U.S. OF ARCHIE
(CBS, September 7-December 21, 1974)
Filmation Associates
(CBS, September 7-December 21, 1974)
MAIN CAST:
Dallas McKennon – Archie Andrews, Hot Dog, Mr. Weatherbee, Chuck Clayton, various
John Erwin – Reggie Mantle
Jane Webb – Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Miss Grundy, various
Howard Morris – Jughead Jones, Moose Mason, various
Dallas McKennon – Archie Andrews, Hot Dog, Mr. Weatherbee, Chuck Clayton, various
John Erwin – Reggie Mantle
Jane Webb – Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Miss Grundy, various
Howard Morris – Jughead Jones, Moose Mason, various
CBS was looking for more educational content,
and the United States of America was quickly approaching its highly-anticipated
bicentennial
anniversary. Filmation
saw a way to fulfill CBS’ desires and celebrate the occasion by injecting
American history into one of their shows. Specifically: in the sixth and final
spin-off of The
Archie Show to air on the network.
 |
| Present day Archie Andrews giving an introduction to the story involving Teddy Roosevelt. |
U.S. of
Archie, making a play on the term “U.S. of A.”, took the familiar Archie
Comics characters and inserted them in moments throughout American history. Episodes
would begin and end in the present; with some activity the Archie gang was
engaged with inspiring Archie (Dallas McKennon) to address the audience and
recount a story of their ancestors engaging with famous historical figures and events.
Of course, we all overlook the convenience of not only their ancestors
resembling them perfectly and sharing the same names but happening to all be friends as well.
 |
| Chuck Clayton finally comes to Riverdale. |
Along with Archie,
the rest of the regular Riverdale gang appeared: best friend Jughead (Howard Morris); girlfriends
Veronica and Betty (both Jane Webb); frenemy Reggie (John Erwin); and
dim-witted mass of muscle Moose (Morris), as well as school principal Mr.
Weatherbee (McKennon), teacher Miss Grundy (Webb), and the group’s unofficial
mascot, Hot Dog (also McKennon). They did gain a new friend, however, as this
was the first entry in the Archie franchise to feature the character of
Chuck Clayton (McKennon). Introduced in 1971’s Life
with Archie #110, Chuck was the
first regular Black male character in the Archie books. He originally was just one
of Riverdale High’s top athletes and the son of one of the gym teachers,
however he was later rounded out by being given the hobby of being a cartoonist
with the hopes of one day turning it into a career making comic books.
 |
| The Archies rocking throughout American history. |
In keeping
with the musical element the cartoon series was built on, each episode would
end with a performance by The Archies playing their instruments and singing a
song about what just transpired. As usual for Filmation, animation of the band
playing was recycled from the previous shows; however, the character models
were altered to give them their period attire. Images and scenes from the
episode would accompany the song, as would a patriotic assortment of American
flag-inspired backgrounds. Archie himself would introduce the song numbers
against a backdrop of the show’s title.
 |
| The Wright Brothers hard at work making an airplane. |
U.S. of
Archie debuted on CBS on September 7, 1974. The series was written by Jim Ryan, Bill Danch and Marc Richards,
with Dr. Gordon L. Berry, Dr. Norma Feshbach and Dr. Thomas LaBelle serving as
educational advisors. The series’ songs were composed by Jackie Mills and producer Norm Prescott (as Jeff Michael),
with Prescott and Ray
Ellis (as Yvette
Blais) doing the background music. Mills also produced the songs, with Tom
McKenzie of The
Doodletown Pipers singing. While the theme was composed with a 70s
era-appropriate groovy sound, it featured interspersed medleys from the songs
“Dixie”, an 1860 song that became strongly associated with the American
Confederacy inconclusively credited to Dan Emmett,
and “Yankee Doodle”, a 1755 traditional song and nursery rhyme originally written
by British Army surgeon Richard
Shuckburgh to mock the “Yankees” (American
colonials, not the baseball team),
and later revised by Minuteman
Edward Bangs. Particularly the beginning of the theme, which opened with a
combined medley of the two songs. Music and sound effects were handled by Horta-Mahana Corp.
 |
| The gang tasked with reuniting a pair of kids with their mother via the Underground Railroad. |
Because of
the educational nature of the show, the normal music and comedy elements that
Filmation’s franchise was built on were largely absent. Ratings suffered as a
result, and shortly after completing its run the series was shifted over to the
less-prominent Sunday mornings in 1975. It remained there in reruns through
September of 1976; seeing the bicentennial it was meant to commemorate.
Ultimately, this would end up being Filmation’s final Archie entry for
CBS as their next and final Archie show, The New Archie and Sabrina
Hour, would air on rival NBC.
 |
| The U.S. of Archie album from Peter Pan Records. |
Peter Pan Records released a handful of
records to commemorate the bicentennial in 1976. One of those was a
record of the dialogue soundtrack from two episodes of U.S. of Archie:
“The Great Divide” and “Mr. Watson, Come Here”. However, to avoid paying
licensing fees, the album doesn’t feature any of the background music or ending
songs from the show. Nostalgia
Ventures released four VHS and DVDs collecting episodes from the various Archie
programs in 2004 under the Archie & Friends title. They included the
U.S. of Archie episodes “The Star Spangled Banner” on Featuring
The Archie Show; “The Day of the Ladies” on Featuring
Sabrina the Teenage Witch; “The Wright Brothers” on Featuring
Archie’s TV Funnies; and “The Roughrider” on Featuring
Archie’s Classic Cartoons. The complete series has yet to be released. In
2010, the series briefly returned to television on the Retro Television Network,
and a few episodes, scene clips and all of the song numbers have found their
way to online video sites like YouTube.
EPISODE GUIDE*:
“The Underground Railroad” (9/7/74) – Standoffish new
arrivals to Riverdale High inspire Archie to reminisce about their ancestors
doing their part to aid in the Underground
Railroad.
SONG: “Friendship
Train”
“Gold” (9/14/74) – After his friends get bit by gold fever,
Archie recalls his great grandfather’s experiences during the Gold Rush.
SONG: “Gold!”
“The Day of the Ladies” (9/21/74) – The gang’s ancestors
hold rallies to help raise awareness for women’s rights spearheaded by Elizabeth
Cady Stanton and Lucretia
Mott.
SONG: “Women’s
Day”
“The Star Spangled Banner” (9/28/74) – While the gang’s
ancestors help defend Fort McHenry
in the War of 1812,
the bombardment inspires Francis Scott Key
to write his poem-turned-national anthem.
SONGS: “The
Star-Spangled Banner” & “Long
Wave the Glory”
“The Wright Brothers” (10/5/74) – The gang’s ancestors help
the Wright
Brothers assemble and test their aircraft in Kittyhawk, Nort Carolina.
SONG: “Flyin’
High”
“The Roughrider” (10/12/74) – The gang’s ancestors head to
the old west to witness the formation of Teddy
Roosevelt’s Rough
Riders.
SONG: “Rough
Rider”
“The Golden Spike” (10/19/74) – The gang’s ancestors help
with the construction of the first transcontinental
railroad, symbolically joined in Utah by a golden railroad spike.
SONG: “The
Golden Spike”
“Flame of Freedom” (10/26/74) – The gang’s ancestors are
witnesses to the United States declaring
its independence from England.
SONG: “Flame
of Freedom”
“There She Blows” (11/2/74) – Herman Melville
recruits the gang’s ancestors on his sea voyage of adventure and fortune.
SONG: “Yo-Ho-Ho
Thar She Blows”
“Stay Not These Men” (11/9/74) – The gang’s ancestors help Ben Franklin
establish and grow the United
States Post Office.
SONG: “Shown
the Way”
“The Giver” (11/16/74) – The gang’s ancestors help George
Washington Carver with his research during his tenure at the Tuskegee Institute.
SONG: “The
Giver”
“Mr. Watson, Come Here” (11/23/74) – After dealing with
Reggie’s loud music, Archie recounts the exploits of a man familiar with the
workings of sound: Alexander
Graham Bell.
SONG: “The
Invention of the Telephone”
“The Crime of Ignorance” (11/30/74) – Horace Mann
promotes free education in Massachusetts, and the gang’s ancestors help with
literacy drives and organizing classes for underserved communities.
SONG: “Horace
Mann”
“The Great Divide” (12/7/74) – The gang’s ancestors join Lewis and
Clark on their expedition to explore America’s newest acquired territory.
SONG: “Lewis
and Clark”
“Fulton’s Folly” (12/14/74) – The gang’s ancestors serve as
crew aboard Robert
Fulton’s steamboat as he tries to prove the viability of steam power.
SONG: “Riverboat
Blues”
“Wizard of Menlo Park” (12/21/74) – The gang’s ancestors
collaborate with Thomas
Edison as he develops his greatest inventions.
SONG: “Look
to Tomorrow”
*Some descriptions are based on the best sources
available and may not be entirely accurate.
