AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (1972)

 

AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS (1972)
(NBC, September 9-December 23, 1972)
 
Air Programs International, Five Arrows Films

 

 

MAIN CAST:
Alastair Duncan – Phileas Fogg
Ross Higgins – Jean Passepartout
Max Osbiston – Mr. Fix
Owen Weingott – Lord Maze

 

      Around the World in Eighty Days is an adventure novel written by Jules Verne and first published in 1872 as serialized installments in the French newspaper Le Temps. Events such as the first transcontinental railroad in America, the opening of the Suez Canal, and the linking of railways in India fascinated Verne on what that could mean for global travel. No longer relegated to globe-trotting adventurers, it would soon be possible that the common person could circumnavigate the world on a whim. And that was what kicked his story off.

The 1873 collected publication.

      The novel follows wealthy English gentleman Phileas Fogg who argued with members of his club that the opening of a new railway section in India made it possible to get around the world in 80 days. He's challenged to prove that, with the wager being half his fortune: £20,000 (or roughly £1.9 million in today’s money, time of writing). With his remaining money and valet, Jean Passepartout, Fogg sets out to win the wager.

Phileas Fogg's path.

            Of course, the journey wasn’t smooth. Fogg and Passepartout encountered numerous obstacles both natural and man-made along the way; starting with the fact that the newspaper article that inspired the whole thing ended up being wrong, and that the connecting track in India hadn’t yet been built. They gained a new traveling companion in Aouda, who was set to be sacrificed against her will by fire. They also had a shadow: Scotland Yard detective Fix, who believed Fogg was a bank robber whose description he matched and was determined to arrest him either on British territory or back in London. Ultimately, Fogg did get arrested and subsequently released when it was learned that the actual culprit had already been caught. Believing he missed the deadline, Fogg was resigned to living in poverty until Passepartout reminded him that they were actually ahead of schedule, basically thanks to time zones chipping away time from their journey as went against the sunrise. Fogg won the bet and the love of Aouda, and split the money with Passepartout and Fix.

Game board illustrating Nellie Bly's journey in 1889.

      Around the World became one of Verne’s most acclaimed works. Following the book’s publication, many attempts had been made to follow Fogg’s fictional path and either match or beat his record. Rival reporters Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland both attempted it in 1889 for their respective newspapers; achieving it within 72 days and 76 ½ days, respectively. Theater critic and historian James Willis Sayre used only public transportation in 1903 to make it in just over 54 days. Jumping ahead, media executive Sir Nicholas Coleridge did it within 78 days in 1984, while Monty Python member Michael Palin did it as part of a travelogue, Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin, in 17 hours short of 80 days in 1988. In 2009 twelve celebrities did a relay version of the journey for the BBC’s Children in Need charity drive; and in 2017 cyclist Mark Beaumont did it by bicycle in just over 78 days.

            As with other enduring works of literature, Around the World has been adapted, expanded upon, or parodied numerous times across various media; including stage plays as early as 1874, films as early as 1919, television films, games and more. One of those was an Australian animated series that aired in 1972; the first Australian-produced cartoon to be aired on American network television.

Fogg, Passepartout and Toto.

            Around the World in Eighty Days was a very loose adaptation of the novel. While the protagonist was still Phileas Fogg (Alastair Duncan), his motivations for the journey were much different. This version was in love with a woman named Belinda Maze (Janet Waldo) and wanted to marry her. But her uncle, Lord Maze (Owen Weingott), was against a commoner becoming her husband. Maze proposed a wager: if he could successfully travel the world in 80 days, he would allow him to marry Belinda. If he failed, he would never see her again. A pot of £20,000 was thrown in for good measure (and as a nod to the original plotline).

Mr. Fix being chastised by Lord Maze.

            Fogg accepted this proposal and set out with his French valet, Jean Passepartout (Ross Higgins), and Passepartout’s pet monkey, Toto (even the Australians weren’t above the animal sidekick trope prevalent in that era). They would employ all manner of transportation native to the 19^th century including balloons, trains, animals and ships. However, Maze planned to win this bet and hired a saboteur, Mr. Fix (Max Osbiston), to interfere and impede Fogg’s journey by any means necessary.

The random collection of stuff Fogg asked for coming in handy as makeshift transport.

            Around the World in Eighty Days debuted on NBC on September 9, 1972. Each episode followed a similar structure: Fogg announced their intended location; Fogg asked Passepartout to pack a bag with a seemingly random collection of items that actually end up serving a purpose in the episode; Fogg delivered a proverb to Passepartout that would also help in their success by episode’s end; Fix had a full discussion with himself about how he planned to stop Fogg; Fogg and Passepartout followed their itinerary and along the way Fogg would explain the history of their visited locations; Fix was hot on their heels, usually in a disguise that they failed to see through at first (typically that of the driver of whatever transport they were taking); and the episode ended with Fogg exclaiming “Good show, Passepartout!” The series was approached with a more comedic slant than the book; particularly in the ridiculous plans Fix kept coming up with that backfired on him, or Passepartout’s overreactions to various situations as they arose (as well as constantly declaring “Fix tricks!” when things went wrong). Occasionally, Maze would take a hand in trying to derail Fogg himself. Belinda would also send Fogg support, information she overheard about Maze’s schemes (some of which was falsely planted by Maze with that expectation) and joined him occasionally along the way.

Fix up to his tricks posing as an engineer.

            The series was produced by Walter J. Hucker, a staff producer for Air Programs International, and entirely written by Chet Stover and directed by Leif Gram, respectively. The series’ music was composed by John Sangster, with the theme being a variation of the tune from “Mademoiselle from Armentières”. Around the World ran for a single season of 16 episodes, and although we never see them actually return to England, the final episode ended with them on their way. 40 years after its original airing, Visual Entertainment would release the complete series to DVD. Additionally, a statue of Mr. Fix was reportedly seen at the Zoo XII Months in Ukraine.

  

EPISODE GUIDE (note: the episodes don’t have official names and are named after the featured locations):

“London, Buckingham Palace” (9/9/72) – Fix tries to keep Fogg from his appointment with the Queen to secure a letter to leave London on his journey.

 

“Paris” (9/16/72) – Fix hijacks the boat and later the train Fogg plans to take to catch an airship out of Paris.

 

“Switzerland and the Alps” (9/23/72) – Fix attempts to frame Fogg for the destruction of a statue of William Tell.

 

“Rome” (9/30/72) – Fix plots to frame Fogg for stealing a painting from the museum via the fact he’s seemingly driving the only car in Rome.

 

“Naples, Pompei” (10/7/72) – Fix attempts to make Fogg a permanent resident of Pompei.

 

“Mediterranean Sea, Greek Islands” (10/14/72) – Maze arranges for Fogg to end up on the wrong ship.

 

“Greece, Athens” (10/21/72) – Maze plots to use inclement weather to trick Fogg into taking a not-so-shortcut to Athens.

 

“Egypt and the Pyramids” (10/28/72) – A dream makes Fix believe Fogg is searching for a magic carpet to help him get around the world quickly.

 

“Sinai and Petra” (11/4/72) – Fix causing them to miss their boat has Fogg taking the dangerous overland route and winding up in the lost city of Petra inhabited by bandits.

 

“Gaza, Damascus and Palmyra” (11/11/72) – Maze has fix kidnap Passepartout and bring him to Palmyra.

 

“Persia, Isfahan” (11/18/72) – Fix poses as a fortune-teller and gets an exhausted Fogg roped into a polo game where losing could prove fatal.

 

“India, Udaipur” (11/25/72) – Fogg gains a new travelling companion in a far-sighted elephant he helped with a custom pair of glasses.

 

“China sea, China” (12/2/72) – After being blown off course, Fogg helps a Chinese village get the money they need to pay their taxes and save their land.

 

“Japan, Tokyo, Mount Fuji” (12/9/72) – Maze has Fix frame Fogg for stealing a pearl in Japan while slowing him down with traps on Mount Fuji.

 

“United States, California, San Francisco” (12/16/72) – Fix enlists the aid of Native Americans and robbers to stop Fogg as he rides on the train carrying the transcontinental railroad golden spike.

 

“United States, Louisiana, New Orleans; England” (12/23/72) – Fix attempts to keep Passepartout from becoming King of Mardi Gras and ordering themselves a boat to England.

FALL SATURDAY MORNING SCHEDULES

The fall is here, and that typically meant: NEW TV SCHEDULES! These are the Saturday morning schedules that kicked off the new season across the decades:

WHERE'S WALDO? (2019)

 

WHERE’S WALDO? (2019)
(Universal Kids, Peacock, July 20, 2019-July 3, 2021)
 
DreamWorks Animation Television

 

 

MAIN CAST:
Joshua Rush – Waldo
Haley Tju – Wenda
Eva Carlton – Odlulu
Thomas Lennon – Wizard Whitebeard, various
Piotr Michael – Arfolomew, Fritz

 

 

 In 2017, NBCUniversal relaunched the network formerly known as Sprout as Universal Kids, which would house their family offerings to compete with similar networks. Sprout would continue on as a pre-school programming block in the early morning hours, while older children and teens would be the focus for the remainder of the day. DreamWorks Animation, which was purchased by NBCUniversal in 2016, was tapped to provide content for the network in the form of reruns from other places and originals. 

(Top) The original Waldo characters: Odlaw, Wizard Whitebeard, Wenda, Waldo and Woof.
(Bottom) The crew gets a new look: Arf, Wizard Whitebeard, Wenda, Waldo, Odlulu and Fritz.

One of those original programs was a new adaptation of the Where’s Waldo? series of books—the first in almost 30 years. While the original series, which aired on CBS in 1991, stuck very closely to the books by emulating the art style of creator Martin Hanford and featuring the character traveling to various wonderous worlds, this new series, developed by Koyalee Chanda and Lucas Mills, decided to not only revise the characters a bit, but also to keep things more grounded in reality to serve as an edutainment show dealing with geography and cultures.

Wenda taking point for some tandem surfing.

Waldo (Joshua Rush) was now a pre-teen member of the WorldWide Wanderer Society; an international organization of curious travelers that went around the world celebrating different cultures, learning about foreign lands and solving problems through observation in the hopes of earning their stripes and becoming Wizard-Level Wanderers. Waldo was knowledgeable and inquisitive, possessing an inventive spirit as well as a magic hat that could seemingly hold anything within. Waldo’s best friend and traveling companion was Wenda (Haley Tju), who was the brawn to Waldo’s brains. She was a talented athlete always ready to jump into the action. While she still wore stripes, her clothing was more unique rather than a female version of Waldo’s, and she was designed with darker skin and hair.

Fitness day with Wizard Whitebeard.

Their mentor was Wizard Whitebeard (Thomas Lennon), whose long white beard could act as a semi-sentient appendage. Although he occasionally wore the red robe and tall blue hat of his original incarnation, he was designed as a stereotypical hipster without shoes. He was fun-loving and a bit scatterbrained at times. He was also the keeper of a cache of Magic Keys. The Magic Keys could be used like a magic wand, each possessing their own special ability. For instance, the Greek Myth Key brought mythological figures to life, or the Quick Bloom Key allowed any plant to move and garden like a human. To reverse the spell, the keys’ bow simply had to be twisted 180-degrees before being used again. While Waldo’s loyal dog Woof would get introduced later on, initially the only canine friend was Whitebeard’s dog, Arfolomew (Piotr Michael), or “Arf” for short.

Hanging out at Wanderer HQ in the Wander Globe chair.

Waldo and Wenda typically spent their time at Whitebeard’s house—also known as Wanderer HQ—playing some kind of game, engaging in one of his many eccentric hobbies, or listening to a story from one of his many globe-trotting adventures. It was there where they would receive a communication from a fellow Wanderer via a Wander Post (basically, a postcard whose image could magically come to life) alerting them to the discovery of a once-lost Magic Key that Waldo and Wenda would need to retrieve. Whitebeard would summon the Wander Globe—a globe attached to a funky chair—and recited the chant “By striped staff and white of beard, I summon magic wild and weird! Spin o magic globe to show where these Wanderers will go!”, which would cause the globe to project an image of the country the Wander Post came from, followed by Whitebeard and/or Waldo giving a little information on the area and its people. As this version of the Waldo didn’t carry a walking stick that created portals to new locations, Waldo and Wenda would jump into a magic suitcase after exclaiming “Ready…set…Wander!” that would transport them exactly where they needed to go. After ejecting them, the suitcase would shrink itself down before landing for storage in Waldo’s hat.

Odlulu and Fritz up to mischief.

Of course, it wasn’t all smooth sailing. The race was on to get the key before Anti-Wanderer Odlulu (Eva Carlton) got it first. Odlulu was a former Wanderer who was impulsive and patient, wanting the keys to fulfill her own selfish desires for success, attention, or as some banal appliance—like a hair dryer. She was a gender-flipped version of franchise antagonist Odlaw, but rather than just be an evil double to Waldo, she wore an outfit similar to the classic Wenda outfit in Odlaw’s black and yellow stripes, a brimmed cap, and Odlaw’s pointed glasses. Odlulu was accompanied by her pet ferret, Fritz (Michael), who wore a purple and green hoodie. While he was loyal to Odlulu, he was even more loyal to his stomach and couldn’t keep from being distracted by any food item they encountered. Despite being the series’ “villain”, Odlulu wasn’t really malicious or evil. Rather, she was just self-absorbed and oblivious to the negative affects her actions took on others or the world around her. Her use of the keys often led to chaos that the Wanderers had to overcome and eventually clean up. There were times she even helped and seemed remorseful; of course, whatever lesson she learned was gone by the time the next episode rolled around. It was never explained how Odlulu knew about the location of the keys or got around as she always seemed to be in place ahead of the Wanderers, or why she left the Wanderer society.

Mountain climbing with Wizard Rockbeard.

Several other Wizards, many of whom possessed their own Magic Keys or watched over where one was located, appeared over the course of the series. Like Whitebeard, they each had wild hair: the male Wizards all had funky beards, while the women all had unique styles. Wizard Wavybeard’s (Bobby Moynihan) beard moved like calm water; Wizard Nightingale (Retta) had an occupied birdcage wrapped in her hair; Wizard Featherbeard’s (Oscar Nuñez) beard and hair resembled a bird’s plumage; Wizard Blizzardbeard’s (Tom Kenny) beard looked like a storm cloud; Wizard Artbeard’s (“Weird Al” Yankovic) beard stored his art supplies and acted as an palette; Wizard Lariat (Kerri Kenney-Silver) could use her long braid as—what else?—a lariat; Wizard Dubloon’s (Danielle Pinnock) dreadlocks held any number of objects; Wizard Fix (Rachel Dratch) used her hair to store tools; Wizard Vinebeard (Carlos Alazraqui) had a long, slender beard that could be swung on like a vine; Wizard Odissi’s (Hannah Simone) hair danced along with her; Wizard Dustybeard’s (Cedric Yarbrough) beard was tied to resemble and archaeologist’s brush; Wizard Flambé’s (Sumalee Montano) hair resembled a four-tiered cake; Wizard Shadowbeard (Randall Park) had a five o’clock shadow rather than an actual beard; Wizard Amber (Nicole Bloom) had a laurel branch trapped in her hair like amber; Wizard Rockybeard’s (Rob Riggle) beard looked as if it was made of stone; Wizard Melodia’s (Stephanie Beatriz) hair was full of bells and chimes; Wizard Corriedale’s (Cheri Oteri) hair looked like a sheep’s coat; and Wizard Longbeard (Henry Winkler) actually had a short one.

Bundled up for an arctic expedition through the magic suitcase.

Where’s Waldo? debuted on Universal Kids on July 20, 2019. It was written by Mills, F.M. De Marco, John Tellegen, Sam Cherington, Madison Bateman and Mimi Hess, with Mills serving as story editor. Each episode’s title was a pun that incorporated the featured location. Characters were designed by Melissa Manwill and Benjamin Tong, with animation provided by Snipple Animation Studios, Inc. The theme was performed by Distant Cousins, and Ben Bromfield supplied the score. As part of the promotion for the series, short clips of Rush and Tju talking about the show were shown during commercial breaks. Like other Waldo media, Where’s Waldo? was localized for various countries with Waldo’s name changed in the title, theme lyrics and dialogue (for example, he’s known as “Wally” in the United Kingdom), and had local actors re-record the lines.

Where's Waldo?

A number of recurring gags occurred through the series’ run. Wherever Odlulu and Fritz were, there would always be an occasion for someone to misidentify Fritz’s species; prompting Odlulu (and occasionally someone else) to correct them. Situations arose where Waldo found himself needing to construct a very elaborate device which he always christened with a name that ended in “-inator” (kind of like Dr. Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb, but without the whole trying to conquer the world part). As a nod to the books, there would be several moments where the viewer was tasked with finding Waldo in a crowded shot. These 10-second intervals would typically occur when the Wanderers went to a new location or Waldo needed to make one of his devices. Waldo would wander off while Wenda was distracted, prompting her to ask “Waldo? Where’s Waldo?” when she realized. Unlike the books and the original series’ “Waldo Minute”, these scenes weren’t as densely populated and did feature some limited motion as living things would gradually move out of the way to expose Waldo more. For the first 8 episodes, Tju would appear to introduce the episode and task the viewer with finding three additional objects in those scenes, returning at the end to highlight where they were and promote the next episode. After a few weeks’ hiatus, Tju would only occasionally appear to challenge the viewers to find Waldo as many times as they could in a quick character pop-up sequence. 

The Where's Waldo? cast during a promo segment.

Universal Kids, unfortunately, found itself struggling in its ratings. In June of 2019, development on original programming was stopped and the network’s development staff either laid off or moved to other NBCUniversal properties. It was decided instead to focus on the launch of their new streaming service, Peacock, in mid-2020. To bolster its original offerings, some shows were moved from other NBCUniversal networks onto it. Where’s Waldo?’s second season became one of the launch programs for the service on July 15th. Two more batches and a final episode were uploaded, bringing an end to the series as it wasn’t renewed for a third season.

Using a Magic Key to find more Magic Keys.

While Peacock had all of the episodes, only the first season and first seven episodes of season 2 were available to view for free; the remainder required a paid subscription to the service. The first season was also made available to stream on Hulu, and purchasable on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play and Vudu. Several clips have been uploaded to the official Peacock Jr. YouTube channel as both promotional material and interactive content.

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1:

“Little Trouble in Big China” (7/20/19) – The Wanderers must tame the dragon Odlulu accidentally brought to life with the Unfreeze Key.

 

“A Wanderer in Paris” (7/21/19) – Odlulu sees the Teeny-Tiny Key as her ticket to winning the Tour de France.

 

“A Day in Turkey” (7/23/19) – Wanderer Yasemin’s rug turns out to be a map to the Doubling Key.

 

“The Big New Mexico Pepper Hunt” (7/27/19) – The hunt is on for a ghost pepper to complete Whitebeard’s family chili recipe and win the cook-off against Odlulu for the Pepper Key.

 

“Hang Ten in Tahiti” (8/3/19) – The Wanderers must retrieve the Wave Key for Wizard Wavybeard, which Odlulu plans to use to win the local surf competition and get her own statue.

 

“Victoria Falls & Winters” (8/10/19) – After the Wanderers use the Weather Key to replenish a watering hole in Zimbabwe, Frtiz steals it from them so Odlulu can become a goddess.

 

“Vienna Voice-Versa” (8/17/19) – Attempting to enhance his voice for a duet with Wizard Nightingale, Whitebeard accidentally switches bodies with Arf.

 

“Costa Rica…in Color!” (8/24/19) – The Wanderers head to Costa Rica to help Wizard Featherbeard figure out why the birds are losing their color.

 

“Yukon Do It” (9/21/19) – Arf gets to become a sled dog while helping the Wanderers transport a package to Wizard Blizzardbeard.

 

“The Strength of Scotland” (9/28/19) – Odlulu uses the Strength Key to allow her to win in Scotland’s Highland Games.

 

“Hit or Myth in Greece” (10/5/19) – Odlulu uses the Greek Myth Key in order to obtain the Golden Fleece, prompting the Wanderers to team-up with Jason of the Argo.

 

“Venice the Menace” (10/12/19) – Odlulu steals the Crystal Glass Key in order to become the belle of the Vienetian Carnival ball.

 

“Australian Blunder Down Under” (10/19/19) – Waldo, Wenda and Odlulu must work together to retrieve his hat, Fritz and the Boomerang Key from a runaway kangaroo.

 

“Big in Japan” (10/26/19) – Zapping Fritz with the Mega Mega Monster Key not only increases his size, but that of his appetite for all the noodles in the city.

 

“A New York Minute” (11/2/19) – Whitebeard plans to run in the New York City Marathon, which Odlulu plans to win by using the Slow Mo Key on the other runners.

 

“Bahama Drama” (11/9/19) – Odlulu steals the Bubble Key from Wizard Doubloon in order to raise a sunken pirate ship in the Bahamas and take its treasure.

 

“Chilling Out in Antarctica” (11/16/19) – Odlulu’s new ice castle cuts off a waddle of penguins from their eggs during the annual march of the emperor penguins.

 

“Mini Mayhem in Moscow” (11/23/19) – The Wanderers head to Moscow to have Wizard Fix-It repair the Grow Key to shrink Whitebeard back to size, only to end up shrunken themselves.

 

“The Swiss Mess” (11/30/19) – The Wanderers head to Switzerland to get Whitebeard chocolate for his fondue fountain, but Odlulu plans to make the largest chocolate sculpture in the country.

 

“A Wanderer’s Christmas” (12/7/19) – Waldo and Wenda must go back in time to stop Odlulu from ruining everyone’s Christmas in her attempts to get off of Santa’s “Naughty” list.

 

Season 2:

“It’s on Like Amazon” (7/15/20) – Waldo and Wenda head to the Amazon to return the Quick Bloom Key to its wizard keeper.

 

“Mumbai Dance Party” (7/15/20) – Waldo, Wenda and Whitebeard head to Mumbai to take part in a big Bollywood dance number.

 

“Riddle Me This, Egypt” (7/15/20) – While helping Wizard Dustybeard find the Lost Chamber of Magic Keys in Egypt, Odlulu steals the key for the chamber from them.

 

“Mad About Madagascar” (7/15/20) – While getting fresh vanilla for Wizard Flambe, Woof takes a key and plays catch-me-if-you-can while unknowingly causing the key to cast its spells.

 

“Norway Out” (7/15/20) – The Wanderers head to Norway to keep Odlulu from using the very powerful Wind Key as the world’s greatest hair dryer.

 

“Shadows of Bali” (7/15/20) – Odlulu uses the Shadow Puppet Key to create her own living shadows, which then run off with the key.

 

“Where’s Woof?” (8/20/20) – Waldo and Wenda go on a worldwide search for Woof when he disappears into the magic suitcase.

 

“Jolly Olde England” (8/20/20) – When the Key in the Stone turns Fritz into a king, the Wanderers must stop him before his knights cause chaos in London.

 

“Galapagos a Go-Go” (8/20/20) – Changing into an animal via the Become An Animal Key, Odlulu accidentally disrupts the population of the Galapagos Islands.

 

“Toddle-lu Mexico City” (8/20/20) – The Wanderers must restore Odlulu to her original age when the Grow Up Key backfires and turns her into a toddler.

 

“Mongolia-Saurus” (8/20/20) – Odlulu uses the Dino Key to bring dinosaurs to life to have the ultimate pet.

 

“Nepal: Yeti or Not” (8/20/20) – The Wanderers discover Odlulu is scaring away the locals in Nepal after having turned Fritz into a Yeti with the Furball Key.

 

“A Welsh Trick and Treat” (8/20/20) – The Wanderers are invited to Halloween in Wales where Odlulu uses the Haunted House Key to bring some decorations to life.

 

“Uh-Oh, Canada” (12/11/20) – Odlulu uses the Invisible Key to turn her and Fritz invisible so that they can cheat during the Wanderers Ice Hockey Tournament.

 

“Blue Moon over Argentina” (12/11/20) – Odlulu steals the Guitar Key from Wizard Melodia to turn herself into the world’s best guitar player.

 

“Once Upon a Time in Denmark” (12/11/20) – The Wanderers head to Copenhagen to put Hans Christian Andersen’s characters back into the books Odlulu took them out of.

 

“Baa-Baa for Now, New Zealand” (12/11/20) – The Wanderers must bring a lost herd of sheep home after Odlulu attempts to rig a sheep herding competition.

 

“Trolling Through Iceland” (12/11/20) – The Wanderers must return the mythical creatures Odlulu brought to life back to stone.

 

“Gibraltar Rocks!” (12/11/20) – The Wanderers head to the Great Magic Key Vault to get Whitebeard one for his birthday, only to have Odlulu clean it out.

 

“Flipping in Japan” (7/3/21) – The Wanderers attend the big Wanderer gymnastics competition in Japan where Odlulu uses the Flipperty Key to turn herself into a world-class gymnast.

THE ADVENTURES OF GULLIVER

 

THE ADVENTURES OF GULLIVER
(ABC, September 14, 1968-January 4, 1969)
 
Hanna-Barbera Productions

 

MAIN CAST:
Jerry Dexter – Gary Gulliver
John Stephenson – Captain John Leech, Thomas Gulliver, King Pomp, various
Ginny Tyler – Flirtacia
Allan Melvin – Bunko
Don Messick – Eager, Tagg, various
Herb Vigran – Glum

  

 Gulliver’s Travels, or Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships is a book written by Jonathan Swift and first published in 1726. It was meant to be a satire of human nature, English customs, politics of the day, and travelouges, and contributed to the rise of the novel as a literary form in English. 

A well-known image of Gulliver being tied down by the Lilliputians.

The book was told in four parts from the first-person from the perspective of Lemuel Gulliver, a surgeon and sea captain that travelled the world. The first part, probably the most well-known, had Gulliver as the sole survivor of a shipwreck that ended up in Lilliput, a land where the populace was only 6-inches tall. Parodying the English political parties, the Tories and Whigs, the Lilliputians engaged in ridiculous customs and petty debates while court positions were filled by those that were good at ridiculous feats of skill. Gulliver is asked to help in the conflict with the empire of Blefuscu over which end of an egg should be broken, their religious doctrine. After falling out of favor with the Lilliputians he found a human-sized boat in Blefuscu and escaped back to England.

Gulliver in the land of giants.

The second voyage took him to Brobdingnag, this time populated by giants. Captured by a farmer, Gulliver was put on exhibit and eventually purchased by their queen. Their king, however, wasn’t quite as taken by him over his stories of England and was horrified by Gulliver’s offer to make them projectile weapons. He was snatched up by an eagle and rescued by normal-sized people at sea.

Gulliver spying Laputa.

The third voyage saw him on the flying island of Laputa, whose populace were so lost in thought they needed to be reminded to pay attention, and who loved mathematics and music but had no practical applications for either. Visiting the continent of Balnibarbi, the land below the island, he found the fields in ruin and people living in squalor as the citizenry were governed by a learned academy that spent all their time on impractical experiments; such as extracting sunbeams from cucumbers. The island of sorcerers, Glubbdubdrib, yielded insights into the great lies of history. Finally, he went to the kingdom of Luggnagg, whose citizens were immortal but aged as if they were mortal, rendering them miserable. From there, Gulliver was able to get to Japan and back to England.

The Houyhnhnms herding their Yahoos during a harvest.

The last voyage took him to the land of the Houyhnhnms, intelligent horses who were superior to the brutish humanoid race of Yahoos; some of whom were tamed in a twist on the human-beast relationship. The Houyhnhnms were fascinated by Gulliver who seemed to them to be a better version of the Yahoos, but his stories of England led them to conclude they were just as bad as the Yahoos and that Gulliver must leave. Upon his return to England, Gulliver decided to spurn human connections and bought horses to converse with instead.

The first edition of the book.

The book was first published in England by Benjamin Motte, utilizing five printing houses for speedy production to avoid piracy. Fearing persecution due to the book being transparently anti-Whig, he made several edits to the manuscript without Swift’s input to soften the blow and added material defending Queen Anne before publication. The book proved popular with the populace, although Swift’s peers were often critical of its messages and depictions of humanity. Naturally, members of the Whig party were offended at the mocking of their politics. The book was reprinted in 1735 by Irish publisher George Faulkner with Motte’s edits removed. Swift composed a “letter” from Gulliver to his cousin Sympson complaining of Motte’s alterations to be included in the new edition, as was a set of five Verses on Gulliver’s Travels written by Swift’s friend, Alexander Pope. Both versions of the book would be reprinted over the years with additional material.

Gary with Tagg and the sinister Captain Leech.

As with many other great works of literature that have endured over centuries, Gulliver’s Travels has been adapted numerous times—although many put to film have tended to focus only on the first two adventures—and there have been a wide range of unofficial sequels and imitations.  One of these efforts was made by Hanna-Barbera, loosely borrowing the names and themes from the first adventure for an all-new animated series. The Adventures of Gulliver followed father and son Thomas (mistakenly called “Lemuel” by many sources, voiced by John Stephenson) and Gary Gulliver (Jerry Dexter) as they went on a treasure-hunting voyage with their dog, Tagg (which many sources mistakenly call “Bib”, voiced by Don Messick). However, the sinister Captain Leech (Stephenson) also wanted the treasure and tried to steal their map, resulting in their ship crashing on the rocks.

Our Lilliputian friends (clockwise from top): King Pomp, Flirtatica, Bunko, Eager and Glum.

Gary and Tagg found themselves on the very island they were looking for, which turned out to be the home of the Lilliputians—beings only 6-inches tall. After some initial mistrust of their giant visitors, Gary’s rescuing of King Pomp (Stephenson) put him in their good graces; particularly with Bunko (Allan Melvin), Eager (Messick), Glum (Herb Vigran), and Flirtacia (who was never indicated as being a princess despite many claims as such, voiced by Ginny Tyler). As he helped protect their kingdom from assorted threats like giant birds and other tiny people, they in turn helped him search for his father somewhere in the perilous wilds of the island. Of course, additional danger continued to lurk in the form of Captain Leech, pursuing Gary for the map he was initially unaware his father hid in Tagg’s collar.

If someone doesn't end up tied down by little people, is it even a Gulliver adaptation?

The Adventures of Gulliver debuted on ABC on September 14, 1968. The series was written by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears, with character designs by Alex Toth and music by Ted Nichols. The biting satire found in Swift’s novel was greatly reduced, if at all present, to instead focus on fantastic adventure tales with the Lilliputians providing Hanna-Barbera’s trademark comic relief. Further differences involved neither Gulliver being noticeably British and being set in the present day. Although only 17 episodes were produced, the series ran through the summer of 1970 before being integrated into The Banana Splits and Friends Show syndicated package program. Reruns would eventually make their way to both Cartoon Network and its sister channel, Boomerang. A decade after the series’ production, Hanna-Barbera would return to Lilliput with a new adaptation of Gulliver’s Travels for their anthology television series Famous Classic Tales. This version would stick a bit closer to the book.

Model sheet by Alex Toth.

A line of figurines of the main characters were produced by Heimo in Germany, a Magic Slate by Western Publishing, and a frame tray puzzle by Whitman. An adaptation of the first episode was published by Gold Key Comics in the first issue of the short-lived Hanna-Barbera Hi-Adventure Heroes, which featured some noticeable visual inconsistencies with the show (Greg and Tagg’s coloring, Flirtacia missing her hat and leggings, etc.). A dedicated German Gulliver comic was published almost a decade later by Bastei Verlag (now Bastei Lübbe). The characters were also represented in the Spanish Hanna-Barbera trading card set and as Mexican puffy stickers. As part of ABC’s Super Saturday Club promotion, a booklet was sent out with club members that featured a Gulliver coloring page.

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

“Dangerous Journey” (9/14/68) – After being attacked on the sea, Gary and Tagg end up on the island of the Lilliputians where Gary rescues their king.

 

“The Valley of Time” (9/21/68) – Leech blackmails Gary for the map by trapping him and his friends in a cave, only for them to find another way out into a land stuck in prehistoric times.

 

“The Capture” (9/28/68) – Leech and Gary are conscripted by Captain Cutler to serve as members of his pirate crew.

 

“The Tiny Vikings” (10/5/68) – Leech partners with a band of tiny Vikings to help them on their raid on Lilliput if they help him get the map.

 

“The Forbidden Pool” (10/12/68) – Gary and Tagg drink from a pool that shrinks them down to Lilliputian size and must race to another to restore themselves before it disappears at sunrise.

 

“The Perils of the Lilliputs” (10/19/68) – Bunko, Eager and Glum are captured by a circus owner for his show when their ship stops on the island for water.

 

“Exit Leech” (10/26/68) – Leech declares he’s leaving the island, but returns disguised as a witch doctor to trick the Lilliputians into giving him the map.

 

“Hurricane Island” (11/2/68) – Gary sets out to get an egg his friends need for a festival while searching for his father, and Leech watches over him believing he’s after the treasure.

 

“Mysterious Forest” (11/9/68) – A group of treasure-seeking ghosts drags Gary off into the Mysterious Forest.

 

“Little Man of the Year” (11/16/68) – Gary offers to leave for the duration of a contest so Eager could win “Man of the Year”, but Eager causes a disaster that requires Gary’s help to fix.

 

“The Rescue” (11/23/68) – Leech captures Tagg and offers to exchange him for the map, but with Gary gone searching his friends are left to rescue Tagg on their own.

 

“The Dark Sleep” (11/30/68) – Leech attempts to slip Gary a sleeping potion but Flirtacia takes it instead, leading the others to find the antidote for her.

 

“The Runaway” (12/7/68) – When King Pomp comes across a photo of an attractive woman Gary has, Flirtacia decides to leave the village in a jealous rage.

 

“The Masquerade” (12/14/68) – Leech and an outlaw Lilliputian gang decide they’ll acquire the map by replace the king with a doppelganger.

 

“The Missing Crown” (12/21/68) – Bunko and Eager investigate the disappearance of various items around the village, leading to the discovery of clues that pit friend against friend.

 

“Gulliver’s Challenge” (12/28/68) – Gary challenges the Black Knight to a duel for the freedom of his friends.

 

“The Hero” (1/4/69) – Eager becomes dejected when the others reminisce about Gary’s heroic deeds and ends up eating a fruit that makes him hallucinate that he is a superhero.