I've always believed that if something isn't broken, you don't fix it. In 1984, NBC's Saturday morning lineup didn't need fixing, but it could've also done without being sabotaged.
After the disaster that was The Yummy Awards, NBC came up with Laugh Busters, the title, and accompanying theme song, riffing on "Ghostbusters".
Apparently, what the writers came up with was also a bit of a knockoff, as the villain of this piece had never seen "Popeye & The Man Who Hated Laughter", an ABC Saturday Superstar Movie made 12 years earlier. Gargamore (not to be confused with Gargamel) doesn't like anything that's funny. Director Jack Regas had spent several years working with the Kroffts, and the cheesy sets seemed to have that 70's era Krofft feel.
NBC's 1984 freshman lineup:
Kidd Video.
Going Bananas.
Pink Panther & Sons.
All had been previously reviewed. Our cast includes Bill Saluga (Going Bananas), whose previous experience with children's television was in ABC's preview special 10 years earlier, when he was a member of the Ace Trucking Company, James Avery, Danny Cooksey (Diff'rent Strokes), Alfonso Ribiero (Silver Spoons), and KITT (voice of William Daniels, Knight Rider). Thom Bray (Riptide) is our de facto host.
The video gets wonky briefly, but, thankfully, just briefly.
Didn't see this the first time, as we were watching the Mets, I think. No rating.
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