Getting Schooled: Girl Talk (1989)

No, this wasn't a kids' version of the old Virginia Graham chat-fest from the 60's. This Girl Talk was spun from a board game put out by Whitman back in 1989 or so. Bohbot Entertainment, better known for syndicating animated fare, experimented with this short-lived series, whose selling points, nearly 30 years later, are co-hosts Soleil Moon Frye (ex-Punky Brewster) and Sarah Michelle Gellar (later of, of course, Buffy, The Vampire Slayer). This was aimed at teenagers, not just girls, but boys, too. However, when I say it was da bomb, it's not in a good way. Scope!



As they used to say back in the day, gag me with a spoon. This had awkward written all over it.

Rating: D.

Getting Schooled: The Stolen Smile (Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?, 1994)

As Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? approaches its 25th anniversary in February, word comes that a new Carmen Sandiego cartoon is headed to Netflix next month, with Gina Rodriguez (Jane The Virgin) voicing the title role.

While we're waiting, let's scope the series premiere of Where on Earth, "The Stolen Smile":



I was never thrilled with a disembodied head for the Chief (Roger Bumpass). Ham & cheese city, yo.

Rating: A-.

Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits (Revisited): Midnight Confessions (1968-75)

By the mid-70's, the Grass Roots had undergone several personnel changes, leading to some fresh faces joining Rob Grill on stage when the band made its 19th appearance on American Bandstand, revisiting their 1968 top 5 hit, "Midnight Confessions". Of course, there's also the obligatory interview with host Dick Clark:

Saturday School: Fat Albert & The Cosby Kids get a primer on sex education (Soft Core, 1979)

Oh, the irony of this Fat Albert episode.

Rudy (Eric Suter) brings his friend, Dustin, around, and Dustin introduces the gang to "Soft Core" pornography. Considering what has happened to series creator-star-executive producer Bill Cosby in recent years, maybe he should've heeded the advice given in Bill Danch's script.......



Now, don't ya think Cosby could've been persuaded to spin Brown Hornet off into his own series? These features disrupt the flow of the main story, even though the object lessons do factor into said plot.

Rating: B.

Toon Rock: You Make The Rain Fall (2010)

R & B singer Kevin Rudolf composed "You Make The Rain Fall" for WWE's NXT, back when it was a reality-show-style competition, in the fall of 2010. The animation here resembles what often is used on scoreboards at sporting events. Flo Rida helps with some rap in the middle.

Overthinking Grover and the F Bomb

The following commentary is being sponsored by Murine and their ear wax removal kit. Well, actually, it should be.

Anyway, in what is probably an inevitable by-product of Sesame Street now running first-run episodes on HBO before they air on PBS, there is much debate over whether or not Grover had actually used an F bomb on the show recently.

The controversial clip in question isn't available on YouTube without someone posting a commentary to frame the clip, depending on what they believe Grover actually said. You figure, well, even when it airs on PBS, as it eventually will, the network censors would scrub out the offending word anyway. No big deal, you think.

In this writer's opinion, it's just another case of someone making a mountain out of a video molehill. HBO has run family-oriented, family-friendly original programming without controversy for years.

Before I go on, here's a clip of Grover in his heroic guise as Super Grover, from season 34 (2002-03):



Apparently, the controversy stems from how one perceives the scene in question, be it through a cell phone or filtered with headphones while watching online. Some people just have nothing better to do than stir up a whole mess of nothing.

Toonfomercial: Peter Pan & Tinkerbell for Peter Pan peanut butter (1956)

Here's another ad for Peter Pan peanut butter, this time with its namesake, Peter himself, coming to the aid of fair Tinker Bell, a prisoner of Captain Hook. Bill Thompson, who voiced Smee in the movie, is the narrator this time.



Today, Derby Foods is no more, and ConAgra holds the rights to Peter Pan peanut butter.

You Know The Voice: Mel Blanc (1955)

Now, here's an obscurity.

We all know Mel Blanc was a regular contributor to Jack Benny's radio & television shows. Today, I've discovered a short-lived night-time game show that Mel appeared on regularly.

Musical Chairs won't be confused with the 1975 series of the same name that aired on CBS in the daytime, as it's got more in common with the radio show, Information Please. The lack of scoring would be adopted years later in the comedy game, Whose Line is it Anyway?, both in the UK & US. Mel joins host Bill Leyden, and fellow panelists Rose Marie, Johnny Mercer, and Bobby Troup, whose jazz band composed the show's music. Those of you accustomed to seeing Troup with grey hair from his later work on Emergency! in the 70's will be interested in seeing him with dark hair.

Also, Troup performs his composition, "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66".



We'll talk more about this one over at The Land of Whatever soon.

Toonfomercial: Giant markers? (1974)

As memory serves, Paper-Mate, at one time, was a division of Gillette, which itself is now aligned with Procter & Gamble (go figure). Back in the 70's, Paper-Mate's line of pens & markers were doing big business. There was the Write Bros. line of ball point pens, and then, there's this:



The YouTube poster's date is incorrect. The giant's voice is done by actor-singer Thurl Ravenscroft, but the Flair Fi Fo Fum pens didn't survive the decade of the 70's.

Warped holidays: Billy & Mandy Save Christmas (2005)

From The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy:

"Billy & Mandy Save Christmas" closes out our Countdown to Christmas for 2018. The kids (Richard Horvitz, Grey DeLisle) and the Grim Reaper (Greg Eagles) head for the North Pole to help Santa (special guest star Gilbert Gottfried) with a most unusal problem, at least for him. Malcolm McDowell and Carol Kane are the other guest stars.

Edit, 2/12/21: The video has been deleted. In its place is the title card:

Series creator-executive producer Maxwell Atoms' art staff appears to have gotten some influence from John Kricfalusi's Ren & Stimpy. Billy's certainly no smarter than Stimpy........

Rating: C.

Retro Toy Chest: The Tuneyville Choo-Choo (1978)

40 years ago, Tomy made a big splash here in the US with the Tuneyville Choo-Choo. I remember seeing this in heavy rotation not only on Saturday mornings, but also during weekday syndicated blocks. Sterling Holloway, the original voice of Winnie The Pooh, is the narrator.

Countdown to Christmas: The Christmas Wish (Little Einsteins, 2005)

From season 1 of Little Einsteins:

The kids set out to locate a "Christmas Wish" box belonging to one of them. The producers adapted the music of Beethoven and used some Van Gogh artwork for the backgrounds for this flash animated entry.



Your pre-schoolers will love it.

Rating for the pre-schoolers: A.

Countdown to Christmas: A Flintstone Family Christmas (1993)

After a series of primetime specials brought The Flintstones back to ABC, Hanna-Barbera, perhaps, pun intended, caving to pressure from certain advertisers, would retcon out the wedding of Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm, and the subsequent introduction of their children, and revert the duo to their toddler state.

Their last appearance as adults was in 1993's A Flintstone Family Christmas, in which Wilma and a reluctant Fred adopt a homeless boy after he's been caught stealing. Unfortunately, Stoney, the adoptee, would also be retconned out.

Edit, 12/15/2020: The video was deleted by Dailymotion. YouTube has a sample clip, courtesy of Warner Archive's channel:

 

 No rating.

Retro Toy Chest: Remember Barbie & Ken Little Theatre? (1964)

Mattel decided to experiment with their Barbie line by adding the Barbie & Ken Little Theatre, first released in 1964. I think it was out of circulation by the time I started watching TV regularly.

Sounds like Olan Soule is the narrator.

Countdown to Christmas: The Christmas Song (2018)

The Monkees have finally released a Christmas album. "Christmas Party" includes a couple of posthumously released tracks with vocals by the late Davy Jones.

However, what we're focusing on is this animated clip for the band's cover of "The Christmas Song". While Mike Nesmith is on lead, son Jonathan, who did the animation, drew his father and Micky Dolenz as they looked in the glory years of the 60's.

Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits: Shake Your Groove Thing (1978)

I know there are some of you out there jonesin' for some disco from the 70's. Well, here we go, back to 1978 and American Bandstand (courtesy of VH1). Here's Peaches & Herb with "Shake Your Groove Thing".

From Comics to Toons: Popeye in W.O.I.L. (1980)

From season 3 of The All-New Popeye Hour:

In the final short of the series, Olive (Marilyn Schreffler) & Bluto (Allan Melvin) are neighboring radio station owners and competitors. Popeye (Jack Mercer) is doing traffic reports in a helicopter, but when Bluto decides he needs to be the only jock on the block, well......!

Here's "W.O.I.L.":



Generic plot, different setting, rinse & repeat.

Rating: B.

Toonfomercial: Remember Carnation's Chocolate Mountain? (1967?)

I'm not entirely sure on the year on this next item. What I do know is that Carnation (now a part of Nestle) commissioned Hanna-Barbera to produce this ad. Gary Owens (Space Ghost, Green Hornet) is the narrator.



If anyone's got more information on this one, pass it along.

Toonfomercial: (Phone) time is money (1979)

Back when our phone company was known simply as the Bell System, there was this modest little ad to promote how the company could save its consumers money. Michael Bell narrates.

Countdown to Christmas: We Wish You a Merry Christmas (2009)

A classic carol gets a 21st century spin, courtesy of Phineas & Ferb. From the episode "Phineas & Ferb Christmas Vacation", here's their version of "We Wish You a Merry Christmas":

Sunday Funnies: Superhero Huey (The Baby Huey Show, 1995)

Baby Huey decides he wants to fight crime like his TV idol, Buff Duck. Chaos, of course, ensues in the comic book spoof, "Superhero Huey":



Co-author Steve Lotor also worked on shows as diverse as Ren & Stimpy and, later, Disney's Brandy & Mr. Whiskers. Some of the artwork here has a Ren & Stimpy feel to it, don't ya think?

Rating: C.

Toon Legends: Heckle & Jeckle visit King Tut's Tomb (1950)

They say you should never wake up the dead. Heckle & Jeckle are treasure hunters who do just that in 1950's "King Tut's Tomb".



Rating: B.

Tooniversary: The Survivor (Star Trek, 1973)

A shapeshifter assumes the identity of a missing Earth man and is brought aboard the Enterprise. Trouble, of course, follows in the Star Trek episode, "The Survivor". Ted Knight (Lassie's Rescue Rangers, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Super Friends) guest stars.

Following is a short mid-episode sampler.



It happens that CBS has commissioned an all-new animated Trek, likely for its All Access streaming service. The creators of [adult swim]'s hit series, Rick & Morty, are attached. Stay tuned for more details.

"The Survivor" gets an A.

Sunday Funnies: Baby Huey meets The Boogeyman (1994)

"The Boogeyman" is about ready to retire, but not before he has an encounter with Baby Huey....



The absurdity of it all is seeing Huey leave his crib and flatten the ghostly Boogeyman as if he were flesh & blood. Continuity error much?

Rating: C.

Countdown to Christmas: A Smurfs' Christmas (1982)

During season 2, The Smurfs were granted their first primetime special by NBC. It would take five years before the next one.

A Smurfs' Christmas sees a human family become separated in a snowstorm. The kids make the innocent mistake of inquiring assistance from Gargamel (Paul Winchell), and of course the Smurfs have to intercede at their own risk......



Rating: A

Countdown to Christmas: The Fat Albert Christmas Special (1977)

Fat Albert (Bill Cosby) and the gang help a homeless family, and at the same time, in a nod to a certain Dickens story or two, teach a tyrannical landlord about the spirit of Christmas. 1977's Fat Albert Christmas Special could've just as easily been mixed in with the regular Saturday show, the only difference being there are no live-action bumpers with Cosby. Ty Henderson (Space Academy) guest stars.



Rating: A-.

Toons After Dark: The Shivering Truth (2018)

Give the folks at [adult swim] credit for always looking for something new.

Cartoon Network's nuttier half is so high on a new puppet-driven anthology series, The Shivering Truth, that they're previewing it online before it debuts at midnight (ET) on December 9. Shivering Truth comes from the mind of comic Vernon Chatman (ex-Louie), who has done some voice work for [adult swim] in the past. The anthology format allows plenty of room for guest stars, including Janeane Garafolo, Jonah Hill, and South Park co-creator Trey Parker.

Following is the trailer.



To me, it seems like Chatman drew some inspiration from horror anthologies of the past, such as Rod Serling's legendary Twilight Zone, as the bizarre imagery above recalls some of Serling's wilder entries in that series.

Rating: B.

Toonfomercial: The first Keebler elf (1969)

A ways back, we introduced you to Ollie Keebler, a singing, golfing elf who was a forerunner to Keebler's long time spokeself, Ernie.

Well, before Ollie, there was JJ Keebler, the head elf. Hanna-Barbera produced this spot, as they also did Ollie's debut. Alan Reed, two years away from reprising as Fred Flintstone on Pebbles & Bamm-Bamm, is the voice of JJ. John Erwin (Archie Comedy Hour) does some narration, but the closing spiel is by long time Keebler announcer Danny Dark.



A recent article I read reveals that Keebler, now a subsidiary of Kellogg's, is the new home of Girl Scout Cookies, which for a number of years were made by Quaker.

Rein-Toon-Ation: Woody Woodpecker returns (2018)

Yesterday, we presented a piece of the new Popeye's Island Adventures. That flash-animated series is chump change next to our next subject.

Woody Woodpecker is back as well, and it looks like, for once, Woody is winning.

Eric Bauza reprises his voice role from last year's feature film, which I don't think made it to multiplexes here in the US, released first in Brazil. In the opener, Woody deals with "The Invasion of The Birdy Snatchers". Tom Kenny voices the two-headed alien.



10 shorts were released on Monday, including this one. It looks like the writers are making it clear Woody was always meant to be Walter Lantz & Universal's answer to WB's Bugs Bunny, moreso than Daffy Duck. Woody has his own YouTube channel, where all 10 shorts are available. Bring on the awesome!

Rating: A.

It Should've Been on a Saturday: The family that plays together......(Password, 1964)

Here's a nice little treat we're also going to share over at The Land of Whatever before the end of the month.

In 1964, Lucille Ball and 2nd husband Gary Morton appeared on Password, and played a round with Lucy's two children with Desi Arnaz, Desi, Jr. & Lucie. Oh, this is delish.



Four years later, Lucie & Desi, Jr. would join their mom in co-starring on Here's Lucy. At the same time, Desi, Jr. was also part of the pop trio, Dino, Desi, & Billy.

If ya ask me, CBS & Goodson-Todman missed the boat by not attempting a junior version of Password. G-T also blew it after moving the franchise to ABC. I'll see if I can find the complete episode.......

Retro Toy Chest: Remember Alan, Ken's friend? (1964)

In 1964, Mattel made an effort to expand their Barbie line beyond Barbie, Ken, & Skipper. Midge became Barbie's other BFF, and now, Midge has a boyfriend. Meet Alan.

I believe it is Janet Waldo as the narrator.

Rein-Toon-Ation: Popeye returns in an all-new series

Well, blow me down!

In celebration of his 90th anniversary in 2019, King Features has commissioned a series of flash-animated micro-shorts, each about 2 minutes and change in length, to premiere on the official Popeye YouTube channel. That's the good news.

The bad? Not much in the way of dialogue. Popeye doesn't speak, and in the following sampler, neither does Olive or Bluto, who's had his beard & mustache shaved off. Sounds to me like they went el scrimpo on the casting.



Popeye's Island Adventures recasts the classic characters as being younger. King Features won't say how much younger, but ye scribe will go out on a limb and suggest they're all going to be in their late 20's to early-to-mid 30's. Popeye, as you can see, also has a tuft of blond hair, which is new as well. To keep with the health-conscious society we live in, that trademark pipe has been replaced with a whistle.

If you're a long time fan like me, you'll avoid this like the plague. The organic spinach is the only other good idea they came up with.

Rating: D.

Toon Legends: Fat Albert in Free Ride (1979)

From The New Fat Albert Show:

The gang's ace skateboarding friend, Lawanda (an uncredited Erika Scheimer), rescues Rudy from a fool's errand when he tries to do an Evel Knievel stunt with a skateboard. But then, we also learn how Lawanda gets around.......



Fast forward past Brown Hornet if you feel the need.

Rating: B.

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: Popeye vs. Coldfinger (1979)

From Popeye's Treasure Hunt in season 1 of The All-New Popeye Hour:

Popeye and Olive Oyl are secret agents summoned by the President (John Stephenson) to retrieve a stolen satellite from "Coldfinger". Bluto, of course, decides to throw in with Coldfinger, which tells us he left his brains at home on this one.



Like, don't ya think they could've gotten someone to approximate Jimmy Carter's voice, instead of going with a generic President?

Rating: B.

Toonfomercial: Ernie Keebler meets Albert Einstein? (1989)

To introduce their Magic Middles cookies, Keebler (now part of Kellogg's) came up with the idea of an eccentric professor who bears a bit of a resemblance to Albert Einstein. The Professor thinks he's got an idea for a new cookie, but Ernie (Parley Baer, ex-The Andy Griffith Show) already has one.....!

Voiceover at the end by Danny Dark.

Countdown to Christmas: The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree (1979)

Our Famous First for December is the television debut of the Berenstain Bears.

Veteran producer Joseph Cates, better known for his work in producing and/or directing awards shows, reached a deal with the husband & wife team of Stan & Jan Berenstain and animator Buzz Potamkin's Perpetual Motion Pictures (now Buzzco) to bring the Berenstains' family of bruins to life.

"The Berenstain Bears' Christmas Tree" sets the tone for what would soon follow, and was first broadcast on NBC in 1979.



The Berenstains shared the same publisher as Dr. Seuss, as their books were all published by Random House. Now, you'd think Random House would've helped the Berenstains land a TV deal, but we don't know all the details.

No rating.