Discovery '68 - ABC Sunday Morning Kids Show - 1968

When we kids were sick from Sunday School, there wasn't much for us to watch from the couch on Sunday mornings when you had less than 12 channels. If it wasn't "Meet The Press" or "Face The Nation," it was all churchy stuff. Thank goodness for ABC, who provided "Bullwinkle" and this precious gem, which we probably wouldn't have watched had there been anything better on.

[@Mohanchous]

I just loved that theme song. It's stuck with me for more than 50 years now.

[@fromthesidelines]

This aired on Sunday mornings at 11:30am(et), right after repeats of "THE BULLWINKLE SHOW". It stayed on as long as it did because someone at the network's news division was genuinely interested in "quality" children's programming. In 1971, it was succeeded by a more contemporary series, "MAKE A WISH", hosted by Tom Chapin [Harry's brother}, through 1976.

[@DavidSmith-xs3or]

This show was one of the best things about Sunday mornings, along with Rocky and Bullwinkle, Dudley Doright, Tom Slick, George of the Jungle and Super Chicken...all coming out of the creative minds at Jay Ward Studios. Everything else was church - related or news discussion shows. Now, it's all the latter.

[@lorettatayor5840]

I remember this theme song. Looking for it for 30 plus years! Thanks again.

[@arthurcabral9561]

The early programming of the nineteen sixties was very comforting to watch because the format was still slow by modern standards. Thank You for posting this cherished nostalgia,

[@edatomboy7711]

I remember watching this TV show when I was a kid. I guess time flies. I wish I could go back and relive my childhood in the 60's.

[@johnburt7935]

Ed Atomboy The best kids' programming was always the kind that didn't talk down to its audience. I loved "Discovery 'XX" and "Mister Wizard" for just this reason.

[@jupitr2]

This show was on Sunday mornings and aired before 'Mr. Magoo' or 'Bullwinkle' and those goofy 'Fractured Fairy Tales'. Loved to watch this as it was a lesson in something that didn't really seem like a lesson. Loved the music too! Thanks so much for snagging this off Ebay and taking the time to convert, upload and share it with all of us. This KZbin thing truly is extraordinary in how we can communcate and share rare stuff like this. What a flashback!

[@georgecarter838]

A cherishes memory from my childhood. I always loved this show and the entrance music. Sunday after church or spending a weekend at my grandmother's home, I loved the cartoons before Discovery came on, but my favorite was the opening introduction with the music and seeing that little bird ( flying to the flower in black and white years, later looking at the multi-dotted wheel in color years). Thank you for a happy trip back down memory lane.

[@SwingAge22]

This music and this TV show brings back such warm memories of childhood. Incredible........I remember the early days of the show the best: Discovery '66, '67 and '68.

[@number1scatterbrain]

I loved the theme. Probably my first exposure to jazz, when I was a child in the 1960s.

[@GypsyFairy85]

OMG! I remember this! I had forgotten this program ever existed, what a jog to the memory!

[@tomwilliams9612]

Loved this show, especially the theme song

[@JENDALL714]

It was alright to miss church on Sunday if you watched Davey and Goliath.

[@BettyJoBialofski]

But Da-a-a-a-vy! If you masturbate, God will smite you with a lightning bolt!

[@studebaker62]

Somehwere in my pysche I had buried this tune in the deepest recesses of my mind. Thanks(?) for dredging it up - I know can't get it out my head - its a major earwig! Makes me wonder what else is buried deep down there as well...

[@mrsgstd]

Wow, I remember watching this every Sunday morning, all the way back when it was "Discovery '64." I was so young, I had no idea what the '64 meant! Hard to believe there was actually a time when network TV had some merrit.

[@David-yw2lv]

I was a faithful viewer of this program during its run.ABC should consider putting it on DVD.

[@rclaughlin]

I never thought I'd get to hear this theme music again--thanks a lot, baysadaye.

[@jshalom65]

I remember the weird graphics in the intro and the jaunty theme music (so 60's !)

[@SpectrumAssociates]

Kinda sounds like Bill Lava.

[@jubalcalif9100]

Holy Underwear, Batman ! Thanks for this bodacious "blast from the past" ! Though I didn't watch it very often, I recall this as being one of the kids shows on Sunday morning TV when I was growing up in the 60s !

[@osagiee.guobadia-secondytc4624]

I never watch this ABC News Saturday Morning kids show before when I was originally born in the year 1998.

[@michaelragusa5138]

The Discovery 66 theme song has stayed in my head since 1966. The Discovery show ran from 1966 to 1973.

[@wnychevy09]

I remember watching this when I was home sick from Sunday School here in Buffalo on WKBW TV and later Bill Owen joined Virginia Gibson. Great memory

[@56BUICKRiviera]

I remember changing the channel. Im sorry I was never able to enjoy this show when I was a child. Loved Bullwinkle however.

[@malirabbit6228]

For some reason the Discovery 63 theme song has been rolling around in my head. I was 10 years old then. Hearing it was great. To bad the composer wasn't listed in the credits, oh well! Still great to hear the tune from the past!

[@LuvvyDuck]

Lordy, how I miss the old days of TV ! I remember this show, though surprisingly not a single episode. But I was pretty fascinated by the end theme. Thanks so much for putting this up! :D

[@gregsells8549]

I remember most about "Discovery" the United Air Lines tag at the end. United also did travel arrangements for ABC Sports for years, with the closing tags often promoting their service to Hawai'i. In the Central Time Zone, church usually came on after the kids shows.

[@nanlisa]

I definitely remember this show.

[@DavidSmith-xs3or]

I believe this show ran from 1966 to 1971. I loved watching it on Sunday mornings. Soon afterward came Make A Wish and then Animals, Animals, Animals.

[@johnjarou2357]

+David Smith i think it ran from 1962 until 1971. i remember watching it in the early 60s.

[@DavidSmith-xs3or]

+John Jarou It was one of the best things about Sunday mornings when I was a kid

[@johnjarou2357]

+David Smith yeah, i liked it too.

[@BettyJoBialofski]

I remember the intro to this, and the theme from Make a Wish.

[@farnumbp]

Great clip. Nice memories, thank you!

[@Nancydah]

i remember discovery 66 with corpusle the blood hound!

[@ferociousgumby]

I was hoping this was a whole episode. I hope one surfaces soon!

[@Yepprd]

In the 60's color TVs were in the high $400's!!!! Using an internet inflation calculator, that's $3953 if bought today..that means a color TV in the 60's was worth a relatively decent used vehicle!!

[@dagwort]

omg... I actually remember that tune and the graphics. The abstract intro sequence makes absolutely no sense, though. Must be a '60s thing.

[@doloreshuntoon7698]

I'll bet the "Discovery 1968" theme song was stuck to too many people's heads. I think.

[@altfactor]

"Meet The Press" and "Face The Nation" back in the late 1960's aired live on the East Coast on Sundays around Noon Eastern time. ABC wasn't the only network with children's programming on Sunday mornings in the late 1960s; CBS had an hour of children's shows on Sunday mornings as well. But many affiliates of both networks pre-empted the Sunday children's block. I think "Discovery" was one of the few Sunday-morning children's shows on network TV at the time to be "cleared" (picked up) by a large number, perhaps even a great majority, of affiliates. But in some cities, it might have been broadcast at a different time of the week.

[@effend446]

ABC had more leeway for children's and public affairs programming in the mid-to-late-1960's than CBS and NBC. Especially during football season when CBS had the broadcast rights to the NFL, and NBC had the broadcast rights to the AFL. And as NBC would later find out in November of 1968 with the "Heidi" game, they better not take my football away from me at 7pm est.

[@lazyel]

Wow! Thanks friend for the upload. I am 50 years old now and i last heard this tune in the early 70's. Man i still remember it. Great! Fanatastic! Thanks again.

[@dyrldouglas2087]

I used to love this show ! So ahead of it's time!

[@Shoknifeman]

Wow, I knew I wasn't imagining this show's existance! I am 7yrs old again!!

[@johnbarnes5237]

I remember the ones in color with Bill Owen. He and Virginia Gibson would sometimes play characters from the various time periods. I recall one where Virginia Gibson played Benjamin Franklin's daughter while they visited his house in Philadelphia.

[@gymnastix]

Will you upload the complete episodes here on Yube? Gosh, I remember when this show was titled "Discovery '63" and "Discovery '64." The show lasted several seasons and I recognized the theme song instantly. There was another host of the program, along with Virginia Gibson, I can picture him, with a JFK-like haircut, kind of resembled actor Vic Morrow (of "Combat" fame).

[@kyereCat]

I have found full episodes here from KZbin posted by Subscriber Bill Owen.

[@u686st7]

Note to ABC, NBC, CBS and anyone else in the industry: THIS is how you do "educational and informative", NOT endless animal shows.

[@JGT30]

Thanks Baysadaye, for posting this...Ahh, such memories of waking up Saturday mornings in the late 60's at 7AM to watch this show on ABC. Today similar things are shown on the Discovery channel as well as the History channel. Thanks for posting also the closing song. I remember humming that tune a lot as a kid in the late 60's.

[@rclaughlin]

I watched several episodes of this show, and the only thing that lodged in my memory was the theme music.

[@derikdragon80]

Reminded me of the closer to Mister Rogers Neighborhood.

[@rdcuff]

This was a Sunday staple in our house in the mid 1960s. We'd get home from church by 10:40 or so...in time to watch The Bullwinkle Show at 11 and Discovery at 11:30. Definitely worth watching.

[@Kramden429]

Now that Disney owns ABC, why don't they see about putting "Discovery" on DVD (if not season sets, then just "best of" episodes)? I submitted this show to TV Shows on DVD.com and voted for it; I'm not sure how many votes "Discovery" has now. I remember watching this show after "Bullwinkle" on Sunday mornings; it aired at 11:30 A.M. on WXYZ-TV, Channel 7, in Detroit (then an ABC-owned-and -operated station). I remember our Dad would watch "Discovery" with me and my younger sister, too.

[@JamesJohnson-re9zw]

I remember watching this, I was 7 years old. The intro animation was kind of weird

[@alanstrong3295]

The show was finishing when I came home from church on Sunday mornings. No VCR back in that day.

[@johnerwin981]

i also think Hal Linden, 'Barney Miller' hosted it some

[@leonthedog]

Don't remember this show, but I DO remember enjoying Bullwinkle more than Sunday School. Probably why I turned out agnostic. Thanks for the post.

[@OsagieGuobadia]

I don’t remember this show because I haven’t seen this show before. 🤔😲

[@auntbecky]

i think they might even have had jules bergman on occasion.

[@alanstrong3295]

Did not get home from church soon enough to watch Discovery. I settled for Popeye instead.

[@dlsofsetx]

I also would love to see this show on DVD.I loved it as a kid.

[@tamaraclaw]

I don't remember this show. I do remember the show with Tom Chapin (Harry's brother) in the early 70s, "Make a wish", also on Sundays on ABC. According to Wikipedia,, "make a wish" was a replacement for Discovery

[@AbsoluteDigitalPictures]

Ah yes, Discovery ‘68, the earliest form of E/I programming.

[@christopherdunne7848]

Does anyone remember this?......I think it was WTBS (Atlanta TV superstation) that actually reran this (in "filler" spots), even into the early 80s. The opening was there, but the video was frozen (on this video, around 0:32) to where the year wouldn't show....AND the audio of the year was deleted, making the spiel sound awkward, as far as emphasis (something like "DiscoveryThe award winning...")

[@armorybrunotjr.3204]

When I was starting high school, I remember WDCA-TV 20 (now Fox 5 Plus) showed reruns of "Discovery". The opening was there, but part of the opening had the year deleted, and the spiel went like this: "Discovery The award winning program for young people with Bill Owen and Virginia Gibson." It used to be on Saturdays at 4:30. ABC Films distributed these episodes during the late 1970s.

[@raelraven2]

Wow! I love it! Such great memories :)

[@JamesJohnson-re9zw]

What a flashback. Mr Rogers Neighborhood miniature buildings look a lot better.

[@jazzbo13]

Award winning. Looks like it was done by a 6 year old with a camera phone.

[@unklewink]

I loved that show as a kid. The Male host I recall was Frank Buxton.

[@fromthesidelines]

Originally, he was, when the series initially aired weekday afternoons after "AMERICAN BANDSTAND" in 1962-'63. In the fall of 1966, Bill Owen succeeded him. By 1968, Virginia Gibson was the sole host.

[@thewkovacs316]

yes virginia, there was a time when networks cared about children's programming

[@maleadmirer]

I wonder if any of these DISCOVERY programs would ever be on video or DVD???

[@Kramden429]

I wish! But I do believe Neville6000's reasoning is correct. Some of the information on those episodes *could* very well be outdated. Another impediment could be, especially what with things like Disney/ABC's recent purchase of 20th Century Fox (only the films division; everything else Fox is still owned by Rupert Murdoch), they could care less about putting a show on DVD that was part of their long history and resonated with kids like myself back then. *Very* sad.

[@kyereCat]

You can find many episodes provided by Subscriber Bill Owen here on KZbin.

[@micmac99]

Make A Wish was in turn replaced by "Animals Animals Animals" with Hal Linden. Then ABC replaced it altogether in 1981 with "This Week", ending nearly two uninterrupted decades of weekend morning "edutainment" shows.

[@robmclean4352]

The credits don't say who did the music. Anybody know?

[@surfinwax58]

Sort of has an N. American SKA sound to it. Maybe some Jamaicans were also watching it.

[@zelphx]

This is what a future geek-information-o-phile-instructor would watch when he was a kid.

[@rdcuff]

PS...I also like seeing the ABC Color Presentation intro...that wasn't used all that often since most ABC shows had their own lead-ins with the tag line "in color" added.

[@Julian9ehp]

Do us a favor and put some of the credits on the Internet Movie Data Base. I put a few details on, but it's still comparatively unmarked territory.

[@maleadmirer]

This is a treat to view the intro and closing credits of the show DISCOVERY. How were you able to find the intro and closing credits of DISCOVERY?? Thanks for posting it.

[@Zoomer30]

Won't you be by neighbor? With a sound track like that it's not suprising that Excedrin was invented in the 60s.

[@Kramden429]

I'm sure you're right - the info would most likely be outdated - but it would be nice to see any episodes of this show again, if only for old times' sake. (Apparently Disney must still hold the copyrights to "Discovery," because it *hasn't* aired on *any* of those "specialty" channels - and Discovery is *not* owned by Disney.)

[@altfactor]

The jazzy theme music made the show worth watching! Is it true that Virginia Gibson was the aunt of Charles Gibson??

[@JasonDelarosa2000]

Is this from a 16mm print?

[@misshoodectomy]

all we had was wonderama.

[@antonewilson4310]

From a time when TV actually tried to educate. I actually didn't like the show; the intro meant the cartoons were over.

[@citizenterryk]

@leonthedog bullwinkle definitely was the case with me.......Bullwinkle and Beany & Cecil were infinitely more relevant than the fundie spew i was subjected to when i had to go to Sunday School......

[@bang1338]

Look like a Pinwheel(Nickelodeon) in 1977

[@Neville6000]

@Kramden429: This show has no relevance to today (most of the info is outdated) and could easily be seen on the Discovery Channel or any of the specialty channels on now (unfortunately, Discovery Kids was got rid of) or PBS for free.

[@4thtroika]

Far out!

[@louistenore2185]

you forgot kids are people too

[@BettyJoBialofski]

Whack-a-doo Whack-a-doo Whack-a-doo!

[@Kramden429]

I meant the "Discovery" TV show is most likely owned by Disney. *The Discovery Channel* is *not* owned by Disney.

[@jazzbo13]

@bellier20 It seems that you are a little bit too attached to this obscure, little YOU TUBE clip from over 40 years ago. Maybe it’s radiation from sitting too close to the television. Maybe your mother tied you to your high chair with an extension cord and forced you to watch hour after hour of “classics” while she slept off a liquid lunch. Maybe you didn’t get a color set until 1971. I don’t know.

[@jazzbo13]

@bellier20 You again? Hey, just because it’s old, doesn’t make it a classic. Just like you showering 7 times a day doesn’t make you feel clean.

[@jazzbo13]

@bellier20 You again? You've got a real hard on about this show. Hey, just because it’s old, doesn’t make it a classic. Just like you showering 7 times a day doesn’t make you feel clean.

[@Marbles471]

Um....actually, YOU do. YOU were the one who kept hounding and hounding that guy and insulting him in every way you could think of, totally out of proportion to the situation. A situation that, by the way, YOU set into motion by writing something inflammatory that you surely knew would get a hostile reply. A little self-awareness is called for, here.