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.
Going into the 1960s,
Stan Lee’s duties at Marvel Comics had grown exponentially to the
point his time was a premium. He and Jack
Kirby had just propelled the company into a new era with the debut of Fantastic Four vol. 1#1 in 1961, with more and more
superheroes joining them every year. Lee was editing and writing a good portion
of Marvel’s output at the time. With deadlines looming and artists sitting idly
by waiting for the next script, Lee devised a way to keep production going
around his hectic schedule: let the artists tell the story.
Galactus arrives.
In what would come to
be dubbed “The
Marvel Method,” Lee would discuss the plot of a book with the artist either
at length or in a brief quickly-typed page and then let the artist go to town.
The artist would then give Lee the completed artwork with some notes on what
was going on in the story, and Lee would write the dialogue and sound effects
and hand it off to the letterer. Lee had already been
working this way with Kirby, whose profile in the industry granted him some creative
freedom, and with Steve
Ditko, although that stemmed from a growing
animosity between the two, and had resulted in some of the company’s best-selling
books. Over the years, this method of writing has led
to debate over how much Lee actually contributed to the books that bore his
name; especially when one considers the case of Fantastic Four vol. 1#48 (1966).
Norrin's sacrifice.
Galactus
is a cosmic entity with an overwhelming hunger that could only be satisfied by
consuming the entire life force of a planet, rendering it dead and inert. Finally,
Galactus set his sights on Earth leaving the heroic Fantastic
Four with the herculean task of saving their planet. In what was intended
to be a simple story of the Fantastic Four versus the massive Galactus, artist Jack Kirby had snuck in a new
character of his own creation: The Silver Surfer, a being whose body was
entirely covered in silver and who rode a silvery surf board through the cosmos.
Kirby postulated that a being like Galactus would have a herald as a sort of
advance scout to do the heavy searching for sustenance sources, to which
Galactus would then follow. The reason for Surfer’s mode of transport was
because Kirby had grown tired of drawing spaceships.
Creation of the Surfer.
The
Surfer began as Norrin Radd, citizen of the planet Zenn-La, which was once on
Galactus’ menu. To save his planet and the love of his life, Shalla-Bal, Radd
offered himself up as Galactus’ herald to aid in his quest with the intention
of leading Galactus to suitable planets devoid of sentient life; thus, sparing
billions. Galactus infused Radd with the Power Cosmic, turning him into the
Silver Surfer. But it came with a price: Radd’s soul had been altered by
Galactus, making him forget his intentions.
Alicia reawakens the Surfer's humanity.
Lee,
initially skeptical of the character, grew to appreciate him and the Surfer
became an integral part of the story as he would become touched by the nobility
of the Thing’s
then-girlfriend, blind sculptress Alicia Masters,
and turn against his master. Galactus is driven off, exiling Radd to Earth with
the erection of an invisible barrier around the planet. Popular with readers, the
Surfer would return for several guest-starring spots in Fantastic Four before gaining his own series in 1968, the first of
several, and becoming a mainstay in the Marvel Universe. In 1967, Surfer made
his animation debut on Hanna-Barbera’s
Fantastic Fourcartoon voiced by Vic
Perrin, and then had his origin retold in the 1994 version as part of The Marvel Action Houron
Sundays voiced by Robin Sachs.
Norrin and Shalla-Bal.
Fox Kids head Margaret Loesch had
successfully brought Marvel to television in the 1990s with the hit shows X-Men:
The Animated Seriesand Spider-Man:
The Animated Series. Also having an affinity for the Silver Surfer, he
was the subject of the next Marvel offering for the network. Developed by Larry Brody, the series was heavily influenced
by the work of Kirby and inker Joe Sinnott
in its look for both settings and the characters designed by Roy Burdine and Shannon Denton. To create an original
visual presentation, the series was done in a blend of traditional cel
animation and computer animation; particularly for the scenes set in space and
Galactus himself. The computer animation was overseen by art director Dale Hendrickson.
Galactus.
Silver Surfer debuted on FOX on February 7, 1998 and
was co-produced by Saban International. They
chose to begin the series with a retelling of the Surfer’s (Paul Essiembre)
origin; however, the Fantastic Four was omitted in the Surfer’s decision to
save Earth to keep the show’s focus on the Surfer entirely. And, instead of
being trapped on Earth, Galactus (James Blendick) punished Surfer by hiding
Zenn-La from him. The series was notable for being the most verbose of any
action-oriented cartoon; duplicating the dense monologues Lee would script for
the character in the comics. Along with Brody, the series was written by Michael Steven Gregory, Dallas L. Barnes, Harlan Ellison, D.C. Fontana, Mark Hoffmeier, Christopher Kane, Jeffrey Knokey, Andrea Lawrence, Alan Swayze and Brooks Wachtel. Shuki Levy and Haim Saban (under the alias Kussa
Mahchi) served as the series composers, and animation duties were handled by AKOM.
Surfer vs. Thanos.
While Galactus would
make appearances throughout the show’s run, the ultimate villain of the show
was Thanos (Gary Krawford), an all-powerful being set on destroying the
universe to win the love of Lady Chaos (changed from Death
due to FOX’s standards and practices, voiced by Lally Chadeau). Like the other
Marvel shows of the decade, Silver Surfer
featured guest-appearances by other Marvel characters; particularly from
their space-based stable. Amongst them were Uatu the Watcher (Colin Fox), a
being part of a race dedicated to observing history as it transpired without
interfering; the genetically engineered perfect being Adam Warlock
and his dark counterpart, the Magus
(both Oliver Becker); Pip the Troll
(Robert Bockstael), a teleporting
being created as part of the Kree’s slave labor
force; space mercenary Nebula (Jennifer
Dale); Ego the
Living Planet (Roy Lewis);
Gamora (Mary Long & Alison Sealy-Smith), the most
dangerous woman in the galaxy; Galactus’ new herald from Earth, Nova,
aka Frankie Raye (Tara Rosling),
who served as an alternative love interest for the Surfer; Drax the Destroyer (Norm Spencer), a cyborg with an
organic brain created by Thanos’ father (brother in the show due to a typo) Mentor (Cedric Smith) to battle Thanos; Beta Ray Bill
(Karl Pruner), who in the
comics was associated with the Norse thunder god Thor but instead
merely shared characteristics with him, and whose people were locked in a group
dream utilizing Zenn-La technology; and the cosmic entities Eternity (John Neville), the embodiment
of the multiverse, and Infinity (Elizabeth Shepherd),
representing the totality of space.
Beta Ray Bill.
When the show was
in production, Marvel was undergoing
financial trouble that would result in its eventual bankruptcy and
subsequent reorganization. This also led to some legal disputes between Marvel
and Saban. The first season had been completed and aired, and production for
the second season had already begun. After 8 scripts for season two had been
written, production was shut down while both parties worked it out. Ultimately,
Silver Surfer ended up being
cancelled by Fox despite its strong performance in the ratings in favor of
starting over fresh with Marvel and looking into new properties for adaptation.
That took the form of Spider-Man Unlimited, also helmed by Brody,and Avengers: United They Stand, both
debuting in 1999.
Nova.
In
the time since, Brody has released the series bible, the scripts for the first
season, and the scripts for season two on his website, along with additional
material. Silver Surfer was the last
Marvel cartoon to be relatively faithful to the source material as all of the
programs since have had a focus on drastically reinventing the characters and
story by either changing locations, adjusting character’s ages, or being based
on movie properties. In 2019, it became one of the launch titles for the
streaming service Disney+.
EPISODE GUIDE:
“The Origin of the Silver Surfer – Part 1” (2/7/98) – Galactus comes
to feed on Zenn-La, and Norrin Radd offers himself as Galactus’ herald if he
spares the planet.
“The Origin of the Silver Surfer – Part 2” (2/14/98) – Surfer, devoid
of memory, undergoes his new task as herald, but finds deep feelings stirring
inside of him.
“The Origin of the Silver Surfer – Part 3” (2/21/98) – Galactus
threatens Earth, sparking the return of Surfer’s memory and causing him to
rebel against his master.
“The Planet of Dr. Moreau” (2/28/98) – Searching for a way back to
Zenn-La, Surfer ends up entangled in a battle against the Kree.
“Learning Curve Part 1” (3/7/98) – Surfer’s search for Zenn-La leads
him to the Universal Library, base of the knowledge of the Watchers, and to
trouble.
“Learning Curve Part 2” (3/14/98) – Surfer must choose between
obtaining all knowledge in the universe or remaining human and free.
“Innervisions” (4/4/98) – To save a planet, Surfer must destroy the
foundation of its existence.
“Antibody” (4/11/98) – Galactus
is dying, and only the Surfer can save him.
“Second Foundation” (4/25/98) – Nova attempts to help Surfer find
Zenn-La, but they end up on the Skrull homeworld instead.
“Radical Justice” (5/2/98) – Galactus’ survivors capture Surfer and
put him on trial for crimes against all life.
“The Forever War” (5/29/98) – Surfer must accomplish a task for the
Kree before they will allow him audience with their Supreme Intelligent for
help home.
“Return to Zenn-La” (5/9/98) – Surfer
finally returns home, but soon discovers it’s a construct of Ego, the Living
Planet, who seeks to repay his debt.
“The End of Eternity, Part 1”
(5/16/98) – Eternity and Infinity recruit Surfer to stop Thanos from causing
time to flow backwards, thus destroying the universe.
For the history of Casper, check out the post here.
In 1995, Casper made
a big return to the public consciousness with the release of his first
full-length feature film by Amblin
Entertainment and the Harvey
Entertainment Company, featuring live-action mixed with computer animated
ghosts.
Directed by Brad Silberling
from a script by Sherri Stoner
and Deanna Oliver, Casper followed greedy heiress Carrigan
Crittenden (Cathy Moriarty)
and her sniveling sidekick Paul “Dibs” Plutzker (Eric
Idle) as they attempted to find a treasure in the run-down Whipstaff Manor
she had inherited from her father. The only thing blocking her way was that the
house was haunted by The Ghostly Trio: elongated leader Stretch (Joe Nipolte),
foul-smelling Stinky (Joe Alaskey) and the aptly-named Fatso (Brad Garrett). The
trio had been a staple of Casper cartoons and comics since first
appearing in the short “Fright
from Wrong” in 1956; however, their appearances and names have undergone
several revisions.
Serving up a heaping helping of Casper.
After several failed attempts to remove the ghosts--including an exorcism
by Father Guido
Sarducci (Don Novello)
and paranormal extermination by Dr. Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd, reprising his role
from Ghostbusters, which was ironic considering Harvey once sued Columbia Pictures claiming
their logo was too
reminiscent of Fatso)--Crittenden was turned on to the services of one Dr.
James Harvey (named after Harvey
Comics and played by Bill Pullman),
a ghost therapist, through the machinations of the fourth Whipstaff ghost:
Casper (Malachi Pearson). Casper, having seen a news report about Harvey,
immediately fell for his daughter, “Kat” (Christina Ricci), and figured
Crittenden’s greed was his best chance to meet her. The film also served as an
origin story for Casper, providing him with a pre-ghostly background as the son
of an inventor.
Kat and Casper.
Releasing on May 25, 1995 by Universal
Pictures, the film proved a box-office success despite mixed reviews;
although not as much of one as was projected. A sequel movie was planned, but
with Pullman and Ricci’s commitments to other projects, the sequel was
ultimately scrapped. Fortunately, the producers had already decided to continue
the franchise in the form of a new animated series based on the movie, which was announced by Fox Kids head Margaret Loesch months before
the film came out. It would be Casper’s third on Saturday mornings and the
second based on a movie starring Ricci (the first being 1992’s The Addams Family).
Some...radical therapy by Dr. Harvey.
Casper debuted on FOX on February 24, 1996 as part of the Fox Kids
programming block. The series featured most of the movie’s cast returning to
voice their respective characters, with Dan Castellaneta and Kath Soucie
replacing Pullman and Ricci in their roles. Even Ben Stein, who played
Crittenden’s father’s attorney in the film, made an appearance in an episode as
a teacher at Kat’s school. Casper hit
the top of the ratings and remained there for its first two seasons. The series
also earned an Emmy for Bruce Babcock’s
score during the second season. Other music was provided by Charles Frenandez, Harvey Cohen, Ron Grant, Michael Tavera and Thomas Richard Sharp. The
series’ animation was handled by Akom
Production Company.
The Ghostly Trio: Stinky, Stretch and Fatso.
Changes were naturally made to better transition the movie to the series.
All references of Crittenden and how the Harveys arrived to Whipstaff were
removed; however Dr. Harvey remained The Ghostly Trio’s therapist. Casper’s
attraction to Kat was downgraded to simply being her best friend. Casper was also
made a student at a ghost school, which opened up a new set of supporting
characters and plot lines. The series was able to reintroduce characters from
the Harvey books such
as Spooky (Rob Paulsen), a black-nosed ghost who spoke with a Brooklyn accent
and wore a derby hat, and Poil (Miriam Flynn), originally introduced as Pearl,
Spooky’s blonde-haired dim-witted girlfriend. A new character for the show was
Ms. Banshee (Tress MacNeille), a teacher at Casper’s school who often lived up
to her name. Kat’s nemesis from the film, Amber Whitmire (Debi Derryberry) was given new
sidekicks in the form of three girls all named Jennifer (and all voiced by Sherry Lynn). They were portrayed
as rich, spoiled Valley
girl types despite the setting of the show being Maine and not California.
Interestingly enough, while the movie pointed out that the four-fingered Casper
once had five when he was alive, the cartoon chose to give its human characters
the traditional four fingers cartoon characters are often depicted as having.
Poil and Spooky.
Many of the people involved with the show had worked on Animaniacsand Pinky and the Brain(including the film’s writers, who also
worked on the series), resulting in the show having a very similar style. Set
in a sitcom atmosphere, the show featured quick deliveries, pop-culture
references, songs and fourth-wall breaking gags. Also like the previous shows,
each episode consisted typically of three segments of varying lengths. Additional
writers for the show included Michael
Merton, Sean Hogan, Alex Borstein, Bob Claster, Ken Koonce, Scott Kreamer, Chris Otsuki and Mark York. When shows ran
short, the end credits were often filled with shots of a cemetery with humorous
inscriptions on the tombstones and the movie version of
Casper’s theme song by Mack David and Jerry Livingston
playing over it. The opening titles were simply the Casper logo materializing like a ghost on the screen, typically
with a few chords of the theme.
The show was marketed as The
Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper during its second season (although
only Casper ever appeared on the
title screen). For the third season, Jess Harnell would replace Garrett as the
voice of Fatso for the remainder of the series and the subsequent live-action
direct-to-video movies as Garrett went on to star in the hit sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. It also aired concurrently on Monday
afternoons before eventually being removed from its Saturday timeslot to make
way for reruns of Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutationafter its original replacement, Ned’s Newt, was delayed.
Stretch sending Casper to his new network via air mail.
In February of 1998, the show aired on Fridays in both the morning and
afternoon timeslots before being completely removed from the line-up. It ended
up on sister channel FOX
Family Channel where it played out in both reruns and the final six-episode
fourth season. Although Casper was
still getting respectable ratings, Saban
Entertainment, who took over Fox Kids in 1996, and 20th Century Fox, who had
acquired distribution rights, wanted to focus on the live-action sequel films.
From 1996 through 1998, Universal Studios
Home Video would release various episodes from the first three seasons onto
VHS. In 2007 and 2008, Universal Studios Home Entertainment released two
DVDs containing the first and last five episodes of the first season. In
1997, Trendmasters
produced a small line of action figures for the show. The first wave featured
all four ghosts disguised
as humans at various jobs. The next wave, “Hide & Seek Friends”,
had the ghosts able to hide inside an included accessory. Finally, there was a Whipstaff Manor playset
which featured miniature figures of the ghosts, Dr. Harvey and Kat.
The future of Casper.
This would be Casper’s last foray into Saturday morning television. Casper
would eventually return to film beginning with 1997’s live-action/CGI
direct-to-video film Casper: A Spirited Beginningwith two others following. In 2006, the
completely CGI film Casper’s Scare School
was spun-off into a new computer animated series.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Season 1:
“Spooking Bee / Fugedaboudit / The Flew” (2/24/96) – Casper and Spooky
try to outdo each other in a spooking bee. / Fatso explores his depths in a
musical number. / The trio pass their ghost flu to the Harveys, making them
think they’re ghosts.
“Paws / The Alphabet Song / Is So Too” (3/2/96) – A ghost puppy
follows Casper home, but the trio hate dogs. / Stinkie keeps messing up Stretch
and Fatso’s educational song. / Casper follows Kat on a study session with a boy,
constantly ribbing her that it’s a date.
“Legend of Duh Bigfoot / The Ghostly Day / Invasion of the UGFO’s”
(3/9/96) – A bonding camping trip with James and the trio leads to an encounter
with Bigfoot. / Kat recalls visits from scared scientists. / Dinosaur ghost
aliens visit Whipstaff.
“Rocket Booster / A Really Scary Casper Moment / Day of the Living
Casper” (3/16/96) – Casper tells Kat about the time he went into space. /
Casper proves that he can be scary if he wants. / Casper uses Kat’s make-up to
pretend he’s human for a day.
“Three Boos and a Babe / The Whipstaff Inmates / Elusive Exclusive”
(3/30/96) – A parent-teacher conference leads the trio to falling for Ms.
Banshee. / Introducing the primary cast. / A reporter tries to achieve fame by
broadcasting the Whipstaff ghosts.
“Paranormal Press / Another Spooky and Poil Moment / Deadstock”
(4/20/96) – A bored Casper helps Kat get revenge on Amber and the Jennifers in
the school paper. / Poil helps Spooky get into further trouble with Ms. Banshee.
/ Casper has to fill Whipstaff with ghosts to keep his family from being
evicted.
“Poil Jammed / The Who That I Am / A Picture Says 1000 Words”
(4/27/96) – Spooky refuses to take Poil to a big shindig. / Casper goes to Dr.
Harvey to better himself. / A picture-haunting ghost manages to annoy everyone
with his authoritative stance on everything.
“Spooks, Lies & Videotape / Ghostfather” (5/4/96) – Casper tries
to show he’s creative by filming a movie to send into a show. / The Trio tries
to scare out the Harveys before the Ghostfather pays them a visit.
“Rebel Without a Date / Don’t Bank on It” (5/11/96) – Casper turns to
James Dean for help in winning the new exchange student from Spooky. / A new
bank puts James in deep debt.
“Casper vs. the Ultimate Fan Boy / Field of Screams” (5/18/96) – Casper
and Kat meet an overly-obsessed fan at a comic convention. / The ghosts help
Kat’s softball team win.
Season 2:
“Grim and Bear It / Fatso of the Opera” (9/7/96) – Casper tries to
stall the Grim Reaper from taking James. / Fatso gets the chance to be a famous
opera singer.
“Dead of the Class / A Spooky and Poil Moment / Y-Files” (9/14/96) – The
Trio’s 150th High Ghoul reunion reveals Stretch never graduated. /
Spooky tries to find out what Poil wants to see on TV. / Skully and Moldy try
to figure out why everyone but Casper disappeared.
“Losing Face /
Galloping Ghost” (9/21/96) – Doc’s old school rival is coming to visit after he
lied and told him he had reformed The Ghostly Trio. / Casper befriends a ghost
horse.
“Aunt Misbehavin’ / Split Personalities” (9/28/96) – The trio change
themselves into women to prevent Casper from being taken away. / NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE.
“Something to Stink About / Pulp Friction” (10/5/96) – NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE.
“Ectoplasms / Stink of the Road / Doc’s Depression” (10/12/96) – NO
SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / Stinkie sings about himself. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Boo to the Future / All That Falderal” (10/19/96) – NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE.
“Spooky and Poil Meet the Monsters / You Know You’re Alive When… / 13
Ways to Scare a Fleshie / The Trick’s a Treat” (10/26/96) – Spooky wants to
haunt a house, but encounters monsters instead. / How to tell the difference
between being alive and dead. / The trio responds to fan mail about how to
scare a fleshie. / Casper promotes Kat’s party with the promise of real ghosts,
but the union forbids scaring on Halloween.
“Frightening Storm / The Ghostly Trio / The Legend of Whitebeard”
(11/2/96) – / The trio decides to leave when they feel ignored. / NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE.
“Three Ghosts and a Baby / I Wanna Be Rude / Leave it to Casper” (11/9/96)
– Casper changes into a baby on James’ suggestion and is in danger of being
stuck that way. / Spooky tries to prove he’s rude after sparing Poil’s
feelings. / The ghosts pose as fleshies to escape a ghost hunter.
“Luck of the Spookish / Day Care Nightmare” (11/16/96) – NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE.
“Scream Card / You Know When Your Alive When / Lady Screams the Boos”
(11/23/96) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“A Christmas Peril / Ms. Banshee’s Holiday Hits / Good Morning Dr.
Harvey / Fright Before Christmas” (12/21/96) – The trio fill in for the ghosts
of Christmas. / An ad for Ms. Banshee’s holiday album. / The trio interrupts
James and Casper’s singing session. / Kat tales the tell of how the trio
spooked Santa.
“A Midsummer’s Night Scream / Auntie Maimed” (2/1/97) – NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE.
“Gargoils / Ms. Banshee’s Public Domain Hits / Boosom Buddies”
(2/15/97) – / An ad for Ms. Banshee’s new album. /
“What Goes Around / Scavenger Hunt” (2/22/97) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
Season 3:
“Columboo / All About ‘C’” (9/6/97) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Hat Sick / Cancion De Olor / The Boo-Muda Triangle” (9/13/97) – Spooky
bets Poil his hat Casper won’t make the scare team. / Stinkie sings to Kat
about smells to help with her project. / Casper tries to save the Harveys’
cruise ship from the Bermuda Triangle.
“Intensive Scare / F-A-T-S-O / Stench!” (9/20/97) – NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE. / At a network executive’s request, the cast sings a song about
Fatso. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“The Phantom of the Oprah / Stretch’s Information Tidbit / The Crying
Game” (9/27/97) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Free Goldie / I’d Pick Your Nose / Birthday Boos” (10/4/97) – The
trio decide to return Kat’s goldfish to the wild. / Poil sings about why she
likes Spooky. / James enters a midlife crisis.
“Rats! / Stinkie Time Theater / Great Ghouly Governess” (10/20/97) – A
bet of servitude has the trio taking jobs as exterminators. / Stinkie’s version
of Cinderella. / Scay Ploppins answers Casper’s ad for help minding the trio.
“Above the Law / Ten Little Fatsos / Haunt-A-Thon” (10/31/97) – NO
SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / A song about Fatso. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“This Old Manor / Scareobicize” (11/3/97) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Gingersnap Out of It / Send a Good Stink Up Their Noses / Ghostly
Locks and the Three Scares” (11/10/97) –
“Booparty / Do You Like Me? / MacDeath!” (11/17/97) – / Poil sings her
wonder if Spooky likes her or not. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“The Scummies / Three-Ring Whipstaff / It’s Best to be the Most”
(11/27/97) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / Stretch and
Stinkie ruin Fatso’s magazine with him on the cover, prompting him to break
into song.
“The Son Also Rises / Stretching is Good For You / Ghostfinger”
(12/12/97) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Mom Always Likes Ghouls Best / Bury Maguire / Dare to Scare”
(12/19/97) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / The trio sing
about why they love to scare.
“Four Funerals and a Wedding / I Can Be Anything / Family Reunion”
(2/6/98) – The trio try to ruin Ms. Banshee’s wedding. / Fatso tries to
convince Ms. Banshee to date him in song. / James convinces the trio to attend
the McFadden family reunion.
“Horrid Copy / I’m Nothing Without My Hat / Caspeer Pressure”
(2/13/98) – / Spooky loses his hat and finds out he’s useless without it. / NO
SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“That Thing You Boo! / A Good Walk Poiled” (2/13/98) – NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE.
“Jasper / It’s Great To Be a Ghost / The Boo-Bloods of Whipstaff”
(2/20/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Ghost Jam / Do the Spooky / Dr. Harvey and Mr. Gruesome” (2/20/98) – NO
SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Politically Co-Wrecked Casper / Three Little Letters / Pen and Tell
Her” (2/27/98) – / The trio sing to Casper after he fails his scaring test. /
Fatso’s pen pal is coming to visit, but Fatso lied about himself in his letters
to her.
“Jack and the Scream Stalk / Boo Bash a Bone Bag / Artistic? That’s a
Stretch!” (2/27/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / The trio sing about going
scaring. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
Season 4:
“Scaredy Boo Where Have You Got To? / Casper’s New Theme Song / The
Daunting Game” (9/12/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“At the BOO-vies / Sing Yourself Happy / Snowball’s Chance” (9/19/98)
– NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“NYPD BOO / Three Cool Ghouls / Working Ghouls” (9/26/98) – NO
SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Scream Test / Ms. Banshee’s Kid Songs / The Doctor is Out” (10/3/98)
– NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / An ad for Ms. Banshee’s new album. / NO SYNOPSIS
AVAILABLE.
“Miami Nice / If You’re Unhappy and You Know It / That Advice Stinks”
(10/10/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
Originally studying journalism at McMaster University,
John Candy ended up starring in several small roles throughout the early 1970s
until landing a spot in Toronto’s branch of The Second City
improvisational troupe. As a member, he began to achieve wide North American
popularity that only seemed to increase once the troupe spun off into the
television series Second City Television(SCTV). In 1979, Candy began to branch
out by being cast in larger films such as 1941and The
Blues Brothers.
He
continued to have starring or supporting roles in movies of varying success
throughout the 1980s and appeared twice on Saturday
Night Live.
John Candy with Nurse Molly, Iggy, Rick, Binky, Robin, Vanessa and Alex.
In 1989, Candy decided to use his
experience as a camp counselor to produce a Saturday morning television series.
Created by Joel
Andryc, Ellen
Levy
and Phil Harnage
and developed by Jack
Mendelsohn and Scott Shaw
along with Candy, Camp Candy centered
on camp counselor John Candy (voicing himself) and his ethnically diverse
collection of young campers. Although there were more depicted in wider shots,
the primary campers included nature lover Robin McClain (Danielle Fernandes,
Cree Summer & Candi Milo); tomboy Alex Dawson (Chiara Zanni & E.G.
Daily); rich and snobby fashionista Vanessa Van Pelt (Willow Johnson & Gail
Matthius); hypochondriac Iggy Jones (Tom Davidson & Katie Leigh) and his
more adventurous younger brother George “Binky” Jones (Tony Ail & Daily);
and arrogant prankster Rick Quimby (Andrew Seebaran & Daily). The camp’s
nurse, Nurse Molly (Second City veteran Valri Bromfield) had a poorly-hidden
crush on Candy, although Candy himself was smitten with the camp’s receptionist,
Miss Sweetingham.
DeForest and Chester plotting.
Most episodes would center around
Candy showing his campers how to do something outdoors, which would almost
always remind him of a story. He would proceed to regale his charges with the
tale, teaching a lesson about nature and life in the process. Some episodes
also dealt with crooked developer Xavier “Rex” DeForest III (Lewis Arquette)
and his dim-witted henchman, Chester (Danny Mann). DeForest wanted nothing more
than to tear down Camp Candy and the surrounding forest in order to build a
condominium near Lake Katchatoree.
After running for two seasons, the
show was cancelled by NBC as part of their animation purge in favor of more
teen-oriented programming. However, the series was revived in 1992 for
syndication in order to use Candy to attract his fan base, primarily preteen
boys, to daytime television. Production was picked up by Saban International Services,
bringing on Haim
Saban as an executive producer along with Candy and Andy Heyward,
with distribution by Worldvision
Enterprises. The primary difference between the two
versions, along with the recasting of all the kids’ voices to replace the
Canadian actors, was the addition of live-action segments starring Candy that
would bookend the episodes. Conceived by Candy himself, he would discuss
various facts about the great outdoors and wildlife before leading into the
day’s animated adventure. The revival, however, only lasted one additional
season.
“The
Forest’s Prime Evil (9/8/89) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Small
Foot, Big Trouble” (9/16/89) – Robin gets separated from the group during a
birdwatching hike and ends up having to help a baby Bigfoot find his mother.
“The
Katchatoree Creature” (9/23/89) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Tough
as Nayles” (9/30/89) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Bird
is the Word / Best Behavior” (10/7/89) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Fool’s
Gold” (10/14/89) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Sleight
of Hand / Thanks, But No Pranks” (10/21/89) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Mind
Over Matter / Brat Pact” (11/4/89) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“May
the Best Parents Win” (11/11/89) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Not
So Brae Brave / Opposites Attract” (11/18/89) – John discovers a treaty from
George Washington that gives the camp’s land to an Indian tribe.
“Indian
Love Call / Spoiled Sports” (12/2/89) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Rick
Gets the Picture / Poor Little Rich Girl” (12/9/89) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Christmas
in July” (12/16/89) – The campers try to fend of a heatwave by make-believing
it’s Christmas-time while also having to teach Vanessa about the Christmas spirit.
Season 2:
“Robo-Camp
/ The Glasnost Menagerie” (9/8/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Color
War and Peace” (9/15/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Camp
Cuisine / Take the Compass and Run” (9/22/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Candy
Springs” (9/29/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Wish
Upon a Fish” (10/6/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Taking
the Bully by the Horns / Rock Candy” (10/13/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Dear
Mom and Dad” (10/20/90) – The kids write home to their parents explaining how
each was responsible for the destruction of the mess hall.
“Stand
Up and Deliver / Ruthless Campers” (10/27/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Camp
Candy’s Funniest Home Videos” (11/3/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Robin’s
Ark” (11/10/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Candy
and the Ants / Smart Moose, Foolish Choices” (11/17/90) – John tries to save
his camp from a swarm of Navy Ants. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“One
Million Years B.C.” (11/24/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Jokers
of the Wild / Uncle Rexie” (12/1/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Scare
Package” (1/19/91) – Iggy begins seeing monsters everywhere after John shows
the campers his favorite scary movie.
Season 3:
“TV
or Not TV” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Rock
and Rest / Rick Van Winkle” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“The
Last Word” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“A
Ribbeting Experience / The Bamboo Woodpecker” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Wild,
Wild Candy” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“When
It Rains…It Snows” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Saturday
Night Polka Fever” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Chester’s
Millions” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Bee
Prepared / Signs of Silence” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
