Series Description

The It's About Time TV show was a 30 minute comedy series with a sci-fi twist that aired on CBS. It was about two astronauts who somehow broke the "time barrier" during their flight and ended out back in the days of the caveman. Most of the comedy involved the really stupid cave people and the highly intelligent astronauts' difficulties in communicating. In the final eight episodes, the astronauts and the main cave people characters returned to 1966. Then the jokes revolved mostly around the cave people's reactions to and interactions with modern technology.

It's About Time Cast

Frank Aletter .... Mac
Jack Mullaney .... Hector
Imogene Coca .... Shad
Joe E. Ross .... Gronk
Frank Wilcox .... General Morley
Jan Arvan .... Dr. Hamilton
Cliff Norton .... Boss
Mike Mazurki .... Clon
Mary Grace .... Mlor
Pat Cardi .... Breer
Kathleen Freeman .... Mrs. Boss
Alan DeWitt .... Tyler

Theme Song

Title: "It's About Time"

By: "Gerald Fried and Sherwood Schwartz"

It's about time,
It's about space,
About strange people in the strangest place.

It's about time,
It's about flight,
Travelin' faster than the speed of light.

About space people and a brave crew,
As through the barrier of time they flew.
Pass the Roman Senators,
Pass an armored knight,
Pass the firing Minutemen,
To this modern site.

It's about time for you and me
To meet these people of amazing feats.
It's about two astronauts and how they educate
A pre-historic woman and her pre-historic mate.

It's about time
It's about space
About strange 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 Twentieth Century.

It's about time
For our good byes
To all our pre-historic gals and guys.

And now,
It's About Time
It's About Time
It's About Time
It's About Time!

It's About Time Trivia

The astronauts and cave people return to 1966 in episode #19, "20th Century Here We Come". The cave people were not brought back by the astronauts willingly. They stowed away onboard the spaceship.

It's About Time was produced and created by Sherwood Schwartz who was also the mastermind behind "The Brady Bunch" and "Gilligan's Island".

Gilligan's Island and It's About Time were generally trashed by critics for their goofy comedy but both series were adored by children and those adults who simply wanted to laugh away the stress of their day.

Many of the props used on It's About Time were also used on Gilligan's Island to keep production costs down.

The initial concept of civilized people being stranded from civilization was pretty obviously a rip-off of Gilligan's Island. When the cast returned to 1966, the concept of the cave people living in a society that they didn't understand was modelled after "The Beverly Hillbillies". Actor Frank Wilcox was added to the cast as the astronauts' commanding officer who was nearly identical to the bank President, "Milburn Drysdale" on "Hillbillies". Frank Wilcox actually played the role of "John Brewster" on that series. He was the oil company President who payed the Clampetts for their oil. Unbelieveably, neither of those concepts worked for It's About Time!

Imogene Coca's character was named "Shagg" in the fall previews and in the first episode. When the censors at CBS finally realized (probably due to viewers' calls and letters) that the word also meant "making love", the producers quickly had Imogene's character's name changed to "Shadd".

Joe E. Ross had been a comedian who performed in strip clubs before he got into acting. If you never saw It's About Time, you may remember him from "Car 54, Where Are You?".

Many fans were thrilled to see Imogene Coca on It's About Time twelve years after her ground-breaking comedy series, "Your Show of Shows". That legendary program introduced many cast and crew members who would go on to great things in television including Carl Reiner of "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and comedy writers "Mel Brooks", "Neil Simon", and "Woody Allen"!

Episodes List With Original Air Dates

The First And Only Season

1. And Then I Wrote Happy Birthday to You (9/11/1966)
2. The Copper Caper (9/18/1966)
3. The Initiation (9/25/1966)
4. Tailor Made Hero (10/2/1966)
5. The Rainmakers (10/9/1966)
6. Me Caveman - You Woman (10/16/1966)
7. The Champ (10/23/1966)
8. Mark Your Ballets (10/30/1966)
9. Have I Got A Girl for You (11/6/1966)
10. Cave Movies (11/13/1966)
11. Androcles and Clon (11/20/1966)
12. Love Me, Love My Gnook (11/27/1966)
13. The Broken Idol (12/4/1966)
14. The Sacrifice (12/11/1966)
15. King Hec (12/18/1966)
16. The Mother-in-law (12/25/1966)
17. Which Doctor's Witch? (1/1/1967)
18. To Catch a Thief (1/8/1967)
19. 20th Century Here We Come (1/22/1967)
20. Shad Rack and Other Tortures (1/29/1967)
21. The Cave Family Swingers (2/5/1967)
22. To Sign or Not to Sign (2/19/1967)
23. School Days, School Days (2/26/1967)
24. Our Brothers' Keepers (3/5/1967)
25. The Stone Age Diplomats (3/12/1967)
26. The Stowaway (4/2/1967)