I can't say for sure if The Marvel Superheroes Show was ever shown on a Saturday morning anywhere, but I do recall seeing the syndicated series, albeit hazily, airing on a Sunday once upon a time, as filler following football, if memory serves.
Anyway, it was originally produced as a daily series, launching in 1966 on stations across the country. One day, you'd get the Incredible Hulk. The next day, it'd be Iron Man. Sub-Mariner, Captain America, & Thor would round out the rotation.
The last time these cartoons were seen anywhere with any regularity was in the late 70's-early 80's. WPIX in New York had the rights at the time, but rechristened the series, Marvel Men, and edited off the opening and closing credits. Not that we needed to hear any more cheesy theme music than already available, but it would've helped. I have to believe that "Mr. Marvel" himself, Stan Lee, composed the theme songs, too. Describing Sub-Mariner as "neurotic", for example, in the lyrics to his theme sounds like Stan's work for sure. Of these, Iron Man & Hulk would later star in their own separate weekend series, with the others consigned to guest-star gigs whenever possible.
JeffGutman uploaded the open to YouTube. The quality of the video speaks for itself.
Rating: C.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2000)
Some of you might not realize this, but the Transformers were a mainstay of Fox's children's programming in the late 90's and into the beginning of the 2000's. After a pair of CGI series produced by Canada's Mainframe Entertainment (Beast Wars & Beast Machines), Fox switched gears and acquired a more traditional animated series, imported from Japan by Haim Saban (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers).
Known as Car Robots in Japan, Transformers: Robots in Disguise quietly snuck onto the Fox Saturday schedule during the 2000-01 season. While some of the sound effects carried over from the original, weekday Transformers series in the 80's, and the scene transitions, using the logos of the Autobots & Decepticons were borrowed from Batman, Robots in Disguise attempted to forge its own place in Transformers lore. Here's the open to Robots in Disguise, which was the first series to use the current Transformers logo:
The series was gone by the end of 2001, a victim of, more than likely, declining ratings. All succeeding series, starting with 2002's Transformers Armada, aired on Cartoon Network, but the rights now belong with Hasbro's own network, The Hub, which conceivably could air all of the series in due course.
Rating: B.
Known as Car Robots in Japan, Transformers: Robots in Disguise quietly snuck onto the Fox Saturday schedule during the 2000-01 season. While some of the sound effects carried over from the original, weekday Transformers series in the 80's, and the scene transitions, using the logos of the Autobots & Decepticons were borrowed from Batman, Robots in Disguise attempted to forge its own place in Transformers lore. Here's the open to Robots in Disguise, which was the first series to use the current Transformers logo:
The series was gone by the end of 2001, a victim of, more than likely, declining ratings. All succeeding series, starting with 2002's Transformers Armada, aired on Cartoon Network, but the rights now belong with Hasbro's own network, The Hub, which conceivably could air all of the series in due course.
Rating: B.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Rein-toon-ation: A Pup Named Scooby-Doo (1988)
Just when you thought Scooby-Doo had solved his last case, consigned to an eternity of syndicated reruns, ABC decided to bring Scooby back after a 2 year absence in 1988. This time, however, there were a few changes.
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo was Hanna-Barbera's 2nd series in which they had rebooted iconic characters by focusing on their younger years (Flintstone Kids came 2 years earlier, ironically replacing Scooby on the schedule). Pup lasted three seasons, but was kept around in repeats, according to Wikipedia, until 1993, at which point ABC bade their final farewell to Scooby, who had been a fixture on Saturdays on the network since moving to CBS in 1976, save for that two year vacation (1986-88).
Pup marked the first time that Casey Kasem (Shaggy) & Don Messick (Scooby) were given top billing, and would be the last time that Messick would be the voice of Scooby. Messick passed away before production began on the first of the Scooby DTV movies, "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island", which was released in 1998. Actress Kellie Martin, later of Life Goes On & E R, voiced the younger Daphne, who was shown to be rather wealthy, something that had not been fully explored in earlier series.
Some believe that Cartoon Network's live-action Scooby prequels have retconned Pup out of existence, but that is left open to debate. Here's the open to Pup:
Producer Tom Ruegger also worked on 1985's 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, but is better known for spearheading the revival of WB's animation division in the 90's.
Rating: B--.
A Pup Named Scooby-Doo was Hanna-Barbera's 2nd series in which they had rebooted iconic characters by focusing on their younger years (Flintstone Kids came 2 years earlier, ironically replacing Scooby on the schedule). Pup lasted three seasons, but was kept around in repeats, according to Wikipedia, until 1993, at which point ABC bade their final farewell to Scooby, who had been a fixture on Saturdays on the network since moving to CBS in 1976, save for that two year vacation (1986-88).
Pup marked the first time that Casey Kasem (Shaggy) & Don Messick (Scooby) were given top billing, and would be the last time that Messick would be the voice of Scooby. Messick passed away before production began on the first of the Scooby DTV movies, "Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island", which was released in 1998. Actress Kellie Martin, later of Life Goes On & E R, voiced the younger Daphne, who was shown to be rather wealthy, something that had not been fully explored in earlier series.
Some believe that Cartoon Network's live-action Scooby prequels have retconned Pup out of existence, but that is left open to debate. Here's the open to Pup:
Producer Tom Ruegger also worked on 1985's 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, but is better known for spearheading the revival of WB's animation division in the 90's.
Rating: B--.
Saturday School: The Metric Marvels (1978)
From the creators of ABC's award-winning Schoolhouse Rock comes The Metric Marvels, a group of educational "superheroes" who debuted on NBC in 1978. Unfortunately, the Marvels (Wonder Gram, Meter Man, Liter Leader, & Super Celsius) didn't last very long, as only 7 shorts were produced. None of those shorts are available on YouTube, and all I can find is this black & white intro:
Schoolhouse Rock regulars Lynn Ahrens & Bob Dorough were joined by toon icon Paul Winchell in voicing the four Marvels. The idea was that, in the late 70's, there was a movement to introduce the Metric system to the US. It didn't quite take, as we're still using more traditional means. A nice idea, but it just wasn't meant to be.
Rating: B.
Schoolhouse Rock regulars Lynn Ahrens & Bob Dorough were joined by toon icon Paul Winchell in voicing the four Marvels. The idea was that, in the late 70's, there was a movement to introduce the Metric system to the US. It didn't quite take, as we're still using more traditional means. A nice idea, but it just wasn't meant to be.
Rating: B.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Saturday School: Captain Kangaroo (1955)
Long before Sesame Street became a destination for pre-schoolers, Captain Kangaroo was entertaining kids and parents alike with skits, cartoons, and occasional celebrity guests.
Bob Keeshan, who at one time essayed the role of Clarabell the Clown on Howdy Doody, became a television legend as the Captain, whose Treasure House was opened six days a week from 1955-68, and again in the 80's, with the Saturday show airing ahead of the CBS lineup in some cities. In my home district, the series was blacked out on Saturdays in the 80's, and I have no memory of any Saturday episode at all. During this period, Keeshan created a companion series, Mr. Mayor, which lasted one season (1964-5) before the Captain reopened the Treasure House on Saturdays for three more years.
Most fans will remember some of the supporting cast, such as Mr. Moose, Dancing Bear, Mr. Green Jeans (Hugh Brannum), or even the Town Clown (Keeshan doing a pantomime skit, similar to Jackie Gleason's Poor Soul), or the cartoons, like Terrytoons' Tom Terrific. Emmy winner Bill Cosby joined the show in the late 70's as the host of the PicturePages segment, this while his own Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids was on the air.
Eyeontv uploaded this clip from the 50's, which also includes some material from the 80's.
Back in the 60's & early 70's, WTEN of Albany, at the time the CBS affiliate, set up the perfect lead-in by airing a 5 minute newscast for kids, The Good Ship News, as a bridge between cartoons and the Captain on weekdays. Those were great times. Too bad they didn't try it on Saturdays, too.
Rating: A.
Bob Keeshan, who at one time essayed the role of Clarabell the Clown on Howdy Doody, became a television legend as the Captain, whose Treasure House was opened six days a week from 1955-68, and again in the 80's, with the Saturday show airing ahead of the CBS lineup in some cities. In my home district, the series was blacked out on Saturdays in the 80's, and I have no memory of any Saturday episode at all. During this period, Keeshan created a companion series, Mr. Mayor, which lasted one season (1964-5) before the Captain reopened the Treasure House on Saturdays for three more years.
Most fans will remember some of the supporting cast, such as Mr. Moose, Dancing Bear, Mr. Green Jeans (Hugh Brannum), or even the Town Clown (Keeshan doing a pantomime skit, similar to Jackie Gleason's Poor Soul), or the cartoons, like Terrytoons' Tom Terrific. Emmy winner Bill Cosby joined the show in the late 70's as the host of the PicturePages segment, this while his own Fat Albert & the Cosby Kids was on the air.
Eyeontv uploaded this clip from the 50's, which also includes some material from the 80's.
Back in the 60's & early 70's, WTEN of Albany, at the time the CBS affiliate, set up the perfect lead-in by airing a 5 minute newscast for kids, The Good Ship News, as a bridge between cartoons and the Captain on weekdays. Those were great times. Too bad they didn't try it on Saturdays, too.
Rating: A.
Saturtainment: Heckle & Jeckle (1956)
One year after Mighty Mouse made his television debut, Terrytoons stablemates Heckle & Jeckle joined him on CBS' Saturday schedule. However, the "Talking Magpies" didn't have the staying power of the "Mouse of Tomorrow", and were cancelled after 1 season, only to be brought back in 1965 when CBS had a hole in the schedule that needed to be filled. This time, they lasted two years before being swept out again. NBC picked up Heckle & Jeckle for a 2 year run from 1969-71, and then the theatrical shorts went into syndication, coupled with a new set of cartoons made for the later CBS & NBC runs.
To distinguish one from the other, Heckle speaks with a Brooklyn accent, while Jeckle is British in background.
I first discovered Heckle & Jeckle during their syndicated run in the 70's, when it aired on WPIX in New York & WSBK in Boston. In 1979, the magpies returned to CBS, this time as part of a 1 hour block with Mighty Mouse. This time, Frank Welker (Scooby-Doo) voiced both characters in Filmation's incarnation, which didn't last very long, either. Right now, I can't find any of the Filmation toons, but in the meantime, here's the color version of the open for the Terrytoons show, uploaded by Muttley16 to YouTube:
CBS-Paramount owns the rights, but don't believe putting the classic toons on Nickelodeon or Nicktoons will create a new generation of fans for the magpies. Their loss.
Rating: A-.
To distinguish one from the other, Heckle speaks with a Brooklyn accent, while Jeckle is British in background.
I first discovered Heckle & Jeckle during their syndicated run in the 70's, when it aired on WPIX in New York & WSBK in Boston. In 1979, the magpies returned to CBS, this time as part of a 1 hour block with Mighty Mouse. This time, Frank Welker (Scooby-Doo) voiced both characters in Filmation's incarnation, which didn't last very long, either. Right now, I can't find any of the Filmation toons, but in the meantime, here's the color version of the open for the Terrytoons show, uploaded by Muttley16 to YouTube:
CBS-Paramount owns the rights, but don't believe putting the classic toons on Nickelodeon or Nicktoons will create a new generation of fans for the magpies. Their loss.
Rating: A-.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Saturtainment: Kids Incorporated (1984)
Before Nickelodeon launched either All That or Roundhouse, independent producer Thomas Lynch shopped around a teen ensemble series, Kids Incorporated, which was eventually picked up by MGM-UA to be distributed in syndication. The series lasted two years on broadcast television, but was picked up by the Disney Channel shortly after it was cancelled in May of '86, and remained on Disney until 1996. Sadly, reruns remain in the Disney vaults, and rights to the series are otherwise split between MGM & Fox.
Like All That or, way before that, The Mickey Mouse Club, Kids Incorporated was a launch pad for a number of its cast members, chief among them being Mario Lopez (later of Saved by the Bell and currently the host of Extra) and Stacy Ferguson, whom we know better as Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas.
In fact, Stacy is featured in the following clip from season 3, in which she performs a cover of Lionel Richie's "Say You, Say Me" (from "White Nights"). You'd hardly believe that the blonde warbler shown below would later become one of the most recognizable women on the planet more than 25 years later. Kidsincorporated (DUH!) uploaded the clip:
The series alumni also includes another Top 40 star, Martika, who had a brief run on the charts after leaving the show, and Jennifer Love Hewitt (Ghost Whisperer), who flirted with chart success herself a few years back. Too bad the rights are tied up in limbo, because you can bet Disney would put it back on the air in a heartbeat if they felt the need.
Rating: B-.
Like All That or, way before that, The Mickey Mouse Club, Kids Incorporated was a launch pad for a number of its cast members, chief among them being Mario Lopez (later of Saved by the Bell and currently the host of Extra) and Stacy Ferguson, whom we know better as Fergie of the Black Eyed Peas.
In fact, Stacy is featured in the following clip from season 3, in which she performs a cover of Lionel Richie's "Say You, Say Me" (from "White Nights"). You'd hardly believe that the blonde warbler shown below would later become one of the most recognizable women on the planet more than 25 years later. Kidsincorporated (DUH!) uploaded the clip:
The series alumni also includes another Top 40 star, Martika, who had a brief run on the charts after leaving the show, and Jennifer Love Hewitt (Ghost Whisperer), who flirted with chart success herself a few years back. Too bad the rights are tied up in limbo, because you can bet Disney would put it back on the air in a heartbeat if they felt the need.
Rating: B-.
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