While on vacation in Florida, middle school science teacher John Martin (character actor Herb Edelman, "The Golden Girls", the film version of "The Odd Couple") unknowingly sips from the legendary Fountain of Youth. From that point forward he randomly morphs in and out of a 12-year-old version of himself (Robbie Rist, Cousin Oliver from "The Brady Bunch"), often at inopportune times. He tells his wife Marjorie (Joyce Bulifant, Marie from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show") and son Ricky (Mike Darnell), who pass "Little John" off as John's nephew. At school, his students and principal Miss Bertha Bottomly (Olive Dunbar) begin finding Mr. Martin's behavior suspicious. Attempts to cover his secret lead to comical situations. While he looks for a cure, he finds his experience as "Little John" helps him better relate to children. "Big John, Little John" was produced by Sherwood Schwartz and ran for a mere 13 episodes in 1976 before being canceled.
Reflecting on the series after reviewing each episode, "Big John, Little John" offered itself as lighthearted sitcom with silly fun. This premise worked for creator Sherwood Schwartz with "Gilligan's Island". I don't believe the difference was so much the strength of the story- how many times did you know something would prevent them from getting off the island in an episode? I believe the difference is the setting and characters. Watching "Gilligan's Island" transports you to this mysterious, unknown island with unique characters you can easily buy into and feel as if being there with friends. Neither is the case here. The setting is a small, bland classroom set and living room set. The characters are largely one-dimensional, reading lines to fit the story for John's character(s), which have limited development themselves. Other shows ("Bewitched", "I Dream of Jeannie", etc.) handled outlandish concepts through strength of characters, skilled comedy writing, and suspenseful plot conflict. Largely, the plot conflict here was weak and consisting of where was John or Little John. Where it could have found solid footing was building upon the opening episode where John learns to appreciate a different view from children's perspective. Too often episodes languish and the plot weakens as it goes along.
I've mentioned this in previous reviews of one-season shows, but honestly, I feel this sitcom would have been more successful as a feature-length movie, combining some of the better moments of specific episodes. It appears the high ratings for the previous reviewers were all reflective of how it took them back to their childhood, and not the quality of the show itself. And that's where I believe it's value sits today- nostalgia.
