That's Incredible!

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That's Incredible
Genre Reality show
Created by Alan Landsburg Productions
Starring John Davidson
Fran Tarkenton and Cathy Lee Crosby
Country of origin Flag of the United States United States
No. of seasons 3
Production
Producer(s) Alan Landsburg
Running time 1 hr. and 30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel ABC
Original run March 17, 1980April 30, 1984
Chronology
Related shows Incredible Sunday
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

That's Incredible! was a reality television show that ran on the ABC television network from 1980 to 1984. In the tradition of Ripley's Believe It or Not! and Real People, the show featured people performing stunts and reenactments of allegedly paranormal events. The show was co-hosted by John Davidson, Fran Tarkenton and Cathy Lee Crosby, and was produced by Alan Landsburg Productions. Originally aired as an hour-long program, episodes were later re-edited into 30 minute segments for syndication.

That's Incredible! was revived in 1988, hosted by Davidson, Cristina Ferrare, and Tracey Gold and was renamed Incredible Sunday. It lasted only during the 19881989 season.

A number of the stunts performed were quite dangerous, including juggling knives, staying inside a small box for hours, and one involving a man catching a bullet between his teeth (at least seven people have lost their lives attempting that stunt). The dangerous nature of these stunts eventually prompted producers to augment the footage with the caption "Do Not Try This Yourself". Steve Baker also known as "Mr. Escape", was frequently featured on the show.

The show has been cited as an influence on hip-hop culture in New Zealand, where much television programming in the 1980s was American. In 1983 the show featured several dancing crews, giving youth of Pacific Island and Maori heritage, many of whom were interested in hip-hop culture and dance, a sense of connectedness to global youth culture [1]. The Floormasters hip hop dance crew appeared on the show in 1983 [2].

[edit] In popular culture

  • The program is mentioned in the song "TV Party" by the punk group Black Flag.
  • MAD Magazine produced a feature cartoon in 1981 titled That's Real Incredible, People, mocking the blurred distinction between That's Incredible! and Real People.
  • An episode of Tiny Toon Adventures featured a parody called "That's Incredibly Stupid!" wherein the contestant does over the top ridiculous stunts only to be told that the stunt was "incredibly stupid".

[edit] External links

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