ALL SCI-FI

[Pow]

W.O.G. aka "World of Giants" was a syndicated black & white Spy~Fi television series that debuted on September 5, 1959 and ran until November 28, 1959 for a total of 13 episodes.

The thirty-minute series focused upon American spy Mel Hunter played by Marshall Thompson (Daktari : 1966~1969) and his partner Bill Winters played by Arthur Franz.

They were Federal Counter-Espionage agents.

While both were on a covert mission behind the Iron Curtain to gather intell on a secret missile site there was an explosion of an experimental missile.

Caught in that explosion was Mel who also was coated by the unknown & highly classified missile fuel.

Once he & Bill were able to escape and return to the United States a strange thing began to happen to Mel.

He gradually shrank down to a height of six-inches.

Doctors and scientists examined Mel but were unable to arrive at any diagnoses or solution to his problem.

In order to continue to feel useful and have a purpose for what may be a permanent condition for him; Mel still works as a spy and utilizes his now miniature stature in order to accomplish missions that no one else can.

I've watched a few episodes on Youtube (all 13 are available).

I had never ever heard of this 50s sci-fi TV show before.

At thirteen episodes it clearly did not last very long and fell into obscurity as it did not have enough of a stockpile of episodes to have rerun over the years.

For what it was it ain't a bad show given what special/visual effects technology was available 61 years ago.

Irwin Allen's "Land of the Giants" would improve upon those kind of visuals on his series only 8 years later.
Allen would also provide a lavish budget for LOTG that WOG never possessed.

Trivia : Mel is carried around in a special attache case with a built-in chair for Mel; the case is handcuffed to Bill's wrist.

In September of 1969, Gerry & Sylvia Anderson premiered their latest puppet television show "The Secret Service."

The series involved the use of the Minimiser device which could shrink both people and objects.

Agent Mathew Harding allows himself to be reduced in size for covert missions.

To that end, he is transported in a specially converted attache case that has a chair and periscope, as well as numerous drawers and compartments that house tools & instruments he may need on any given assignment.

I always wondered if the Andersons were inspired to create their more elaborate attache case for their show after having seen the attache case from WOG?

[Bud Brewster]

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Here's two episodes of Land of Giants, which I watched years ago with the late Tim Edwards (Bulldogtrekker).

We enjoyed them. The concept is well presented.

___ WORLD OF GIANTS: "Special Agent" 9-5-1959


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_____ WORLD OF GIANTS: "Off Beat" 11-28-1959'


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

From IMDB.

Narration by secret agent Mel Hunter, Marshall Thompson:

"It was up to me to be careful 3600 seconds of every hour. I couldn't expect the rest of the world to live my way. To the rest of the world, my problems are not a matter of life and death. The Bureau guards many fantastic secrets. But none quite so fantastic as Mel Hunter — me. I watched along with fourteen doctors and seventeen scientists and saw myself shrink to the size of a six-inch ruler."

"The shrinking had stopped. The scientists were hoping, still working on my case, and I was still a special agent . . . a kind of special agent."

[Bud Brewster]

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This was an incredibly imaginative concept, and the series did a fine job of presenting several episodes which proved that the premise was valid and the producers could deliver exactly what they'd promise!

Sadly, this series remains another example of how fine science fiction programming sails right over the heads of the studio executives who can't really comprehend it.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

I have to admit that I don't recall ever seeing this show!



Witch is not that surprising in that my bedtime in those days was 8:00 pm!



Looking at the Wiki information I was surprised to see that a few shows were directed by Byron Haskin and Jack Arnold....A couple of first rate film directors! Also as a ZIV production it was very well crafted!



Thanks Bud for posting the YouTube links! This was a much superior show to the Irwin Allen one!


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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[scotpens]

[Bud Brewster]

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You're right, Gord, those are some impressive credentials.

Byron Haskin directed War of the Worlds, Conquest of Space, and Robinson Crusoe on Mars — three of the best sci-fi movies from the classic age.

Jack Arnold directed It Came from Outer Space. The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Revenge of the Creature, This Island Earth (uncredited scenes), Tarantula, Science Fiction Theatre (4 episodes),The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Space Children, and Monster on the Campus.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Pow]

From the Wisconsin Center of Film and Theater Research.

WOG offers an early taste of how the perspectives and experiences of one marginalized group, disabled people, may be shared via television.

Mel Hunter is disabled, albeit in a fantastical sense: he experiences bodily impairment and limitations due to his small stature, where his embodiment is considered negatively non-normative by those around him.

WOG's raison d'etre is to allow viewers compassionate access to its disabled protagonist's point of view as he survives in our WOG.

This show does not pity or ostracize Mel, but rather illuminates the difficulties he experiences as a disabled person navigating an inaccessible world.

Thus, WOG can be understood as part of a long line of genre fare that deals with not just fist-fights and femme fatales, but which engages meaningfully with issues of identity and acceptance that are deeply relevant to modern audiences.

[scotpens]

^^ Frankly, that sounds like a parody of "woke," Politically Correct thinking by ivory-tower academics!

I mean, come on. Shrunken people have been a staple of fantasy for thousands of years. The traditional genie in a bottle. The Devil Doll. Doctor Cyclops. The Incredible Shrinking Man. Attack of the Puppet People. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

World of Giants was a sci-fi/fantasy show. Reading anything more into it is just plain silly.

[Bud Brewster]

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I'll admit that the "shrunken person as a disabled person" comparison isn't something I'd have though of, but there's no denying that a guy as small as Marshall Thomas in this series would definitely feel pretty helpless because of his size.

And the whole plot of The Incredible Shrinking Man was about how Scott Cary's self esteem diminished the smaller he got — and that's definitely a problem which disabled people live with.

So, despite it being something of a stretch to compare Thomas' character to disabled folks, I guess it's not entirely a silly idea.



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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)