The Los Angeles Times reported Thursday that Cartoon Network President Stuart Snyder is resigning at the end of the month. While current series such as Regular Show, Steven Universe, Uncle Grandpa, Adventure Time, and The Amazing World of Gumball, as well as the beleaguered DC Nation block were all developed on his watch, Snyder is also being blamed, along with partner-in-crime Rob Sorcher, for needlessly putting live-action programs on CN that didn't belong there. The ill-fated CN Real block was doomed from the start, and should've been parsed among other networks in the Time Warner chain (i.e. Tru TV). The last live-action series on CN, Incredible Crew, was a 1 season bust created by entertainer Nick Cannon, one of the busiest guys in show business today, and more closely associated with rival Nickelodeon.
No successor has been named as yet, but the last imprint of the Snyder era was the bone-brained decision last month to cede the 8 pm (ET) hour to [adult swim], starting March 31. Mike Lazzo, who has been with CN since before the development of [as], would be a good bet to take over if they want to keep it in house.
Meanwhile, folks on message boards are calling for a female president who would restore the gender balance in terms of programming, and erasing the stigma of CN targeting boys 6-14 with poor imitations of comedy (i.e. Teen Titans GO!).
As Rick Nelson put it in "Garden Party", more than 40 years ago, you can't please everyone.
But, then, I speak for those of us who are happy to see Snyder headed out the door........
Now if they can solve the problem of getting Beware the Batman and other action shows back on the air, we'd be all set.......! In the meantime, this may call for a party, with this theme song.......
Friday, March 7, 2014
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Reinventing Valley of the Dinosaurs: Can it be done?
Continuing our series on the Hanna-Barbera freshman class of 1974.
Valley of the Dinosaurs was sold to CBS and was the studio's animated response, if you will, to Sid & Marty Krofft's Land of the Lost, which bowed the same year on NBC. The concepts were the same as far as how each of the two families (The Butlers on Valley and the Marshalls on Land) ended up in prehistoric times, but that's where the similarities end.
Science teacher John Butler (Mike Road, ex-Jonny Quest, Herculoids) and his family were sent through a whirlpool into the prehistoric land and befriended a family of cave dwellers. However, H-B missed the boat by not linking this series to an earlier series with a similarly lost protagonist, Dino Boy, the backup feature to Space Ghost, eight years earlier. Road worked on that series as well, which would've helped the creative process immensely, since none of the writers ever considered bringing Dino Boy back to continue his story, as he could've been found and adopted by the Butlers or Gorok and his family.
And, yes, over at ToonZone a ways back, I came up with the idea of merging the two series together in a TV-movie, one that won't ever see the light of day at Cartoon Network any time soon, since it won't fit their lame schematic.
Sadly, Valley, along with stablemate Korg: 70,000 B. C. over at ABC, was cancelled after one season, leaving the Butlers' tale unfinished. It was also one of the first series where Frank Welker (Scooby-Doo, Super Friends) was doing the animal voices instead of Don Messick, who instead was the narrator.
Could it be done in 2014? Maybe, as long as WB pitches it to be a DTV movie or puts together a completely new series that would be ticketed for either CW's Vortexx block, which could stand some oriignal, made-for-the-network material, or another network (i.e. The Hub). Valley boasted a terrific ensemble cast, which, in addition to Welker & Road, also included Alan Oppenheimer in one of his first toon roles (Gorok), Shannon Farnon (Super Friends), Kathy Gori (Hong Kong Phooey), and future film star Jackie Earle Haley.
To refresh memories, here's the intro:
Valley of the Dinosaurs was sold to CBS and was the studio's animated response, if you will, to Sid & Marty Krofft's Land of the Lost, which bowed the same year on NBC. The concepts were the same as far as how each of the two families (The Butlers on Valley and the Marshalls on Land) ended up in prehistoric times, but that's where the similarities end.
Science teacher John Butler (Mike Road, ex-Jonny Quest, Herculoids) and his family were sent through a whirlpool into the prehistoric land and befriended a family of cave dwellers. However, H-B missed the boat by not linking this series to an earlier series with a similarly lost protagonist, Dino Boy, the backup feature to Space Ghost, eight years earlier. Road worked on that series as well, which would've helped the creative process immensely, since none of the writers ever considered bringing Dino Boy back to continue his story, as he could've been found and adopted by the Butlers or Gorok and his family.
And, yes, over at ToonZone a ways back, I came up with the idea of merging the two series together in a TV-movie, one that won't ever see the light of day at Cartoon Network any time soon, since it won't fit their lame schematic.
Sadly, Valley, along with stablemate Korg: 70,000 B. C. over at ABC, was cancelled after one season, leaving the Butlers' tale unfinished. It was also one of the first series where Frank Welker (Scooby-Doo, Super Friends) was doing the animal voices instead of Don Messick, who instead was the narrator.
Could it be done in 2014? Maybe, as long as WB pitches it to be a DTV movie or puts together a completely new series that would be ticketed for either CW's Vortexx block, which could stand some oriignal, made-for-the-network material, or another network (i.e. The Hub). Valley boasted a terrific ensemble cast, which, in addition to Welker & Road, also included Alan Oppenheimer in one of his first toon roles (Gorok), Shannon Farnon (Super Friends), Kathy Gori (Hong Kong Phooey), and future film star Jackie Earle Haley.
To refresh memories, here's the intro:
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Rein-Toon-Ation: The New Adventures of He-Man (1990)
Four years after his first series left the air, He-Man returned in an all-new series, this time with former DIC co-founder Jean Chalopin fronting a French-Canadian production company that sold the New Adventures of He-Man to stations.
However, Chalopin and the folks at Mattel made one major miscalculation. They sent He-Man and his arch nemesis, Skeletor, off Eternia and to a distant planet, Primus, which was engaged in a war with a neighboring world. As it ended up, Skeletor was the only familiar player aside from He-Man himself, retained from the 1983-6 series. Big mistake. As a result, this series bombed, lasting just 1 season of weekly adventures.
Here's the open:
Mattel intended to introduce a completely new toy line, but with familiar friends and foes like Teela, Orko, Beastman, etc., missing from this series, the kids weren't exactly marching to Toys 'R' Us to buy the new figures. Plus, the redesign of He-Man & Skeletor didn't exactly help. Fortunately, Mike Young and his crew corrected that error in the 2002 remake.
Is it any wonder that no one's bothered to pull this series out of the Mattel vaults?
Rating: C-.
However, Chalopin and the folks at Mattel made one major miscalculation. They sent He-Man and his arch nemesis, Skeletor, off Eternia and to a distant planet, Primus, which was engaged in a war with a neighboring world. As it ended up, Skeletor was the only familiar player aside from He-Man himself, retained from the 1983-6 series. Big mistake. As a result, this series bombed, lasting just 1 season of weekly adventures.
Here's the open:
Mattel intended to introduce a completely new toy line, but with familiar friends and foes like Teela, Orko, Beastman, etc., missing from this series, the kids weren't exactly marching to Toys 'R' Us to buy the new figures. Plus, the redesign of He-Man & Skeletor didn't exactly help. Fortunately, Mike Young and his crew corrected that error in the 2002 remake.
Is it any wonder that no one's bothered to pull this series out of the Mattel vaults?
Rating: C-.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Toon Legends: Tom & Jerry in Blue Cat Blues (1957)
Fellow blogger Sam Wilson tipped me to this Tom & Jerry entry. I had noted that the inestimable Paul Frees had worked on "Jerry's Cousin", which we presented the other day, but that wasn't his only contribution to the long running series.
"Blue Cat Blues" was meant to be Bill Hanna & Joe Barbera's coda to the series, but as we all know, MGM wasn't about to let their biggest cartoon cash cow go quietly into the night, and thus would contract Gene Deitch to take over the series, as Hanna & Barbera started their own studio and took their artists and writers with them. Deitch didn't last long, and of course, Chuck Jones took over to wrap T & J's MGM run.
Back to "Blue Cat Blues". Frees narrates from Jerry's perspective. The fact that Tom & Jerry are pals here serves as an unwitting precursor to their 1975-77 TV series for H-B & ABC. Tom is down and out, his eyes bloodshot, after a wealthy rival sweeps a white furred female cat away from Tom. The balance of the story, then, is told in flashback, but, as we soon see, Jerry isn't immune from heartbreak, either.
"Blue Cat Blues" was meant to be Bill Hanna & Joe Barbera's coda to the series, but as we all know, MGM wasn't about to let their biggest cartoon cash cow go quietly into the night, and thus would contract Gene Deitch to take over the series, as Hanna & Barbera started their own studio and took their artists and writers with them. Deitch didn't last long, and of course, Chuck Jones took over to wrap T & J's MGM run.
Back to "Blue Cat Blues". Frees narrates from Jerry's perspective. The fact that Tom & Jerry are pals here serves as an unwitting precursor to their 1975-77 TV series for H-B & ABC. Tom is down and out, his eyes bloodshot, after a wealthy rival sweeps a white furred female cat away from Tom. The balance of the story, then, is told in flashback, but, as we soon see, Jerry isn't immune from heartbreak, either.
Edit, 7/2/26: The video was deleted. In its place is a short excerpt.
By my own admission, this was the first time I'd ever seen this short. I wasn't fond of Deitch's take on the franchise, and preferred Jones', which put some more life into the series. Jones, of course, would also produce the bumpers for the team's 1st CBS series, which launched in 1965.
The animation here is more of a precursor to H-B's television output, as the gags lose a lot of their energy.
Rating: B-.
By my own admission, this was the first time I'd ever seen this short. I wasn't fond of Deitch's take on the franchise, and preferred Jones', which put some more life into the series. Jones, of course, would also produce the bumpers for the team's 1st CBS series, which launched in 1965.
The animation here is more of a precursor to H-B's television output, as the gags lose a lot of their energy.
Rating: B-.
Family Toons: Augie Doggie & Doggie Daddy (1959)
One of the back-up features supporting Quick Draw McGraw was a canine father & son team who were practically role models.
Augie Doggie & Doggie Daddy came about when creators Bill Hanna & Joe Barbera were unable to bring Spike & Tyke over from MGM, though that would change years later. Instead of bulldogs, however, Augie (Daws Butler) and his father (radio star Doug Young, doing a Jimmy Durante mimic) were dachshunds. Then again, since Tyke never talked in the MGM shorts, giving Augie a voice allowed him to connect with the kids. Butler would later recycle the same voice for Elroy Jetson and Lambsy (It's The Wolf), plus any number of generic Jay Ward kid characters.
Following is a standard open:
Augie and his dad would later return as part of Yogi's Gang (1973), but their own chances for a revival are slim, considering how the H-B stars of the past are being ignored.
Rating: B.
Augie Doggie & Doggie Daddy came about when creators Bill Hanna & Joe Barbera were unable to bring Spike & Tyke over from MGM, though that would change years later. Instead of bulldogs, however, Augie (Daws Butler) and his father (radio star Doug Young, doing a Jimmy Durante mimic) were dachshunds. Then again, since Tyke never talked in the MGM shorts, giving Augie a voice allowed him to connect with the kids. Butler would later recycle the same voice for Elroy Jetson and Lambsy (It's The Wolf), plus any number of generic Jay Ward kid characters.
Following is a standard open:
Augie and his dad would later return as part of Yogi's Gang (1973), but their own chances for a revival are slim, considering how the H-B stars of the past are being ignored.
Rating: B.
Monday, March 3, 2014
Rein-Toon-Ation: Gerald McBoing Boing (2005)
Gerald McBoing Boing first appeared in a few shorts produced by UPA back in the day, a secondary series, if ya will, behind the studio's #1 star, Mr. Magoo. The gimmick with Gerald was that he didn't speak. Only sounds came from this young fellow's throat, a peculiar oddity that no one can explain. Then again, this shouldn't have been a surprise if you knew that Gerald came from the pen of Dr. Ted Geisel, alias Dr. Seuss.
In 2005, Cookie Jar obtained a license to produce a new set of Gerald McBoing Boing cartoons, which aired in Canada on Teletoon, and here in the US on Cartoon Network as part of its ill-fated Tickle U block for preschoolers, an attempt by the network to compete with Nickelodeon's Nick, Jr. morning block, which has since been spun off into its own channel, and Playhouse Disney on Disney Channel, which eventually morphed into Disney Junior.
Unfortunately, only a small handful of episodes were produced before the plug was pulled. Here's the intro:
Rating: B.
In 2005, Cookie Jar obtained a license to produce a new set of Gerald McBoing Boing cartoons, which aired in Canada on Teletoon, and here in the US on Cartoon Network as part of its ill-fated Tickle U block for preschoolers, an attempt by the network to compete with Nickelodeon's Nick, Jr. morning block, which has since been spun off into its own channel, and Playhouse Disney on Disney Channel, which eventually morphed into Disney Junior.
Unfortunately, only a small handful of episodes were produced before the plug was pulled. Here's the intro:
Rating: B.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits: Our Lips Are Sealed & We Got The Beat (1982)
The Go-Go's released their debut record, "Beauty & The Beat", near the end of 1981, but didn't make their 1st appearance on American Bandstand until January 1982, and performed both of their first singles, "Our Lips Are Sealed" & "We Got The Beat". You guys probably all have your favorites among these five lovely ladies.........
Uploaded by---wait for it---GoGosUnsealed:
Uploaded by---wait for it---GoGosUnsealed:
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