Discovery (American TV series)
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image = Discovery '62 Virginia Gibson Frank Buxton 1962.jpg
| caption = Virginia Gibson and Frank Buxton with baby bloodhound, Corpuscle, 1962
| genre = Education
Children's television series
| company = ABC
| country = United States
| language = English
| num_seasons =
| num_episodes =
| list_episodes =
| executive_producer = Jules Power
| producer =
| location =
| runtime =
| network = ABC
| camera =
| first_aired = {{start date |1962|10|01}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1971|09|}}
}}
Discovery is an American television program, produced by ABC News, that was geared towards children and teenagers. The program began on October 1, 1962 as a weekday afternoon series. In September 1963, the show was moved to midday Sunday, and remained there until it was canceled in September 1971.{{cite book |last1=Woolery |first1=George W. |title=Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series |date=1985 |publisher=The Scarecrow Press |isbn=0-8108-1651-2 |pages=151–152}}
Overview
The program was hosted by actor/announcer Frank Buxton and actress/vocalist Virginia Gibson. The show's original studio announcer was ABC staff announcer Bill Owen, who replaced Buxton as host in 1966, continuing through 1971. The episodes hosted by Buxton were mostly studio productions, video taped in black-and-white with occasional out of studio segments shot on 16mm film. Beginning with Owen, the episodes were shot in color, and involved much travel to on-site locations around the world. The actual on-air title of the series was named according to each year it was produced, beginning with Discovery '62 and ending with Discovery '71 (syndicated reruns only had the title Discovery).
The show's executive producer was Jules Power, the former co-producer of NBC's Mr. Wizard.{{Cite news|last=Hevesi|first=Dennis|date=2009-10-15|title=Jules Power, a Producer of 'Mr. Wizard,' Dies at 87|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/arts/television/15power.html|access-date=2021-05-02|issn=0362-4331}} The Discovery format originally had Buxton and Gibson (joined by a hound dog named Corpuscle) in studio, exploring various topics in science, culture, history and the arts, often with special in-studio guests. Later seasons of the show had Buxton and Gibson (and later Owen and Gibson, and sometimes either one alone) traveling on location (without Corpuscle) to different destinations around the globe in a documentary format.
Discovery was cancelled in 1971 and replaced by another ABC News production, Make a Wish, which in turn was replaced by Animals, Animals, Animals, broadcast from 1976 to 1981.
Accolades
Discovery was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program several times, winning in 1964.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{IMDb title|id=0358817|title=Discovery (1962)}}
{{Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program}}
{{Children's programming on the American Broadcasting Company in the 1960s}}
{{Children's programming on the American Broadcasting Company in the 1970s}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Discovery (American TV series)}}
Category:1960s American children's television series
Category:1970s American children's television series
Category:1962 American television series debuts
Category:1971 American television series endings
Category:American Broadcasting Company original programming
Category:American children's education television series
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