- My Mom's Having a Baby
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My Mom's Having a Baby is an American television teen comedy/documentary that aired as a ABC Afterschool Special on February 16, 1977. The program would be historic as it was the first television program of its kind in the United States to showcase the pregnancy process and conception to young people, using a combination of animation and live action. The program was a co-production between Dick Clark Productions and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises.
Contents
Premise
Upon learning that his mother is pregnant with what will be his brother, 10 year-old Petey Evans begins to wonder (through animated fantasies and flashbacks) about how babies are born, only to realize that those theories are not delivered by storks or popping out of a stomach. So, with help from his friends Oskar and Kelly, they go to a real expert who will be performing the delivery, Dr. Lendon Smith, who uses an animated film that explains in detail (via Smith's narration) of how a pregnancy actually begins and how the child is conceived.
The remaining portion of this program features an actual live birth being performed in front of the cameras, which was taken from a 1974 TV special called "Birth & Babies."[1] Actress Candace Farrell, who played the mother in this program, was actually pregnant at the time of filming the 1974 special, which resulted in the producers hiring her for this program.
Critical reception
Despite being a groundbreaking program in its own right, it also had its share of criticism for using a daytime program to showcase what they saw as Sex Education and exposing younger viewers to a live birth being performed on television. Nevertheless, the special proved to be a success, resulting in ABC rerunning the program in primetime four days later on February 20, 1977.
Awards
- This program won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1977 for Outstanding Childrens' Informational Special.
Cast
- Shane Sinutko as Petey Evans
- Jarred Johnson as Oskar
- Rachael Longaker as Kelly
- Lendon Smith as himself
- Candace Farrell as Anne Evans
See also
- Where Do Teenagers Come From?, the 1980 sequel to this program.
References
- ^ "TELEVISION; The Quiet Life as Pursued by David Hartman" From New York Times (August 20, 1995)
External links
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises Founders Theatrical shorts (Original) The Pink Panther (theatrical, 1964–1980) • The Inspector (theatrical, 1965–1969) • Roland and Rattfink (theatrical, 1968–1971) • The Ant and the Aardvark (theatrical, 1969–1971) • Tijuana Toads (theatrical, 1969–1972) • The Blue Racer (theatrical, 1972–1974) • Hoot Kloot (theatrical, 1973–1974) • The Dogfather (theatrical, 1974–1976) •Theatrical shorts and Television specials
commissioned for Warner Bros.Merrie Melodies/Looney Tunes (theatrical, 1964-1967) Bugs Bunny's Easter Special (CBS/TV special, 1977) Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales (CBS/TV special, 1979) Daffy Duck's Easter Show (NBC/TV special, 1980)Television shorts Misterjaw (television, 1976) • Crazylegs Crane (television, 1978)Television shows The Super 6 (NBC, 1966–1969) • Super President (NBC, 1967–1968) • Here Comes The Grump (NBC, 1969–1970) • The Pink Panther Show (NBC, 1969–1971) • The Pink Panther Meets The Ant and the Aardvark (NBC, 1970–1971) • Doctor Dolittle (NBC, 1970–1971) • The New Pink Panther Show (NBC, 1971–1976) • The Barkleys (NBC, 1972–1973) • The Houndcats (NBC, 1972–1973) • Bailey's Comets (CBS, 1973–1975) • The Oddball Couple (ABC, 1975–1977) • Return to the Planet of the Apes (NBC, 1975–1976) The Pink Panther Laugh and a Half-Hour and a Half Show (NBC, 1976–1977) Baggy Pants and the Nitwits (NBC, 1977–1978) What's New Mr. Magoo? (CBS, 1977–1979) Think! Pink Panther (NBC, 1978) The All New Pink Panther Show (ABC, 1978–1979) The Fantastic Four (NBC, 1978–1979) Spider-Woman (ABC, 1979–1980)Television specials Clerow Wilson and the Miracle of P.S. 14 (CBS/TV special, 1972) Luvcast U.S.A. (ABC/TV special) The Incredible, Indelible, Magical Physical, Mystery Trip (ABC/TV special, 1973) The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas (NBC/TV special, 1973) Clerow Wilson's Great Escape (NBC/TV special, 1974) The Magical Mystery Trip Through Little Red's Head (ABC/TV special, 1974) The Tiny Tree (NBC/TV special, 1975) My Mom's Having a Baby (ABC/TV special, 1977) Where Do Teenagers Come From? (ABC/TV special, 1980)Dr. Seuss
Television specialsThe Cat in the Hat (CBS/TV special, 1971) • The Lorax (CBS/TV special, 1972) • Dr. Seuss on the Loose (CBS/TV special, 1973) • The Hoober-Bloob Highway (CBS/TV special, 1975) • Halloween Is Grinch Night (ABC/TV special, 1977) • Pontoffel Pock, Where Are You? (ABC/TV special, 1980)See also Categories:- ABC Afterschool Special episodes
- Television anthology episodes
- 1977 television films
- Pregnancy films
- Sex education
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