History Series / WatchMrWizard

* SpiritualSuccessor: [[Series/BillNyeTheScienceGuy Bill Nye,]] [[Series/BeakmansWorld Beakman,]] and really [[FromClonesToGenre every host of any science show for children]] is following in Don Herbert's footsteps. The two penguins on ''Beakman's World'' are even named Don and Herb in his honor.

* SpiritualSuccessor: [[Series/BillNyeTheScienceGuy Bill Nye,]] [[Series/BeakmansWorld Beakman,]] and really every host of any science show for children is following in Don Herbert's footsteps. The two penguins on ''Beakman's World'' are even named Don and Herb in his honor.

* ScienceIsGood: The overarching theme of the series, which sought to make science more appealing to younger audiences by showing how fun and easy it is to do certain experiments at home.

In 1983, however, Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}, starved for new and original programming, revived Mr. Wizard once more, on cable. ''Mr. Wizard's World'' was a faster-paced version of the show, and ran until 1989, managing to become the third most popular show on the then-fledgling channel (behind ''Livewire'' and ''Series/YouCantDoThatOnTelevision'').

When Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} came along in 1983, however, Mr. Wizard was revived once more. ''Mr. Wizard's World'' was a faster-paced version of the show, and ran until 1989, managing to become the third most popular show on the then-fledgling channel (behind ''Livewire'' and ''Series/YouCantDoThatOnTelevision'').

* LongRunners: Pooling together the 1951-1965 original series, the 1971-1972 Canadian revival, and the 1983-1989 Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} version, the ''Mr. Wizard'' series ran for a rough total of 21 (nonconsecutive) years.
* {{Revival}}: Saw two over the years: a Canadian-produced version (still under ownership of NBC) as ''Mr. Wizard'' in 1971 and the Creator/{{Nickelodeon}}-produced ''Mr. Wizard's World'' in 1983.
* ScienceIsGood: The overarching theme of the series, which seeks to make it more appealing to younger audiences by showing how fun and easy it is to do certain experiments at home.

Starting in 1951 on NBC, ''Watch Mr. Wizard'' proved to have staying power, a combination of Herbert's genial personality and a presentation style that would be copied for over a generation to come: Show, then tell. After moving from Chicago to New York in 1955, the show would continue to run for ten more years before being canceled. In that time, it even won a Peabody Award, and was credited by the National Science Foundation and the American Chemical Society for increasing public interest in science. NBC tried to revive it six years later as ''Mr. Wizard'', moving production to Canada, but the revival lasted only one season.

''Watch Mr. Wizard'' was a good and early attempt at science education through the medium of television. Created by radio personality Don Herbert (who played the titular Mr. Wizard, a science hobbyist), the series focused on teaching basic scientific principles such as magnetism and friction. In any given episode, a boy or girl would enter Mr. Wizard's lab and be shown what was, in effect, a scientific magic trick. This would then lead to a discussion and teaching of the principles connected to the trick -- vibrating a spoon with sound waves from an electronic speaker, for instance, led into a discussion of the generation of electricity, and thus vibrations.

When Nickelodeon came along in 1983, however, Mr. Wizard was revived once more. ''Mr. Wizard's World'' was a faster-paced version of the show, and ran until 1990, managing to become the third most popular show on the then-fledgling channel (behind ''Livewire'' and ''Series/YouCantDoThatOnTelevision'').

When Nickelodeon came along in 1983, however, Mr. Wizard was revived once more. ''Mr. Wizard's World'' was a faster-paced version of the show, and ran until 1990, managing to become the third most popular show on the then-fledgling channel (behind ''Livewire'' and ''Series/YouCantDoThatOnTelevision''.