''The Big Idea'' is a

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

TV series that was broadcast on the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being first overall in ...

. The 30-minute program, which ran from December 15, 1952, to October 22, 1953, focused on modern inventions.

Overview

Donn Bennett, whose production company owned the show, was the host, and Ray Wood (director of the South Jersey Manufacturers Association) was a regular panelist on the show. Panelists interviewed inventors and commented on the products that they displayed on the show. Those products included an inflatable bathing suit for women, a lighted dartboard, a self-standing golf club, a refrigerated lunch box, and a lunch box that contained a hot plate. The winning inventor in each episode was determined by applause from the studio audience. The show served as "an intermediary between success-seeking inventors, whose patented ideas need producers or funds, and manufacturers or investors". By early February 1953, manufacturers had bought five inventions demonstrated on the program, and 12 more devices were the subjects of negotiations between inventors and prospective purchasers. ''The Big Idea'' was a local program on

WCAU WCAU (channel 10) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is owned and operated by the NBC television network through its NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jersey–licensed ...

television in Philadelphia for three years before it moved to the network. It was initially broadcast on Mondays from 9 to 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time, which put it opposite ''

I Love Lucy ''I Love Lucy'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on CBS from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, with a total of 180 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. The series starred Lucille Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz, along with Vivian ...

'' on CBS. In May 1953, it was moved to 10-10:30 p.m. E.T.

Legacy

Although relatively short-lived, *The Big Idea* served as a precursor to later television formats that connected inventors with investors, such as modern-day pitch shows. It showcased the potential for broadcast media to serve as a platform for entrepreneurship and product innovation.

Episode status

As with many DuMont series, no episodes are known to exist.

References

Bibliography

*David Weinstein, ''The Forgotten Network: DuMont and the Birth of American Television'' (Philadelphia:

Temple University Press Temple University Press is a university press founded in 1969 that is part of Temple University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). It is one of thirteen publishers to participate in the Knowledge Unlatched pilot, a global library consortium approach ...

, 2004) *Alex McNeil, ''Total Television'', Fourth edition (New York:

Penguin Books Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...

, 1980) *Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh, ''The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network TV Shows'', Third edition (New York:

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major American book publisher that is a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Ballantine was founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. Ballantine was acquired by Random House in ...

, 1964)

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