These Are the Days (TV series)

These Are the Days
Title card
Genre Animated
Voices of Frank Cady
Pamelyn Ferdin
Moosie Drier
Sam Edwards
Jackie Earle Haley
Henry Jones
June Lockhart
Andrew Parks
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of episodes 16
Production
Executive producer(s) William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) Hanna-Barbera Productions
Distributor Taft Broadcasting
Release
Original network ABC
Original release September 7, 1974 – September 27, 1975

These Are the Days was a 30-minute Saturday morning animated series produced by the Hanna-Barbera studios and broadcast on ABC from September 7, 1974, to September 27, 1975.

Plot

Set at the turn of the 20th century[1] in an old town called Elmsville located somewhere on the Great Plains, These Are the Days portrayed the everyday lives of the Day family, which consisted of a widow, her three children and her father, a self-styled inventor. Various family members interacted with friends and neighbors, with the story usually ending with a lesson learned.

Production

Due to the popularity of The Waltons, ABC decided to take a flyer on an animated program set around the turn of the century. It was one of three "serious" programs the network aired on Saturday mornings in 1974, the others being the prehistoric live-action drama Korg: 70,000 B.C. and the animated family drama Devlin. These Are the Days and Devlin were among the very few dramatic programs ever produced by Hanna-Barbera, who were known primarily for slapstick comedies and action-adventure cartoons. (Warner Bros. has since acquired Hanna-Barbera Productions, as well as Lorimar Productions, which produced The Waltons.)

Despite critical acclaim, however, These Are the Days was a ratings failure, as were Devlin and Korg: 70,000 B.C.; all three series were cancelled by the end of the year. These Are the Days continued in re-runs (only twelve original episodes were shown in the fall of 1974), with four new episodes shown in September 1975.

Cast

Episodes

No. Title Original air date
1"Sensible Ben"September 7, 1974 (1974-09-07)
An introduction to the Day family and their friends.
2"The Fire Brigade"September 14, 1974 (1974-09-14)
Grandpa Day loses his job as a fireman when he is told he is too old to do the job.
3"Danny's Musical Dilemma"September 21, 1974 (1974-09-21)
Danny is torn between doing what he wants to do and what he should do. The Day family has their annual family reunion on the same day as the tryouts for a band that he wants to join. He only has a few hours left to make his decision.
4"Danny Runs Away"September 28, 1974 (1974-09-28)
Jeff tries to play peacemaker between Ben and Danny, only to have it backfire on him. Danny gets so upset by the situation that he decides to run away from home. Ben and Jeff set out to find their brother before he gets too far away or is injured.
5"Ben for President"October 5, 1974 (1974-10-05)
Ben decides to make a run for class President and hopes for the support of his family and friends. He finds himself disappointed when one of his supporters becomes a challenger for the job.
6"The Good Luck Charm"October 12, 1974 (1974-10-12)
7"Kathy's Job"October 19, 1974 (1974-10-19)
8"The Runaway Horse"October 26, 1974 (1974-10-26)
9"How Ben Was Cowed"November 2, 1974 (1974-11-02)
10"Grandpa and the Great Cyclic Harmonium Swindle"November 9, 1974 (1974-11-09)
11"The Visitor"November 16, 1974 (1974-11-16)
12"The Most Precious Gift of All"November 23, 1974 (1974-11-23)
13"The Spa"September 6, 1975 (1975-09-06)
14"Hello Mrs. McGivern, Goodbye"September 13, 1975 (1975-09-13)
15"The Balloon"September 20, 1975 (1975-09-20)
16"The Feud"September 27, 1975 (1975-09-27)

References

  1. ↑ In the episode "Kathy's Job", one character is described as driving a Stutz Bearcat automobile; this would seem to suggest the 1910s, as the Bearcat was in production from 1911-39.
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