U.S. OF ARCHIE

 

U.S. OF ARCHIE
(CBS, September 7-December 21, 1974)
 
Filmation Associates

 

MAIN CAST:
Dallas McKennon – Archie Andrews, Hot Dog, Mr. Weatherbee, Chuck Clayton, various
John Erwin – Reggie Mantle
Jane Webb – Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Miss Grundy, various
Howard Morris – Jughead Jones, Moose Mason, various

 

For the history of Archie, check out the post here.

 

            CBS was looking for more educational content, and the United States of America was quickly approaching its highly-anticipated bicentennial anniversary. Filmation saw a way to fulfill CBS’ desires and celebrate the occasion by injecting American history into one of their shows. Specifically: in the sixth and final spin-off of The Archie Show to air on the network.

Present day Archie Andrews giving an introduction to the story involving Teddy Roosevelt.

            U.S. of Archie, making a play on the term “U.S. of A.”, took the familiar Archie Comics characters and inserted them in moments throughout American history. Episodes would begin and end in the present; with some activity the Archie gang was engaged with inspiring Archie (Dallas McKennon) to address the audience and recount a story of their ancestors engaging with famous historical figures and events. Of course, we all overlook the convenience of not only their ancestors resembling them perfectly and sharing the same names but happening to all be friends as well.

Chuck Clayton finally comes to Riverdale.

            Along with Archie, the rest of the regular Riverdale gang appeared:  best friend Jughead (Howard Morris); girlfriends Veronica and Betty (both Jane Webb); frenemy Reggie (John Erwin); and dim-witted mass of muscle Moose (Morris), as well as school principal Mr. Weatherbee (McKennon), teacher Miss Grundy (Webb), and the group’s unofficial mascot, Hot Dog (also McKennon). They did gain a new friend, however, as this was the first entry in the Archie franchise to feature the character of Chuck Clayton (McKennon). Introduced in 1971’s Life with Archie #110, Chuck was the first regular Black male character in the Archie books. He originally was just one of Riverdale High’s top athletes and the son of one of the gym teachers, however he was later rounded out by being given the hobby of being a cartoonist with the hopes of one day turning it into a career making comic books.

The Archies rocking throughout American history.

            In keeping with the musical element the cartoon series was built on, each episode would end with a performance by The Archies playing their instruments and singing a song about what just transpired. As usual for Filmation, animation of the band playing was recycled from the previous shows; however, the character models were altered to give them their period attire. Images and scenes from the episode would accompany the song, as would a patriotic assortment of American flag-inspired backgrounds. Archie himself would introduce the song numbers against a backdrop of the show’s title.

The Wright Brothers hard at work making an airplane.

            U.S. of Archie debuted on CBS on September 7, 1974. The series was written by Jim Ryan, Bill Danch and Marc Richards, with Dr. Gordon L. Berry, Dr. Norma Feshbach and Dr. Thomas LaBelle serving as educational advisors. The series’ songs were composed by Jackie Mills and producer Norm Prescott (as Jeff Michael), with Prescott and Ray Ellis (as Yvette Blais) doing the background music. Mills also produced the songs, with Tom McKenzie of The Doodletown Pipers singing. While the theme was composed with a 70s era-appropriate groovy sound, it featured interspersed medleys from the songs “Dixie”, an 1860 song that became strongly associated with the American Confederacy inconclusively credited to Dan Emmett, and “Yankee Doodle”, a 1755 traditional song and nursery rhyme originally written by British Army surgeon Richard Shuckburgh to mock the “Yankees” (American colonials, not the baseball team), and later revised by Minuteman Edward Bangs. Particularly the beginning of the theme, which opened with a combined medley of the two songs. Music and sound effects were handled by Horta-Mahana Corp.

The gang tasked with reuniting a pair of kids with their mother via the Underground Railroad.

            Because of the educational nature of the show, the normal music and comedy elements that Filmation’s franchise was built on were largely absent. Ratings suffered as a result, and shortly after completing its run the series was shifted over to the less-prominent Sunday mornings in 1975. It remained there in reruns through September of 1976; seeing the bicentennial it was meant to commemorate. Ultimately, this would end up being Filmation’s final Archie entry for CBS as their next and final Archie show, The New Archie and Sabrina Hour, would air on rival NBC.

The U.S. of Archie album from Peter Pan Records.

            Peter Pan Records released a handful of records to commemorate the bicentennial in 1976. One of those was a record of the dialogue soundtrack from two episodes of U.S. of Archie: “The Great Divide” and “Mr. Watson, Come Here”. However, to avoid paying licensing fees, the album doesn’t feature any of the background music or ending songs from the show. Nostalgia Ventures released four VHS and DVDs collecting episodes from the various Archie programs in 2004 under the Archie & Friends title. They included the U.S. of Archie episodes “The Star Spangled Banner” on Featuring The Archie Show; “The Day of the Ladies” on Featuring Sabrina the Teenage Witch; “The Wright Brothers” on Featuring Archie’s TV Funnies; and “The Roughrider” on Featuring Archie’s Classic Cartoons. The complete series has yet to be released. In 2010, the series briefly returned to television on the Retro Television Network, and a few episodes, scene clips and all of the song numbers have found their way to online video sites like YouTube.

            

EPISODE GUIDE*:

“The Underground Railroad” (9/7/74) – Standoffish new arrivals to Riverdale High inspire Archie to reminisce about their ancestors doing their part to aid in the Underground Railroad.

SONG: “Friendship Train”

 

“Gold” (9/14/74) – After his friends get bit by gold fever, Archie recalls his great grandfather’s experiences during the Gold Rush.

SONG: “Gold!”

 

“The Day of the Ladies” (9/21/74) – The gang’s ancestors hold rallies to help raise awareness for women’s rights spearheaded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott.

SONG: “Women’s Day”

 

“The Star Spangled Banner” (9/28/74) – While the gang’s ancestors help defend Fort McHenry in the War of 1812, the bombardment inspires Francis Scott Key to write his poem-turned-national anthem.

SONGS: “The Star-Spangled Banner” & “Long Wave the Glory”

 

“The Wright Brothers” (10/5/74) – The gang’s ancestors help the Wright Brothers assemble and test their aircraft in Kittyhawk, Nort Carolina.

SONG: “Flyin’ High”

 

“The Roughrider” (10/12/74) – The gang’s ancestors head to the old west to witness the formation of Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders.

SONG: “Rough Rider”

 

“The Golden Spike” (10/19/74) – The gang’s ancestors help with the construction of the first transcontinental railroad, symbolically joined in Utah by a golden railroad spike.

SONG: “The Golden Spike”

 

“Flame of Freedom” (10/26/74) – The gang’s ancestors are witnesses to the United States declaring its independence from England.

SONG: “Flame of Freedom”

 

“There She Blows” (11/2/74) – Herman Melville recruits the gang’s ancestors on his sea voyage of adventure and fortune.

SONG: “Yo-Ho-Ho Thar She Blows”

 

“Stay Not These Men” (11/9/74) – The gang’s ancestors help Ben Franklin establish and grow the United States Post Office.

SONG: “Shown the Way”

 

“The Giver” (11/16/74) – The gang’s ancestors help George Washington Carver with his research during his tenure at the Tuskegee Institute.

SONG: “The Giver”

 

“Mr. Watson, Come Here” (11/23/74) – After dealing with Reggie’s loud music, Archie recounts the exploits of a man familiar with the workings of sound: Alexander Graham Bell.

SONG: “The Invention of the Telephone”

 

“The Crime of Ignorance” (11/30/74) – Horace Mann promotes free education in Massachusetts, and the gang’s ancestors help with literacy drives and organizing classes for underserved communities.

SONG: “Horace Mann”

 

“The Great Divide” (12/7/74) – The gang’s ancestors join Lewis and Clark on their expedition to explore America’s newest acquired territory.

SONG: “Lewis and Clark”

 

“Fulton’s Folly” (12/14/74) – The gang’s ancestors serve as crew aboard Robert Fulton’s steamboat as he tries to prove the viability of steam power.

SONG: “Riverboat Blues”

 

“Wizard of Menlo Park” (12/21/74) – The gang’s ancestors collaborate with Thomas Edison as he develops his greatest inventions.

SONG: “Look to Tomorrow”

 

*Some descriptions are based on the best sources available and may not be entirely accurate.