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.
SABRINA’S SECRET LIFE (Syndication,
November 10, 2003-February 3, 2004) Archie Comics Entertainment
LLC, Les Studios Tex SARL, DiC Entertainment
Following
the conclusion of Sabrina:
The Animated Series, DiC Entertainment
regained their independence from Disney
after falling under their ownership with their
purchase of ABC. Still possessing the Sabrina
license from Archie Comics, DiC
produced a follow-up movie called Friends Forever!, utilizing the same
designs as The Animated Series but featuring an all-new voice cast with
no connection to the live-action sitcom that inspired it. Sabrina (Britt McKillip), having turned
13, received a magic wand from queen witch Enchantra (Jane Mortifee) and was allowed to
enroll in the Witch Academy. There, she met and befriended a fellow half-human
named Nicole (Alexandra Carter)
and they endeavored to make themselves into full witches so that they would fit
in with the other students.
Harvey Kinkle: smitten by Sabrina, or under a spell?
This led
into a new series: Sabrina’s Secret Life. Sabrina was now 14 and
attending Greendale High School. While she still lived with her aunts Hilda
(Moneca Stori) and Zelda (Bettina Bush)
and warlock-turned-cat Salem (Maurice LaMarche), and continued to have a crush
on her friend, Harvey Kinkle (Michael
Monroe Heyward), they were the only returning characters. He best friend
Chloe was said to have moved away, and rival Gem Stone went to attend a private
school out of town. Uncle Quigly, Pi and the Spooky Jar just disappeared without
a mention or trace. Newly added was Sabrina’s new human best friend, Maritza (Vanesa Tomasino), who was
unaware of her powers; Sabrina’s best-friend-turned-enemy and Enchantra’s
niece, Cassandra (Tifanie
Christun); and teachers Ms. Magrooney and Mr. Snipe (Christopher Gaze), who taught
classes in both the Human World and Netherworld. While the series continued the
theme of Sabrina balancing the two halves of her heritage, her powers were
considerably weaker than the other versions; relying on her wand to cast spells
rather than hand waves and incantations.
Sabrina and Cassandra square off.
Sabrina’s
Secret Life debuted on November 10, 2003 in syndication as part of the DiC Kids Network
programming block. It was developed by DiC founder Jean Chalopin, who also served
as head writer and wrote half of the episodes. Jean-Michel Guirao was the
series’ composer. It would be the last show produced by French animation studio
Les Studio Tex, which shut down shortly after its conclusion. Unlike its
predecessor, Secret Life only ran for a single season of 26 episodes.
Disney would purchase the international rights to air it on their channels
alongside The Animated Series in international markets in a package
called Totally Sabrina (although in Germany it aired simply as a third
season to The Animated Series), and would be rerun on Toon Disney and Disney Channel in the
United States until 2005. It made its way to CBS
as part of the KOL
Secret Slumber Party programming block from 2006-07, and later as part
of their successor Cookie
Jar Entertainment’s Cookie
Jar TV block from 2010-11.
Sherlock
Holmes is a prolific fictional detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Holmes worked as a private detective in London taking on a wide variety of
clientele from all classes of life, so long as they could pay his rate and
provide a stimulating case. He utilized deductive reasoning, keen observation,
and forensic science in order to find clues that would lead to a solution. On
top of that, he was highly skilled in a variety of fields including combat,
disguise, and acting. Holmes was also a drug addict; frequently using cocaine,
morphine and opium in order to find stimulation when not on a case.
Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes by Sidney Paget.
The
inspiration for Holmes came from many sources. Edgar Allan Poe’s C. Auguste Dupin is
considered the first fictional detective and became the prototype. However,
Conan Doyle had stated that Holmes was primarily inspired by surgeon Dr.
Joseph Bell, for whom Conan Doyle worked as a clerk and had the propensity
to draw broad conclusions from small observations. Sir Henry Littlejohn, Chair of Medical Jurisprudence at the University
of Edinburgh Medical School that also served as a Police Surgeon and Medical
Officer of Health, gave Conan Doyle a link between medical and criminal
investigations. Another fictional detective, Émile
Gaboriau’s Monsieur Lecoq,
was also popular at the time Conan Doyle began writing Holmes and Holmes’
speech and behavior tended to match Lecoq’s.
The first appearance of Sherlock Holmes.
Holmes made
his debut in 1887’s A Study in
Scarlet. While not the first fictional detective, he is certainly the
most well-known and a British cultural icon. His popularity grew when a series
of short stories began appearing in The
Strand Magazinein 1891, which had accompanying
illustrations by Sidney
Paget who used his brother Walter as a
model for Holmes. All but four stories were narrated by Holmes’ friend, partner
and biographer, Dr. John Watson. Watson often accompanied Holmes on his
investigations and resided with him at their shared home at 221B Baker Street (which did not
exist at the time, but later became a reality when Baker Street was extended).
He was the more grounded of the pair in comparison to Holmes’ eccentric nature,
and had his own share of intelligence and observational skill.
The 22nd Century Irregulars.
Other associates of Holmes included
Inspector G. Lestrade, a Scotland Yard
detective whose tenacity and determination allowed him to become a highly
respected policeman despite his lack of skill at solving actual crimes. Holmes held
simultaneous disdain and affection for Lestrade, often letting him take credit
for solving the crimes Holmes had and bolstering his reputation as a result.
There were also the Baker Street Irregulars; a group of street urchins led by a
boy named Wiggins whom Holmes would pay for vital clues or information in
regards to his investigations.
Moriarty.
In 1893,
Conan Doyle desired to spend more time on historical
novels and decided to kill Holmes off in The
Adventure of the Final Problem. Holmes fell do this death while in
battle with criminal mastermind Professor James Moriarty on top of Reichenbach
Falls. However, Conan Doyle eventual ceded to public pressure to bring the
character back and wrote a prequel story, The
Hound of the Baskervilles, in 1901 before reviving Holmes with the explanation
of faking his death in 1903’s The
Adventure of the Empty House. Holmes fans have come to know that 8-year
period as “The Great Hiatus”. Conan Doyle finally retired the character in 1927
after four
novels and 56 short stories.
Sherlock Holmes.
Since Conan
Doyle’s retirement and death, Holmes has been adapted and utilized in various
forms of media
and on various products. There have been radio plays, movies, television shows,
comic books, stage plays, video games and more. Holmes currently holds the Guinness World Record for most
portrayed human character in film and television. Other writers have also
continued Holmes’ adventures in print. Sometimes these adventures pick up from
where Conan Doyle left off, other times they see Holmes placed in a
contemporary setting, interacting with other fictional characters, descendants
of Holmes, or a deeper exploration of aspects of Holmes touched on by Conan
Doyle himself. It’s through these later works that characters like Moriarty,
created solely as a device to kill Holmes, gained more prominence and became
elevated to being his arch rival.
Inspector Beth Lestrade and the original form of Watson.
Adding to
the pantheon was Scottish Television
Enterprises executive Sandy
Ross. An idea came to him as he was skiing in Aspen, Colorado with DiC Entertainment senior
vice president of creative affairs Robby London in 1996. He
proposed the concept of an animated Holmes series set in the future, which
London felt would appeal to both the American and United Kingdom markets and
provide an entirely new genre for animation with the combination of mystery and
science fiction. Initially, they had determined to set the show in the 21st
Century, but as it was likely to make it to air with the millennium just around
the corner it was decided to push the setting to the 22nd. Their
vision of the future contained many of the familiar science fiction trappings
including holographic projections, artificial intelligence, flying cars, space
colonies, cloning and more.
Holmes with Watson after his conversion.
Developed by Phil Harnage, Sherlock
Holmes in the 22nd Century was exactly as the title described.
Picking up from the fateful fall of Holmes (Jason Gray-Stanford) and Moriarty
(Richard Newman) into Reichenbach Falls, the series introduced viewers to the
future world of New London where Moriarty was resurrected through cloning by
twisted and deformed French mad scientist Martin Fenwick (Ian James Corlett). Needing
help to stop him, Holmes, who was preserved in honey after his eventual death
from old age (in keeping with Conan Doyle’s resurrection of the character), was
resurrected and rejuvenated at the request of New Scotland Yard Inspector Beth
Lestrade (Akiko Morrison, sans any attempt at a British accent). Lestrade was
the descendant of the Inspector Holmes had worked with during his time.
Lestrade’s “partner”, of sorts, was a robotic “compudroid” she affectionately
called “Watson” (John Payne). That name became even more apt as he took on the
real Watson’s personality upon scanning his journals and his outward appearance
was altered to resemble the man. Other characters included Lestrade’s boss,
Chief Inespector Charles Grayson (William Samples) and a new incarnation of the
Baker Street Irregulars led by Wiggins (Viv Leacock).
FOX cancelled
the show by the end of its first season in the United States, though it
continued to air internationally on CITV
and Scottish Television. The WB
had intended to pick it up for its weekday morning programming, but budget cuts
at the network ended that deal. It wouldn’t be until 2001 that Tribune
Entertainment would put the show into syndication, allowing the shorter
second season to air for the first time. Reruns would continue to air on
various networks around the world well after the last new episode aired. 2001
also saw the show nominated for a Daytime Emmy award for
“Outstanding Special Class Animated Program”.
“The Fall and Rise of Sherlock Holmes” (9/18/99) – Holmes is
reawakened in the 22nd Century and recruited by Lestrade’s
descendant to take down Moriarty’s clone.
Based on: “The Final Problem”
“The Crime Machine” (9/25/99) – Holmes and Watson meet the
new Baker Street Irregulars while Martin Fenwick turns innocent civilians into
criminals.
Based on: The Valley of Fear
“The Hounds of the Baskervilles” (10/2/99) – Holmes, Watson
and Lestrade investigate sightings of a giant hound on the moon.
Based on: The Hound of the Baskervilles
“The Adventure of the Empty House” (10/9/99) – Holmes and
Moriarty appear to be vaporized while Watson and Lestrade investigate foul play
at the Holocade Tournament.
Based on: “The Adventure of the Empty House”
“The Crooked Man” (10/16/99) – Holmes investigates the
disappearance of James Barkley and how a furry creature is involved.
Based on: “The Crooked Man”
“The Adventure of the Deranged Detective” (10/23/99) – Lestrade
and later Holmes are infected by mind-altering nanobots.
Based on: “The Adventure of the Dying Detective”
“The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire Lot” (10/30/99) –
Holmes and the Irregulars investigate a computer vampire that Moriarty wants to
recruit.
Based on: “The Adventure of the Sussex Vampire”
“The Scales of Justice” (11/6/99) – It appears that animal
rights activists have stolen nanobot technology from GeneTech.
Based on: “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”
“The Resident Patient” (11/13/99) – Moriarty and Fenwick use
a DNA washer to alter the appearance and DNA of criminals to make them
undetectable.
Based on: “The Resident Patient”
“The Sign of Four” (11/20/99) – Holmes and Watson accompany
Mary Morstan as she visits her father’s former business partner on themoon.
Based on: The Sign of the Four
“The Adventure of the Dancing Men” (11/27/99) – The
Irregulars want to be more involved on cases and begin by searching for who put
two scientists in the hospital.
Based on: “The Adventure of the Dancing Men”
“The Musgrave Ritual” (12/4/99) – Moriarty believes a sword
will lead him to the powerful meteor from which it was forged.
Based on: “The Musgrave Ritual”
“The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” (12/11/99) – One of
the season’s hottest toys turns out to be far more sophisticated than its
mass-produced brethren.
Based on: “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle”
“Silver Blaze” (1/31/00) – Holmes, Watson and Lestrade
investigate the theft of the favored racing spacecraft in the Asteroid Belt
Grand Prix.
Based on: “Silver Blaze”
“The Five Orange Pips” (2/7/00) – Holmes is summoned to
investigate the poisoning of a man who has shunned all modern technology.
Based on: “The Five Orange Pips”
“The Red-Headed League” (2/14/00) – Holmes stumbles upon a
planned art theft by the Red-Headed League.
Based on: “The Red-Headed League”
“The Man with the Twisted Lip” (2/21/00) – Holmes and Watson
are hired to find a woman’s presumably deceased husband.
Based on: “The Man with the Twisted Lip”
Season 2:
“The Secret Safe” (3/31/01) – Burglars steal a doll to put
police off their actual theft, but Holmes and Watson are on their trail.
Based on: “His Last Bow: An Epilogue of Sherlock
Holmes”
“The Adventure of the Second Stain” (4/21/01) – Holmes is
called in to find stolen intelligence information.
Based on: “The Adventure of the Second Stain”
“The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb” (4/28/01) – Feuding
scientists become the target of Fenwick and his minions for their blood
regeneration devices.
Based on: “The Adventure of the Engineer’s Thumb”
“The Gloria Scott” (5/12/01) – Investigating cryptic
messages a friend receives leads Holmes to uncover new details about a 25-year-old
hijacking.
Based on: “The Gloria Scott”
“The Adventure of the Six Napoleons” (5/19/01) – A thief is
after a valuable crystal and steals decorative ones off of the Napoleon
Excelsior luxury craft while looking for it.
Based on: “The Adventure of the Six Napoleons”
“The Adventure of the Creeping Man” (5/26/01) – A friend of
Lestrade’s is getting married, but her bliss is interrupted by apparently being
stalked by a gorilla.
Based on: “The Adventure of the Creeping Man”
“The Adventure of the Beryl Board” (6/23/01) – Holmes
investigates the theft of a new processor where the primary suspect may not be
the only one.
Based on: “The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet”
“The Adventure of the Mazarin Chip” (6/30/01) – Moriarty and
Fenwick steal a virtual reality microchip and kidnap the Prime Minister in
order to crash the financial market.
Based on: “The Adventure of the Mazarin Stone”
“A Case of Identity” (7/21/01) – Lestrade gets an unwanted
new partner while Holmes and Watson track down a jewel thief.
For the history of Archie, check out the post here.
From the late 60s through the late 80s, Archie and his
friends had a good run on Saturday morning television. They were everyday high
school kids with a band, hosts of a variety show, managers of a television
station, historical figures and even middle school kids. For their last Saturday
outing in the 20th Century, DiC Entertainment
decided to put the Archie kids up against the paranormal in a blending of the X-Filesand Scooby-Dooconcepts.
Veronica's size matches her ego.
Archie’s
Weird Mysteries was centered around the idyllic town of Riverdale at a time
when it was invaded by some unexpected and unwanted visitors. A lab accident at
Riverdale High caused Riverdale to become a magnet for monsters, aliens and the
supernatural. Archie Andrews (Andy Rannells), a reporter for the Riverdale High
newspaper, took it upon himself to investigate the weirdness around town and often
dragged his skeptical friends Betty (America Young), Veronica (Camille
Schmidt), Jughead (Chris Lundquist), Reggie (Paul Sosso) and Dilton (Ben Beck) into
it. The show featured a collection of Archie
supporting characters, including Principal Waldo Weatherbee (Tony Wike),
teacher Geraldine Grundy and local food slinger Pop Tate (Ryle Smith), as well as some new
characters in Archie’s supernatural advisor, Dr. Beaumont (Jerry Longe), and Lucinda, who
practiced voodoo magic and made potions. Each episode opened with a brief
description of the plot and a montage of scenes in a frame that resembled a
newspaper.
Just an ordinary mall...isn't it?
Archie’s
Weird Mysteries became the first new offering for the fledgling PAX (now Ion Television) network’s Saturday
morning line-up when it debuted on October 2, 1999, accompanied before and
after by infomercials. However, PAX removed it from their schedule after the
first 14 of the 40 produced episodes aired. The remainder of the episodes was
seen on weekdays and in syndication. Because each episode had a built-in
lesson, the show was deemed to meet the FCC’s
educational and informational children’s programming requirements
and was used by various networks to fulfill their obligations. The series was
written by Michael Patrick Dobkins, Brian Swenlin, Jymn Magon, Don Gillies, Phil Harnage, Frank Santopadre, and James W. Bates and was produced
by DiC’s French subsidiary, Les Studios
Tex.. The theme was written and performed by Mike Piccirillo, who also scored
the series with Jean-Michel Guirao.
The comic series.
To tie into the series, Archie
Comics produced an ashcan-sized
comic with the same name in 1999, written by Paul Castiglia with art
by Bill Golliher and Rich Koslowski. It served as
a prelude to an ongoing
series that debuted in 2000, with a majority of the art being handled by Fernando Ruiz. The comic featured
both original stories and adaptations of some episodes. After the show was
cancelled, the “Weird” was removed from the title and the format changed to
reflect the Archie gang being taught forensics by two crime scene investigators
and their using those skills to solve more mundane mysteries. The comic was
eventually cancelled with issue 34. Various issues were later collected in 2011 as
part of the Archie and Friends All-Stars series
of trade paperbacks.
In 2002, a semi-sequel movie was
produced for Nickelodeon’s Sunday
Movie Toons. The Archies in Jugman featured
the same actors and basic character models, although they were given new
outfits. It followed the Archie gang as they pursued a defrosted caveman that
resembled Jughead. MGM Home Entertainment
released the film to VHS and DVD shortly after its premiere, with Gaiam re-releasing
it in 2008 on DVD along with the other Sunday Movie Toons as
both a standalone
film and paired with Inspector Gadget’s Last Case.
EPISODE GUIDE:
“Attack of the Killer Spuds” (10/2/99) – Jughead wins a potato that
turns out to be part of the plot for a potato to conquer the Earth by enslaving
humanity.
“Driven to Distraction” (10/9/99) – There’s something peculiar about
the fuzzy dice Archie purchased for his car.
“Me! Me! Me!” (10/16/99) – An ancient artifact brings Veronica’s wish
of everyone being more like her to fruition—and she doesn’t like the results.
“Invisible Archie” (10/23/99) – Attempting to win Betty and Veronica’s
affections, Archie and Reggie accidentally help themselves to Dilton’s
invisibility formula.
“Attack of the 50-Foot Veronica” (10/30/99) – Veronica is accidentally
zapped by Dilton’s growth ray.
“The Haunting of Riverdale” (11/6/99) – The ghost of a dedicated
librarian haunts the library where she once worked until her job is finally
completed.
“Curse of the Mummy” (11/13/99) – Archie and friends end up trapped in
the museum with a cursed mummy.
“Fleas Release Me” (11/20/99) – Reggie’s prank at playing werewolf may
be a lot closer to the truth than he realizes.
“The Jughead Incident” (11/27/99) – Two government agents believe
Jughead is an alien scout.
“Virtually Evil” (12/4/99) – Besting Reggie in a new virtual reality
game leads Archie to become as big a braggart as Reggie ever was.
“Zombies of Love” (12/11/99) – Veronica’s love potion goes out of
control when it attracts more than just Archie.
“Brain of Terror” (12/18/99) – Dilton’s helmet gives Moose a higher
intelligence, but also changes his personality.
“Twisted Youth” (12/25/99) – A strange element in the water affects
the town’s adults.
“Monster in the Night” (12/31/99) – Investigating a strange strongman
in town leads Archie to discover something sinister with a new energy drink.
“Mega-Mall of Horrors” (1/7/00) – The owner of the new mall gives kids
a credit card each to go wild, but their purchases will cost more than money.
“Compu-Terror” (1/17/00) – An evil genie hides in Archie’s laptop and
seeks to use Reggie for his freedom.
“Misfortune Hunters” (1/19/00) – Treasure hunters trick Betty into
releasing a monster on Riverdale.
“Ship of Ghouls” (1/20/00) – A medallion makes Reggie obsessed with
retrieving an underwater treasure from the ghouls guarding it.
“Something is Haunting Riverdale High” (1/21/00) – Midge, Dilton and
Ethel go missing, and only a lab accident leads Archie to discovering where
they went.
“Supreme Girl vs. Dr. Arachnid” (1/24/00) – Veronica’s penchant for
gossip could cause trouble when Supreme Girl comes to town to stop Dr.
Arachnid.
“Reggie or Not” (1/25/00) – Aliens abduct Reggie and replace him with
a robot duplicate.
“It Lives in the Sewers” (1/26/00) – Jughead loses his pet while a
toxic waste spill in the sewers leads to the creation of a monster.
“Dream Girl” (1/27/00) – Archie’s dream girl wants him in a very real
way.
“Green-Eyed Monster” (1/28/00) – Betty and Veronica determine there’s
something off about the new exchange student who has her sights set on Archie.
“Cinemadness” (1/31/00) – Accompanying Jughead to the movies leads
Reggie to falling in love with the film’s star.
“Beware of the Glob!” (2/1/00) – Miss Beazley accidentally mixes one
of Dilton’s formulas into her tapioca pudding, causing it to grow into a
ravenous monster.
“The Day the Earth Moved” (2/2/00) – Archie’s family tradition may be
the key to saving Riverdale from a giant worm.
“Dance of the Killer Bees” (2/3/00) – Prom plans are put on hold when
Ethel has to save the school from a swarm of killer bees.
“Extra Terror-estrial” (2/4/00) – The kids help a cute alien build
some machines.
“The Christmas Phantom” (2/8/00) – Archie ends up trapped in a
department store with a monster.
“Scarlet Night” (2/9/00) – Veronica discovers she’s a great slayer
that will remove the vampires from Riverdale, including new student Scarlet who
has her sights set on Archie.
“I Was a Teenage Vampire” (2/10/00) – Scarlet helps her master, Count
Medlock, fulfill a prophecy to bring about eternal night.
“Halloween of Horror” (2/11/00) – The vampires return and crash the
Lodge’s Halloween party.
“Archie’s Date with Fate” (2/14/00) – Vinnie has plans for Dilton’s
time machine.
“Alternate Riverdales” (2/15/00) – Older Vinnie breaks his younger
self out of prison and sets about taking his revenge on Archie by changing
time.
“Teen Out of Time” (2/16/00) – Trying to stop Vinnie sends Archie
hundreds of years back in time.
“Invasion of the Cockroaches” (2/17/00) – Pop tries to cater to an
adult clientele but ends up needing his former teen patrons in order to deal
with the adults when they change.
“The Incredible Shrinking Teens” (2/18/00) – A mad scientist
convention leaves Archie and Jughead two inches tall in Jughead’s messy room.
“Little Chock’Lit Shoppe of Horrors” (2/21/00) – Pop tries to automate
the Chock’Lit Shoppe, but the machines soon take over.
“Big Monster on Campus” (2/22/00) – Archie investigates Central High’s
star athlete, whom he thinks is just a bit TOO good.
