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.
For the history of Dennis the Menace, check out the post here.
Hank
Ketcham was inspired by the antics of his son, Dennis, to
create the comic strip Dennis the Menace.
The strip followed young Dennis as he inadvertently caused chaos for the
adults in his life through his well-meaning intentions. The strip became
immensely popular, and it wasn’t long before Hollywood came calling.
Dennis with his parents (front) and the Wilsons (back).
The first adaptation of the strip
was a sitcom for CBS,
who were looking to replace Leave it to Beaverafter
losing it to ABC,
produced by Dariell Productions and Screen Gems.
Like the strip, Dennis (Jay
North) was a well-intentioned mischievous boy whose antics
often came at the expense of his long-suffering neighbor, George Wilson (Joseph
Kearns). Dennis, at first, was more directly responsible for
the trouble he caused, but that was toned down at the network’s request to
avoid imitable behavior among younger members of their viewing audience. Herbert
Anderson and Gloria
Henry portrayed Dennis’ parents Henry and Alice, and Sylvia
Field played George’s wife, Martha. Missing was the
Mitchells’ dog, Ruff, who was replaced by the Wilsons’ dog, Fremont. Other
characters included Dennis’ best friend Tommy Anderson (Billy
Booth); Margaret Wade (Jeannie
Russell, cast at North’s suggestion), who had a crush on
Dennis though he found her annoying; Sergeant Harold Mooney (George
Cisar), a local policeman that took great pleasuring in
ruining Mr. Wilson’s day; Otis Quigley (Willard
Waterman), the local grocer; Miss Esther Cathcart (Mary
Wickes), a spinster that threw herself at every man she
could; and Grandma Mitchell (Kathleen
Mulqueen), Henry’s mother who stayed with them briefly while
Alice was away taking care of her father (a cover for Henry being on maternity
leave). Ron
Howard portrayed another of Dennis’ friends, Stewart, for
six episodes before he was cast to star in The Andy Griffith Show.
The replacement Wilsons.
Dennis
the Menace began on October 4, 1959 and ran for a total of four seasons.
North would also reprise the role for appearances on The Donna Reed Show, The Red Skelton Hour,
and in the film Pepe.
After the filming of the 100th episode, Kearns died
suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage. For the remainder of the third season,
George was said to be out east settling an estate, and his brother, John (Gale
Gordon), was staying in his house as a guest. John,
interestingly enough, bore a stronger resemblance in appearance and personality
to the Mr. Wilson of the comic strip than George did. For the final season, the
original Wilsons were written out as having moved away, with John buying their
house with his wife, Eloise (Sara
Seegar). At the end of the season, CBS ultimately decided to
cancel the show as North, approaching 12-years-old, was getting too old to
believably be involved in the antics of the character. The show entered reruns on
NBC Saturday mornings
later that year before going into syndicated reruns in 1965. In the 1980s, it
began to make the rounds on various cable networks including Nickelodeon,
TV Land
and Antenna TV,
and on the streaming service Hulu.
The Skelly Oil Company was
looking for a follow-up to its successful radio adventure show, The
Air Adventures of Jimmie Allen, and turned to that show’s creators,
Wilfred G. Moore and Robert M. Burtt, to duplicate that success.
Ad for the radio show.
Captain
Midnight debuted on October 7, 1938 as a syndicated
radio show broadcast to a few Midwest stations. Captain Midnight was a
former World War I
U.S. Army pilot named Captain Jim “Red” Albright until a general who sent him
on a dangerous mission gave him his codename when he returned at the stroke of
12. After the war, he became a private pilot that helped people in trouble.
However, when Ovaltine
took over sponsorship of the program in 1940, Albright became the head of the
Secret Squadron: an air-based paramilitary organization battling sabotage and
espionage against the country. When the United States entered World War II following
the bombing of Pearl Harbor,
the Secret Squadron joined in the battle against the Axis Powers. Most notably,
the female members of the Squadron were treated as equals and were often involved
in heavy combat missions. Captain Midnight was portrayed by Ed Prentiss, Bill Bouchey and Paul
Barnes over the course of the show.
Ad for the movie serial.
With
Ovaltine’s sponsorship came a move to the Mutual Radio
Network, where Captain Midnight enjoyed a national audience and
allowed it to gain a regular audience number in the millions. The show ran
until December of 1949, and in that time inspired a newspaper
comic strip, a book
and comic books published by Dell
Comics and Fawcett
Comics. In 1942, Columbia
Pictures produced a 15-chapter spin-off
serial starring Dave O’Brien.
While some of the characters from the radio show were used, the serial took
some liberties with the source material. Captain Midnight became a masked
secret identity for Albright and the Secret Squadron element was removed from
the story. The serial was later brought to television in 1953 through early
1954 as Captain
Midnight’s Adventure Theatre.
The Silver Dart takes flight.
At
the same time, Columbia’s television arm, Screen Gems, was working on adapting Captain
Midnight for television as an ongoing show. Once again, some liberties were
taken with the source material as Captain Midnight (Richard Webb, an actual
veteran who got the role despite being older than what they were looking for)
became a veteran of the Korean War. Although
the Secret Squadron was in place this time, the only other established character
was chief mechanic Ichabod “Icky” Mudd (Sid Melton), who served as the show’s
comic relief. Joining them was scientist Dr. Aristotle “Tut” Jones (Olan Soule,
who played Agent Kelly, SS-11 on the radio show). The Squadron was a private
group often asked to deal with enemy agents, rogue scientists, investigate
sabotage and, in general, protect the country from the forces of evil. Despite
the science fiction elements present in the show such as robot bombs and space
stations, Midnight was the only action hero on TV at the time to not venture
out into space, sticking to the skies and the Earth’s orbit in his Silver Dart;
the experimental Douglas
D-558-2 Skyrocket which had both a jet engine and a rocket engine.
Ikky, Captain Midnight and Tut in the middle of a mystery.
Ovaltine included
an offer in their products for a membership kit that included a decoder badge
that would allow viewers to transcribe a secret message given to them each
episode. However, they continually only saw a marginal and temporary increase
in their sales as a lot of people would merely steal the wax seal from the
Ovaltine jar that they needed to send in. At a public appearance, Webb asked
those in attendance what their favorite breakfast drink was, and received the
overwhelmingly resounding reply of “Bosco!”
Since Ovaltine saw Captain Midnight as just a marketing tool to move
their product, they pulled their sponsorship and ended production of the show
after just two seasons, despite its popularity.
Original VHS release.
When the
show entered into syndicated reruns in 1958, a problem arose. The Wander Company, the parent company of
Ovaltine, owned the rights to the Captain Midnight name. As a result, Screen
Gems was forced to change the name of the series to Jet Jackson, Flying
Commando for both the title and in every instance the name was said. Screen
Gems to attempted to purchase the rights from The Wander Company using Webb as
a mediator, but they wanted to hold onto the series for future use. Depending
on the source, the original Captain Midnight is either still on a shelf
somewhere, or the prints had long been destroyed. Parade Video released a VHS collection
of two episodes, which Rhino Video later
re-released as Captain
Midnight Flies Againalong with a second VHS
collection containing two episodes. All four episodes were from the second season.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Season 1:
“Murder by Radiation” (9/4/54) – Captain Midnight has to
recover a radioactive element from foreign agents.
“Electronic Killer” (9/11/54) – Enemy agents kidnap Captain
Midnight’s friend in order to get the secrets of his new guided missile.
“Deadly Diamonds” (9/18/54) – The Secret Squadron is sent to
track down a dangerous group of diamond smugglers with the help of one of Tut’s
inventions.
“The Lost Moon” (9/25/54) – Captain Midnight has to discover
the secret of a lost moon orbiting Earth before enemy agents get their first
and take control of the planet.
“Death Below Zero” (10/2/54) – The investigation of the
poisoning of a dog belonging to a member of the Squadron leads Captain Midnight
to be locked into a cold storage locker.
“Operation Failure” (10/9/54) – Captain Midnight goes behind
the Iron Curtain to rescue a freedom fighter.
“Trapped Behind Bars” (10/16/54) – An investigation into
prison riots leads Captain Midnight and Ikky going undercover as prisoners.
“Counterfeit Millions” (10/23/54) – Captain Midnight
discovers the method in which counterfeit money is entering the country.
“The Walking Ghost” (10/30/54) – A Squadron agent comes to
Captain Midnight for help in exorcising a ghost from a Southern mansion.
“Secret of the Jungle” (11/6/54) – An African vacation
becomes a mystery to find a stolen idol.
“Sabotage Under the Sea” (11/13/54) – Captain Midnight
engages an enemy submarine to find an experimental missile that disappeared.
“Isle of Mystery” (11/20/54) – Captain Midnight and Ikky are
sent to investigate why the small island of Luana withdraws permission for the
US to conduct atomic tests in the area.
“The Curse of the Pharaohs” (11/27/54) – Captain Midnight is
asked to investigate the disappearance of an archaeologist.
“The Deserters” (12/4/54) – While helping Squadron members
evicted from their clubhouse by developers, Captain Midnight stumbles onto a
bank robbery.
“The Electrified Man” (12/11/54) – A scientist working on a countermeasure
for radioactive dust becomes incredibly dangerous after using too much energy.
“The Young Criminal” (12/18/54) – Captain Midnight sponsors
a youth gym to battle juvenile delinquency, and one of the patrons becomes
enamored with the lifestyle of a poolroom owner.
“The Deadly Project” (12/25/54) – A scientist working on a
heat-resistant metal for the Air Force is targeted by a rival who developed a
sonic gun.
“Touchdown Terror” (1/1/55) – Captain Midnight and a quarterback
are kidnapped when the player refuses to throw an important game.
“Top Secret Weapons” (1/8/55) – Captain Midnight gives
asylum to a young refugee who was hypnotized to spy on the secret weapon being
developed at headquarters.
“The Human Bomb” (1/15/55) – A munitions genius is released
from prison and plots revenge against those that put him there.
“The Mark of Death” (1/22/55) – Heading to deliver a goodwill
message to India leads Captain Midnight and Ikky to have to rescue Bengra Tassi
from The Executioner.
“Arctic Avalanche” (1/29/55) – Convinced to take a sick
Eskimo to a hospital, Captain Midnight and Ikky end up walking into a trap.
“Mystery of the Forest” (2/5/55) – Captain Midnight and Ikky
pose as lumberjacks to investigate the largest non-nuclear explosion in
history.
“The Invisible Terror” (2/12/55) – Captain Midnight has to
find the formula for a retrovirus that can protect the country from a
biological attack.
“Saboteurs of the Sky” (2/19/55) – Captain Midnight has to
find a kidnapped Squadron member who developed a method of creating hurricanes.
“Peril from the Arctic” (2/26/55) – Captain Midnight and
Ikky investigate a renegade scientist experimenting with an anti-magnetic force
to be used against the country.
“Mission to Mexico” (11/5/55) – Captain Midnight and Ikky go
to Mexico to find a radio station that broadcasted a message referring to fissionable
materials that might be used against the US.
“The Frozen Men” (11/12/55) – Captain Midnight braves a nuclear
testing ground in order to free a scientist from suspended animation.
“Doctors of Doom” (11/19/55) – Investigating reports of a
giant leads Captain Midnight to a sanitarium housing enslaved scientists.
“Sunken Sapphires” (11/26/55) – Captain Midnight and Ikky
help young siblings retrieve a cache of jewels.
“Master Criminal” (12/3/55) – A top criminal surrenders to
the Squadron in order to get access to the new jet engine being developed at headquarters.
“Secret of Superstition Mountain” (12/10/55) – Ghostly apparitions
harass Captain Midnight and Ikky when they find hidden treasure in Arizona.
“The Mountain of Fire” (12/17/55) – A volcanic eruption masks
the sabotage of an experiment to turn volcanic heat into electricity.
“The Jungle Pit” (12/24/55) – Captain Midnight and Ikky help
a Japanese boy find his father on an island who doesn’t know World War II
ended.
“Flight into the Unknown” (12/31/55) – Captain Midnight and
Ikky track down a banker who disappeared with a large sum of money.
“The Runaway Suitcase” (1/7/56) – A police officer comes to
Captain Midnight to help clear his name for a theft he didn’t commit.
“Million Dollar Diamond” (1/14/56) – A boy comes to Captain
Midnight about his abusive father, leading him to discover the man has been
replaced by a double to steal a valuable diamond.
“The Human Bullet” (1/21/56) – Captain Midnight volunteers
to test a new rocket sled, discovering an attempt to sabotage it and discredit
its inventor.
Rin Tin Tin was a
German Shepherd rescued from a World War I battlefield by soldier Lee Duncan. Duncan
trained Rin Tin Tin and secured him silent film work. He was a box office
success, appearing in 27 films and gaining worldwide fame and increasing the
popularity of his breed as household pets. After the death of the original in
1932, others from his lineage continued on the tradition of appearing in radio
and film.
Rusty, Lt. Masters and Sgt. O'Hara with Rin Tin Tin.
In 1954, Screen Gems produced The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin. Initially, Rin Tin Tin IV was
planned to star in the show, but most of the work was performed by Flame Jr.,
owned by trainer Frank Barnes, and Rin Tin Tin’s descendant Hey You. The series
followed the adventures of Rusty (Lee
Aaker), a boy orphaned in an Indian raid and now residing at Fort Apache
with the US Cavalry, as he and his dog, Rin Tin Tin, helped the soldiers
establish order in the American West. James Brown played Lt. Ripley
“Rip” Masters, Joe Sawyer
played Sgt. Biff O’Hara, Rand
Brooks played Corporal Randy Boone, and William Forrest played Major
Swanson.
Protecting the west.
The series premiered on ABC on October 15, 1954. It was made on a low
budget and featured a small troupe of 12 actors who often had to play multiple
roles—sometimes in the same episodes. The show ran for 5 seasons and 164
episodes. Following its conclusion, ABC moved it from Friday evenings to late
afternoons until 1961. In 1962, CBS acquired
the broadcast rights to the show and reran it on Saturday mornings until 1964.
In 1976, a new package of reruns aired with the film prints tinted brown and
given a new color opening and closing sequence. Present day reruns were
remastered by Cerulean Digital Color and Animation with new music and some
lines redubbed by different actors.
THE JETSONS (ABC, September 23, 1962-March 17, 1963 Syndication, September 16, 1985-November 12, 1987)
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Screen Gems (season 1)
After successfully visiting the
Stone Age, Hanna-Barbera
set their sights on the future with The
Jetsons. George Jetson (George
O’Hanlon) lived with his family--wife Jane (Penny Singleton),
teenaged daughter Judy (Janet
Waldo), son Elroy (Daws Butler),
and dog Astro (Don
Messick)--in an apartment in Orbit City on earth. He worked
an hour a day for two days a week as a literal button pusher at Spacely
Sprockets, owned by the grumpy miser Cosmo Spacely (Mel Blanc).
Like most sitcom fathers, George was often beset upon by his family’s antics,
his boss’ overlording, or his own schemes backfiring. It was heavily influenced
by the Space Age sensibilities of the time: cars resembled flying saucers,
sidewalks moved on their own, food came from a machine with the push of a
particular button, bathrooms bathed a person automatically, robots were
everywhere, etc. But, despite all that, the residents of the world suffered the
weariness of the daily grind familiar to those in the present.
Astro, Judy, George, Elroy and Jane getting their photo taken by Rosie.
The Jetsons debuted on September
23, 1962 on ABC, becoming the first program
that the network would broadcast in color. Unfortunately, it was up against Walt Disney’s Wonderful
World of Colorand Dennis the Menaceand
performed poorly as a result, leaving it cancelled at the end of its sole
season. However, ABC continued to air it through 1964 on its Saturday morning
schedule, after which it moved to CBS and
then NBC for the next two decades. Hanna-Barbera
pondered the possibility of a spin-off featuring an older Judy, but that was
rejected by CBS and ultimately retooled into the series Partridge
Family 2200 A.D. A resurgence in the show’s popularity led to
Hanna-Barbera producing an additional 41 new episodes in 1984 to create a
syndication package with the original 24. While essentially the same show,
elements were updated with the times such as putting a greater focus on technology
that gave the Jetson’s robotic maid Rosie (Jean Vander Pyl)
more prominence and George a work partner in the form of sentient computer, R.U.D.I.
(Messick). The family got a new pet: a spring-legged alien named Orbity (Frank Welker).
Plots expanded from standard sitcom fare to feature more science-fiction
elements. The theme, while similar, was also updated to include some modern synthesized
instrumentation.
During the revival’s production, Universal Pictures acquired the rights to
produce a film based on the show. Written by Dennis Marks, the film sees the
Jetsons relocated to an asteroid colony to oversee Spacely’s new plant that
keeps being sabotaged. One of the challenges faced by the production was the
advanced age and poor health of many of the cast members. 71-year-old Butler
died of a heart attack before recording a single line, leading to the casting
of Patric Zimmerman as
Elroy. 76-year-old O’Hanlon and 81-year-old Blanc both died after they completed
their recordings, with Jeff
Bergman stepping in to fill in for both of them for any additional dialogue.
While Waldo did record her lines for Judy, singer Tiffany was stunt-cast to replace her and
sing a few songs in the hopes that she would prove a box-office draw. Unfortunately,
Jetsons: The Movie was critically panned when it was released in 1990 and ultimately only
earned $20.3 million. It wouldn’t be until 2017 that another film, the
direct-to-video The
Jetsons & WWE: Robo-WrestleMania!, would be produced.
Created by Sol Saks, Betwitched was the story of a mixed
marriage. Deceptively young-looking witch Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) fell in
love with and married mortal Darrin Stephens (Dick York & Dick Sargent). Darrin wasn’t
comfortable with Samantha using magic, so she willingly refrained from using
any (whenever possible, anyway). This didn’t sit well with her mother, Endora (Agnes Moorehead), who didn’t
approve of the marriage and antagonized Darrin whenever possible. Adding to
Darrin’s troubles was his constantly having to be on his toes to appease his
fickle boss, Larry Tate (David
White). Eventually, Samantha and Darrin had two children, Tabatha (Diane & Erin Murphy) and Adam (Greg & David Lawrence),
who possessed their mother’s trait for magic.
The series largely used the magic as
an allegory for the troubles a young married couple would typically face in
life as well as social issues such as racism. Despite the show’s instant
success, ABC wanted a greater use of magic
and farce. Producer Danny Arnold,
who tried to keep the show grounded, left after the first season and ABC slowly
got their wish. Halfway through production, a back injury sustained during the
filming of a movie caused York to have to leave the show after season 6.
Sargent replaced him for the remainder of the show’s run. The show’s ratings
began to decline and ABC moved it around its schedule; putting it up against
stiffer competition with each move. The show was finally cancelled after its 8th
season, but continued on in daytime and Saturday mornings until 1973 when it
entered syndication.
