Rare Treats: A pitch reel for the Marvel Super Heroes Show (1966)

 A little personal note before we start this next piece.

50 years ago, I was a part of a group on a field trip to New York. Our teacher didn't bother with a hotel. His parents lived on Long Island, Valley Stream, to be precise, and that was our base for a 4-day period. 

Our tour of the city included stops at Hayden Planetarium, and, as a last minute add, Marvel Comics. Stan Lee himself greeted us, and took us on a tour of Marvel's legendary bullpen.

I bring this up because you & I are accustomed to Stan with a full head of hair (a toupee, as we now know), a mustache, & a beard. You'd know that from his appearances on To Tell The Truth and in commercials for products such as Personna razor blades. However, as he & Marvel sold stations on The Marvel Super Heroes Show, this pitch reel shows us a clean-shaven Stan, who was already balding.

The intro to the show follows the pitch.

Yeah, 57 years later, that music is still cheesy.

Family Toons: Kim Possible in Mother's Day (2004)

 Yeah, I know. Mother's Day was 2 1/2 weeks ago. So I figured I'll make up for it with this 2nd season offering from Kim Possible.

Kim (Christy Carlson Romano) brings her mother, Ann, a brain surgeon (Jean Smart, ex-Designing Women), along on a typical mission to shut down Dr. Drakken (John DiMaggio) and Shego (Nicole Sullivan), and we find that Drakken is a mama's boy.

And, also, Drakken was also a classmate of Kim's father, Jim (Gary Cole, Harvey Birdman, Attorney-at-Law, ex-Midnight Caller). Like, who knew?

Rating: B.

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: Goldie Gold in Menace of The Medallion (1981)

 Goldie Gold & Action Jack deserved a better fate.

The series was cancelled after 1 season due to low ratings and the fact that viewers were still not ready for a female lead in an action series, even if it was a cartoon. Goldie (Judy Strangis, ex-Electra Woman & DynaGirl, Room 222, Wheelie & The Chopper Bunch) was a older, female version of Richie Rich, but with more of a sense of adventure.

Here's "Menace of The Medallion":

No rating. Just a public service.

Saturday School: Prickly is Leaving (Recess, 1999)

 From season 4 of Recess:

Principal Prickly (Dabney Coleman, ex-Buffalo Bill, The Slap Maxwell Story) is offered a similar job at a middle school, a promotion, if you will, from 3rd Street Elementary.

However, the Board of Education brings in a very nasty fellow named Slicer (guest star Tim Curry, ex-The Wild Thornberrys) to bring more discipline to the school, and the kids ain't digging that.

Here's "Prickly is Leaving":

Sixteen years later, Archie Comics tried a similar storyline in rebooting Jughead by forcing Principal Weatherbee into retirement, replaced by a no-nonsense type. Of course, that didn't last, either.

Rating: B.

Retro Toy Chest: Bionic Play-Doh? (1974)

 Kenner, now part of Hasbro, had the license to produce toys based on ABC's Six Million Dollar Man & Bionic Woman in the winter of 1974, and in addition to the predictable action figures and accompanying play sets, Kenner's Play-Doh division (Kenner acquired Rainbow Brands) produced this interesting item.....

By the time both series had ended in 1978, the Play-Doh set was off the market. Today, it'd be a nice collector's item to have if you can find it.

Game Time: Puttin' on The Kids (1986)

 Michael Young was one busy dude in the 80's.

After taking over as host of Kids Are People Too two months into its first season, Young found himself very much in demand. After leaving the series to host the ABC Weekend Special, Young also landed a gig hosting Puttin' on The Kids, a grade school spin-off from Puttin' on The Hits, from producers Dick Clark and Chris Bearde. Unfortunately, not enough stations picked up the show, including here in the 518, where Hits aired on Saturday nights, thanks largely to local product Allen Fawcett being the host. Puttin' on The Kids was laid to rest after one season.

In this sample clip, we see lip-sync performances of the Beach Boys' "Surfin' USA" and "It's a Hard Knock Life" from "Annie", among other treats.

Some clown went on Wikipedia and got Puttin' on The Kids confused with Kids Are People, Too, claiming the latter had been revived after four years away. Wrong-o, bad editing breath!

Rating, based on the above clip: A.

Kids need variety, too: Livewire (1980)

 Nickelodeon, in its early years, had a variety show, America Goes Bananaz, that had gotten its start with a QUBE channel in Columbus, Ohio. The success of this series (to be discussed another day) led Nick to develop its own variety show.

Livewire was Nick's answer to the standard daytime talk shows of the period (i.e. Mike Douglas, Dinah Shore), but geared for teenagers, in much the same vein as ABC's Kids Are People, Too, a Sunday morning show. Mark Corday was the show's 1st host, but didn't last very long. Fred Newman took over in 1981, and was at the helm when the series ended 1st run production four years later, with reruns continuing until 1986.

Six years after Livewire ended, Newman renewed his association with Nickelodeon, but you might not have known. He was the voice of Doug's BFF, Skeeter Valentine, and a few other supporting characters.

Let's go back to 1983, and an early appearance by R. E. M.:

The band's performance of "South Central Rain" is in a separate clip. 

No rating. Never saw the show.

You Know The Voice: Paul Lynde (1965)

 From season 1 of Bewitched:

Paul Lynde makes one of his first appearances on the show, but not as Uncle Arthur. Arthur wouldn't come along until season 2 the following fall.

Instead, Paul plays a driving instructor who has to take Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) for a driving lesson in this excerpt.

Toon Rock: When I'm 64 (1967-8)

 Paul McCartney originally wrote "When I'm 64" as a teenager before the Beatles ever came into existence. The track was recorded by the "Fab Four" in 1967, intended for the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album, then was included the next year on the soundtrack to "Yellow Submarine", from whence we get this clip. Animation designs by Peter Max.

Today, a snippet of "When I'm 64" is used by a local law firm as the theme to their weekly talk show about estate planning & retirement. Go figure.

Toons You Might've Missed: Commandments For Health (1940's)

 In answer to WB's Private Snafu series, produced for the Army, independent producer Hugh Harman, who'd previously been with WB & MGM, was hired to create Commandments For Health, which used a mix of full & limited animation.

As the title implies, the series was about promoting good health habits for our military. The lead character in the shorts was a Private McGillicuddy (Mel Blanc, of course), who learns the hard way about his health.

As an example, we present "Native Food", from 1945:

I could imagine these shorts being used in schools back then, too.

Rating: B-.

Coming Attractions: A Gremlins prequel (2023)

 Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, and a few friends are taking viewers deeper into history of the Gremlins.

Nearly 40 years after the original film, Gremlins: Secrets of The Mogwai, which began dropping today on Max (formerly HBO Max) explains the backstory behind Gizmo and all those more malevolent imps that last appeared in 1990's "Gremlins 2: The New Batch". Zach Galligan, one of the stars of the two live-action movies, will return in the new series, which will have 10 episodes for season 1. The voice cast also includes venerable, ageless James Hong, Randall Park (ex-Fresh Off The Boat, last seen in "Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania"), Sandra Oh (Grey's Anatomy, Invincible, The Sandman), Ming-Na Wen (ex-ER, Marvel's Agents of SHIELD), B. D. Wong (ex-Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), and George Takei. AJ Locasio takes over the voice role of Gizmo, originated by Howie Mandel in the two feature films.

Check the trailer:

I think Warner Bros Discovery is smelling money with the 40th anniversary of the 1st film coming up next year.

Teenage Toons: Dave The Barbarian in Beef (2004)

 With an episode title like "Beef", you'd think Dave The Barbarian (Danny Cooksey, ex-Diff'rent Strokes) would bulk himself up for a battle. Nope. Sister Candy (Erica Luttrell) eats some magic veggies in what amounts to a goof on steroids to battle a popular female warrior.

And you wonder why this show lasted just 1 season.

Rating: C.

Getting Schooled: Run, Don't Walk (1981)

 The significance of this 1981 ABC Afterschool Special, "Run, Don't Walk", is it's one of the first projects as a producer for Henry Winkler (Happy Days).

Anyway, a teenager learns how to adjust after an accident leaves her paralyzed. Jim McKrell (ex-Celebrity Sweepstakes, transitioning into acting) and Rosemary Prinz (Search For Tomorrow) play the parents. Winkler cast Scott Baio (Happy Days) as a fellow wheelchair-bound youth. Unfortunately, I don't doubt that Baio's critics would look at his character and think he was typecast as a hustler, which is what Chachi was early on before he settled down...! Bruno Kirby, better known as a movie actor ("Good Morning, Vietnam", "City Slickers"), also appears.

Bill Owen (ex-Discovery) handles most of the announcing duties, save for a teaser for the next Afterschool Special, narrated by Ernie Anderson. McDonald's & Kellogg's were among the sponsors.

No rating. Just a public service.

DePowered: CW shuts down Powerpuff

 As part of a makeover under new corporate parent Nexstar (which owns WTEN in the 518), the CW has decided not to go forward with Diablo Cody's reimagining of The Powerpuff Girls.

Powerpuff had already run into some issues well before this point, with the network requesting reshoots, and was not part of the network's 2022-3 or 2023-4 plans.

It's for the best, as Cody's idea was for to girls to be aged up to 20-somethings, in collaboration with producer Greg Berlanti, who has also seen another prospect, Justice U, starring David Ramsey, shut down as well. Once the network's most prolific producer, Berlanti is seeing his roster pared down. The Flash ends its run next week, with Riverdale to follow soon after. There's the prospect that neither freshman drama Gotham Knights nor 3rd year series Superman & Lois would be retained, and with Hollywood in the grip of a writers' strike, no one's really sure when a new season would begin.

For fans of the Powerpuffs, finding DVD's would be your best bet.

Remembering Superstar Billy Graham (1943-2023)

 It has come across the wires in the last couple of hours that WWE Hall of Famer Superstar Billy Graham (real name: Eldridge Wayne Coleman) has passed away after an illness. Graham had been on life support the last couple of days, and his passing comes a couple of weeks shy of his 80th birthday.

Graham ended Bruno Sammartino's 2nd reign as WWWF champion in 1977, only to lose it several months later to Bob Backlund. Graham would return a few years later, his head shaved, and adopting a martial arts gimmick. He returned one final time in 1986, this time as a fan favorite, and transitioned briefly to commentary before he was let go in 1990.

In between tours with what is now WWE, Graham would also compete in the NWA & AWA.

Let's take a trip back in time to May 1977, shortly after Graham won the title, for a jobber squash.

Graham was the inspiration for others to follow, including fellow Hall of Famers Hulk Hogan, Jesse Venture, Triple H, Steve Austin, and The Rock. It can be said that Dusty Rhodes borrowed some of his promo style from Graham as well.

Rest in peace.

Retro Toy Chest: Sport 'n' Shave Ken (1979)

 Mattel thought it'd be a cool idea to create a Ken figure that the young ladies could use to practice shaving skills.

Yep, you heard that right. Sport 'n' Shave Ken was introduced in 1979, but didn't last very long.

Michael Bell (Plastic Man, Super Friends) narrates.

You Know The Voices: Charles Nelson Reilly, Robert Ridgely, & Jo Anne Worley (1987)

 A more detailed review of Yahtzee appears at The Land of Whatever.

Take elements of High Rollers, Hollywood Squares, Hot Potato, and any other game show you can think of, like, say for example, Match Game, and you have the TV version of Yahtzee, which had the misfortune of being shopped as a pilot in 1987. Ralph Andrews (Truth or Consequences, You Don't Say) teamed with actor-turned-producer Larry Hovis (ex-Hogan's Heroes) among the folks responsible for this adaptation of the long running game.

Cartoon veterans Charles Nelson Reilly (ex-The Flintstone Comedy Show, Uncle Croc's Block, Lidsville), Robert Ridgely (ex-Sky Commanders, Tarzan, Thundarr, Flash Gordon), and relative newbie Jo Anne Worley (The Wuzzles) are on the panel.

Getting Schooled: Our Gang in Fish Hooky (1933)

 In all the time I spent watching the Our Gang comedies on cable in the 70's & 80's (better known as The Little Rascals), I'd never seen this next item.

1933's "Fish Hooky" brings back original members Joe Cobb, Allen "Farina" Hoskins, Mary Kornman, & Mickey Daniels to act with the current group, including Mary's sister, Mildred, who has a small role. Mary plays a school teacher, despite the fact that she is still in her teens, as is Daniels, also assigned an adult role as a truant officer.

No rating.

NFL mascots get animated and rumble (2023)

 NFL schedules are out. The Cleveland Browns decided to get animated with their presentation. Local native Michael "The Miz" Mizanin joins in the fun as the mascots have their own version of the WWE's Royal Rumble match.

The Browns will play the Jests and Aaron Rodgers the Thursday after Christmas. You will recall that it was on Thursday Night Football a few years ago that the Browns ended an epic losing streak by beating the Jests.

So, what's next? Miz on NFL Network?

You Know The Voice: Casey Kasem (1977)

 From season 3 of Switch:

Casey Kasem guest stars as a movie producer who hires detectives Frank McBride (Eddie Albert, ex-Green Acres) and Pete Ryan (Robert Wagner, ex-It Takes a Thief) to find out who's trying to kill one of his top stars. Andrew Duggan (ex-Lancer) also appears in "Fade Out":

This was the same season where producer Glen A. Larson had Casey rent a certain rumpled trenchcoat to play a Columbo impersonator on The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries over on ABC, which we've previously covered. Larson's background in the music business would explain any professional relationship he had with Casey, and we wonder if Casey plugged this episode on American Top 40........

A complete episode of The Midnight Special (1973)

 This edition of The Midnight Special has a little bit of everything. Well, not quite.

Musical performances by the Spinners, Steely Dan, Merilee Rush, Paul Williams, and host Johnny Rivers. Williams sings two of his compositions that became hits for other artists, namely, "I Won't Last a Day Without You" (The Carpenters) and "Out in The Country" (Three Dog Night). Also, Wolfman Jack sings, and the Ace Trucking Company does a series of short skits, featuring Fred Willard, Patti Deutsch, and Bill Saluga.

I think executive producer Burt Sugarman thought the ol' Wolfman might be able to give Barry White a run for his money. Not too shabby, and Jack would get to do a few more numbers during the course of the series' run. 

Posted in memory of Bill Saluga, who'd later be better known as Raymond Jay Johnson, Jr. in commercials and a recurring gig on Redd Foxx's variety show. Bill passed away over the weekend.

You Know The Voice: Paul Frees sings! (1966)

 Paul Frees, the most in demand voice actor not named Mel Blanc, has one other thing in common with Blanc.

They have both recorded records.

While Blanc did novelty records, usually in character, Frees wrote and recorded "Portrait of a Fool", released on Hanna-Barbera's record label in 1966. Backed by the legendary studio musician collective, the Wrecking Crew, Frees' modest effort had slipped under the radar until it was uncovered by a fellow on YouTube.

We really do have to do a feature on Hanna-Barbera Records, as Frees was part of a short talent roster that also included Danny Hutton (later of Three Dog Night) and Laurie Johnson, who composed the theme to The Avengers.

Cinco de Mayo: Tijuana Toads (1969)

 It's been a while since we actually did anything to mark Cinco de Mayo, so it's time to change that.

The Tijuana Toads debuted with a self-titled short, alternately known as "Tall in The Grass", when the characters were repackaged as the Texas Toads for television seven years later.

The plot: Toro (Don Diamond, ex-F-Troop, Zorro) and Pancho (Tom Holland, not to be confused with the current Spider-Man actor) run afoul of a visiting Texas grasshopper (John Byner impersonating John Wayne). The grasshopper, for whatever reason, was colored red instead of a traditional green or brown.

Don Diamond played a different El Toro, as the sidekick to the title hero of The Adventures of Kit Carson in the 50's.

Rating: B.

You Know The Voice: Mel Blanc (1965)

 Yeah, I know. Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow, but let's start the party early, with help from the Kingston Trio and The Jack Benny Program.

The Trio's performance of "Tijuana Jail" segues into a sketch in which they, along with Benny, Sy (Mel Blanc), and seemingly as many people as they can find, are squeezed into a jail. Don Wilson, Benny Rubin, and Vito Scotti play Mexicans.

Oddly, Blanc is credited as "himself". Scotti (ex-Andy's Gang), I believe, was starting to recur on Gilligan's Island around this time.

Benny had switched studios during the series run, from Desilu to Revue/Universal. The Universal globe was edited off this print.

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: Turbo Teen in The Sinister Souped Up Seven (1984)

 Turbo Teen (Michael Mish) gets amnesia, and is befriended by a pair of local kids until his companions, Pattie (Pamela Hayden) and Alex (T. K. Carter) can reach him. Meanwhile, there's the small matter of some treasure looters in "The Sinister Souped Up Seven":

Like Simpsons castmate Nancy Cartwright, Pamela Hayden apprenticed, if you will, on Saturday mornings in the 80's. T. K. Carter is better known as a "face actor" (Punky Brewster, Good Morning, Miss Bliss). Michael Mish was never heard from again.

If you pay attention to the closing credits, you'll find a familiar name in the character design department---Doug Wildey, creator of Jonny Quest and Jana of The Jungle, who was making a comeback in comics at the time (RIO).

No rating. Just a public service.

Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits: If You Could Read My MInd (1974)

The 70's were a great time for AM radio, with artists like John Denver, James Taylor, Billy Joel, and Gordon Lightfoot.

Lightfoot, from Orillia, Ontario, Canada, had a string of hits during the 70's that most fans know by name. "Sundown". "The Wreck of The Edmund Fitzgerald".  "Early Morning Rain". "Rainy Day People". And this nugget, "If You Could Read My Mind", which Gordon played on The Midnight Special.

In memory of Lightfoot, 84, who has passed away from natural causes. Rest in peace.

Toonfomercial: The origin of Nabisco's corner triangle (1966)

 Nabisco was a sponsor of CBS' initial airing of How The Grinch Stole Christmas in 1966, and came up with this doozy of a commercial to promote various products. 

Crispin Broadhurst, whose father was an animator who worked on the ad, has this on his YouTube channel.