The Second Hundred Years is an American sitcom starring Monte Markham

Monte Markham

Monte Markham is an American actor. During his career, Markham has appeared in film, in television, and on Broadway.Markham was born in Manatee County, Florida, the son of Millie Content and Jesse Edward Markham, Sr., who was a merchant.Of his television roles, Markham is perhaps most famous for...

 which aired on the ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 television network for one season from September 6, 1967 to March 28, 1968 (repeats were shown through September 1968).

Synopsis

The Second Hundred Years was what was called a "high concept

High concept

High concept is a term used to refer to an artistic work that can be easily described by a succinctly stated premise.-Terminology:High concept narratives are typically characterised by an over-arching "what if?" scenario that acts as a catalyst for the following events...

" show—one which was based on circumstances which were extremely unlikely to occur in real life. The concept here was that one Lucius "Luke" Carpenter had left for Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

 in 1900 as part of a gold rush

Gold rush

A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...

, but soon after his arrival was buried in a glacial avalanche. His burial was evidently so complete and so rapid that he survived in a state of suspended animation for 67 years. He was then thawed out and soon brought to the home of his now-elderly son, Edwin (portrayed by Arthur O'Connell

Arthur O'Connell

Arthur O'Connell was an American stage and film actor. He appeared in films in 1941 and television programs...

), a land developer in Woodland Oaks, California.

The humor centered around how Luke was younger, both in appearance and attitude, than both his son, who was 67 (referenced in the pilot), but also his grandson Ken, who at 33 was the exact age at which Luke had disappeared and been preserved, and who was a near double for his grandfather (not surprising, as both characters were portrayed by Markham). Difficulty adjusting to all of the technology of the modern era aside, Luke, who was an affable, light-hearted sort, was in some ways more at home in his new world than his more buttoned down, conservative grandson.

Reception

The series drew some negative reviews, but premiered with strong ratings

Nielsen Ratings

Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...

. By October, however, the series dropped to the bottom 25. In March 1968, the series was moved to Thursday nights (replacing Batman

Batman (TV series)

Batman is an American television series, based on the DC comic book character of the same name. It stars Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin — two crime-fighting heroes who defend Gotham City. It aired on the American Broadcasting Company network for three seasons from January 12, 1966 to...

) but was canceled by ABC days later.

Episode list

Episode #	Title	Airdate	Short Summary
1	"Father, Dear Father, Come Home with Me Now"	September 6, 1967	Luke Carpenter is found after being buried in ice for 67 years, having not aged after being thawed out. The news is a shock to his son, who is preparing to enter a senior citizen’s complex.
2	"Oh Dad, Oh Dad, They Thawed Out Grandpa and I'm Feeling So Sad"	September 13, 1967	Luke, a dead-ringer for his grandson Ken, poses as him during a date, antagonizes Ken’s boss and also ends up in jail.
3	"Little Lady X"	September 20, 1967	Luke runs into trouble with both the Internal Revenue Service and the local zoning laws when he brings home a pair of goats, and then attempts to build a pen to hold them.
4	"Pay Dirt"	September 27, 1967	At the funeral of one of his former prospecting buddies, Luke meets his old girlfriend Annie. The two soon discover an old deed for a valuable San Francisco hotel property, which could make her rich.
5	"A Simple Son of the Soil"	October 4, 1967	Luke takes an aptitude test in an attempt to become a businessman, but after it’s determined that he’d do best as a stagecoach driver or buffalo scout, his father develops a plan to improve his job prospects.
6	"Ungathered Moss"	October 11, 1967	Luke takes the place of Ken in his job at the bank. Unfortunately, Luke is unfamiliar with some of the tools of the trade and inadvertently locks a bank official in the vault.
7	"On Bended Knee"	October 18, 1967	Luke falls in love with a female flower child, who happens to be Col. Garroway’s daughter and is attracted to his old-fashioned way of doing things, a relationship that almost leads to marriage.
8	"Just Pay the Two Dollars"	November 1, 1967	Luke is mistaken for a burglar while helping an elderly woman find her poodle. After he is given a suspended sentence, he insists on clearing his name by finding the real burglar.
9	"Remember the Maine"	November 8, 1967	Luke decides to join the Navy, but the Army (which is familiar with his background) is determined to recruit him, offering four candidates in exchange for him.
10	"A Couple of Sad Dads"	November 15, 1967	Luke and Edwin are both under the mistaken impression that each of them has only a short time to live, which results in both trying to keep that information away from the other.
11	"No Experience Necessary"	November 22, 1967	Luke begins to sell aluminum siding, not knowing the deceptive practices of this particular business. After he makes a $400 sale, the buyer’s daughter demands a refund when no delivery date is indicated.
12	"San Juan Hill"	November 29, 1967	Luke insists on testifying as an eyewitness at a hearing on the events at San Juan Hill in order to set the record straight on the heroics of Annie Longstreet’s grandfather, his old friend.
13	"Luke Alikes"	December 6, 1967	A historian from the Smithsonian Institution arrives to speak with Luke, but he’s out boating with Marcia, so Ken undergoes the physical preceding the interview, and then concludes Luke’s date with Marcia.
14	"Let My People Go-Go"	December 13, 1967	After Luke sees a go-go dancer in a cage, he releases her and takes her home. She calls her boss, but he suggests staying there in order to garner publicity.
15	"Luke's First Christmas"	December 20, 1967	Luke takes a job as a department store salesman to earn money for Christmas, but after his honesty proves to be a failure, he becomes the store’s Santa Claus.
16	"The Abnormal Iceman"	December 27, 1967	A group of gangsters kidnap Ken, thinking that he’s Luke, so that he can show them the “process” of freezing a fellow gangster who looks to go into hiding for 20 years. The search for Ken leads to the Happy Hills Sanitarium.
17	"Tree-In"	January 3, 1968	Luke attempts to help a young boy save his favorite tree, which includes the boy’s treehouse, after it is scheduled to be chopped down by the Department of Sanitation.
18	"Right of Way"	January 10, 1968	Luke ignores a “no fishing” sign at his favorite boyhood fishing spot, leading to a battle with tycoon Langston Barnes over who actually owns the property involved.
19	"For Whom the Drums Beat"	January 17, 1968	To show solidarity with his Native American friends, Luke takes part in a picket march to protest against an Army general.
20	"The House That Needed a Carpenter"	January 24, 1968	An armed Luke barricades himself with an elderly couple on their property in order to save it from being torn down to build a golf course.
21	"Shine On, Harvest Moonshine"	January 31, 1968	Luke and old-timer Henry Sykes decide to build a still and enter the business of bootlegging, unaware that it’s illegal.
22	"Love on the Double"	February 7, 1968	Luke pretends to be Ken during a date, but the situation gets more complicated when it turns out that the woman is pretending to be her cousin.
23	"Dude Hand Luke"	February 21, 1968	When Luke goes to work on a ranch, he and the foreman vie for the affections of their lovely boss.
24	"Lucky Luke"	February 28, 1968	While attempting to help a woman get her poker losses back, Luke himself gets outsmarted.
25	"A Different Kind of Bug"	March 21, 1968	Luke becomes involved in a war of electronic bugging devices after being victimized in a back injury scam.
26	"Luke and Comrade Tanya"	March 28, 1968	Luke alarms Col. Garroway when he befriends an attractive Russian woman and her alleged uncle.