Underplayed Gems

The Hathaways (1961)

The Hathaways poster
Genre
sitcom
Country
United States
Length
1 season, 26 episodes
Rating
7.0 of 10 from 2 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this series is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A married couple in suburban Los Angeles become parents to three performing chimpanzees. The wife acts as the chimps' booking agent while the husband tries to sell real estate.

lightheartedwhimsicalzanyfamily-friendlygentle comedynostalgicamusinglively

What happens

The Hathaways is a 26-episode situation comedy, which aired on ABC from October 6, 1961, to August 31, 1962, or March 30, 1962, starring Peggy Cass and Jack Weston as suburban Los Angeles "parents" to a trio of performing common chimpanzees. Weston portrayed Walter Hathaway, a flabby real estate agent. Cass is his zany bride Elinore, "mother" and booking agent to the Marquis Chimps, named Candy, Charlie, and Enoch. The chimps had earlier appeared on CBS's The Ed Sullivan Show, a Jack Benny special in 1959 and several commercials in 1960. Executive producer Robert Sparks decided to develop a series focusing on the chimpanzees after he saw them on the Benny program. Others in the cast were Harvey Lembeck as Jerry Roper, the chimps' agent, Barbara Perry as Thelma Brockwood, Mary Grace Canfield as Amanda Allison, and Belle Montrose as Mrs. Harrison. Ratings for the Screen Gems series were so low that ABC had largely to self-sponsor the program (although the series was sponsored on alternate weeks, throughout most of the season, by Ralston Purina). The writers included Tom Adair and James B. Allardice; story consultants were Hugh Wedlock and Howard Snyder, who co-wrote the premiere episode with Dick Wesson. The series was broadcast on Fridays from 8 to 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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