Here's one that NBC is probably regretting they never bought.
You see, Canadian-born comedian-actor Howie Mandel had been on the network's St. Elsewhere, one of his first dramatic roles, and if memory serves, I believe he'd been nominated, or at least in the conversation, for an Emmy during the show's run. Quite a jump for a guy whose first impression on me was blowing up a balloon around his head on Make Me Laugh back in 1979.
The next jump came when Mandel pitched an idea for an animated series that would land on Fox, Bobby's World. Little Bobby Generic (Mandel) has a vivid imagination, which usually kicks in when he gets himself in trouble at home. Mandel also voiced Bobby's dad, who was basically the actor's animated alter-ego. Bobby's World spent the better part of 7 seasons on Fox, and rerun rights currently belong to Kabillion (check your listings). The series also aired on weekdays during its run, a typical Fox practice back in those days.
The following video comes from Kabillion's YouTube channel:
Mandel brought Bobby back for a guest appearance on Deal or No Deal a few years back, but if you thought NBC might ask about reviving the series......naaaaah. It's been reported, though, that the series is back in production, at least according to the not-so-reliable Wikipedia. Walter Mitty would be proud......
Rating: B.
2 comments:
The show was Ok, but I did get a kick out of the running gag which featured "those two guys" who appered in a different role in every episode. One ep they'd be Canadian Mounties, another, barbers cutting kid's hair, mall guards, etc. .
Plus the pronunciation issues the dad would face on the family surname: it was "Genn-ER-rick" but so many people would say, "gen-AIR-rick".
IIRC John Tesh wrote the theme song.
Yes. Tesh, still on Entertainment Tonight at the time, composed the theme to Bobby's World, and to my knowledge, it's his first toon credit.
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