Countdown to Christmas: The Stableboy's Christmas (1979)

 Credited as an episode by some sources of This is The Life, "The Stableboy's Christmas", produced in 1979, features a star studded cast that includes Michael Anderson, Jr. (ex-The Monroes), Darleen Carr (ex-Sugar Time, The Streets of San Francisco), Sparky Marcus (The Bad News Bears), Frank Aletter (ex-Danger Island, It's About Time), Frank Campanella, Dave Madden (ex-The Partridge Family, Camp Runamuck), William Schallert (ex-The Patty Duke Show), and Danielle Brisebois (Archie Bunker's Place), who plays a young girl sent back in time to learn a very important life lesson when she first decides to keep a Christmas present, intended for her cousin, for herself.

This episode, as I recall, did air independently for several years in rotation with other syndicated holiday entries.

Rating: A.

Retro Toy Chest: Trump---The Game (Yep, it happened)(1988)

 When he was just a real estate "mogul" in New York, Donald Trump struck a deal with Milton Bradley (now part of Hasbro) to develop a board game built around his then empire of properties in New York & New Jersey.

Trump: The Game debuted in 1988, but was off the shelves within 2-3 years.

Check this introductory ad:

After Hasbro absorbed competitors Milton Bradley, Kenner, & Parker Brothers (home of Monopoly), there no longer exists a need for this game, unless you know someone who collects Trump memorabilia.......

Countdown to Christmas: Cabbage Patch Kids' 1st Christmas (1984)

It was the mid-80's. The Cabbage Patch Kids were one of the hottest toys on the market at the time, so of course, there would be a cartoon featuring them. Not only that, but a Christmas special to boot.

The Cabbage Patch Kids' 1st Christmas, co-produced by Ruby-Spears with Woody Kling's production company, has a simple plot. The Kids, now sentient, learn about the Spirit of Christmas, and believe it is a physical entity. So they leave their patch in Georgia, and head for the big city. Now, if this sounds relatively familiar, a similar plot was employed for The Bear Who Slept Through Christmas 11 years earlier.

This is posted as a public service. No rating.

It Should've Been on a Saturday: Why, Charlie Brown, Why? (1990)

 The Peanuts crew gets a change of pace in 1990's "Why, Charlie Brown, Why?".

Linus' friend, Janice, is diagnosed with cancer (more specifically, lukemia), taking her out of class for periods at a time. Linus, of course, is concerned, but he, and the target audience, learn about cancer in this episode, which was inspired by a request made to series creator Charles Schulz by the American Cancer Society.

In this winter scene, right before Christmas, Janice returns to school, and Linus has to defend her from a careless bully.

I don't think they did any follow-up with Janice after this one, and should've.

Rating: A.

The Lone Ranger he ain't: Rango goes south of the border (1967)

 One reason why Tim Conway's 1st starring vehicle, Rango, flopped was because while it was a satire, it was unsure of which Western it wanted to parody on a regular basis. Rango (Conway) had a Native American sidekick (Guy Marks) who was just as eloquent in the English language as, say for example, Mingo (Ed Ames) on Daniel Boone, and these two guys, Pink Cloud (Marks) & Rango, were supposed to be in the supply room at HQ!

ABC had already cancelled the show, and burned off the remaining episodes, including this next item, in the summer of '67. "In a Little Mexican Town" sends Rango & Pink Cloud to Mexico in search of an elusive bandito that Rango unwittingly allowed to escape. Conway's best friend, Ernie Anderson, later the long time studio announcer at ABC, made the last of two appearances in this episode, and turns up around the 10 minute mark.

The other factor in Rango's quick demise? Aaron Spelling couldn't make a hit series doing comedy, carrying over from his time at Four Star.

Rating: C.

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: The Lone Ranger in The Valley of Gold (1980)

 The Lone Ranger (William Conrad) and Tonto (Ivan Naranjo) help some settlers who've had their journey west delayed by a dust storm. "The Valley of Gold" also features the (uncredited) voices of Frank Welker and Erika Scheimer, among others.

Rating: A-.

Countdown to Christmas: The Wish That Changed Christmas (1991)

 I think PBS might've been the only network that would've aired this next item.

Rumer Godden's 1958 Christmas story, The Story of Holly & Ivy, was adapted into The Wish That Changed Christmas, produced by Romeo Muller for the Children's Television Workshop, with the sponsorship of McDonald's, which explains the bumpers with Ronald McDonald.

Voice talent includes Paul Winfield, Jonathan Winters, Beverly Garland, & Robbie Rist.

Wish was released on video, so it might've been a DTV. No rating. Just a public service.

From Primetime to Daytime: A Bewitched Thanksgiving (1967)

 From season 4 of Bewitched:

Aunt Clara (Marion Lorne, ex-Mister Peepers) pays a visit to the Stephenses, and, predictably, transports them---and a reluctant Gladys Kravitz (Sandra Gould)---to the First Thanksgiving. Richard Bull, at the time recurring on Voyage to The Bottom of The Sea, guest stars as John Alden.

Happy Thanksgiving!

ABC 1970-1 Saturday morning schedule

 Haven't done this in a bit, but, hey.

ABC relied heavily on reruns for the 1970-1 season. Check the ad that appeared in some of your favorite comics, and elsewhere, that summer:

Times listed are for the Central time zone. All of the shows in the ad have all been previously reviewed. Not included in the ad, since it was aimed for the kiddo's, is American Bandstand, which anchored the bottom end of the lineup at 12:30 (ET) until ABC cancelled the series several years later.

To refresh, Motormouse & Autocat was spun off from Cattanooga Cats. Reruns of It's The Wolf!, starring Allan Melvin (who was recurring on The Brady Bunch) & an uncredited Paul Lynde (Bewitched, Hollywood Squares), filled out the half hour. Reruns of Cattanooga Cats, with Around The World in 79 Days as the backup, moved to Sundays.

Wikipedia (take it with a grain of salt) says ABC gave the 8-9 (ET) hour back to affiliates during the winter. How WAST (now WNYT), the ABC affiliate back then, filled that time during the winter of 1971, I don't know, but can look it up another time. 

Sunday Funnies: sibling squabbling over Thanksgiving placement (1979)

 From season 5 of Saturday Night Live:

We must assume that this Thanksgiving reunion had not enough room in the dining hall for all of the family.

Two sisters (Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman), their brother (Bill Murray), & their cousin (Paul Shaffer) are relegated to the kids' table in the basement by their aunt (Beatrice Arthur, the hostess du jour). That this only got 4 minutes doesn't seem fair, either.

Shaffer getting more screen time as a featured performer due to the absence of Dan Aykroyd & John Belushi (who were off making "The Blues Brothers") might've opened the eyes of NBC executives, as three years later, he began a long association with David Letterman as David's bandleader/sidekick, a partnership that would continue between NBC & CBS, for 41 years before Letterman's "retirement" from The Late Show in 2013.

Getting Schooled: Enter a high school hustler (Room 222, 1971)

 From season 3 of Room 222:

Bruce "Bruno" Kirby, Jr. (billed as B. Kirby, Jr.) debuts as Herbie Considine, a student with his mind on money and money on his mind, to paraphrase Snoop Dogg, looking to use Whitman High as a funnel to get rich quick. Bruce Kirby, Sr. makes a brief appearance.

Jane Actman, who also guests in this episode, moved over to The Paul Lynde Show the next season. Eric Laneuville moved on to first Sanford & Son, then resurfaced in the 80's on St. Elsewhere before becoming a director. We know Bruno Kirby's later resume (i.e. "City Slickers", "Good Morning, Vietnam"), and he would recur during this season.

I can relate after a sort. While in high school, one student whose family was friends with mine tried to make a go of it, or so it'd seem, making a few bucks helping one of the faculty with an, ah, after school hobby, shall we say. Something about, oh, I don't know, OTB........

The most unlikely heroes: Three Stooges in They Stooge to Conga (1942)

 There'd already been two Three Stooges shorts in which Moe Howard had impersonated Hitler. He does so again in "They Stooge to Conga" for a quick gag. but the body of the story has the boys unwittingly taking a repair job at a front for a Nazi base.

Rating: B.

Thanksgiving Toons: An Arthur Thanksgiving (2019)

 Marc Brown's Arthur was given a primetime Thanksgiving special back in 2019, posted by PBS Kids' YouTube channel a year later.

No rating. Just a public service.

Sunday Funnies: The Kansas City Chefs? (1996-2023)

 Mars Wrigley, makers of Snickers, have revived a classic commercial from the 90's for the modern era.

Here's the original:

Now, here's the remake, with Chiefs coach Andy Reid:

Reid is also shilling for State Farm, alongside players Patrick Mahomes and, as of this season, suddenly in demand Travis Kelce.

Jokes like this never get old.

Game Time: Pictionary (1989)

 10 years after Joker! Joker! Joker! went into syndication, Jack Barry's production company was back with a kid's game.

Barry-Enright Productions teamed with Quantum Media & MCA to serve up the 1st video iteration of Pictionary, which aired during the summer of 1989. Actor Brian Robbins (Head of The Class), now a producer himself, served as series host.

Wink Martindale serves up the pilot.

The current Pictionary, with Jerry O'Connell (ex-Sliders, My Secret Identity), is aimed more at adults, as was the 1997 version.

No rating.

Coming Attractions: Garfield returns to the big screen

 Even iconic comic strip characters need origin stories, it seems.

Jim Davis' Garfield returns to theatres in May, this time in a CGI movie from Columbia. "The Garfield Movie" has Chris Pratt ("Guardians of The Galaxy") in the title role, with Harvey Guillen (What We Do In The Shadows) providing vocal effects for Garfield's dimwitted frenemy, Odie. The cast also includes Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live), Capital One pitchman Samuel L. Jackson ("The Marvels"), and Cecily Strong (ex-SNL; last seen shilling for Verizon).

Another tip of the cap to Steven Dolce for the tip.

Here's the trailer, which dropped earlier this week.

I don't think Davis ever intended for any sort of "origin story" for Garfield, but this is Hollywood and genre fans in 2023.

Animated World of DC Comics: Previewing Merry Little Batman (2023)

 Many thanks to correspondent Steven Dolce for the tip.

Amazon Prime has announced that the DC animated movie, "Merry Little Batman", will drop December 8. In this non-continuity film, Damian Wayne is but a 6 year old. Consider this "Home Alone" crossed with the Bat-franchise, as if it was imagined by the "usual cast of idiots" at Mad Magazine.

Luke Wilson (ex-Stargirl) voices Bruce Wayne/Batman. James Cromwell has been cast as Alfred. David Hornsby (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) voices the Joker.

Check the trailer:

As previously reported, there will be a series spinning out of this. Looking at the above trailer, however, may have you reaching for the Pepto Bismol.

Considering the target audience consists of preschoolers, and grades K-1, it ain't for us older fans.

Toon Rock: When The Saints Go Marching In (1960)

 From season 1 of The Flintstones:

Fred (singing voice of Duke Mitchell) and Barney sit in with Hot Lips Hannigan when a test magic act seems to go awry, enabling the boys to sneak away from Betty & Wilma.

Mitchell holds an infamous place in film history. He & Sammy Petrillo had an act that was derivative of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis back in the 50's, leading to one feature film, "Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla". Mitchell & Petrillo broke up their act before Martin & Lewis did, and Mitchell even had a cameo in Martin & Lewis' "Sailor Beware". Being friends with William Hanna & Joe Barbera got Mitchell the gig as Alan Reed's musical stand-in until being replaced by Reed's eventual successor, Henry Corden.

Toon Rock: Star Trekkin' (1987)

 The Firm, a British novelty band, not to be confused with the supergroup that featured rock legend Jimmy Page, released a satire/homage to Star Trek with 1987's "Star Trekkin'", a mix of puppets and stop motion animation, the latter of which looks like some prototypes for the current Robot Chicken. The band members chose not to appear on television to maintain some anonymity, so this video premiered on Top of The Pops:

Fascinating, isn't it?

Getting Schooled: Davey & Goliath learn about communion (1971)

 Personal note before we start. Where I attend church, we celebrate communion once a month, on the 2nd Sunday of the month, such as tomorrow.

In the 70's, the Lutheran Church, via Davey & Goliath, sought to teach young members of the congregation about communion, which could just as easily be taught in Sunday School class as well as during service. Consider the class a primer or crash course.

Here's "The Family of God":

Rating: A.

Another WB movie bites the dust: Coyote vs. ACME shelved for tax purposes

 If Wile E. Coyote ever gets back into theatres, the theme song might as well be Little River Band's 1970's classic, "Lonesome Loser".

On Thursday, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav decided to cancel the release of "Coyote vs. ACME", originally meant to be released back in July, replaced by the mega-successful "Barbie". Amazon tried to acquire "Coyote", but Zaslav, a bottom line obsessed executive with no regard for what the fans want, chose to take a tax write-off to the tune of about $30 million.

File photo courtesy Warner Bros./Cartoon Brew.

"Coyote"'s cast included Will Forte and John Cena, the latter of whom also appeared briefly in "Barbie", with voice-overs by Eric Bauza. "Coyote" joins "SCOOB: Holiday Haunt" & "Batgirl" in the WBD scrap heap, with no chance of ever being released, all three projects having been completed. I'd also seen a thread on reddit that said that Max was bleeding subscribers again. Gee, I wonder why?

Zaslav has to go. Yesterday.

Update, 11/16: WBD has reversed field, and will allow the movie to be shopped elsewhere (i.e. Amazon, Netflix).

Retro Toy Chest: Stay Alive (1971)

 Milton Bradley introduced game players to a little something called Stay Alive around 1971. The first commercial featured four kids finding the game washed up on a beach.

This spot, which came a little later, features film legend Vincent Price, who did a few ads for Milton Bradley between the mid-70's and early 80's.

I can honestly say I've played the game. Didn't win, though.

Game rating: B.

Toonfomercial: The Grinch in a bank commercial? (2023)

 Capital One Bank is getting a head start on the Christmas shopping season, which kicks into overdrive in 2 weeks.

Capital One obtained a license from the estate of Theo Geisel (Dr. Seuss) to use the nefarious Grinch in this "easiest decision" bit. David Kaye voices the Grinch.

Sounded like Kaye was going for a Kelsey Grammer mimic with the Grinch, doesn't it?

Getting Schooled: Cover to Cover, or, The Book Bird (1965-96)

 Cover to Cover, later rechristened, The Book Bird, began as a regional children's program in 1965 in Washington, DC. Series host John Robbins would read from selected books, much like on nationally televised children's shows such as Captain Kangaroo.

Locally, the series aired on WMHT, which, if memory serves, stuck with the Cover to Cover title, even as the title change had gone into effect, as part of its midday-early afternoon block of educational programming. I think it was long gone by the time the series ended in 1996.

Anyway, we'll take a look at a 1989 entry in which Robbins reads from one of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books that led to Little House on The Prairie. In this case, it's Little House in The Big Woods.

Rating: A.

Tooniversary: A Letter of Peril (1968)

 The Three Musketeers intercept a letter plotting treachery against the King. Duke Naveau (Don Messick, also Aramis) abducts Constance, sending the Musketeers on a rescue mission.

Rating: A.

Getting schooled: Sometimes, father doesn't know best (Room 222, 1974)

 From season 5 of Room 222:

A student (Tannis G. Montgomery) wants to go to medical school, and sees ROTC as a means of getting a scholarship, over the objections of her father (special guest star Ralph Meeker). Richard Bull, a few months before Little House on The Prairie, plays a ROTC officer.

You will notice that William P. D'Angelo was added as a showrunner beginning in season 4. Jerry Goldsmith's jazzy score was needlessly altered in the final 2 seasons. Only one more episode aired, though another was ready to go, before ABC pulled the plug at the end of January 1974.

Later that same year, Happy Days also did an episode about the ROTC, but more for laughs.

Rating: A.

Toonfomercial: Vampire mosquitoes? (1969)

 Bionic Disco brings us a Raid toonfomercial directed by Fred "Tex" Avery. 

The leader of a band of mosquitoes is dressed like a vampire (Paul Frees doing a Bela Lugosi mimic), sending his troops out on their first mission. Oh, you know how this ends.

Dick Tufeld (The Hollywood Palace) is the narrator.

The mosquito soldier was voiced by Mel Blanc (natch).

Toon Sports: Mickey & The Roadster Racers/Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures (2017)

 Disney Junior is no longer available on cable systems run by Spectrum after an agreement with Disney two months ago. That means that if you have Disney+, that may be the only way to see Mickey & The Roadster Racers, which had its title changed to Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures in its final season. 3 seasons in all, spread out over 4 years.

This was the final series for actress Russi Taylor (Minnie), who passed away in 2019, prior to season 3 going on the air. Katelyn Roblock succeeded Taylor, and is heard in this Thanksgiving episode. If the race announcer's voice sounds familiar, it should. It's Jay Leno, doing his first toon work since The Fairly OddParents:

CGI works for Mickey and the gang. If you can get the DVD's, it'll make great Christmas gifts for the wee ones.

Rating: A.

Tooniversary: The Tiny Viking (The Adventures of Gulliver, 1968)

 Vikings in Lilliput? You bet.

Joe Ruby & Ken Spears wrote "The Tiny Viking", in which Captain Leach (John Stephenson) briefly gains possession of the treasure map, only to lose it a couple of minutes later. As for the Vikings? Gary Gulliver (Jerry Dexter) and friends have a solution for them.

Rating: B.

Tooniversary: The Most Dangerous Game (Fantastic Voyage, 1968)

 An old prospector exposed to radioactive gold is recruited to help the CMDF in "The Most Dangerous Game" (the YouTube poster added an extra letter to game) from Fantastic Voyage:

Rating: B.

Thanksgiving Toons: A complete episode of the Berenstain Bears (2003)

 Two Thanksgiving themed shorts from the 2003 Berenstain Bears series kicks off this year's Thanksgiving Toons.

The first, "Bad Habit", admittedly, isn't so much about the holiday, though the children are drawing pictures of pies, but, rather, Sister's sudden nervous habit of biting her nails. "The Big Pumpkin", on the other hand, shows how friendship can be put aside when competition and greed get in the way.

No rating. Just a public service.