| Watch Mr. Wizard | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Science education |
| Starring | Don Herbert |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 547 |
| Production | |
| Production locations | Chicago, Illinois (1951–1955) New York City (1955–1965) |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | March 3, 1951 (1951-03-03) – June 27, 1965 (1965-06-27) |
Watch Mr. Wizard is an Americanchildren's television series thatdemonstrates the science behind ordinary things. The series' creator and on-air host wasDon Herbert.[1] Author Marcel LaFollette says of the program, "It enjoyed consistent praise, awards, and high ratings throughout its history. At its peak,Watch Mr. Wizard drew audiences in the millions, but its impact was far wider. By 1956, it had prompted the establishment of more than five thousand Mr. Wizard science clubs, with an estimated membership greater than one hundred thousand."[2]
It was briefly revived in 1971, and a third version of the show ran during the 1980s on the children's cable television networkNickelodeon asMr. Wizard's World.
Watch Mr. Wizard first aired onNBC on March 3, 1951, withDon Herbert as the title character.[3] In the weekly half-hourlive television show, Herbert played a science hobbyist and every Saturday morning a neighbor would come to visit. The children were played bychild actors; one of them (Rita McLaughlin) enjoyed a long subsequent acting career. Mr. Wizard always had some kind of laboratory experiment going that taught something about science. The experiments, many of which seemed impossible at first glance, were usually simple enough to be re-created by viewers.
The show was very successful; by 1954 it was broadcast live by 14 stations, and bykinescope (a film made from the television monitor of the original live broadcast) by an additional 77.[4] Mr. Wizard Science Clubs were started throughout North America, numbering 5,000 by 1955 and 50,000 by 1965.[4] The show moved fromChicago toNew York on September 5, 1955, and had produced 547 live broadcasts by the time the show was canceled in 1965.[5] The show was cited by theNational Science Foundation andAmerican Chemical Society for increasing interest in science[citation needed] and won a 1953Peabody Award.[6]
Thirty-two episodes ofWatch Mr. Wizard were selected by Herbert and released on eight DVDs.[7]
The series was revived byNBC from September 11, 1971, through September 2, 1972, asMr. Wizard, and aired 26 episodes produced in color inOttawa, Ontario, at the studios ofCTV outletCJOH-TV. The series was legally consideredCanadian content, despite the American origins of the series and its host.CBC Television carried these episodes within Canada.
| Mr. Wizard's World | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Science education |
| Starring | Don Herbert |
| Composers |
|
| Country of origin |
|
| No. of seasons | 5 |
| No. of episodes | 78 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Fern Field |
| Production locations | Calgary,Alberta, Canada |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | Nickelodeon (1983–1989) |
| Release | October 3, 1983 (1983-10-03) – July 21, 1989 (1989-07-21) |
| Related | |
| Watch Mr. Wizard | |
Mr. Wizard's World, a faster-paced version of the show, was shown three times a week onNickelodeon, the then-rising kids cable channel. Once again, the revival was produced in Canada (this time inCalgary). It produced 78 episodes from 1983 onwards, and continued to run thereafter as reruns. During its run on Nickelodeon, it was the channel's #3 rated show in 1983 (behindLivewire andYou Can't Do That on Television). It was also famous for itsAsk Mr. Wizard segment where Herbert answered questions sent in by viewers of all ages. Episodes of this version of the show were reaired in 2005–06 on the digital cable channelThe Science Channel.
Herbert once said: "My time on this Earth is getting shorter and shorter each day, but no matter how old I get, and even when I am dead,Mr. Wizard's World will never die". It was canceled in 1989, though reruns continued onNick at Nite until 1995 and often in early morning time slots right after Nick at Nite finished (usually as part ofCable in the Classroom) until August 2000. In 1994, Herbert developed another new series of 15-minute spots calledTeacher to Teacher with Mr. Wizard. They highlighted individual elementary science teachers and their projects. The series was sponsored by theNational Science Foundation.
Selected episodes ofMr. Wizard's World are available on DVD from Mr. Wizard Studios Inc. in ten single volumes featuring four episodes on each disc. Gift box-sets are also available. Five seasons of the show, 75 episodes of the 78 total were released on Amazon instant streaming.[8] These episodes are also available through Vudu and can be streamed for free with ads or rented for a fee.[9]Paramount Global, the parent company of Nickelodeon, has also added the series to itsPluto TV service. The shows are also on iTunes and Crackle now.[10]
Segments on Mr. Wizard's World included:
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