THE ARCHIE COMEDY HOUR

 

THE ARCHIE COMEDY HOUR
(CBS, September 13, 1969-January 3, 1970)

 
Filmation Associates

 

MAIN CAST:
Dallas McKennon – Archie Andrews, Hot Dog, Mr. Weatherbee, Pop Tate, Mr. Lodge, Coach Kleats, Salem, various
Ron Dante – Archie Andrews (singing)
Jane Webb – Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Miss Grundy, Big Ethel, Sabrina Spellman, Aunt Hilda, Aunt Zelda, Della the Head Witch, various
Toni Wine – Betty Cooper (singing), Veronica Lodge (singing)
John Erwin – Reggie Mantle, Ambrose, Hexter, various
Howard Morris – Jughead Jones, Moose Mason, Dilton Doiley, Hot Dog Jr., various
Don Messick – Harvey Kinkle, Spencer, Chili Dog, various
Treva Frazee – Ophelia

 

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

 

            1969 continued to be a banner year for the Archie Comics characters. The Archie Show was still doing well in the ratings, and the virtual The Archies band managed by Don Kirschner was working on their second (Everything’s Archie) and third (Jingle Jangle) album, and had scored a major milestone with their third single, “Sugar, Sugar”, which hit #1 on the U.S. Billboard and U.K. Singles chart for four and eight weeks, respectively, and was certified gold. They would score another gold with the single “Jingle Jangle” later in the year, while charting in the top 40 with two more singles. “Sugar, Sugar” even led them to yet another appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, and was brought up into space by Apollo 12 astronauts Alan Bean and Pete Conrad. Eager to keep the ball rolling, CBS asked Filmation to continue and expand with The Archies.

The Archies are back and still rockin'.

            The result was the second incarnation of The Archie Show, The Archie Comedy Hour. Along with reruns from The Archie Show, Comedy Hour incorporated new segments that were mostly one-off gags rather than story driven, such as “Dilton Doiley’s Inventions”. “The Funhouse” joke segment in the middle of the hour was modeled after Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. Additionally, there were music segments designed to showcase the new music from The Archies.

Advertising mock-up introducing Sabrina.

            Comedy Hour also gave Filmation a chance to fulfill an itch. For a long time, producer Lou Scheimer had been trying to secure the rights to adapt the sitcom Bewitched into an animated series; continuing Filmation’s trend of banking on established properties and their audiences. While perusing some Archie comics on vacation, CBS head daytime programming Fred Silverman discovered that Archie themselves had their own witch character, and alerted Scheimer to the fact. After securing the rights from publisher John Goldwater, Scheimer immediately set Jack Mendelsohn to develop Sabrina, the Teenage Witch for inclusion within the Comedy Hour.

Archie and the gang getting to know the new girl in school.

            Unlike the comics where Sabrina (Jane Webb) was a half-mortal sent to live with her witch aunts, the series’ intro stated that Sabrina was created accidentally when said aunts Hilda and Zelda (both also Webb) mixed the wrong ingredients into their brew. So, instead of gaining a fellow wicked witch, they found themselves with a groovy teen who liked hanging out with her friends at Riverdale High as much as using her magic to help them (in secret, of course). Much like the comics, however, Sabrina’s efforts often ended up making situations worse. Sabrina’s adventures often featured as much of the Archie cast as her own, which included her magical cat, Salem (Dallas McKennon); oblivious boyfriend, Harvey Kinkle (Don Messick); best friend, Ophelia (created for the show, voiced by Treva Frazee); and warlock cousin, Ambrose (John Erwin). Occasionally, Sabrina even had to put up with head witch Della (Webb) and her bratty nephew, Hexter (Erwin). Sabrina’s segments bookended the hour with an additional short segment of her demonstrating magic tricks to the audience.

Reggie is certain there's something peculiar about Sabrina.

            The Archie Comedy Hour debuted on CBS on September 13, 1969. However, canonically, it was preceded by a prime-time special that aired the following night: Archie and His New Pals. The special saw Sabrina coming to Riverdale High just as Reggie (Erwin) and Big Moose (Howard Morris) were set to run against each other for class president. While Sabrina was technically the only “new pal” introduced in the special, its title was actually based on the special’s sponsor: Pals Vitamins. Unlike The Archie Show, this time around one of the Archie writers was employed in George Gladir, co-creator of Sabrina. Additional writers included Bob Ogle, Jim Ryan, Bill Danch and Mendelsohn. Legendary animator Don Bluth, still early in his career, worked as a designer. While The Archies’ music was written by Jeff Barry, Ritchie Adams and Mark Barkan and performed by studio musicians Gary Chester on drums, Dave Appell on guitars, Joey Macho on bass, and Ron Frangipane on keyboards with Ron Dante and Toni Wine on vocals, Ray Ellis composed the rest of the music.

Hilda, Zelda and Salem.

            Sabrina proved popular right out of the gate, prompting Filmation to produce more episodes with her and spin her off into her own series the following year. She was combined with the original concept, The Groovie Goolies, to make the new hour-long program Sabrina and the Groovie Goolies (sometimes known as The Sabrina Comedy Hour). The Archie format was adjusted again to feature more music and more comedy routines rather than typical stories in Archie’s Fun House featuring the Giant Juke Box. That same year, “Jingle Jangle” was featured on The Ed Sullivan show in January while the special was rerun on March 22^nd as The Archie Sugar, Sugar, Jingle Jangle Show with different opening and closing songs.

Sabrina grooving with Harvey.

            Archie Comics continued their staunch support of Filmation and their programs. Along with blurbs about the shows on their covers, “Sugar, Sugar” was woven into practically any story that featured music or The Archies playing; starting with Archie’s Pals ‘n’ Gals #57 (1970).  Further, Archie began publication of a new title called Archie’s TV Laugh-Out (a play on Laugh-In) that primarily showcased their television characters (although, really, it wasn’t any different than any other Archie title besides the combination of all the characters into one book). It ran for 106 issues, ending in 1986, and some stories were collected into a digital trade for Archie's 75th anniversary. Comedy Hour and TV Laugh-Out simultaneously introduced the characters of Ambrose and Harvey; both created for the show that became permanent additions to the Sabrina mythos. While cover-dated for that December, Laugh-Out’s first issue actually went on sale just two weeks after Comedy Hour’s debut.

Archie's TV Laugh-Out #1.

            Post Cereal ran a promotion that included records of “Everything’s Archie”, “Bang-Shang-A-Lang”, “Boys & Girls” or “Hide and Seek” that could be cut out of the back of the boxes of select cereals; a set of 10 metal pins; Jughead’s hat; iron-on images; stationary; Archie’s car; temporary tattoos; and jumping figurines. Unfortunately, no home releases of the Archie portions of the show or short segments are known to exist. When the series was sold into syndication, the shows were cut up and merged into a package called The Archies. Those segments continued to live on in television while the rest wound up on the cutting room floor. When Hallmark purchased Filmation’s assets from then-owner L’Oréal in 1995, they converted everything to digital and PAL-region formats and discarded all of the originals. The restored special—sans the Pals promotional material—and the music segments for “Sugar, Sugar”, “Jingle Jangle” and “Get on the Line” were included as bonus features on the Archie’s Funhouse complete series DVD from Classic Media in 2008. Four additional segments were featured across all four of the Archie & Friends compilation DVDs. The segment for “You Know I Love You” was recovered from an overseas broadcast and uploaded to YouTube. The Sabrina segments, which continued to air in reruns as part of her own show, were released as part of the Archie & Friends compilations Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Archie’s Classic Cartoons, as well as in a complete series DVD set by Classic Media in 2012 and a 10 episode collection from 20^th Century Fox. The set was reissued by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment in 2019, including the first episode of The New Archie and Sabrina Hour (also known as The Archie and Sabrina Surprise Package).

 
 
EPISODE GUIDE:
Sabrina segments:

“The Fairy Godmother / Hiccups” (9/13/69) – Sabrina uses magic to get Spencer to take Ophelia to the school dance. / Sabrina’s hiccups causes her magic to go out of control.

 

“Which Witch is Which? / The Basketball Game” (9/20/69) – A magical mishap causes Hilda to get Sabrina’s face. / Sabrina attempts to use magic to stifle the opposing team’s cheating during a basketball game.

 

“Will the Real Weatherbee Stand Up? / Caveman” (9/27/69) – When the school ends up short-staffed, Sabrina duplicates Mr. Weatherbee to help out. / Attempting to help Sabrina with her history homework causes Ambrose to bring a caveman into the present.

 

“Paint Story / Aunt Zelda’s Broom” (10/4/69) – Sabrina joins the others in painting Mr. Weatherbee’s house. / Sabrina tries to get Zelda her broom for a race in the other world.

 

“Cinderella Story / What the Hex is Going On?” (10/11/69) – Sabrina’s magic goes wild during the costume ball. / Hilda hexes Jughead after he speaks ill about witches.

 

“Wishbone / Babysitter” (10/18/69) – Hot Dog Jr. and Chili Dog find a magic soup bone that grants wishes. / Sabrina has to babysit Della’s wicked nephew, Hexter.

 

“Carnival / Stage Fright” (10/25/69) – A comet passes by overhead that causes everything a witch does to be backwards. / Hilda lands the role of a witch in a play.

 

“Pet Show / Funny Bunny” (11/1/69) – Sabrina enters Salem in a pet show just as a cosmic constellation occurs that causes witches’ cats to be rambunctious. / Sabrina tries to help Jughead be successful, but instead turns him into a rabbit.

 

“Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow / A Witch in Time” (11/8/69) – Sabrina tries to change Mr. Weatherbee’s mind about people with long hair. / Della decides Hilda and Zelda aren’t witch enough to watch over Sabrina and assigns her a new guardian.

 

“When the Cat’s Away / Costume Party” (11/15/69) – Sabrina and Salem trade places. / Sabrina realizes the gang is holding their costume party at the home of the Witches’ Convention.

 

“Let’s Have a Hand for Jughead / The New Freeway” (11/22/69) – Sabrina tries to help Big Ethel attract Jughead. / The Spellmans must save their house from the construction of a new freeway.

 

“Blue Whale / Football Game” (11/29/69) – At the aquarium, Hexter decides to help out a homesick whale. / Hilda attends the school football game and unwittingly helps the opposing team win.

 

“Town Beautiful / Horse’s Mouth” (12/6/69) – A pair of bikers undermine the gang’s efforts at beautifying the town. / Sabrina grants a horse the gift of speech to help get a law changed.

 

“Birdman of Riverdale / Hoedown Showdown” (12/13/69) – Sabrina learns some secrets about a grumpy old man. / The gang helps Moose’s uncle with his harvest so he won’t lose the farm.

 

“Spooky Spokes / You Oughta Be in Pictures” (12/20/69) – Sabrina accidentally gives away Ambrose’s motorcycle and tries to get it back. / Sabrina helps the gang with their movie.

 

“The Generation Flap / School Daze” (12/27/69) – Sabrina arranges a birthday party for Archie on the same night her aunts arranged a magic seminar. / Hexter goes to Riverdale High after shrinking Sabrina down to doll size.

 

“Ug at the Bat / Computerized Moose” (1/3/70) – Hilda makes Sabrina take the caveman to school where he turns out to be a natural batter in baseball. / Moose becomes super-intelligent after an accident with the school’s computer.

 
 
Special:

“Archie and His New Pals” (9/14/69) – Sabrina starts at Riverdale High just as a heated election is about to begin between Reggie and Moose for class president.

JASON OF STAR COMMAND

JASON OF STAR COMMAND
(CBS, September 9, 1978-December 1, 1979)
 
Filmation Associates

 

CAST:
Craig Littler – Jason
Susan O’Hanlon – Captain Nicole Davidoff (season 1)
Charlie Dell – Professor E.J. Parsafoot
James Doohan – Commander Canarvin (season 1)
Sid Haig – Dragos
John Russell – Commander Stone (season 2)
Tamara Dobson – Samantha (season 2)

 

 

        Jason of Star Command was the final live-action series produced by Filmation. Serving as a sequel to Space Academy, it followed the exploits of space adventurer Jason (Craig Littler) and his colleagues: computer genius Captain Nicole Davidoff (Susan O’Hanlon), Professor E.J. Parsafoot (Charlie Dell), and commanding officer Commander Canarvin (James Doohan), as well as Jason’s mini robot W1K1 (Jane Webb). They worked together to foil the sinister plots of the evil Dragos (Sid Haig), unruly aliens and other assorted villains like Queen Vanessa (Julie Newmar) of the ice planet Kesh.

Star Command: Commander Canarvin, Jason, Nicole and Prof. Parsafoot.

        Created and directed by Arthur H. Nadel, the series made extensive use of Space Academy sets, models such as the Academy’s asteroid (where Space Command was said to be set) and Seeker ship, and even featured appearances by Matt Prentiss (John Berwick) and Peepo the robot (operated and on-set voice by Berwick, voiced by Erika Scheimer). The original plan was to have Jonathan Harris reprise his role of Commander Isaac Gampu as the commanding officer for Jason, but he and producer Lou Scheimer had a falling out over a pay dispute when Scheimer tried to lowball him. Doohan’s role was created as a result. Despite all the connections to Academy, the focus was on adult characters rather than the students, with the Han Solo-inspired Jason front and center.

Dragos.

        Newly created for the show was the Starfire, which was the type of ship Star Command usually employed, and Dragos’ massive Dragonship. Dragos also had a legion of unmanned drones (a fact specifically stated often so as to indicate no pilots were killed in dogfights) called “Red Dragon Interceptors”. Chuck Comisky was retained as production coordinator in charge of special effects from Space Academy, and extensive use was made in advancements in technology. With a team comprised of John Grusd, Paul Huston, Ease Owyeung, Jim Veilleux, Diana Wooten and Michael J. McAlister, they utilized computers to do repeated moves with the ship models and generate mattes of space directly into the camera to make it look as if the stars were moving. Jim Aupperle and Stephen Czerkas worked on stop-motion visual effects for some of the creatures encountered by the heroes. W1K1 also proved temperamental, as its electronics and walking features tended not to work when the cameras were rolling most of the time.

The new blood: Commander Stone and Samantha.

Jason of Star Command debuted on CBS on September 9, 1978 as part of the package program Tarzan and the Super 7 alongside Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, The New Adventures of Batman, The Freedom Force, Manta and Moray, Superstretch and Microwoman and Web Woman. The first season was made reminiscent of the classic serial format with an ongoing story carrying on across all 16 15-minute episodes. At $200,000 per episode, it was the most expensive Saturday morning production at the time. The series was written primarily by Samuel A. Peeples along with Don Heckman, Sid Morse, Ted Pedersen, Martha Humphreys, Chuck Menville, Len Janson, Margaret Armen, Lynn Barker, Joe Mazzuca, Jackson Gillis, Michael Halperin and Alf Harris. The theme and score were composed by Ray Ellis (as Yvette Blais) and Norm Prescott (as Jeff Michael).

        The second season saw several changes. Jason was split off into its own half-hour program, and the full-season story format was abandoned in favor of smaller 2-4-episode arcs. O’Hanlon left the show and was replaced by Tamara Dobson as Samantha; a woman found in suspended animation by Jason that had a variety of unique abilities. Additionally, production was moving ahead on Star Trek: The Motion Picture meaning that Doohan was unavailable. He was replaced by John Russell as by-the-book Commander Stone; a blue-skinned alien from Alpha Centauri that often clashed with Jason. John Carl Buechler came on board to handle the live-action creature effects for various alien creatures. And Dragos’ ship got an upgrade with a new 3-foot-long model.

The Starfire.

        Following the conclusion of the second season, Jason was replaced by Filmation’s Shazam! on the schedule and moved to Sunday mornings for the next year; after which it was moved again to Saturday afternoons. In 2007, BCI Eclipse released the complete series on DVD loaded with special features. The following year it was included as part of the collection Filmation Sci-Fi Box Set along with Ark II and Space Academy. As BCI had ceased operations, both sets are currently out of print.

 

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1:

“Attack of the Dragonship” (9/9/78) – Space Academy is struck by Dragos’ Dragonship, resulting in Jason and Parsafoot having to rescue Canarvin from floating in space.

 

“Prisoner of Dragos” (9/16/78) – Dragos introduces himself to the captive Jason and reveals he’ll be sending an evil duplicate of him into Star Command to aid the evil Canarvin already there.

 

“Escape from Dragos” (9/23/78) – Nicole and Parsafoot deal with the evil Canarvin while the real one and Jason escape from the Dragonship.

 

“A Cry for Help” (9/30/78) – Evil Canarvin disables the Academy’s shields allowing an opening for Dragos to attack while Jason rescues a lovely princess from Dragos’ cells.

 

“W1K1 to the Rescue” (10/7/78) – W1K1 leads Nicole to Jason and the princess, and Jason launches the Starfire into the Dragonship to free the Academy’s controls.

 

“Planet of the Lost” (10/14/78) – W1K1 and Parsafoot manage to get a Starfire to rescue Nicole, Jason and the princess, but Dragos and his minions manage to track them.

 

“Marooned in Time” (10/21/78) – Jason, Nicole and Parsafoot are trapped on a planet trapped in time by Dragons as captives of Captain Kidd.

 

“Attack of the Dragons” (10/28/78) – Parsafoot is able to repair their ship and they escape with Kidd, who agrees to join them in the fight against Dragos.

 

“Peepo’s Last Chance” (11/4/78) – Peepo is captured by Dragos in order to scan his memory banks, which contain vital information about Space Command.

 

“The Disappearing Man” (11/11/78) – Jason must enter a distorted time dimension to rescue Matt Prentiss.

 

“The Haunted Planet” (11/18/78) – While searching for Peepo, a radiation beam forces Jason to land on an ice planet where he and his colleagues are captured by the evil Queen Vanessa.

 

“Escape from Kesh” (11/25/78) – A shrunken Jason frees the heroes from their cell and they steal Queen Vanessa’s ship, not knowing she and her minions are already on board.

 

“Return of the Creature” (12/2/78) – As Dragos renews his attack on the Academy, Jason rescues the heroes and Peepo and steal a spaceship to escape the Dragonship.

“Peepo on Trial” (12/9/78) – Under Dragos’ control, Peepo sabotages the Academy’s engines sending it right into the heart of a galactic typhoon.

 

“The Trojan Horse” (12/16/78) – With the Academy saved, the heroes learn from Peepo that Dragos controls his minions via the medallion he wears.

 

“The Victory of Star Command” (12/23/78) – Once again captured, Jason manages to free himself and confronts Dragos as he attempts to attack the Academy once again.

 

Season 2:

“Mission to the Stars” (9/15/79) – Jason discovers Samantha frozen in suspended animation on a space wreck as Space Command gets a new commander.

 

“Frozen in Space” (9/22/79) – Jason and Samantha discover Dragos is behind a deadly freeze ray that threatens Star Command.

 

“Web of the Star Witch” (9/29/79) – Jason is offered immense wealth to join the ranks of the evil Queen Medusa.

 

“Beyond the Stars!” (10/6/79) – Dragos sends a spy into Star Command in order to capture Professor Parsafoot.

 

“Secret of the Ancients” (10/13/79) – Parsafoot is forced to help Dragos decipher an ancient powerdisk in order to save Jason.

 

“The Power of the Star Disk” (10/20/79) – Jason and The Commander meet a Tantalusian ghost when Dragos banishes them into limbo.

 

“Through the Stargate” (10/27/79) – A ship docks with Star Command for aid, but its cargo ends up sending Jason, Samantha and Parsafoot into another dimension.

 

“Face to Face” (11/3/79) – Jason, Samantha and Parsafoot must rely on each other in order to survive and escape the strange dimension.

 

“Phantom Force” (11/10/79) – Strange incidents befall Star Command shortly after Samantha rescues a young boy.

 

“Little Girl Lost” (11/17/79) – Jason and Samantha discover a little girl with a doll in a crashed spaceship.

 

“Mimi’s Secret” (11/24/79) – Dragos and Star Command both want the secrets contained within the little girl’s doll.

 

“Battle for Freedom” (12/1/79) – Jason sets out to rescue The Commander from Dragos’ clutches.

THE SECRET LIVES OF WALDO KITTY

 
THE SECRET LIVES OF WALDO KITTY / THE NEW ADVENTURES OF WALDO KITTY
(NBC, September 6-November 29, 1975)
 
Filmation Associates
 
 

MAIN CAST:

Howard Morris – Waldo Kitty/Cat Man/Robin Cat/The Lone Kitty/Catzan/Captain Hercm various
Jane Webb – Felicia
Allan Melvin – Tyrone, various

 

 

            While most might be more familiar with the 2013 film version starring Ben Stiller, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was originally a short story written by James Thurber. First published in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, the story dealt with the mild-mannered titular character living out heroic fantasies in his head inspired by some mundane aspect of his life in the moment. Those adventures saw him as the pilot of a U.S. Navy flying boat in a storm, a surgeon performing a rare surgery, a deadly assassin testifying in court, a Royal Air Force pilot volunteering for a secret suicide mission, and finally facing down a firing squad. The story has been adapted countless times on stage and screen.

The live-action Waldo, Tyrone and Felicia.

            Filmation, finally “getting over [their] aversion to satire” as co-founder Lou Scheimer would put it in his book, Creating the Filmation Generation, decided to take inspiration from the story for their next project. The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty followed a shy and timid cat named Waldo (Howard Morris) who often imagined himself in heroic roles when dealing with the menacing English bulldog, Tyrone (Allan Melvin), which would help him come up with a real solution. These fantasies would alternate between five pop culture parodies: Batman, Tarzan, The Lone Ranger, Robin Hood and Star Trek (four of which were properties Filmation had or would come to work on). Always present and in need of rescue was Waldo’s girlfriend, Felicia (Jane Webb). Occasionally, Tyrone would be joined by three other dogs to comprise his gang, while Waldo would have either a sparrow or rabbit as a sidekick. What made the show unique was that while the fantasy sequences were traditionally animated, the real-life Waldo and his companions were portrayed by real-life animals in wraparound segments produced by Filmart with animals from Frank Inn, Inc.

The alter-egos of Waldo Kitty.

            The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty debuted on NBC on September 6, 1975. The series was written by Lorna Cook, Bill Danch and Jim Ryan, with music by Ray Ellis (as Yvette Blas) and Norm Prescott (as Jeff Michael) and additional music and sound effects by Horta-Mahana Corp. The theme was written by Jackie Mills and Joyce Taylor and performed in-character by Morris. However, it was a hassle to even get the show made. Filmation’s first headache came with the conception of the show. Layout artist Lorna Smith came up with the concept, fought for it to even be considered for production by the studio, and then for her credit on the series when her role in the equation was seemingly forgotten. NBC had reduced their episode order from 16 to 13, which made the show very unattractive to certain markets for airing. Then, Filmation learned why the adage “never work with children or animals” was coined with the tremendous difficulty they had in wrangling their dog actor for filming, as he was always chasing after the cat actors on set. Finally, Thurber’s widow Helen and Samuel Goldwyn Productions filed suit against Filmation for infringing on her husband’s idea and unfair competition.  The series ultimately proved different enough for the suit to go nowhere, but NBC cancelled it anyway and didn’t even give it a second season of reruns.

One of the VHS covers depicting Waldo rescuing Felicia from Tyrone and his thugs.

            Filmation would later include an edited version of the show in a syndication package with their Groovie Goolies. To remove all comparisons to Walter Mitty, they got rid of the live-action segments and changed the show’s name to The New Adventures of Waldo Kitty. Only three episodes made it to home video between United American Video’s 1989 VHS release and various international releases.

 

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

“Cat Man” (9/6/75) – Waldo—as Cat Man—attempts to get past Tyrone’s friends to rescue Felicia from his clutches.

 

“Catzan of the Apes” (9/13/75) – Waldo—as Catzan—must keep Tyrone from tearing down the jungle in order to make room for a construction project.

 

“The Lone Kitty” (9/20/75) – Waldo—as The Lone Kitty—rises up to rescue a small desert town from bandit Tyrone and his cronies.

 

“Robin Cat” (9/27/75) – Tyrone is sent out after Waldo—as Robin Cat—to stop his stealing of food to give to the poor.

 

“Cat Trek” (10/4/75) – Tyrone chases down Waldo—as Captain Herc—and demands he give up his ship, the Second Prize.

 

“Cat Man Meets the Poochquin” (10/11/75) – Cat Man and Sparrow must rescue Felicia and her uncle from the prison Tyrone—as the Poochquin—locked them up in.

 

“Catzan or Not Catzan” (10/18/75) – Tyrone returns to the jungle to hunt all the animals that lived there, and Catzan must figure out how to get rid of him.

 

“The Lone Kitty Rides Again” (10/25/75) – Tyrone kidnaps Felicia in the desert, prompting The Lone Kitty to ride to her rescue.

 

“Sheriff of Sherwood” (11/1/75) – Tyrone intends to spoil Robin Cat’s day as “sheriff of the day”.

 

“Cat Man Meets the Puzzler” (11/8/75) – Tyrone—as the Puzzler—kidnaps Felicia prompting Cat Man to come rescue her.

 

“Dr. Livingstone, I Perfume?” (11/15/75) – Catzan vows to stop Tyrone before he gets his hands on Dr. Livingstone’s secret expensive perfume-producing oil.

 

“Ping or Pongo” (11/22/75) – Tyrone attempts to scare Captain Herc off of his ship utilizing a hologram of himself.

 

“Chaw the Bullet” (11/29/75) – The Lone Kitty and Pronto must keep a land settlement safe from Tyron and his gang.

THE NEW ADVENTURES OF MIGHTY MOUSE AND HECKLE & JECKLE

 

THE NEW ADVENTURES OF MIGHTY MOUSE AND HECKLE & JECKLE

(CBS, September 8-December 22, 1979)

 

Filmation Associates, Viacom Productions

 
 
MAIN CAST:
Alan Oppenheimer – Mighty Mouse, Oil Can Harry, Swifty, Narrator, various
Diane Pershing – Pearl Pureheart, various
Frank Welker – Heckle, Jeckle, Quacula, various
Norm Prescott – Theodore H. Bear, various
 

 
            CBS was looking to bring Mighty Mouse back to television for the first time since Mighty Mouse Playhouse went off the air in 1967. CBS had purchased the Terrytoons studio back in 1955 and eventually closed it in 1972. Without an animation studio of their own to produce new content, they licensed out their works to others. In this case, Filmation got the task.

Mighty Mouse escorting Pearl Pureheart.

            Once again, Mighty Mouse (Alan Oppenheimer) was protecting the world and his love interest, Pearl Pureheart (Diane Pershing), from the evil machinations of Oil Can Harry and his all-new dim-witted stooge, Swifty (both Oppenheimer). Their encounters could happen in any time period, with Pearl and the villains adopting roles specific for the era (however, Mighty Mouse remained the same). Several changes were made to the Mighty Mouse formula for Filmation’s series. The characters abandoned their operatic dialogue delivery from the theatrical shorts mostly, as producer Lou Scheimer would recount in his book Creating the Filmation Generation, to reduce the necessity to hire additional actors that could sing for roles he and fellow producer Norm Prescott would fill in the various episodes (although Mighty Mouse would still belt some lines out, like his catchphrase: “Here I come to save the day!”). They also abandoned the faux serialization tradition of starting off each entry as if it were a continuation of some non-existent previous part. Instead, events would unfold as Mighty Mouse usually watched for trouble through a giant telescope from his cheese-like fortress on a cheese-like planet in space. One all-new story, “The Great Space Chase”, was serialized across the entire season. In keeping with broadcast standards of the time, the violence was severely toned down or non-existent when compared to the theatrical features.

Heckle and Jeckle at odds with their canine adversary.

            As a second feature for this venture, Mighty Mouse was joined by another Paul Terry creation: Heckle & Jeckle (both Frank Welker, who also voiced most of the characters in their segments). Heckle & Jeckle are magpies that look alike, but one spoke in a stereotypical Brooklyn accent while the other in a British one. Their creation came about because of Terry’s desire to have twin characters, as unique a concept at the time as utilizing magpies for the base animals. The pair made their debut in 1946’s The Talking Magpies originally as husband and wife before being given their lasting attributes with The Uninvited Pests, voiced over their run by Sid Raymond, Ned Sparks, Roy Halee and Dayton Allen. The pair had a warped sense of humor verging on antagonistic; playing outlandish practical jokes on unsuspecting victims and opponents—particularly their foil, Dimwit Dog—and a propensity for disguise gags. 52 Heckle & Jeckle shorts were made. When Terrytoons was sold to CBS, their shorts were packaged and broadcast on television on CBS Cartoon Theater and in their own The Heckle and Jeckle Cartoon Show. As with the Mighty Mouse segments, their antics were severely toned down to reduce their malevolent and sadistic overtones. However, they still remained somewhat madcap in their antics; particularly with 4^th wall breaks that took advantage of their being cartoon characters. Jeckle was depicted as the smarter of the pair, and Dimwit continued to serve as a regular antagonist in a variety of roles.

Quacula arises from his coffin.

            Newly-created for the series was Quacula (Welker); a duck version of Dracula. He would sleep all day in a coffin shaped like an egg in the basement of Theodore H. Bear (Norm Prescott, imitating Joe E. Ross) and would arise at night to try—and fail—at terrorizing Theodore and other citizens. Theodore would attempt to come up with plans to rid himself of Quacula once and for all so that he could get some sleep; but those failed about as much as Quacula’s efforts.

Storyboard from "The Great Space Chase".

            The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle debuted on CBS on September 8, 1979. The series originally ran for an hour with two Mighty Mouse shorts bookending a chapter in his serial adventure, and two Heckle and Jeckle shorts with a Quacula sandwiched between them. The characters largely stayed in their own adventures, however Heckle and Jeckle did appear in a Mighty Mouse and one of their shorts was basically another Quacula cartoon. Additionally, Filmation’s trademark educational touch was represented by PSAs of Mighty Mouse talking about the environment and Heckle and Jeckle talking about homonyms between the segments. The series was written by Dave Bascom, Ron Card, Bill Danch, Dan DiStefano, Buzz Dixon, Coslough Johnson, Ted Pedersen, Creighton Barnes, Marc Richards, Nancy Schipper and Sam Simon. Notably, this series was the writing debut of Paul Dini, whose father was a friend of Prescott’s and began his Filmation career lighting models. John Kricfalusi also got his start storyboarding for the series and Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (although he would call his Filmation tenure an “embarrassment” for him later on), and later went to work on the next Mighty Mouse series, Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures. The series’ music was composed by Ray Ellis (as Yvette Blais) and Prescott (Jeff Michael), with the theme by Dean Andre and Prescott.

The back cover of Quack! #2 by Scott Shaw!

            Filmation ran into a legal complication after their series premiered. Apparently, artist Scott Shaw! had created his own vampire duck character, Duckula, that appeared in the first issue of Quack! and on the back cover of the second issue, published by Star*Reach in 1976 and 1977, respectively. While the notion of a vampire duck wasn’t really new—Scheimer himself cited Daffy Duck appearing with a Duckula in Daffy Duck #92 (1975)—what drew concern from Shaw! was the fact that he was alerted by friends at Filmation that they had copies of Quack! on hand during production and that Quackula’s character model sheet seemed to be a Bob Clampett Daffy with Duckula’s features overlayed onto it (Shaw! would recruit Clampett as an expert witness). Additionally, Duckula had his own bear supporting character named Bearanboltz, a dimwitted pastiche of Frankenstein’s monster, which again made the similarities too convenient. He filed a plagiarism lawsuit after episodes began airing. Ultimately, Filmation settled with Shaw! for $30,000 and removed the Quackula segments when the series entered reruns.

            CBS kept the series on its schedule for three years; shortening it to half an hour for the 1980 season and then moving it to Sunday mornings in early 1981. “The Great Space Chase” was edited into an 86-minute film and received a limited release to theaters in 1982 as an attempt to cash in on the anticipation of the release of Return of the Jedi. Reportedly, while it didn’t fare well in the United States, it played better overseas. Along with the film, several Mighty Mouse segments saw release on home video domestically and abroad. The entire series has yet to be released on any kind of home media or streaming service, however various segments can be found around the web.
           
 
 
EPISODE GUIDE:
“Mouse of the Desert / The Great Space Chase: Chapter 1 / Stop...Pay Troll / Goldfeather / Star Boars / The Golden Egg” (9/8/79) – High priest Harry summons the Egyptian god Set to help him overthrow Queen Pearl. / Mighty Mouse must protect space-faring Queen Pearl from Harry the Heartless. / To help a kid get to sleep, Mighty Mouse reads him a story about rescuing Pixie Pureheart from troll Harry. / P.I.s Heckle and Jeckle are hired to stop Goldfeather from turning stolen gold into Swiss cheese to sneak past customs. / Quacula ends up on a spaceship bound for a planet where the sun always shines. / Heckle and Jeckle trade their clunker of a car for a magic bean that grows a giant beanstalk.
 
“Planks a Lot / The Great Space Chase: Chapter 2 / The Exercist / The Heroes / House for Sale / Cavebirds” (9/15/79) – Mighty Mouse must rescue Captain Pureheart from pirate Harry seeking the same treasure she’s after. / Mighty Mouse must protect space-faring Queen Pearl from Harry the Heartless. / Spy Harry uses the Trojan Horse method to capture Queen Pureheart of Athens. / Heckle and Jeckle are hit with the desire to become heroes and end up more like zeroes. / Quacula must prevent Theodore from selling his house to a wax museum proprietor. / Chasing Heckle’s new hat into a museum caveman display causes the pair to be sent back into prehistoric times.
 
“The Star of Cucamonga / The Great Space Chase: Chapter 3 / Gypsy Mice / Show Business / Weird Bear / Spurs” (9/22/79) – Harry plots to steal a valuable diamond Pearl just inherited. / Mighty Mouse must protect space-faring Queen Pearl from Harry the Heartless. / Mighty Mouse must rescue gypsy Pearl from werecat Harry. / Heckle and Jeckle decide to join the circus as stuntmen, not knowing someone plans to sabotage them to get ahold of the circus. / One of Quacula’s potions turns Theodore into a monster. / Heckle and Jeckle constantly interrupt the filming of a Western.
 
“Loco Motivations / The Great Space Chase: Chapter 4 / Cats and Robbers / Birds of Paradise / Monster Mash / The Open Road” (9/29/79) – In the 1800s, Harry plans to steal a trainload of cattle bound for market. / Mighty Mouse must protect space-faring Queen Pearl from Harry the Heartless. / ‘20s gangster Big Harry attempts to intimidate Pearl into dating him and paying him protection money. / Heading to the South Seas for a vacation pits Heckle and Jeckle against a pirate and his illegal pearl-diving operation. / Theodore buys a robot monster to get rid of Quacula but it ends up causing both of them trouble. / Heckle and Jeckle are railroaded by an illegal speed trap.
 
“Blimp with the Wind / The Great Space Chase: Chapter 5 / Catula / Robot Factory / Uncle Frenec / Farmer and the Crows” (10/6/79) – Harry cheats to win an air race to circumnavigate the globe. / Mighty Mouse must protect space-faring Queen Pearl from Harry the Heartless. / Count Catula lures Pearl into a lease of his castle full of deadly traps. / P.I.s Heckle and Jeckle are called to a robot factory to investigate the disappearance of parts on their assembly line. / Theodore’s hopes of joining a birdwatching club are dashed when Quacula’s uncle visits the night their committee comes over. / A land tycoon tries everything to get Heckle and Jeckle to sell their inherited farm.
 
“Mouserace / The Great Space Chase: Chapter 6 / The Sun Harnesser / Foreign Legion Birds / The Magic Lamp / Mail Birds” (10/13/79) – Harry cheats in a road race to win the title of racer of the year. / Mighty Mouse must protect space-faring Queen Pearl from Harry the Heartless. / Harry plans to steal plans for a device that can harness the sun’s energy to rule the world. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / Theodore gets a magic lamp from the flea market and hopes its genie can get rid of Quacula. / A rival pilot seeks to ground Heckle and Jeckle’s airmail service.
 
“Movie Mouse / The Great Space Chase: Chapter 7 / Mick Jaguar in Concert / The Malcon-tents / Room for Rent / Bellhops” (10/20/79) –Harry attempts to sabotage Pearl’s production of a similar movie he plans to make to save his film studio. / Mighty Mouse must protect space-faring Queen Pearl from Harry the Heartless. / Harry disguises himself as a famous rock star in order to hypnotize and capture the audience to work on his catnip farm. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / Quacula follows Theodore when he tries to get away to a hotel for a bit. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“Pheline of the Rock Opera / The Great Space Chase: Chapter 8 / Captain Nemo-oh-oh / Sphinx! / Morgana La Duck / Hang Two” (10/27/79) – Harry plots to kidnap rock star Pearl and hold her for ransom. / Mighty Mouse must protect space-faring Queen Pearl from Harry the Heartless. / Harry plans to steal underwater farmer Pearl’s submarine to use to hold-up other vessels. / Heckle and Jeckle go on an Egyptian treasure hunt that turns out to be a tourist trap. / Morgana La Duck rises from a 1,000-year sleep and desires Theodore’s house. / Heckle and Jeckle enter a surfing competition to put a bully in his place.
 
“Snow Mouse / The Great Space Chase: Chapter 9 / Haunted House Mouse / Witch Way Outta Here? / Return of Star Boars / C.B. Birds” (11/3/79) – Harry cheats to help Catsylvania beat the American team in the winter Olympics. / Mighty Mouse must protect space-faring Queen Pearl from Harry the Heartless. / Harry attempts to scare Pearl away from her uncle’s house to keep her from finding his will before he can. / A witch decides to make Heckle and Jeckle her dinner. / Quacula’s coffin is dropped into the Bermuda Triangle and he finds himself in the clutches of aliens. / Movers Heckle and Jeckle must transport a dinosaur egg while keeping it out of the hands of a bandit.
 
“Cat Ness Monster / The Great Space Chase: Chapter 10 / Rugged Rodent / Shopping Center / Time and Before / Where There’s a Will” (11/10/79) – Pearl sets out to photograph the Cat Ness Monster and instead finds Harry in a monster sub looking for treasure. / Mighty Mouse must protect space-faring Queen Pearl from Harry the Heartless. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / Mall employees Heckle and Jeckle chase after a crafty shoplifter. / Theodore builds a time machine to send Quacula back in time. / Heckle and Jeckle inherit a house from their uncle, but they go to the wrong address and find themselves having to deal with Quacula.
 
“Gorilla My Dreams / The Great Space Chase: Chapter 11 / Cattenstein / Identity Problem / Bungled Burglary / Time Warped” (11/17/79) – Harry plans to kidnap a giant gorilla to use in his crimes. / Mighty Mouse must protect space-faring Queen Pearl from Harry the Heartless. / Harry plans to hijack Pearl’s monster creation. / P.I.s Heckle and Jeckle mistake a visiting alien for the missing rockstar they’re hired to find. / A mad scientist steals Quacula’s coffin and makes clones of him. /
 
“Cat of the Baskervilles / The Great Space Chase: Chapter 12 / Pearl of the Jungle / Invisible Birds / Shanghai Salty / Marathon Bird” (11/24/79) – Pearlock Holmes is hired to investigate the haunting of Baskerville Manor. / Mighty Mouse must protect space-faring Queen Pearl from Harry the Heartless. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / Theodore’s cruise is interrupted by Quacula and pirates. / A trainer cheats to ensure his runner wins the marathon.
 
“Moby Whale / The Great Space Chase: Chapter 13 / Big Top Cat / Supermarket / Pyramid / Flowered Knighthood” (12/1/79) – Harry wants to capture a whale to get enough money to buy a grand ship of his own. / Mighty Mouse must protect space-faring Queen Pearl from Harry the Heartless. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / Theodore gets a job as a museum night watchman and accidentally awakens a mummy. / Heckle and Jeckle get sent back to Camelot by Merlin and compete with a knight to rescue the fair princess.
 
“The Disorient Express / The Great Space Chase: Chapter 14 / The Maltese Mouse / Astrobirds / Haunted House / Apartment Birds” (12/8/79) – Harry attempts to steal some top secret from Pearl during her train ride. / Mighty Mouse must protect space-faring Queen Pearl from Harry the Heartless.  / Harry attempts to trick P.I. Pearl into stealing The Maltese Mouse for him. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / Theodore hires someone to get rid of Quacula. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“Beau Jest / The Great Space Chase: Chapter 15 / Curse of the Cat / The 25^th Century / Magic Duck / Safari Birds” (12/15/79) – Harry plots to take over the desert fort Pearl’s uncle commands. / Mighty Mouse must protect space-faring Queen Pearl from Harry the Heartless. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / Theodore holds a birthday party for his friend who becomes interested in Quacula’s friend, Merlin. / Heckle and Jeckle are hired by a big game hunter to retrieve a rare bird from Africa.
 
“Around the World in 80 Ways / The Great Space Chase: Chapter 16 / Tugboat Pearl / Wonderland / The Fantastic 2 ½ / Arabian Night and Days” (12/22/79) – Heckle and Jeckle host a roast for Harry and showcase clips of his greatest capers. / Mighty Mouse must protect space-faring Queen Pearl from Harry the Heartless. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / Theodore brings in some superheroes to deal with Quacula. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.