Our_World_(1986_TV_program)

<i>Our World</i> (1986 TV program)

Our World (1986 TV program)

American television news series

For the first live, international, satellite television production in 1967, see Our World (1967 TV program).

Our World is an American television news program that aired on ABC for 26 episodes, from September 25, 1986 to May 28, 1987. The show was anchored by Linda Ellerbee and Ray Gandolf. Each episode of the program examined, through the use of archival film and television footage, one short period in American history.[1]

Quick Facts Our World, Created by ...

Our World grew out of an earlier ABC News special called 45/85, whose producer, Avram Westin, would go on to produce Our World. Each episode was produced on a budget of $350,000, less than half of the budget of a typical hour of prime time programming at the time.

Our World premiered to mixed reviews, but as the program progressed critical reception was more positive. Overall, the series was critically well-received. The series was also profitable for the network. Despite this, Our World performed poorly in the Nielsen ratings, as its first half-hour was programmed against the extremely popular The Cosby Show.[2] ABC canceled the show after one season. Ellerbee tried to move the program to PBS but was unsuccessful.

Production

Our World was created by ABC News president Roone Arledge.[3] The show had its genesis in a 1985 ABC News special called 45/85, a three-hour documentary that reviewed post-World War II history with an emphasis on the Cold War.[4] That special was produced by Avram "Av" Westin, who also produced Our World.[5] Anchors Ellerbee and Gandolf co-wrote Our World, which combined archival footage with new interviews with people who participated in or witnessed the events. Initial plans were that each episode would cover one year, but that idea was quickly scrapped; Ellerbee said, "It's hard enough to do a month, or even days."[6]

Ellerbee and Gandolf anchor an episode surrounded by artifacts of the profiled era.

ABC hired Ellerbee away from NBC to co-anchor the show. The network considered Sander Vanocur, Dick Schaap and James Wooten as possible partners[7] before selecting Gandolf, at the time the sports anchor for ABC's World News Saturday and World News Sunday.[8]

Set designers modeled the set for Our World after a corner news stand. For each episode, artifacts of the period being profiled, including magazines and political posters, decorated the set and a movie marquee listed the title of a film that was in theatres of the time. In the foreground was placed an Our World newspaper the headlines of which were the program's title and the name of that program's producer.[6]

Each episode cost $350,000 to produce as compared to the then-typical $800,000 cost of an hour of prime time network programming.[5] The low budget combined with a dozen commercial spots sold at $35,000 each meant that Our World generated an estimated $4 million in profit for ABC during its original run and summer repeats.[9]

Our World producers selected each episode's subject time period with the help of consultants from the Smithsonian Institution and Columbia University. The show was limited in its choices by the available footage for the given time period. Ellerbee recalled a viewer-submitted proposal for an episode on the American Civil War, which could not be made because of the non-existence of archive footage from the 1860s and the lack of any living eyewitnesses.[6]

Episode list

Reruns occasionally occurred in between new episodes.

More information Title, U.S. air date ...

Reception

Critical response

Critical reception to Our World was overall very favorable.

First episode

Reviews of the first episode were mixed.

The New York Times said "There are worse ways to spend an hour" and calling the show "a pleasant hour", while pointing to segments such as an interview with "a man, who, 17 years ago, slept in the house next door to a house struck by the Manson gang", as "not terribly interesting."[1] The Los Angeles Times was similarly unfavorable, calling the debut "rather bland" and, while praising anchors Ellerbee and Gandolf (and calling them "refreshing [and] off-center, running against the TV mainstream, making words, not whoopee"), it ultimately felt that "Our World offers no sense of who we really were in 1969 because, typical of TV, it renders everything equal."[35]

Later reviews

With subsequent episodes, reviews improved. The Boston Globe, comparing its debut episode ("a gloppy nostalgia trip that presented history the way MTV presents rock, in digestible, unrelated, bland bite-sized bits")[22] to an episode airing less than five months later, found it "light years ahead in terms of wit, style and historical perspective. It is still easily digestible, but there's nothing bland about it."[22] The St. Petersburg Times said of the show, "It educated, but it was not school. It entertained, but it was not mindless. It was quality - television's noblest service."[36] The San Diego Union concurred, citing Our World as "the most refreshing, fascinating and innovative history series ever on TV".[37]

Popularity

Popularity was much less effusive. The show averaged 9 million viewers per episode, as compared to The Cosby Show, which garnered an average 63 million viewers per week.[29] Our World was the lowest rated prime time show of the 104 that aired during the 1986-7 television season, bringing in only a 6.5/10 rating/share.[38] One segment of the public who responded very favorably to the program was teachers, who assigned Our World as homework. ABC created a study guide for the show, mailing out some 39,000 copies a month to educators and fans.[29]

Gandolf, Ellerbee and Richard Gerdau won Emmy Awards for Outstanding Individual Achievement in News and Documentary Programming (writing) for the episode "Halloween 1938".[39]

Cancellation and PBS

ABC canceled Our World after its first season, replacing it with the situation comedies Sledge Hammer! and The Charmings.[40] Ellerbee and Gandolf learned that the show had been canceled from a segment on Entertainment Tonight.[41] Ellerbee sharply criticized ABC for the cancellation, saying "If they had left it there for three to four years, it could have done what 60 Minutes did, which went against the Disney juggernaut on NBC. It could have developed slowly as an alternative program without being in the ratings race."[38] The advocacy group Viewers for Quality Television mounted a letter-writing campaign to save the show – similar to campaigns that had saved Designing Women and Cagney and Lacey[42] – and generated some 20,000 letters of support,[41] but the campaign was unsuccessful.

PBS expressed interest in obtaining the show. Although ABC asserted rights to the name "Our World," Ellerbee said "We never liked that title to begin with"[41] and stated that the name "Your World" was under consideration. Ellerbee planned to co-produce the show through her production company, Lucky Duck Productions, in partnership with WNET.[41] Ultimately, Ellerbee was unable to secure the estimated $5 million needed to produce the first season of 13 episodes[41] and Our World did not make the transition to PBS.

In 1988, CBS tried to revive the format of Our World with a television pilot called Try to Remember. Anchored by veteran newscaster Charles Kuralt, Try to Remember covered August 11–17, 1969, echoing Our World's pilot coverage of the summer of 1969. The show aired on Thursday, June 23.[43] Try to Remember did not get picked up as a regular program.

References

  1. [1]
    Corry, John (1986-09-25). "TV Review: 'Our World' Recalls '69". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
  2. [2]
    Medina, Sara C. (1986-07-28). "People". Time. Archived from the original on December 22, 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
  3. [3]
    Arledge p. 320
  4. [4]
    Holston, Noel (1986-07-23). "Ellerbee is Just What 'Our World' Needs". Orlando Sentinel. p. E.1.
  5. [5]
    Paynter, Susan (1986-10-17). "Our World Draws a Measly 5.5 Million, but So What? Say Hosts". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2008-07-09. [dead link]
  6. [6]
    Hodges, Ann (1986-10-16). "'Our World' ratings low, spirits high". Houston Chronicle. p. 1.
  7. [7]
    Rosenberg, Howard (1986-08-06). "TV's Ellerbee Keeps Her Cool About Being Hot". Los Angeles Times. p. 1.
  8. [8]
    "Gandolf signs on as Our World host". Toronto Globe and Mail. 1986-08-14. p. D.6.
  9. [9]
    Mermigas, Diane (1986-12-30). "Despite Basement Ratings, 'Our World' Is Profitable". Orlando Sun-Sentinel. p. 8 E.
  10. [10]
    "Our World episode list". TV.com. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
  11. [11]
    "Thursday". Seguin (TX) Gazette Enterprise. 1986-09-21. p. 48.
  12. [12]
    Vorhees, John (1986-10-02). "ABC's 'Our World' Series is Bringing the Past to Life Again". Seattle Times. p. E.14.
  13. [13]
    Walek, Gordon (1986-12-14). "More than history, 'Our World' sings with significance". The Daily Herald TV Magazine. p. 3.
  14. [14]
    Corry, John (1987-07-23). "On "Our World," Fear On 3 Fronts in 1938". The New York Times.
  15. [15]
    MacMillin, Guy (1987-04-05). "Take a good look at ABC's 'Our World' – please". Elyria (OH) Chronicle-Telegram. p. C-4.
  16. [16]
    Vorhees, John (1986-12-04). "Tonight's 'Our World' makes the America of 1943 come alive". Seattle Times. p. G.6.
  17. [17]
    "Main Video File Collection Finding Aid". Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum. Archived from the original on 2008-03-27. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
  18. [18]
    "Our World August and September 1957". Chicago Daily Herald. 1986-12-14. p. 16.
  19. [19]
    "Our World September and October 1975". Chicago Daily Herald. 1987-01-04. p. 15.
  20. [20]
    "Our World November 1952". Chicago Daily Herald. 1987-01-11. p. 15.
  21. [21]
    "Our World Summer 1939". Chicago Daily Herald. 1987-01-18. p. 15.
  22. [22]
    Siegel, Ed (1987-02-05). "A Better 'Our World'". Boston Globe. p. 77.
  23. [23]
    "Our World: A Crowded Room Autumn 1949". TV.com. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
  24. [24]
    "T.V. World". Tyrone (PA) Daily Herald. UPI. 1987-02-20. p. 7.
  25. [25]
    Cornell, Christopher (1987-02-26). "Today's best bets". Syracuse Herald-Journal. Knight-Ridder Newspapers. p. D8.
  26. [26]
    "Our World: Liberation Summer - 1944". TV.com. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
  27. [27]
    Bianculli, David (1987-04-16). "Today's best bets". Syracuse Herald-Journal. Knight-Ridder Newspapers. p. D9.
  28. [28]
    "Our World Fall 1946". Chicago Daily Herald. 1987-04-19. p. 15.
  29. [29]
    Schwed, Mark (1987-05-07). "'Our World' buried treasure for ABC". St. Petersburg (FL) Times. p. 7D. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
  30. [30]
    "Our World Summer and Fall 1952". Chicago Daily Herald. 1987-05-13. p. 13.
  31. [31]
    Vorhees, John (1986-05-14). "How Vital One Day Is – TV Makes the Point". Seattle Times. p. E.1.
  32. [32]
    "Our World April 12, 1961". Chicago Daily Herald. 1987-01-18. p. 15.
  33. [33]
    "Our World Winter 1937". Chicago Daily Herald. 1987-05-17. p. 15.
  34. [34]
    "Our World Spring 1953". Chicago Daily Herald. 1987-05-24. p. 15.
  35. [35]
    Rosenberg, Howard (1986-09-25). "'World' Offers Little Sense of Way We Were". Los Angeles Times. p. 1.
  36. [36]
    Schwed, Mark (1987-09-29). "PBS putting fresh life into 'Our World'". St. Petersburg (FL) Times. p. 7D. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
  37. [37]
    Lawrence, Robert P. (1987-10-19). "Ex-Chief at ABC says he favored bid to save 'Our World'". San Diego Union. p. D.9.
  38. [38]
    Valle, Victor (1987-07-05). "Viewers raise their voices to save 'Our World'". St. Petersburg (FL) Times. Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  39. [39]
    "PBS wins 11 Emmy Awards for news, documentary programs". The Frederick (MD) News. Associated Press. 1987-09-10. p. D.6.
  40. [40]
    Schwed, Mark (1987-06-10). "Ellerbee's Down, But Not Out". San Francisco Chronicle. p. 58.
  41. [41]
    Shales, Tom (1987-09-16). "Ellerbee Leaves ABC for a New 'World'". The Washington Post.
  42. [42]
    Edelstein, Andrew J. (1987-07-05). "Our World was an electronic excursion into living history". Frederick (MD) News. p. 5.
  43. [43]
    O'Connor, John J. (1988-06-23). "Review/Television; Kuralt Looks Back to August 1969". The New York Times.

Other sources

  • Arledge, Roone (2004). Roone: A Memoir. New York, HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-053601-2.
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