Saturday Morning Archives

Animated World of DC Comics: The Wonder Twins speak out (1999) and get punked out (200?)

2012-02-01T15:42:00.000-05:00

The last of Cartoon Network's short-lived editorial interstital series features the Wonder Twins, Zan & Jayna, who had to reintroduce themselves to a new generation of viewers. It's too bad that around the time this piece aired in 1999, there was already a website that was poking fun at the Super Friends franchise.

Seanbaby made some snarky, sarcastic remarks not only about the Twins, but their ethnic teammates, such as Apache Chief & Samurai. Wizard: The Guide to Comics jumped in a couple of years later with an equally ridiculous text piece, suggesting that---prepare to lose your lunch----Jayna, while in the form of a dog, had puppies with a stray she supposedly met, among other things. All that tells us is that we have a generation of 20-somethings and up that have next to no respect for the toons the older generations grew up with, unless they're cherished icons like Bugs Bunny or Popeye.

Anyway, here's the editorial, from TheCNVault. The sound quality may not be so good, but sometimes, you have to take what you can.......

Now, that was tame compared to what would follow a few years later.

As we documented, Zan (Michael Bell) appeared on Harvey Birdman, Attorney-at-Law and in a series of CN interstital spots with the true Birdman, Wonder Woman, and others. Jayna, for some reason, was missing out. CN took care of that issue in 2003, though, by having her appear on their NBA All-Star Jam special, paired with Jason Kidd, then with the New Jersey Nets, now with the defending champion Dallas Mavericks. Jason purportedly was a fan, and got to sub for Zan for a day. Unfortunately, no clips of that special are available on YouTube. Maybe it's just as well, to save Jason and his fellow hoopsters the embarassment.

And, then, [adult swim] got hold of the Twins' initial adventures from 1977, chopped them up, changed endings & dialogue, and ruined the experience for many a fan who grew up with the sibs. One such example is "Makeout Mountain", uploaded by Jazzy9964. Be warned. The ending is B. R. Utal for a reason.

Now, you know the Twins deserved better than that.

All this proves is that Scrappy-Doo is not alone in getting unjustified haterizing from certain corners of the internet. It's too bad the lunatics at [adult swim] are getting a free pass from their superiors, because we old school fans just don't dig.

Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits: Friendship Train (1971)

2012-02-01T11:43:00.000-05:00

In memory of Soul Train creator Don Cornelius, who passed away at 75, we present Gladys Knight & The Pips performing "Friendship Train". This video, uploaded by soultrain, also appears on my other blog, The Land of Whatever.

Adult Swim: The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly (2001-present)

2012-01-31T23:13:00.000-05:00

Over the last few days, we've reviewed some of the earliest entries from Cartoon Network's [adult swim], which was rebranded as a separate network about 18 months after its official launch, even though it shares the same operating space as its "parent". Think Nickelodeon and its "sister", Nick at Nite. Same idea.

We limited our focus to shows based on pre-established product. Hence, you won't see any reviews of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, easily the longest running series [as] has, even after a name change enacted in recent times. Any review of that series or other [as] shows going forward will appear in The Land of Whatever. This time, we will address the most glaring problem us old schoolers face in relation to [as], and that is its total disrespect, under the disguise of satirical comedy, of the Hanna-Barbera library.

It starts, of course, with the repackaging of 60's superheroes Space Ghost, Birdman, & Mightor in other roles. As we've discussed, Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast got the ball rolling, rebooting the Phantom of the Spaceways as a parody of late night talkers like David Letterman. Birdman was revived as a unemployed hero, leading to the cult favorite Harvey Birdman, Attorney-at-Law, which became the place where classic H-B characters were deposited for not only revival and tribute, but also abject ridicule.

Take for example the episode, "Very Personal Injury". Two of the ethnic, studio-created members of the Super Friends, Apache Chief & Black Vulcan, were brought out of exile in this story, with Apache Chief the main focus. They used the between scenes bumpers used on SF from 1978-86 in concocting a flashback to a supposed untold case, but it was clear from the outset that the producers were playing to a section of the internet that wasn't exactly fond of the SF franchise. I won't even bother posting the episode, because that would be glorifying what these turds have done, and I won't give them that satisfaction. Suffice it to say that the characters were cast in a less than exemplary light, and that includes Wonder Twin Zan, who made a cameo appearance as a witness, with sister Jayna nowhere to be found. It was insinuated that Zan had harbored a secret crush on one of his mentors, Wonder Woman. Of course, it didn't help that the Amazing Amazon & Zan were among the characters who appeared in a series of interstital skits for CN, along with Birdman & Thundarr, around that time, poking fun at the rampant use of expository dialogue in action cartoons back in the day, so what the loons at CN were suggesting was that Wonder Woman had found herself a new boyfriend. Yeah, right.

On the other side, a Sopranos parody cast Fred Flintstone as "The Dabba Don", but it also poked fun at "The Godfather"'s famous scene, using the severed head of Quick Draw McGraw for a cheap laugh. Nice idea, but the execution went off the track somewhere in production. These nuts can't help themselves.

And, speaking of the Wonder Twins, you might say that the series of truncated, repackaged versions of their 1977 shorts were a spinoff from Zan's appearance on Harvey Birdman. I have plans to pick out one of those micro-shorts in a future post, but, let's put it in simple terms. The original stories were given new endings, more for the worse in contrast to the original stories, and new dialogue, with subtle double entendres tossed in at random. In one of these bits, Jayna, in her eagle form, is harassed by a male eagle that suddenly wants to mate with her while she's on a case. That sounds like a case of Williams St. inserting some new stuff where it didn't belong. It didn't stop there.

Around the time of the movie, "Be Kind, Rewind", [as] produced a Wonder Twins short by the same title, which also brought back the sibs' predecessors, Wendy & Marvin, who were presented as being in a rock band. The Twins are in the wrong part of a video store, and, worse, to avoid detection, find themselves in a most, ah, compromising position, as discovered by a now-bearded Marvin, suggesting----and this is cause for much cringing---a little incest between the twins. Is nothing sacred anymore? Insofar as [as] is concerned, no. They call it absurdist humor. I call it as it should be. Utter blasphemy.

Mike Lazzo and his staff should be ashamed of themselves.

Ah, but there is a reason why this is titled, "The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly". There are some positives to [as], after all.

After Fox initially gave up on Family Guy, the series resurfaced at [as], and ratings for the reruns went through the proverbial roof. Coupled with exploding sales for DVD's of the series, that was enough for Fox suits to reconsider and relaunch Guy, forging a new business relationship with creator Seth MacFarlane, a CN alumnus. The result is that reruns of not only Guy, but also American Dad, air on [as], which also has aquired rerun rights to Guy spinoff, The Cleveland Show, to begin next year. Home Movies, which couldn't find an audience on UPN, landed on [as], and went back into production as well. The same can be said for The Oblongs, which aired on [as]' then-sister network, WB in its primetime run. Futurama, yet another Fox castoff now on Comedy Central, can chalk up its revival in large part to its run on [as], following the same formula as Family Guy. You'd think Fox would've learned their lesson then, but now they have a sort-of partnership with [as], so it wouldn't surprise anyone if MacFarlane's planned revival of The Flinststones, due on Fox next year, would also get the repurposing treatment on [as] concurrently.

[Adult Swim]'s lineup is loaded with anime that other cablers weren't willing to take a chance on. One series, Naruto, has since moved to DisneyXD, but the anime is really what is at the heart of [as] in 2012. Not everyone gets the Anime Channel, so [as] is a welcome destination for people looking to DVR or tape their favorites.

We've covered the good and the ugly, so what's the bad? Well, not everything that [as] has acquired has worked out for the best. For example, John Kricfalusi's Ripping Friends, which we've previously covered, moved to [as] after bombing on Fox (naturally) as a Saturday morning entry, but didn't last long on [as], either. Kricfalusi's extreme takes on The Jetsons & Yogi Bear will be addressed at a later time, but those toons haven't seen the light of day in forever, and, maybe, there's a reason for that. Also, as [as] has expanded its schedule, now starting at 9 (ET), directly opposite Nick at Nite, it's clear that in time, it may grow too big to be sharing space with Cartoon Network, and may require being spun off into its own channel. With the resources Time Warner has, don't discount the possibility. Of course, given the type of material that's there, there may be a few red flags that would attract the usual media watchdog groups, who've already given Seth MacFarlane some bad grades. Yes, they grabbed another show off the Fox scrap heap in King of the Hill, which is out of production, and had been played to death on FX before moving to [as], but it's a better fit to air on sister network TBS than having Family Guy get shoved down the throats of TBS' audience. King is also safe enough to air on CN proper as a bridge to [as], if the programming monkeys actually thought of it.

Does [as] have room to make improvements? Of course. They just have to get the creative team's collective minds out of the gutter as it relates to the classic characters they've already ruined, almost beyond repair. A few fresh ideas would help, assuming they're not afraid to accept suggestions.

Tooniversary: Tom Terrific (1957)

2012-01-31T21:49:00.000-05:00

In reviewing The Adventures of Lariat Sam the other day, I erred when I stated that Tom Terrific replaced Sam. That's not true, as I discovered after reading a Wikipedia piece on Tom. In reality, Tom came first, back in 1957, and was in perpetual rerun by the time I first saw him on Captain Kangaroo as a child. After Lariat Sam ran its course, it seems, the two features began rotating in reruns.

They say that the simplistic character designs used for Tom and his sidekick, Mighty Manfred, were due to budgetary concerns. Actually, it can also be said that it was for another purpose, to encourage young viewers to create their own drawings of the characters. As was the case with Lariat Sam, each Tom Terrific story was stretched across five days. When Kangaroo aired on Saturdays, the episodes would be edited down to a 2-part story airing within the course of the hour. 26 serials were produced between 1957-58 and replayed for several years afterward. Regrettably, these cartoons are not available on any official DVD release as yet. Like, what are they waiting for? Tom turns 55 this year, and you'd think someone would finally get a clue. Tom's shapeshifting results from the "thinking cap" he wears, which encourages imagination in young viewers.

Bearlyrufus uploaded the theme song. Tom & Manfred's voices are performed by Lionel Wilson.

It's too bad a kid like Tom isn't around anymore.

Rating: B.

Adult Swim Historama: The Brak Show (2001)

2012-01-30T23:54:00.000-05:00

In the 60's, Brak was one of Space Ghost's most difficult enemies, a fierce space pirate (voiced by the inestimable Keye Luke, who went uncredited). To look at him today, on the other hand........!

Brak has become a cult favorite, thanks to the twisted minds at Williams St. Studios (formerly Ghost Planet Productions), which added Brak to the Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast companion series, Cartoon Planet. Andy Merrill gave Brak a goofier voice that bordered at times on a near-mimic of the late comedian, Don Knotts. I kid you not! Brak's role on Planet came down to singing some silly songs and coming up with some whimsical commentaries, which we've previously sampled in reviewing Planet.

After starring in a pair of specials, both carrying the same title (The Brak Show Starring Brak), the now-lovable ex-con was granted a regular, 15 minute series on [adult swim] in 2001. The Brak Show was designed as a parody of classic sitcoms, and the episode titles reflected this by parodying the titles of those shows (example: "Leave it to Brak"). The absurdity of it all was that Brak and his mom had relocated to Earth and settled down with a human who was about half their size. To try to suggest that the human was Brak's biological pop wouldn't make the least bit of sense. Zorak crossed over from Coast-to-Coast, essentially being Brak's reluctant sidekick. The idea is that, well, if Brak is Beaver Cleaver, then Zorak would be Eddie Haskell. Enough said.

I remember writing that 15 minutes just wasn't enough time. There wasn't much to the plot, and the gags came flying past, perhaps a little too quickly for some folks to pick up on the joke. Brak's ready-for-Dr.-Demento musical stylings carried over from Planet, such as this spontaneous ditty about friendship being equal to certain medicinal products...........

Out of [adult swim]'s initial class, The Brak Show was actually the best of the lot, because in an odd way, it made some semblance of sense. Well, let me put it another way. If you could understand the wacky humor of the Monty Python troupe, you'd probably get where these guys were going with their gags. Sadly, the show isn't on the air much anymore, as [as] now relies more on repurposing shows like Fox's Family Guy & American Dad, both from the wacky world of Cartoon Network alumnus Seth MacFarlane, and imported Japanese anime, which has been a staple of [as] from the beginning. Personally, I'd rather see a Brak marathon than sit through one of either of MacFarlane's shows, but that's just me.

Rating: B+.

You Know the Voice: Cree Summer rocks out (1999)

2012-01-29T21:17:00.000-05:00

Most folks know actress Cree Summer from her many voice roles, on shows ranging from Inspector Gadget to Rugrats, from Batman Beyond to Codename: Kids Next Door, and so on. As it turns out, Cree was just 14 when she was cast as Penny Gadget on Inspector Gadget in 1983! 4 years later, Cree crossed over into primetime to join the cast of NBC's A Different World, a spin-off from The Cosby Show.

But did you know that the lady could sing, too? Cree recorded the theme to Rugrats: All Grown Up, and her character, Susie, was an aspiring singer on the spin-off. Many of Cree's characters have some musical talent, it seems. She's also toured with no less than Lenny Kravitz, who produced and played on her 1999 CD, from which we get the following video, "Revelation Sunshine". Uploaded by KatCanFly. And, yeah, it does sound like there's a little bit of Abagail "Numbah Five" Lincoln (from Codename: Kids Next Door) in Cree's singing voice. Check it out!

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: Web Woman (1978)

2012-01-29T20:30:00.000-05:00

From Tarzan & the Super 7 comes Filmation's answer to Spider-Man (and, for that matter, Spider-Woman), Web Woman. Kelly Webster (Melendy Britt) was an ordinary Earth woman until she met a being from another dimension who gave her fantastic powers, plus the then-obligatory pet sidekick, Spinner. The fact that she calls upon all insects, not just spiders, to loan her their powers, suggests that this is also based on DC's Insect Queen, the part-time alter ego of Superman's childhood sweetheart, Lana Lang (who never used her costumed ID in cartoons).

As was the case with Manta & Moray, threats of litigation due to, in all probability, intellectual property rights, prevents Web Woman, now owned by Classic Media, to be released on DVD. Any revival, again, would require a change of some kind. Palitoy uploaded the following sample from the episode, "Dr. Despair & the Mood Machine".

It just happens to be a coincidence, but Marvel, having introduced Spider-Woman in the comics a year prior to Web Woman's debut, brought their female webspinner to television the next season (previously reviewed). Unfortunately, it lasted just one season, despite a guest appearance by Spider-Man himself.

Rating: B.

Daytime Heroes: Lariat Sam (1962)

2012-01-28T22:51:00.001-05:00

Ok, this was before I was born, and I am not sure if this ran when Captain Kangaroo was running 6 days a week during the 60's. Anyway, Terrytoons partnered with the Captain (Bob Keeshan) to present The Adventures of Lariat Sam as a regular feature on Captain Kangaroo, beginning in 1962.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is that Lariat Sam was co-written & produced by future game show icon Gene Wood, better known for his work as an announcer (i.e. Family Feud), but he did host two series during the 70's. Wood also performs the theme song. Dayton Allen (Deputy Dawg) is credited with voicing all the characters. Crazybar777 uploaded "Weatherman Mish-Mosh".

After a while, Sam was replaced by the shapeshifting Tom Terrific, whom I do remember seeing. Sadly, neither Sam nor Tom would join their Terrytoons brethren in syndication, which would've exposed them to a wider audience, especially during the cable explosion in the 70s.

Rating: B.

Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits: I Can Dream About You (1984)

2012-01-27T23:58:00.000-05:00

"I Can Dream About You" was the biggest hit single out of the movie, "Streets of Fire", in 1984. However, when the actual music video premiered on MTV, they opted to use movie footage with an actor lip-synching the vocals by singer-songwriter Dan Hartman, formerly of the Edgar Winter Group.

Well, inevitably, Hartman began making the rounds in the usual places, like, for example, Soul Train, where he appeared in October of '84. Lindances uploaded this track, complete with intro by Don Cornelius:

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: Manta & Moray (1978)

2012-01-27T23:47:00.000-05:00

Once again, we reach into the anthology series, Tarzan & the Super 7, this time to spotlight one of two married couples on the show, Manta & Moray.

Moray (Joan Van Ark, later of Knots Landing) was a human raised by dolphins after her parents were lost at sea. Manta was of an amphibian race, and couldn't stay out of the water for a certain length of time, otherwise he would risk death. If that sounds familiar, well, that same weakness was associated with Aquaman for many years, and part of the reason this series won't be on DVD anytime soon may be because of the prospect of litigation from DC/Warner Bros. over intellectual property rights. Of course, that same season, NBC & Hanna-Barbera introduced Jana of the Jungle, who also had lost her father in an accident. Get the picture?

Here's one of the seven Manta & Moray episodes. Forgive the subtitles. The poster happens to be Spanish.

Classic Media now owns Manta & Moray, having acquired the bulk of the Filmation library, but if they wanted to revive the characters, some changes to their origins would be required.

Rating: B.

Animated World of DC Comics: Wonder Woman & Rima enter "The River of Doom" (1977)

2012-01-26T22:36:00.000-05:00

For the uninitiated, Rima, the Jungle Girl had appeared in a short-lived series from DC when the company acquired a license to use the character around 1973. 4 years later, Rima finally had the chance to meet one of DC's most famous icons, Wonder Woman, on The All-New Super Friends Hour. AdzFlickz uploaded Rima's TV debut, "The River of Doom". Narrator Bill Woodson doubles as one of the explorers, and Olan Soule, normally the voice of Batman, is heard as part of the explorer team as well.

I am not sure when DC's license to use Rima expired, so if it had by 1977, then it had to have fallen upon Hanna-Barbera to gain a license of their own, or in conjunction with DC. Rima would appear at least once more that season, and I believe she may have been brought back a few years later, but by then, the licensee would be H-B alone.

Rating: A.

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: The Freedom Force (1978)

2012-01-26T22:02:00.000-05:00

Filmation's experiment with live-action was nearing its end in 1978. The Secrets of Isis, originally part of the Shazam!-Isis Hour, was cancelled after 3 seasons, but Isis would stick around, transitioning into animated form, and form a super-team of her own: The Freedom Force.

There were only 5 episodes of Freedom Force produced as part of the Tarzan & the Super 7 anthology package Filmation put together for CBS. Relative newcomer Diane Pershing was the voice of Isis. Most of today's toon fans might know the actress' name more for her work as Poison Ivy on Batman: The Animated Series several years later. TheWizardShazam uploaded the first episode:

Super 7 would continue for another year on CBS before being shuffled off, without Tarzan, to NBC for its final season, and hasn't seen the light of day since. Later on, we'll review the three remaining segments: Web Woman, Manta & Moray, & Superstretch & Microwoman. Tarzan, Jason of Star Command, & The New Adventures of Batman have all previously been reviewed.

Rating: B.

Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits: One Way or Another (1979)

2012-01-24T20:57:00.000-05:00

123poedie uploaded this Blondie classic from a 1979 episode of American Bandstand. As per normal, the clip is taken from the Best of series that aired on VH1 a few years back (and desperately needs to be brought back and run on VH1 Classic). "One Way or Another" would also find its way into primetime, used as background music on shows like BJ & the Bear.

Saturtainment: The Mummy (2001)

2012-01-24T20:36:00.000-05:00

In the wake of "The Mummy Returns" in 2001, Universal's animation division created an animated weekly series follow-up to the film series, airing on Kids' WB!, continuing the adventures of Rick & Evy O'Connell and their son, Alex, who now has the Manacle of Osiris bound to his wrist, as you'll see in the open, uploaded by MrJackal94:

Rights issues prevented the producers from drawing Rick & Evy in the likeness of the movie's stars, Brendan Fraser & Rachel Wiesz. That, in a nutshell explains why Rick went from being dark-haired to a blond, and voiced by John Schneider (Smallville, ex-The Dukes of Hazzard). Unfortunately, the series never really got off the ground the way it was meant to, due to Kids' WB!'s practice of rotating their programs and making unannounced schedule changes at random, all the while favoring the anime that was drawing the most ratings.

The second season was delayed until February '03, and the series was given a subtitle, Secrets of the Medjai, but the 5 month delay sealed the show's fate, as it was cancelled for good in June '03. After a cable run on Toon Disney (now DisneyXD), the series has not been resurrected, even though a 3rd "Mummy" movie has since been released (and wasn't a big hit). At the very least, though, it did reach a definitive conclusion, something rare for an animated series.

Rating: B.

Adult Swim Historama: Harvey Birdman, Attorney-at-Law (2001)

2012-01-23T20:45:00.000-05:00

Harvey Birdman, Attorney-at-Law was one of three series spun off from Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast as part of the first wave of [adult swim] programming in 2001. (Aqua Teen Hunger Force & The Brak Show were the others) Much like Coast-to-Coast, it recast a previously established character in a completely different role, and proceeded to not only parody classic courtroom drama, but skewer a vast number of Hanna-Barbera favorites, and not always in good taste.

When Birdman first made a guest appearance on Coast-to-Coast, he was, like Space Ghost himself, represented as an out-of-work superhero looking for something to pass the time. After 4 appearances, he was granted his own series, having already been rechristened Harvey Birdman, and his original alter-ego of archeologist Ray Randall had been disrespectfully discarded. In the series, actor Gary Cole (ex-Midnight Caller) was cast as Harvey, a bumbling but otherwise successful lawyer, still answering to his former boss, Falcon 7, who had been rechristened "Phil Ken Sebben" (Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart & The Colbert Report), and was now the head of the firm. Birdgirl was recast as Phil's daughter, but with a severe crush on Birdman (well, duh!), but they also hinted that Phil had some designs on her, too, unaware of who she really was. Birdboy was renamed Peanut and was rebooted as the office boy, after a fashion.

That wasn't all. 60's funny animal hero Peter Potamus was brought back, but basically was down to one joke ("Did you get that thing I sent ya?") in a hurry. You don't even want to know what I think of how they've handled some characters, although to their credit, they did a better job with the Funky Phantom than the nimrods in charge of Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated did, having Jonathan Muddlemore do an impromptu rap to answer Peanut.

Unfortunately, full episodes of the series are not available right now, as the only episodes I can find were created for Wii & the Playstation family of video game systems. Here, though, is the show open:

The series ended with Harvey being killed off, which leaves the door open for some enterprising soul at WB to bring Ray Randall back as the one, true Birdman, but it's an uphill climb, since Harvey is still very much in the public consciousness, for better or worse, and this writer believes it's for the worse. Par for the course for [adult swim].

Rating: B--.

Adult Swim Historama: Sealab 2021 (2001)

2012-01-22T21:00:00.001-05:00

In November 2000, Cartoon Network used the overnight hours to sneak-preview, unannounced, 4 new series. Over the next few days, we're reviewing all 4 of those series, and we'll start with Sealab 2021.

To be honest, I was actually looking forward to this show when it was announced. I had watched the original Sealab 2020 as a youth, and was a tad disappointed when NBC pulled the plug, leaving 3 episodes unaired, running 13 out of a order of 16. Since I wasn't watching Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast with any semblance of regularity, maybe I should've been better prepared. What we got was a Mad Movies-style reboot, using the original animation, with new voices dubbed over and some characters being renamed or completely replaced. The animation style was worse than the original, if that was even possible. Perhaps the only other selling point was the fact that 70's icon Erik Estrada (ex-CHiPS) was in the show's cast, but he really wasn't a major player. Somehow, they managed to recycle the material often enough to produce 52 15 minute episodes over the course of 4 seasons (2001-05). The closest thing to actual continuity they might have had was in casting Harry Goz as Captain Murphy, a role originated by John Stephenson in the original series. Goz, who passed away in 2003, was enough of a soundalike, such that when they remade an episode the original series in season 2, where Murphy was a primary player, that Goz could've pulled off a perfect mimic.
Here, in fact, is that remake, "7211", uploaded by KokosMinions1stborn:

It turns out that was an aberration compared to the rest of the series, which was loaded with parodies and, borrowing a plot device from South Park, frequent killings of crew members, who usually returned in the next episode. It was enough to give animation purists heartburn.

Rating: C-.

On DVD: Superman (1941)

2012-01-22T00:03:00.001-05:00

The following also appears on my other blog, The Land of Whatever.
================

Max & Dave Fleischer are well-known icons in animation history. The brothers adapted E. C. Segar's Popeye (formerly Thimble Theatre) into a series of classic shorts, and turned Jonathan Swift's novel, Gulliver's Travels, into a full-length animated feature. They also had created their own characters, particularly Betty Boop, in whose series Popeye made his debut in what amounts to what they call in television a "back-door pilot".

In 1941, the Fleischers reached into the world of comics again, striking a deal with National Periodical (DC) to bring Superman to the screen in a series of animated shorts. The biggest difference between Superman and the rest of the Fleischer line for Paramount was that the characters were drawn more realistically, creating a faithful adaptation of the comic books.

Clayton "Bud" Collyer & Joan Alexander, the stars of the Superman radio dramas, reprised their roles as Superman/Clark Kent (Collyer) and Lois Lane (Alexander) for the cartoons. However, there was one instance where Collyer apparently was missing and had to be substituted by another actor. Curiously missing is Jimmy Olsen, however. In the Golden Age, Olsen was introduced as a copy boy at the Daily Star (later Daily Planet), and later became a cub reporter. Sadly, he was left out of the series because, quite simply, there wasn't enough room for him in terms of plot development.

17 cartoons were made in total. Unfortunately, the Fleischers were gone before the series ended, and even though the quality of the cartoons didn't suffer much, their creative presence was missed. It was during this period that an analogue for Olsen, a novice named Louis, was added. Sad to say, Louis wasn't as bright, and to say he was about as sharp as a broken thumbtack would be an insult to thumbtacks. He simply didn't fit.

As most of you probably know, Collyer & Alexander would reprise their roles again for the first Superman animated series, which aired on CBS from 1966-70, but Alexander left the show after the first season. By then, Olsen was a much bigger player in the books, and it was reflected in his inclusion in the Filmation cartoons.

Davidandersonharvey uploaded the first cartoon, entitled simply, "Superman", but also known as "Mad Scientist".

The cartoons have been in public domain for a number of years, but last year WB finally produced a series of their own. Earlier today, I bought one of those public domain releases, this one issued by Genius Entertainment in conjunction with Topps in 2005. Not all of the cartoons are included, and a stick of Bazooka gum that was promised was not to be found. The other downside was that these prints are missing the Paramount opening & closing logos that were included in the print shown above. Who'd ever think Topps would pull an el scrimpo like that?

Rating: A+.

Daytime Heroes: She-Ra, Princess of Power (1985)

2012-01-21T12:15:00.000-05:00

I think the marketing suits at Filmation & Mattel realized that while He-Man & the Masters of the Universe was geared for boys, it was also attracting young female viewers as well, thanks to Teela, the Captain of the Palace Guard, who had been posited as a possible girlfriend for He-Man. Not only that, but Queen Marlena, Prnce Adam's mother, had been presented in a positive light, too, as a role model.

So it was that when production began on season 3 of He-Man, Mattel & Filmation expanded the series' self-contained universe, and introduced She-Ra, Princess of Power as a companion series. Naturally, He-Man guest-starred in the opening story arc, which explains how Princess Adora, Adam's twin sister, had been working for Etheria's evil ruler, Hordak. The siblings eventually meet, and Adora sees the light--literally.

Unfortunately, the bloom was falling off the rose for He-Man by this point, and She-Ra lasted just 2 seasons, replaced by Bravestarr in 1987. When He-Man has subsequently been revived on 2 different occasions, She-Ra was not brought back, although there was talk when Cartoon Network cancelled the last He-Man series that She-Ra would finally return, nearly 20 years after her debut. While He-Man has also appeared in comic books, among other things, She-Ra hasn't seen the inside of the printed page at all.

Fro0lik uploaded the episode, "The Price of Power".

Rating: B.

Adult Swim Historama: Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast (1994)

2012-01-21T00:29:00.000-05:00

Long before Cartoon Network launched [adult swim] in 2001, one of the channel's first original series marked the return of one of Hanna-Barbera's classic heroes of the 60's.

Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast recast the Phantom of the Spaceways as a 40-something, out of work superhero who was now on Earth looking for work. Somehow, someway, he landed a talk show, and, ah, persuaded former enemies Moltar (formerly Moltor) and Zorak to work for him as punishment for their various crimes. The series was designed as a parody of talk-variety shows in general, and, more specifically, The Late Show With David Letterman, although Zorak was no Paul Shaffer by any stretch.

Series creator Mike Lazzo realized that until then, Space Ghost didn't have a secret identity. That all changed when it was established that Space Ghost's given name was Tad Ghostal. Well, while that's ok for a comedy show, it doesn't fly with fans of the original series. One other positive was that the series' 15-minute length for most episodes was a throwback to the Golden Age of television, when it was common for shows to be 15 minutes instead of the now-standard 30 or 60. [as] still employs the 15 minute format for many of their current programs, so we'll give them points for that.

The following clip has Space Ghost (now voiced by George Lowe) lamenting the loss of a pet......sea monkey........

The late wrestler "Macho Man" Randy Savage was cast in a recurring role as Leonard Ghostal, Tad's grandfather, and similarly garbed as his more famous offspring. Of course, it helped that Savage was gainfully employed by WCW, a sister company to CN at the time, allowing for some cross-promotion. While the actual series has ended, new, shorter episodes have been produced online in recent years. However, [as] would be well-served to revive the series as a regular entity to remind viewers that without Coast-to-Coast, there would be no [adult swim].

Ah, but once [as] launched, few of us had any idea of the depths to which the wackjobs at Williams St. Studios (formerly Ghost Planet Enterprises) would stoop to desecrate the hallowed legacies of H-B's icons. Over the next few weeks, we'll be exploring some of the worst of these offenses.

Rating for the series: B--. Have to take points off for the rotoscoping and poorly recycled animation.

From out of the Recycling Bin: Cartoon Planet (1995)

2012-01-20T16:27:00.000-05:00

In an effort to cross-promote Cartoon Network's Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast, which premiered a year earlier, CN's sister network TBS began airing a variety-anthology series, Cartoon Planet, 6 days a week, running during after school hours on weekdays, and as a lead in to WCW wrestling on Saturday mornings.

Planet, like its parent series, presented Space Ghost, reincarnated as a talk-variety show host, aided by former foes Zorak (as the one-man band), Moltar (formerly Moltor, the producer), and Brak (comedy relief). Brak became the breakout star of the show, such that he was granted a primetime special a few years later, and, after the launch of [adult swim] in 2001, his own 15 minute comedy series. There were classic cartoons from the Turner networks' library, which, of course, included episodes of the original Space Ghost from 1966, so viewers could see Space Ghost, Brak, Zorak, & Moltor as they originally appeared.

In this clip, Brak spins a wacky yarn about milk at the grocer.

There would also be the occasional skits with a live-action Space Ghost (Andy Merrill, one of the show's producers and the voice of Brak), usually at the end of the broadcast. Quite a comedown for a classic Hanna-Barbera superhero, don't you think?

Planet ceased producing new material after 2 years, but the repeats kept rolling until 1999. After the first year, TBS moved the series over to CN, and it has spent time on [as] in the past. Unfortunately, today, the subversive, twisted comedy lies in the Turner vaults, all but forgotten.

Rating: B+.

Tooniversaries in 2012

2012-01-18T10:32:00.000-05:00

The following series are marking anniversaries this year:

50 years: The Jetsons.
45 years: Birdman & the Galaxy Trio, Samson & Goliath, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Shazzan, The Herculoids, Moby Dick & the Mighty Mightor, George of the Jungle, Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure, Super President.
40 years: Amazing Chan & the Chan Clan, The New Scooby-Doo Movies, Josie & the Pussycats in Outer Space, Sealab 2020, The Barkleys, The Houndcats, The Roman Holidays, The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie, Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids, The Brady Kids.
35 years: C. B. Bears, The Skatebirds, The All-New Super Friends Hour, Scooby's All-Star Laff-a-Lympics, Space Sentinels.
30 years: Shirt Tales, Gilligan's Planet, Meatballs & Spaghetti, Pandamonium, G. I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Mork & Mindy (animated series), The Incredible Hulk (2nd animated series).
25 years: Bravestarr.
20 years: Batman: The Animated Series, Wild West C.O.W.Boys of Moo Mesa.
10 years: Stargate: Infinity, US debuts of Ultimate Muscle, Kirby: Right Back at Ya, Fighting Foodons.

If there's a favorite of yours that I've missed, please let me know and remind me.

Animated World of DC Comics: All-New Super Friends Hour (1977)

2012-01-15T21:24:00.001-05:00

ABC's 1977-78 Saturday morning block, it can be said, propelled the network to #1 in the ratings. Only two series returned from the previous year--American Bandstand & The Krofft Supershow. Filling out the block were three new series. We've previously reviewed Scooby's All-Star Laff-a-Lympics, the 2-hour block in the middle of the pack, and the ABC Weekend Special. We've also featured some episodes from the series we're profiling today, the All-New Super Friends Hour.

It had been 4 years since the original Super Friends had been the centerpiece of ABC's lineup, and even though only 1 season's worth of episodes had been produced, most, if not all, recorded in Australia for whatever reason, the fan support was enough to keep it on the air as a mid-season replacement the next three seasons, truncated to a half-hour format in 1976. The ratings began to climb for the reruns, it would seem, prompting ABC to order a new series.

The format was different this time around. There would be 4 episodes per show, plus special health & safety tips, puzzles tied into the main feature, and the occasional magic tricks. The puzzles & magic segments, unfortunately, have been seemingly lost to the mists of time for now, save maybe for the recent DVD releases. Likewise, the Wonder Twins shorts are also not available on YouTube at the present time, save for some truncated and remixed pieces redone for [adult swim]. Trust me, pilgrims, you don't want to know what I think of [adult swim]'s mistreatment of the Hanna-Barbera library, but I may do an essay on that one day, just to vent!

Anyway, this was what I was willing to wake up for on a Saturday morning in 1977. H-B was competing with itself in the 8-9 am (ET) slot at the start of the season, what with CB Bears, similarly formatted to the Super Friends, airing on NBC, and Skatebirds (ditto) on CBS. Those other series, as we noted in our reviews previously, were plowed under in the ratings by the networks' short-sighted attempts to counter-program.

The plots picked up from the previous series, and due to the anti-violence regulations that were still in effect, our heroes couldn't fully lay the smack down on the bad guys. There was one DC villain that season, that being the Gentleman Ghost, a Hawkman enemy who would later reform for a time in the comics. Hey, trust me, I know, I read those stories! However, the Ghost wasn't treated too kindly by the writers, who couldn't be bothered to use Hawkman for that particular story.

Today's sample features Wonder Woman & Aquaman battling "The Enforcer". This would be the last season where Norman Alden (ex-Electra Woman & Dynagirl) would be the voice of Aquaman, as he left the show when they switched formats again to Challenge of the Super Friends the following year, although he would reteam with Shannon Farnon (Wonder Woman) for a Cartoon Network ad with the Powerpuff Girls more than 20 years later.

Courtesy of Adzflickz, here's "The Enforcer".

As you could tell, narrator Bill Woodson also voiced Garth 1 and one other character. Not too bad.

Rating for the series: A.

Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits: Everybody Plays The Fool (1974)

2012-01-15T20:45:00.000-05:00

Swatsmigle uploaded this classic from the Main Ingredient. "Everybody Plays The Fool" became a hit twice over in the late 80's, when it was covered as a solo hit by Aaron Neville. Here, however, is the original, taken from an episode of Soul Train. Excuse the Japanese (or is that, Chinese?) subtitles in Don Cornelius' intro.

Animated World of DC Comics: The Justice League gets caught "Between Two Armies" (1967)

2012-01-14T00:48:00.002-05:00

What was supposed to be the strongest of the backup features on the Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure ended up actually being the weakest. The Justice League segments were missing two of the League's founding members--Batman & Wonder Woman, whose rights were both held by 20th Century Fox and William Dozier's Greenway Productions. Dozier had produced an unsold pilot for the Amazing Amazon that was far worse than Batman in terms of camp. Believe me, you don't even want to know how bad it was.

So, we were left with Superman (Bud Collyer, To Tell The Truth), Atom (Pat Harrington), Hawkman, Green Lantern (Gerald Mohr, Fantastic Four), & the Flash. Aquaman (Marvin Miller) was supposed to be in on the adventure, as advertised, but that was not the case.

In the first of 3 Justice League of America shorts, the League finds itself caught "Between Two Armies". Uploaded by GuardiansofOa, and, of course, narrated by Ted Knight, who also voices most, if not all, of the warring factions.

I've said it before, but it bears repeating. Today, a 7 minute short would be expanded to a full half hour to allow for further plot development and drama. And they thought today's generation has a short attention span? What do you think they thought of children watching cartoons in 1967?

Rating: B.

Game Time: The Pop 'N' Rocker Game (1983)

2012-01-12T23:58:00.000-05:00

Until 1983, Jon Bauman was better known as the deep-voiced, muscular, hammy Bowzer from Sha Na Na. In the fall of '83, Bauman, who'd made the rounds of game shows as Bowzer, including multiple appearances on Celebrity Charades & Match Game, went to the dry look, and became a game show host himself. He had not one, but two series that season. The one everyone knows is, of course, the ill-fated Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour, in which he was given the dubious task, for reasons no one really knows, to fill Peter Marshall's chair as Squares MC, which must've upset Match's Gene Rayburn, as it spoiled his return to NBC, where Match had originally launched more than 20 years earlier. Reportedly, Rayburn and Bauman didn't get along behind the scenes, but then, combining two beloved series in a hour-long block opposite the then-mighty General Hospital was doomed to fail from the start, and it was cancelled in less than a year.

Fewer viewers saw Bauman's other game show, The Pop 'N' Rocker Game, which was a syndicated weekend series that didn't play in as many markets. I should know. It wasn't picked up locally, insofar as I remember. It, too, lasted one season, then faded into obscurity. Bauman later moved on to VH1 as one of their first on-air talents, but today, he's back to being Bowzer, but time has not been kind, as he's packed on some pounds, based on an infomercial he co-hosted that aired intermittently last year.

Anyway, here's a clip from the pilot episode of Pop 'N' Rocker, with musical guest Oingo Boingo.

No rating. As I said, I never saw the show.

It Should've Been on a Saturday: The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1968)

2012-01-11T14:58:00.000-05:00

The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was Hanna-Barbera's last primetime entry of the 60's, lasting just one season on NBC in 1968, and airing on Sundays, where it was prone to being pre-empted or delayed during football season, airing as it did ahead of The Wonderful World of Disney.

Producer Edward Rosen also worked on the studio's other freshman series for NBC, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, which sums up his body of work for H-B, as he was long gone by the time they tried live-action again a few years later. The idea behind this show was to use live actors to play the leads, surrounded by animated characters. The central villain, who seemed to be reincarnated in some toon form on a weekly basis, was Injun Joe (Ted Cassidy, ex-The Addams Family), who was now a part of the H-B repertory company as a voice actor. I dimly remember seeing an episode or two in its original Sunday night configuration, but, looking back, given its poor showing in primetime, it actually belonged on Saturdays. To that end, it was included in a Banana Splits syndicated package a number of years later.

Cartoonsintros uploaded the open:

If memory serves, I believe H-B took another crack at Huck in an all-animated episode of the CBS anthology series, Famous Classic Tales during the 70's. I'll have to check to verify. The non-violence edicts were already in place when this series aired, so we never saw Huck or Tom Sawyer throw a punch, even at an animated foe. Just as well.

Rating: B.

Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits: Falling (1977)

2012-01-10T22:31:00.000-05:00

Mickatmidnight uploaded this American Bandstand clip of LeBlanc & Carr's 1977 hit, "Falling". Forgive the video quality.

This was actually the first time I've actually heard this song, to be honest with you. Then again, being raised in a household that favored country music over pop and rock, well......!

Game Time: The Professional Bowlers Tour (1961-1997)

2012-01-09T20:45:00.001-05:00

Those of us who spend our down time on the bowling lanes probably learned the sport from watching ABC's Professional Bowlers Tour, a Saturday afternoon staple during the winter & spring from 1961-1997. Back then, bowling was actually a popular sport, but that popularity has taken a massive downturn in recent years.

For four months, the tour served as a lead-in for ABC's other Saturday attraction, Wide World of Sports, although there were a few occasions where the air times were flipped over, and Wide World would air first, especially if a tournament was being contested on the West Coast. It wasn't always live, either. In its early years, the tournaments were shown on tape delay, but viewer demand prompted the change to a live format. Additionally, in those early years, the TV finals had four bowlers, three of whom competed in round-robin format to determine who'd face the first-place bowler for the championship. Sometime in the late 60's or early 70's, ABC switched to the stepladder format, adding a 5th man to the mix, while retaining the 90 minute fomat.

Bowlingfan33 uploaded this sample from the 1971 Buckeye Open.

After 14 years away, the tour returned to ABC a year ago for a 1-shot special to mark the 50th anniversary of the PBA debuting on the network. Today, the tournaments are once again on tape delay, airing on ABC's cable step-cousin, ESPN, while truncated classic reruns air on, of course, ESPN Classic. To paraphrase an old slogan, bowling never gets old.

Rating: A.

Krofftverse: H. R. Pufnstuf (1969)

2012-01-08T19:46:00.000-05:00

Puppeteers Sid & Marty Krofft had developed some of the puppets used on The Banana Splits Adventure Hour for Hanna-Barbera, but then, a year later, they struck out on their own, becoming as much a major player on Saturday mornings during the 70's as H-B themselves.

The first part of what I like to refer to as the Krofftverse was H. R. Pufnstuf, a surrealist fantasy that spent a total of three seasons on NBC, the last two entirely in repeats, and then the reruns shifted over to ABC for a 4th and final season in 1972.

The title hero was the mayor of the Living Island, defending his fiefdom, if you will, from the nefarious Witchiepoo (Billie Hayes), who now had more reason to take control. A teenager, Jimmy (Jack Wild, "Oliver!") and a talking flute named Freddy had landed on the island. Witchiepoo coveted the flute, but, as most often happens, was foiled either by Pufnstuf or the bumbling of her own aides.

Not only did actor Len Weinrib voice Pufnstuf, he was also one of the show's writers, and would serve in a similar capacity a year later, working on Dr. Doolittle for DePatie-Freleng, also for NBC. Weinrib had also been an independent filmmaker during the 60's before turning full time to children's television.

Cubnut3 uploaded the first portion of the episode, "Show-Biz Witch", which includes the nearly 2 minute opening sequence.

There was also a feature film, "Pufnstuf", with the regular cast, but that hasn't seen the light of day in years. Pufnstuf & Witchiepoo would return a few years later on the short-lived Krofft Superstar Hour, and that would mark the end of the line for both. We have to assume Jimmy & Freddy made it home by then.

If you can get past all the insinuations regarding drug use that have cropped up in various media outlets in the years after the series ended production, you'd see that this was all just absurdist fantasy, with a few musical numbers thrown in to take advantage of Wild's talents as a singer.

Series producer Si Rose came over from Universal, which, oh by the way, distributed the "Pufnstuf" movie, even though the series itself was shot at Paramount. Go figure.

Rating: B-.

Toon Sports: Where's Huddles (1970)

2012-01-08T18:51:00.000-05:00

The first of Hanna-Barbera's 1970 freshman class was also their last primetime entry for a few years.

Where's Huddles was a summer replacement for The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour from July-September 1970, and then resurfaced a year later as filler following NFL football. It was in the latter case where I first discovered the show.

The series was a more modern-day reworking of The Flintstones, but this time instead of working in construction, Ed Huddles (Cliff Norton) and Bubba McCoy (Mel Blanc) were football players. A neighbor, Claude Pertwee (Paul Lynde, Hollywood Squares, Bewitched) wasn't much of a football fan, as he'll readily admit in the open, uploaded by cartoonsintros:

Only 10 episodes were produced, and after its Sunday run, the series was never seen again until picked up by Boomerang a few years ago. In this writer's opinion, Huddles could be redone for a modern audience, with more of an emphasis on family rather than career. Problem is, it was not too successful the first time around, so I doubt that Warners might be willing to take a flier on it more than 40 years later.

Rating: B.

Daytime Heroes: Spidey Super Stories (1974)

2012-01-07T21:48:00.000-05:00

Earlier this week, we presented an episode of The Adventures of Letterman from the original Electric Company. Today, we move the time dial forward.

Seeing rival DC take another dive into live-action adaptation with Shazam! airing on CBS, Marvel entered into a licensing agreement with the Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop), producers of Electric Company, to add Spider-Man, in his first live-action incarnation, to the series, which was entering its 4th year. Unlike other incarnations, Spider-Man didn't speak, but rather his dialogue came in the form of pop-up word balloons, which other cast members had to read to understand what he was saying. Newcomer Danny Seagren played Spidey, making him the answer to a trivia question instead of Nicholas Hammond, who donned the webs for a CBS primetime series that launched after Electric Company had ceased production.

Series regular Skip Hinnant narrates "Spidey vs. The Prankster", with the theme performed by the members of the Short Circus vocal group, who also appear in the story. Uploaded by---wait for it---WebOfTheSpider.

Spidey Super Stories was spun off into a comic book from Marvel that outlasted the webhead's run on the show, lasting well into the early 80's before being cancelled. Even though Electric Company has since been revived and rebooted by PBS, there were no plans to revisit any of the classic segments from the original series, including a return of Spider-Man. Now, if only they'd release this on DVD......

Rating: A.

Saturtainment: Running The Halls (1993)

2012-01-06T23:17:00.000-05:00

Running The Halls was one of those rare things on NBC in the 90's. A Saturday morning teen-com that wasn't from Peter Engel's stable. Engel (Saved By The Bell, California Dreams) was not associated with this series, although you might have thought he was, since his company seemingly dominated the lineup at the time. Lacking Engel's golden touch, Halls lasted just one season.

Worse, in my home district, it ran into indifference from the local affiliate, which opted to black out the show most of the time. Hence, the following clip, from the episode, "McBain Chokes", is my first look at the series, as it might also be for some of you. Uploaded by tgestudios to YouTube.

No rating.

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: Bristol Hound (1969)

2012-01-05T22:17:00.001-05:00

To a 6 year old viewer such as moi was in 1969, the It's The Wolf! segments of Cattanooga Cats were escapist entertainment to hold attention. More learned minds would later realize that while the setting changes with each episode, the plot remains the same. Mildew Wolf (Paul Lynde, Hollywood Squares, Bewitched) wants to invite innnocent Lambsy (Daws Butler, using his Augie Doggie/Elroy Jetson voice) to dinner, with Lambsy as the main course, but is always thwarted by Lambsy's guardian, Bristol Hound (Allan Melvin, The Brady Bunch).

Now, while lambs aren't usually associated with winter settings, dogs and some breeds of wolves are, although one wonders if Mildew actually would be at home in the snow. Somehow, after the events of "Winter Blunder-Land", I kind of doubt it. I should note that, as was the case on The Perils of Penelope Pitstop, Lynde was not given screen credit for his work, not that he really needed it.

Uploaded by rwmackey61:

As we've previously documented, Mildew would later reform and become a sportscaster on Scooby's All-Star Laff-a-Lympics, but John Stephenson, not exactly doing a Lynde mimic, took over the role, as Lynde had gotten out of the cartoon business following "Charlotte's Web" in 1973.

Well, at least Mildew made a comeback. Lambsy & Bristol? Not so much.

Rating: C.

Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits: O-o-h Child (1970)

2012-01-05T00:01:00.000-05:00

The 5 Stairsteps, billed as the "First Family of Soul", scored their biggest hit in 1970 with "O-o-h Child". A year later, the family band, with the name shortened to The Stairsteps, appeared on Soul Train during the series' 1st season. DiscoLarry124 uploaded this clip.

More recently, the song resurfaced on the charts, covered by gospel singers Kirk Franklin & Donnie McClurkin. The positive message in the song certainly resonates even today.

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: The Wild West C.O.W-Boys of Moo Mesa (1992)

2012-01-04T15:33:00.000-05:00

ABC was looking for a new hit series as the centerpiece of their Saturday morning lineup in 1992. Scooby-Doo had left the network a year earlier after being a cornerstone for most of the previous 15 years. The Real Ghostbusters had solved their last TV case after a 5 year run. Attempting to replace them with Hammerman, among others, ended in abject failure, so now it was time to look in another direction. In this case, the Old West.

The Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa, which merged old school Western adventure with the trendy animal mutations popularized by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, among others, nearly a decade earlier, seemed to fill the bill. Co-produced by King World (now part of CBS-Paramount) and Greengrass Productions, along with independent producer Gunther-Wahl (ex-Marvel & DFE exec Lee Gunther had formed his own production company) for the first season and Ruby-Spears for year two, the C.O.W.-Boys were paired with the animated revival of The Addams Family to give ABC the centerpiece they'd been waiting for. Advanteege uploaded the open.

The series made the transition to comics in 2 three-issue runs published by Archie, which was producing a book based on the Ninja Turtles' animated series, which, oh by the way, aired opposite Moo Mesa, if my memory serves me correctly. What resulted was that the COW-Boys & Turtles would meet in the pages of one of the Turtles' books on a number of different occasions. Unfortunately, no one has the stones to put the show back on the air to mark its 20th anniversary this year. Disney held the rights, last anyone knew, but it's been sitting in their vaults for almost a decade now.

Rating: None. Never saw the show.

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: The New Shmoo (1979)

2012-01-02T12:39:00.001-05:00

While Al Capp's seminal comic strip, L'il Abner, never became an animated series, one of the supporting cast made the transition, and it wasn't very successful.

Hanna-Barbera acquired a license in 1979 to bring the armless, shape-changing Shmoo to television, but by taking him out of his familiar milieu and pairing him with a generic group of amateur crime-solvers, who were also running a small comics company for their primary vocation, they felt required to christen the series, The New Shmoo. Seanmc31076 uploaded the open:

Two months into the season, the series was merged with Fred & Barney Meet The Thing to form the equally ridiculous 90 minute Fred & Barney Meet The Shmoo, but all that did was postpone the inevitable. Shmoo shuffled off the air after 1 season, and the rights lie with either the Capp estate or with WB, as I believe reruns have aired on Boomerang in recent years.

Today, if someone wanted to revive the Shmoo, it would be a CGI series, you can bank on it. And it might work the second time around.

Rating: B-.

From out of the Recycling Bin: Super Witch (1977)

2012-01-02T09:40:00.000-05:00

In 1977, The Archies moved from CBS to NBC after a year's break, during which time a live-action pilot had been produced for ABC by James Komack (Chico & The Man, Welcome Back, Kotter). Said pilot bombed out, and so the gang moved laterally across the dial again.

However, The Archie-Sabrina Hour, which introduced a new cast member in Carlos, a Latino teen, didn't click with viewers. It's not that hard to fathom why. The series was slotted opposite Scooby's All-Star Laff-a-Lympics on ABC, and was subsequently buried. Before the year was out, the one-hour format was scrapped, and the series split into two component parts, The Bang Shang Lallapalooza Show (Archie) & Super Witch, which, as you'll see, recycled parts of the open to Sabrina's 1971 solo series, but with a new theme song. The open also emphasizes Reggie Mantle's efforts to expose Sabrina's witchcraft to the rest of the gang. Heine71 uploaded the video:

NBC bade farewell to the Riverdale gang in the Spring of '78, and it would be more than a decade before they would return to Saturday mornings, albeit in a new incarnation, The New Archies, which we've previously reviewed. Since we already had reviewed Sabrina's 1971 show, there is no need to rate this over again.

Daytime Heroes: The Adventures of Letterman (1972)

2012-01-01T20:08:00.000-05:00

In its second season, The Electric Company added a superhero satire feature that would appear sporadically, with 60 installments over the next four years. The Adventures of Letterman was a series of 2 1/2 minute shorts designed to, as in the context of the Company's overall format, teach young viewers about specific words.

Every story had the same basic plot. Spell Binder has a little fun at the expense of some poor, innocent citizen, and Letterman appears, emerging from the convienent vicinity, to correct the problem. The series reunited Gene Wilder & Zero Mostel, the stars of the original feature film version of "The Producers", as the voices of Letterman & Spell Binder, respectively, with Joan Rivers serving as narrator.

NantoVision1 uploaded "In a Pickle":

During Electric Company's final season, they created a live-action parody of Letterman, Litterman. I will try to locate that skit. Of course you know that before the Company ended its first run, Spider-Man would become a part of the show. Look for Spidey Super Stories to show up before too long.

To paraphrase ESPN's Kenny Mayne back in the day, the simplicity of these cartoons amuses me. Bring me your finest meats & cheeses.

Rating: A-.

You Know The Voice: Three for the price of one (1973)

2011-12-30T13:47:00.000-05:00

Before she turned to cartoons, Louise "Liberty" Williams was looking for her big break, and would land guest roles on a variety of programs. As I outlined yesterday, I had to delete a previous post that included an episode of Chico & The Man. This time, we're moving a little further back in time, when "Liberty" guested on The Mary Tyler Moore Show as Debbie Morganstern, Rhoda's sister. This was a 1-shot, as Debbie was getting married, and so Rhoda (Valerie Harper) and Mary fly to New York for the nuptials.

Of course, there is a bonus, what with Ted Knight, then also the narrator for the original Super Friends when this episode aired, and Edward Asner, who would also make a career-resurrection as a voice actor years later (credits include the 90's animated Batman & Spider-Man series; he voiced J. Jonah Jameson in the latter), also on hand.

For what it's worth, when Rhoda was spun into her own series, another future voice actress was on that series---Julie Kavner, currently on The Simpsons! Who knew?

Anyway, just check out cute-as-a-button "Liberty" in "Rhoda's Sister Gets Married", courtesy of dodger2829.

You Know The Voice: Scatman Crothers

2011-12-29T22:27:00.000-05:00

Last month, I posted a episode of Chico & the Man that featured both series regular Scatman Crothers (Hong Kong Phooey) & guest star Louise "Liberty" Williams (Super Friends). Unfortunately, the person who placed the video on YouTube withdrew his account, and so, I had to take my post, along with the feedback, down earlier tonight.

Now, I have found another of Louise's early TV gigs, and will hopefully have that up soon. Today, though, is about Scatman. Before he landed at Hanna-Barbera, where he worked on Harlem Globetrotters as well as Hong Kong Phooey, Scatman was a jazz singer as well as an actor, and had made a number of albums dating back to the 50's. He gained some cartoon cred working with Phil Harris, among others, in Disney's "The Aristocats" in 1970. 8 years later, Harris & Crothers reunited for an episode of The Wonderful World of Disney, back when it still aired on NBC, to look back at "Aristocats".

yensidnaf (fandisney spelled backwards) uploaded the following clip:

You Know The Voice: Don Messick goes primetime (1984)

2011-12-28T22:39:00.001-05:00

The late Don Messick compiled a mammoth body of work in cartoons, mostly at Hanna-Barbera. You know most of the characters by heart. Boo-Boo & Ranger Smith opposite Yogi Bear. Astro, The Jetsons' family pet. And, of course, Scooby-Doo. In 1984, veteran comedy writer-producer Allan Burns co-created a sitcom for MTM Productions and NBC that was the perfect place for Don to finally appear in front of the cameras.

The Duck Factory was a typical MTM ensemble comedy, more on the order of, say for example, WKRP In Cincinnati, but didn't have the ratings that NBC wanted. On the show, Don played voice actor Wally Wooster, star of the Dinky Duck Show, and, as we'll see in the episode, "The Children's Half Hour", estranged from his daughter, Wendy.

Duck Factory was the first star vehicle for Jim Carrey, but the Canadian funnyman wouldn't really hit the big time until 6 years later with a little series for Fox you might've heard of. In Living Color. The cast also includes Clarence Gilyard, Jr. (later of Matlock & Walker, Texas Ranger) and former Cracker Jack pitchman Jack Gilford.

Courtesy of JimCarreyOnline, here's "The Children's Half Hour":

Toon Legends: Davey & Goliath (1960)

2011-12-25T23:54:00.000-05:00

Following up the success of his own creation, Gumby, Art Clokey was contracted by Lutheran Television to develop a children's series for them. Davey & Goliath, launched in 1960, has been cited as being possibly an inspiration for the [adult swim] series, Morel Orel, right down to its stop-motion, claymation format, but Orel's creators say that isn't the case. Its detractors might think otherwise, but there's no denying the fact that Davey, a classic series in its own right about a boy & his dog, was one of the earliest cartoons to use moral themes, well before Bill Cosby created Fat Albert in the 70's.

Davey, however, hasn't been consistently in production through the course of its 51 years on the air. It's ceased production several times, and there hasn't been any new material since the central characters were licensed for use in a commercial for Mountain Dew a few years ago. Currently, the series airs in syndication and on Saturday afternoons on TBN.

Following is the episode, "Stranded on an Island", with the voices of Dick Beals (Speedy, the Alka-Seltzer mascot) as Davey, Ginny Tyler (later of Space Ghost) as Davey's mother & sister, and Hal Smith (The Andy Griffith Show) as Goliath & Davey's father.

Later episodes depicted an older Davey developing more rebellious attitudes, but learning his lessons at the end of each story, sort of in the mold of Leave It To Beaver, with Davey as an analogue for Beaver. That creative decision might be a reason why the series is out of production. I just can't be sure of that.

Rating: A-.

Countdown to Christmas: A Flintstones Christmas Carol (1994)

2011-12-24T19:23:00.000-05:00

Can you picture Fred Flintstone as Ebenezer Scrooge? Well, since Fred has been a department store Santa, it seems to make sense for him to play the other literary icon of the holiday season, too.

In 1994, 9 years after The Jetsons adapted Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Hanna-Barbera went to the source material again, this time in a more indirect fashion, with A Flintstones Christmas Carol. Fred plays Scrooge in a community theatre production, and of course, there will be those unenlightened among you who will question the logic, considering that the show is set in the Stone Age, way before Carol was ever written, but that's what creative license is for, isn't it?

For Fred, his job is made even harder by the fact that he's also a last-minute Christmas shopper, and that is making Wilma very unhappy. Worse, Wilma has to contain her anger and play her part in the play, right along with Fred.

Personal note: I acted in a school production of Carol several years ago, without all the attendant drama that Fred & Wilma went through. No, I didn't play Scrooge. I played his nephew, instead. It was also my last acting job, 33 years ago, but I can empathize with what they have to go through.

Scoobydoodudee uploaded A Flintstones Christmas Carol in its entirety.

Rating: A.

Daytime Heroes: Aladdin (1994)

2011-12-22T21:29:00.000-05:00

The Disney Afternoon weekday block was on its last legs in the mid-90's, and one of its last hits was spun from an equally successful feature film.

Aladdin enchanted moviegoers in 1992, but the succeeding sequels went direct-to-video for reasons known only to Disney, perhaps lacking the faith in creating a modern day animated franchise at the time, although that wouldn't be the case a few years later with the introduction of "Toy Story". The series bowed in 1994, airing 6 days a week. Monday-Friday as part of the fading Disney Afternoon block, and Saturdays on CBS, leading off the network lineup.

Most of the cast, save for superstar Robin Williams, returned for the series. Dan Castelanetta (The Simpsons) stepped in for Williams beginning with the first DTV sequel, "The Return of Jafar", and while he didn't have Williams' manic energy, he was adequate enough. Scott Weinger (Full House) voiced Aladdin, who, when the series started, was now engaged to Princess Jasmine. Unfortunately, the series ended without the couple getting married. Gilbert Gottfried (ex-Saturday Night Live) voiced the cynical Iago, who had left Jafar behind to join Aladdin's crew. Well, he was there mostly for comic relief, actually.

Here's the open:

Aladdin lasted two seasons, followed by the second DTV, "Aladdin & the King of Thieves", which was the last we'd hear from Aladdin & company, save for an appearance or two on Disney's House of Mouse. Today, it sits in Disney's vaults, as neither Disney Channel nor DisneyXD is willing to air the show at an appropriate time suitable for its fanbase. Their loss.

Rating: B.

Celebrity Toons: Life With Louie (1994)

2011-12-20T19:44:00.000-05:00

Comedian Louie Anderson hasn't been heard from much since he was dropped as host of Family Feud a few years back. Anderson tumbled into that gig after the demise of his Fox cartoon series, Life With Louie, which launched with a primetime Christmas special in 1994, then began a regular run in 1995, following a summer 1-shot.

Anderson lent his voice to his juvenile self and his father, which will be evident as you watch the pilot episode, "A Christmas Surprise For Mrs. Stillman".

In all, Life With Louie lasted three seasons, even though it was being rotated in and out of the Fox lineup, as they had more series than schedule space for their Saturday lineup. Unfortunately, while the series was released on DVD overseas, it hasn't been given that treatment here, even though there were plans as much as 5 years ago. Hmmmmm......

Rating: B.

Game Time: Sports Challenge (1971)

2011-12-18T00:16:00.000-05:00

Occasionally, we will drift into afternoon programming. Such is the case with the syndicated game show, Sports Challenge, which originally aired from 1971-79. Sportscaster Dick Enberg, currently the play-by-play voice of the San Diego Padres, was calling games for the Los Angeles (now St. Louis) Rams & California Angels (now the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) when he was hired by independent producer Gerry Gross to emcee this series. TheWhammy83 uploaded this sample clip, which matched a trio of legendary jockeys, including Bill Shoemaker, who made the rounds of game shows back in those days, vs. three members of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Current Jeopardy! announcer Johnny Gilbert handled those duties on Challenge, which gives you an idea of how long he's been in the game show business. Producer Gerry Gross also helmed the PBS series, The Way It Was, which, along with Challenge, eventually landed in ESPN's vaults, and periodically airs on ESPN Classic.

Dick Enberg would later host Baffle for NBC & Heatter-Quigley, and has called NFL games, college basketball, & tennis for NBC & CBS over the years.

Rating: A.

On the Air: Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness (2011)

2011-12-17T23:33:00.000-05:00

With 2 movies under his belt, Po the panda makes the transition to television, along with the Furious Five, in the new Nickelodeon series, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, airing Saturday mornings after a weekday trial a couple of months back. TheUkeUkeable uploaded the trailer.

I caught part of one of the episodes during its trial run. Apparently, Jack Black wasn't interested in doing the series, so actor Mick Wingert was hired to take over as Po, and does a dead-on mimic of Black. Most kids probably wouldn't know the difference. The challenge for Dreamworks & Nick is to keep the viewers interested such that Legends can sustain itself over the long haul. I don't think that would be much of a problem.

Rating: A-.

Countdown to Christmas: Casper's First Christmas (1979)

2011-12-14T23:36:00.000-05:00

Casper's First Christmas was the second primetime special spun off from Casper & The Angels, and, like Casper's Halloween 2 months earlier, was set in the present day, even though Casper's new pal, Hairy Scarey, is along for the ride.

The hook here is that Casper (Julie McWhirter, ex-Wacko) meets some of Hanna-Barbera's comedy icons, including Yogi Bear & Huckleberry Hound (both voiced by Daws Butler). In essence, this was a way of welcoming Casper to the H-B family, as the studio had acquired the license to use the friendly ghost. Unfortunately, it didn't last long, as Casper & The Angels was cancelled after its only season, and the specials were put in the vaults, although I believe Boomerang is running this show as part of its annual "Christmas Party" blocks this month.

SyberSoldier2 uploaded this opening portion of Casper's First Christmas....

If they really wanted to be creative, they could've had Casper go further back in time for a crossover with the Flintstones, but they thought against it. Oh, well......

Rating: B.

Rein-Toon-ation: Fraggle Rock (1987)

2011-12-14T08:26:00.000-05:00

Fraggle Rock was originally created for HBO back in the late 70's-early 80's, as memory serves. Today, reruns of that series have aired on The Hub (formerly Discovery Kids), so it stands to reason that The Hub is also the current home for the animated reboot of Fraggle, which spent one season on NBC in 1987.

The animated Fraggle was the 2nd collaboration between Jim Henson's production company and Marvel Television, the other being, of course, Jim Henson's Muppet Babies over on CBS. Unfortunately, it would be the last series Marvel would sell to NBC. One wonders why fans of the original Fraggle never gravitated over to the cartoon, considering it had elements similar to the Smurfs, which was the centerpiece of NBC's lineup at the time.

HensonCompany (naturally) uploaded this sample from the episode, "Radish Fairy", to YouTube:

One reason why the series failed might've been because it was airing opposite Pee-Wee's Playhouse on CBS & Real Ghostbusters on ABC. Had it been slotted as a lead-in to Smurfs, maybe the Fraggles would've gained a greater foothold with the audience. But, I guess we'll never know.

I never saw the show, so I can't rate it fairly.

Saturtainment: Here Comes The Grump (1969)

2011-12-11T23:50:00.003-05:00

While the Pink Panther gave DePatie-Freleng its first legitimate hit series for NBC in 1969, Here Comes The Grump, co-produced by Mirisch Films, with whom DFE had previously produced Super President & Super Six, wasn't quite so fortunate. Grump was also part of the freshman class of '69, and was last seen in a brief run on the Sci Fi Channel (now SyFy) several years back.

The Grump (Rip Taylor) is a wizard who has placed a spell of gloom over a fantasy kingdom that looks more like something out of a Dr. Seuss book, which would be rather appropriate considering that DFE would later obtain a license to produce animated specials based on Seuss' books for CBS. Princess Dawn, the rightful heir to the throne, needs to locate the Crystal Key in the Cave of the Whispering Orchids. To that end, she recruits a young boy from the "real world", Terry (Jay North, ex-Dennis the Menace) as her partner. It helps them that Grump isn't exactly as menacing as he's made out to be. Then again, most comic villains aren't by design.

Image Entertainment, which holds the DVD rights to the series, uploaded the episode, "The Lemonade Sea".

Dawn's voice was done by Indira Stefanianna Christopherson, who was also the original voice for Daphne on Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, which was the crown jewel of the '69-'70 freshman class. Now known as Indira Stefanianna, she left show business to get married, but has since resumed her career as both an actress and singer. One must imagine what might've happened if she hadn't left so soon.......!

Could Grump work today? I don't know, but it'd be worth a shot, depending on if anyone got a license....

Rating: B.

You Know The Voice: Paul Winchell debates the merits of Frosted Mini-Wheats (1979)

2011-12-10T00:19:00.000-05:00

Remember when Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats cereal didn't need an animated, sentient piece of cereal as a marketing gimmick? Remember when it had a more generic look to its box? Well, let's take you back to those halcyon days, effendis, with a little help from Paul Winchell & Jerry Mahoney. This was taken from an episode of American Bandstand, judging from the Dick Clark bumper at the start. Danny Dark (Super Friends) is the rather quiet narrator. Uploaded by What's A Yak:

Toon Legends: Tom & Jerry Tales (2006)

2011-12-08T21:46:00.000-05:00

Tom & Jerry returned to Saturday mornings, this time on the CW, in 2006. The network, which was still using Kids' WB! as the umbrella title for their Saturday morning block, figured they needed another iconic cartoon to complement Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get a Clue (previously reviewed), but the one mistake made was that Tom & Jerry Tales led off the block, rather than air in the middle where more viewers were likely to tune in.

Just the same, it was a return to the classic chases, and Tom forever creating gadgets (a la Wile E. Coyote) to capture Jerry, but without success. With WB now the rights holder for the franchise, and having released a couple of direct-to-video movies prior to this series, this to date is the only T & J series under the WB shield. Sadly, CW gave up on the show too early, and cancelled it after 2 seasons. Even more galling is Cartoon Network's refusal to pick up the series, unwilling to part with some coin to transfer laterally to its corporate sibling. Thus, Tom & Jerry Tales, the last series to feature the classic cat & mouse team, remains locked in the WB vaults, though I do believe it's out on DVD.

Jejeman23 uploaded the episode, "Digital Dilemma".

Sometimes, you don't know what you've got until it's gone, and, with their Saturday lineup now programmed by 4Kids exclusively, CW is just flat out clueless.

Rating: A.

Countdown to Christmas: The Jetsons' Christmas Carol (1985)

2011-12-08T12:38:00.001-05:00

The Jetsons was one of two Hanna-Barbera series that was revived in 1985 (Jonny Quest was the other) in syndication. This time, though, the studio opted to run the series in a weekday format that allowed for the original 1962 series to be mixed in, complete with episode title cards that the original didn't have.

One of the highlight of the 1985 run was a futuristic take on Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, in which case the Scrooge of the story is one Cosmo Spacely (Mel Blanc), George's boss. Otherwise, this is just predictable fluff.

Scoobydoodudee, from Ireland, uploaded the episode, "A Jetson Christmas Carol", but left out the program open.

Rating: B-.

Family Toons: Pink Panther & Sons (1984)

2011-12-07T08:37:00.000-05:00

After 7 years away from the network, the Pink Panther returned to NBC in 1984, but this time, things were a little different.

With DePatie-Freleng having been absorbed by Marvel Comics and rechristened Marvel Productions, the Panther was looking for a new home for his animated adventures. At the time, MGM held his rights, and, without an animation studio of their own, sought to find a partner for a new Panther series. Former MGM employees William Hanna & Joseph Barbera came to the rescue, and, with help from Panther co-creator Friz Freleng, created Pink Panther & Sons, which spent a year on NBC, overshadowed by the network's current-at-the-time hits (Smurfs, Mr. T, & Alvin & the Chipmunks). While the Panther himself didn't talk, he did raise two chatty boys. Here's the open, with a teaser for an episode.....

I've never seen the show, so I can't rate it, nor can I fairly speculate on whether or not the Panther was married for the purposes of this show. What we do know, though, is that when the Panther returned in a syndicated series nearly a decade later, he was definitely single, and with no kids, as if MGM wanted to ret-con Pinky & Panky and their friends out of existence. Today, that wouldn't happen.

Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits: Elbow Room (1976)

2011-12-06T20:49:00.001-05:00

From Schoolhouse Rock's "History Rock" segment comes this charming little gem with some serious country twang. "Elbow Room" was first presented in 1976, but the clip that was uploaded by seanmc31076 came from a 1985 rebroadcast.

Now, pilgrims, can you picture Taylor Swift covering this song?

On the Air: Sonic X (2003)

2011-12-04T20:54:00.001-05:00

10 years after his television debut, Sonic the Hedgehog returned to television with a brand new series, Sonic X, the title likely marking the anniversary. The series aired concurrently in the US & Japan, and was produced in Japan, with 4Kids Entertainment importing the series to the US & abroad, airing here on Fox from 2003-09 before moving to the CW's 4Kids-programmed block, now known as Toonzai. Production actually ceased in 2006, so the series has been in perpetual rerun for the last 5 years and counting.

Believe it or else, the version airing here in the US is actually a watered down version of the original Japanese series, which has much more violence, and that may prompt fans of the Sonic franchise to hunt down the original Japanese episodes on DVD.

Archie Comics adapted Sonic X into a comic book, but it hasn't had the staying power of Sonic's core series, which has been going strong for 18 years and counting. Personally, I'd rather have the original Sonic from 1993, which we've previously discussed, than the anime version, but the fact that the current series soldiers on long after production has ended says something about how the franchise has sustained itself.

Savannah1743 uploaded the open:

With characters named Cream & Cheese, what's next? Shredded wheat & corn flakes? Just kidding.

Rating: B.

Saturtainment: Wacko (1977)

2011-12-04T00:09:00.001-05:00

3 years after the Hudson Brothers' self-titled variety show had failed, CBS & producer Chris Bearde tried again, this time with Wacko, a comedy-variety show that required not one, not two, but three hosts. Impressionist Julie McWhirter had been on The Rich Little Show a year earlier, and had created the character of the Family Hour Fairy, perhaps the most notable recurring sketch on the show. Charles Fleischer came over from Welcome Back, Kotter, and Bo Kaprall hasn't been seen since the show was cancelled.

Buried at the bottom of CBS' lineup, Wacko aired on Sundays in some markets as a consolation, including in my home area. From what I remember, Fleischer had created a costumed character of his own in Funky Cat, but otherwise the show wasn't much to write home about, as it was another one-and-done, as in, cancelled after 1 season.

Wacko also featured musical guests, such as, in this sample, the Dwight Twilley Band, featuring a pre-Heartbreakers Tom Petty on bass, performing "Chance to Get Away".

After Wacko ended, Fleischer returned to Kotter for its final season in his recurring role as Carvelli. Julie McWhirter resumed her other vocation as a voice actress and married radio legend Rick Dees. Well, at least there was a happy ending, after all.

Rating: None. I only saw part of one episode, not enough to properly rate the show.

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: The All New Popeye Hour (1978)

2011-12-03T23:56:00.001-05:00

Having lost the top spot in the Saturday morning ratings race to ABC, CBS needed an extra tentpole for their lineup, backing up Tarzan & the Super 7, which merged Tarzan with New Adventures of Batman and tacked on some additional segments.

Hanna-Barbera, which shared a license for the Caped Crusader with Filmation, came to the rescue, acquiring a license for another cartoon hero, Popeye, who was given a 1 hour show of his own in 1978. The format was similar to the All New Super Friends Hour the previous year over at ABC, but with 2 backup features:

Dinky Dog (previously reviewed), about an oversized pooch and his beleagured owners.
Popeye's Treasure Hunt, which has Popeye (Jack Mercer) & Bluto (Allan Melvin, ex-All In The Family) competing to find hidden fortunes across the globe.

In addition, there were the predictable health & safety tips, and 3 "regular" Popeye shorts. Here's the intro, uploaded by Muttley16:

Like Tom & Jerry three years earlier, Popeye & Bluto were more frenemies in this series, something that happened from time to time in the classic shorts, since both had served in the Navy. The anti-violence regulations in effect at the time had an adverse effect on this series, of course, as Popeye & Bluto couldn't directly assault each other, using various alternate means of combat.

After three seasons, the series was rechristened, The Popeye & Olive Comedy Show, buried at the bottom of CBS' lineup, and, sadly, things went from bad to worse. We've previously documented Olive & Alice the Goon's misadventures in the Army, one of the worst ideas, at least in execution, in history.

After 5 seasons, Popeye was shipped out, but would return a few years later, in Popeye & Son, which wasn't quite as successful, lasting but one year.

Rating: B.

Toonfomercial: Cartoon Network spoofs Pulp Fiction (1996)

2011-12-02T20:23:00.001-05:00

Time Warner Cable in my home market added Cartoon Network at the end of 1996, and around that same time CN produced this clever in-house ad that was a sendup of a famous scene from the movie, "Pulp Fiction". This happens to also be one of their best bits, as this pairs Norville "Shaggy" Rogers (Casey Kasem) with the one and only Droopy (Frank Welker). Uploaded by racso1986:

Enough said.

Toonfomercial: Two iconic hares get together (1985)

2011-12-01T21:23:00.001-05:00

The Trix Rabbit is one of General Mills' few remaining cereal mascots, and every now and again, the hare's fruitless (no pun intended) quest for his namesake cereal required some special help. In this 1985 ad campaign, that help comes in the form of another famous rabbit----none other than Bugs Bunny!

Peetoons uploaded this introductory ad:

As we all know, 26 years later, the Trix Rabbit still can't savor the taste of Trix cereal, or even Trix yogurt, which came out a few years ago after General Mills acquired Yoplait. This once-in-a-lifetime meeting, however, needs to be preserved in our archives, and so it is.

Rein-toon-ation: Tom & Jerry Kids (1990)

2011-11-30T16:59:00.001-05:00

Tom & Jerry Kids was the 3rd of Hanna-Barbera's 4 series that rebooted classic characters as youths. The madcap, slapstick chase is on again, and Jerry has his red bowtie back from the 1975 Tom & Jerry series. However, we won't be seeing Jerry in this sample, as "Wild World of Bowling" is, for all intents & purposes, a Tom solo story, in which he takes on a different mouse, one that, according to narrator Gary Owens (ex-Space Ghost), was raised by wolves.

Uploaded by buytheoriginal to YouTube:

At one point, the series aired 6 days a week, as Fox wanted to maximize the availability of all of their children's shows, so the schedules were flexed out. Good thing.

Rating: A.

Celebrity Toons: Gilligan's Planet (1982)

2011-11-29T20:15:00.000-05:00

It will go down in history as the last series produced by Filmation for CBS or any other network before the studio began concentrating on syndicated fare. In truth, Gilligan's Planet was simply a rehash of the 1974 New Adventures of Gilligan series, but this time, Dawn Wells (Mary Ann) was along for the ride, pulling double duty, as both Mary Ann & Ginger. Filmation's long time stalwart starlet, Jane Webb, handled both roles in the previous series, but had, for all intents & purposes, retired by the end of the 70's.

Even the theme song was a reboot from the earlier show, as you'll be able to tell.......

Unlike New Adventures, however, Gilligan's Planet lasted just one season. Never saw the show, so I can't give a fair rating.

Rein-toon-ation: The Tom & Jerry Comedy Show (1980)

2011-11-27T18:35:00.001-05:00

After 8 years away, Tom & Jerry returned to CBS in 1980, the iconic duo licensed by MGM to Filmation, which had misfired a year earlier with Mighty Mouse & Heckle & Jeckle. This time, T & J spent 2 years on CBS before being chased out the door, this time for good. Joesingle uploaded the open & close:

While the classic rivalry was renewed, the violence level was still nil, reduced to mere slapstick because of FCC guidelines, which we referenced previously. Droopy & Barney Bear made appearances, both voiced by Frank Welker. The shorts produced for this series have turned up on Cartoon Network in recent years, but not in a very long time.

Quranreciting298 uploaded the episode, "School For Cats". Sounds like co-executive producer Lou Scheimer, who went uncredited, did some of the voice work in this story:

Down the line, I'll see if I can pull a Droopy or Barney Bear short from the period.

Rating: B.

Rein-toon-ation: Tom & Jerry (1975)

2011-11-26T11:23:00.000-05:00

With their classic shorts in syndication across the country, Tom & Jerry were reunited with creators William Hanna & Joseph Barbera in 1975, with a brand-new series airing on ABC. We've previously reviewed their backup features during their two seasons, The Great Grape Ape & Mumbly, so now it's time to focus on the headline stars themselves.

A lot had changed since the duo's first series was cancelled by CBS in 1972 after 7 seasons, the last 5 spent on Sunday mornings, where fewer stations were willing to carry the show. During that run, the FCC, bowing to pressure from parent groups, created new guidelines that curbed on-air violence in order to safeguard "impressionable" children. The result was the rivalry had been dissolved, and Tom & Jerry were now best buds. Worse, perhaps in an effort to merchandise the characters anew, Jerry was given a red bowtie to wear, something that would carry over to the 1990-94 Tom & Jerry Kids series. Comparing this series to the earlier shorts would be like comparing apples to lemons.

Thesoulsurfer15 uploaded the open, which most of you might be familiar with from the series' syndicated run.

To give you an idea of what had to be done as a compromise, sociocartoon uploaded the episode, "The Flying Sorceress".

With Warner Bros. now the rights holder for the entire Tom & Jerry franchise, what are the chances of the duo ever meeting, oh, I don't know, Scooby-Doo? Remote, but given the creative mentality these days, what could be worse?

Rating: B--.

From Comics to Toons: Garfield & Friends (1988)

2011-11-26T11:10:00.000-05:00

In the late 80's, CBS rebuilt their Saturday lineup, looking for an additional tentpole series to go with Jim Henson's Muppet Babies. They actually got two of them, both sprung from the comics. One of these days, we'll take a closer look at Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but today's subject is Jim Davis' ever-hungry feline, Garfield.

After a series of primetime specials produced high ratings for CBS, Davis was persuaded to license Garfield for a weekly series, which launched in 1988. Part of the deal allowed for Davis' other strip, U. S. Acres, to be the backup feature. In time, and most of you probably remember this, Garfield & Friends was expanded from a half-hour to an hour, airing 2 back-to-back episodes. The late Lorenzo Music (ex-Rhoda) moved over from Real Ghostbusters to work on the series full-time, voicing Garfield. Lillybites uploaded the series opener. After the initial skit, Gary Owens (ex-Space Ghost) officially introduces the show.....

I should note that Desiree Goyette, who composed and performed some of the music on the show, originally had appeared on the revival of You Asked For It, with Rich Little, a few years prior, as a reporter. Who knew?

Rating: B.

Toon Legends: Tom & Jerry (1965)

2011-11-24T20:26:00.000-05:00

CBS added some star power to its Saturday morning lineup in 1965 by picking up the classic Tom & Jerry shorts, with new, made-for-TV title cards created for the show, a practice that would be repeated a year later with the acquisition of The Road Runner, and subsequently, The Bugs Bunny-Road Runner Hour when Bugs arrived at CBS in 1968.

The newer material used on the show was created by legendary animator Chuck Jones, who was producing the Tom & Jerry theatrical shorts for MGM at the time, and had also produced the first two Dr. Seuss specials for the studio (How the Grinch Stole Christmas & Horton Hears a Who) & CBS. After two years, however, CBS moved Tom & Jerry to Sundays, where it would remain for the final five seasons of its run, ending in 1972.

As we all know, Tom & Jerry would subsequently return four more times. First, they were reunited with creators William Hanna & Joe Barbera for 2 seasons at ABC (1975-77), but as best buds instead of enemies due to non-violence sanctions imposed during their first network go-round, which would explain why they were moved to Sundays. The duo then returned to CBS for 2 more years, this time under Filmation's auspices, but with MGM co-producing, and back to the traditional chase format (1980-82). Then, H-B got the pair back, and, with Turner co-producing served up Tom & Jerry Kids, which aired as much as six days a week on Fox (1990-94), spawning a spin-off series for Droopy. Finally, the last series, Tom & Jerry Tales, aired on Kids' WB! on the CW network (2006-08). Over the next few days, we'll be reviewing the individual shows.

For now, let's savor some classic T & J from the Chuck Jones era, which ended just before the duo were shifted to the Sunday morning schedule. This was one of their last theatrical shorts, and it's a dandy, positing Jerry as a drummer in a rodent jazz quartet. Carl Brandt (The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo) provides the music for "Rock 'n' Rodent".

Like, slammin', man!

Rating: A+.

You Know The Voice: What if "Wilma" were "Archie"'s mom? (1964)

2011-11-23T08:30:00.001-05:00

Try this one on for size.

In 1964, Screen Gems (Sony Pictures Television today) produced a pilot for a proposed primetime sitcom based on the Archie newspaper strip & comic books. Producer Harry Ackerman, the head of the comedy department at Screen Gems, felt it was necessary to make this Archie into a clone of The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, but Dobie never resorted to using Rube Goldberg-esque contraptions.

The hook here is the presence of Jean VanderPyl (The Flintstones) as Alice Andrews, Archie's mom. We'll see her in the opening scene with William Schallert (The Patty Duke Show) as Archie's father, Fred. They're not the only familiar names in the cast, for that matter.

Also appearing are Roland Winters, who was the last man to play Charlie Chan in the movies back in the late 40's, as Mr. Weatherbee, and Mary Grace Canfield (later of Green Acres) as Miss Grundy. John Simpson, a relative unknown, was cast as Archie, and the evidence of this being a Dobie Gillis clone is clear from the go, as Simpson appears to forego Archie's traditional red-headed look in favor of being a blond.

XOtericate uploaded this three-part video to YouTube:

I first ran across this in a VHS compilation a few years back that also included failed pilots for The Phantom (with Lon Chaney, Jr.) & The Shadow (worse than the movies with Rod LaRocque). I just wasn't down with the whole Archie-as-Dobie vibe. It felt too forced. As we all know, Archie would bounce back 4 years later in animated form, and the rest is history.

Rating for the pilot: C.

Celebrity Toons: The New Three Stooges (1965)

2011-11-22T22:46:00.001-05:00

The Three Stooges' classic shorts were in television syndication in the early 60's when the famed comedy team began making feature films. Joe DeRita became the latest, and last, Stooge to team with Moe Howard & Larry Fine in films such as "Have Rocket, Will Travel" & "The Outlaws is Coming", the latter with a pre-Batman Adam West.

It was this same configuration of Stooges that in 1965 produced a series of animated cartoons under the title, The New Three Stooges, with each cartoon sandwiched by a two-part live-action sketch. Clearly, the years were catching up to Moe & Larry, especially Moe. Depending on where you lived, this films were shown either intact, or with the live-action skit edited out for time considerations. As you'll see, Moe subtly breaks the fourth wall to segue into the cartoon.

I've also discovered that the cartoons may have been meant to be part of a bigger Stooges TV project, which didn't get past the pilot stage. DeRita didn't have the charisma of either Curly or Shemp, but in this writer's opinion, he was an improvement over Joe Besser, who'd moved on to work with Abbott & Costello on their sitcom, among other projects.

Here's a sample of the animated Stooges, "The Noisy Silent Movie", uploaded by cartoons4all.

Cambria Studios was the same one that gave us the infamous Synchro-Vox method used on Clutch Cargo & Space Angel, but opted against it for the Stooges, which was the wisest move.

As we've previously discussed, the Stooges would later return, with Hanna-Barbera acquiring a license to use the likenesses of Moe, Larry, & Curly, first in a pair of episodes of The New Scooby-Doo Movies, and later as bionic comedy superheroes on The Skatebirds. The Robonic Stooges would be the last television incarnation of the fabled team, with Paul Winchell & Frank Welker voicing Moe & Curly, respectively. Clearly, animation weakened the Stooges' charm, instead of strengthening it.

Rating: B-.

Game Time: Great Pretenders (1999)

2011-11-21T23:55:00.001-05:00

For all intents & purposes, the Fox Family music game show, Great Pretenders, was really a revival of an earlier, similarly formatted game show that aired in syndication over a decade earlier, Puttin' On The Hits. Both series had contestants lip-synching to their favorite songs (and you wonder why that has become common practice for a lot of current pop acts these days), and judged on talent & presentation.

The pop group Wild Orchid, which featured former Kids Incorporated cast members Renee Sandstrom & Stacy Ferguson (Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas), served as hosts for the series, which aired from 1999-2001. Following is a sample video uploaded by and featuring a contestant who appeared on the show.....

As is typical of cable networks, Great Pretenders fell victim to changing viewer interests, and Wild Orchid began to fade from the scene. Could this series be tried again? Maybe, albeit under another name (again), and even a regional version might be do-able, as a means of getting up-and-coming talents some exposure before hitting the big time.

Rating: B-.

From Comics to Toons: Tumbleweeds (1978)

2011-11-21T20:04:00.000-05:00

Remember Tumbleweeds? This wacky strip, set in the Old West, was big in the 70's, big enough to merit inclusion in Filmation's 1978 series, Fabulous Funnies. However, due to a misunderstanding over rights issues, Tumbleweeds rode off into the sunset after just 1 appearance, even though a head shot of our hero would still appear in the open to the series.

XOtericate uploaded the short, "Bean Stew":

Now, I don't know for certain who gave Tumbleweeds a Jimmy Stewart-like stammer (it might've been Bob Holt, but I can't say for sure), but it's a pity Filmation couldn't resolve their issues, else this series could've lasted longer.

Rating: A.

Celebrity Toons: Laurel & Hardy (1966)

2011-11-20T13:15:00.000-05:00

When Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy appeared on The New Scooby-Doo Movies in 1972, it may have actually been meant as a means for Hanna-Barbera to renew their license to use the likenesses of the iconic comedians, since this was their first animated adventure in 6 years.

In 1966, H-B obtained a license to produce a series of animated shorts for syndication, working in conjunction with Larry Harmon (Bozo the Clown), who was the voice for Laurel. Jim MacGeorge spoke for Hardy, and would reprise those roles in their meeting with Scooby. MacGeorge would work on and off for H-B during the 70's, and his last job of note was 1976's Clue Club. Admittedly, until today, I hadn't seen any of these cartoons, as for some reason they were pulled from syndication by the 70's, even though Laurel & Hardy's classic live-action shorts were now in syndication. Conversely, Abbott & Costello, who were licensed to H-B a year later, were in syndication during the mid-70's, and could've been paired with Laurel & Hardy.

The downside is that the toons come up short of 5 minutes of running time, leaving very little space for plot developement. Case in point being "Crash & Carry", uploaded by sockdog4.

Comparing the cartoon to the real Laurel & Hardy, well, is like comparing apples to lemons.

Rating: B--.

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: Tom of T.H.U.M.B. (1966)

2011-11-19T11:19:00.001-05:00

If you've ever wondered where Hanna-Barbera got at least an inspiration for their 1973 series, Inch High Private Eye, look no further than Videocraft (Rankin-Bass), which came up with the spy spoof, Tom of T.H.U.M.B. as a backup feature on King Kong in 1966. In fact, Tom may be meant to sound like a parody of Maxwell Smart (Get Smart), although the actor doesn't quite have Don Adams' vocal inflections down pat. The animosity between Tom and his boss is similar to that of Inch and his exasperated boss, Mr. Finkerton, 7 years later.

Dandydeal uploaded the following episode, which also includes a King Kong interstital leading to the Kong adventure that would follow.....

To these jaded eyes, most spy parodies now seem all the same.

Rating: B.

Rein-toon-ation: The New Adventures of Heckle & Jeckle (1979)

2011-11-18T21:31:00.000-05:00

Heckle & Jeckle made their return to television as part of a hour-long block, produced by Filmation, with Mighty Mouse, as part of CBS' 1979-80 Saturday morning lineup. The "talking magpies" were given a backup feature, Quackula, a vampire duck who predated Nickelodeon's Count Duckula by a few years, but wasn't quite as successful. Then again, neither were Heckle & Jeckle, as the series was cancelled after 1 season, replaced by Tom & Jerry, whom Filmation acquired the following year.

Versatile Frank Welker (Scooby & Scrappy-Doo, among other credits) voiced all three characters, as you'll see in the show open below.....

While Mighty Mouse was given one more chance in 1987, Heckle & Jeckle were never given consideration for another revival. Today, the classic shorts sit in CBS-Paramount's vaults, not airing in too many places, if at all. The Filmation series apparently is something the suits would rather forget, but shouldn't. Classic comedy teams should never go to waste.

Rating: B.

Saturtainment: All That! (1994)

2011-11-18T18:11:00.000-05:00

It was designed as a tween version of Saturday Night Live, and, like SNL, has served as a launching pad for a number of current talents.

All That! was originally part of Nickelodeon's Snick Saturday night block when it launched in 1994. Of course, when the series took off and became a big hit, Nick began airing reruns in the Saturday AM block. Nothing new there, but suffice to say, it got more attention from ye scribe airing in the daytime.

All That!'s very recognizable theme song is performed by the R & B trio, TLC, with lead vocal by Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes. Its distinguished alumni include current SNL star Kenan Thompson, Amanda Bynes, Gabriel Iglesias, Lori Beth Denberg (later of The Steve Harvey Show), Nick Cannon (America's Got Talent), & Jamie Lynn Spears. Of this group, Thompson, Bynes, Cannon, & Spears were all spun off into other series on Nick or its sister networks within the MTV Networks family. That particularly applies to Cannon, who, in addition to being presently married to singer Mariah Carey, is also a NYC radio DJ these days, keeping busy in between seasons of Talent, and was hosting at least a couple of series on MTV before moving to NBC. Bynes famously announced her "retirement" from show business after her CW sitcom, What I Like About You, was cancelled.

The series' pedigree can be traced back to an 80's sitcom, Head of the Class. Co-stars Brian Robbins & Dan Schneider were among the show's producers, and a 3rd Class alumnus, Dan Frischman, would begin appearing on Kenan & Kel, the first spin-off series produced, particularly in the "Good Burger" skits that carried over from That!. I cannot recall whether or not he'd appeared on All That! prior to that point.

Following is a fan-made video that collects most of the cast members over the course of the series' 10 year run. Bear in mind that it actually encompasses 11 years, as there was a 1 year hiatus from 2001-02.

It's just too bad that Nick decided to end the series, when it has served as a proving ground for young talent. Then again, once early fan favorites like Thompson, Denberg, & Bynes began leaving, the wellspring was running dry, and Nick resorted to turning the series into more of a blatant SNL clone, with weekly guest stars in order to boost sagging ratings. Reruns have resurfaced on TeenNick as part of a late night block dedicated to classic Nick programming from the 90's.

Rating: B.

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: Electra Woman & DynaGirl (1976)

2011-11-17T20:42:00.002-05:00

I previously have talked up, in brief, Electra Woman & DynaGirl, when discussing its parent series, The Krofft Supershow. Now, it's time to give it a little more depth.

From the start, it was obvious that Electra Woman was a distaff knock-off of Batman, which was quite the phenomenon 10 years earlier, right down to the diagonal camera angles, campy villains, and cliffhanger storylines. Appropriately, this also aired on the same network that was home to Batman, ABC.

Diedre Hall, who was appearing on NBC's Days of Our Lives at the time, and has been on and off that series in the 35 years since, played Electra Woman, with Judy Strangis, better known for commercials and voice-over work (i.e. Wheelie & the Chopper Bunch) as her Robin-esque sidekick, complete with puns. The series has another link to the voice-over biz with Norman Alden (Aquaman on Super Friends) as Frank Heflin, the duo's confidant. Spottymax uploaded the open, which we've shown you before:

10 years ago, the WB Network had commissioned a primetime pilot for a revival of the series. Even though Diedre Hall was still active, the producers opted for Markie Post (ex-Night Court) in the lead role. Subsequently, the pilot was rejected. Electra Woman was decommissioned after one season, so a revival 34 years later was, in fact, a major risk.

Could that be tried again? Maybe, depending on whether or not someone's willing to reset the series in modern times, with age-appropriate actresses.

Rating: B-.

You know the Voice: Ted Knight

2011-11-17T18:21:00.000-05:00

During his Emmy Award winning run as knuckleheaded news anchor Ted Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-77), Ted Knight found the time to record a comedy album, "Hi, Guys", released in 1975. Better known for a novelty single devoted to TV news legend Barbara Walters, the album also included a cover of Barry Mann's "Who Put the Bomp?". This video was uploaded by njolnir to YouTube:

Yeah, Golden Throat territory, for sure.

Knight got his start in radio, and served in my market as a kid's show host, billed as "Windy" Knight, before going national in the mid-60's. As we all know, Knight is closely associated with the DC family of cartoons produced by Filmation, but also was the narrator/announcer for a short-lived CBS sitcom, Run, Buddy, Run, which lasted a season in 1966. Knight's last cartoon work came in 1973, narrating the original Super Friends for Hanna-Barbera, and returning to Filmation to star in Lassie's Rescue Rangers, both part of ABC's freshman class that year.

Now, here's Ted, as Ted Baxter. It seems his ego has gotten the best of him in this scene from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Little did anyone know that Edward Asner would later begin a second career as a voice actor himself...! Uploaded by LPXI.

The man was taken away from us way too soon, that's all I can say.

Toonformercial: Do you remember this? (1970's)

2011-11-17T10:07:00.000-05:00

The Ad Council produced many a memorable PSA ad in the 70's. One of the coolest was a feature with a anti-littering superhero whose name escapes me at the moment. Mrmoore1970 uploaded this 11 second version, taken from the RetroJunk site:

Unfortunately, in the transition, the picture quality isn't as good as it should be.

Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits: Good Day For a Parade (1968)

2011-11-16T23:58:00.000-05:00

Kiwimike1 uploaded this gem from The Banana Splits Adventure Hour. With Veteran's Day behind us, and Thanksgiving a week away, I thought this might be appropriate. Enjoy.

Sunday Funnies: Weinerville (1993)

2011-11-15T16:02:00.000-05:00

Comic & puppeteer Marc Weiner created a throwback to the earliest days of children's television with Weinerville, which aired on Nickelodeon from 1993-97, with original episodes produced through 1994.

The basic concept was Weiner serving as host of a combination comedy-variety show that also contained some game show elements and old cartoons that hadn't seen the light of day in years. Weiner also contributed not just his voice but his face to the odd puppets used on the show. Thanks to the magic of videotape, Weiner could interact with some of his puppet alter-egos, including Mayor Dottie and bandleader Cocktail Frank.

Following is the 3rd episode, "Humidity", which includes a Mr. Magoo cartoon. The series also served as a way station for reruns of Batfink & Courageous Cat during its run.

Two seasons were produced, but the series continued in reruns for another three years because it was so popular. When it launched, Weinerville aired four back-to-back episodes on Sundays, but it wasn't long before Nickelodeon realized they had a huge hit on their hands and began airing it weekdays, as well as Saturdays. In hindsight, they gave up on the show way, way too soon. Compared to the product out now, Weinerville would always be welcome.

Rating: A.

Saturtainment: Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island (2005)

2011-11-15T15:06:00.001-05:00

A cartoon show about sentient fruit? Yup. Somehow, some way, WB green-lighted Coconut Fred's Fruit Salad Island, a 1-season wonder that aired on Kids' WB! in 2005. KidsWBontheCW uploaded the open:

When I first heard about this show, the first thing I thought of was that it was a ripoff of Nickelodeon's mega-popular SpongeBob SquarePants, which, oh by the way, is still on the air 6 years later. Well, it'd actually be a rip-off if Fred (Rob Paulsen) and his pals were under the sea, just like SpongeBob. By this point, WB was searching for some innovative programming on Saturdays, and thought this flash-animated show might work out, especially if it was aimed at the right audience. Ultimately, it didn't happen, and the show was cancelled in June 2006 after 9 months on the air.

No rating, as I never watched the show.

Celebrity Toons: The Abbott & Costello Cartoon Show (1967)

2011-11-14T19:14:00.001-05:00

If you thought that all Hanna-Barbera produced between 1966-68 were superhero cartoons, you'd be wrong. Granted, NBC had the juvenile comedy-adventure Space Kiddettes, but otherwise, the only other non-superhero programs the studio produced over that two year period featured a pair of teams of comedy legends. One was Laurel & Hardy. The other, which we'll focus on here, was Abbott & Costello.

Bud Abbott & Lou Costello were one of the preeminent comedy teams of the 20th century. Like, who hasn't heard or seen their legendary "Who's on First?" routine? They had conquered radio, movies, & television, and the latter medium wanted to welcome them back. One problem. Costello had passed on shortly after their live-action sitcom had ended. Well, that wasn't a problem for H-B, which, after signing Abbott, brought in comic Stan Irwin to stand in for Costello. The result was a one-season syndicated wonder, produced amidst all the super-action shows in 1967.

In concept, this was no different than an earlier venture that featured animated incarnations of Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy, and that duo would eventually get to meet Scooby-Doo. There would be 4 short cartoons for each half-hour show, each running about 5 minutes. Bud & Lou would be in one precarious misadventure after another. The lack of continuity allowed for creative flexibility that could put them anywhere at any time.

The real problem was that most stations didn't have a real place to put the show. Sure, it could be used on a Saturday to sub for a network program that the local affiliate didn't feel was a hit, and, for those who still had weekday kids' shows, the episodes could be broken up over the course of a week. I think it may have been that lack of station coverage that led to this show being cancelled after 1 season. I actually got to see some of these cartoons years later on cable, when channel 5 in New York brought the series back for a run.

2reelers uploaded this extended open & close, something rarely seen.

Not only was the animated Abbott & Costello no different than Laurel & Hardy, but you could plug any of H-B's funny animal characters, like, say for example, Huckleberry Hound, in the same situations, and there'd not be much difference.

Rating: B-.

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: Time Warp Trio (2005)

2011-11-14T16:46:00.000-05:00

Based on a series of children's books, the Time Warp Trio joined the NBC/Discovery Kids block in July 2005. Co-produced by PBS affiliate WGBH, the series is a rare entity in that it has never aired on PBS. The producers instead sold the series first to Discovery Communications, and the Trio would ultimately wind up on NBC.

The basic plot is this. One of the trio receives a mystic book from his uncle, a magician. Said uncle departs before he can explain the contents of the book, and that leaves our heroes to fend for themselves. It's not quite like the live-action primetime shows like Time Tunnel or Voyagers!, or even Cartoon Network's Time Squad, which predated the Trio to the air by 4 years. The boys do make it home after each adventure.

Walterwalterson uploaded this portion of the series opener, "The Not-So-Jolly Roger".

Unfortunately, Time Warp Trio was cancelled after 14 months on NBC, and continued in reruns on Discovery Kids until it was converted to The Hub last year. The flash animation used on the show is an easy culprit, but it's not at fault. The books on which the series is based weren't that well known to most viewers, and the series was not heavily promoted at all. The Hub hasn't retained very many DK properties since the conversion 13 months ago, but one can hope that if they are shopping the Trio, PBS can finally take a look.

Rating: B-.

Saturtainment: Kenny the Shark (2003)

2011-11-13T21:39:00.001-05:00

Early in the last decade, NBC decided to end a 10+ year embargo on animated programming on Saturday mornings. Well, there's only so far you can go with an all-live-action lineup aimed at children, as ABC is finding out presently. The Peacock Network entered into a deal with Discovery Kids (now The Hub), enabling the latter channel to repurpose some of their shows on NBC, exposing them to a potentially wider audience.

Kenny the Shark was the first animated shark to happen along since Jabberjaw swam on ABC in 1976. Now, Kenny was a really odd one. He's a tiger shark who wanted to leave the ocean and live on land, making him, literally a proverbial fish out of water. His best friend is a human pre-teen, Katarina "Kat" Cassidy. In this regard, this series is similar in format to another DK/NBC entry, Tutenstein, simply subbing a shark for a mummy.

Here's a sample episode, "Over the Ocean", uploaded by Naturelover987:

Well, at least Kenny had something Jabber never got. Respect.

Rating: B-.

Toon Legends: Spider-Man (2003)

2011-11-12T23:12:00.000-05:00

Spider-Man returned to television in July 2003, this time on MTV, 14 months after the release of the first film in Sam Raimi's trilogy. Now, understand that the series was 8 months late in hitting the air, whether it was because of the computer graphics involved (produced by Canada's Mainframe Studios), or some other heretofore unknown or unforeseen issue, we don't know. What we do know is that by delaying the show that long, Empty-V almost certainly guaranteed that it was going to be a dud, and that was despite the pedigrees of the personnel involved.

Principal writer Brian Michael Bendis has been one of the most influential writers currently at Marvel. He raised some eyebrows earlier this year by making the decision to further tweak the "Ultimate" version of the Marvel Universe by killing off the web-head (a Latino teen now stars in Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man), which was another calculated risk by Marvel in order to generate not only additional sales, but mainstream media publicity, although in this case, it created mass confusion, since some uninitated readers thought the Spidey we all know and love, existing in the core Marvel Universe, was the one who got whacked.

Bendis loaded his cast with star power, starting with Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother, "The Smurfs") as Spider-Man and his alter-ego, Peter Parker. The most curious decision was casting singer-songwriter Lisa Loeb as Mary Jane. The villains, though, had some serious wattage. Literally. Ethan Embry, who was co-starring in Dick Wolf's remake of Dragnet at the time, was cast as Electro, who was rebooted as a teenager who went to school with Peter & Mary Jane. Singer-filmmaker Rob Zombie gave voice to the Lizard, which some fans hailed as a stroke of casting genius.

Unfortunately, 13 episodes was all we got, as, sure enough, the show was cancelled. Episodes aired on Friday nights, with repeats on Saturdays. AFoxwell uploaded the open.

The series was supposed to pick up where the movie left off, serving as a bridge to "Spider-Man 2". Indeed, Harry Osborn still blames Spider-Man for his father's death in the first film, and would become the Green Goblin himself in the third movie. However, the CGI effects were uneven and a bit of a distraction, lacking the fluidity and cohesion of Mainframe's Transformers efforts. This was Sony's 1st crack at getting Spidey back on TV, but they would fare a little better just a few years later, although the last series, The Spectacular Spider-Man, also met an ignominious end, which we'll discuss another time.

Rating: C.

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: Kirby: Right Back at Ya! (2001)

2011-11-09T15:22:00.001-05:00

Kirby: Right Back at Ya! originally debuted in Japan in 2001, and was brought to the US by 4Kids Entertainment and picked up by Fox in 2002. Kirby originally appeared in this country in a video game issued by Nintendo in the 80's, and had been largely forgotten until the launch of this cartoon, which ended production in 2003. I believe Fox managed to air the entire series before sending Kirby on his way.

In this series, Kirby is the protector of Dream Land, which is under the rule of a despotic king. I think that's about all you really need to know, as there are few, if any, video game elements included in the series. PaperMario15 uploaded the episode, "A Princess in Dis-Dress", to YouTube:

The fact that the series lasted only 2 years, total, speaks to the fact that as a largely forgotten video game hero, Kirby was facing an uphill battle in making a comeback.

Rating: B-.

Toon Rock: HB-TV (1985)

2011-11-08T23:36:00.000-05:00

An important but forgotten component of The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera anthology block was the interstital feature known as HB-TV. What the producers did was mash together various clips and set them to a specific song.

For example, the following video features clips from Scooby-Doo and The Flintstones, among others, to the beat of "Somebody's Watching Me", by Rockwell & Michael Jackson, the actual video of which was posted over at The Land of Whatever recently. KanandaRhodes uploaded this video to YouTube:

In recent years, Cartoon Network has revived the concept, but instead of using established pop songs du jour, they've used original material or remixed archived music. However, they haven't tried anything like that in about 10 years, another example of the current regime having no clue.

Rating: A.

Daytime Heroes: Rod Rocket (1963)

2011-11-05T23:46:00.000-04:00

Most of us have referenced 1966's New Adventures of Superman as the series that put Filmation Associates on the map. However, 3 years earlier, Lou Scheimer & Hal Sutherland co-directed a serial that had episodes running 4-5 minutes per day.

Rod Rocket was developed at True Line, the California studio headed by Scheimer & Sutherland, who'd met while working with Larry Harmon 3 years earlier on his Bozo the Clown & Popeye shorts for syndication. True Line produced Rod Rocket in conjunction with Sib, a Japanese company, and the CBS network, which would pick up Superman and start the Filmation ball rolling. Rocket was included in locally produced packages across the country. I was but an infant when Rod Rocket debuted, and the series was long gone by the time I actually started watching television.

Toontracker uploaded this sample, which unfortunately is in black & white, kicking off one long story arc.

Hal Smith (The Andy Griffith Show) voiced the Professor, but it sounds to me like Sam Edwards (Rod) may have also worked for the Harmon studio. I seem to recall him doing the voice of a talking dog for a Popeye cartoon from that period. Just as unfortunate is the fact that as of now, Rod Rocket is not yet available on DVD, and the above clip is all we have of the show.

Rating: B.

Animated World of DC Comics: Superboy vs. "The Revolt of Robotville" (1966)

2011-11-05T22:39:00.001-04:00

The following Superboy adventure was clearly taken from a "Super Powers" compilation tape released in the late 80's, when the Super Powers line of action figures from Kenner (now part of Hasbro) were in stores.

This time, Clark Kent, aka Superboy (Bob Hastings, ex-McHale's Navy), and Lana Lang (Janet Waldo) visit the futuristic city of Robotville, but all doesn't seem well...........

This wouldn't be the last time we'd see this kind of story, but one can imagine if this were rebooted as a full-length story today......

Rating: B.

Saturday Morning Ringside: Championship Wrestling

2011-11-05T00:26:00.000-04:00

I was introduced to the world of pro wrestling in the 70's. At first, it was airing on Sunday mornings on WRGB for a time. With the advent of cable television, the landscape expanded. The World Wide Wrestling Federation, the forerunner to today's WWE, had two programs in syndication. All-Star Wrestling would evolve into Wrestling Challenge in the mid-80's. At the same time, Championship Wrestling would morph into the 1st incarnation of Superstars of Wrestling (or, as it's now known, WWE Superstars). Vince McMahon himself was at the mic on both shows until the 80's, when he turned over one show to newly retired grappler-turned-commentator Gorilla Monsoon, who turned out to be a much more articulate and enjoyable announcer than McMahon!

Championship Wrestling, thanks to cable, aired on 3 different channels in my market. Locally, it aired on WNYT (then known as WAST for most of the 70's). On cable, it was on WSBK in Boston and WOR in New York. Tapthatt12 uploaded this sample open from 1978, during Bob Backlund's 1st reign as champion, with a station ID tacked on for good measure.

Both 3WF shows followed a standard format. Squash matches were the order of the day, with the bigger stars beating a roster of jobbers who've earned their own piece of immortality. People like Frank Williams, Silvano Sousa, & Lee Wong. Once in a while, one of the promotion's titles would be defended on television. Today, the WWE still employs jobbers, but not on the company payroll. Instead, they recruit regional talent to fill some space at their weekly television tapings. With all of their programming now on cable, the days of WWE syndicating their programming are over.

Rating: B.

Sunday Funnies: Super Secret Secret Squirrel (1993)

2011-11-04T23:36:00.001-04:00

Hanna-Barbera needed a backup feature to support 2 Stupid Dogs when it bowed in 1993, so someone decided to revive Secret Squirrel, two years shy of his 30th anniversary. However, there would be changes.

For one thing, it was now with an all-animal cast. The Chief was now a yak, for example, and Secret's classic arch-nemesis, Yellow Pinky, was now Goldflipper. Most tellingly, there would be a little girl power added to the mix in the form of Penny, the Chief's personal assistant, who also happens to be a squirrel, and perhaps meant to inherit Secret's job down the line. The first steps were taken in the episode, "Agent Penny".

When Secret Squirrel premiered in 1965, he happened to be on the same network as Get Smart, so it made sense that he'd finally be given his own Agent 99, which made Morocco Mole to be more like Larrabee this time around. Not only that, but, as we'll see, it turns out Morocco isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed if he isn't in the field. Yeah, just like Larrabee.........!

Uploaded by dizmira.

Rating: B.

Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits: Wimpbusters (1984)

2011-11-02T22:47:00.000-04:00

Long before he signed with the WWE as mostly a commentator than a wrestler, Jerry Lawler was a legend in his hometown of Memphis. Oh, sure, he's turned his back on the homies a few times over the years, but would always smooth things over in due course.

WWE fans have Lawler to thank for sending singer-turned-wrestling manager Jimmy Hart into Vince McMahon's employ in the mid-80's. Hart's feud with Lawler had peaked when Hart seconded the late actor-comedian Andy Kaufman in matches vs. "The King", a good chunk of the feud having been documented in the movie, "I'm From Hollywood". In 1984, Lawler ratcheted things up by sending up a certain movie blockbuster of the period, characterizing the former Gentrys vocalist as a wimp, hence, "Wimpbusters", which uses the actual instrumental from the theme to "Ghostbusters", but with new lyrics by Lawler, a former radio personality before turning to the mat game. Lawler succeeded in running Hart out of Memphis and sending him up north, but isn't it a little convienent that by the time Lawler went north himself nearly a decade later, Hart had long since left WWE?

"Wimpbusters", introduced by Lance Russell, was uploaded by rolochoshu to YouTube:

Animated World of DC Comics: A tribute to times past: Batman & Robin team with Scooby-Doo (2011)

2011-11-02T15:58:00.001-04:00

One of the cool things about Batman: The Brave & the Bold on Cartoon Network is that the producers have been willing to go the extra mile in terms of fanservice.

One such example comes in the episode, "Batmite Presents: Batman's Strangest Cases", which allows the producers a chance to pay homage to the Caped Crusader's two previous meetings with the teens of Mystery Incorporated on The New Scooby-Doo Movies nearly 40 years ago. In this flashback, Frank Welker pulls triple duty, as he subs for Diedrich Bader as the voice of Batman, in addition to his regular roles as Fred & Scooby. As was the case back in 1972, the Joker & the Penguin provide the opposition, plus, in a total homage to the series proper, song satirist Weird Al Yankovic is added to the mix.

Admittedly, I wanted to post this sooner, like, around Halloween, but never got to it in time. Trying to compress a 1 hour drama into 8-9 minutes, though, isn't my cup of tea. Take it however you wish.

Rating: B.

Toon Legends: Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? (1969)

2011-10-31T20:01:00.000-04:00

He is Hanna-Barbera's last iconic creation of the 60's, introduced in 1969. 42 years later, Scooby-Doo has logged plenty of miles with his Mystery, Inc. teammates, with no signs of slowing down.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? was meant as a complement to The Archie Comedy Hour in luring teens & young adults to CBS, even though the two were produced by different studios. Originally conceived as a musical-mystery-adventure series in the same vein as Archie's Filmation stablemate, The Hardy Boys, over on ABC, the series underwent a number of revisions in pre-production before CBS finally bought the show. Scooby, in fact, got his name after Fred Silverman, then the head of programming at CBS, heard the scatting at the end of Frank Sinatra's "Strangers in the Night".

While the current Mystery, Incorporated series, presently on hiatus on Cartoon Network until the lamebrains there decide to begin the next slate of episodes, has rebooted the franchise and alienated some long-time fans in the process, it's good to know the classic series remains accessible, even if the formulaic plotting became tired rather quickly.

Titro99 uploaded the season 2 open, performed by singer-songwriter Austin Roberts, using a faux British accent.

The differences between the classic series and the current one are easily identifiable. Team leader Fred (Frank Welker) was clearly defined as such from day one. Beginning with the 2002 live-action movie, the character was gradually dumbed down such that the current reboot has him as a trap-happy knucklehead who took forever to realize his true love was his leggy teammate, Daphne Blake, not his obsession with traps. In contrast, Daphne has gone from being the prototypical damsel in distress to being more self-aware and savvy, and, as shown in the movies, can do her fair share of butt-kicking. Velma, Shaggy, & Scooby have remained basically the same straight through.

Luckily for old school fans, WB continues to produce a direct-to-video movie in the traditional format on an annual basis, so fans disenfranchised by the current series have a safe haven to turn to.

Scooby spent 8 seasons at CBS before moving to ABC in 1976, and spent 10 there before getting yanked off the air with the cancellation of the 13 Ghosts series in March 1986. The franchise was revived with A Pup Named Scooby-Doo, which lasted 3 seasons on ABC from 1988-91, and it would be 11 years before Scooby would return to Saturday mornings with all-new material.

Understandably, for Halloween, Boomerang scheduled a marathon of the classic series today. Hope you've had a chance to catch up.

Rating: B+.

Saturtainment: American Bandstand (1952)

2011-10-30T23:01:00.000-04:00

Up until now, I've posted performance clips from the long running music series, American Bandstand, but never got around to discussing the show in general.

Bandstand launched as a weekday entry on ABC in 1952, and transitioned to a Saturday-only berth in the 60's, up until it left ABC in 1987. Dick Clark, the man most closely associated with Bandstand, took over as host in 1956, and built his production company around the franchise. The show's famous theme song, "Bandstand Boogie", was composed by Les & Larry Elgart, and the original instrumental remained in place until around 1975, when singer-songwriter Barry Manilow recorded a new, more up-tempo version that most fans are familiar with.

One of the most popular segments of Bandstand was the Rate-a-Record feature, in which three audience members would be chosen to judge two possible future hits. Grandmasterfunk92 uploaded this 1967 Rate-a-Record clip, which offers a little intra-network synergy, promoting the short-lived primetime sitcom, Rango, Tim Conway's first post-McHale's Navy series, by playing the theme song, sung by Frankie Laine ("High Noon", Rawhide).

As I've outlined in the past, for several years, Bandstand was inexplicably blacked out in my area as the then-ABC affiliate opted to run syndicated fare for the sole purpose of boosting local ad revenues. When the local broadcast channels shuffled network affiliations in 1977-78, Bandstand didn't benefit right away, but it ultimately was brought back to local screens until ABC cancelled the series in 1987. The series would continue in syndication, and then was picked up by USA Network for the 1988-89 season, but with Clark turning over hosting chores to someone named David Hirsch. Needless to say, without Clark, who by then was again a daytime fixture thanks to the on-again, off-again Pyramid franchise Bob Stewart had developed initially for ABC, Bandstand finally breathed its last in 1989. The series would later return in a clip show format that aired on VH1 in the 90's for a couple of years. Would that VH1 Classic would actually consider adding it to their roster, instead of recycling the same hand-me-downs from their sister networks.....

Rating: B.

Spooktober: Frankie (1971)

2011-10-30T20:55:00.000-04:00

Halloween is, of course, the Groovie Goolies' favorite time of year. So, here's a song about "Frankie". Uploaded by JoeyFaust-a-go-go.

Joey deleted the sound effects used when this video was originally recorded at Filmation 40 years ago. To get the original, you may need to get the Groovie Goolies' series DVD......

Sunday Funnies: F-Troop (1965)

2011-10-25T23:05:00.000-04:00

The introduction of cable television in my area in the 70's meant fresh viewing options. Many a Sunday morning was spent watching reruns of the 1965-67 sitcom, F-Troop, which aired ahead of the weekly Abbott & Costello feature film du jour on WPIX. SpudTV uploaded the open & close from the 1st season.

F-Troop aspired to be Sgt. Bilko, relocated to the Old West, and embodied by Sgt. Morgan O'Rourke (Forrest Tucker), who negotiated more than just peace treaties with the local Native American tribe, the Hekawis. In fact, the Hekawis were often business partners with O'Rourke and his sidekick, Corporal Agarn (Larry Storch), unbeknownst to their clueless commanding officer, Colonel Wilton Parmenter (Ken Berry), who was a regular Inspector Cleuseau next to O'Rourke's Bilko-esque con man.

I barely remember seeing F-Troop during its network run on ABC, so in the 70's, it was rather new to me. Guest stars included Paul Lynde as a duplicitous singing Mountie, Harvey Korman (by this time the voice of the Great Gazoo on The Flintstones) as a German balloonist, and Vincent Price. Good, escapist fun.

Rating: A-.

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: Star Wars' Droids (1985)

2011-10-25T15:47:00.000-04:00

By the mid-80's, George Lucas had completed the original "Star Wars" trilogy of films, with "Return of the Jedi" having been released a year or so earlier. Well, at least we thought this would be the end, but of course we know by now that there would be more to come.

Knowing that some fans still had a bitter taste in their mouths from an ill-received primetime "Holiday Special" that included the first animated "Star Wars" cartoon, Lucas decided to license two of his central characters, the droids R2D2 & C3PO, for a spinoff series of their own. Droids, produced by Canada's Nelvana Studios, aired on ABC, coupled with another "Star Wars" spinoff starring the Ewoks. Actor Anthony Daniels, who'd played C3PO in every "Star Wars" movie, reprises here as well.

Just as interesting is that the music for this series was composed in part by Stewart Copeland, formerly of The Police, and representing some of his first work for television.

I never watched the show, as I'm not that big a "Star Wars" fan ("Jedi" being the only one of the 6 feature films I've seen in the series), but as a pre-Halloween treat, here's the series opener, "The White Witch":

On The Air: ESPN College GameDay (1987)

2011-10-23T20:59:00.000-04:00

It is one of the longest running seasonal programs on ESPN's schedule, now expanded to include college basketball from December-March. ESPN's College GameDay launched in September 1987 as a preview show for the day's top NCAA games. Former college coach Lee Corso, who had done some game analysis for ABC in the past, is the only one of the original series hosts still with the program, 24 years later. Original host Tim Brando now hosts a studio show for CBS, and perhaps wishes he could get out of the studio, given GameDay's current traveling road show format.

Chris Fowler, who also covers tennis and other sports for ESPN, has been the series' lead anchor the last several years, after debuting on the network in the mid-80's with the short-lived Scholastic Sports Academy. He & Corso are joined by former collegiate stars Kirk Herbstreit (formerly of Ohio State) and Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard (Michigan). Taking a cue from Monday Night Football, ESPN obtained a license to use the country duo Big & Rich's 2005 hit, "Comin' To Your City" as their theme for GameDay, albeit with customized lyrics and a freestyle rap by Cowboy Troy. Here's a sample from earlier this season:

Now, don't ya think ESPN should consider applying the same song to Monday Night Football, now that they've cut ties with Hank Williams, Jr.? The series airs for 2 hours on ESPN after the first hour airs on sister channel ESPNU, a practice that began last season. In December, as the college bowl season begins, GameDay shifts its focus to basketball, and a different team takes over. The difference here is that there is also a night-time pre-game version during this portion of the season. Would that ESPN would actually do something for the baseball fan and give the college baseball teams some love........

Rating: A.

Spooktober: Eerie, Indiana (1991)

2011-10-23T16:41:00.000-04:00

Eerie, Indiana started as a Sunday night primetime series that aired on NBC in 1991. It lasted just one season, but that didn't deter Fox from picking up the show as a fill-in for their Saturday morning lineup 6 years later. Nostalgia90Kids uploaded this open, updated near the end of the show's run......

Filmmaker Joe Dante ("Gremlins") directed the series opener, and had a small hand in developing the series. The ratings must've improved enough when it moved to Fox, such that it enabled the network to commission a new series, Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension, which was a mid-season replacement in the winter of 1998, but also lasted just one season. The original Eerie has also aired on Disney Channel, but hasn't been seen anywhere since the end of its Fox run.

Rating: None. Never saw enough of the show to form an opinion.

Spooktober: Goosebumps (1995)

2011-10-21T22:56:00.000-04:00

Author R. L. Stine introduced a modern day horror franchise in 1992 with the launch of his Goosebumps series of horror stories for youngsters. Three years later, Scholastic, the publisher, entered into a licensing agreement with Fox to adapt the books for television. Goosebumps at one point aired six days a week on Fox, and spent three years as a cornerstone of the network's lineup.

In recent years, Goosebumps has resurfaced on cable. A few years ago, Cartoon Network experimented with live-action programming, and one of the first series picked up was Goosebumps, initially as a Halloween stunt, but the series lingered around a couple of extra months if but for the simple fact that word of mouth had spread that the series had returned and people were interested. Today, cable rights belong to The Hub (formerly Discovery Kids), which is trying to posit itself as a competitor to CN, Nickelodeon, and Disney Channel, leaning more toward the latter pair in terms of diversity of programming.

Kurtcobain7516 uploaded the series' opener, an adaptation of "The Haunted Mask", to YouTube:

The Hub is also home to a new series based on some of Stine's other works, The Haunting Hour, which is posited as a primetime series on weekends, and has started its 2nd season. Stine also wrote a similar series for teens, Fear Street, which amazingly has never been picked up for television. Just as odd is the fact that none of Stine's Goosebumps books, despite their popularity, haven't made the transition to feature films. It would sure beat another zillion variations on the tired slasher movie format.....

Rating: B.