Saturday School: ABC Fun Facts (1988)

Russian-born comic Yakov Smirnoff, having failed with his first American series (What a Country!, 1986-7), was hired by ABC for a series of Saturday morning interstitals where he used his pet catchphrase ("What a country!") to maximum effect.

ABC Fun Facts replaced the short-lived Fun Fit exercise bits with Olympic champion Mary Lou Retton, but didn't launch until 1988, and lasted two seasons (1988-90). These usually lasted 30 seconds or less, lending credence to the urban legend that 80's kids had a sound byte mentality, an urban legend certain television producers think still exists more than 30 years later!

Here's a sample from 1989:



Rating: A.