Lassie (TV series): Difference between revisions

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{{quote|"The way Lassie had to constantly save the family, you have to believe they were dumber than dirt. The only way their farm could have survived is from government grants, which you can figure Lassie filled out the paperwork."|[[Dave Barry]]}}
 
'''''Lassie''''' is a long-running television series that originally aired from 1954 to 1973, and featured the exploits of heroic collie dog [[Lassie]]. It is one of the archetypal [[Heroic Pet Story]] series, inspiring many later imitations and parodies. In the series, Lassie was the pet of Jeff Miller (Tommy Rettig), and in later seasons Timmy Martin (Jon Provost), of "[[Common Knowledge|What's that, Lassie? Timmy's fallen down a well?]]" fame -- although a well was one of the few things Timmy ''didn't'' [[Beam Me Up, Scotty|fall down in the course of the series]].
 
It may be a little hard for modern tropers to really grok, but this series was a ''big deal'' back in [[The Fifties|the day]]. It was on the air at the very dawn of mass-consumption television, and it hit ''exactly'' the perfect note for young baby-boom families of the time. Lassie was one of the first true super-smash television hits, alongside shows like ''[[Leave It to Beaver]]'', that demonstrated just how potent television was as a medium - not just for storytelling, [[Cash Cow Franchise|but for making obscene amounts of money]].
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Six different dogs portrayed Lassie over the course of the series; all were owned and trained by professional trainer Rudd Weatherwax, and the five successors were descended from the original, whose off-screen name was Pal. Pal was the original Lassie, who had starred in the 1943 film ''Lassie Come Home'' (based on a novel by Eric Knight) and six sequels; when the film series ended, Weatherwax acquired the Lassie trademark (in lieu of unpaid wages, according to one account), and the television series resulted. All six dogs were actually male; male collies were thought to be more visually impressive, and less subject to seasonal shedding issues.
 
{{tropelisttropenamer}}
* [[Timmy in a Well]]: The [[Trope Namer]], evenEven though Timmy never did actually fall down a well.
 
{{tropelist}}
* [[An Aesop]]: Frequently prefaced with the words "You see, Timmy..."
* [[And Starring]]: "Starring [[Hugh Beaumont]], [[June Lockhart]], Jon Provost as Timmy, and, of course, Lassie."
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* [[Heroic Dog]]/[[Heroic Pet Story]]: One of best known examples.
* [[Missing Episode]]: One episode in which Timmy comes across a fallen satellite and is exposed to radiation wasn't shown originally due to a widespread radiation fears at the time. It was eventually aired much later.
* [[The Other Darrin]]: The various Lassies; and among the human cast, the actors playing Timmy's adoptive parents were both replaced after one season.
* [[Pet Baby Wild Animal]]: In one episode, Lassie adopted a raccoon, which was later killed by a speeding car. Everyone learned an [[Very Special Episode|important lesson]] about careful driving.
* [[Product Placement]]: For Campbell's Soup, the show's major sponsor.
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* [[Stage Names]]: Pal and his successors were all credited as "Lassie".
* [[Syndication Title]]: The early seasons were syndicated as ''Jeff's Collie'', and later seasons as ''Timmy and Lassie''.
* [[Timmy in a Well]]: The [[Trope Namer]], even though Timmy never did actually fall down a well.
* [[Too Dumb to Live]]: Considering all the non-well based trouble Timmy [http://sickbastard.wordpress.com/2007/07/10/timmy-fell-down-what-well/ got into] it is a miracle he's alive at all.
 
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{{Best in TV: The Greatest TV Shows of Our Time}}
[[Category:Lassie{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:TV SeriesLassie]]
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[[Category:Live-Action TV of the 1950s]]
[[Category:Live-Action TV of the 1960s]]
[[Category:Live-Action TV of the 1970s]]
[[Category:Heroic Pet Story]]
[[Category:American Series]]
[[Category:The Fifties]]
[[Category:Lassie]]
[[Category:TV Series]]
[[Category:Nickelodeon]]