# Ripley's Believe It or Not! (1982)

> A 1980s ABC revival of the Ripley's Believe It or Not! franchise that explores strange occurrences, odd historical facts and unusual artistic and social activities.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/38484

## Facts

- Seasons: 4
- Episodes: 77
- Episode runtime: 60 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: documentary
- Network: ABC
- Cast: Jack Palance, Cathie Shirriff, Marie Osmond, Holly Palance
- TMDB rating: 7.6/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083473/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: whimsical, wide-eyed, light, entertaining, breezy

## Synopsis

Ripley's Believe It or Not! (1982-1986) is an American documentary series that aired on ABC, a revival of the newspaper-feature franchise built on the name of Robert L. Ripley. Hosted primarily by Jack Palance, with Cathie Shirriff, Marie Osmond and Holly Palance also credited as hosts, the show runs four seasons and seventy-seven hour-long episodes. Each episode gathers a run of strange occurrences, odd historical facts and unusual artistic and social activities, presented as a sequence of self-contained vignettes rather than one continuing story. The engine is pure curiosity: a host introduces an improbable fact, then the segments move briskly from one wonder to the next, letting the viewer marvel at what seems impossible. The tone is light, wide-eyed and entertaining, with a sense of gentle amazement rather than investigation. Fans of That's Incredible!, In Search Of... and Unsolved Mysteries will find a similar appetite for the unusual, and the format suits a relaxed evening of unusual trivia. Its 1980s television look and anthology structure make it an easy, undemanding watch.

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