Born Free (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Born Free was a short-lived drama based on the 1966 movie
of the same name. It aired on the NBC television network from September 9 to December 30, 1974 produced by Columbia Pictures Television
.
It was an adventure series with the emphasis on wildlife preservation. Gary Collins
starred as George Adamson
and Diana Muldaur
portrayed Joy Adamson
. The couple lived in Kenya
with their adopted lioness Elsa the Lioness
, where they protected the animals in the surrounding area from all sorts of danger, both natural and human.
A total of 13 episodes aired before the series was cancelled in the middle of the 1974-75 television season
due to low ratings, because of competition from ABC's Top 20 hit The Rookies
and CBS's Top 30 hit Gunsmoke
.
The final installment of the franchise was a television movie
called Born Free: A New Adventure which was released in 1996, with Linda Purl
and Chris Noth
. Joy and George Adamson do not appear as the main characters in the story.
Born Free
Born Free is a 1966 British drama film starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers as Joy and George Adamson, a real-life couple who raised Elsa the Lioness, an orphaned lion cub, to adulthood, and released her into the wilds of Kenya. The movie was produced by Open Road Films Ltd. and Columbia...
of the same name. It aired on the NBC television network from September 9 to December 30, 1974 produced by Columbia Pictures Television
Columbia Pictures Television
Columbia Pictures Television was the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gems . The studio changed its name on September 4, 1974.-1974-1982:...
.
It was an adventure series with the emphasis on wildlife preservation. Gary Collins
Gary Collins (actor)
Gary Ennis Collins is an American film and television performer.-Early life and career:Collins was born in Venice, California, to a waitress/factory worker mother. After attending Santa Monica City College, he enlisted in the U.S...
starred as George Adamson
George Adamson
George Adamson , also known as the "Baba ya Simba" , was a British wildlife conservationist and author...
and Diana Muldaur
Diana Muldaur
Diana Muldaur is an Emmy-nominated American film and television actress.-Career:Born in New York City, but raised on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, Muldaur started acting in high school and continued on through college, graduating from Sweet Briar College in Virginia in 1960. She studied acting...
portrayed Joy Adamson
Joy Adamson
Joy Adamson was a naturalist, artist, and author best known for her book, Born Free, which describes her experiences raising a lion cub named Elsa...
. The couple lived in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
with their adopted lioness Elsa the Lioness
Elsa the lioness
Elsa the lioness was raised by game warden George Adamson and his wife Joy Adamson in Kenya. Elsa and her two sisters, 'Big One' and 'Lustica', first came under the care of the Adamsons when only a few weeks old. They had become orphaned when George was reluctantly forced to kill their mother...
, where they protected the animals in the surrounding area from all sorts of danger, both natural and human.
A total of 13 episodes aired before the series was cancelled in the middle of the 1974-75 television season
1974-75 United States network television schedule
This was the television schedule on all three commercial United States television networks for the fall season beginning in September 1974. All times are Eastern and Pacific, with a few exceptions, such as Monday Night Football....
due to low ratings, because of competition from ABC's Top 20 hit The Rookies
The Rookies
The Rookies is an American crime drama series that aired on ABC from 1972 until 1976. It followed the exploits of three rookie police officers in an unidentified city for the fictitious Southern California Police Department .-History:...
and CBS's Top 30 hit Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke
Gunsmoke is an American radio and television Western drama series created by director Norman MacDonnell and writer John Meston. The stories take place in and around Dodge City, Kansas, during the settlement of the American West....
.
The final installment of the franchise was a television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
called Born Free: A New Adventure which was released in 1996, with Linda Purl
Linda Purl
Linda Purl is an American actress and singer, perhaps best known for portraying Ben Matlock's daughter Charlene Matlock in season one of Matlock.-Early life and education abroad:...
and Chris Noth
Chris Noth
Christopher David "Chris" Noth is an American actor. He is known for long-running television roles as Det. Mike Logan on the police procedural and legal drama television series, Law & Order and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and as Big on Sex and the City. For the latter role, he has been...
. Joy and George Adamson do not appear as the main characters in the story.