Ivan Tors already had Flipper on NBC, and, if I'm not mistaken, had misfired with Maya on the same network. CBS was home to Daktari, and Tors gave them a 2nd series in 1967, Gentle Ben.
Gentle Ben was neatly tucked in between Lassie & The Ed Sullivan Show at the front of CBS' Sunday night lineup, but lasted just 2 seasons. Considering that Lassie & Ben were up against Disney programming on NBC, it's good enough that it was able to get past the first season.
It was the story of a boy & his bear, which was a bit of a twist to the original concept behind Lassie. Clint Howard, brother of Ron (The Andy Griffith Show), and Dennis Weaver (ex-Gunsmoke) were the human stars. Unfortunately, there are no episodes available on YouTube as of now, but reportedly, the series is set to be released on DVD.
In 2002, Animal Planet revived Ben in the first of two TV-movies starring Dean Cain (ex-Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman), but it didn't go to series. Chalk it up to a missed opportunity.
SupremeTeam68 uploaded the open:
So, aside from Disney, why was Gentle Ben cancelled after 2 seasons? Declining ratings, obviously. Folks figured out that Tors was simply copying what used to be the basic concept to Lassie, and I can't say for sure if it applied to Flipper, which managed to last a bit longer.
Rating: B.
Gentle Ben was also made into a feature film - but the less said about that one the better.
ReplyDeleteI used to watch the syndicated repeats as a kid - yeah - it was Flipper or Lassie but with a different animal companion. Then again, you knew Clint Howard's character wasn't going to get picked on in school!
I think this show was the first in which I had seen an airboat (frequently used by Dennis Weaver's character) as it skimmed over the Everglades.
They might've used one on Flipper, too, but I'm not sure, since it was filmed not too far from there (also in Florida).
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