Countdown to Christmas: Christmas with the Lone Ranger (1956)

 The Lone Ranger comes to the aid of a little boy & his family, just in time for Christmas.

This will also be at The Land of Whatever. Merry Christmas, everyone. See you on Friday.

Countdown to Christmas: The first time Barney Rubble dressed as Santa (1981)

 Post, then a subsidiary of General Foods, commissioned Hanna-Barbera for this Fruity Pebbles spot in 1981. Here, Barney Rubble (Mel Blanc) decides to impersonate Santa in order to, again, steal some Pebbles cereal from Fred Flintstone (Henry Corden).....

A few years later came the follow-up, as Fred prepares breakfast while carolers are singing in front of the house. That one was redubbed in 1992, with Jim Cummings taking over as Santa. Have to believe Blanc, who passed away in 1989, voiced Santa in the earlier ads, in addition to Barney. In 1992, Barney's voice was redubbed also, either by Jeff Bergman or Frank Welker.

Game Time: When kids took over the $20,000 Pyramid (1979)

 In the late 70's, NBC executives asked Merrill Heatter & Bob Quigley to revive the Storybook Squares as a special theme week for the parent Hollywood Squares.

In 1979, ABC asked Bob Stewart to do the same with The $20,000 Pyramid.

In July, Stewart tried out Junior Pyramid, which would later be rechristened Junior Partner Pyramid, and, in between, the concept was tried out in primetime as All Star Junior Pyramid.

Here, we have Jimmy Baio (Scott's kid brother) matched against Susan Richardson (Eight is Enough).

From Primetime to Daytime: And Then, I Wrote (Bewitched, 1965)

 From season 2 of Bewitched:

With Samantha pregnant with Tabitha, she needs to find something to pass the time, and, with the encouragement of a prospective client of Darrin's (Olan Soule, The Andy Griffith Show), who is also a psychiatrist, Sam decides to do a Civil War story. Endora's meddling brings some of the characters to life, and that sends snoopy Gladys Kravitz to the shrink's office!

In front of the camera, Olan Soule made a career out of playing doctors, judges, and coroners. His role as choir director John Masters on The Andy Griffith Show fit right into his rep as an Everyman actor.

Daytime Heroes: Popeye in Sneakin' Peekin' (1961)

 Olive (Mae Questel) is trying to surprise Swee'pea for his birthday, but, the lad's curiosity gets the better of him, prompting Olive & Popeye to spin a yarn about a Queen (Olive) who makes the mistake of "Sneakin' Peekin', unleashing Mr. Mischief (Brutus, voiced by Jackson Beck) in a variation on Pandora's Box.

Even though it's about Swee'pea's birthday, it applies to Christmas, too.

Rating: A-.

Countdown to Christmas: The Magic Sack of Mr. Nicholas (Smurfs, 1987)

 From season 7 of Smurfs:

As the title implies, Mr. Nicholas (aka Santa Claus) meets the Smurfs after his bag of toys is stolen by an evil sorceress........

There is one flaw, as we can all see. Even though it's winter, the male Smurfs haven't dressed for the season. Then again, neither has Smurfette. Where are the winter jackets, guys?

I guess the magic surrounding the village protects them from the elements or something......

Countdown to Christmas: The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't be Late) (1961)

 Surprisingly, this hasn't been getting much airplay of late, amidst the tidal wave of Christmas songs on the radio.

Here's Alvin & The Chipmunks with "The Chipmunk Song", or, "Christmas Don't be Late":

Toon Rock: Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)(1973-2025)

 "Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth)" was the lone single off George Harrison's 1973 album, "Living in The Material World". More than 50 years later, a stop-motion animation video has been released.

Sunday Funnies: Junior Healy, Superstar (Problem Child, 1994)

 The season 2 opener of Problem Child marked the debut of Lacewood Studios as the new animation house working with Universal. The quality of the animation improved by leaps & bounds, but the writing didn't catch up.

First up: Junior (Ben Diskin) and his friends fall prey to a scam run by his grandfather (Jonathan Harris) and a sketchy commercial producer....

Murph (John Kassir, Tales From The Crypt) had been a bully in "Problem Child 2", but repackaged as an accomplice for Junior for this series.

No rating. Just a public service.

Toon Legends: Popeye in The Sword of Fitzwilly (1978)

 From season 1 of The All-New Popeye Hour, and, more specifically, Popeye's Treasure Hunt:

Popeye (Jack Mercer) is on the hunt for "The Sword of Fitzwilly", while Bluto (Allan Melvin) has been hired by a wizard to locate the sword. You know how this works....

Seeing Popeye catch those magic bolts and throw them back was just typical of this era.

Rating: B.

Countdown to Christmas: Barney tries to steal Cocoa Pebbles-----again----but look who his accomplices are! (2010)

 More than 20 years after their first Christmas toonfomercial for Pebbles cereal, Fred Flintstone & Barney Rubble are back again, and this time, Barney uses a classic Dickens story to try to scam Fred out of his Cocoa Pebbles.......

That never gets old.

Toon Legends: Popeye in A Date to Skate (1938)

 Popeye takes Olive out to a skating rink, and chaos ensues when Olive can't control herself on wheels.

I started roller skating when I was 9, as it was a phys ed activity where I went to school. This lasted two seasons before I transferred. Should've kept the skates, but wasn't allowed to, as memory serves. So, I can relate to Popeye being able to maneuver on skates......

Rating: A-.

Getting Schooled: Franklin The Teacher (2002)

 There's a reason we're reacquainting ourselves with Franklin. I'll explain after you watch "Franklin The Teacher" from 2002.

Just to illustrate there's no depths low enough for the Trump administration to sink to, someone decided to co-opt Franklin for phony book covers being commissioned by the administration. For example, one phony book cover depicts Franklin as a "deportation judge", complete with robe and powdered wig (Franklin was created by Canadian Paulette Bourgeois). Another, commissioned by embattled defenseless secretary Pete Hegseth, via AI, has Franklin in a helicopter firing missiles at alleged "drug boats".

As per usual with this clown show, the administration refused to pay for licensing fees to use Franklin. Publisher Kids Can Press denounced Hegseth, and rightfully so. One can look at this as a veiled shot at Canada, which has had issues with the administration from the start. As with their refusal to pay licensing fees to musicians, including Canadian born Neil Young & Shania Twain, for example, these idiots will double & triple down, just because the president, a nearly 80 year old man with the mindset of a toddler, thinks he's above the rules. He is not. His attitude is the product of lifelong affluenza, long before that word was coined.

Franklin deserves better than being used as a political tool.

Getting Schooled: Gumby in The Small Planets (1960)

 Many thanks to fellow blogger Chuck Miller for the tip on this one.

It is October 1960. Gumby is now well entrenched in syndication after leaving NBC. This next item offers a prototype of a sort for Art Clokey's next project. See if you can figure it out while watching "The Small Planets":

Yes, those are prototypes for Davey & Sally Hansen, who'd get their own show (Davey & Goliath) four months later. Sally is presented here as more of a prankster, and Davey being a callous, selfish jerk, a total opposite of what we'd see later. And, yes, that's Dick Beals as "Davey".

Rating: B.

Sunday Funnies: Total Panic (1989)

The legendary Wonderama had been long off the air by the time Nickelodeon mounted a 3 hour (at first) Sunday children's variety show, Total Panic, which launched in April 1989, and would run for 18 months, ending in October 1990.

Keith Diamond & Molly Scott were the initial hosts, but Diamond didn't even make it through six months. He was gone by the summer of '89, replaced by Greg Lee, who had been doing audience warm-ups. Lee would go on to Where in The World is Carmen Sandiego? three years later.

In this sampler, the hosts interview the husband & wife duo of comics creators Walt & Louise Simonson.

No rating. Just a public service.

Tooniversary: Planet Sheen (2010)

 It had been 4 years since The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius had ended. Nickelodeon decided to green-light a spinoff. Maybe they should've left it on caution.

Planet Sheen had just 1 season of 26 episodes, and Nick kept the series on the air for 3 years total before putting the show to bed in 2013.

Sheen Estevez (named for Charlie Sheen & Emilio Estevez) wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the drawer among Jimmy's friends, but he did have a yearning for adventure.

Check the intro:

In memory of actor Jeffrey Garcia, who voiced Sheen in both series. Garcia passed away today at 50. Rest in peace.

Toon Rock: Christmas Time is Here (1965)

 Today marks the 60th anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas, an enduring holiday classic that has aired on three networks and currently streams on Apple TV.

The special opens with "Christmas Time is Here". Bill Melendez wrote the lyrics set to the music of Vince Guaraldi.

Rein-Toon-Ation: The Perfect Crime (Fantastic Voyage, 1968)

 Jonathan Kidd (Ted Knight) poses as a criminal to get the goods on some sleaze trying to steal an experimental pocket miniaturizer developed by Busby (Marvin Miller). 

Check out "The Perfect Crime":

Jane Webb's characterization of Erica falls somewhere between the other bombshells she was voicing that same season----Batgirl & Betty Cooper. In fact, Erica is designed like she's Betty's older sister, complete with ponytail!

Rating: A.

Teenage Toons: The Archies enter syndication, and Archie is rapping? (1976)

 After CBS cancelled US of Archie, Filmation landed a deal to syndicate previous iterations of the franchise, including chopping the Archie Comedy Hour into half hour increments.

What you're about to see, unearthed earlier this week, is Archie (Dallas McKennon) rapping a new intro over the opening of 1970's Archie's Funhouse, followed by the open to a sample short.

A year later, Filmation would do a similar package fronted by the Groovie Goolies.

McKennon would end his association with Filmation a year later after the franchise's ill-fated move to NBC and a guest appearance (previously reviewed) on Space Academy. Now, all we need is the closing from this same era, with a voiceover by co-producer Lou Scheimer or Norm Prescott, exhorting viewers to "remember what you learned".

From Primetime to Daytime: "Maynard" rocks out for Danny Thomas (well, it's not Maynard, but......)(1964)

 Just a few months before the launch of Gilligan's Island, Bob Denver, who'd previously showcased his singing ability on The Andy Griffith Show, sits in with the Beau Jives in the series finale of The Danny Thomas Show

The episode, "The Persistent Cop", opens with Rusty (Rusty Hamer) & Louise, the Williams family's maid (Amanda Randolph), playing drums & piano, respectively. A police officer (Allan Melvin, a few months away from Gomer Pyle, USMC & Magilla Gorilla) is trying to convince Danny to audition the Beau Jives for the Tropicana.

Denver with an electric guitar?!? Rad, man. Who knew?

Of course, Bob was miming, but what if he really did have the talent? He did sing in the movie, "Those Who Think Young", also in 1964, but never did on Gilligan.

Countdown to Christmas: Good Will to Men (1955)

 In 1939, Hugh Harman made the post-apocalypic holiday film, "Peace on Earth". Unfortunately, a complete print of "Earth" is not available on YouTube unless you want one of those reaction videos where YouTubers are watching it for the first time.

16 years later, producer Fred Quimby and producer-directors Bill Hanna & Joseph Barbera revisited the concept in "Good Will to Men".

A future where man is extinct? Extreme to be sure.

Rating: B.

Daytime Heroes: Remember Inspector Willoughby? (1961)

 After appearing in shorts with Woody Woodpecker and Fatso The Bear, Inspector Willoughby was granted his own series of shorts, directed by co-creator Paul J. Smith, who developed the character with Walter Lantz.

Some prototype shorts of a similar character had appeared between 1958-60, with Daws Butler essaying the role, but when the series launched, the part was given to Dallas McKennon, who performs all the voices in 1962's "Phoney Express":

Sounds like McKennon recycled his Willoughby voice for Riverdale High Principal Waldo Weatherbee a few years later, don't ya think?

Rating: B.

From Primetime to Daytime: A lesson on self-esteem (McHale's Navy, 1963)

 Ensign Parker (Tim Conway) is assigned by Captain Binghamton (Joe Flynn) to teach self-defense to a new corps of nurses. Girl-shy Parker bumbles this assignment, but at least one nurse seems to have her eyes on him.

Joyce Bulifant guest stars in "Today, I Am a Man!":

More than a decade later, Joyce would be reunited with Gavin MasLeod (Happy) on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Coming Attractions: Netflix finds Scooby-Doo's voice. It wasn't that hard

 Once production begins on Greg Berlanti's live-action adaptation of Scooby-Doo, the titular dog will have a familiar voice.

Frank Welker has been associated with the franchise from day 1, and took over the voice role of Scooby with What's New Scooby-Doo in 2002, shortly after Neil Fanning had essayed the role in the first live-action movie.

Media reports say that Team Berlanti is looking at a darker version of the franchise, a la Riverdale, one in which Shaggy, Daphne, Velma, & Fred meet Scooby, who apparently witnessed a supernatural murder.

Netflix might want to consider landing a deal to repurpose this Scooby on TNT.......!

There's a reason HBO Max dumped Mindy Kaling's Velma after 2 seasons. Fans of the franchise will only take so much darkness.

Stay tuned.

Getting Schooled: A primer on sex education (Room 222, 1972)

 From season 3 of Room 222:

Mrs. Higgins (Ruth McDevitt, ex-Pistols & Petticoats) is teaching a class on sex education, but when a student has questions about STD's, the student's father (Walker Edmiston) is upset, and threatens the teacher's job...

Countdown to Christmas: Edith Ann's Christmas (Just Say Noel)(1996)

 Lily Tomlin brings her precocious 5 1/2 year old persona of Edith Ann back to television in the 3rd & final primetime special for ABC.

Edith Ann's Christmas (Just Say Noel), written by Tomlin's long time partner, Jane Wagner, sees Edith Ann (Tomlin) run away from home, but you know that won't last.

Tomlin & Wagner hired an independent studio to animate this show, after Klasky-Csupo had produced the first two specials, though the designs are similar to the K-C style.

Tomlin & Wagner had hoped to create an actual series for Edith Ann, but apparently, either the ratings weren't what ABC had hoped for, or other factors were involved.

No rating. Just a public service.

From Primetime to Daytime: The unlikeliest of heroes (McHale's Navy, 1963)

 From season 2 of McHale's Navy:

Ensign Parker (Tim Conway) is recruited to impersonate a British general (Conway in a dual role) while the general is on a mission. Henry Corden, Rolfe Sedan (who'd recur on The Addams Family a year later), and Walter Brooke (later of The Green Hornet) guest star in "The Great Impersonation":

Poor Binghamton. Even when it's so obvious, when the general & Parker are in the same room, he can't get past his hatred for the crew of PT 73......!

Toon Legends: Betty Boop in Blunderland (1934)

 The Fleischers decided to take on Lewis Carroll's literary classic, Alice in Wonderland, by sending Betty Boop (Bonnie Poe) to "Blunderland" in this 1934 short. There was also a feature length version.

The reason we have this to start December is because of some disturbing news that correspondent Steven Dolce shared over the weekend.

Deadline is reporting that some independent filmmakers are going to go with a twisted adaptation of Betty, making her a killer. Is nothing really sacred anymore in Hollywood? In the last few years alone, some of these screwballs have messed with Winnie-The-Pooh, The Banana Splits, and there's been rumors of a Mickey Mouse horror movie based on "Steamboat Willie", which went into public domain a while back.

Do yourselves a favor, guys. Be creative. Come up with your own ideas. Stop messing with everyone else's childhoods.