The Swiss Family Robinson (1975 TV series)

The Swiss Family Robinson is an American action and adventure series that aired on ABC from September 14, 1975 to April 11, 1976. The two-hour pilot for the series was first shown on April 15, 1975. Based upon the 1812 novel The Swiss Family Robinson, the pilot and its 20 subsequent episodes of the series were produced by Irwin Allen, who had earlier produced a futuristic adaptation of the same novel in the 1965 TV series Lost in Space.

The Swiss Family Robinson
Also known as	Island of Adventure
Genre	Action/Adventure
Written by	Anthony Lawrence John Meredyth Lucas William Welch
Directed by	Christian I. Nyby II Leslie H. Martinson
Starring	Martin Milner Pat Delaney Willie Aames Eric Olson Helen Hunt Cameron Mitchell
Composer	Richard LaSalle
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	20
Production
Producer	Irwin Allen
Cinematography	Fred Jackman, Jr.
Camera setup	Single-camera
Running time	48 mins.
Production company	20th Century Fox Television
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	September 14, 1975 (1975-09-14) – April 11, 1976 (1976-04-11)

Synopsis

The series starred Martin Milner as Karl Robinson, the survivor of a shipwreck who found himself, his wife and two sons stranded on a volcanic island. In one of her first acting performances, Helen Hunt co-starred as a young girl who was stranded on the island from the same shipwreck and who was taken in by the Robinson family. Befriending the Robinsons was Jeremiah Worth (played by Cameron Mitchell), a sailor who had survived on the island alone for seven years following an earlier shipwreck.

The series was initially scheduled opposite NBC's Wonderful World of Disney and CBS' Three for the Road. In December 1975, CBS replaced Three for the Road with 60 Minutes which soon became a popular Sunday night staple. In addition to the tough competition, The Swiss Family Robinson was preempted several times and showed repeat episodes four times during its short run.^[1] The final original episode was telecast on April 4, 1976.

Because the Canadian series of the same name had come first, this was shown in Britain and other international territories as Island of Adventure.

Cast

• Martin Milner as Karl Robinson
• Pat Delaney as Lotte Robinson
• Willie Aames as Fred Robinson
• Eric Olson as Ernie Robinson
• Helen Hunt as Helga Wagner
• Cameron Mitchell as Jeremiah Worth

Episodes

No.	Title	Original release date
1	"The Typhoon"	September 14, 1975 (1975-09-14)
2	"The Hawk"	September 21, 1975 (1975-09-21)
3	"The Mountain"	September 28, 1975 (1975-09-28)
4	"Man O' War"	October 5, 1975 (1975-10-05)
5	"The Slave Ship"	October 12, 1975 (1975-10-12)
6	"The Pit"	October 19, 1975 (1975-10-19)
7	"The Tiki"	October 26, 1975 (1975-10-26)
8	"Neptune's Nephew"	November 2, 1975 (1975-11-02)
9	"The Chimp"	November 9, 1975 (1975-11-09)
10	"The Castaway"	November 16, 1975 (1975-11-16)
11	"The Treasure"	November 23, 1975 (1975-11-23)
12	"The Captain"	November 30, 1975 (1975-11-30)
13	"The Bell"	December 7, 1975 (1975-12-07)
14	"Ernie's Christmas"	December 21, 1975 (1975-12-21)
15	"The Operation"	January 4, 1976 (1976-01-04)
16	"The Renegades"	January 19, 1976 (1976-01-19)
17	"Jean Lafitte: Part 1"	February 1, 1976 (1976-02-01)
18	"Jean Lafitte: Part 2"	February 8, 1976 (1976-02-08)
19	"The Devils"	March 28, 1976 (1976-03-28)
20	"Wild Dog"	April 11, 1976 (1976-04-11)

Production notes

This series was directed by Leslie H. Martinson and Christian I. Nyby II. The second unit director was Stan Jolley. The story editing was done by William Welch, the cinematography was by Fred Jackman, Jr., and the original music was by Richard LaSalle.