That's Incredible!

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That's Incredible
That s incredible 1980-show.jpg
Promotional Picture featuring John Davidson (left), Cathy Lee Crosby (middle), and Fran Tarkenton (right).
Genre Reality
Created by Alan Landsburg Productions
Presented by John Davidson
Fran Tarkenton
Cathy Lee Crosby
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 5
Production
Producer(s) Alan Landsburg
Running time 60 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel ABC
Original run March 17, 1980 (1980-03-17) – April 30, 1984 (1984-04-30)
Chronology
Related shows Incredible Sunday

That's Incredible! was an American reality television show that aired on the ABC television network from 1980 to 1984.

Contents

Synopsis [edit]

In the tradition of You Asked For It, Ripley's Believe It or Not! and Real People, the show featured people performing stunts and reenactments of allegedly paranormal events. The show also often featured people with unusual talents, such as speed-talker John Moschitta, Jr., who made his first national television appearance on the show, as well as scientific, medical, and technological breakthroughs such as the Taser and cryogenic corneal reshaping by lathe keratomileusis.

The show was co-hosted by John Davidson, Fran Tarkenton and Cathy Lee Crosby, and was produced by Alan Landsburg Productions. Originally aired as an hour-long program, episodes were later re-edited into 30 minute segments for syndication.

A number of the stunts performed were quite dangerous, including juggling knives, staying inside a small box for hours, and one involving a man catching a bullet between his teeth. The dangerous nature of these stunts eventually prompted producers to augment the footage with the caption "Do Not Try This Yourself". Steve Baker also known as "Mr. Escape", was frequently featured on the show.

The show has been cited as an influence on hip-hop culture in New Zealand, where much television programming in the 1980s was American. In 1983 the show featured several dancing crews, giving youth of Pacific Island and Maori heritage, many of whom were interested in hip-hop culture and dance, a sense of connectedness to global youth culture.[1] The Floormasters hip hop dance crew appeared on the show in 1983.[2] In the early 1980s, Earl Woods brought his son Eldrick to "That's Incredible", showing his ability to putt a golfball into a hole from different areas. Eldrick grew up to be "Tiger" Woods.[citation needed]

Nielsen Ratings [edit]

The show was a top thirty hit for its first four seasons, and a top ten show during its first season, but fell out of the top fifty in its final season.

  • 1) 1979–80: #3 (25.80 rating)
  • 2) 1980–81: #22 (20.50 rating)
  • 3) 1981–82: #28 (18.40 rating)
  • 4) 1982–83: #22 (18.30 rating)
  • 5) 1983–84: #58 (14.14 rating)

Reception [edit]

In 1980 Time Magazine named That's Incredible "The Most Sadistic" show on television.[3]

Revival [edit]

That's Incredible! was revived in 1988, hosted by Davidson, Cristina Ferrare, and Tracey Gold and was renamed Incredible Sunday. It lasted only during the 1988–1989 season.

Syndication [edit]

The show was seen weekends on RTV.

In popular culture [edit]

  • On February 14, 1983, the Fray children, as adults, appeared on the program following the premiere of Who Will Love My Children?, a film about the life of their mother.[4]
  • On February 21, 1983, That's Incredible unwittingly gained video game immortality by broadcasting the North American Video Game Challenge—an international video game tournament filmed at Twin Galaxies in Ottumwa, Iowa -- which since then has gained recognition as being history's first video game world championship.[5]
  • MAD Magazine produced a feature cartoon in 1981 titled That's Real Incredible, People, mocking the blurred distinction between That's Incredible! and Real People. A later issue of MAD had "Wanted posters we'd like to see", one featuring a network executive "wanted for keeping The Dukes of Hazzard and That's Incredible on the air, while depriving the country of better shows such as Paper Chase and Fame!"
  • The television show Tom Goes to the Mayor features a parody of That's Incredible! titled That's Amazing!. The parody shows up multiple times throughout the series. Before TGTTM, an episode of Whatever Happened to Robot Jones? featured the same title, That's Amazing!.
  • Hardcore punk band Black Flag mentions That's Incredible! in their 1981 Song "TV Party."
  • G4's TV show Web Soup spoofed the title in one of their segments titled as That's Un-Incredible, where they show unusual, yet ridiculous talents via web videos.

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ Henderson, April K. “Dancing Between Islands: Hip Hop and the Samoan Diaspora.” In The Vinyl Ain’t Final: Hip Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, ed. by Dipannita Basu and Sidney J. Lemelle, 180-199. London; Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto Press, 200
  2. ^ Hip Hop Firsts
  3. ^ The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present. Ballantine Books. 2003. p. 1186. ISBN 0-345-45542-8. 
  4. ^ O'Connor, John (14 February 1983). "TV: Ann-Margret Plays a Dying Mother of 10". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-08-19. 
  5. ^ "North American Video Game Olympics". Twin Galaxies. 21 February 1983. Retrieved 2008-08-19. 

External links [edit]

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