Because NBC did not want to lose Paar to another network, it offered him a Friday primetime hour, giving him" carte blanche "on content and format. He agreed, deciding on a variation of his late-night format and titling the show "The Jack Paar Program". The show, which debuted in the fall of 1962, had a global perspective, debuting acts from around the world and showing films from exotic locations. Most of the films were of travels by guests such as Arthur Godfrey or Paar himself, including visits with Albert Schweitzer at his compound in Gabon in Central Africa, and Mary Martin at her home in the jungles of Brazil.