Feeling Good (lost PBS health series; 1974-1975)

Title card.

Status: Lost

Feeling Good is an American short-lived television series hosted by Dick Cavett and produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW, now Sesame Workshop). The series aired on PBS from November 20th, 1974 to 1975 with two seasons. It was the first TV series produced by the CTW that was aimed at adults instead of children, and it was also the first TV series about health. The show is considered lost, with none of the episodes being publicly shown and images exist.

Plot

Mass‐appeal guest stars were used each week along with a cast of regulars that congregated in a general store called “Mac's Place”—a kind of antiseptic “Hot I Baltimore.” The first season covered such diverse matters as mental health, prenatal and nutrition. Through the health problems and behavior of its residents, and through songs, sketches and animation, documentary segments and tips on staying healthy were presented.

Production

40 years ago, the CTW officials decided to extend their efforts to the adult audience, in particular the under‐educated, and began work on a series about health. Plans called for production of 26 hour ‐ long shows. The budget was a healthy $6.5 million, making the cost per show higher than anything ever before attempted on PBS.

The man in charge of the project was William Robin. executive producer and vice president of the CTW. Robin and his staff worked under the assumption that most people already know the dangers of improper health care but lack motivation to change their habits. Since it seemed clear that traditional documentary methods had failed to influence them (Robin mentions the negligible results achieved with costly anti‐smoking campaigns), the producers of “Feeling Good” wanted a new approach.

The staff worked with the same “model” developed by the CTW for its children's programs. Experts were interviewed and data were gathered about the subject matter. Seminars were held throughout the country at which specific health problems were outlined along with methods of presenting the material to the TV audience.

Availability

The series originally aired on PBS from November 20, 1974 to 1975. After the show was revamped, it later aired on Channel 13 Wednesdays at 8 P.M.—with a repeat Sundays, at 6:30 P.M. It is unknown for how long it lasted, but since it was short-lived, it likely had 26 episodes and ended on June 25, 1975.

None of the episodes have surfaced online and are considered lost. Unlike other shows produced by the CTW, the series never aired reruns and was never released on home video.

The only proof of its existence is the poster, articles of the New York Times about the series, images of the Feeling Good newsletters and press photos of the series.

Gallery

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  Poster of the series.

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  From left to right: Dick Cavett, Joseph Catano, Karen Kline and Dr. Peter Peacock conducting stress tests.

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  A screenshot featuring Dick Cavett and Julia Child.

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  Dick Cavett and the show's logo.

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  A page of the New York Times featuring an article about the series premiere.

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  Another page of the New York Times featuring another article of the series.

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  An image of the newsletter.

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  CTW newsletters featuring the show's logo.

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  Another image of the newsletters.

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  Joe Morton (right) and the cast of Feeling Good.

See Also

Bumpers

• Bookworm Bunch (partially found interstitials from PBS Kids channel block; 2000-2001)
• PBS Kids (partially lost schedule bumpers and interstitial material of TV channel block; 1999-present)
• PBS Kids Vote-A-Rama (lost bumpers of "Arthur" themed marathon; 2002)
• Someday School (partially found PBS Kids channel block; 1998-2000)

PBS

• Adventures with Kanga Roddy (partially found PBS children's series; 1998-2000)
• Backyard Safari (found PBS children's educational series; 1997)
• Barney & Friends "Season 9" (partially found alternative version of PBS children's series; 2004-2005)
• Christmastime with Mister Rogers (found holiday special of PBS children's educational series; 1977)
• Lamb Chop's Play-Along (partially lost PBS children's puppet series; 1992-1995)
• Mister Rogers Talks About Conflict (found episode arc of PBS children's educational series; 1983)
• The Puzzle Place (partially found PBS puppet series; 1994-1998)
• Reading Rainbow (found Johnny Kemp opening sequence for PBS children's educational series; 1999)
• Shining Time Station (found season one intro of PBS series; 1989-1990)
• Springtime with Mister Rogers (found primetime special for PBS children's educational series; 1979)
• Storytime (found PBS children's reading series; 1992-1998)
• Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? "Auld Lang Gone" (non-existent episode of PBS children's game show; 1992)
• Zoom (found pilot of revival of 1972 PBS children's series; 1995)
• Zoom (partially lost revival of PBS children's series; 1999-2005)

PBS Kids

• The Charlie Horse Music Pizza (partially lost PBS Kids "Lamb Chop's Play-Along" spin-off series; 1998-1999)
• Curious George (lost test pilot of PBS Kids animated series based on books; existence unconfirmed; 2004/2005)
• Cyberchase "The Poddleville Case" (found test pilot of PBS Kids educational animated series; 1999)
• Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood (lost pitch pilot of PBS Kids animated musical series; 2006-2008)
• Dragon Tales "One Small Step for Cassie" and "Circle of Friends" (lost pilots of PBS Kids animated series; 1999)
• Dragon Tales Live! (partially found footage of live stage shows; 2001-2006)
• The Good Night Show with Melanie/Leo (partially found PBS Kids Sprout series; 2005-2006)
• The Good Night Show with Nina & Star (partially found PBS Kids Sprout series; 2006-2017)
• Jet Propulsion (partially found pitch pilot of "Ready Jet Go!" PBS Kids CGI-animated series; 2013)
• Kratts' Creatures (found PBS children's educational series; 1996)
• The Let's Go Show (partially found PBS Kids Sprout series; 2007-2008)
• Make Way for Noddy (partially found PBS Kids version of British children's TV series; 2005)
• Molly of Denali (partially found pitch pilot of PBS Kids animated series; 2018)
• Nature Cat (lost pitch pilot of PBS Kids educational animated series; early 2010s)
• Peg + Cat (partially lost pitch pilot of PBS Kids educational animated series; 2011)
• Preschool Musical... On a Stick (partially lost PBS Kids Sprout "High School Musical" parody; 2008)
• Seven Little Monsters (found episodes of PBS Kids animated series; 2000-2004)
• Space Race (partially found PBS Kids web series; 2011)
• The Sunny Side Up Show (partially found PBS Kids Sprout series; 2007-2017)
• Super Why! (partially found British dub of PBS Kids CGI animated series; late 2000s-2010s)
• Super Why! (lost second pitch pilot of PBS Kids CGI-animated series; 2004-2006)
• What's The Big Idea? (non-existent pitch pilot of "Sid The Science Kid" PBS Kids CGI animated series; 2007)
• WordGirl (lost pitch pilot of PBS Kids educational animated series; existence unconfirmed; 2005)
• WordWorld (found test pilot of PBS Kids CGI animated educational series; 2005)

External Links

• An eBay listing of a press photo of the series.
• Another eBay listing of a press photo of the series.
• An IMDb page of the series.