Flipper le dauphin

Was there anything that good old Flipper couldn't do? That is in the water and salt water at that. Dolphins have to be in the ocean or they drown. I do remember an episode where Flipper put himself in harm's way by swimming upstream in a channel where the water gradually turned fresh. But when you're man's best sea friend, that's what you do.

Luke Halpin who played the older Ricks son Sandy was with Flipper from the gitgo. He co-starred with Chuck Connors in the movie Flipper when it started. Luke also had a mother in Kathleen Maguire.

He did two subsequent movies however Connors and Maguire were dropped. Connors was a commercial fisherman and I guess producer Ivan Tors thought there were more story possibilities with him being the son of a park ranger. Brian Kelly starred with Halpin in two subsequent Flipper films and was a widower.

But for the television series Kelly stayed a widower and a younger son was added, little redheaded freckle-faced Tommy Norden, a poor man's version of Ronny Howard. When I watched reruns of the show, I never realized how annoying Norden was.

Kelly was a good father figure though and Halpin was a model kid, he might have been the role model for Wil Wheaton as Wesley Crusher. He also was enormously popular among the teenage adolescent girl bubble gum set. He definitely had appeal there and I can personally add also among young gay males.

I guess for the show to work though someone usually had to get in harm's way and by seniority and naiveté, Norden was usually the one. But somehow Flipper affected the rescue.

The series ran its course after about four seasons. Andy Devine was on for comic relief for a while and Swedish actress Ulla Stromstedt was brought on as an oceanographer to give a little romantic interest for Kelly.

Sadly Brian Kelly suffered some career ending injuries in a motorcycle accident in 1971. I guess Tommy Norden couldn't compete with Ronny Howard for the same parts and he left acting. And Luke Halpin went into the service after Flipper was canceled and when he came back he couldn't really get his career back on track.

Flipper was a nice show however, a nice likable family and episodes with a strong moral content. It would be nice to see them again.

I remember seeing this as a kid. I don't remember the exact year, but I must have been VERY young. Why? Well, there was this episode with a Swedish (?) guest star, and while they were waiting for Flipper to save the day, the guest sang a song in her own language. Then Sandy said something like "It's very pretty, what's it about?" I was actually surprised to find there was someone on the TV who didn't understand Swedish!!

Flipper is the reason that Free Willy, the black stallion, and gentle Ben all exist on film. no question about it. I remember growing up on the original flipper movies from the 60s, in the 90s. i still love those films. but for the first time i was able to watch the TV show of flipper on youtube. and i liked it. it's certainly kid's fare, but family fare as well, as long as you don't take all the ridiculous stuff seriously.

First off, We need more dads in TV today like Porter ricks. Mainly because he was a stalwart dad, not like the cretins of today like homer Simpson and peter griffin. he laid down the line between right and wrong in front of his sons, and did everything right.

Sadly, the image of the shirtless, Ab-bared teenager has become more of a gay image, rather than a cool guy that you just wanna sit down and chill with a beer. sandy fills that role perfectly, and i think he's awesome. remember, it was just him and flipper from the start of the story. His little brother was where the camera was really pointed all the time. speaking of..

Bud was annoying. i found him to be more of a camera hog. but there are several little brothers all over the states, and they needed someone to relate to. i'm a little brother myself, but i just didn't like bud.

flipper her/himself was tough to work with. several scenes are reused, and i recall watching several scenes where they were supposedly in open water, but then you'd spot the pool's edge, or the chicken wire fence and you knew they were not filming where they were. but hey, if they brought flipper to open ocean, he'd/she'd swim off and die quickly.

But hey, i love this show. it's certainly a kids show, but thats what makes it so fun to watch. i say buy and enjoy.

8/10

THE THEME SONG: They called him Flipper,Flipper, Faster than the lightning,no one you see is smarter than he, And we know Flipper lives in a world full of wonder, hidden under,under the sea.

This was one of the most exciting children show that I ever had the pleasure of watching even though some cable networks nowadays doesn't seem to just bother repeating the episodes. However,the last time this show was one anywhere was back during the late 80's,early 90's when its repeats were seen first off on Nickelodeon,and then on The Family Channel,and about recently on Animal Planet. Now these episodes can be seen again on cable's Discovery Kids channel(check local listings).

The story consists of two kids who were living in paradise on the Key West part of Florida. There was no mom around,and dad was rarely there,and who was the park ranger in charge of the kids and also was responsible for Flipper,a extremely highly intelligent dolphin who was the family pet,any kids dream pet! However the show was breathtaking to watch especially with some of the spectacular underwater photography scenes that were shown in brilliant color! This show had it all,action,adventure,comedy and of course the star of the show himself Flipper! The kids who were in love with Flipper were Bud(played by Tommy Norden),and big brother Sandy(played by Luke Haplin),and each week there always something going on especially with dad Porter Ricks in charge and always getting them out of a tight situation(played by Brian Kelly). Unfortunately,Brian Kelly's acting career was cut short after a terrible motorcycle accident that left him injured two years after the Flipper series went off the air. I wonder where is he now?

This show needs to back on the air,quick! Bring back Flipper!

My,My,My..........All Those years ago!!!!!!!!!! Its amazes me that this show isn't shown anymore on either of the cable networks. The last time it shown was for one back in the mid 90's on the kids channel Nickelodeon,then was seen on The Family Channel,and then later on Animal Planet. Nowadays,it is being shown on one of those Discovery Kids channels if it ever comes on. Do I remember singing the theme song?

"They call him Flipper,Flipper,faster than lightning,no one you see is smarter than he,and we know Flipper lives in a world of wonder,finding them under,under the sea".

For one,you had two kids who were living in paradise. Their pet was an highly intelligent dolphin who was the kids family pet,and by the way,any kids dream pet!

Second,there was no mom around,so it was up to the father who looked after the kids,who was the park ranger of a Florida park and coral reef who was responsible for looking after the kids and Flipper.

Third,you had Bud(played by Luke Halpin)who was the oldest and you had the youngest one Bud(played by Tommy Norden)and their father(played by Brian Kelly). Also the show was very exciting to watch since it had some breathtaking underwater photography that was ever seen and in some of the episodes it was fascinating to look at all shot in color! And action? Lots of it including some very famous guest stars that were on the show like Andy Devine,Marshall Thompson and a young looking Burt Reynolds.

Fourth,the series ran for three seasons on NBC-TV(from 1964-67),and after which when the series went off the air,actor Brian Kelly was in a terrible accident,which to this day was never heard from again,until 30 years later in a new version of the series which came out in 1995.

Finally,this was a great kids show and also for adults as well. My,so many years ago.