Inspired by the success of their Chatty Cathy figures, Mattel took things a step further, creating a learning tool for kids with See 'n' Say. A child could pick something with a pointer on the face of the toy, pull the string, and hear what he/she wants to hear.
For example, let's check this ad for The Farmer Says:
The title says it all, as Superman (Bud Collyer) discovers a race of Hawk-Men in "The Underground World":
Another day, another Spectra attempt at conquering Earth, this time with "Super Space Spies". Not if G-Force has anything to say about it in this Battle of The Planets entry, which includes a pre-episode teaser narrated by Bill Woodson (Challenge of The Super Friends), who is also heard as one of Zoltar's soldiers.
From season 1 of The Flintstones:
Barney (Mel Blanc) buys Betty (Bea Benaderet) an engagement ring (??), and has Fred (Alan Reed) hold it for safekeeping. Wilma (Jean VanderPyl) finds the ring, and assumes Fred bought it for her. Uh-oh!! Now, Fred, who doesn't have the money to buy a 2nd ring, talks Barney into an exhibition boxing match with the champ. The girls ask the champ's manager to let Barney win the fight, but Barney's clowning proves costly. Believing they've been double-crossed, welllllllll......
After we've previously screened two celebrity-centric episodes of Junior Partner Pyramid, let's serve up one with kids and their parents. This aired on a Friday, as at the end of the show (closing credits were partially edited), they plugged the Saturday night lineup.
We all know Rory Raccoon was a supporting character who had one of the rotating features on Linus The Lionhearted. While Bob McFadden voiced Rory on the show, the commercials Rory did for Post Toasties have Mel Blanc subbing for McFadden.
Here, Rory thwarts Claudius Crow......
Casting has been completed for Netflix's forthcoming Scooby-Doo: Origins, with Nick Robinson & McKenna Grace among the stars.
The final casting was for Scooby himself, and, well, here he is.....
Stay tuned.
We had this up before, then it was deleted.
Now, the estate of Fred Rogers has started their own YouTube channel, and so, we represent the series premiere of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
From season 5 of The Flintstones:
Fred (Alan Reed) is up to his neck in trouble with both wife Wilma (Jean VanderPyl) and the Water Buffalo Lodge when Bedrock's only caterer mixes up two parties scheduled for the same night. A clown, meant for Pebbles' party, ends up at the lodge, and a jazz band and the Boulderettes show up at the Flintstone house, as you'll see in this excerpt:
60 years ago, the Kinks released "Sunny Afternoon", which didn't quite reach the top of the charts here in the US, although it did in England & Ireland. This anniversary video has a mix of styles, including those of Peter Max & Terry Gilliam. Max, of course, did the character designs for the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" 2 years later.
I think we had this one up before, but it was taken down. It's back, but for how long, who can say?
Wonder Wheels is at "The County Fair" to foil a larcenous duo of thieves, one of whom is also competing in a motocross race.
In Disney's adaptation of "Aladdin", Broadway star Lea Salonga teamed with Brad Kane to perform "A Whole New World", which the two would perform live at the Oscars in 1993. Disney, instead of having Kane & Salonga's version released as a single, turned to Peabo Bryson & Regina Belle to cover "World", which hit #1 on the Hot 100.
Filmation wasn't interested in a modern, though loose, adaptation of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, but felt that a "Commander Nemo" (promoted from Captain) would make a good villain for the Space Sentinels.
The plot: Nemo (an uncredited Lou Scheimer) is trying to solve the earth's pollution problem. Unfortunately, the means to accomplish this goal are wrong, and attracts the attention of the Sentinels.
From season 1 of The All-New Popeye Hour:
Popeye (Jack Mercer) and Bluto (Allan Melvin) are in a steeplechase race after Olive (Marilyn Schreffler) inherits a horse. Well, you know how this goes.
The "Secret Agent" in this Superman short is a blonde stunner carrying important papers. Pretty much a by-the-numbers adventure..........
10 years ago, the surviving Monkees recorded "Good Times!", which marks its 10th anniversary this year with a double-CD reissue, and the release of the single, "Me & Magdalena", presented as an animated music video.
"Magdalena" was written by Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie), with Mike Nesmith on vocals. Davy Jones, who'd passed on 4 years before the album's release, is depicted in the video in the tour bus.
Micky Dolenz (ex-Funky Phantom, Devlin, Wonder Wheels) is the lone surviving Monkee today, with the passing of Nesmith & Peter Tork.
Before there was Daisy Duck, there was Donna Duck.
Donna is the love interest of Donald Duck in 1937's "Don Donald", which has both south of the border, or so it'd seem, and a lovers' quarrel is at the center of this short.
Back when the Disney Channel was a premium service, they mined the Disney vaults to develop original series based on existing properties.
One such example was Dumbo's Circus. More than 40 years after the movie, Dumbo has grown up to own his own circus, teaching the kids about circus life. The series marked the return of ex-Mouseketeer Sharon Baird to Disney, and she brought with her some of her colleagues from her days with the Kroffts, including Van Snowden, Patty Mahoney (ex-Far Out Space Nuts), and voice actor Walker Edmiston, who'd done some projects for Disney previously, as did Hal Smith.
Let's check a sample episode:
DePatie-Freleng's superhero spoof, The Super Six, marks its 50th anniversary this year. In this episode, you'll see:
Super Bwoing in "Easy Kid Stuff". The "apprentice" lands a babysitting gig. With predictable results.
The Brothers Matzoriley vs. "Dirty Pierre".
Granite Man in "Cement Mix-Up":
While Woody Woodpecker was shifting between syndication and network runs in the 70's, Kellogg's brought him back, this time to shill for Sugar (now Corn) Pops.
Here, Woody's on the beach with a couple of kids.......
The mid-60's, we know, brought new ideas to Warner Bros..
One of those was 1964's "Bartholomew Versus The Wheel", about a dog who has a beef with wheels after a scooter runs over his tail. Mel Blanc provides the vocal effects for Bartholomew, the cat, and assorted others, while Leslie Barringer is credited as the narrator.
Directed by Robert McKimson.
"Those who fail to remember history are condemned to repeat it."--George Santayana.
Perhaps inspired by Disney's Spidey & His Amazing Friends, Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. division will launch Teeny Mutant Ninja Turtles, airing on the network's YouTube channel this summer.
Like, what's next? April O'Neil as the boys' babysitter?
Pass the Pepto.
Friz Freleng had a little fun with science fiction and the then-modern technology of the 60's with 1962's "The Jet Cage", starring Tweety & Sylvester. For once, June Foray (Rocky & His Friends) shares screen credit with Mel Blanc (The Flintstones, The Jack Benny Program).
Here's an operatic Mighty Mouse short without Oil Can Harry or Pearl Pureheart. Instead, our damsel is Suzette Mouse, coveted by a feline king, or, as the title implies, "The Crackpot King":
From season 9 of Happy Days:
Fonzie (Henry Winkler) & Al DelVecchio (Al Molinaro) take a trip to Alabama, and discover just how much racism is prevalent in the South in the early 60's. In a speech, Al reveals he'd been in the restaurant business for some 25 years, meaning he'd started in the late 30's!
"Southern Crossing", first shown in January 1982, was the 2nd episode of the series to address racism, the first having aired nearly 7 years earlier.
Al's speech is the climax of this clip.
Hasbro's Romper Room line of toys came out with its answer to Play-Doh with the Do-Bee Dough Machine, released in 1970.
Nearly 30 years after the FCC banned cigarette commercials, the staff of Pinky & The Brain decided to poke fun at the tobacco industry........
From season 2 of Kids Incorporated:
Future Wild Orchid singers Stacy Ferguson & Renee Sands are featured on a cover of the JoBoxers' 1983 hit, "Just Got Lucky":
We had this next item before, but it was deleted. This is also at The Land of Whatever.
The early success of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In led to George Schlatter & Ed Friendly being commissioned to produce a series of unrelated specials for NBC, plus a game show spin-off from Laugh-In, hence, Letters to Laugh-In. Gary Owens pulls double duty as host & announcer. Our panel in this sampler has Laugh-In co-host Dan Rowan, series regular Jo Anne Worley, plus Jack E. Leonard and Angie Dickinson, then known more for movies, well before Police Woman.
The first joke, read by Worley, comes from a local viewer out of Saratoga. Cool!
It had been nearly 30 years since Procter & Gamble had introduced the Crest Team in a series of popular commercials, narrated by veteran actor Jackson Beck. Since then, P & G had acquired Gillette, which, in turn, had expanded their line to include the Oral-B brand of toothbrushes.
With Crest now a secondary brand of mouthwash, in addition to its line of toothpaste, P & G commissioned a new animation house to produce this nearly 8 minute video for schools. Meet, then, the Dental Defenders:
From season 2 of the 1st Spider-Man animated series:
The Scarf, not to be confused with a villain from the live-action Green Hornet 2 years earlier, comes across as a minor league Mysterio wanna-be with his tricks. Let's see how Spider-Man handles him.
UPA thought it'd be a cool idea to pair up Mr. Magoo (Jim Backus) with Gerald McBoing-Boing in a short released in 1960.
The plot: Magoo is called in as an emergency babysitter for Gerald, and confuses the sound effect issuing from Gerald's throat for real sounds.
Jabberwocky is a Boston children's television legend, even though the series lasted just 2 years in first run programming. Clips like this next item have surfaced on YouTube, so let's check it out.
With a new He-Man & The Masters of The Universe comic book coming from Dark Horse, it's time we went back to Eternia and season 1 of the original series. Here's "The Cosmic Comet":
While Dastardly & Muttley in Their Flying Machines lasted just 1 season of 1st run episodes, the backup feature, Magnificent Muttley, a parody of "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", became an even bigger cult classic. Each shortie was a parody of something.
We previously screened the opener, "Muttley on The Bounty", but now, rather than track down the rest, we've got the whole shebang in a 40+ minute package, for the most part, as with the lead feature, a 2-man show (Paul Winchell & Don Messick).
By the end of the 50's, UPA was in trouble. Their distribution deal with Columbia had ended, and Columbia had moved on to work with Hanna-Barbera. Gerald McBoing-Boing was slowly being rejected by movie-goers, even with a crossover with Mr. Magoo.
So, the studio, with United Artists as a prospective new distributor, tried selling a new set of characters to networks or syndication. Bric & Brac, a rabbit & a mole, to be particular, were introduced in "Bric's Stew", which was pitched in 1960, though it had been copyrighted a year earlier. Ever-busy Dallas McKennon handled all the voices for this Harvey Toombs-directed short.
Spider-Man (Paul Soles) has a rematch with power-mad Dr. Octopus, who steals a weapon intended for government use. Of course, J. Jonah Jameson wastes little time trying to tie Spidey to the theft he'd failed to prevent.
Herb Klynn & Format Films (The Lone Ranger, The Alvin Show) took over the animation for Speedy Gonzales with 1967's "Quacker Tracker". If the plot sounds familiar, well, WB also did a similar plot with Cool Cat.
Steely Dan lit up the stage on The Midnight Special in August 1973 with "Reelin' in The Years".
Our Gang hits the golf course in 1936's "Divot Diggers". The fun really starts when Spanky & Buckwheat become the world's youngest caddies........
Lucha Libre USA: Masked Warriors was MTV's last contribution to the wrestling business.
The series aired on Friday nights and, at first, Saturday afternoons on MTV2. Season 2 Saturday replays aired in the morning, hence its inclusion here.
Lalo Gonzalez & Nigel Sherrod were the announcers, with Sherrod doubling as ring announcer, in season 1. When the series returned, ex-WWE announcers Kevin Kelly & Todd (Steve) Romero took over. However, Romero didn't last long, and when the series transitioned to Hulu to finish the season, ex-WWE, ECW, & TNA wrestler Stevie Richards took over on color. By season's end, Alex Abrahantes, recently released by AEW, replaced Kelly.
The roster was stocked with ex-TNA, WCW, & WWE talent, including Marco Corleone (Mark Jindrak), Tigresa Caliente (Trenesha Biggers, formerly with TNA), Petey Williams (now a WWE producer), and Chi Chi (Allan Funk, aka Kwee-Wee in WCW & Bruce in TNA). It wasn't until Robert Rodriguez bankrolled Lucha Underground in 2014 that the lucha style finally caught on with American audiences once more.
Let's take you back to the series opener.
From CBS Storybreak:
Allen Andrews' novel, The Pig Plantagenet was adapted by TV & comics writer Mark Evanier for Hanna-Barbera Australia. Bob Keeshan (Captain Kangaroo) is the series host.
Black Adam (Lou Scheimer) makes his 2nd & final appearance in "A Little Something Extra", as he tries tricking the Marvels. Yeah, good luck with that.
Today, Rick Monday is a radio announcer for the Los Angeles Dodgers. 50 years ago, he was an outfielder for the Chicago Cubs, who were finishing a weekend series at Dodger Stadium.
On this day in 1976, two men attempted to burn the US flag. Monday was having none of that. Vin Scully calls it.
Shari Lewis followed up Hi, Mom with The Shari Show, which ran for 3 seasons on NBC (1960-3). At the time, Howdy Doody had been airing six days a week, but when the show was ending, NBC decided to replace it with Shari on Saturdays.
Ronald Radd plays Mr. Goodfellow. During the series run, Fred Gwynne, who'd move on to Car 54, Where Are You?, and, then, The Munsters, appeared as Lamb Chop's personal physician.
In this sampler, it's Charlie Horse's birthday......
In memory of singer-songwriter Dave Mason, who passed away earlier this week, we present a performance of "We Just Disagree", from The Midnight Special:
That lovable loser, Wile E. Coyote, will have his day in court against ACME after all.
"Coyote vs. ACME", co-written by James Gunn, was rescued from the WB scrap heap by Ketchup Entertainment, which will release the movie on August 28. Will Forte & John Cena are among the human stars.
If this connects with enough people at the theatres, David Zaslav will look even more like a tool than before. Scope the trailer:
"The Unhandy Man" is Charlie Beary (Paul Frees), who thinks he can save money on a garage door opener by improvising his own, frustrating his wife, Bessie (Grace Stafford).
Frees is also our announcer at the start of the short.
Pooch The Pup was one of Walter Lantz's first creations for Universal. Pooch appeared in 13 shorts total, the pentultimate of which was 1933's "King Klunk", a parody of "King Kong", in which Pooch and his girlfriend, Poodles, travel to Africa.....
From the "Lethal Weapon 3" soundtrack:
Rock legends Eric Clapton & Elton John team up for "Runaway Train", one of two singles featuring Clapton on the soundtrack ("It's Probably Me", with Sting, is the other).
Posted last month at The Land of Whatever, but with fresh text.
After The Addams Family ended, Jackie Coogan began taking on character roles, including a series of guest roles as heavies or villains.
One such role brought him onto The Brady Bunch for his 2nd & final series appearance during season 3 in 1972. Coogan plays a man who gets into an accident with Carol (Florence Henderson), and shows up in court with a neck brace, claiming whiplash. The Bradys' testimony, including tricking him into proving he wasn't injured, exposes the scam before the judge (Robert Emhardt).
Following is the climatic courtroom scene, which must've felt like old home week for Robert Reed (ex-The Defenders):
Bro', you were outnumbered right from the go.
After spinning out of What a Cartoon!/World Premiere Toons, Dexter's Laboratory turns 30 this year.
In "Jurassic Pooch", Dexter uses the family dog's DNA to resurrect a dinosaur. Chaos, of course, follows, especially after dumb as a doorknob Dee Dee decides to take the "new pet" for a walk.....
We learned earlier today of the passing of Sid Krofft at 96. In his memory, we present the series premiere of his most infamous creation, H. R. Pufnstuf, in which Jimmy (Jack Wild, "Oliver!") and his sentient flute, Freddy, arrive at the Living Island.
The performers in costumes include ex-Mousketeer Sharon Baird, and Felix Silla (ex-The Addams Family).
From season 2 of the ABC Weekend Special:
Film legend Butterfly McQueen made a rare television appearance in "The Seven Wishes of Joanna Peabody", the season 2 opener. McQueen is a fairy godmother that the title character (Star-Shemah) sees on her television.
Garrett Morris (Saturday Night Live) co-stars, plus a cameo of Monty Hall from Let's Make a Deal.
Today, if you or I were delinquent in paying rent, we'd already be evicted and/or homeless.
90 years ago, Mickey Mouse & Donald Duck were facing eviction for being 6 months behind on rent. Sheriff Pete is authorized to sell their belongings for collateral, but the boys have an answer for that on "Moving Day":
From season 2 of Zorro (1990's series):
Don Alejandro (Henry Darrow, ex-Zorro & Son, High Chaparral) is reunited with his old unit to hunt down an outlaw. Zorro (Duncan Regehr) provides some covert assistance.
With a week to go before the deadline for tax returns, Turbo Tax decided to liven things up with a partially animated karaoke ad, currently in heavy rotation.....
Hanging on to episodes of Jana of The Jungle can be dicey.
A YouTube poster has managed to package together four episode blocks of the 1978 series, and these four were, as standalone entries, recently removed from YouTube. They are:
"The Golden Idol of The Gorgas", with Bill Woodson (Challenge of The Super Friends) as a native chief.
"Katuchi Danger".
"The Cordillera Volcano".
"The Animal Snatchers".
All but "The Cordillera Volcano" have their original title cards.
Correspondent Steven Dolce tipped me to this next item.
Tyco introduced Gorzak to a consumer world that may not have been waiting in 1994. I say that because the product didn't survive the decade.
After leaving Rankin-Bass, Romeo Muller struck out on his own, and one of his last projects as an independent producer was 1983's Peter & The Magic Egg. Muller borrowed the R-B formula of using a name actor as his lead, in this case, Ray Bolger, who narrates the tale as Amos the Egg. The rest of the cast includes Bob Holt, Joan Gerber, Russi Taylor, Robert Ridgely, and Al Eisenmann, brother of 70's & 80's star Ike Eisenmann.
It's been a while since we checked in on the Chucklewood Critters, featuring Buttons & Rusty. From 1986, here's "A Chucklewood Easter":
From season 5 of Family Matters:
Steve Urkel (Jaleel White, Sonic The Hedgehog) is put on trial in the school cafeteria when he is accused of blowing up the school lab by a jealous rival. Laura (Kellie Shangyne-Williams) acts as Urkel's lawyer, while the accuser, Dexter Thornhill (Robert Laughlin), is also the prosecutor, which proves to be his first mistake.
His last one? Laura shows us.
Seals & Crofts performed "Diamond Girl" on The Midnight Special in 1973. There's more from this same show that we'll play down the road.
In May 1978, ABC decided to try a sweeps stunt with American Bandstand, just to show that the ratings sweeps periods didn't leave out Saturday daytime.
Donna Summer is the guest co-host, joining Dick Clark for an all-disco show, including some of Donna's own songs.
Donald Duck alone on a dude ranch. You'd think this vacation would go smoothly, but when the horse assigned to him doesn't want him to ride, well, chaos ensues.
Clarence Nash not only voices Donald, but does the vocal effects for the horses and....well, that would be telling. June Foray performs the women's voices.
Character actor Henry Corden didn't move into cartoon work, I think, until after he'd appeared in this 1961 episode of The Lawless Years.
Henry's toon credits include The Flintstones, The Hillbilly Bears, Thundarr The Barbarian, and a collection of guest roles. I think he used the voice from this episode, "The Victor Gorido Story", in one of those cartoon gigs.
We had this next item before, but it was taken down, and has been reloaded to YouTube.
Web Woman meets Tsetse, a man turned into a man-fly.
Archie Comics, it appears, now has its own YouTube channel, or at least a fan-operated one. This one has no full episodes of 1971's Archie's TV Funnies, but a compilation of Dick Tracy shorts from the series (some standalone videos are incomplete). In this collection, Dick (John Erwin) is after:
88 Keys, recently rebooted in the current comic book from Mad Cave as an Irish musician-turned-would-be-vigilante (Either Erwin or Dallas McKennon).
The Mole (Howard Morris, since the voice is similar to Morris' characterization of Dilton Doiley).
Pruneface (McKennon).
Flattop (McKennon), in a short we've previously screened.
Mumbles (McKennon) & Stooge Viller (McKennon or Erwin or Morris), also in a previously screened short. Filmation, for some reason, gave Viller a new name.
Wikipedia's entry on the series is also incomplete, which is why I have to guess on a couple of the villains.
Let your mind travel back to the days of Hanna-Barbera's line of "super adventure" series in the mid-60's. Space Ghost. Frankenstein, Jr. & The Impossibles. Birdman. Shazzan. The Fantastic Four. The Herculoids. The Adventures of Gulliver. Moby Dick & Mightor. Sinbad, Jr..
Ted Nichols had taken over as H-B's musical director while Hoyt Curtin left to pursue other opportunities. The above named adventure series, plus comedies like Space Kidettes and Wacky Races, all bore Nichols' signature sound.
Rest in peace.
From Family Guy:
The Griffin family heads out on a road trip, but, rather than do some typical sing-a-long's, Peter (Seth MacFarlane) breaks into a cover of Bette Midler's "The Rose", from the movie of the same name. Soon, Lois, Meg, & Chris (Alex Borstein, Mila Kunis, & Seth Green) join in.
March Madness means a new set of Capital One commercials with Samuel L. Jackson joined by Charles Barkley (Inside The NBA), and, in this spot, Jennifer Garner (ex-Alias), and another NBA & NCAA legend in Earvin "Magic" Johnson, who replaces Spike Lee in the troupe. I think Spike is directing.
Well, it could've been worse. We could've gotten Stephen A. Smith trying to sing. Barkley's definitely a golden throat........
As a founding member of the heel tag team Midnight Express, Dennis Condrey was a decorated wrestler in the 80's, winning the NWA tag titles with Bobby Eaton under the leadership of motormouth manager Jim Cornette.
Condrey left the team in the mid-80's when he left the NWA, then returned with Randy Rose as the Original Midnight Express, first in the AWA, then back in the NWA, with Paul E. Dangerously (Paul Heyman), a Cornette clone at the time, except that his weapon of choice was a cordless phone as opposed to Cornette's tennis racquet.
We are sad to report that Condrey, 74, who last appeared at an AEW event a couple of years ago as a guest of FTR, has passed away. Following is an angle from Mid-South Wrestling, circa 1984, involving Magnum TA and Mr. Wrestling II:
Abbott & Costello are bound for the moon to stop Super Terror (Don Messick). Here's "Luna Tricks". The open & close are edited off, and the title card is not the original. I think.
A year after Popeye was matched vs. Sindbad, the sailor met "Ali Baba & His 40 Thieves", except that in the context of the story, Ali Baba's name has been changed to Abu Hassan (Gus Wickie). I've lost track of how many times I'd seen this in syndication in the 70's & 80's.
Begorra! 'Tis back to Ireland we go as St. Patrick's Day draws to a close, as we learn about "Leprechauns' Gold":
Barney Bear just didn't get enough love from MGM.
In effect, he was the antithesis of other stars of his era. He was always made to look like a fool, even as a protagonist, such as in 1953's "Cobs & Robbers", a remake of Dick Lundy's 1945 Andy Panda entry, "Crow Crazy".
Luckily, when Spire Christian Comics obtained a license to use Barney in the 70's & 80's in a series of 1-shots, he finally was a winner.
Here's "Cobs & Robbers":
Bugs Bunny & Elmer Fudd are out west in 1942's "The Wacky Wabbit". Elmer (Arthur Q. Bryan) is looking for gold out in the desert. Bugs? Welllllll......
Deadline is reporting that Fox has greenlit a spinoff from Family Guy that will feature the youngest of the Griffins' three children.
Stewie has already received a two season order from Fox, adding to series creator Seth MacFarlane's already sizeable workload.
Time will tell if this will be another hit, or if the Family Guy franchise has jumped the shark.
Stay tooned.
Filmmaker Frank Tashlin released a picture book in 1946, The Bear That Wasn't. If you're like me, and you'd never heard of this tale before today, I don't blame you.
In 1967, Chuck Jones adapted Tashlin's story into an animated short for MGM, with Paul Frees doing all the voices.
5 years before he became an icon as Marshal Matt Dillon on Gunsmoke, James Arness guest stars in this season 1 episode of The Lone Ranger, appearing as Deputy Bud Titus, who gives up his badge to go bounty hunting for a couple of outlaws, who are also being tracked by the Ranger (Clayton Moore).......
For 12 years, Willie George brought viewers a Western with a twist with The Gospel Bill Show, which has aired on CBN & TBN during the course of its history. The series originally aired from 1981-93. Substituting the Bible for common frontier justice, Gospel Bill (George) was the chief lawman in the fictional town of Dry Gulch, with Nicodemus (Ken Blount) as his sidekick, Festus to Bill's Matt Dillon, if you will.
Anyway, evangelist Kenneth Copeland guest stars in this offering as reformed outlaw Wichita Slim.
From the Fleischers' Talkartoon series comes "Barnacle Bill", with Bimbo in the title role. During this period, Betty Boop (Margie Hines) has more of a canine appearance, before her evolution into the icon we would know.
Anyway, Bimbo gives himself a shore leave so he can see "Nancy Lee" (Betty).
From the ABC Weekend Special:
Ruby-Spears' "Bad Cat" was the season finale for the 1983-4 season. Bart Braverman (ex-Vega$) leads an all-star cast that also includes Alan Young (ex-Mister Ed, Battle of The Planets), Hal Smith, Judy Strangis, Jon Bauman (one of his first toon jobs), Steve Spears (ex-Space Stars), and Marvin Kaplan (Alice, ex-Top Cat). Not sure if Steve was Ken Spears' son.
KC & The Sunshine Band heralded the launch of the disco era in the mid-70's, and "Get Down Tonight" landed them on The Midnight Special.
From season 1 of Alvin & The Chipmunks:
It was the 80's, after all. The MTV generation gave rise to a new group of female artists, including groups like the Go-Go's and the Bangles, and solo stars like Kim Wilde.
Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. & his wife, Janice Karman, decided that Alvin & the Chipmunks would have female counterparts in response. Enter The Chipettes.
In the season 1 premiere, following a team-up with Mr. T, whose animated series would debut later in the morning, Alvin, Simon, & Theodore met Brittany, Jeannette, & Eleanor (all voiced by Karman). A chance meeting after the girls, billed as the Chipmunks, are booked at a hotel, which gets David Seville (Bagdasarian) all confused.
Over the course of the series, we'd meet the girls' adoptive parent, Beatrice Miller (Dody Goodman, "Grease", ex-Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman), who would also care for the guys when Dave was away.
The title card for this episode was edited off.
From The Archie Show:
Jughead gets a dance named after him, which he & Hot Dog demonstrate. Next, the band performs "Boys & Girls":
Begorra! St. Patrick's Day is 2 weeks away, and, so, we'll set the ball a'rollin' with Paramount's 1947 tale, "The Wee Men". Jackson Beck voices all the characters.
Chip 'n' Dale have set up shop in a tree next door to the zoo. A stray peanut flies into their hands while collecting acorns, prompting the two to head to the zoo to see what they can do, which doesn't sit well with either Donald Duck or the elephant he's caring for.......! Part of the open was edited off for copyright reasons.
Neil Sedaka took "Happy Birthday, Sweet Sixteen" to #6 on the Hot 100 in 1961. 3 years later, he brought the song back on American Bandstand. The clip opens with Charlie O'Donnell bringing us back from commercial.
Jules White's 1954 Three Stooges Western, "Shot in The Frontier", is a send-up of the classic Gary Cooper oater, "High Noon", which helped put director Stanley Kramer on the map in Hollywood.
Anyway, the boys recently got married, but soon discover a trio of outlaws have taken a liking to their brides. Emil Sitka didn't get credit as a justice of the peace this time (He played the same role in "Brideless Groom" a few years earlier), and Shemp stand-in Joe Palma is one of the outlaws.
From season 1 of CBS Storybreak comes a much different version of Cinderella, one that, according to host Bob Keeshan, takes place 1000 years before the Brothers Grimm's legendary, oft-adapted tale.
Yeh Shen: A Cinderella Story From China, features the talents of George Takei, Brian Tochi, & Michael Bell, among others.
Friz Freleng's take on the Three Little Pigs gets mashed up with a Brahams composition in 1943's "Pigs in a Polka", which has a Big Bad Wolf (Mel Blanc) with a Brooklyn accent. Seems he failed the same elocution course that Bugs Bunny passed. And, danged if one of the triplets doesn't resemble Porky Pig (who should've been the star of this one). And, yeah, the open recalls "A Corny Concerto" from a couple of years earlier.
Following is a Blue Ribbon reissue.
From season 3:
Alan Reed (The Flintstones) plays an auctioneer at an art auction that Rob (Dick Van Dyke), Laura (Mary Tyler Moore), Sally (Rose Marie), and Buddy (Morey Amsterdam) attend. Howard Morris and Ray Kellogg, the latter would soon be on Hazel, also appear in "The Masterpiece":
Lizzie McGuire (Hilary Duff) decides to try out for cheerleading in the series opener.
"Oil's Well at Oasis Gardens" was the 2nd season finale of Hoppity Hooper, and illustrates how Uncle Waldo (Hans Conreid) can be just as gullible as the marks he's trying to work. Paul Frees narrates, and also is heard as Boris Badenov, making his 2nd & final appearance in the series.
No rating. Just a public service.
Yeah, the Super Bowl was 2 weeks ago, and the UFL will start play next month. Still, I thought it'd be a cool idea to scope this Afterschool Special entry, "Mighty Moose & The Quarterback Kid". Alex Karras ("Blazing Saddles") not only gets a guest star credit, but doubles as executive producer, co-starring with Brandon Cruz (ex-The Courtship of Eddie's Father) and Dave Madden (ex-The Partridge Family, Camp Runamuck). Joseph Mascolo would later enjoy a lengthy run on Days of Our Lives.
From what is known online as The Archie & Sabrina Surprise Package:
The gang visits a medieval fair, and Carlos (Jose Flores, fresh from Ark II) is Sabrina's date, if you will, since Harvey is in absentia. Carlos is also an artist, and drew King Arthur and members of his court as embodied by Jughead, Archie, Sabrina, & Moose. But, he doesn't think Merlin actually existed, and that brings Merlin to 1977 (Howard Morris recycled his Mummy/Mayor McCheese voice).....
A scientist, wise & bold, developed a device to, ah, regulate emotions. However, an accident results in control discs being attached to Kim Possible (Christy Carlson Romano, Even Stevens) and Shego (Nicole Sullivan, MadTV), resulting in both Ron (Will Friedle) and Dr. Drakken (John DiMaggio, Futurama) being left confused.....
Here's "Emotion Sickness":
Ah, yas. Valentine's Day was just four days ago, but we couldn't resist this entry from the Van Beuren studio back in '36. "Cupid Gets His Man" casts the cherub and associates as Mounties. Oh, the absurdity of it all. Ulysses Cupid, the head cherub, takes it upon himself to coax neighbors into falling in love, ending what seems like an eternity of bickering.
Seems so odd that the gentleman bears a resemblance to one of the most often parodied Hollywood stars of the day, W. C. Fields.
From season 3 of Sesame Street:
Rev. Jesse Jackson made a guest appearance on the show, and taught some kids the verse of his poem, I Am Somebody. At the time, Jackson & the Children's Television Workshop were working together on projects.
Nu Shooz peaked at #3 on the Hot 100 in 1986 with "I Can't Wait", which merited an appearance on American Bandstand. Dick Clark interviews the band after the song.
Mulligan Stew was a 6 part miniseries produced by & for the USDA and its youth outreach arm, 4-H. The series was developed in 1971, and went to air a year later with just the 6 episodes, which would remain on PBS until 1981.
Not to be confused with a primetime series of the same name that came out five years later, Mulligan Stew, which takes its name from a meal of the same name, was built around a youth group that went by that same name.
Following is a sample open:
Well, here it is.
Weather Hunters, PBS' ambitious flash animated series built around weather, premiered in the fall, but production has ended after 40 episodes were produced. Not all 40 have aired as yet, but expect PBS to make this available to elementary schools around the country, if that hasn't happened already.
Al Roker (The Today Show) is Al Hunter, TV meteorologist and father of three, who takes his children on field trips to learn about weather patterns, and the how's & why's of meteorological trends. Holly Robinson Peete (ex-Hangin' With Mr. Cooper) plays his wife. Actress-singer Yvette Nicole Brown performs the opening theme. Celebrity guest stars have included Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary), Frank Welker, and, in "The Windy Day", LeVar Burton (Trivial Pursuit) as a sentient pair of eyeglasses that Lily finds............
Here's a winter-centric Silly Symphony from Disney. "Peculiar Penguins" gives us a budding couple, with the romance endangered by a shark......
While it was previously reported that Bugs Bunny was TCM's Star of the Month, the Oscar winning icon got all of the attention a week ago.
The reason? TCM begins 31 Days of Oscar tomorrow, and to spread out their plans for Bugs over the month would've conflicted with the annual promotion. Unless, of course, the shorts that won those Oscars for Bugs & WB are part of the 31 day event.
Comics Dana Gould, Patton Oswalt (ex-Happy!, Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, The King of Queens), & Bill Hader (ex-Saturday Night Live) discuss Bugs' eternal appeal.
You won't find this Fat Albert episode in the series' syndication package, assuming anyone's actually daring to play it these days, in light of the scandal that torpedoed series creator-star-co-executive producer Bill Cosby's career a few years ago.
No, "Food For Thought", about healthy eating, was produced for elementary schools in 1981. At the end of the clip is a promo for the series' shift to syndication in the fall of 1984.
"Pardon My Backfire" was the 2nd & last Three Stooges short produced in 3D, though the effects were replaced for television.
Moe, Larry, & Shemp are mechanics looking to raise money to marry their girlfriends, who are a little shy about commitment. Some escaped convicts enter their shop, and the fun really begins.
From the final season of Happy Days:
Joanie (Erin Moran) has landed her first teaching job. On just her 2nd day, a punk decides he wants to hit on her, not realizing she's already spoken for, and when she's not ready. Of course, Joanie's got some backup......
Two teens decide to open a magic shop, with the help of their aunt (Jane Withers), but it's also a building being earmarked for demolition. Yoiks! "Zack & The Magic Factory" was a 2-part Weekend Special from the winter of 1981, hosted by Michael Young (Kids Are People, Too):
From season 3 of The Rifleman:
A very strict new teacher (Arnold Moss) causes problems for Mark (Johnny Crawford), but must work with Lucas (Chuck Connors) to rescue Mark and a friend from a mine after the boys run away from school.
Worth noting: Connors' real life son, Jimmy Fields, and niece, Pamela Cole, are among the guest stars.
Return with us now to a time when Native Americans were treated as stereotypes, such as the villainous Superchief, also known as Injun Joe. Porky Pig is a scout leading a wagon train, and runs afoul of Joe until the lone survivor of Joe's last raid shows up........
Jennifer Warnes went all the way to the top of the Easy Listening (now Adult Contemporary) chart in 1977, and hit #6 on the top 40, with "Right Time of The Night", which crossed over to the country chart, peaking at #11. This landed Jennifer on The Midnight Special:
Poor Ralph (Donny Most). He's caught the attention of a cheerleader, but her jealous boyfriend (guest star Reb Brown) is so not digging, leading to a boxing match between the two men....
This compilation covers the basic plotline.
James Street's Goodbye, My Lady was adapted into the feature film, "Weep No More, My Lady", with Brandon DeWilde, several years ago. In 1979, Ruby-Spears took their turn for the ABC Weekend Special. The print we have comes from a 1983 repeat hosted by Willie Tyler & Lester. Ernie Anderson & Dick Tufeld are our announcers.
We had this one before, but then it was removed by YouTube. Now, it's back, even though it's not the original CBS print.
Bugs Bunny burrows through a time warp into Camelot, becoming "A Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur's Court". Subsequent reruns rechristened the special as "Bugs Bunny in King Arthur's Court", likely due to issues with the estate of Mark Twain, even though Chuck Jones had made it clear what he was doing, taking creative license with the story......
From season 1 of Room 222:
Ever-busy Bernie Kopell (That Girl, Get Smart, The Doris Day Show) guests as a teacher who tries to connect with his students by adopting a hipster persona, which seems to have won over Alice (Karen Valentine).
Directed by Terry Becker (ex-Voyage to The Bottom of The Sea):
It's been quite a while since we checked in on Lancelot Link, Secret Chimp, so let's go on a CHUMP hunt.
First up, it's "The Dreaded Hong Kong Sneeze", which makes the common cold and flu viruses seem tame by comparison in 1970 standards.
After a performance by the Evolution Revolution and some Chimpies, we've got "The Great Bank Robbery". Both episodes narrated by Malachi Throne (ex-It Takes a Thief).
Western Airlines' mascot, Wally Bird, debuted in the 50's, with Jim Backus voicing the character. We'll try to locate one of those spots another day, but Western gave Wally another chance 20 years later, this time with Shepard Menken as Wally.
Only cartoon physics can explain how you can be comfortable listening to music while sitting on top of the plane.....
