Sesame Street: Everybody's Song

Sesame Street: Everybody's Song
PBS
Mid 1980s
Children's, Music Video
VHS
B

Thanks to http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Everybody's_Song, I now know more about this clip than just that it's one of the earliest and weirdest things the then-future-ex-husband and I taped with the Veece in '87.  Bip Bippadotta (a scatting hippie) and the Androoze Sisters (pigs in wigs) first performed it in '79 and then it made its way onto TV a few years later.

Alice in Wonderland, Part 2

Alice in Wonderland, Part 2
CBS
December 10, 1985
TV-Movie, Children's, Musical, Fantasy
VHS
C+

The cast this time, other than Natalie Gregory of course, with * if they were in Part 1:

• Sheila Allen as Alice's Mother
• Steve Allen as the Gentleman in Paper Suit
• Ernest Borgnine as the Lion
• Beau Bridges as the Unicorn
• Lloyd Bridges as the White Knight
• Red Buttons as the White Rabbit*
• Carol Channing as the White Queen
• Patrick Duffy as the Goat
• George Gobel as the Gnat
• Eydie Gorme as Tweedledee
• Merv Griffin as the Conducter
• Ann Jillian as the Red Queen
• Arte Johnson as the Dormouse*
• Harvey Korman as the White King
• Steve Lawrence as Tweedledum
• Karl Malden as the Walrus
• Roddy McDowall as the March Hare*
• Jayne Meadows as the Queen of Hearts*
• Donna Mills as the Rose
• Pat Morita as the Horse
• Robert Morley as the King of Hearts*
• Anthony Newley as the Mad Hatter*
• Louis Nye (one of whose credits is the voice of Lee Fong in Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus) as the Carpenter
• John Stamos as the Messenger
• Sally Struthers as the Tiger Lily
• Jack Warden as the Owl
• Jonathan Winters as Humpty Dumpty

This is a definite improvement over Part 1 although still not great.  This time the songs are much more enjoyable, particularly the ones with Jillian, Channing, and Steve & Eydie.  Gregory seems to be more settled into the role, or maybe she just enjoyed interacting with this cast more.  

Looking-Glass (reviewed here http://rereadingeverybookiown.blogspot.com/2012/02/through-looking-glass.html) is a less hostile, more reflective (pun semi-intended) story and there are moments of sweetness in this part, as with the White Knight.  Unfortunately, a "learn to face your fears" moral is shoehorned into this part with a not very satisfactory resolution.  (Alice screams at the cheesy but sort of scary Jabberwocky that she doesn't believe in it.)  I guess if we look at the TV-movie as one piece, I can be generous and say it averages out to a C, but you could just watch this part and be better off.

Laura Carlson, who plays the Daisy, was a Messenger on Mork & Mindy.

Alice in Wonderland, Part 1

Alice in Wonderland, Part 1
CBS
December 9, 1985
TV-Movie, Children's, Fantasy, Musical
VHS
D+


OK, let's just start with the mind-blowing cast:

• Sheila Allen (producer Irwin Allen's wife) as Alice's Mother
• Scott Baio as Pat the Pig
• Red Buttons as the White Rabbit
• Sid Caesar as the Gryphon
• Imogene Coca as the Cook
• Sammy Davis, Jr. as the Caterpillar (he played the Cheshire Cat in the 1966 TV version, which I haven't seen)
• Sherman Hemsley as the Mouse
• Arte Johnson as the Dormouse
• Roddy McDowall as the March Hare
• Jayne Meadows as the Queen of Hearts
• Robert Morley as the King of Hearts
• Anthony Newley as the Mad Hatter
• Donald O'Connor as the Lory Bird
• Martha Raye as the Duchess
• Telly Savalas as the Cheshire Cat
• Ringo Starr as the Mock Turtle
• Shelley Winters as the Dodo Bird

On the one hand, it's cool to see such an eclectic array, but on the other, I spent most of the time feeling sorry for them, especially (if I had to pick just one) Shelley Winters; here's an acclaimed actress and you dress her up as a bird and just have her screech and do a silly dance while George Jefferson sings?  (Her Match Game appearance is classy in comparison.)  As for ten-year-old Natalie Gregory (probably seven at the time of filming) as Alice, she's OK.  Her wig looks really fake, but that's not her fault.  She's very American, but then so is most of the cast.

The writer is Paul Zindel, who may know how to write a quirky Young Adult novel, but did also contribute the screenplay for 1974's Mame.  As for the director, Harry Harris, he didn't work on any of my other shows, and the closest he ever got to an intentional comedy was Eight is Enough.  The worst part though is that the songs are by Steve Allen and they're almost uniformly dreadful.  In fact, both Zindel and S. Allen make the mistake of substituting their own material too much for Carroll's and there are no "Very Merry Unbirthday" moments here.  The absolute nadir is the Tea Party, where I was wincing the whole time.  The scenes with the Queen of Hearts are second worst, mostly but not entirely due to Meadows.

I thought maybe D+ was too harsh, and I did consider a C-, but the other complaint I have is that not only don't Harris, Zindel, Allen, and Allen seem to understand Lewis Carroll, but the program isn't even consistent within itself.  The relatively nice character of the Cheshire Cat is given a depressing song, while the thoroughly unpleasant Mad Hatter is given a song about laughter.  And Alice is told that she needs to grow up, when as we all know, she's just about the maturest seven-year-old in literature.

Selma Archerd, who was the 2nd PTA Lady on The Brady Bunch, plays the Queen of Diamonds.  Douglas Maida, who was a Ball Player on Who's the Boss? a few weeks earlier, is a Courtier here, while Fish Footman Scotch Byerley would be Gary on WtB.  Frog Footman Robert Axelrod would contribute "various voices" for the American version of Noozles.  John Walter Davis, who's the Seven of Spades, would be Ted Graham on Roseanne.

My review of the book is here:  http://rereadingeverybookiown.blogspot.com/2012/02/alices-adventures-in-wonderland.html.  Part 1 ends on a cliffhanger with the Jabberwocky, and technically into the Looking-Glass portion of the saga, presumably to get the audience to tune in for Part 2 the next night.  I don't think I would've at 17, but I did tape the three-hour back-to-back version that aired on cable a few years later, and would sometimes watch it in a train-wreck kind of way.  (Part 2 is better though.)

After School Specials: Dear Lovey Hart, I Am Desperate

After School Specials: Dear Lovey Hart, I Am Desperate
ABC
May 19, 1976
Children's
DVD
B

Larry Elikann directed this as well as The Skating Rink, while Bob Rodgers, who adapted the other three AS Specials we've looked at, based this on the Ellen Conford novel, which I have read, including as an adult.  I really think the source material makes a difference, although the fact that this episode is SEVENTIES adds to the entertainment value.  I considered going with a B+, but I feel like the direction could be smoother, and no one is at the level of Susan Lawrence, who plays the sophomore Carrie who's drafted into writing an anonymous advice to the lovelorn column for her high school paper, The Lincoln Log.  (Which is a pun that's both wonderful and terrible.)  Lawrence makes Carrie human, in the senses of both imperfect and believable.

As for that '70sness, it's not just the music and the clothes and the Fonzie poster; it's also the references to Woodward & Bernstein, and the editor Skip's insistence that they don't need a faculty advisor.  Even the way Skip and Carrie's friendship turns to romance at the end is very '70s, although there are hints at the chemistry earlier.  While I've gone with the "children's" label, this is arguably YA, including as it does a reference to drugs.  But what children were allowed to watch in '76 was fluid.

A lot of the cast have other ABC credits, then both past and future.  Barker Craig Hundley was Tommy Johnson on The Brady Bunch (the friend whose cigarettes are found on Greg), while Stephen Liss, who's Marty, was Greg's friend Rusty.  First Student Eric Suter was also a Student on the first episode of Welcome Back, Kotter, while Elyssa Davalos, Linda here, would appear as Horshack's sister Judy.  Charles Bloom, who plays the 2nd Student, would be Daniel Pierson on Mork & Mindy.  Ten-year-old Al Eisenmann, who plays Carrie's little brother Jeff, would be Mikey on Bosom Buddies.  And star Lawrence would pop up on both Kotter and Mork.

Far Out Space Nuts: It's All in Your Mind

Far Out Space Nuts: It's All in Your Mind
CBS
September 6, 1975
Children's
DVD
C+

This is obviously a lot like "Gilligan in outer space," with McCann filling the Oliver-Hardy-esque Alan Hale role, but it shouldn't be confused with the '80s cartoon Gilligan's Planet.  Or for that matter with the cartoon The New Adventures of Gilligan, which was airing an hour earlier, over on ABC, right after Lost Saucer.  (And meanwhile that Fall, NBC had Sigmund and the Sea Monsters and Land of the Lost.)  I probably watched this around the same time as Lost Saucer, but it stayed with me less, maybe because there were no child characters, or because Honk wasn't as cool as the Dorse.  The theme song is also more forgettable (except for the "lunch"/"launch" thing that MST3K would reference years later), although the incidental music has a somewhat funky vibe, like cop shows of its era.

Note that Denver's hair has already gone gray at this point, and while he could pass for his early 20s on GI, he now looks all of his 40 years.  (And this is his 100th program I've reviewed.)  As for the Kroffts, well, they weren't done hiring Sherwood Schwartz alumni but that is a tale for another year.

Joan Gerber, who did some other Krofft shows as well as the voice of Irma Boyle on Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, here voices the computer GAL 36-24-36, which is a surprisingly suggestive HAL parody, especially when she tells Junior that he'll be inside her and they'll become one.

The Lost Saucer: 894X2RY713, I Love You

The Lost Saucer: 894X2RY713, I Love You
ABC
September 6, 1975
Children's
DVD
B-

I probably watched this show at the time, although it did air opposite Scooby-Doo.  If I didn't catch it in first run, when I was seven, I probably saw it at least during summer reruns.  Alice Playten, who played Alice, was also Alice on the local (Southern California) program, That's Cat, and I remember being a fan, maybe because she had that great mid-'70s fluffy hair, or maybe because her characters were Danzaly named.  I'll admit there's not much in this show to entertain an adult-- I certainly have a lower tolerance for Buzzi & Nabors slapstick-- but there are still some cool things about it, and not just the campiness of the special effects or the probably already dated by '75 slang and topical references of the little black boy Alice babysits.  (I know "Here come da judge" was from Flip Wilson and had been referenced on the Jackson 5ive cartoon three years earlier.)

The theme song remains a great example of power kiddie pop, and the line "They can't get off of this crazy ride!" sounds like it could've come from something in the Top 40 of the time.  Also, I still think the dorse (dog-horse hybrid) is neat.  I remember as a kid I liked the heavy-handed morals, and this one, about people in the future being faceless numbers, hasn't exactly dated itself.  By the way, Si Rose wrote for several previous Krofft productions as well.

After School Specials: The Skating Rink

A triangle?  No, they're just resting from skating.

After School Specials: The Skating Rink
ABC
February 5, 1975
Children's
DVD
D

Bob Rodgers also adapted "The Eighteenth Emergency" and "Summer of the Swans," so I don't know if it's his fault or the original source material, Mildred Lee's novel, that this is so dismal.  I suppose some blame should also go to director Larry Elikann, but the two would team up for my favorite Special, 1976's "Dear Lovey Hart: I Am Desperate."  The writing is poor and inconsistent within itself, taking the most glaring example that sometimes the farmer dad is upset when Tuck comes home late and sometimes there are zero consequences.  The sound and lighting are poor, which is a particular problem during the final ice-skating performance.  None of the characters are particularly likable, and I kept expecting something more considering the weird subtext, like that the coach would turn out to be corrupt in some way, or Tuck would develop a crush on his coach's young wife, Lilly Degley (22-year-old Devon Ericson, who would play Janet's college-age sister three years later on Three's Company).  Oh well, this isn't as painful as the last program I watched.

Cynthia Eilbacher was Caroline on That Girl and is Elva Grimes here.  Patricia Stevens moonlights from M*A*S*H, as Tuck's mother, while Robert Clotworthy plays her son Clete and would later be Private Welch on that show.  Molly Dodd, who had a couple roles on The Brady Bunch, is Mrs. Bayliss here.  Tara Talboy had played Lisa on The Bob Newhart Show and is Tuck's sister Karen here.  Seven-year-old Sparky Marcus plays Tuck in the flashbacks and would later turn up on What's Happening!!

After School Specials: Sara's Summer of the Swans

After School Specials: Sara's Summer of the Swans
ABC
October 2, 1974
Children's
DVD
B-

Bob Rodgers's second adaptation of a Betsy Byars novel is better than The Eighteenth Emergency.  In this case, I have read the book (including in the last few months), and it's a pretty good adaptation, although inevitably some things get left out or simplified.  Admittedly the acting and the writing are a little stiff (what fourteen-year-old uses words like "dwindle"?), but nonetheless there are moments that feel genuine, including what it's like to be an awkward adolescent.  Both Chris Knight and Eve Plumb, as Joe and Gretchen, appear (looking not much different than they had a few months before on The Brady Bunch), although his role is much more significant.  The best performance is by 47-year-old Priscilla Morrill as Aunt Willie.  Among other things, she would be Chrissy's mother on Three's Company.  And 2nd Bully Kevin McCarley was the bully Peaches in The Eighteenth Emergency.

Land of the Lost: Cha-Ka

Land of the Lost: Cha-Ka
NBC
September 7, 1974
Children's
DVD
B

Premiering an hour after Hong Kong Phooey but on another network, this was a departure for the Krofft Brothers, with no singing, laugh track, or psychedelia.  I don't know if I watched it in first run (though I probably watched HKP) and I don't really remember it as one of my favorites later in the '70s.  Ironically, it seems to have held up better than their other shows.  Yes, the special effects aren't great, although a big improvement over The Bugaloos, but the action and acting are generally solid.  The world-building is about right for a pilot, enough for kids to absorb in one episode, but with room for future complexity.  This is the only episode I have, although I've got two more Krofft pilots left.

Sharon Baird is the only Krofft veteran here, as Sa.  Dennis Steinmetz would also direct a What's Happening!! episode.  Note that the 1970s have now passed the 1960s, with more than half the decade to go.  (And I have a lot of Carter-era shows that are awhile off.)

After School Specials: Pssst! Hammerman's After You (AKA The 18th Emergency)

After School Specials: Pssst! Hammerman's After You (AKA The 18th Emergency)
ABC
January 16, 1974
Children's
DVD
C+

Bob Rodgers, who'd written a couple episodes for Gilligan's Island, did the teleplay based on the Betsy Byars book.  In fact, he wrote all four of the episodes on the DVD I own, although they fluctuate a great deal in quality.  It's the only AS Special directed by Jack Regas, who'd go on to The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, among other things.  This episode is slow-moving and low-budget, but it's not without interest, playing sort of like a grittier Brady Bunch episode.  Although I've read my share of Byars (it was kind of unavoidable as a Gen-X female bookworm), I don't remember this book or adaptation, so I don't know how well the humor and other elements translate.  The messages about honor and respect are typical of both her and this series.  This definitely could've been a half hour story rather than an hour (counting commercials), but I can see it entertaining kids older than I was at the time.  It's from the second season of the series and not one that stands out compared to some others.

Lillian Adams, who was Mrs. Daley on Gidget and Mrs. Harris on That Girl, is Mrs. Schwartz here.  Kevin McCarley, who's Peaches, would have a similar role, Second Bully, later that year in Summer of the Swans.  Tito Vandis, who's Mr. Casino, would be Col. Andropolis on M*A*S*H later that year.  Bobby Eilbacher, who presumably plays one of the classmates, would make two appearances on The Bob Newhart Show.  And Willie Aames has a minor role in this.

Sigmund and the Sea Monsters: The Monster Who Came to Dinner

Sigmund and the Sea Monsters: The Monster Who Came to Dinner
NBC
September 8, 1973
Children's
DVD
B-

If proof were needed that the '60s were basically over by this point, consider how un-psychedelic this show is compared to the three major Krofft productions preceding it.  Here you simply have two junior-high-age boys trying to hide a friendly sea monster from their Aunt Zelda (63-year-old Mary Wickes, a former child star who kept acting for another twenty years after this).  OK, and meanwhile his mean family resent him leaving.  The show is topical in a different way, with Sigmund's father, given to saying "dingbats" and "stifle," clearly modeled on Archie Bunker, and the shellivision offering Serpent and Son.  I watched it either at the time or later in the '70s partly because of the parents-free beach setting and partly because of a mild pre-teen (or maybe it was a pre-pre-teen) crush on 13-year-old Johnny Whitaker, who I knew from Family Affair.  He sings pretty well, like Beach Boys Lite, with an extended version of the theme song in this pilot episode.  The title by the way refers to Great-Uncle Siggie, although I guess it could also be taken as an anti-police statement considering who Zelda's dinner guest is.  (Joe Higgins had been a Staff Sergeant on That Girl, and the role of Sheriff here is one he'd often play on various programs.)

This time the Krofft regulars include Sharon Baird (as the body of Big Daddy Ooze, with important supporting roles on H.R. Pufnstuf, The Bugaloos, and Lidsville), Billy Barty (as Sigmund, and earlier Sparky on The Bugaloos,) Walker Edmiston (as the voice of Big Daddy, and by then a veteran of Pufnstuf, The Bugaloos, and Lidsville), and Van Snowden (as Sweet Mama Ooze, previously Tweeter on The Bugaloos).  Si Rose wrote for all three of the previous Krofft programs as well.  Five-year-old Sparky Marcus is credited as Shelby, although I didn't see him, and would be on The Bob Newhart Show around the time he was Ape Face in Freaky Friday.  This episode incidentally aired at the exact same time as The Brady Kids second-season premiere, so I went alphabetically.

Lidsville: World in a Hat

Lidsville: World in a Hat
ABC
September 11, 1971
Children's
DVD
C+

This might well be the strangest Krofft production, although not the most entertaining.  A post-Munsters Butch Patrick faces evil magician Hoodoo (Charles Nelson Reilly), with the help of the gender-confused Weenie the Genie (Billie Hayes).  And almost everyone else is a hat, except for Raunchy Rabbit.  As pilots go, this is OK.  It sets up the setting, characters, and conflict, but I wasn't particularly drawn in.

Si Rose wrote for this as well as Pufnstuf and The Bugaloos, while Tony Charmoli also directed Bugaloos.  The Krofft regulars this time:

1. Sharon Baird
2. Joy Campbell
3. Buddy Douglas
4. Walker Edmiston
5. Joan Gerber
6. Jerry Maren
7. Angelo Rossitto
8. Felix Silla
9. Van Snowden
10. Hommy Stewart
11. Lennie Weinrib

Lancelot Link: The C.H.U.M.P Code Caper/ Weather or Not

Lancelot Link: The C.H.U.M.P Code Caper/ Weather or Not
ABC
Approximately December 26, 1970
Children's
VHS
B-

This episode includes some odder than usual humor for the show, from a joke about smog to a reference to Nixon's Checkers speech.  Also, the musical sequence has the Ev Rev performing in a late '60s disco, with other chimps dancing.

Lancelot Link: The Dreaded Hong Kong Sneeze/ The Great Bank Robbery

Lancelot Link: The Dreaded Hong Kong Sneeze/ The Great Bank Robbery
ABC
Approximately November 28, 1970
Children's
VHS
B-

This is an improvement, with slightly better scripts (even if they repeat the "What's your theory, Darwin?" joke) and definitely a better song (something about "hyperstatic instamatic" something or other).  Also, when you get to the point of a chimp ventriloquist, you've reached Krofft-level surrealism.

Lancelot Link: The Great Great Race/ The Great Plane Plot

Lancelot Link: The Great Great Race/ The Great Plane Plot
ABC
Approximately November 14, 1970
Children's
VHS
C

Calling the adventures "great" doesn't mean they are.  Even with the introduction of mild romance (Mata kisses Lance to prevent film star Raquel Wench from kissing him, and the Ev Rev's song is about "rolling in the clover"), I found this episode a bit dull.  Also, if you're going to give your hero the voice of a Bogart impressionist, you probably shouldn't make him as stupid as Maxwell Smart.

Lancelot Link: The Great Brain Drain/ The Great Double Double Cross

Lancelot Link: The Great Brain Drain/ The Great Double Double Cross
ABC
Approximately October 10, 1970
Children's
VHS
C+

Unlike the Krofft productions, this was not something I grew up watching, and in fact I didn't encounter it till the late '80s, on Nick at Nite.  Once the initial shock of seeing chimpanzees wear mod clothing, act out spy stories, play pop music, and be dubbed by voice actors (including Bernie Kopell, who was still doing That Girl) wears off, the show seems a bit slow-moving and repetitive.  I recommend watching in small doses and possibly fast-forwarding to the music segments, which are introduced by "Ed Simian."  The dates on these episodes are approximate, since I can find episode titles but not original airdates.

Other than Kopell, the series regulars:

1. Dayton Allen
2. Debbie (as Mata Hairy)
3. Joan Gerber
4. Malachi Throne (narrator)
5. Tongo (as Lance)

The Bugaloos: Firefly, Light My Fire

The Bugaloos: Firefly, Light My Fire
NBC
September 12, 1970
Children's
DVD
B-

Because Pufnstuf wasn't psychedelic enough.  Martha Raye as Benita Bizarre wants the British human-insect hybrid band the Bugaloos to be her back-up but they refuse.  Hey, it beats sitting around watching a witch try to kidnap an annoying talking flute every week.  In fact, everything is better here, except the acting by the Brits and the special effects.  All I have is the pilot, so I don't know if the series stayed at this level.  It seems like it got less airplay in the '70s than Pufnstuf and it was never my favorite but it was fun when I saw it.

This time the Kroft regulars are:

1. Sharon Baird (playing the Nazi rat sidekick that Raye had as Boss Witch in the Pufnstuf movie)
2. Billy Barty
3. Joy Campbell
4. Walker Edminston
5. Joan Gerber
6. Van Snowden

Si Rose would go on to write for Lidsville, while John Fenton Murray had already written a bit for Gilligan and Brady, among many others.  Tony Charmoli would also direct Lidsville.

H.R. Pufnstuf: Jimmy Who?

H.R. Pufnstuf: Jimmy Who?
NBC
December 27, 1969
Children's
DVD
C+

In this episode with a title that anticipates the reaction to the '76 Carter campaign, Jimmy gets amnesia from a bump on the head, which is cured by, you guessed it, a bump on the head.  This isn't bad for a clip show, since all four flashbacks are to musical numbers.

The series averages out to a high C+, which is what I would've predicted.  It was never my favorite Krofft show (we'll talk about what was as we go along) and it is pretty repetitive when it comes to plotting.  The look of it, and sometimes the music, make it worth watching, in small doses.

H.R. Pufnstuf: Whaddya Mean the Horse Gets the Girl?

H.R. Pufnstuf: Whaddya Mean the Horse Gets the Girl?
NBC
December 20, 1969
Children's
DVD
C+

Shirley Pufnstuf and her director return, and the latter gets kidnapped by the witch so that he'll direct her script for Gone with the Witch.  The horse, who has a crush on Shirley, goes to the rescue, swallows the witch's wand, and starts blasting people.  And you tell me the Kroft Brothers weren't doing drugs.

H.R. Pufnstuf: The Almost Election of Witchiepoo

H.R. Pufnstuf: The Almost Election of Witchiepoo
NBC
December 13, 1969
Children's
DVD
C+

The election season on Living Island is a lot dirtier than at Fillmore Junior High.  Witchiepoo uses a love bomb to win voters.  When Jimmy claimed that Puf is more honest than the witch, I couldn't help thinking of how the good guys have resorted to lying, vandalism, and theft.  OK, they don't kidnap as often, but that's not much of a moral high ground.