These Are the Days (TV series)


These Are the Days was a 30-minute Saturday morning animated series produced by the Hanna-Barbera studios and broadcast on ABC from September 7, 1974, to September 27, 1975.

Plot

Set at the turn of the 20th century in an old town called Elmsville located somewhere on the Great Plains, These Are the Days portrayed the everyday lives of the Day family, which consisted of a widow, her three children and her father, a self-styled inventor. Various family members interacted with friends and neighbors, with the story usually ending with a lesson learned.

Production

Due to the popularity of The Waltons, ABC decided to take a flyer on an animated program set around the turn of the century. It was one of three "serious" programs the network aired on Saturday mornings in 1974, the others being the prehistoric live-action drama and the animated family drama Devlin. These Are the Days and Devlin were among the very few dramatic programs ever produced by Hanna-Barbera, who were known primarily for slapstick comedies and action-adventure cartoons.
Despite critical acclaim, however, These Are the Days was a ratings failure, as were Devlin and Korg: 70,000 B.C.; all three series were cancelled by the end of the year. These Are the Days continued in re-runs, with four new episodes shown in September 1975.

Cast