Born Free (TV series)
Born Free is an American adventure/drama series based on the 1966 movie of the same name. It aired on the NBC television network from September 9 to December 30, 1974, produced by Columbia Pictures Television and starring and narrated by Diana Muldaur.
| Born Free | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Genre | Adventure/drama |
| Based on | Born Free by Joy Adamson |
| Developed by | Carl Foreman |
| Directed by | Leonard Horn Paul Krasny Russ Mayberry |
| Starring | Gary Collins Diana Muldaur |
| Narrated by | Diana Muldaur |
| Theme music composer | John Barry |
| Composer(s) | Dick DeBenedictis Richard Shores Harry Sukman ("A Matter of Survival") |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | David Gerber |
| Production location(s) | East Africa |
| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | David Gerber Productions Paul Radin Productions Columbia Pictures Television |
| Distributor | Sony Pictures Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original release | September 9 – December 30, 1974 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Born Free |
| Followed by | Born Free: A New Adventure |
Synopsis
Gary Collins stars as George Adamson and Diana Muldaur portrayed Joy Adamson. The couple lived in Kenya with their adopted lioness Elsa, where they protected the animals in the surrounding area from all sorts of danger, both natural and human.
An unrelated television movie called Born Free: A New Adventure was broadcast by ABC in 1996, starring Linda Purl and Chris Noth. Joy and George Adamson do not appear as the main characters in the story.
Cast
Main
- Gary Collins as George Adamson
- Diana Muldaur as Joy Adamson
- Hal Frederick as Makedde
- Dawn Lyn as Reagan
- Peter Lukoye as Nuru
Guest stars
Guest stars included Peter Lawford, Barbara Parkins, Alex Cord, Susan Dey. Juliet Mills had a recurring role as Dr. Claire Hanley.
Production
The series was set in Kenya and filmed in East Africa.
Reception and cancellation
Born Free was scheduled opposite ABC's Top 20 hit The Rookies and CBS's Top 30 hit Gunsmoke. Rating for the series were low and it was canceled in the middle of the 1974–75 television season after thirteen episodes.
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | TBA | TBA | September 9, 1974 |
| 2 | "Elephant Trouble" | TBA | TBA | September 16, 1974 |
| 3 | "A Matter of Survival" | TBA | TBA | September 23, 1974 |
| 4 | "Death of a Hunter" | TBA | TBA | September 30, 1974 |
| 5 | "Africa's Child" | TBA | TBA | October 7, 1974 |
| 6 | "The Masai Rebels" | Richard Benedict | Richard Felder (teleplay), Nina Laemmle (story) | October 14, 1974 |
| 7 | "The Flying Doctor of Kenya" | TBA | TBA | October 28, 1974 |
| 8 | "The Trespassers" | TBA | TBA | November 4, 1974 |
| 9 | "The Maneaters of Merti" | TBA | TBA | November 11, 1974 |
| 10 | "Elsa's Odyssey" | TBA | TBA | November 18, 1974 |
| 11 | "The White Rhino" | TBA | TBA | November 25, 1974 |
| 12 | "The Raiders" | TBA | TBA | December 9, 1974 |
| 13 | "The Devil Leopard" | TBA | TBA | December 30, 1974 |
DVD release
The complete series Born Free was released in DVD format on August 7, 2012, by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment via its "manufacture on demand" program.[1] It was later re-released by Mill Creek on September 25, 2018.[2]
References
- Lambert, David (June 21, 2012). "Born Free - The 1974 Show's One-and-Only Season is Coming to DVD". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on June 23, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2012.
- https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B07DL5XJXC/tvshowsondvd0d-20
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Born Free (TV series). |