Os Astronautas

It is indeed a pleasure to read that someone else in this VAST UNIVERSE has heard of, and remembers the comedy series "It's About Time", for I thought that I was the only one...

I mentioned it to my Dad the other day, and he couldn't recall it....(I am 55 and he is 80!!) All I really remember is the two astronauts, stuck in the time-shift which brings them back to ancient civilization, and the fact that "over the hill" and "other side of valley" were significant.

The laughs then sort of come at you, like an episode of "F Troop", but it is still a long time ago...

The theme ("It's About Time, It's About Space,.....") has also stuck in my head over the years, and I would love to see it on DVD.

I am not THE ONLY ONE....

I remember this show only vaguely, but the theme song was a big hit with the school kids (I was in the 3rd grade when it came out) because we changed it as a joke on our friends. We'd sing: It's about time It's about space It's about time To slap your face (smack!) Then we'd run. Okay, it's juvenile, but we were only 8 years old! Nevertheless, that tune has stuck with me all these years. Did anyone else come up with this variation? For that matter, I believe the actual theme went: It's about time, it's about space, it's about two men in the strangest place...here is the tale of the brave crew, and through some very (ancient?) times they flew...past the fighting minuteman...past the armored knight...past the Roman warrior...to this ancient site. Let me know if I have that wrong, but I think that's how it was SUPPOSED to go, and no face slapping involved!

I really enjoyed this show when I was 8 years old! And as someone mentioned, one day it simply disappeared, without a trace.

Would I still love it now? Who knows? Time travel is always an interesting concept (even as goofy at it is here), and transporting cave people (who speak English!) to "modern" times would probably still be funny... But I used to love "Gilligan's Island" back then, and can't stand it now, so it's hard to say.

Still, it brings back good memories.

I have never seen reruns of it, but it wasn't even a full 'season' worth of shows (back then, 39 episodes a year was the norm, leaving 13 weeks open for "summer replacement" shows). I don't know why only 26 episodes were made. It must've rated pretty poorly at the time.

Here are the original, and amended, theme songs:

It's about time, it's about space, About two men in the strangest place. It's about time, it's about flight - Traveling faster than the speed of light. This is the tale of the brave crew As through the barrier of time they flew. Past a fighting minuteman, Past an armored knight, Past a Roman warrior, To this ancient site. It's about caves, cavemen too, About a time when the earth was new. Wait'll they see what is in sight! Is it good luck or is it good night? It's about two astronauts, it's about their fate, It's about a woman and her prehistoric mate.

It's about time, it's about space, About two men in the strangest place. They will be here right on this spot No matter if they like it or not. How will they live in this primitive state? Will help ever come before it is too late? Will they ever get away? Watch each week and see! Will they be returning to the 20th Century? It's about time for our goodbyes To all these prehistoric gals and guys. IT'S ABOUT TIME!

When the show's concept changed mid-season and the cave people moved to 20th century New York, the theme song changed as well:

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 a Roman warrior, past an armored knight, Past a fighting minuteman to this modern site. It's about time for you and me To meet these people from 1,000,000 BC. It's about two astronauts and how they educate A prehistoric woman and her prehistoric mate.

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, car or 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 these prehistoric gals and guys. IT'S ABOUT TIME!

...created by the same person who created Gilligan's Island, Sherwood Schwartz, at the same time Gilligan's Island was still on the air. Although I'm not sure it would have caught on had Gilligan's Island not been on the air.

Basically you have the two astronauts doubling for the Skipper and Gilligan although not in such an extreme relationship as those two had, with one astronaut just being jumpier and more scatter brained than the other.

Rather than a bunch of fellow castaways, the two astronauts have to deal with prehistoric man. And you have dinosaurs and man existing at the same time in this prehistoric world.

The topic got tired in a hurry and was cancelled after one season, even after the astronauts find a way to return to 1966 earth but end up bringing the cavemen with them.

The thing that I remember most about this show was the very catchy theme song that it had. It seems I'm not alone as many fellow reviewers are saying that they found it most memorable as well.

A few episodes, including the series premiere, show up on youtube from time to time.

In reply to the comment that this series was a failure, I must disagree. It not only lasted a whole season, it came back for part of another. In the second season, the astronauts and the two main cave-characters repaired the spaceship and returned to the present. I can't remember if the second series lasted the entire season, but I enjoy both the episodes in the past and in the present. These are, of course, the reminiscences of a 43 year old man remembering the long ago days of his 9th year of life. I have several times asked the SCI-FI channel to consider running the episodes to see if they would seem the same today as that time 35 years in the past.