OllieSuave-007
This is a 1960s show that I happened to come across on TV when I was home alone, sick with the chicken pox. It was a good show to pass the time, a story about Ranger Porter Ricks (Brian Kelly) and his sons 15-year-old Sandy (Luke Halpin) and 10-year-old Bud (Tommy Norden) keeping watch over life in Coral Key Park, Florida and over their trusty pet dolphin Flipper.It's an entertaining show full of unending adventures and exciting plots, with the Ricks partnering up with Flipper to save the day from danger and petty crooks. The series also highlights the close bond between Porter Ricks, Sandy and Bud and their particularly heartwarming friendship with Flipper.Flipper has saved the Ricks from mishaps a number of times throughout the show, and the elements of innocence, family-bond and old-fashion morals make this a great TV series for the entire general audience - elements that are sorely missing in much of the so-called shows Hollywood throws out today.Even as a teenager from the 1990s watching this show from the 1960s created much nostalgia for me, making me want to meet the actors who portrayed Sandy and Bud at one point, and to visit the marine-life setting, which was filmed at Miami, Florida's Greenwich Studios and Key Biscayne, Florida's Miami Seaquarium.An uplifting, feel-good family show that truly represented one of the best in TV entertainment! Grade A
Chris Gaskin
I am a big fan of 1960s TV and Flipper was one of the best series. I have season one on DVD plus a few season 2 episodes on VHS which were released in the UK in the 1990s.The series followed the 2 excellent feature films, Luke Halpin was the only actor in both movies and TV series. Brian Kelly was in the 2nd film and the storyline changed when the TV series started, Sandy gained a brother (Tommy Nordon) but his mother was killed off in the second movie, Flipper's New Adventure.I regular watch episodes and never tire of them. Certainly good to see the nice Florida sunshine. Watching Flipper also gives you an idea on what life was like in the Florida Keys in the 1960s.I wish Seasons 2 and 3 were released on DVD, although season 2 is available in the US.They certainly don't make them like this anymore.
juliafwilliams
It is with sadness that, while surfing through this database, I read that Brian Kelly, the handsome actor who played patriarch Porter Ricks on the television version of Flipper, passed away in February 2005, just short of his 74th birthday. I believe that the news of Mr. Kelly's passing was quite under-reported.Brian Kelly played a father who was intelligent, understanding, and when warranted, firm. His character of Porter Ricks raised his two sons, Bud and Sandy, with keen senses of the difference between right and wrong, values that are quite under-portrayed in an age of extreme dynamics surrounding sex, drugs, and violence.After Flipper went off the air and into syndication, Mr. Kelly appeared in a handful of films and episodic television programs. Around 1970 or 1971, his acting career came to a tragic end following a freak motorcycle accident that left him paralyzed and with speech and health problems. Nevertheless, he continued in the entertainment industry as a motion picture producer. One such production effort is the 1980's action film 'Blade Runner'.Brian Kelly will be missed, and may he rest in peace.
Rosemea D.S. MacPherson
The series was about this family living in paradise. A beautiful island called Coral Key Park, Florida. "Sandy" Luke Halpin (Matinee) was the older and wiser brother. The little and also teachable little brother was "Bud" Tommy Norden (Le Couteau dans la plaie) who left Hollywood to work in his family business. "Bud" reminded me of the middle son on "My Three Sons." The kids had this dream pet: an extremely intelligent dolphin named Flipper, any kid's dream pet, you know! Dad "Ranger Porter Ricks" Brian Kelly (I) (Company of Killers) was responsible for Flipper and the park. Unfortunately Brian Kelly's career was cut short because of an accident which left him in a situation similar to, but not the same, as dear actor Christopher Reeve (The Remains of the Day). Like the song goes ": Fame if you win it comes and goes in a minute, make someone happy and you will be happy too." I always looked forward to Flipper, it was wonderful show, full of good family values. Well, little did I know that I would wind up marrying a scuba-diver from Coral Gables, Florida. Isn't life interesting?