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Ark II facts for kids

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This article is about Ark 2 (disambiguation)|Ark 2. For other uses, see Ark II (disambiguation).
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Ark II
Ark II title card.jpg
Title card
Genre Science fiction
Created by Martin Roth
Starring Terry Lester
Jean Marie Hon
Jose Flores
Moochie the chimpanzee
(owned and trained by Darrell Keener)
Composer(s) Yvette Blais
Jeff Michael
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 15 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s) Norm Prescott
Lou Scheimer
Camera setup Single-camera
Running time 22–24 minutes (without commercials)
30 minutes (with commercials)
Production company(s) Filmation
Distributor NBCUniversal Television Distribution
Release
Original network CBS
Audio format Monaural
Original release September 11 (1976-09-11) – December 18, 1976 (1976-12-18)
Chronology
Related shows Space Academy

Ark II is an exciting American science fiction TV show made for kids. It was shown on CBS from September 11 to December 18, 1976. The show had 15 episodes and was about a group of young people trying to help humanity after a big disaster.

Story of the Show

The story of Ark II takes place in the 25th century, around the year 2476. A long time ago, Earth was a beautiful and rich planet. But then, too much pollution and waste ruined everything. Human civilization fell apart, and people lived almost like they did in the Dark Ages.

A few scientists who survived decided to rebuild the world. They created Ark II, which is a special mobile laboratory and home. It's like a moving library of scientific knowledge. They trained a team of young people to travel the ruined world in Ark II. Their mission was to find other survivors and share knowledge to help build a new future.

The main characters are:

  • Jonah (played by Terry Lester), who is the commander of Ark II.
  • Ruth (played by Jean Marie Hon).
  • Samuel (played by José Flores).
  • Adam, a smart chimpanzee who can understand and even speak a little (voiced by Lou Scheimer).

The show's idea was inspired by the story of Noah's Ark, and the characters' names come from the Hebrew Bible. Each episode of Ark II also taught a moral lesson, usually shared by Jonah at the end of the show.

Cool Technology

The most famous part of Ark II is the amazing vehicle itself! It's a futuristic-looking, six-wheeled vehicle that works as both an RV and a science lab. It was built on a 1971 Ford truck.

Did you know? The front part of the Ark II vehicle was later used again! It became the nose of the Seeker spacecraft in other Filmation TV shows like Space Academy and Jason of Star Command.

The team also had other cool gadgets:

  • The Jet Jumper: This was a jetpack that allowed a person to fly.
  • The Ark Roamer: This was a smaller, four-wheeled vehicle that could go almost anywhere. It was carried inside the Ark II and was used for exploring tough areas.

Guest Stars You Might Know

Many famous actors appeared on Ark II. Some of them include:

Episodes

Here are the episodes of Ark II:

No. Title Directed by Written by Original air date
1 "The Flies" September 11, 1976 (1976-09-11)
A group of wild children find old containers filled with poison gas.
2 "The Slaves" September 18, 1976 (1976-09-18)
Jonah is captured by a local leader while exploring a village.
3 "The Wild Boy" September 25, 1976 (1976-09-25)
The Ark II crew becomes friends with a boy who grew up in the wild.
4 "The Robot" October 2, 1976 (1976-10-02)
Samuel builds a robot that can think a little bit for itself.
5 "Omega" October 9, 1976 (1976-10-09)
The Ark II crew finds a community controlled by a bad computer program.
6 "The Tank" October 16, 1976 (1976-10-16)
The crew turns an old military tank into a farm tractor.
7 "The Cryogenic Man" October 23, 1976 (1976-10-23)
Two men who were frozen for a long time are brought back to life.
8 "The Rule" October 30, 1976 (1976-10-30)
The team finds a place where old and weak people are left behind.
9 "Robin Hood" November 6, 1976 (1976-11-06)
An act of rebellion to help others goes wrong.
10 "The Drought" November 13, 1976 (1976-11-13)
The wild children from the first episode try to steal the Ark.
11 "The Lottery" November 20, 1976 (1976-11-20)
The team meets a community that lives like the "grasshoppers" from the fable The Ant and the Grasshopper.
12 "The Mind Group" November 27, 1976 (1976-11-27)
The team runs into trouble with a group of children who have mind powers.
13 "The Balloon" December 4, 1976 (1976-12-04)
The team uses a hot air balloon to help people escape a village hit by a sickness.
14 "Don Quixote" December 11, 1976 (1976-12-11)
A man who thinks he is a modern Don Quixote believes the Ark vehicle is a dragon.
15 "Orkus" December 18, 1976 (1976-12-18)
After finding a community of people who think they are immortal, members of the crew start to age very quickly.
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