Getting Schooled: There's no good reason for cutting class (Room 222, 1972)

 From season 4 of Room 222:

An aspiring singer (guest star Chip Hand) is cutting class, at the expense of his grades. Pete Dixon (Lloyd Haynes) wants to know why. Charles Martin Smith also guest stars.

Toon fans know Chip better as the speaking & singing voice of Butch Cassidy a year later. Unfortunately, Chip passed away a number of years ago, a career cut short. I'm going to look up IMDB to see if he had any other primetime gigs.

Retro Toy Chest: GI Joe had a Refrigerator? (1987)

 Some will say GI Joe jumped the shark with the addition of Super Bowl hero William "The Refrigerator" Perry to Hasbro's line of action figures.

Perry became the 2nd real-life Joe, after pro wrestler Sgt. Slaughter, but his exploits have been largely forgotten. Hasbro gave Perry a football-centric bolo as a weapon of choice, a black football attached to a chain.

This 1987 ad features Perry, and narrated by series announcer Jackson Beck.

Saturtainment: A complete episode of The Beatles (1967)

 From season 3:

"Wait": The boys are in a foreign country to rescue a princess from an evil, power mad prime minister. Some of the music had to be edited for copyright reasons.

Sing-a-longs: "Penny Lane" & "Eleanor Rigby". Again, some of the music was altered dur to copyrights.

"I'm Only Sleeping": John (Paul Frees) spins a yarn putting the boys in the days of Camelot.

Comes with commercials.

Rating: C.

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: Janine's Genie (The Real Ghostbusters, 1986)

 We've discussed in the past that on The Real Ghostbusters, Janine was seriously crushing on Egon (Maurice LaMarche), although in "Ghostbusters 2", she is flirting with lawyer Louis Tully. Egon & Janine officially became a couple in Extreme Ghostbusters in the late 90's.

In "Janine's Genie", Janine goes on a mission with the guys, and is gifted with a magic lamp, complete with a duplicitous genie (an uncredited Charlie Adler).......

Spooktober officially begins next week, so consider this a preview of what's coming.

Rating: B.

Pigged out: Abbott & Costello in Pigs in a Panic (1967)

 Abbott & Costello are hired by the Three Little Pigs in this loose adaptation of the classic story. The Big Bad Wolf (John Stephenson) doesn't seem too fazed.....

Contrived? Yup. Predictable? Yup.

Rating: B--.

Getting Schooled: Would you trust the students to organize a prom? (Room 222, 1970)

 From season 2 of Room 222:

Nicole Jaffe (Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?) returns, this time playing a different character, one who helps organize a prom at Whitman High, but Bobbie (Jaffe) doesn't have a date..........!

Here's "What Would we do Without Bobbie?":

By the time I was able to go to prom, my folks couldn't afford the tickets, and instead had me bowling with them in an adult league my senior year. Traditionally, the school faculty not only hosts the prom, but also does most of the organizing and promoting.

Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits: Back Stabbers (1972)

 The O'Jays graced Soul Train with "Back Stabbers". This was huge back in the day.

Getting Schooled: Hip, Hip, Hooray (Room 222, 1971)

 From season 2 of Room 222:

A rivalry football game is imperiled because of concerns over a repeat of an unpleasant incident from the previous season. David Huddleston guest stars in "Hip, Hip, Hooray" as the principal of a rival school.

A primer for today's student-athletes. No rating. Just a public service.

Summertainment: Wackiki Wabbit (1943)

 Bugs Bunny welcomes a pair of hungry castaways (voiced by Tedd Pierce & Michael Maltese) to a deserted island in "Wackiki Wabbit":

Well, summer's almost over......

Rating: B.

Re-in-Toonation: The series premiere of The Real Ghostbusters (1986)

 I think we had this up before, then had to take it down, but now it's back.

The Real Ghostbusters kicked off with "Ghosts R Us", about a family of ghosts (you call that a family?) who managed to escape after Slimer (Frank Welker) accidentally let them loose, upset over being scolded. However, realizing his mistake, Slimer decides to try to make amends.

Rating: A-.

The problem of guns in schools started before Columbine (Family Matters, 1995)

 In the season 6 episode of Family Matters, "The Gun", Laura (Kellie Shangyne Williams) contemplates buying a gun to combat school bullies, but when the bullies shoot a classmate because she wouldn't give up her shoes, that changes Laura's perspective.

The closing tag of the episode sees Williams and Jaleel White drop character to address the audience. Shawn Harrison (Waldo) is seated to White's right (viewer's left).

We bring this up today, nearly 30 years after this episode first aired, because of how the problem of guns in schools has gotten worse. The mass shooting at Columbine High in Colorado in 1999 started the epidemic of mass shootings across the country, not just in schools.

In the 518, a 17 year old student was picked up for carrying a pellet gun to class in Albany. In the Bethlehem school district in suburban Delmar, an anonymous caller threatened to shoot up Bethlehem High on Tuesday night, and two more phone threats were issued on Wednesday, prompting the cancellation of after-school activities. A 14 year old was arrested at Shenendehowa in Clifton Park for e-mailing threats.

We have a generation of kids who are being bullied, either physically or online, creating psychological issues so severe that they're unwilling to go to their parents or school administrators for help, help that they actually need, and without that help, they spiral into a condition where they decide that guns are the only answer, when it clearly is not.

It's imperative that if a parent sees their child has a crisis, even the most remote signs, action is needed ASAP. We don't want a Columbine situation here in the 518 or anywhere else. Parents, if your son or daughter is being bullied, talk to them, or refer them to their counselors at school. The lives you save will include your own.

Sunday Funnies: Muscle up a Little Closer (1957)

 "Muscle up a Little Closer", the 2nd Three Stooges entry with Joe Besser (ex-The Abbott & Costello Show), has the boys with a cleaner look, a more gentlemanly appearance, which was suggested by Besser, arguably his greatest contribution to the team.

Anyway, the boys and their girlfriends all work at a factory. Joe, in fact, is engaged, and trouble starts when the engagement ring is stolen. Moe seems to have pinpointed a suspect......

Unfortunately for Besser and the Stooges, Columbia still had some stock footage to use in additional shorts, so in due course, Moe was back to his bowl 'cut, and Larry's hair also reverted to its former state.

Rating: B.

Getting schooled: A period of adjustment (Room 222, 1971)

 From season 2 of Room 222:

A transfer student has a problem with some of the boys because they're more interested in her looks than respecting her as a fellow student. Cindy Williams appears in one of her first TV roles. Linda Haynes (no relation to co-star Lloyd Haynes) has the title role in "Laura Fay, You're Okay!":

When I was a student, I was transferred from one school to another, not because my family kept moving, but due to behavioral issues that were addressed before returning to my home school district. A different scenario, but in a way, I can relate to Laura Fay.

Rating: A.

50 years ago today: The series premiere of Land of The Lost (1974)

 It was Sid & Marty Krofft's most ambitious project to date, and its most successful.

Land of The Lost premiered on NBC 50 years ago today, with the theme song explaining how the Marshall family (Spencer Milligan, Wesley Eure, & Kathy Coleman) ended up in what amounted to an alternate world. In the opener, the Marshalls meet & befriend "Cha-Ka" (Philip Paley), a member of the Pakuni tribe.

Famed science fiction writers David Gerrold, DC Fontana, & Larry Niven were contributors to the series. Gerrold, years later, claimed to have created the series, in addition to serving as a story editor. Land became the 2nd straight Krofft series to earn a renewal from NBC, after Sigmund & The Sea Monsters, and the 3rd overall, with the animated Star Trek, which Gerrold, Fontana, and possibly Niven all also wrote for, being the other. Speaking of Trek, Walter Koenig had one of his first scripts used on the show.

Rating B--.

Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits: Talk To Me (1985)

 Quarterflash released "Back Into Blue" in 1985, but the band's appearance on American Bandstand, performing "Talk To Me", not to be confused with the Stevie Nicks song of the same name, would be their last.

Saturday Morning Ringside: Reo's Roundup (1993)

 When Bruce Prichard left the then-World Wrestling Federation and his Brother Love persona behind, he had gone to Global Championship Wrestling, which had a TV deal with ESPN. However, as Global was slowly tanking, Prichard fled and returned to the WWF. 

Instead of resuming his Brother Love role, Prichard was asked to create a parody of Dusty Rhodes as a talk show host. The end result was Reo's Roundup, which was a clear case of Vince McMahon scraping from the bottom of the barrel, since Roddy Piper, Jesse Ventura, and Jake Roberts, some of his best talkers, were all gone, although Piper would return.

Prichard's mimic of Dusty was so blatant, it isn't a surprise viewers turned away. In this installment from the fall of 1993, Reo's guests are Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon.

The Roundup didn't last long, as it was cancelled soon after.

Rating: D.

Saturtainment: Sha Na Na mocks superheroes, and welcomes James Darren (1980)

 From season 3 of Sha Na Na:

The show starts with Bowzer (Jon Bauman) as "Super Greaser", one of the silliest hero parodies in the history of ever. Unfortunately for Bowzer, this idea was about 10 years late. Jane Dulo plays the "hero"'s mom, which suggests Captain Nice might've been the inspiration.

Special guest James Darren (ex-The Time Tunnel) joins the show in time for an awards show parody. Donny York does a solid cover of "Rhythm of The Rain", finishing with Dulo, in her normal role as the neighbor in the window, providing the "rain", but there's a reason the guys had all those umbrellas.

In memory of James Darren, 88, who passed away over Labor Day weekend. Rest in peace.

You Know The Voice: Larry Storch (1971-2)

 This one's for Hal Horn at The Horn Section.

Larry Storch pops up in a dramatic role in ITC's The Persuaders!, in the episode, "Angie.... Angie", as a childhood pal of Danny Wilde (Tony Curtis).

Toon Rock: Be True to Your School (1963-2019)

 The Beach Boys released "Be True to Your School" all the way back in 1963 on the "Little Deuce Coupe" album. 56 years later, this animated video was released, utilizing the popular designs associated with the Cal Arts animation program.

Animated World of DC Comics: Batman: Caped Crusader (2024)

 Contrary to what you may think, Batman: Caped Crusader is not a reboot or a sequel to the seminal Batman: The Animated Series, even though Bruce Timm is part of the creative team, along with Matt Reeves ("The Batman"), writer Ed Brubaker, who has written his fair share of Batman & Catwoman stories for DC, and JJ Abrams.

There are some distinctive changes. To wit:

The Penguin, for example, is now a woman, Oswalda Cobblepot (Minnie Driver), and figures into the opener, as seen in this excerpt:

The series is set in a post-World War II Gotham, with televisions & radios of the period prominent. Despite this, you have an African-American Commissioner James Gordon, just like in "The Batman", and, by extension, his daughter, Barbara, now a public defender, is African-American as well.

Natalia Knight, aka Nocturna, has been de-aged and repackaged, purposely, one would think, to resemble Wednesday Addams, a subtle nod to a certain Netflix series. McKenna Grace voices Knight, whose vampiric powers are more akin to a succubus than an actual vampire.

Harvey Dent (Diedrich Bader) is the DA running for mayor, but has to deal with mob boss Rupert Thorne, seeking to keep his hooks in city hall by any means necessary. You know his story will be told.

Dr. Harleen Quinzel (Jamie Chung), aka Harley Quinn, has been restyled, with a new jester's costume, but working alone.

Selina Kyle (Christina Ricci), aka Catwoman, is presented here as taking inspiration from the Batman himself (Hamish Linklater) to adopt a costumed persona. However, it makes her less of an attraction than you'd think.

Alfred Pennyworth is presented here in his plus-size iteration from the Golden Age, but with a mustache, as later versions would have.

There are other characters normally not associated with the Bat-franchise included, such as Patrick "Eel" O'Brien (Tom Kenny), presented here as a photographer. There'll be a pool on whether or not he becomes Plastic Man. Jim Corrigan works for Gotham PD, but takes a bribe to try to kill Barbara. Lois Lane shows up, looking as she did back in the 40's.

The series has already been renewed for Season 2, which is just starting production. Warner Bros. Discovery should've held on to this one, but gave it up out of sheer stupidity, and while they do make some coin, Amazon reaps the benefits.

Rating: A-.