Getting Schooled: Peg + Cat (2013)

 While older viewers will have their issues with how a cartoon is animated today, preschoolers aren't going to care.

That's because preschoolers were the target audience for PBS' Peg + Cat, which had two "seasons" stretched out over a 5 year period (2013-18). This might be because of the computer process needed to producer the cartoons. The animation is kept as simple as possible, to make it easier for the viewers.

This simplistic approach might be because the show comes from a production company named in memory of Fred Rogers (Mister Rogers' Neighborhood).

The first season was stretched out across two years, and it is from 2014 we get this Christmas episode.

The closing music was edited off for copyright reasons, I believe.

Rating: A-.

Countdown to Christmas: Topo Gigio's Letter to Santa (The Ed Sullivan Show, 1967)

 Topo Gigio, like a lot of kids, decides to write a letter to Santa in this 1967 entry from The Ed Sullivan Show. 

After the series ended, I don't think Topo appeared on another American series.

You Know The Voices: Paul Lynde & Pamelyn Ferdin (1972)

 This, of course, means another episode of The Paul Lynde Show.

Paul Simms' son-in-law, Howie (John Calvin), is cast in a play where the cast is to act in the nude. Meanwhile, Sally (Pam Ferdin, Sealab 2020, The Roman Holidays) is doing homework (?) by reading Cosmopolitan, which raises her father's ire.

Also, Paul matches barbs with the mayor (Arthur O'Connell, ex-The Second Hundred Years). There is a portion of the show where the audio is ahead of the video.

Countdown to (Hanukkah): The Hanukkah Song III (Saturday Night Live, 2002)

 Actor/comedian/singer/songwriter Adam Sandler updated his riotous "Hanukkah Song" in 2002, and on Saturday Night Live, played on an electric guitar, brought out a children's choir, and everything was cool. Right up until Rob Schneider came out, all because "Deuce Bigalow" was included in the lyrics.......

Now, I get Adam & Rob are buds, having worked on a number of post-SNL projects together, but maybe, just maybe, Adam should've given Rob the number of his voice coach for singing.

Toonfomercial: Remember Cheetos Whirls? (2001)

 Frito-Lay tried to expand the Cheetos line of cheese snacks. Then, they turned over mascot Chester Cheetah to avant-garde animator David Feiss (Cow & Chicken, I. M. Weasel) for a trilogy of ads, this next item being the first.

Unfortunately, Feiss' series were out of production (read: cancelled) by the time this was produced, and after he finished the trilogy, Feiss was never heard from again.

Saturtainment: The Joe DiMaggio Show, aka The Lionel Clubhouse (1950)

 The fame of the Yankees was such that star outfielder Joe DiMaggio landed an offseason gig in 1950, hosting a Saturday afternoon show for kids. Unfortunately, The Joe DiMaggio Show, sponsored by Lionel Trains, lasted just 1 season of 13 episodes. The fact that it was tailored specifically for boys wouldn't work in today's market, to be sure.

Future game show legend Jack Barry was DiMaggio's sidekick, doing the shilling for Lionel, for example.

The series got off to a flying start, as DiMaggio brought in teammate Phil Rizzuto as his first guest. Unfortunately, that episode doesn't appear to be available at the moment, but the topic in this sampler, which appears to be from December 1950, is dogs. Courtesy of Ira Gallen's TVDays channel.

All the boys on the show were issued Lionel logo apparel, as you can see.

Could something like this work today? You'd have boys & girls in the audience, and, since The Baseball Bunch ended a few years ago, there is a void for programming of this sort. MLB Network's Play Ball, like Bunch, is more specifically designed for baseball. Today, you need someone who transcends sports in general. This is the sort of thing Peyton Manning should be looking to do. Just sayin'.

Rating: A.

Countdown to Christmas: Jack Benny goes Christmas shopping (1960)

 This next item has previously been used over at The Land of Whatever.

Jack Benny's annual Christmas episode in 1960 has Mel Blanc reprising as a salesman who gets completely flustered thanks to Benny's indecisiveness. Oh, the hilarity!