"My Favorite Martian" (1963) TV series 1963-1966

Creator:

John L. Greene

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3

Release Date:

29 September 1963 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Sci-Fi

Plot:

A sarcastic Martian comes to live with a hapless young Terran on Earth.

Plot Keywords:

Mars | Martian | Spaceship | Invention | Space

Awards:

5 nominations

Cast

Ray Walston	...	Uncle Martin (107 episodes, 1963-1966)
Bill Bixby	...	Tim O'Hara (107 episodes, 1963-1966)
Pamela Britton	...	Mrs. Lorelei Brown (64 episodes, 1963-1966)
Alan Hewitt	...	Det. Bill Brennan (30 episodes, 1964-1966)

Also Known As:

My Favourite Martian (Australia)

Runtime:

30 min (107 episodes) | Argentina:30 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (1963-1965) | Color (1965-1966)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Desilu Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Trivia:

In the pilot landlady Mrs. Brown had a niece and a daughter who both disappeared by the end of the first season.

Goofs:

Factual errors: During much of the first season (1963-64), the copyright date was given as MCMXLIII (1943). It should have read MCMLXIII.

Quotes:

Uncle Martin: After all as a very wise man once told me, the chicken is not infrequently the true dove of peace.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saved by the Bell: Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind (#2.12)" (1990)

Very funny show of its day

Long before the special effects department established the forefront of future shows like Bewitched,I Dream of Jeannie,or other shows that gave us the magical effect,no other show can topped off the hilarious hijinks of "My Favorite Martian". During its run the show had in my book some of the best special effects ever devised for TV,and for good reason. It may have been hokey or rather silly,but in turn Ray Walston was the genius behind Uncle Martin,who was in fact an alien from another planet who crash lands on Earth only to be discovered by a newspaper man Tim O'Hara,played by Bill Bixby who was after fame and fortune with this.

However,Tim was the only one who knew of Uncle Martin's secret identity,but other folks thought Tim was paranoid since Martin was REALLY a martian! There was other folks who knew what went on including the really nosey neighbor Lora Lee,and the detective who was always snooping around for answers,but Uncle Martin knew how to take care of them.

Uncle Martin was always experimenting on stuff. He could defy gravity,and in one episode walk through walls,and the best part make a antenna come out of his head and many more. There were times when Martin lost his powers(in one episode dealt with a bracey kid who zapped his telekinetic powers-funny!)but as always gain them back.

Basically,all Martin wanted to do was get his spaceship repair and get home,but he never made it. However,during the three seasons that it ran on CBS(which came on Sunday nights after Lassie),Tim and Martin had some interesting adventures and it did very well to make the transition to bring some of the color episodes during its final season. The show ended in the Spring of 1966 after 107 episodes.

The show had a Saturday morning cartoon spin-off during the 1970's,and also a live-action version that starred Christopher Lloyd as the martian done for Disney. Catch the repeats here on TV-Land!