It’s About Time: It’s About Space, About Strange People In The Strangest Place

Our time travel Media theme this month, “It’s About Time”, I actually chose from a TV series of the same name. It’s About Time was a comedy series created by Sherwood Schwartz that ran on CBS from September 1966 to April 1967 with a total of 26 episodes. The series has mostly faded into obscurity and is mostly known by those who remember it for its wacky theme song.

The series revolved around two astronauts Mac Mckenzie and Hector Canfield  who travel faster than the speed of light and find themselves crash landing in the prehistoric past. They meet and befriend a prehistoric family: Gronk (Joe E, Ross), Shad (the perpetually funny Imogene Coca), and teens Mlor, an 18 year old girl and her 14 year old brother Breer.

The show took a lot of liberties such as the cliche that cavemen lived alongside dinosaurs (which looked like some sort of claymation effect). The astronauts also had to deal with the tribe boss and his second in command, Clon, who were suspicious of the outsiders and their “magic”. The ratings were good for a couple of episodes then they plummeted.

In an effort to save the show it was rebooted after the 18th episode. It was rearranged, along with the theme song, and saw the astronauts repair their ship and take off for the 20th century bringing with them Gronk and Shad and their kids. The tribal Boss and Clon would have killed them for stealing a jewel the astronauts used to repair their ship. Now we had a prehistoric family trying to grapple with all the modern conveniences of 1966! This was much like The Beverley Hillbillies which was also created by Sherwood Schwartz. It felt a lot more interesting than the antics of the astronauts in prehistoric times. But the ratings never came back up and the show was cancelled at the end of the season.

Check out this You Tube video of the original opening for the show. I’ve included the lyrics below it for both the original theme for the astronauts trip to the past and the second theme which follows the same rhythm for when the cave people come to the 20th century.

Opening Theme Lyrics (Version 2)

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 the Roman Senator.
Past an armored knight.
Past the fighting Minute Man.
To this modern site.

It’s about time for you and me
To meet these people from a million B.C.
It’s about two astronauts
And how they educate.
A prehistoric woman,
And her prehistoric mate.
And now, It’s About Time!

Closing Theme Song Lyrics (Version 2)

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, a car, a 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 our prehistoric gals and guys.
It’s About Time!