MovieChat Forums > Sky King (1951) Discussion > Lost episodes

Lost episodes

posted 14 years ago by waltlevinson
3 replies | jump to latest

This is a tough series to peg in regards to timeline. It's listed in many places (including IMDb) as being a 1951 series but virtually every episode guide lists the first episode as having been telecast in April of 1952.

Similarly,the original run is cited in many sources as ending in 1959 with 72 total episodes but the Sky King Fan Club website http://www.angelfire.com/mi/freeper/ has the series continuing in first run until 1962 with 64 episodes that have supposedly been lost in a vault fire.

Anyone know what the real deal is?

[–] dbassler1304 14 years ago

I don't know that I can supply the "real deal" - but I can shed some more dark on the subject. I would swear on a stack of Bibles that, back in the 60s, I watched several episodes which are not included on any of the DVD/VHS sets currently on the market.

On the other hand, an acquanitance met Gloria Winters several years ago at a banquet and she told him that only 72 episodes were ever filmed.

Which to believe? My dusty 50 year old memory or Ms. Winters' (assuming my friend is quoting her correctly)? I guess the weight of evidence would lean heavily towards the actor who appeared in all but one episode but I can still remember those "missing" shows so vividly.

David

[–] Randy-144 13 years ago

What is also weird about the timeline is that there is a 3 year gap between the end of Season 1 and the beginning of Season 2. Who ever heard of a series resuming production with the same stars after a 3 year absence? IMDb lists all 72 episodes so it's not like there are episodes that aren't listed.

However, at the page for Kirby Grant, his Mini biography says, "'Sky King' was a huge success and Kirby made approximately 130 episodes which guaranteed syndication." At 20 episodes per season for 3 seasons -- that could account for the missing approximately 60 episodes between December 20, 1952 and January 2, 1956.

[–] EliotTempleton 9 years ago

Twenty episodes per season? Wrong! In the '50s, television shows only had a three-month summer layoff, which means that most series produced forty (or almost that many) episodes per year Take a look at some of the famous shows of that era on IMDB, and you'll see what I mean. Today's television actors have no idea how lucky they are; the cast of, say, The Big Bang Theory only shoots about twenty episodes per season, and look at how much they get paid!