Big John, Little John

Big John, Little John was an American Saturday morning sitcom produced by Sherwood Schwartz which starred Robbie Rist as Little John, and Herb Edelman as Big John. The show first aired on September 11, 1976 on NBC, and ran for one season of 13 episodes The show centered around a forty-year-old middle school science teacher named John Martin (played by Edelman). While vacationing in Florida, he drinks from a spring which turns out to be the legend... more

Big John, Little John was an American Saturday morning sitcom produced by Sherwood Schwartz which starred Robbie Rist as Little John, and Herb Edelman as Big John. The show first aired on September 11, 1976 on NBC, and ran for one season of 13 episodes The show centered around a forty-year-old middle school science teacher named John Martin (played by Edelman). While vacationing in Florida, he drinks from a spring which turns out to be the legendary Fountain of Youth sought by Juan Ponce de Leon. Returning home, the effects of the water change him into a twelve-year-old boy (played by Rist), and back again. (In the days before morphing technology, the visual effect was accomplished by crossfading through a series of men's and boys' faces.) Martin has no control over when the changes will occur, because he only took a sip of the water, and not a full drink, which explains why the changes are recurring and not permanent (according to legend, anyone who drank the fountain of youth could... less