Friday, August 30, 2013

What Might've Been: Good Morning, World (1967)

Sheldon Leonard had made the successful transition from actor to producer, becoming one of the most prolific producers in television in the 60's. However, even the best can produce a few clunkers, even when they weren't meant to fail.

Good Morning, World, it can be said, was well ahead of its time. The series spent one season on CBS (1967-8), under the umbrella of one of Leonard's various production company labels. Seems he had one for almost every one of his CBS shows. In this case, it was Discus Productions, complete with logo.

Jobey Baker top-lined, but after the series was cancelled, he wasn't heard from again. Leonard brought Ronnie Schell over from Gomer Pyle, USMC to play Baker's sidekick, but then, after the series ended, Schell went back to Gomer to resume his role as Duke Slater, one of Gomer's best friends, even though the series only lasted another year before star Jim Nabors decided to switch gears and try his hand with a variety show. Most folks will only remember Billy De Wolfe for his work 2 years later in the animated Christmas classic, Frosty the Snowman.

USA Network picked up the series out of the recycling bin back in the 80's, and ran it as part of a weekday anthology block of forgotten shows. That's where I remember seeing it, since I was but a toddler when it first aired.

Following is a sample episode.



It certainly deserved a better fate than it got, but CBS would try another radio-centric sitcom a decade later that was much better received---WKRP In Cincinnati.

Rating: B.

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