Flipper

Flipper

1964
Flipper
Flipper

Flipper

6.3 | TV-G | en | Drama

Flipper, from Ivan Tors Films in association with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television, is an American television program first broadcast on NBC from September 19, 1964, until April 15, 1967. Flipper, a bottlenose dolphin, is the companion animal of Porter Ricks, Chief Warden at fictional Coral Key Park and Marine Preserve in southern Florida, and his two young sons, Sandy and Bud. The show has been dubbed an "aquatic Lassie", and a considerable amount of juvenile merchandise inspired by the show was produced during its first-run.

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Seasons & Episodes

3
2
1
EP28  Flipper's New Friends (2)
Apr. 15,1967
Flipper's New Friends (2)

Flipper and the dog try to get help to two lost children stranded on a deserted island.

EP27  Flipper's New Friends (1)
Apr. 08,1967
Flipper's New Friends (1)

Flipper befriends a young brother and sister who have moved to Coral Quay with their widowed mother.

EP26  Cap'n Flint
Apr. 01,1967
Cap'n Flint

Flipper comes to the rescue of Cap'n Flint (Bud's friend's pet parrot) when the raft the bird is perched on drifts into and explosion zone.

EP25  Devil Ray
Mar. 25,1967
Devil Ray

A large sting ray has shown up in Coral key park and everyone is afraid of it. Porter is told he must get rid of it - one way or another.

EP24  The Firing Line (2)
Mar. 18,1967
The Firing Line (2)

Sandy and Bud took a short cut on the way to their errand and end up in the middle of an active shooting range. While they are stuck there being shot at after their motor is struck, Porter Ricks desperately looks for his boys, then tries to save them from being killed.

EP23  The Firing Line (1)
Mar. 11,1967
The Firing Line (1)

Porter leaves Sandy and Bud in charge while he goes to take care of some business for the day. He even tells them that they can open his mail when it comes. They do as instructed, only to find a check that says "termination pay" on it. Bud and Sandy are distressed about having to leave Coral Key, so they set out to find their father a job. You wouldn't think they could get into any trouble but...

EP22  Decision for Bud
Mar. 04,1967
Decision for Bud

A scientist goes to Bud to ask his permission to take Flipper for a special study. He and Bud make a deal, but then Flipper is called upon to help find a missing diver.

EP21  A Dolphin in Time
Feb. 25,1967
A Dolphin in Time

Scott Emson is trying to study sharks, but Flipper doesn't seem to understand he wants the sharks - not saved!

EP20  Dolphin for Ransom
Feb. 18,1967
Dolphin for Ransom

When Porter orders a teenager to be in court early Monday morning for poaching lobsters, he revenges Porter by stealing Flipper and holding him for Ransom.

EP19  Aunt Martha
Feb. 11,1967
Aunt Martha

Porter's Aunt Martha comes to lend a helping hand in raising the boys. Her presence puts a strain on the Ricks' when she takes over and rules everything from the boys wardrobe to Flipper's place as a member of the family.

EP18  Dolphins Don't Sleep
Feb. 04,1967
Dolphins Don't Sleep

The boys rush to find Flipper when he drifts to the bottom of the ocean after being hit by a tranquilizer dart.

EP17  Flipper and the Seal
Jan. 28,1967
Flipper and the Seal

A 20 year-old young man is accused of stealing mollusks from an area of the park that Porter Ricks has been doing experiments in.With the help of Flipper and Bud's picture,a seal is caught as the real thief.

EP16  The Most Expensive Sardine in the World
Jan. 21,1967
The Most Expensive Sardine in the World

Bud fights to save Flipper's life after an expensive bracelet falls into the ocean and is believed to have ended up in the dolphins' stomach.

EP15  Flipper and the Fugitive (2)
Jan. 14,1967
Flipper and the Fugitive (2)

After returning home to find a fugitive holding Porter and Sandy hostage, Bud sends Flipper for help.

EP14  Flipper and the Fugitive (1)
Jan. 07,1967
Flipper and the Fugitive (1)

In the aftermath of a hurricane, Flipper discovers a man unconscious in his boat and tows the boat to a beach. Porter rescues the obvious bank robber and takes him back to his home, unaware of who the stranger really is.

EP13  Alligator Duel
Dec. 10,1966
Alligator Duel

Flipper's life is in danger when he becomes the unwitting star in a movie fight scene between himself and an alligator.

EP12  Flipper's Island
Dec. 03,1966
Flipper's Island

Bud and Sandy run into gun smugglers while camping alone on an uncharted island.

EP11  Flipper and the Puppy
Nov. 26,1966
Flipper and the Puppy

Flipper and Bud come to the rescue of a puppy left stranded on an island after falling of his owner's boat.

EP10  Executive Bud
Nov. 19,1966
Executive Bud

Bud gets himself into trouble when he plays Executive, hiring his friends to do the jobs he's being paid for. He learns a valuable lesson in business when things go wrong and it takes a greater effort to organise others to do the work than it would have to do it himself.

EP9  Explosion
Nov. 12,1966
Explosion

A friend of the Ricks' wants to earn some fast money to send his brother to school. He offers to help do some blasting by lying to the foreman, after the professional they hired is critically injured.

EP8  Whale Ahoy
Nov. 05,1966
Whale Ahoy

While researching his book report, Bud dreams of sailing the deep blue seas with Moby Dick.

EP7  An Errand for Flipper
Oct. 29,1966
An Errand for Flipper

Porter is frustrated as he waits in the middle of the ocean for Flipper to deliver the tools to repair his broken plane. His anger soon dissipates when he realises that Flipper was busy saving lives all day.

EP6  Cupid Flipper
Oct. 22,1966
Cupid Flipper

After Sandy's girlfriend shows more interest in Porter than Sandy, Flipper works as cupid to bring the two teen lovebirds back together.

EP5  The Warning
Oct. 15,1966
The Warning

After witnessing all the marine animals fleeing the area, Bud and Sandy alert the local folk of a hurricane headed their way, despite their father's instructions and a clear weather forecast. No such hurricane eventuates and believing they have wasted time and money in securing their boats, the towns people look to Porter for compensation. It is only after a tidal wave hits that everyone in the town is grateful to Flipper and the boys for the warning.

EP4  Lost Dolphin
Oct. 08,1966
Lost Dolphin

Another family lays claim to Flipper after he suffers from amnesia and cannot recognize Bud and Sandy.

EP3  Disaster in the Everglades (2)
Oct. 01,1966
Disaster in the Everglades (2)

Sandy and Bud become increasingly worried as they have still heard no word from their father, who failed to return from a routine check of the Everglades.

EP2  Disaster in the Everglades (1)
Sep. 24,1966
Disaster in the Everglades (1)

Whilst on a routine check of the Everglades, Porter Ricks steps in a poacher's trap. Badly injured, he is taken to Barney's secluded hide-away where he discovers that Barney has been poaching the local wildlife.

EP1  Agent Bud
Sep. 17,1966
Agent Bud

When two pilots crash into the ocean and become trapped in their aircraft it is up to Porter and Sandy to save the day, with a little help from Flipper and Bud's newly honed secret agent detective skills.

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6.3 | TV-G | en | Drama , Family , Action & Adventure | More Info
Released: 1964-09-19 | Released Producted By: MGM Television , Miami Seaquarium Country: United States of America Budget: 0 Revenue: 0 Official Website:
Synopsis

Flipper, from Ivan Tors Films in association with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television, is an American television program first broadcast on NBC from September 19, 1964, until April 15, 1967. Flipper, a bottlenose dolphin, is the companion animal of Porter Ricks, Chief Warden at fictional Coral Key Park and Marine Preserve in southern Florida, and his two young sons, Sandy and Bud. The show has been dubbed an "aquatic Lassie", and a considerable amount of juvenile merchandise inspired by the show was produced during its first-run.

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Cast

Luke Halpin , Tommy Norden

Director

Ivan Tors

Producted By

MGM Television , Miami Seaquarium

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Reviews

ronniedanger Flipper was as other reviewers stated very sweet, entertaining and sometimes educational. I remember having a crush on Sandy and on Porter. Even as a little girl who didn't know how to swim, I gladly entered Bud and Flipper's magical world. One other reviewer wrote about a lady singing a song, and I was actually looking for that song I think it is French, though. Shows like Flipper stretched my imagination. Later, as a short story writer, I can think back to my childhood and dream up fabulous situations; if a boy and his dolphin can have adventures then anything I can dream up is okay, too. Shows like this may have premises that stretched our imaginations but they also let kids be kids and the acting was so much better. People seemed more like three dimensional humans instead of caricatures. I vote 10 out of 10 for Flipper!
georgepardee When I was a kid, I really loved the dolphin Flipper, and the two boys were cute and much like me. But I really loved Dad, Porter Ricks, played by Brian Kelly. What a daddy he was! With his exquisitely handsome face and a perfectly sculpted, hairy body, he was out of this world. His ranger uniform, with its tight pants, tight, unbuttoned shirt with nice short sleeves, compared with Robert Conrad's sexy outfits on Wild, Wild West, which was showing during the same years. And, of course, there were his many, many scenes in a bathing suit - breathtaking! Wow! His voice and his movements dripped with masculinity. He was so frickin' virile! I loved that man as an 11-year-old and still love him now. So sad about the motorcycle accident. Rest in Peace, Brian.
fugazzi49 I was a big fan of Flipper since I saw the first film as a thirteen year old in 1963, and continued to follow Flipper in the second film and on TV. It's portrayal of an almost idyllic life for a boy and his pet dolphin was a wonderful fantasy for a boy who was about the same age as Sandy (Luke) at the time. The first film was a little more serious than the second: just look at that tiny fisherman's cottage the Ricks family lives in, and the dangers of the fisherman's life portrayed. The second film, despite featuring escaped convicts and a kidnapping plot is definitely light fare - the villains are stock characters and the tone is light enough to include an idyllic 'Eden" sequence much like a music video as Sandy and the girl he befriends tour the island.The TV series, debuting in September, 1964 offered a lot of changes, mostly for reasons of budget or the target audience. Sandy's mother is now officially dead (she appeared in the first film and wasn't mentioned in the second) probably for budgetary reasons. In an era of stay-at-home moms she would have had to be in most episodes, but because Flipper was an action/adventure show and not a family sitcom, she would have had little to do.The really big change was that Sandy now had a little brother, Bud (played by Tommy Norden). This was probably because the producers and network (NBC) aimed the show at kids, and felt they needed a younger character with whom they could identify. Even the balance of the character mix was changed: the movies had been pretty much all Sandy (Luke Halpin) who was in virtually every scene. Now Bud seemed to be the principal character, and most of the plots either were centered on him or were created by his mishaps.The almost idyllic world depicted - a world where you ran around in nothing but shorts all day and swam around with a dolphin between adventures was irresistible to me and I sure would have wanted to be their friend.Speaking of friends,where were their friends? Another element lost to the budgetary ax no doubt. Both Sandy and Bud were personable boys and it is often mentioned that they go to school,but the never seem to be with any friends,even though they have a house right on the ocean and a pet dolphin! A few friends would have made them seem less isolated.Even Flipper himself changed dramatically between the movies and the TV series. His intelligence grew enormously. In the first film he does little more than play "fetch" with Sandy, and his dancing is a mere spin in the water, not his famous Tail Dance. In the second film he's adept at throwing various objects to shore.But in the TV series there's practically nothing he can't do. He can follow the most amazingly complicated instructions, find people without being told where they might be, and even discern bad guys when everyone else believes them to be good. Well I guess it's as Bud and Sandy say in "Flipper's Treasure": "You can't fool Flipper!"You could say that in the movies Flipper was a pet but in the TV show he became more like a Guardian Angel.A wonderful classic TV show.
raysond My,My,My..........All Those years ago!!!!!!!!!! Its amazes me that this show isn't shown anymore on either of the cable networks. The last time it shown was for one back in the mid 90's on the kids channel Nickelodeon,then was seen on The Family Channel,and then later on Animal Planet. Nowadays,it is being shown on one of those Discovery Kids channels if it ever comes on. Do I remember singing the theme song? "They call him Flipper,Flipper,faster than lightning,no one you see is smarter than he,and we know Flipper lives in a world of wonder,finding them under,under the sea".For one,you had two kids who were living in paradise. Their pet was an highly intelligent dolphin who was the kids family pet,and by the way,any kids dream pet!Second,there was no mom around,so it was up to the father who looked after the kids,who was the park ranger of a Florida park and coral reef who was responsible for looking after the kids and Flipper. Third,you had Bud(played by Luke Halpin)who was the oldest and you had the youngest one Bud(played by Tommy Norden)and their father(played by Brian Kelly). Also the show was very exciting to watch since it had some breathtaking underwater photography that was ever seen and in some of the episodes it was fascinating to look at all shot in color! And action? Lots of it including some very famous guest stars that were on the show like Andy Devine,Marshall Thompson and a young looking Burt Reynolds.Fourth,the series ran for three seasons on NBC-TV(from 1964-67),and after which when the series went off the air,actor Brian Kelly was in a terrible accident,which to this day was never heard from again,until 30 years later in a new version of the series which came out in 1995.Finally,this was a great kids show and also for adults as well. My,so many years ago.