Remember that one day when you could wake up without an alarm? When you would get your favorite bowl of cereal and sit between the hours of 8 and 12? This is a blog dedicated to the greatest time of our childhood: Saturday mornings. The television programs you watched, the memories attached to them, and maybe introducing you to something you didn't realize existed. Updated every weekend.
He appeared as the Award Show Host in an episode of The Weird Al Show;
Mr. Brown in an episode of City Guys; Cassandra's father Vic in several episodes of Hercules:
The Animated Series; Pa Munchapper in three episodes of Buzz Lightyear of Star
Command; Mr. Paulson in Teamo Supremo; Ross Darren and a speedway
announcer in two different episodes of The Batman; Swindle in Transformers:
Animated; Grandpa Murphy in Milo Murphy’s Law; and Pop-Pop in The
Loud House. He also provided voices for The Emperor’s New School and
appeared with his comedy troupe, Ace Trucking Company, in the 1974 ABC
Funshine Saturday Sneak Peak preview special.
Probably best known as half of the comedy duo Stiller & Meara, Frank
Costanza from Seinfeld, or Arthur Spooner from King of Queens,
depending on what generation you’re from. But, on Saturday morning, he was an eagle
in an episode of Hercules: The Animated Series and Pretty Boy in Teacher’s
Pet.
Notable Roles: Clarabelle
the Clown, Corny the Clown, Tinker, Captain Kangaroo, Mister Mayor, Aesop
After serving in WWII, Keeshan joined The
Howdy Doody Showduring the rise of television as the original
Clarabell the Clown. Portrayed as mute, Clarabell would communicate with horns
and would spray host Bob
Smith with a seltzer bottle. Because of a salary dispute, he and most of
the Howdy Doody cast walked off the
show in 1952 and were subsequently replaced. He played another clown, Corny, on
the local ABC program Time for Fun and created and starred in the preschool-aimed program
Tinker’s Workshop.
Developing ideas from Tinker’s, Keeshan
and his friend Jack Miller
submitted the concept of Captain
Kangarooto CBS when they were
looking for new children’s programming. CBS greenlit the show and Keeshan
starred as the titular Captain Kangaroo, so named for the large pockets on his
coat, beginning on October 3, 1955. CBS continually changed its timeslot and
length throughout its run, before he decided to end it when his contract ran
out in December of 1984. The show earned Emmy
Awards for its last three years on air. During Captain Kangaroo’s run, Keeshan tried to do a second show called Mister Mayor in 1964, but it only lasted a single year. In 1985, Keeshan hosted the
original run of CBS Storybreak for
three seasons, which featured
animated adaptations of various children’s books. He considered a revival of Captain Kangaroo, but was unable to
obtain the rights to do so. In 1987, he co-founded Corporate
Family Solutions, which provided day-care programs to businesses. He took
part in the 1993
congressional hearings against violence in video games and published his memoir
in 1995. Keeshan also received several honorary doctorates for his work with
children. Keeshan had suffered a heart attack in 1981 which led to his
receiving triple-bypass surgery. He died of another heart attack in 2004.
Best known for his roles in The
Carol Burnett Show and McHale’s Navy,
Conway appeared as himself in an episode of Sesame Street and The New
Scooby-Doo Movies, as Griffin in an episode of Hercules: The Animated Series, and had the recurring role of
Barnacle Boy in the SpongeBob SquarePants
franchise.
In 1992, Disney opened up pitches to thirty writers,
artists and animators for potential animated features. Joe Haidar decided to model his
pitch around Greek mythology and created a brief outline following Hercules in
the Trojan War. Hercules was greenlit
for development, but Haidar’s involvement with it ended after a page and a half
treatment. Instead, Aladdindirectors Ron Clements and John Musker took on the project
in an arrangement with studio head Jeffrey Katzenberg to produce
another commercially viable film in order to work on their own project, Treasure Planet.
Young Hercules character model.
Clements and Musker researched Greek mythology
extensively and decided they needed to abandon the traditional story of Hercules; especially his being
birthed from an affair between Zeus
and the mortal Alcmene. Ultimately, they settled on making Hercules the son of
Zeus and Hera, replacing Hera with Hades as the villain of the piece
feeling that the darkness of the underworld contrasted so nicely with the
majesty of Olympus,
as well as offered a lot of visual possibilities. Hercules would be a naïve
character torn between two worlds, with a Danny DeVito-type sidekick and
a world-wise heroine in a battle of idealism versus cynicism. After multiple
meetings and conferences, Clements and Musker wrote their first draft. Don McEnery and Bob Shaw were brought in to
work on refining the script, which was concurrently rewritten by Irene Mecchi to add more humor in
order to combat criticisms over the dark tones of previous releases Pocahontasand The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Hercules
followed Hades (James Woods), ruler of the underworld, who was plotting to
free the Titans in a bid to
conquer Olympus. The
only hitch: Zeus (Rip Torn)
and Hera’s (Samantha Eggar) new son,
Hercules (Tate Donovan, Josh
Keaton as a teen), could stop him. He sent his minions, Pain (Bobcat
Goldthwait) and Panic (Matt Frewer), to abduct the baby and turn him mortal;
however, the job was only half completed and Hercules retained his strength. He
was found, adopted and raised by farmers Amphitryon (Hal Holbrook) and Alcmene (Barbara Barrie) until Zeus
appeared to him in his teenaged years and told him he could reclaim his godhood
by becoming a true hero. He was sent to train with satyr Philoctetes (or “Phil”
for short, voiced by DeVito), and met and fell for Megara (Susan Egan) in his travels. Unfortunately,
Megara turned out to be a minion for Hades whom he used in a ploy to get
Hercules to shed his powers and allow Hades to remove him from his plans once
and for all.
Character size comparison models.
The film’s visual style and
characters were designed by Gerald
Scarfe, whose Time
magazine cover of the Beatles
was fondly remembered by Clements and Musker, and whose style they felt closely
resembled the style seen painted on Greek vases. In casting Donovan in the
title role, the producers felt he brought a “charming yet innocent” quality
into his readings. Supervising animator Andreas Deja integrated those
qualities into Hercules’ expressions. Egan had auditioned for every Disney
animated feature since Beauty and the Beast(which
she ended up playing in on Broadway) and was almost barred from auditioning for
Hercules, but was given the chance and
found to be perfect for the role. Supervising animator Ken Duncan said Meg was “based
on a ‘40s screwball comedienne” and Greek shapes were used in her hair. DeVito
was always envisioned as playing Phil, but he initially turned down the role.
When he finally signed on, supervising animator Eric Goldberg incorporated his
mouth movements into Phil, as well as getting inspiration from Grumpy (Pinto Colvig) in Snow Whiteand Bacchus in Fantasia. Hades was
initially supposed to be darker and more menacing, but James Woods’ manner of
speaking proved a better fit for the character. Woods ad-libbed a lot of his
lines and gave Hades a Hollywood agent/car salesman vibe. Supervising animator Nik Ranieri could take up to
two weeks to animate a one-second scene due to Woods’ vocal speed. Frank Welker
was cast as Hercules’ flying horse, Pegasus, and Pain was conceived with Goldthwait
in mind, although he still had to audition for the role.
Zeus and Hera with baby Hercules and Pegasus.
Hercules
opened in theaters on June 27, 1997. Despite mostly positive critical
reception, the film ended up underperforming compared to previous films and
ended up earning only $252.7 million at the box office. Buena
Vista Pictures Distribution president Dick Cook blamed it on
competition from Men in Blackand Batman and Robin, while
others felt the animated stylings were disappointing appeared unfinished. The
film also received a bit of controversy when Disney attempted to have an
open-air premier at Pnyx
hill, but the Greek government declined when their media and public panned
the film for its distortion of the mythology. To date, Hercules is the only film released during the period known as the Disney Renaissance
not to have a sequel or prequel made.
The Muses, jazzing up the narration.
Despite the underwhelming
performance, Disney felt the film would be perfect for a television series. Tad Stones was placed in charge
of the show, following Clements and Musker once again as he also adapted Aladdin to the small screen. Stones
decided to largely ignore the continuity of the movie and focused on staying
true to the elements of humor and adventure, which he felt led the team to
produce a stronger series. Most of the film’s cast signed on to reprise their
roles; especially Woods, who had so much fun voicing Hades that he offered to
forfeit his salary when production was running over budget. Corey Burton ended
up taking over the role of Zeus; Tress
MacNeille succeeded Amanda
Plummer as Clotho, one of the Fates;
Robert Costanzo took over Phil; and Robert Stack replaced Charlton Heston as Bob, the
show’s unseen narrator.
Hercules
was a prequel of sorts set during the film’s song “One Last Hope”, while
Hercules was still a teenager training with Phil on the Isle of Idra. When not
training, Hercules attended Prometheus Academy,
which served as an ancient Greek parody of modern high school. Hercules’
friends there was Icarus (French Stewart), a free-spirit who was “brain-fried”
from flying too close to the sun and often ended up in trouble that Hercules
had to rescue him from. He was hopelessly infatuated with Hercules’ other friend,
Cassandra (Sandra Bernhard). Cassandra was an attractive though anti-social
girl who received bad visions from the future. Hades served as the main
antagonist, constantly plotting to gain control of Mount Olympus from Zeus with
the aid of Pain and Panic. Unlike the film, Hades was aware that Hercules was
alive as a teen and often targeted him for reasons other than the grand scheme
from the film (which was never mentioned). Hercules would also wear his adult
outfit from the film from time to time.
Adonis shows off.
Hercules also had a school rival in the
form of Adonis (Diedrich Bader), the cowardly,
narcissistic prince of Thrace who was a frenemy to Hercules and Icarus (and who would lead Meg into trouble with Hades before the film). Other
students included Helen
of Troy (Jodi Benson),
the most popular girl in school who tried to keep her boyfriend, Adonis, from
being too much of a jerk; Melampus
(Ethan Embry), who was
attracted to Cassandra and was a comic-scroll fanboy; Pandora (http://www.jennavonoy.com), a student
with a locker full of mysteries; Tempest
(Jennifer Jason Leigh), a
quick-tempered Amazon warrior princess; Ajax (grunts by Welker), a
barbarian student with bad hygiene; Andromeda (Kath Soucie), a new student that
attracted Hercules; Electra
(Joey Lauren Adams), a goth
student whose anger summoned vicious Furies; and Anaxarete (Cree Summer), Hercules’ brief
girlfriend.
Probably the most interesting—and
unlikely—guest-stars were from Stones’ previous series, Aladdin.
Hades and Jafar (Jonathan
Freeman) met in the underworld and decided to team-up to destroy their
respective enemies. The episode featured Aladdin (Scott Weinger), Jasmine (Linda Larkin), Abu (Welker) and Carpet, with a brief appearance
by Genie’s fist (likely because
neither Castellaneta or Robin
Williams were available for the role). Dialogue and the absence of Iago (Gilbert Gottfried) indicated that the
episode took place after Aladdin and the King of
Thievesfilm. While one could argue the time periods of Hercules and
Aladdin should be farther apart realistically, the concept did fit in with
previous continuity as Genie had mentioned racing with Hercules in The Return of Jafarfilm.
Panic and Pain grab a young Meg.
Despite the time period of the
series, Meg also made two appearances with Egan reprising the role. In
“Hercules and the Aetolian Amphora”, they crossed paths as Hercules helped her
to retrieve a stolen piece of property, but retain no memory of their meeting
after being doused with water that erased memories. The second time was in
“Hercules and the Yearbook”, which was set after the film and had Hercules and
Meg married. Meg stumbled upon Hercules’ yearbook and Phil proceeded to tell
her about some of the misadventures he had during his school years. “Yearbook”
also served as the framing sequence for the direct-to-video film, Hercules: Zero to Hero. The film, which
took its name from one of the first film’s songs, was a compilation of the
episodes “Hercules and the First Day of School”, “Hercules and the Grim
Avenger” and “Hercules and the Visit from Zeus”. Dialogue from “Yearbook” was
altered to fit the new “flashbacks”. The film, released on VHS
on August 17, 1999, was largely panned for being promoted as a new film but
actually being just a compilation of previously released material.
Zero to Hero VHS cover.
Despite its popularity, the series
only ran for the single season before ending its run and begin relegated to reruns
on the defunct Toon Disney in 2000. Between 1999 and 2000, the series was
nominated for four Emmy Awards, of which
Woods won one for his portrayal of Hades. It was also nominated for a Golden Reel Award
for sound editing. To date, Zero to Hero is
the only release of the series on home video, and it hasn’t even seen
re-release on DVD.
EPISODE GUIDE:
“Hercules
and the First Day of School” (9/12/98) – When Hercules is humiliated by Adonis,
he challenges Orthos the Bi-Clops to a battle.
“Hercules
and the World’s First Doctor” (9/9/98) – Hades targets Hippocrates whose work
as a doctor is reducing the underworld’s intake.
“Hercules and the Driving Test” (9/26/98) –
Hercules bets Adonis that he can get his license by sunset, as do Zeus and
Hermes with Hades with the Elysian Fields at stake.
“Hercules
and the King of Thessaly” (9/1/98) – Hercules is made the king of Thessaly and
he enjoys it before people begin coming to him to solve their problems.
“Hercules
and the Secret Weapon” (9/2/98) – Athena tasks Hercules with learning what
Ares’ new secret weapon is, but Hercules ends up agreeing to destroy Athens for
Ares.
“Hercules
and the Griffin” (11/20/98) – In Hercules’ attempts to bond with a gruff old
griffin, he accidentally reveals the diamond he was guarding to Arismap.
“Hercules and the Techno Greeks” (9/8/98) –
Tempest offers to protect the Techno Greeks from centaur attacks, but is forced
out of the city when Hercules takes the job instead.
“Hercules and the Visit From Zeus” (9/19/98) –
Zeus tries to give Hercules advice at how to deal with Adonis, and in failing
that tries to make a point by becoming a teenager.
“Hercules
and the Parents Weekend” (10/3/98) – Hercules expects his godly parents to show
up, but is disappointed when his mortal parents come instead.
“Hercules
and the Poseidon’s Cup Adventure” (11/14/98) – Poseidon holds a boat race in
his honor, and Hercules’ boasting leads to his unleashing Charybdis on the
racers.
“Hercules
and the Bacchanal” (9/21/98) – Hercules and Hermes allow a Bacchanal on the
island, which Poseidon sinks after it wakes him up.
“Hercules
and the River Styx” (9/7/98) – Hades has Poseidon move the River Styx to
include Greece, and Hercules is tortured by what he hates the most: shop class.
“Hercules
and the Apollo Mission” (8/31/98) – Hercules is made driver of the sun chariot
as Hades plots to steal the sun from it and bring it to the underworld and
cause panic on Earth.
“Hercules
and the Prometheus Affair” (10/10/98) – Hercules frees Prometheus, which Hades
uses his advantage against them.
“Hercules
and the Dream Date” (11/2/98) – Needing a date for a dance, Hercules asks
Aphrodite to bring a statue of Galatea to life and to have her be crazy about
him.
“Hercules
and the Underworld Takeover” (9/23/98) – Hectate plans to take over the
underworld, and Pain and Panic turn to Hercules for help.
“Hercules
and the Song of Circe” (10/29/98) – Circe attracts all the boys and turns them
into animals, leaving Cassandra and Helen to rescue them.
“Hercules
and the Epic Adventure” (11/7/98) – Hercules is afraid of what his friends will
think of his poem while Orthos comes looking for revenge.
“Hercules
and the Hero of Athens” (10/17/98) – Icarus believes he defeated the Nemean
Lion (not Hercules), and becomes a superhero after Phil refuses to train him.
“Hercules
and the Pool Party” (9/10/98) – Hades throws a pool party for all the gods, but
has them swim in the Pool of Forgetfulness so that he can take over Olympus.
“Hercules
and the Owl of Athens” (9/17/98) – Ares has Athena’s owl stolen in retaliation
for a joke she played on him, and the owl-sitting Hercules has to use his wits
to get him back.
“Hercules
and the Drama Festival” (10/14/98) – Hades plans to use the Cronus Stone to put
all the gods to sleep, and Icarus will be its delivery system.
“Hercules and the Big Kiss” (9/4/98) –
Cassandra goes to great lengths to keep a vision of her kissing Icarus from
coming true.
“Hercules
and the Prince of Thrace” (9/11/98) – Adonis enlists Hercules’ help to retrieve
a Golden Apple in order to lift the curse Gaia placed on him.
“Hercules
and the Caledonian Boar” (10/31/98) – When Hercules is unable to kill a boar on
a hunt, Artemis declares him their protector while turning Phil into a boar himself.
“Hercules
and the Tapestry of Fate” (9/14/98) – When Hercules and Icarus reweave fate so
that they can attend a concert, Hades gets the idea to reweave it himself and
change everything.
“Hercules
and the Living Legend” (9/15/98) – Realizing Phil’s training is key to
Hercules’ success, Hades restores Achilles to his former body and makes it so
Phil ends up training him instead.
“Hercules
and the Muse of Dance” (11/21/98) – Adonis volunteers the rhythmless Hercules
for the school dance, and Terpsichore tries to help him out.
“Hercules
and the Gorgon” (1/9/99) – Medusa gets a crush on Hercules and appeals to the
gods to make her beautiful.
“Hercules
and the Muse of Dance” (11/21/98) – Adonis volunteers the rhythmless Hercules
for the school dance, and Terpsichore tries to help him out.
“Hercules
and the Trojan War” (10/30/98) – When the Trojan high school kidnaps Helen, the
Prometheus students attempt to sneak in by hiding in a wooden horse.
“Hercules
and the Minotaur” (11/13/98) – Daedalus takes a job building the Minotaur’s
maze, which is where Hercules ends up on a challenge.
“Hercules
and the Kids” (11/28/98) – Hercules acts as a guest-teacher at the Jr.
Prometheus Academy and finds his class of kids hard to handle.
“Hercules
and the Return of Typhon” (9/16/98) – When Hercules attempts to protect Athens
from Echinda, he accidentally releases Typhon the Titan.
“Hercules
and the Disappearing Heroes” (10/5/98) – Hectate makes another play for the
underworld by stealing the abilities of others to empower herself.
“Hercules
and the Hostage Crisis” (10/2/98) – Titan worshipers take the school hostage
and demand Hercules become their prisoner.
“Hercules
and the Girdle of Hippolyte” (9/18/98) – Queen Hippolyte believes Tempest is
going soft, so she abducts her from the school and puts her into a savage
initiation ceremony.
“Hercules
and the Argonauts” (10/8/98) – Hercules wants to become a hero so Phil gets him
a spot with the Argonauts, which ends up causing them and Jason to be stranded
on a deserted island.
“Hercules
and the Jilt Trip” (11/6/98) – Phil sets Hercules up with a gig to get his mind
off Anaxarete and it ends up putting him into the middle of another couple’s
relationship problem.
“Hercules
and the Phil Factor” (10/16/98) – Chiron points out that Phil has never been a
hero and shouldn’t be able to train them, so Hercules tries to help Phil be a
hero.
“Hercules
and the Big Games” (11/4/98) – Hades wants Ares to start a war, but with
Hercules competing in the Big Games Zeus declares no interference from the
other gods.
“Hercules
and the Big Sink” (12/11/98) – When Cassandra predicts Atlantis will sink,
Croesus hires Hades to get rid of her.
“Hercules
and the Falling Stars” (11/10/98) – Hercules calls on Orion to help his
archery, but his absence from the constellations allows creatures from the
Zodiac to escape.
“Hercules
and the Golden Touch” (11/12/98) – Hercules is enlisted by Epsilon to bring
down the greedy King Midas.
“Hercules
and the King for a Day” (11/24/98) – Hercules forces Phil to visit his mother
which lands him on the throne and the target of Nemesis.
“Hercules
and the Big Lie” (12/16/98) – When Hercules lies that he has a disease to get
out of going to a convention with Icarus, Icarus sets out to find a cure.
“Hercules
and the Sn of Poseidon” (11/16/98) – When Triton hears Hercules found him to be
a nerd, he steals Poseidon’s trident and accidentally unleashes a sea monster.
“Hercules
and the Prom” (12/21/98) – Hercules, Icarus and Hades all promise the services
of Orpheus for their own needs.
“Hercules
and the Pegasus Incident” (11/25/98) – A fight sends Pegasus off to find a new
master.
“Hercules
and the Assassin” (9/3/98) – Trying to impress an Amazon with Phil’s spear,
Hercules almost hits the governor of Athens leading to Phil’s arrest.
“Hercules
and the Comedy of Arrows” (9/29/98) – Hades has Pain and Panic infiltrate
Cupid’s headquarters to stop the long life that spring love seems to bring.
“Hercules
and the All Nighter” (10/21/98) – Hercules and Icarus put Morpheus to sleep so
they have extra time to study, but Hades plans to keep him that way as his
intake grows.
“Hercules
and the Spartan Experience” (1/4/99) – Hercules helps Adonis get through the
Spartan training corps so that he can become King of Thrace.
“Hercules
and the Complex Electra” (1/13/99) – When Hercules falls for an anti-hero goth,
he tris to change himself to appeal to her.
“Hercules
and the Green-Eyed Monster” (1/16/99) – When Icarus becomes jealous of Daedalus
and Thespis’ love, he unleashes the contents of Pandora’s box on her.
“Hercules
and the Long Nightmare” (2/8/99) – Phantasos, wanting Morpheus’ job, spreads
nightmares across the world.
“Hercules
and the Arabian Night” (2/10/99) – Hades meets Jafar and decide to help each
other defeat their enemies Hercules and Aladdin.
“Hercules
and the Aetolian Amphora” (2/12/99) – Pain and Panic search for stolen water
from the River Lethe while Hercules helps Megara find her grandmother’s
Aetolian amphora.
“Hercules
and the Romans” (2/15/99) – Icarus accidentally falls into Rome where he ends
up worshipped as a god.
“Hercules
and the Yearbook” (2/17/99) – While Hercules and Meg move stuff from Phil’s
island, Hermes delivers Hercules’ yearbook prompting Phil to tell Meg stories
about Hercules’ past.
“Hercules
and the Odyssey Experience” (2/19/99) – Hercules accidentally ends up out at
sea with the awkward Telemachus and three ex Argo crew members.
“Hercules
and the Grim Avenger” (2/22/99) – To stop the Minotaur’s rampage, Hercules
teams up with the mysterious superhero, the Grim Avenger.
“Hercules
and the Spring of Canathus” (2/24/99) – Pain and Panic douse Icarus, Pegasus,
Adonis, Hercules and even Pain with water that turns them into babies.
“Hercules
and the Big Show” (2/26/99) – On a talk show, Hercules and Hades’ greatest
victories are shown to a captive audience.
“Hercules
and the Tiff on Olympus” (3/1/99) – When Zeus and Hera have a fight after Zeus
forgets their anniversary, Hades sees a way to expand their rift.
Film:
“Zero
to Hero” (8/17/99) – When Meg finds Hercules’ school yearbook, Phil proceeds to
tell her about some of his misadventures as a teen.
