Hey, I Remember This Show: Fantastic Voyage

Please don't ask me why I remember an animated series from 1968 a lot better than a live-action show from 1977. Personally, I suspect the long life some cartoon shows like this one enjoyed in syndication is responsible. Plus like most of my generation, I had rather odd tastes in TV shows when I was a child.

That said, it's interesting to view this show today and note how many things leap out at me that didn't occur to me as a kid, ranging from the many, many liberties the show takes with the premise of Isaac Asimov's original novel (I think it goes without saying that Asimov did not have a mystical Indian character named Guru in his version) to the almost omnipresent narration of the late Ted Knight, an actor who, like his fellow dues-payer William Conrad, is remembered nowadays for far more than his stirring narration of many Saturday morning cartoon shows. For that matter, I wonder if the odd crush I have had on many a tall blonde can be credited to childhood memories of CMDF member Erica Lane. However, that's a subject for another day.