Big John, Little John
Encyclopedia
Big John, Little John is an American Saturday morning sitcom produced by Sherwood Schwartz
which stars Robbie Rist
as Little John, and Herb Edelman
as Big John. The show first aired on September 11, 1976 on NBC
, and ran for one season of 13 episodes
The show centers around a forty-year-old middle school
science teacher named John Martin (played by Edelman). While vacationing in Florida
, he drinks from a spring which turns out to be the legendary Fountain of Youth
sought by Juan Ponce de Leon
. Returning home, the effects of the water change him into a twelve-year-old boy (played by Rist), and back again.
Martin has no control over when the changes will occur, because he only took a sip of the water, and not a full drink, which explains why the changes are recurring and not permanent. (Had he taken a full drink, John would have remained at twelve years old permanently.) Only his wife, Marjorie (Joyce Bulifant
) and son, Ricky (Mike Darnell
) know his secret, though Martin's students (who befriend him as "Little John") and his boss, principal Bertha Bottomly, become suspicious that something unusual is going on. The Martin family explain the younger John as their nephew, staying with them. Throughout the series, "Big John" unsuccessfully tries to find a cure for his predicament, but his experiences as "Little John" often give him insight into what his students are facing.
To make the two actors resemble each other, Rist's blond hair was dyed brown, while Edelman wore a hairpiece. Edelman and Rist appeared together in 1977, on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon
.
First aired: September 11, 1976
While on a trip to Florida, John Martin stumbles upon the legendary fountain of youth. Willing to test the waters, John sips a handful of the liquid. The consequences are unforeseeable, he begins to revert to his childhood on certain times, causing a lot of situations for John and his family.
2. Peter Panic
First aired: September 18, 1976
John must find out who is stealing cookies from his pantry.
3. Very Little John
First aired: September 25, 1976
John tries a new formula in the laboratory that apparently might cure him from his conversions.
4. The Great Escape
First aired: October 2, 1976
John Martin is detained when a sheriff demands his ID and he cannot produce it. He gets his freedom when his personality changes in prison.
5. Big Scare, Little Scare
Writer: Ron Friedman
Director: Gordon Wiles
Guest stars: Don 'Red' Barry (Mr. Crabtree), James Deuter (Mr. Boswell)
First aired: October 9, 1976
John has summoned Mr. Boswell, Stanley’s dad, to account for his son’s continuous absence to class for five days. Boswell explains that the boy is afraid of crossing in front of the Crabtree mansion, an abandoned house that neighbors believe it to be haunted. John decides to find out who’s behind the Crabtree ghost.
6. Big Shot/Little Shot
First aired: October 16, 1976
when it's vaccination day at the school and John turns into a kid and he gets vaccinated. Then at the end of the episode he becomes a man and the other teachers take him to get vaccinated again much to his chagrin.
7. Time For Change
First aired: October 23, 1976
On Thanksgiving John has to be a chaperon for a Thanksgiving dance at the school, while they are also decorating. He also has to deal with a girl who his son likes but who is asking little John out.
8. The Principal Who Came To Dinner
First aired: October 30, 1976
Big John's voice in Little John's body puts not only Martin in a squeeze but his family as well.
9. Bully For You
First aired: November 6, 1976
Stanley is again late for the class. The teacher is speaking to his students about the importance of facing up bullies. This leads to trouble for Little John when he's threatened by the class bully, Gasey.
10. Off The Wall
First aired: November 13, 1976
John is assigned to find who's behind the vandalism inflicted on the school walls. Martin is invited to join the school basketball team since he was once a superhero for his old team.
11. The Missing John
First aired: November 20, 1976
Little John receives a severe reprimand for having played unwillingly a joke on the school principal.
12. Speak For Yourself, John
First aired: November 27, 1976
Because of the arrangements for the annual dance that it is held at the school, Ms. Bottomly proposes to professor Martin that he be one of the chaperons. At the same time that the Little John is chosen by his female classmate as companion for that day.
13. Abracadabra
First aired: December 4, 1976
In order to arrange a show for the school annual party, one of Martin's students prepares a set of different magic tricks.
Rist previously worked on Schwartz's The Brady Bunch
during its final season (1973–1974), portraying the character Cousin Oliver.
Sherwood Schwartz
Sherwood Charles Schwartz was an American television producer. He worked on radio shows in the 1940s, and created the television series Gilligan's Island on CBS and The Brady Bunch on ABC...
which stars Robbie Rist
Robbie Rist
Robert Anthony Rist is an American actor and musician.-Acting and voiceover work:As a child, Rist played Cousin Oliver in the final six episodes of The Brady Bunch. With the regular children all getting older, his inclusion was intended to reintroduce cute younger children to the series...
as Little John, and Herb Edelman
Herb Edelman
Herbert "Herb" Edelman was an American actor of stage, film and television. He was twice nominated for an Emmy Award for his television work. One of his best remembered roles was as Stanley Zbornak, the ex-husband of Dorothy Zbornak on the long-running situation comedy, The Golden Girls...
as Big John. The show first aired on September 11, 1976 on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, and ran for one season of 13 episodes
Plot summary
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
science teacher named John Martin (played by Edelman). While vacationing in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, he drinks from a spring which turns out to be the legendary Fountain of Youth
Fountain of Youth
The Fountain of Youth is a legendary spring that reputedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks of its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted across the world for thousands of years, appearing in writings by Herodotus, the Alexander romance, and the stories of Prester John...
sought by Juan Ponce de Leon
Juan Ponce de León
Juan Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer. He became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown. He led the first European expedition to Florida, which he named...
. Returning home, the effects of the water change him into a twelve-year-old boy (played by Rist), and back again.
Martin has no control over when the changes will occur, because he only took a sip of the water, and not a full drink, which explains why the changes are recurring and not permanent. (Had he taken a full drink, John would have remained at twelve years old permanently.) Only his wife, Marjorie (Joyce Bulifant
Joyce Bulifant
Joyce Bulifant is an American television actress, notable for her sunny "little girl"-like Southern lilt of a voice. She was a frequent panelist on the television game show Match Game, more often than not giving bizarre answers that seldom matched the contestants.-Life and career:Bulifant was born...
) and son, Ricky (Mike Darnell
Mike Darnell
Michael H. Darnell is an American television executive.Darnell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. He is currently president of Alternative Entertainment for the Fox Broadcasting Company. He is credited for launching When Animals Attack!, Temptation Island, Joe Millionaire,...
) know his secret, though Martin's students (who befriend him as "Little John") and his boss, principal Bertha Bottomly, become suspicious that something unusual is going on. The Martin family explain the younger John as their nephew, staying with them. Throughout the series, "Big John" unsuccessfully tries to find a cure for his predicament, but his experiences as "Little John" often give him insight into what his students are facing.
To make the two actors resemble each other, Rist's blond hair was dyed brown, while Edelman wore a hairpiece. Edelman and Rist appeared together in 1977, on the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon
Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon
The MDA Labor Day Telethon is an annual telethon in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association . The first MDA telethon was during the Thanksgiving Day weekend of 1952 and titled Party for MDA. It has been held annually since 1966...
.
Episode guide
1. A Sizeable ProblemFirst aired: September 11, 1976
While on a trip to Florida, John Martin stumbles upon the legendary fountain of youth. Willing to test the waters, John sips a handful of the liquid. The consequences are unforeseeable, he begins to revert to his childhood on certain times, causing a lot of situations for John and his family.
2. Peter Panic
First aired: September 18, 1976
John must find out who is stealing cookies from his pantry.
3. Very Little John
First aired: September 25, 1976
John tries a new formula in the laboratory that apparently might cure him from his conversions.
4. The Great Escape
First aired: October 2, 1976
John Martin is detained when a sheriff demands his ID and he cannot produce it. He gets his freedom when his personality changes in prison.
5. Big Scare, Little Scare
Writer: Ron Friedman
Director: Gordon Wiles
Guest stars: Don 'Red' Barry (Mr. Crabtree), James Deuter (Mr. Boswell)
First aired: October 9, 1976
John has summoned Mr. Boswell, Stanley’s dad, to account for his son’s continuous absence to class for five days. Boswell explains that the boy is afraid of crossing in front of the Crabtree mansion, an abandoned house that neighbors believe it to be haunted. John decides to find out who’s behind the Crabtree ghost.
6. Big Shot/Little Shot
First aired: October 16, 1976
when it's vaccination day at the school and John turns into a kid and he gets vaccinated. Then at the end of the episode he becomes a man and the other teachers take him to get vaccinated again much to his chagrin.
7. Time For Change
First aired: October 23, 1976
On Thanksgiving John has to be a chaperon for a Thanksgiving dance at the school, while they are also decorating. He also has to deal with a girl who his son likes but who is asking little John out.
8. The Principal Who Came To Dinner
First aired: October 30, 1976
Big John's voice in Little John's body puts not only Martin in a squeeze but his family as well.
9. Bully For You
First aired: November 6, 1976
Stanley is again late for the class. The teacher is speaking to his students about the importance of facing up bullies. This leads to trouble for Little John when he's threatened by the class bully, Gasey.
10. Off The Wall
First aired: November 13, 1976
John is assigned to find who's behind the vandalism inflicted on the school walls. Martin is invited to join the school basketball team since he was once a superhero for his old team.
11. The Missing John
First aired: November 20, 1976
Little John receives a severe reprimand for having played unwillingly a joke on the school principal.
12. Speak For Yourself, John
First aired: November 27, 1976
Because of the arrangements for the annual dance that it is held at the school, Ms. Bottomly proposes to professor Martin that he be one of the chaperons. At the same time that the Little John is chosen by his female classmate as companion for that day.
13. Abracadabra
First aired: December 4, 1976
In order to arrange a show for the school annual party, one of Martin's students prepares a set of different magic tricks.
Cast
- Herb EdelmanHerb EdelmanHerbert "Herb" Edelman was an American actor of stage, film and television. He was twice nominated for an Emmy Award for his television work. One of his best remembered roles was as Stanley Zbornak, the ex-husband of Dorothy Zbornak on the long-running situation comedy, The Golden Girls...
- Big John Martin - Robbie RistRobbie RistRobert Anthony Rist is an American actor and musician.-Acting and voiceover work:As a child, Rist played Cousin Oliver in the final six episodes of The Brady Bunch. With the regular children all getting older, his inclusion was intended to reintroduce cute younger children to the series...
- Little John Martin - Joyce BulifantJoyce BulifantJoyce Bulifant is an American television actress, notable for her sunny "little girl"-like Southern lilt of a voice. She was a frequent panelist on the television game show Match Game, more often than not giving bizarre answers that seldom matched the contestants.-Life and career:Bulifant was born...
- Marjorie Martin - Mike DarnellMike DarnellMichael H. Darnell is an American television executive.Darnell was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. He is currently president of Alternative Entertainment for the Fox Broadcasting Company. He is credited for launching When Animals Attack!, Temptation Island, Joe Millionaire,...
- Ricky Martin - Olive Dunbar - Bertha Bottomly
- Kristoff St. JohnKristoff St. JohnKristoff St. John is an American actor, best known for his role as Neil Winters on the daytime US drama The Young and the Restless.-Career:...
- Homer - Cari Anne Warder - Valerie
- Stephen Cassidy - Stanley
Rist previously worked on Schwartz's The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch
The Brady Bunch is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz and starring Robert Reed, Florence Henderson, and Ann B. Davis. The series revolved around a large blended family...
during its final season (1973–1974), portraying the character Cousin Oliver.