World of Giants

World of Giants (a.k.a. W-O-G)[1] is an American black-and-white science fiction spy-fi television series that aired in syndication from September 5, 1959, until November 28, 1959. It starred Marshall Thompson and Arthur Franz.

World of Giants
GenreSpy-fi
StarringMarshall Thompson
Arthur Franz
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13 (list of episodes)
Production
Running time30 minutes
Production companyZiv Television Programs
Release
Original networkSyndication
Original releaseSeptember 5 (1959-09-05) –
November 28, 1959 (1959-11-28)

Premise

American spy Mel Hunter, while on a covert mission, is shrunk to a height of six inches after an accident. This series stars Marshall Thompson as Federal Counter-Espionage Agent Mel Hunter, who uses his small size to infiltrate areas that a full-sized man could not. When not on assignment, he lives in a specially outfitted dollhouse-like miniature. The series co-stars Arthur Franz as his full-sized partner, Agent Bill Winters.

Thompson set up the premise in the show's opening voiceover:

It was up to me to be careful 3600 seconds of every hour. I couldn't expect the rest of the world to live my way. To the rest of the world, my problems are not a matter of life and death. The Bureau guards many fantastic secrets. But none quite so fantastic as Mel Hunter—-me. Following my escape from a nightmare behind the Iron Curtain six months ago, I watched along with 14 doctors and 17 scientists and saw myself shrink to the size of a six-inch ruler. The shrinking had stopped. The scientists were still hoping, still working on my case, and I was still a special agent... a kind of special special agent.

Cast

Episodes
No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
1"Special Agent"Otto LangDonald Duncan and Jack LairdSeptember 5, 1959 (1959-09-05)
Mel and Bill tries to find the secret hudeout of an international spy ring.
2"Time Bomb"Otto LangCharles LawsonSeptember 12, 1959 (1959-09-12)
Mel has to warn Bill about a time bomb in the mail.
3"Teeth of the Watch Dog"Monroe AskinsJoe Stone and Paul KingSeptember 19, 1959 (1959-09-19)
An actress might be involved in a spy ring.
4"Death Trap"Byron HaskinDonald DuncanSeptember 26, 1959 (1959-09-26)
A briefcase containing Mel is lost after a car accident.
5"Gambling Story"Nathan JuranRichard CarrOctober 3, 1959 (1959-10-03)
A casino owner is working with foreign spies.
6"Chemical Story"Eugène LouriéMeyer Dolinsky and Robert C. DennisOctober 10, 1959 (1959-10-10)
Mel tries to recapture several test tubes containing experimental chemicals, but gets locked inside a refrigerator.
7"Feathered Foe"Nathan JuranDan Lundberg and Hugh LaceyOctober 17, 1959 (1959-10-17)
An enemy agent is using carrier pigeons to transport secret documents.
8"The Pool"Nathan JuranLawrence MascottOctober 24, 1959 (1959-10-24)
Mel tries to find a codebook in a pool.
9"Rainbow of Fire"Harry HornerA. Sanford Wolf and Irwin WinehouseOctober 31, 1959 (1959-10-31)
Bill and Mel must find a rocket that landed in the Caribbean after it malfunctioned.
10"The Smugglers"Nathan JuranFred FreibergerNovember 7, 1959 (1959-11-07)
Bill and Mel goes after smugglers who are smuggling people out of China.
11"Unexpected Murder"Jack ArnoldMeyer DolinskyNovember 14, 1959 (1959-11-14)
Bill must stop a pharmacist who has been smuggling counterfeit money.
12"Panic in 3B"Jack ArnoldA. Sanford Wolf and Irwin WinehouseNovember 21, 1959 (1959-11-21)
Agents from Eastern Europe wants to kidnap Mel so they can find out what made him shrink.
13"Off Beat"Harry HornerKay Lenard and Jess CarneolNovember 28, 1959 (1959-11-28)
Mel is convinced that a jazz musician is really an imposter.

Production

World of Giants was produced by Ziv Television Programs, the company responsible for such hit TV series as Highway Patrol, Sea Hunt, and Bat Masterson.

Not a success, this series only lasted through its initial production order of 13 episodes. Thompson later went on to star in the (much more) successful CBS TV series Daktari (1966-1969).

Nearly a decade later, in 1968, a similarly themed Irwin Allen science fiction TV series, entitled Land of the Giants, starring Gary Conway and Don Marshall, ran on ABC. Two years prior to that series, an animated kids TV show called Tom of T.H.U.M.B., aired as a part of The King Kong Show. In 1973 the Hanna-Barbera's animated series Inch High, Private Eye, about a similarly small detective, premiered on NBC, airing for only one season.

Home media

The complete series of World of Giants will be released on Blu-ray from distribution company, ClassicFlix on October 24, 2023.[2]

References
  1. "- YouTube". YouTube.
  2. "World of Giants: The Complete TV Series Blu-ray". blu-ray.com. August 7, 2023. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
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