Celebrity Toons: Laverne & Shirley in Two Mini Cooks (1981)

 From season 1 of Laverne & Shirley in The Army (to use the full title):

The girls (Penny Marshall & Cindy Williams) and Sgt. Squealy (Ron Palillo) wind up getting caught under a shrink ray, and chaos ensues.....! Michael Rye (Super Friends) is our announcer.

It's clear Palillo used his Horshack voice (Welcome Back, Kotter) for Squealy. Two years later, he'd create a new character voice in the title role of Rubik, The Amazing Cube.

Rating: B.

Retro Toy Chest: You could own your very own ALF! (1986)

 In 1986, ALF took off like a runaway rocket, anchoring NBC's Monday night lineup, and, in time, spawned not one, but two animated spinoffs.

Not only that, but there was a toy tie-in comparable with some of the syndicated weekday cartoons on the air at the time. Coleco obtained a license for the ALF figures, and ol' ALF himself (voice of Paul Fusco) is seen in this ad.

I think the figures left the market when the series ended.

Toon Rock: I Feel Love (1977-2023)

 Donna Summer's 1977 hit, "I Feel Love", which she co-wrote with producer Georgio Moroder, is considered one of the earliest electronic music tracks in history. An enterprising fan made this animated clip last year in tribute.

Toons You Might've Missed: Freddy The Freshman (1932)

 Here's a black & white Merrie Melodies entry, springing from the imaginations of Hugh Harman & Rudolf Ising.

"Freddy The Freshman" is based on a popular song of the era, and in this 1932 entry, Freddy is embodied as a canine college student in a raccoon coat who becomes a football hero.

I'd imagine this aired in New York back in the day, when WNEW (now WNYW) had a bigger library of WB shorts to complement later stars like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, & Porky Pig.

Harman & Ising would later bolt for MGM, and WB would adopt the familiar house style of their Termite Terrace studio.

Rating: B.

Tooniversary: My Son, The Spaceball Star (Partridge Family 2200 AD, 1974)

 Partridge Family 2200 AD turns 50 this year. With baseball spring training underway, let's take a look at what would be the 23rd century's answer to football, spaceball. Danny (Danny Bonaduce) pretends to play the game to impress his mom......

No rating. Just a public service.

Saturday Morning's Greatest Hits: I Just Want to Celebrate (1973)

 Just weeks after Rare Earth appeared on The Midnight Special to perform their hit, "I Just Want to Celebrate", Doc Severinson (The Tonight Show) not only was the MC, but he covered "Celebrate", backed by a band and 8 backup singers.

This show also featured Dobie Gray, Vicki Lawrence (The Carol Burnett Show), Henry Mancini, and more.

Here's Doc.

Saturday Morning's Forgotten Heroes: The Lone Ranger in The Black Mare (1980)

 The Lone Ranger (William Conrad) allows Silver a little vacation time to return to Wild Horse Valley, but the great stallion is lured into a trap by "The Black Mare":

If I'd run across this one a week ago, I might've had an extra Valentoon.

Rating: A.