episode where the astronauts finally got there spaceship repaired,and managed to return to the 20th century,bringing back Shad,Gronk and their children with them. As for the astronauts adjusting to the prehistoric period,their counterparts Shad and Gronk had more trouble adjusting to living in modern day Los Angeles,aka 1967. Even more trouble and hijinks ensues when they have encounters with the superintendent of their apartment building Mr. Tyler(Alan DeWitt),and their supervisor at work at the Army base,General Morley(Frank Wilcox).

When it premiere on September 11,1966,the series "It's About Time" was placed on CBS' Sunday night lineup where the show replaced "My Favorite Martian",after four seasons. The show came on after the long-running animal series "Lassie"(which was still on the air and dominating the Nielsens on Sunday nights). Because of the low ratings that this series got,the series was on Sunday nights opposite NBC's "The Wonderful World of Disney",and the ABC action-adventure science fiction laced series "Voyage To The Bottom Of The Sea",which brought it to its death knell. After 26 episodes,the series was canceled on April 2,1967. To this day,whatever happened to this series? Out of the original cast members after this show ended,only actor Frank Aletter went on to bigger and better things,most known for his portrayal of Professor Irwin Hayden on the Hanna-Barbera live-action serial "Danger Island" which was part of the live action-animation "The Banana Splits Show".

The show came out when I was only 6 and I have been singing the theme song ever since. People look at me like I'm crazy. They think I am making this up. I am so glad to see that other people remember the show also. It was one of my favorites. I would love to get the whole series on DVD for my grand children ages 2, 5 and 7. They would love it.

I was pleased to see that someone had all the words to the theme song. I copied them and showed them to my brother who is 7 years older then me to prove I wasn't nuts. After he read it he remembered the show. We laughed about it for hours. He finally came up with the names of the actors so that I could look them up to see if we could really validate what we remembered.

I so want to see this show again. I was also 9 years old when I saw it and the theme song has stuck in my head all this time! I sure wish sometime would put it on-line or on DVD or something! Imogene Coca was a riot as the cavewoman! I've tried singing the song to people to try to make them remember and I've had people look at me like I'm insane too! "It's about time, it's about space, it's about (something something something) the human race)" What were those missing words? It's definitely obvious that Gilligan's Island came from the same mind and sense of humor! If anyone ever hears about this show being out on media please let all of us "boomers" know about it!

I have never been to a support group or a UFO abduction meeting, but after reading the comments on this show in IMDb I feel as though I am now among kindred spirits. Hello, my name is $@$ and I too am a "It's About Time-aholic".

That darn theme song for this show has literally been bugging me for 30+ years. I would sing the first few lines to my wife, my brother and law, friends, neighbors, (most of which would grab their kids and run in their houses), and I have inquired into perfect strangers-all in an effort to learn the source of the song. I COULD NOT get it out of my head and I was desperate as to learn what show of which it originated. I could remember watching it as a kid, but I could not for the life of me remember the show's name. Tonight, on Ebay of all places, a good Samaritan has "shown me the light" by giving me IMDb site for this show. I just want to publicly thank him for this gesture, and I can now sleep in peace! "It's about Time" was wacky, funny, stupid, and very entertaining. I wish I knew what channel it came on back in 1966 and I would start a letter writing campaign to bring it back or at least get it syndicated on a DVD....This is why I love IMDb....a site simply full of information for young and old.

I can still sing this damn theme song!! I was beginning to think I was insane...but finally I found the series in the IMDb. Like so many, I saw it when I was a kid and I loved it---I would like to see it again now and find out what it was REALLY like. I only remember some visual flashes, primarily Imogene Coca (I think it was her?) and a big dinosaur bone or skeleton... I think even back then I knew enough not to take it seriously, but I watched it religiously. Won't someone bring it back to TV, or publish it on a DVD or something? I also remember guys in space suits, and that I thought the dialogue between the spacemen and the cavemen was hilarious. I think I remember my parents laughing as well, so perhaps this was one of those shows, like Bullwinkle, that could be enjoyed on two levels...on the face of it by children, and on another level by adults? Dinosaurs and Space were really big back then.

I love this show, Even though I have not seen an episode in more than thirty years , Funny thing is I am reminded of this show all the time as my wife is very much in personality ,And a little in looks ( the hair is perfect)like Imogene Coca !!! I would love to see this on DVD but I am not big on dodgey tapes DVD etc. so if the genuine product comes out I will be first in line to buy it ,Just to see the look on my wife's face , (she has never seen "It's about time" or any show with Imogene Coco. Also I like anything with Jack Mullaney remember him from the Dr Goldfoot Movie's with VIncent Price ? And Joe E Ross , ooh, ooh, That was Funny, What has happened the comedy ? now a days its ether cruel, rude, or nasty

I loved the show when I was a kid.

I remember the 2 space guys and the flick back from stone age times to the 1960's.

I always suspected the space capsule was the same one they used on that Gilligan's Island episode...

...and maybe I Dream of Genie.

Anyone know what happened to that prop?

I'd love to see it again. Anyone know if there is a DVD available?

some photos of the stars and other stills would be nice as well.

The only thing I've seen that remotely reminds me of this show is the animated UK show "gogs". Check it out... google it.

Cheers, Ray

This is an obscure series with not much information available. IMDb has all I was able to find. Netflix has no clue about it. I was 10 when it came out and I can still remember most of the words to the theme song. I have a vague memory of Imogene Coca doing this weird routine where she would hang her arms by her sides and bob up and down--sort of ape-like. (Well, she was a cave-woman after all!) Am I remembering that right?? I used to imitate that move to get a laugh out of my older brother, but now I'm not sure if this TV series is where it came from. Anyone else remember? Also, can you get copies of the show on video or DVD? Thanks, RedHand Rancher Chick

I was very young when 'It's About Time' was on TV in Australia but have never forgotten the series and great theme song that hasn't left my memory for about 30yrs.

I've enjoyed reading everyone's comments and remembering some of the series. The theme writer should get an Emmy Award for coming up with such gold that so many kids loved and can't get out of their heads (I always wonder who wrote it)...Just like the songs and characters of HR Puff n'Stuff that was on at the same time and The Wacky Races cartoons that someone mentioned recently at work...pure nostalgia that puts a smile on your face every time! Love it!

It was one of those songs like the Brady Bunch or Gilligan's Island where they tell you the entire premise and introduce the characters.

"It's about time, it's about space, it's about ______ and the human race. It's about two astronauts, it's about their fate, it's about........." And while it was playing the whole thing was acted out by little primitive black and white cartoons.

Crazy....now I can't get that stupid tune out of my head!

And yet, how can anything with Imogene Coca in it be all bad?

Does anyone remember a plot line?

LD