My Favorite Martian

My Favorite Martian was the first of the 'fantasy' sitcoms that became prevalent on American television in the mid-1960s, predating shows like My Living Doll, Bewitched, and I Dream of Jeannie.

Unhappy with early scripts from creator/producer Jack Chertok, CBS brought in script doctor Sherwood Schwartz, who reworked the scripts to focus more on the Martian as a 'fish out of water' on what he called 'this backwards planet.'

The original pilot featured Mrs. Brown's niece Annabelle as Tim's love interest, but the character was dropped so Tim could become more of a playboy, and Mrs. Brown herself was reworked from a multi-talented, suspicious character into a decidedly scatterbrained landlady.

Bill Bixby credited co-star Ray Walston as his mentor on the show, saying his growth as an actor between the first and third seasons was due directly to Walston, whom he called 'my teacher, my on-the-job-training teacher.'

The first two seasons (75 episodes) were filmed in black-and-white at Desilu Studios, while the final 32-episode season was shot in color at MGM, bringing minor changes to the sets and format, including new Martian powers like nose levitation.

The show's theme music, composed by George Greeley, was performed in part on an Electro-Theremin by Paul Tanner, a former Glenn Miller band member; this work led Brian Wilson to hire Tanner in 1965-66 to play the instrument on the Beach Boys' 'Good Vibrations.'

Martin's real name, Exigius 12½, was revealed in the episode 'We Love You, Miss Pringle' and again when his nephew Andromeda crash-landed on Earth late in season three; Andromeda was created to attract younger viewers but then vanished without explanation from the remaining live-action episodes.

The series ranked No. 10 in the Nielsen ratings during its first season but dropped to No. 24 by the end of season two, and ratings fell even further in season three due to repetitive storylines involving Martin's time machine, leading to the show's cancellation.