30TH ANNVIERSARIES

 The 3rd weekend in our anniversary celebration ends with the programs turning a mighty big

25TH ANNIVERSARIES

 Our anniversary celebration continues as we get up there with the shows reaching

JASON OF STAR COMMAND

JASON OF STAR COMMAND
(CBS, September 9, 1978-December 1, 1979)
 
Filmation Associates

 

CAST:
Craig Littler – Jason
Susan O’Hanlon – Captain Nicole Davidoff (season 1)
Charlie Dell – Professor E.J. Parsafoot
James Doohan – Commander Canarvin (season 1)
Sid Haig – Dragos
John Russell – Commander Stone (season 2)
Tamara Dobson – Samantha (season 2)

 

 

        Jason of Star Command was the final live-action series produced by Filmation. Serving as a sequel to Space Academy, it followed the exploits of space adventurer Jason (Craig Littler) and his colleagues: computer genius Captain Nicole Davidoff (Susan O’Hanlon), Professor E.J. Parsafoot (Charlie Dell), and commanding officer Commander Canarvin (James Doohan), as well as Jason’s mini robot W1K1 (Jane Webb). They worked together to foil the sinister plots of the evil Dragos (Sid Haig), unruly aliens and other assorted villains like Queen Vanessa (Julie Newmar) of the ice planet Kesh.

Star Command: Commander Canarvin, Jason, Nicole and Prof. Parsafoot.

        Created and directed by Arthur H. Nadel, the series made extensive use of Space Academy sets, models such as the Academy’s asteroid (where Space Command was said to be set) and Seeker ship, and even featured appearances by Matt Prentiss (John Berwick) and Peepo the robot (operated and on-set voice by Berwick, voiced by Erika Scheimer). The original plan was to have Jonathan Harris reprise his role of Commander Isaac Gampu as the commanding officer for Jason, but he and producer Lou Scheimer had a falling out over a pay dispute when Scheimer tried to lowball him. Doohan’s role was created as a result. Despite all the connections to Academy, the focus was on adult characters rather than the students, with the Han Solo-inspired Jason front and center.

Dragos.

        Newly created for the show was the Starfire, which was the type of ship Star Command usually employed, and Dragos’ massive Dragonship. Dragos also had a legion of unmanned drones (a fact specifically stated often so as to indicate no pilots were killed in dogfights) called “Red Dragon Interceptors”. Chuck Comisky was retained as production coordinator in charge of special effects from Space Academy, and extensive use was made in advancements in technology. With a team comprised of John Grusd, Paul Huston, Ease Owyeung, Jim Veilleux, Diana Wooten and Michael J. McAlister, they utilized computers to do repeated moves with the ship models and generate mattes of space directly into the camera to make it look as if the stars were moving. Jim Aupperle and Stephen Czerkas worked on stop-motion visual effects for some of the creatures encountered by the heroes. W1K1 also proved temperamental, as its electronics and walking features tended not to work when the cameras were rolling most of the time.

The new blood: Commander Stone and Samantha.

Jason of Star Command debuted on CBS on September 9, 1978 as part of the package program Tarzan and the Super 7 alongside Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, The New Adventures of Batman, The Freedom Force, Manta and Moray, Superstretch and Microwoman and Web Woman. The first season was made reminiscent of the classic serial format with an ongoing story carrying on across all 16 15-minute episodes. At $200,000 per episode, it was the most expensive Saturday morning production at the time. The series was written primarily by Samuel A. Peeples along with Don Heckman, Sid Morse, Ted Pedersen, Martha Humphreys, Chuck Menville, Len Janson, Margaret Armen, Lynn Barker, Joe Mazzuca, Jackson Gillis, Michael Halperin and Alf Harris. The theme and score were composed by Ray Ellis (as Yvette Blais) and Norm Prescott (as Jeff Michael).

        The second season saw several changes. Jason was split off into its own half-hour program, and the full-season story format was abandoned in favor of smaller 2-4-episode arcs. O’Hanlon left the show and was replaced by Tamara Dobson as Samantha; a woman found in suspended animation by Jason that had a variety of unique abilities. Additionally, production was moving ahead on Star Trek: The Motion Picture meaning that Doohan was unavailable. He was replaced by John Russell as by-the-book Commander Stone; a blue-skinned alien from Alpha Centauri that often clashed with Jason. John Carl Buechler came on board to handle the live-action creature effects for various alien creatures. And Dragos’ ship got an upgrade with a new 3-foot-long model.

The Starfire.

        Following the conclusion of the second season, Jason was replaced by Filmation’s Shazam! on the schedule and moved to Sunday mornings for the next year; after which it was moved again to Saturday afternoons. In 2007, BCI Eclipse released the complete series on DVD loaded with special features. The following year it was included as part of the collection Filmation Sci-Fi Box Set along with Ark II and Space Academy. As BCI had ceased operations, both sets are currently out of print.

 

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1:

“Attack of the Dragonship” (9/9/78) – Space Academy is struck by Dragos’ Dragonship, resulting in Jason and Parsafoot having to rescue Canarvin from floating in space.

 

“Prisoner of Dragos” (9/16/78) – Dragos introduces himself to the captive Jason and reveals he’ll be sending an evil duplicate of him into Star Command to aid the evil Canarvin already there.

 

“Escape from Dragos” (9/23/78) – Nicole and Parsafoot deal with the evil Canarvin while the real one and Jason escape from the Dragonship.

 

“A Cry for Help” (9/30/78) – Evil Canarvin disables the Academy’s shields allowing an opening for Dragos to attack while Jason rescues a lovely princess from Dragos’ cells.

 

“W1K1 to the Rescue” (10/7/78) – W1K1 leads Nicole to Jason and the princess, and Jason launches the Starfire into the Dragonship to free the Academy’s controls.

 

“Planet of the Lost” (10/14/78) – W1K1 and Parsafoot manage to get a Starfire to rescue Nicole, Jason and the princess, but Dragos and his minions manage to track them.

 

“Marooned in Time” (10/21/78) – Jason, Nicole and Parsafoot are trapped on a planet trapped in time by Dragons as captives of Captain Kidd.

 

“Attack of the Dragons” (10/28/78) – Parsafoot is able to repair their ship and they escape with Kidd, who agrees to join them in the fight against Dragos.

 

“Peepo’s Last Chance” (11/4/78) – Peepo is captured by Dragos in order to scan his memory banks, which contain vital information about Space Command.

 

“The Disappearing Man” (11/11/78) – Jason must enter a distorted time dimension to rescue Matt Prentiss.

 

“The Haunted Planet” (11/18/78) – While searching for Peepo, a radiation beam forces Jason to land on an ice planet where he and his colleagues are captured by the evil Queen Vanessa.

 

“Escape from Kesh” (11/25/78) – A shrunken Jason frees the heroes from their cell and they steal Queen Vanessa’s ship, not knowing she and her minions are already on board.

 

“Return of the Creature” (12/2/78) – As Dragos renews his attack on the Academy, Jason rescues the heroes and Peepo and steal a spaceship to escape the Dragonship.

“Peepo on Trial” (12/9/78) – Under Dragos’ control, Peepo sabotages the Academy’s engines sending it right into the heart of a galactic typhoon.

 

“The Trojan Horse” (12/16/78) – With the Academy saved, the heroes learn from Peepo that Dragos controls his minions via the medallion he wears.

 

“The Victory of Star Command” (12/23/78) – Once again captured, Jason manages to free himself and confronts Dragos as he attempts to attack the Academy once again.

 

Season 2:

“Mission to the Stars” (9/15/79) – Jason discovers Samantha frozen in suspended animation on a space wreck as Space Command gets a new commander.

 

“Frozen in Space” (9/22/79) – Jason and Samantha discover Dragos is behind a deadly freeze ray that threatens Star Command.

 

“Web of the Star Witch” (9/29/79) – Jason is offered immense wealth to join the ranks of the evil Queen Medusa.

 

“Beyond the Stars!” (10/6/79) – Dragos sends a spy into Star Command in order to capture Professor Parsafoot.

 

“Secret of the Ancients” (10/13/79) – Parsafoot is forced to help Dragos decipher an ancient powerdisk in order to save Jason.

 

“The Power of the Star Disk” (10/20/79) – Jason and The Commander meet a Tantalusian ghost when Dragos banishes them into limbo.

 

“Through the Stargate” (10/27/79) – A ship docks with Star Command for aid, but its cargo ends up sending Jason, Samantha and Parsafoot into another dimension.

 

“Face to Face” (11/3/79) – Jason, Samantha and Parsafoot must rely on each other in order to survive and escape the strange dimension.

 

“Phantom Force” (11/10/79) – Strange incidents befall Star Command shortly after Samantha rescues a young boy.

 

“Little Girl Lost” (11/17/79) – Jason and Samantha discover a little girl with a doll in a crashed spaceship.

 

“Mimi’s Secret” (11/24/79) – Dragos and Star Command both want the secrets contained within the little girl’s doll.

 

“Battle for Freedom” (12/1/79) – Jason sets out to rescue The Commander from Dragos’ clutches.

KAZUKI TAKAHSHI DEAD AT 60

 

You can read the full story here.

He created Yu-Gi-Oh! which has been adapted into an anime whose English dub has been broadcast on Saturday mornings for most of its existence.  

LARRY STORCH DEAD AT 99

 

You can read the full story here.

Best known for his starring role in F-Troop (which was seen in archival footage on an episode of Freakazoid!), he also had an extensive career on Saturday morning. He starred as Phineas J. Whoopee, as well as Rocky Maninoff, G. Washington Bridgit and Red Beard in Tennessee Tuxedo and his Tales; Joker in The Batman/Superman Hour and The New Scooby-Doo Movies; Drac, Ratso, Hagatha and Ghoulihand in Groovie Goolies, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies (where he was also The Phantom), The New Archie/Sabrina Hour and Sabrina, Super Witch; Marlon, Fleetwood and Chuck White in “The Brady Kids on Mysterious Island” episode of The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie, which was followed with The Brady Kids where he was also Mop Top, Sleezy Sam, Knuckles, Coach, Chuckonis Ospro, Krunk, Nets Nolan, Hoax, Orville Wrong, Wilbur Wrong, Major LeTraine and Colonel Jones; Eddie Spencer and Big Al on The Ghost Busters; and Mr. Mendaelbaum and Herbert Finagle in episodes of Garfield and Friends. He also provided voices for Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp, The Pink Panther Laugh and a Half Hour and a Half Show, The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour, The Puppy’s Further Adventures, and Foofur.

20TH ANNIVERSARIES

 Continuing our anniversary celebration with the programs entering

*No intro available.

15TH ANNIVERSARIES

 Continuing our anniversary celebration, these are the shows going on

DA BOOM CREW

 NOTE: This version of the intro is lacking the show's title and creator credits.

DA BOOM CREW
(The WB, September 11-October 2, 2004)
 
Berliner Film Companie Productions, Jambalaya Studios

 

 

MAIN CAST:

Jordan Francis – Justin

Jascha Washington – Nate

Melanie Tonello – Rickie

Mitchell Eisner – Jubei

Walter Borden – Zorch

Morris Day – Headlok

Jerome Benton – Jerome

 

 

*Note: Depending on where you look, the characters’ names undergo a variety of spellings. The ones used here were taken from storyboards posted by Dan Root.

 

            Four orphan friends known as Da Boom Crew created their own video game, spread across a number of floppy disks. One day while playing it, a mysterious “supernatural” portal (dubbed as “the Big Boom”) opened up above the orphanage and sucked them into an intergalactic universe that was exactly like their game. Now they’re on a mission to retrieve their disks—or “Boom Carts”, which have somehow been infused with a special kind of power that gave them a golden glow and could affect the world around them—before they’re collected by the evil Zorch (Walter Borden) and used to extinguish all light in the universe. Upon finding a Boom Cart, Da Crew would insert it into a kind of containment device to keep its powers at bay.

Da Crew at the orphanage: Nate, Justin, Jubei and Rickie.

            Da Boom Crew was comprised of Justin (Jordan Francis), the leader who wielded two blasters similar to the ones they used for their game; Nate (Jascha Washington), Justin’s younger brother who carried a toy light-up sword (based on the lightsabers from Star Wars) and tended to be a bit headstrong and brash; Jubei (Mitchell Eisner), a sharpshooter with his laser shotgun and extreme sports fanatic, always seen riding some kind of wheeled or hover conveyance and performing stunts with them; and Rickie (Melanie Tonello), a mechanical genius responsible for developing and maintaining their tech, tended to use overly large and complex words to say the simplest thing, and was a proficient fighter with her collapsible bo staff. At the start of their series, their heroics earned them some upgrades from a race of beings known as the Yodiggities: a real energy sword for Nate; a hoverboard for Jubei (the Back to the Future kind, not the real-world kind); a robot toolbox named Dent for Rickie; and a new ship for Justin to captain, called “The Whip” (although Nate served as the pilot). It was never revealed where Da Crew got their original equipment or ship.

The evil Zorch.

            Zorch’s primary minion was Headlok (Morris Day, lead singer of The Time, whom the character resembled), an egotist that enjoyed being evil while struggling with an inferiority complex and physical insecurities (his helmet was to make his head appear bigger). Although he served Zorch, Headlok had his own ambitions of conquering the galaxy for himself. His right-hand man was Jerome (The Time bandmate Jerome Benton), who was his best friend as well as his lackey. While loyal to Zorch, he was loyal to Headlok more and functioned as his hype man. Other villains included Headlok’s sister Etra (Raven Dauda), a trickster with shapeshifting abilities that favored manipulation over her brother’s direct approach; Dr. Namdra (Tony Rosato), a mad scientist that proved too unstable for Zorch and was thus fired, leaving him to create his own army to go after Boom Carts; The Crimson Raider (Robert Tinkler), Zorch’s most notorious assassin who was headstrong and cocky; and The Grargon Gang, a group of four delinquents that seemed to be mirror opposites of Da Boom Crew.

Headlok and Jerome.

            The series was created and produced by Bruce W. Smith, John Patrick White and Stiles White from a concept by fellow animator Serge Michaels that blended Star Wars with Boyz-N-The-Hood. The story began in medias res, leaving the explanation to how the kids got where they are to the intro. The theme was composed by Bud’da using a sample of the opening beat of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir”, and was performed by Bud’da with Francis and Washington. Bud’da also provided some of the score along with Mona Davis Music. Both Whites served as writers along with David Gerrold, Brian Swenlin, Sib Ventress and John Marsh. Smith worked on the original character designs, with additional designs by Maurice Gardner, Thorsten Kiecker, Jasen Strong, Millicent Henson, Matthias Hirsch and Devin Crane. Animation duties were handled by Koko Enterprises, Inc. (which became the mining company CNK International). A recurring element was for Da Boom Crew’s title logo to appear randomly somewhere in the background several times an episode.

A Boom Cart being contained by Da Crew.

            Da Boom Crew debuted on The WB as part of the Kids’ WB programming block on September 11, 2004. After the first four episodes aired The WB pulled the show from their line-up, replacing it with episodes of Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! The remaining episodes wouldn’t air in North America until it ended up streaming on Tubi TV and Amazon Prime Video with the Ameba add-on. The entire series did air, however, when Cartoon Network UK picked it up for broadcast in 2005. While a popular reason for the abrupt removal seems to be that the show performed abysmally in the ratings, a press-release from Cartoon Network UK seemed to contradict that; calling it one of Kids’ WB’s biggest debuts in its timeslot. This would be the final series produced under Smith’s Jambalaya Studios banner once the more well-known and popular The Proud Family ended its run the following year.

 

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

“Droppin’ Da Bomb” (9/11/04) – Da Crew encounters a stranded Blurp whose fears are manifested into reality by a Boom Cart.

 

“Statue of Limitations” (9/18/04) – Da Crew sets out to help a planet become fertile again by making the dangerous trek to a mystical statue.

 

“Junk Planet” (9/25/04) – The Whip crashes onto a junk planet where Da Crew must team-up with a garbage man to take on a legendary junk-eating worm.

 

“Frogday Afternoon” (10/2/04) – Da Crew ends up caught in the middle of a tribal conflict that lands them in jail.

 

“Wanted!” (??/??/05 UK) – At a space station Da Crew is mistaken for the notorious Gragon Gang.

 

“Boom vs. Doom” (??/??/05 UK) – A mad scientist captures Da Crew in order to use the Boom Carts to power his weapons of mass destruction.

 

“Planet of Lost Lives” (??/??/05 UK) – A friend from the orphanage is found on a creepy planet where some scary things are going on.  

 

“Baby Boom” (??/??/05 UK) – Da Crew are captured and forced to work in Headlok’s mine while trying to reunite an alien baby with its mother.

 

“Ice Ice Planet” (??/??/05 UK) – Da Crew accidentally snuffs out a primitive society’s only source of heat and sets out to reignite it.

 

“The Crimson Raider” (??/??/05 UK) – Blurp joins Da Crew on a search of an ocean planet for a Boom Cart where they encounter Zorch’s top assassin.

 

“The Legendary Meemawzaza” (??/??/05 UK) – A legendary warrior makes Da Crew work hard to reclaim a Boom Cart, giving Headlok and Etra a chance to put a crimp in their plans.

 

“The Hour of the Clipse: Part 1” (??/??/05 UK) – As the Yodiggities prepare to celebrate Freedom Day, Da Crew sets out after the last cart and encounters a group of alien orphans.

 

“The Hour of the Clipse: Part 2” (??/??/05 UK) – Da Crew must infiltrate Zorch’s ship to retrieve the stolen Boom Carts.

10TH ANNIVERSARIES

Continuing our 8th anniversary celebration with the Saturday morning shows that are currently celebrating

5TH ANNIVERSARIES

This weekend marks the beginning of Saturday Mornings Forever's 8th year, and as usual we celebrate by recognizing the 5th anniversaries of the various Saturday morning programs over the last seven decades from the newest to the oldest. Join us, won't you? Here are the shows celebrating

VIDEO COMICS

 

VIDEO COMICS
(QUBE C-1, Nickelodeon, 1979-81)

 

QUBE, Warner Cable

            In terms of comic book-based television productions, Video Comics was extremely unique. In 1977, an experimental two-way multi-programmed cable TV system called “QUBE” was launched in Columbus, Ohio by Warner Cable, a division of Warner Communications. It would introduce several concepts that became standard in cable television: pay-per-view, special-interest cable services, and interactive services. Ambitiously, QUBE had to produce 10 channels of content all at once, which meant the quicker and cheaper the better. As Warner also owned DC Comics, it was decided to produce a filler series based around those comics that also encouraged children to read along. However, rather than employ the limited animation that had plagued rival Marvel Comics’ own productions in the 1960s, Video Comics instead chose to skip the animation process altogether. Instead, Video Comics was literally just a filmed comic book utilizing zooms, pans, fades, music, sound effects and voiceovers. Basically, an audio drama crossed with a book on tape.

            Video Comics debuted QUBE in 1979, eventually finding its way over to the Warner-owned Nickelodeon network shortly after its launch as a fill-in program. Some of the segments featured an intro of an artist working on pages or pictures of the characters being featured. All of the voices were provided by Diane Disque, William Hamilton and Charles Pickard, with Jon Cornell directing and editing and Dana Kadison producing. The episodes were produced at the local Owl Studios. Among the adapted series and characters were Green Lantern, Swamp Thing, Hawkman, Space Ranger, The Atom, The Flash, and Sugar and Spike for a total of 70 segments ranging from 10-20 minutes in length. Once the networks had sufficient programming in 1981, production on the series ended and it had largely gone forgotten. To date, only three full episodes and one partial exist on the internet, as well as a promo from during its run on Nickelodeon.