In response to the warm critical reception of their CBS Children's Film Festival series that brought international features to youthful audiences on Saturday morning TV, the CBS Television Network expanded their daytime programming experiment to include the production of original telefilms for kids. Executive produced by Barbara Schultz (CBS Playhouse), the short-lived CBS Children’s Hour premiered in 1969 with J.T., a heart-wrenching tale written by Jane Wagner (The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe). Produced by Jacqueline Babbin (Sybil) and shot on location in Harlem with a neorealist eye by Robert M. Young (co-writer and photographer of the landmark independent feature Nothing but a Man, 1964), Wagner's gentle tale concerns the transformative relationship that develops between a lonely African-American youth (noted actor and Emmy-award winning director Kevin Hooks, in a universally-acclaimed debut performance) and a sickly, stray cat.  The sensitive drama received a Peabody Award in 1969, with a citation proclaiming the show a “landmark in children's television programming filled with extraordinary insight and compassion.” — Mark Quigley

Age recommendation: 10+