Noozles: Memorable Days

Hiding no more

Noozles: Memorable Days
1988
Nickelodeon
Cartoon
VHS
C

Sandy misses the koalas now that they've gone back to KWL.  Most of the episode is a clip-show of reminiscences.  (The Wikipedia title is "How It All Began.")  It does end oddly, with the parents acting like they're trying to fix Sandy up with Mark, and then being happy that she bickers with him.  Oh, Blinky and Pinky look down from above, like ghosts.

I'm missing the twelfth episode "Journey to the Past"/"Going Back in Time," but that's been true ever since I recorded these.  So judging the series by 24 1/2 episodes out of 26, the distribution of C+s, B-s, and B's is pretty even, and this C doesn't prevent a B- average.  It was worth revisiting the series, which, despite some repetitiveness (especially with Frankie and Spike, and at times Osgood), retains its charm and weirdness.

Noozles: The Great Phenomenon [fragment]

Noozles: The Great Phenomenon [fragment]
1988
Nickelodeon
Cartoon
VHS
B

I'm missing almost half this episode, so the recording starts with the High Dingy Doo visiting the Browns.  The various pieces of the central mystery come together, and the koalas go home, after Blinky saves their world and ours.  The Wikipedia title is Ayers Rock, because that's where the great phenomenon takes place.

Noozles: I'm the Lead

A more dangerous episode

Noozles: I'm the Lead
1988
Nickelodeon
Cartoon
VHS
B-

The title on Wikipedia is "Play Acting," and the "plot," such as it is, of the episode is Pinky and Sandy reading stories about koalas and then deciding to act one out, with Blinky, but everyone ends up arguing.  An odd choice for the episode before the one where the central mystery of the series is explained.  Note that while there is some fear of Sandy as a human in KWL, she does not have to flee from the Eucalyptus Patrol or anyone.

Noozles: SOS?

Frankie

Noozles: SOS?
1988
Nickelodeon
Cartoon
VHS
C+

This is one of those episodes that sounds kinkier than it is, with Pinky tied up on a hotel bed as an old man takes a shower.  The Wikipedia title is "The Magic Show," and she befriends the elderly magician.  Meanwhile the tedious thieves, Spike and Frankie, have somehow returned to Earth and they want to kidnap Pinky.

Noozles: Propose

Don't ask me who Fuzzy was.

Noozles: Propose
1988
Nickelodeon
Cartoon
VHS
B

The Wikipedia title is "Traveling Back in Time," but both titles apply to this Back-to-the-Future-ish episode where Sandy and the koalas go back to when Kelly was at the university and Alex was afraid to tell her his feelings before he left on an expedition to China.  Alex and Kelly, as suggested in an earlier episode, have known each other since childhood, but now she's seeing Paul, a vain aspiring actor.  The trio have to make sure the right man proposes, although Kelly claims at one point that she doesn't want to marry anyone.  Yet when Pinky tries to talk her into marrying Paul, she realizes, in rhyme no less, that she wants to marry Alex.  Oh, and Sandy is Clark-Kently disguised in glasses and a Beatles cap.

Noozles: Run Away from Home

Noozles: Run Away from Home
1988
Nickelodeon
Cartoon
VHS
C+

Wikipedia is clearer, with "Sandy Runs Away from Home," and it's one of the more forgettable episodes, except for the giant Osgood at the amusement park.  I suppose I could say something about backlash and Sandy resenting her mother's job, but Alex's job interferes with family time much more than Kelly's.

Noozles: The Philosopher's Stone

Noozles: The Philosopher's Stone
1988
Nickelodeon
Cartoon
VHS
B-

The Wikipedia title is, no, not "The Sorcerer's Stone," but "The Magical Vacations."  Alex is supposed to return home but goes to Africa in search of the Wiseman's Stone.  His mother travels all the way there (without magic as far as I know) to guilt-trip him into coming home to "the greatest treasures any man could want," his wife and daughter.  But he's distracted, so she has Blinky use his magic to zap Alex back to Africa to check out the stone that Lionel has found.  Without using any equipment, just by holding the stone in his hands, Alex decides it's authentic.  Grandma reveals to the audience that she has an identical stone in the attic, which will be important later on.

Noozles: Fun Holiday

I couldn't find Mike Preston, so
here's Sandy's award-winning picture.

Noozles: Fun Holiday
1988
Nickelodeon
Cartoon
VHS
B-

The Wikipedia title is "Star Struck," which is what Sandy is about Mike Preston, a boy celebrity about her age or a little older.  They spend an innocent night in a cabin together.  Kelly takes pictures of them frolicking the next morning, but gives the pics to Sandy rather than use them in a story.

Noozles: Glass Slippers

Noozles: Glass Slippers
1988
Nickelodeon
Cartoon
VHS
B

The Wikipedia title is "Cinderella Sandy," and Sandy wants the lead role in the school play Cinderella.  Her rival is Olivia, while Mark is "the handsome prince."  Mr. Malisse is incredibly indecisive this episode and asks the girls to come back the next day with their theories of what kind of person Cinderella was.  Pinky, in exchange for Sandy letting Blinky go home, offers to introduce Sandy to Cinderella.  Jealousy and competition get to Sandy, so she agrees.

I don't have the exact quotes here, but it's something like
BLINKY: Don't I have anything to say?  Doesn't anyone want to know what I think?
PINKY: Not really, but I have the feeling you're going to tell us anyhow, so go ahead.
Delivered in the usual rushed fashion of course.

The three of them go back in time (and space?) to meet Cinderella, with Pinky filling in for the fairy godmother.  Sandy gets the part, but it turns out, as we learn in another run-on sentence line, Pinky borrowed the slippers and other items from the KoalaWalla Land Museum and now she's being punished, so Blinky can't go home until Pinky finds the other glass slipper.  This isn't quite a B+ but it is possibly my favorite episode in the series.

Noozles: Ring of Friendship

Sandy's grandmother

Noozles: Ring of Friendship
1988
Nickelodeon
Cartoon
VHS
B-

Questionable behavior, from emotional blackmail to shoving an old lady to the floor, is somewhat balanced by memorable visuals (especially the air show, and the apples hitting the bubble) and wisdom from the High Dingy Doo.  The Wikipedia title is "Commander Blinky," since that's Pinky's ambition for Blinky.

Noozles: Mystery Mystery Mystery

Sorry, that's the Crystal Palace

Noozles: Mystery Mystery Mystery
1988
Nickelodeon
Cartoon
VHS
B

Or as Wikipedia puts it, "The Mysterious Message."  Sandy's father, Alex, with his colleague Lionel, is investigating his own father's mysterious disappearance 38 years before, at Ayers Rock.  He goes into a cave and disappears, reappearing in KoalaWalla Land.  Sandy and the koalas find out and go after him.  The thread about the mysterious links between Benjamin Brown and the HDD is thickened here, with Alex discovering his father in the Crystal Place.  We also see that Alex's kindness helps save him as much as his daughter's bravery.

Noozles: Back to the Hidden Dimension!

Visiting the hidden dimension, again

Noozles: Back to the Hidden Dimension!
1988
Nickelodeon
Cartoon
VHS
B

The Wikipedia title is just "Koalawalla Land," and in this episode Kelly goes to visit Alex in Australia, just as he's waking up from a strange dream about KWL, where he spoke to his father.  Sandy gets very curious, so she has the koalas take her back there so that she can visit the Crystal Place and speak to her grandfather.  He delivers a mysterious message, about learning from the "love and companionship" of KWL.  It seems like a bit of a police state to me, but whatevs.  The animation for the Crystal Place is the best artwork so far, so I'm grateful for the sci-fi element, even if it threatens to get repetitive.

Noozles: Run Great Thief

Spike

Noozles: Run Great Thief
1988
Nickelodeon
Cartoon
VHS
C+

Too much of this episode is spent on Spike and Frankie's attempts to steal Blinky, but the two thieves do end up captured by the KoalaWallan forces, and broadcast on EucalyptusVision.  The title on Wikipedia is "The Last Caper," suggesting they won't escape.

Noozles: The Land of Different-Space

Noozles: The Land of Different-Space
1988
Nickelodeon
Cartoon
VHS
B

Here at the midpoint, the series suddenly swerves from fantasy to sci-fi.  Sandy is curious about Blinky's parents and world.  Pinky hopes that if Blinky and Sandy go to KoalaWalla Land, Blinky will want to stay.  So, with Sandy wearing a koala mask, the three journey through space to this planet or set of planets or whatever the heck this Australian-ish realm is.  They meet the ruler, the High Dingy Doo, who says some mysterious things about an old human friend and Benjamin Brown, the same name as Sandy's grandfather who disappeared 38 years ago!  The various police/military forces chase Sandy and her friends, "in the name of the High Dingy Doo," yet HDD hides them and then sends them back to Earth.  (The Wikipedia title is "Humans Not Allowed," a law that the trio are aware they're breaking.)

Noozles: I'm a Strong Boy

Noozles: I'm a Strong Boy
1988
Nickelodeon
Cartoon
VHS
B-

I'm starting to think neither of the titles, from IMDB and Wikipedia, were actually the names of the English episodes, since this (from IMDB) sounds like a bad translation, while Wikipedia has "That Ol' Pink Magic."  Or maybe it's reversed.  Oh well, I'll keep posting these under the IMDB titles.

In any case, the "nice Pinky" episode is followed by the "mean Blinky" episode, where Pinky hypnotizes Blinky into being tougher and more assertive but overdoes it.  We see Mark, his florist mother (I don't know if he has a father around), and Spot and his owner.

Noozles: Troubled Kindness

Noozles: Troubled Kindness
1988
Nickelodeon
Cartoon
VHS
B-

The Japanese title means "Naughty But Nice" and this episode begins with Pinky reading a story from KoalaWallaLand about a mean koala (male but looking like Pinky) who is punished while the good koala (who looks like Blinky) is rewarded.  So she goes on a misguided mission to be nice and kind.  The episode ends with a traffic jam suspended in mid-air, as Blinky and Sandy flee.  Note that Osgood somehow has his own TV show.

Noozles: I Am Beautiful

Noozles: I Am Beautiful

Different episode, similar weirdness

1988

Nickelodeon

Cartoon

VHS

B-

The Japanese title means "Like Father, Like Daughter," and in this episode 12-year-old Sandy overhears her mother and grandmother saying she's like her father, meaning in personality.  But she worries she'll grow up to look like him, beard included.  So on Olivia's advice she decides to buy a vibrator, for the face.  Pinky fears that the massager will work and make Sandy beautiful, so Blinky will never leave.  I don't want to say that the show ships Sandy/Blinky, but there is a weird subtext sometimes.  And the episode ends with Sandy and Pinky fighting over the vibrator.  Note that Kelly and Alex have known each other since childhood.

Noozles: The Phantom Picture

Mr. Malisse

Noozles: The Phantom Picture
1988
Nickelodeon
Cartoon
VHS
B

The more prosaic Japanese title is "The Art Contest" and this episode has Sandy and Mark competing to make pictures of things they've seen.  Mark tries to draw an orchid from his mother's shop but gets frustrated when the petals fall off.  Sandy first uses her mother as a model, but Kelly is too distracted by thoughts of work.  Then Sandy has Blinky with his magic watch take her to the Empire State Building, the South Pole (where we get to see a penguin marriage proposal!), and finally Africa, where she draws a porcupine against a sunset, later turning this into a color picture.  Unfortunately, her teacher, Mr. Malisse*, can't accept the picture because he understandably doesn't believe this is something she saw with her own eyes.  So Blinky takes Mr. Malisse to Africa, where they're chased by wild animals and Blinky delivers a line something like "This is not a dream, Mr. Malisse.  This is reality and you'd better believe it or you'll get eaten."  It's a rare episode where Sandy and Pinky end up teaming up against Blinky and it's nice to see the dynamic changed.


*I could never catch the name and wasn't sure if it was Mouse or Malice or Mollusc or what.  Thank goodness for the Internet!  http://noozles.wikia.com/wiki/Mr._Malisse

Noozles: The Great Chase

Emily

Noozles: The Great Chase
1988
Nickelodeon
Cartoon
VHS
C+

Again, an episode that fails to live up to the American title.  There are a lot of chase scenes, but they're not exactly great.  The Japanese title, "To Catch Smoky and Louis," refers to Sandy, her friend Emily, Pinky, Blinky, and two boys named Johnny and Tommy trying to catch Smoky the bird and Louis the cat.

Noozles: The Big Adventure!

Olivia

Noozles: The Big Adventure!
1988
Nickelodeon
Cartoon
VHS
C+

This episode can't live up to its American title, and even the Japanese title of "Sandy's Stardom" oversells it.  Sandy's frenemy Olivia is conceited about a television appearance and when Mark insults Sandy's friend Emily (who's nice but plain), Sandy ends up making a bet that she herself can get on TV.  Unfortunately, too much time is spent with Frankie and Spike, not to mention a near-sighted laundress and her dog.  Note that when Osgood shows up, as he does in just about every episode, Sandy refers to him by name and Pinky reels off a breathless "That silly, frill-necked lizard doesn't belong here any more than we do and I'm going to find out what he's doing here.  See you later!"  Osgood breaks the fourth wall by shouting, "Stop the cartoon!  Stop the cartoon!"  And they stop the cartoon.