Big John, Little John

Image:Robbierist.jpg), as seen in the opening credits.]]

The show's main character was a forty-year-old middle school science teacher named John Martin (played by Edelman). While vacationing in Florida, he drinks from a spring which turns out to be the legendary Fountain of Youth sought by Juan Ponce de León. The water changes him into a twelve-year-old boy (played by Rist), and back again.

The changes occur spontaneously and without warning. Because Martin only sipped the water, the changes are recurring and not permanent; according to legend, had he taken a full drink, he would be age twelve permanently. Only his wife, Marjorie (Joyce Bulifant), and son, Ricky (Mike Darnell), know his secret, though Martin's students (who befriend him as "Little John") and his boss, principal Bertha Bottomly (Olive Dunbar), do become suspicious that something unusual is going on. The Martin family explain the younger John as their nephew, staying with them. Throughout the series, "Big John" unsuccessfully tries to find a cure for his predicament, but his experiences as "Little John" often give him insight into what his students are facing.

To make the two actors resemble each other more closely, Rist's blond hair was dyed brown, while Edelman wore a hairpiece that partially covered his baldness, though was absent during the credits sequences. Edelman and Rist appeared together in 1977, on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.

• Herb Edelman - Big John Martin
• Robbie Rist - Little John Martin
• Joyce Bulifant - Marjorie Martin
• Mike Darnell - Ricky Martin
• Olive Dunbar - Bertha Bottomly
• Kristoff St. John - Homer
• Cari Anne Warder - Valerie
• Stephen H. Cassidy - Stanley

Rist had previously worked on Schwartz's The Brady Bunch during its final season (1973–1974), as the Bradys' cousin, Oliver.

{{Episode table |background=#700070 |overall= |title= |director= |writer= |airdate= |episodes=

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 1

| Title = A Sizeable Problem

| DirectedBy = Gordon Wiles

| WrittenBy = Lloyd J. Schwartz,
Sherwood Schwartz

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1976|9|11}}

| ShortSummary = While on a trip to Florida, John Martin stumbles upon the legendary fountain of youth. Willing to test the waters, John sips a handful of the liquid. The consequences are unforeseeable, for he begins to revert to his childhood on certain times that are neither predictable nor controllable, causing many problematic situations for John and his family.

| LineColor = 700070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 2

| Title = Peter Panic

| DirectedBy = Gordon Wiles

| WrittenBy = Philip Taylor

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1976|9|18}}

| ShortSummary = Big John is cast as Captain Hook in his school's production of Peter Pan, while Little John ends up having to play Peter Pan at the same time.

| LineColor = 700070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 3

| Title = Very Little John

| DirectedBy = Wes Kenney

| WrittenBy = Bruce Kalish,
Ron Sellz

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1976|9|25}}

| ShortSummary = John tries a new formula in the laboratory that he hopes will cure him from his conversions.

| LineColor = 700070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 4

| Title = The Great Escape

| DirectedBy = Gordon Wiles

| WrittenBy = William Freedman,
Albert A. Schwartz

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1976|10|2}}

| ShortSummary = John Martin is detained when a sheriff demands his ID and he cannot produce it. He gets his freedom when his personality changes in prison.

| LineColor = 700070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 5

| Title = Big Scare, Little Scare

| DirectedBy = Gordon Wiles

| WrittenBy = Ron Friedman

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1976|10|9}}

| ShortSummary = John has summoned Mr. Boswell, Stanley’s dad, to account for his son’s continuous tardiness to class for five days. Boswell explains that the boy is afraid of crossing in front of the Crabtree mansion, an abandoned house that neighbors believe it to be haunted. John decides to find out who’s behind the Crabtree ghost.
Guest stars: Don "Red" Barry (Mr. Crabtree), James Deuter (Mr. Boswell)

| LineColor = 700070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 6

| Title = Big Shot / Little Shot

| DirectedBy = Ross Bowman

| WrittenBy = Alan Dinehart,
Herbert Finn

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1976|10|16}}

| ShortSummary = It is vaccination day at the school and John turns into a man and he gets vaccinated. Meanwhile, as the kid, he's invited to join the school basketball team. Then at the end of the episode, he becomes the kid again and the other teachers take him to get vaccinated again, much to his chagrin.

| LineColor = 700070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 7

| Title = Time for Change

| DirectedBy = Gordon Wiles

| WrittenBy = Lloyd J. Schwartz

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1976|10|23}}

| ShortSummary = John believes he has discovered the secret of the Fountain of Youth, so he calls a press conference to announce his discovery — but his "discovery" shows no signs of panning out as he had believed.

| LineColor = 700070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 8

| Title = The Principal Who Came to Dinner

| DirectedBy = Wes Kenney

| WrittenBy = Mark Fink

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1976|10|30}}

| ShortSummary = Big John's voice in Little John's body and vice versa puts not only Martin in a squeeze but his family as well.

| LineColor = 700070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 9

| Title = Bully for You

| DirectedBy = Gordon Wiles

| WrittenBy = Sam Locke,
Paul Roberts

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1976|11|6}}

| ShortSummary = Stanley is again late for the class. The teacher is speaking to his students about the importance of facing up bullies. This leads to trouble for Little John when he's threatened by the class bully, Gasey.

| LineColor = 700070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 10

| Title = Off the Wall

| DirectedBy = Gordon Wiles

| WrittenBy = Ben Gershman,
Harry Winkler

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1976|11|13}}

| ShortSummary = John is assigned to find who is behind the vandalism inflicted on the school walls.

| LineColor = 700070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 11

| Title = The Missing John

| DirectedBy = Gordon Wiles

| WrittenBy = Bruce Howard

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1976|11|20}}

| ShortSummary = Little John receives a severe reprimand for having played unwillingly a joke on the school principal.

| LineColor = 700070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 12

| Title = Speak for Yourself, John

| DirectedBy = Gordon Wiles

| WrittenBy = David P. Harmon

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1976|11|27}}

| ShortSummary = Because of the arrangements for the annual Thanksgiving dance that is held at the school, Ms. Bottomly proposes to Professor Martin that he be one of the chaperones. At the same time, Little John is chosen by his female classmate as companion for that day.

| LineColor = 700070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 13

| Title = Abracadabra

| DirectedBy = Norm Gray

| WrittenBy = Jerome Zucker,
David Samuel Zucker,
James S. Abrahams

| OriginalAirDate = {{start date|1976|12|4}}

| ShortSummary = In order to arrange a show for the school annual party, one of Martin's students prepares a set of different magic tricks.

| LineColor = 700070

}}

}}

The complete series was released on DVD (for Regions 1 and 2) in 2009 by Fabulous Films.

{{reflist}}

• {{IMDb title|id=0202719|title=Big John, Little John}}
• [http://www.70slivekidvid.com/bjlj.htm Big John, Little John at 70s Live Action Kid Vid website]

{{Sherwood Schwartz shows}}

{{Children's programming on NBC in the 1970s}}

Category:1976 American television series debuts

Category:1976 American television series endings

Category:1970s American children's comedy television series

Category:1970s American sitcoms

Category:American children's television sitcoms

Category:American children's fantasy television series

Category:American English-language television shows

Category:Television series by CBS Studios

Category:Television series about children

Category:Television series about size change

Category:Television series created by Sherwood Schwartz

Category:NBC sitcoms