Now, we all know what the Class of 1976 meant for Hanna-Barbera.
Mumbly, Jabberjaw, & Dynomutt debuted for ABC. Clue Club was launched on CBS, early due to the network's commitment to the US Open tennis tournament.
But, what if H-B had actually been able to close the deal on a license to adapt one of the most famous bands in the world into an animated series?
Well, peeps, feast your eyes on this:
Yep, the Beach Boys. "America's Band".
Consider H-B's track record with pre-fab bands:
The Banana Splits: Hosts of a 2 season anthology series (1968-70) for NBC, converted to animation for a ABC Saturday Superstar Movie.
Josie & The Pussycats: Licensed from Archie Comics for 2 1-season series (1970, '72) and the short-lived In The Know interstitals that were the forerunner to In The News.
Butch Cassidy: Rocker/spy, like the Splits an in-house creation, lasted one season for NBC (1973), but deserved a better fate.
Now, does anyone think that Joe Ruby & Ken Spears were asked to create Jabberjaw after the deal for the Beach Boys fell through? I think so.
As Paul Harvey used to say, that is the rest........of the story. We think.
2 comments:
I had no idea this was ever a concept, but it tracks.
Knowing what we know now about the band, imagining Mike Love as a cartoon character both does and doesn't track.
I can't picture the band agreeing to voice their animated selves, but, rather, we'd probably get some of the usual HB suspects of the day (Casey Kasem, Frank Welker, Michael Bell, et al) filling in. Either that, or Casey could narrate......!
Post a Comment