October 27, 2023

RICHARD MOLL DEAD AT 80

 


You can read the full story here.


Best known as “Bull” Shannon from the original Night Court, he voiced Two-Face and the Bat-Computer in Batman: The Animated Series; Emperor Spooj in an episode of Superman: The Animated Series; Wolf Man and Vorn the Unspeakable in an episode of Freakazoid!; was the second voice of Scorpion in Spider-Man: The Animated Series; and Krick in an episode of The Zeta Project. He also provided additional voices for The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat and The Legend of Calamity Jane.










October 21, 2023

SABRINA'S SECRET LIFE

 

SABRINA’S SECRET LIFE
(Syndication, November 10, 2003-February 3, 2004)
 
Archie Comics Entertainment LLC, Les Studios Tex SARL, DiC Entertainment

  

 For the history of Sabrina, check out the entry here.


            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. Her 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 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.

October 14, 2023

VAMPIRINA

 

VAMPIRINA
(Disney Junior, Disney Channel, October 1, 2017-June 28, 2021)
 
Brown Bag Films

 

 

            Vampirina is a computer-animated series created by Chris Nee, creator of Doc McStuffins, based on the Vampirina Ballerina series of books written by Anne Marie Pace, illustrated by LeUyen Pham, and published by Disney-Hyperion. Consisting of four books released between 2012-17, the series focused on Vampirina, a young vampire who had aspirations of taking up ballet while overcoming the fact that she is, y’know, a vampire and also has stage fright. The animated series takes loose inspiration from the books, with Vampirina Hauntley (Isabella Crovetti) and her family—mother Oxana (Lauren Graham), father Boris (James Van Der Beek), and werewolf-transforming dog Wolfie (Dee Bradley Baker), omitting the siblings she had in the books—moving from Transylvania to open a supernatural-friendly bed and breakfast called Scare B&B in Pennsylvania. They had to learn to adapt to their new environment so as not to alert the normal humans to their vampiric origins and scare them. Along with the Hauntleys, the series featured Demi (Mitchell Whitfeld), a ghost who loved with them; Gregoria (Wanda Sykes), a 473-year-old gargoyle who acted like Vampirina’s sidekick; Poppy Peepleson (Jordan Alexa Davis), Vampirina’s human best friend; Edgar (Benji Risley), Poppy’s older twin brother who was a monster enthusiast and ran the vlog “Weekly Weirdness”; and Bridget (ViviAnn Yee), Vampirina’s other human friend. Together, Vampirina, Poppy, Edgar and Bridget had a band called the Ghoul Girls.

Vampirina, her friends and family welcoming a guest to the Scare B&B.


            Vampirina debuted on October 1, 2017, simulcast on both Disney Junior the channel and Disney Junior the programming block on Disney Channel. That was followed by a special screening in theaters that Halloween and a DVD release only two weeks later. It was renewed for a second season in January, and for a third that September before the second season even debuted. It was supplemented by music videos shown independently under the title Ghoul Girls Rock. The series’ music was composed by Michael Kooman and Christopher Diamond, with Layla Minoui doing the score. Vampirina was populated by a number of veterans from Doc McStuffins, who would shift to take over the series from Nee when she left Disney after the second season to being a short-lived relationship creating shows for Netflix. The series ended after 75 episodes, racking up 7 Daytime Emmy Award nominations, winning 1, and a British Academy Children’s Award and Irish Film and Television Award nomination. It was made available to stream on Disney+.

October 11, 2023

KEITH GIFFEN DEAD AT 70

 


You can read the full story here.


Best known for his humorous take on the Justice League for DC Comics, he was the co-creator of characters such as Lobo, Catherine Cobert and one of the Queen Bees which were featured in various DC-based shows such as Superman: The Animated Series, Young Justice and Justice League Action. Additionally, he wrote for The Real Ghostbusters and did storyboards for Spider-Man Unlimited, Batman Beyond and Static Shock.

October 07, 2023

SIGMUND AND THE SEA MONSTERS (1973)

 

SIGMUND AND THE SEA MONSTERS (1973)
(NBC, September 8, 1973-November 23, 1974)
 
Sid and Marty Krofft Television Productions

 

 

MAIN CAST:
Billy Barty – Sigmund Ooze (body)
Walker Edmiston – Sigmund Ooze (voice), Big Daddy Ooze (voice), Blurp Ooze (voice), Slurp Ooze (voice), various
Johnny Whitaker – Johnny Stuart
Scott Kolden – Scott Stuart
Mary Wickes – Zelda Marshall
Van Snowden – Sweet Mama Ooze (body), various
Sidney Miller – Sweet Mama Ooze (voice), various
Joe A. Giamalva & Sharon Baird (body) – Big Daddy Ooze
Bill Germaine (body, season 1) & Larry Larsen (body, season 2) – Blurp Ooze
Fred Spencer (body, season 1) & Paul Gale (body, season 2) – Slurp Ooze
Rip Taylor – Sheldon (season 2)
Sparky Marcus – Shelby (season 2)

 

Sigmund and the Sea Monsters followed the titular sea monster Sigmund Ooze (Billy Barty & Walker Edmiston) as he was kicked out of his family’s cave at Dead Man’s Point for his lack of desire to put any effort into being scary. He took up residence in the beachside clubhouse of Johnny (Johnny Whittaker) and Scott Stuart (Scott Kolden) and befriended the two boys. They tried to keep Sigmund sheltered and his presence a secret from other humans while Sigmund’s family continually tried to find a way to bring him back to use him to their own ends.

Scott, Johnny and Sigmund in the clubhouse.


The creation of the series began when Sid Krofft spotted some sea life among the kelp on a San Diego beach. His brother, Marty, and producer Si Rose would, with the help of their technical staff, mold Sid’s idea into what would become the series. While very much a traditional Kroff production, it flipped the script on their formula a bit. For the first time, there were two young boys as the series protagonists. Rather than their being lost in a land full of strange beings, it was the strange being who had come to the land of humans. Instead of a snarling, heavily made-up adult nemesis, the human adult figures were genuine human beings with pleasant demeanors. There was also a reliance on frequent guest stars appearing, including stage and screen actor Pamelyn Ferdin, The Brady Bunch’s Eve Plumb, Peggy Mondo, H.R. Pufnstuf’s Jack Wild and H.R. Pufnstuf (Van Snowden), and even series voice performers Edmiston and Sidney Miller in on-screen roles.

The Oozes: Sweet Mama, Slurp, Big Daddy and Blurp.


As opposed to taking place in a fantastical technicolor world of pure imagination, there was a split focus between the world of the sea monsters and the human world with stories that would often run concurrently and contrast with each other. You would see the difference between the strict but fair, caring and nurturing environment of the Stuart household under the leadership of their sharp-witted Aunt Zelda (Mary Wickes) to the selfish, abusive and mean environment that was the Ooze cave, populated by Big Daddy (Joe A. Giamalva, Sharon Baird & Edmiston taking inspiration from Archie Bunker from All in the Family), Sweet Mama (Snowden & Miller loosely imitating Phyllis Diller), brothers Blurp (Bill Germaine, Larry Larsen & Edmiston) and Slurp (Fred Spencer, Paul Gale & Edmiston), and their dog-like pet lobster, Prince (portrayed by a puppet or a marionette). The Stuart children were diligent in their responsibilities at home, while also frequently collecting recyclable items from around the neighborhood for an extra pro-social dab. The Ooze family sought ways to bring Sigmund back to the cave to shove theirs onto, or take the blame for their shortcomings while being as kid-friendly menacing as possible. Other characters included bumbling local sheriff Chuck Bevans (Joe Higgins, playing a variation on a role he was frequently typecast in), and elderly busybody neighbor Mrs. Edels (Margaret Hamilton) who frequently spotted Sigmund but was unable to convince others of his existence.

Mrs. Edels poking around.


Sigmund and the Sea Monsters debuted on NBC on September 8, 1973. Like other Krofft productions, the series heavily featured songs that had very little to do with the plot and served as a showcase for Whitaker’s talents (he also performed all versions of the series’ theme). Whitaker and Sigmund would actually perform the first season’s theme for an audience for the taping of The World of Sid & Marty Krofft at the Hollywood Bowl several weeks before the series’ debut (although it didn’t air on television until Thanksgiving). These songs were composed by Bobby Hart and Danny Janssen and scored by Wes Farrell, who also provided the background music for the season. The series was written by Rose, Rita Sedran Rose, Jack Raymond, Warren Murray, Milt Rosen, Donald A. Ramsey, John Fenton Murray, Fred S. Fox and Seaman Jacobs. The characters were designed by Marty Strudler with costumes by Oliver Soublette, Rolf Roediger served as the puppet fabricator and Cheryal Kearney handled the set designs.



With Sigmund’s lead-in being the acclaimed Star Trek: The Animated Series and its timeslot competition being The Brady Kids and Speed Buggy, the series easily won its ratings as well as a heap of praise from reviewers. NBC commissioned a second season--a first for a Krofft production--which came with a number of changes for the show. Whitaker’s songs were cut out due to his voice changing during production, making him unable to get through an entire song without squeaks and cracks. There was also the addition of Sheldon (Rip Taylor), a magical sea genie found in a shell whose enthusiasm often led him to overthink the spells he cast to grant a request (such as sending Sigmund to Waikiki when he asked to simply go to the beach), and his nephew, Sehlby (Sparky Marcus), whose inexperienced often caused him to foul up his spell-casting. Season 1 director Richard Dunlap moved on to other projects, and was replaced by Dick Darley, Murray Golden and Bob Lally. Mike McGuinness would also take over scoring duties, and Earle Doud and Chuck McCann would contribute to a script.

Sigmund with Sheldon, Shelby and Shelby's mother.


Unfortunately, only 12 of the 15 planned new episodes ended up being filmed. Just as work on the season began, a fire due to faulty electrical equipment broke out at Samuel Goldwyn Studios (now The Lot) where they filmed. Among the $2 million in casualties were all of the Sigmund sets and most of the costumes. Production relocated to General Service Studios (now Sunset Las Palmas Studios) where they spent several weeks rebuilding the sets and remaking the costumes and altering the scripts to reduce their scope as much as possible. This delay had caused a schedule conflict with Wickes, resulting in her only being able to film a few scenes for the season. Her character was explained as having to depart for a brief time and she was replaced by housekeeper Gertrude Gouche (Fran Ryan), a former Marine drill sergeant who tended to treat the boys as if they were in boot camp.

Gertrude and the sheriff investigating some strange goings on.


The second season ended up being the last for the series. Despite the Krofft’s next multi-season series, Land of the Lost, serving as the lead-in program, Sigmund faced stronger competition on the other networks with Shazam! and Korg: 70,000 B.C. and the ratings suffered as a result. As part of the merchandising and promotion of the show, eleven songs were released on the album Friends (Music from the Television Series “Sigmund and the Sea Monsters”) from Chelsea Records. The season 1 theme, “Friends”, was released as a single with “You You” as its B-Side. The episode “Paul Revere Rides Again” was turned into a regular and talking View-Master reel. Aladdin produced a lunchbox depicting the various characters from the series, Milton Bradley a board game, and Saalfield Publishing released coloring books. “Friends”, re-recorded by Tripping Daisy, was included on the 1995 tribute album Saturday Morning: Cartoons’ Greatest Hits from MCA Records. In 2000, Living Toyz released a Sigmund figure as part of their The Krofft Superstars Series line, and Funko would release one in their Pop! line of vinyl figures in 2019. The first season was released to DVD by Rhino Entertainment in 2005, and was re-released by Vivendi Entertainment in 2011. Plans for the second season were scrapped due to low sales. In Australia, the complete series was released by Beyond Home Entertainment.




In 2015, the Kroffts announced they were partnering with Amazon to produce a reboot of the series. A pilot was released in 2016, leading to the first season being produced early in 2017. A teaser trailer was released at that year’s San Diego Comic-Con before the season was made available to stream on Prime Video. While fundamentally the same, the reboot saw brothers Johnny (Solomon Stewart) and Scott (Kyle Harrison Bretikopf) visiting their Aunt Maxine (Eileen O’Connell) and cousin Robyn (Rebecca Bloom) at Dead Man’s Cove where they found Sigmund (Mark Povinelli & Drew Massey) caught in a net on the beach. They freed and befriended him, and had to keep him protected from a monster-hunting sea captain named Barnabus (David Arquette). Whitaker appeared as a seaman named Zach, and a new recording of “Friends” was used as the theme song. The revival only ran a single season of 7 episodes.

  

EPISODE GUIDE:
Season 1:
“The Monster Who Came to Dinner” (9/8/73) – Sigmund gets kicked out of his home for not being scary enough and takes up residence in the Stuarts’ clubhouse.
 
“Puppy Love” (9/15/73) – Sigmund falls in love with a dog while Big Daddy has Slurp disguise himself as Sigmund’s favorite pin-up monster to lure him back to do all the housework.
 
“Frankenstein Drops In” (9/22/73) – Johnny disguises himself as the Frankenstein monster to rescue Scott from the Ooze cave.
 
“Is There a Doctor in the Cave?” (9/29/73) – The only cure for a sick Sigmund is the food found in Sweet Mama’s fridge—which his brother also needs.
 
“Happy Birthdaze” (10/6/73) – Sigmund secretly cleans up Sheriff Bevan’s house for this birthday, but his brothers ruin it when they arrive to take him back to prepare for Big Daddy’s birthday.
 
“The Nasty Nephew” (10/13/73) – Zelda’s obnoxious nephew is visiting and ends up kidnapped by the Oozes who need an extra dependent for their income tax.
 
“Monster Rock Festival” (10/20/73) – While Sigmund wins a songwriting contest, his family tries to get him back to help them win a concert competition.
 
“Ghoul School Days” (10/27/73) – The Oozes need to get at least one of their kids to attend school while the Stuarts’ school is checking into their slipping grades.
 
“The Curfew Shall Ring Tonight” (11/3/73) – A curfew is in place in both worlds, but Sigmund breaks it to raise money to pay for a dish he broke.
 
“Sweet Mama Redecorates” (11/10/73) – The Oozes exchange furniture with the Stuarts.
 
“Make Room for Big Daddy” (11/17/73) – Sigmund’s brothers move in with him to avoid getting in trouble for breaking the shellivision.
 
“It’s Your Move” (11/24/73) – When the boys’ parents return, Sigmund returns home only to find it evacuated for an impending tidal wave.
 
“Trick or Treat” (12/1/73) – Sigmund pretends he’s wearing a costume so he can go trick-or-treating.
 
“Uncle Siggy Swings” (12/8/73) – Sigmund’s uncle comes for a visit and ends up falling in love with Zelda.
 
“The Dinosaur Show” (12/15/73) – A thawed-out caveman and his pet dinosaur take over the Ooze’s cave.
 
“The Wild Weekend” (12/22/73) – Movie star Jack Wild comes to the beach looking for quiet but ends up running afoul of Sweet Mama.
 
“Boy for a Day” (12/29/73) – The Oozes can’t go to Uncle Siggy’s luau without Sigmund, who’s currently suffering from amnesia and believes himself to be the boys’ brother.
 
Season 2:
“A Genie for Sigmund” (7/7/74) – Sigmund unleashes a genie from a sea shell he found in his old cave.
 
“Paul Revere Rides Again” (9/14/74) – To settle an argument about American history, Sheldon brings Paul Revere to the clubhouse.
 
“Now You See ‘Em, Now You Don’t” (9/21/74) – Sheldon turns the boys invisible so they avoid Zelda’s “ugly” niece while Big Daddy runs for mayor.
 
“The Great Johnny-O” (9/28/74) – While the boys entertain at Zelda’s charity bazar with Sheldon’s help, Sigmund is abducted by his family to force him to enlist in the army.
 
“Super Sigmund” (10/5/74) – Sigmund asks Sheldon for powers to teach his brothers a lesson.
 
“Pufnstuf Drops In” (10/12/74) – Sheldon accidentally brings H.R. Pufnstuf to the clubhouse.
 
“Sheldon the Nephew Sitter” (10/19/74) – Sheldon is tasked with babysitting his precocious nephew, Shelby.
 
“One Way Whammy to Tahiti” (10/26/74) – Shelby accidentally sends Johnny and his girlfriend to Tahiti while Sheldon is captured by the oozes for display in the zoo.
 
“Cry Uncle” (11/2/74) – The Oozes plan to marry Sigmund off to a wealthy girl while the boys get a new guardian while Zelda’s out of town.
 
“The Haunted House” (11/9/74) – While Gertrude and Bevans are at the movies, the Oozes sneak into the Stuart house.
 
“Mother Makes Ten” (11/16/74) – Shelby’s mother comes to the rescue when Sigmund’s brothers try forcing the boys into helping them find jobs.
 
“You Can’t Beat a Magic Carpet” (11/23/74) – Shelby and Sigmund get lost on a magic carpet ride while the Ooze brothers try to cheat on their scouting test.

September 30, 2023

FUDGE

 

FUDGE
(ABC, January 14-December 16, 1995)
 
Kevin Slattery Productions, Amblin Television, MCA Television Entertainment

 

 

MAIN CAST:
Jake Richardson – Peter Warren Hatcher
Luke Tarsitano – Farley Drexel “Fudge” Hatcher
Eve Plumb – Anne Hatcher
Forrest Witt – Warren Hatcher
Nassira Nicola – Sheila Tubman
Alex Burrall – Jimmy Fargo

 

 

Judy Blume is the author of children’s, young adult and adult fiction. Having always been concocting stories in her head, she finally decided to put them down on paper when her children began pre-school. He first book, The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo, was published in 1969, and she’d go on to write a total of 32 (to date) across her career. She became one of the first young adult authors to write about controversial topics like masturbation, menstruation, birth control, teenage sex and death. These not only made her books beloved by generations of audiences, but often landed her at the top of banned book lists. She had won more than 90 literary awards and was named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress, among other honors. Her work has also been adapted several times into other media; with the first being a 1978 TV film based on the novel Forever.

Fudge, Peter and ill-fated turtle Dribble as depicted by Roy Doty.


In 1972, Blume introduced the beginning of the Fudge series of books. “Fudge” was the nickname of Farley Drexel Hatcher, a 2 ½-3-year-old toddler who was very loud, demanding and mischievous with an overactive imagination who deathly hated his given name. Despite the series being named after him, the protagonist was actually his long-suffering older brother, Peter, and the stories were generally told from his perspective. One of his contentions is that Fudge is seemingly allowed to get away with anything or always gets what he wants, along with driving him crazy in the process. Other characters included their parents (naturally), Peter’s best friend Jimmy Fargo, and his neighbor and rival, know-it-all Sheila Tubman.

A more realistic depiction on a later edition cover.


The first book, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, was inspired by Blume’s babysitter, Willie Mae Bartlett, showing her a news article about a toddler swallowing a tiny pet turtle. She wrote a picture book called Peter, Fudge and Dribble that made the rounds to various publishers and was rejected. Later, it was submitted to Ann Durrell, editor of children’s books at E.P. Dutton, who suggested changing it from a picture book and making its story a chapter in a longer book about the whole family. So, Blume did; basing Fudge on her son, Larry, and setting it in the New York City building where her best friend, Mary Weaver, lived. Durrell loved the book, but the title needed to change thanks to the book Peter Potts having just come out. Out of a list of 20 suggestions by Blume, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing was chosen and the book was published.

Sheila gets her chance to shine.


The next book was a spin-off, called Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, as Blume wanted to give focus to Sheila after finishing the first book. The next three books—Superfudge, Fudge-a-mania, and Double Fudge—returned to the Hatcher family and their everyday adventures. Blume never actively worked on the series as much as fans kept requesting further installments; rather, she wrote each successive book as soon as inspiration for their story struck. “The thing about funny books is, they have to spill out spontaneously, or they don’t work. (At least that’s how it is with me)” Blume explained on the Superfudge page of her website.

DVD cover to Sheila's film.


The first adaptation of a Fudge book was Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, written and produced by Blume and her son and directed by him. It aired as one of two new entries during the 13th season of ABC Weekend Specials. The next adaptation was a made-for-TV film based on Fudge-a-mania, also airing on ABC on January 7th, 1995. Written and directed by Bob Clark (director of A Christmas Story and its original sequel), the film starred Jake Richardson as Peter, Eve Plumb and Forrest Witt as his parents Warren and Ann, Nassira Nicola as Sheila, Alex Burrall as Jimmy, and Luke Tarsitano as Fudge in his first acting role. Florence Henderson also appeared as grandmother Muriel, bringing a small Brady Bunch reunion with Plumb.

The Hatchers come to life.


As not much information currently exists about Fudge’s live-action adaptations, it’s unknown whether the film was always intended to act as a potential pilot or if the network liked what they saw enough to move forward with a series. Regardless, Fudge the sitcom would debut the following week on January 14th, with all of the film’s primary cast carried over. It was a co-production of Kevin Slattery Productions, Amblin Television and MCA Television Entertainment. Episodes were largely adapted from the chapters of Fourth Grade Nothing and Superfudge, with a few original stories sprinkled in. As with the books, Peter provided narrative commentary and would address the audience directly in fourth wall breaks. Writers included Tom J. Astle, George Thompson, Robin Stein, Jay Ingram, Joseph Purdy and producers Russell Marcus and Mary Gregory de Butts. Dick Marx, Shelly Berg and Tom Halm handled the music, while costume designs were done by Nancy Fox-Taylor.

Sheila observes some Fudge shenanigans.


The first season ran for only nine episodes, but viewers didn’t have to wait too long as the second season began that August. It wasn’t renewed for a third, however, which could be attributed to either the series failing to match the popularity of its source material or it being a casualty of the Disney purge after they had purchased the network and wanted to populate it with their own programming. Fudge’s second season returned to television in 1997 as part of CBSThink CBS Kids programming block, which was entirely populated by live-action programming designed to fill new educational and informational requirements mandated by the FCC (many sources mistakenly claim that the second season first ran on CBS, but the airdates and schedules contradict that). While the film has seen an official home media release the series itself remains largely forgotten outside of a VHS release for “Ducky Soup”. Only two fair quality episodes, the intro and outro have surfaced online so far. 

Fudge on the hunt for his audience.


The Fudge books continue to remain in print, receiving minor updates between editions to dialogue and featured technology to bring them closer to the current times. In February of 2022, it was reported that an animated adaptation of Superfudge would be coming to Disney+ courtesy of Joe and Anthony Russo (provided it hasn’t become a casualty of Disney’s cost-cutting measures in the interim). To date, Blume’s last published book was 2015’s In the Unlikely Event. In the meantime, she’s remained a steadfast activist against the banning and censorship of books as a  member of the National Coalition Against Censorship; served on the boards of The Authors Guild, the Society of Chidldren’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and the Key West Literary Seminar; and opened a non-profit book store called Books & Books in her current hometown of Key West, Florida.

 

 

EPISODE GUIDE:
Movie:
“Fudge-A-Mania” (1/7/95) – The Hatchers and Tubmans decide to go to Maine together for a getaway only to have conflicts and chaos ensue.
 
Season 1:
“How Turtle Got His Name” (1/14/95) – After Fudge ate Peter’s pet turtle Dribble, his father got him a new dog that he named “Turtle” in his honor.
 
“Saving Up is Hard to Do” (1/21/95) – Fudge becomes an elevator operator in order to earn money for an anniversary gift for his parents.
 
“Fudge Meets Ratface” (1/28/95) – Fudge climbs to the top shelf in his kindergarten class and refuses to come down as his teacher won’t address him as “Fudge”.
 
“The TV Star” (2/4/95) – Spending a day at their father’s office results in Fudge becoming the star of a commercial.
 
“To Catch a Fudge” (2/11/95) – Sheila volunteers to babysit Fuge so that their parents can have dinner together.
 
“The Birthday Bash” (2/18/95) – Peter is forced to stay home for Fudge’s birthday party.
 
“The Flying Train Committee” (2/25/95) – Fudge vandalizes the project Peter and his friends were working on the day before it’s due, forcing their parents to build a wall to separate them.
 
“Uncle Feather” (3/4/95) – In order to keep their wall, Peter suggests getting Fudge a pet bird to help ease his fear of monsters in his room.
 
“Ducky Soup” (3/11/95) – Peter gives Fudge his stuffed duck until his stuffed monkey can be repaired after accidentally being washed.
 
Season 2:
“The Grade Escape” (8/19/95) – Fudge fills out Peter’s aptitude test, resulting in Peter’s being labeled a “genius”.
 
“The Art of Friendship” (8/26/95) – Jimmy’s father speaking at Career Day at school puts a strain on his friendship with Peter.
 
“No Exit” (9/2/95) – A visit from a cousin causes Peter to reconsider his thoughts about young kids.
 
“Play it Again, Dad” (9/9/95) – A girl winking at him after watching a street performer encourages Peter to consider taking up music.
 
“The Candyman Shouldn’t” (9/16/95) – After Fudge is found to have four cavities, his parents challenge the family to give up sweets for a week.
 
“My Grandmother the Card” (9/23/95) – Their grandmother comes to babysit the kids for the weekend, putting a damper on Peter’s plans with his friends.
 
“Big Little Lie” (9/30/95) – Peter gets his friends to help him fix a table before his parents find out he and Fudge broke it.
 
“Bye Anxiety” (10/7/95) – Sheila’s family announces they’re moving to Chicago.
 
“Bad Housekeeping” (10/14/95) – The new maid causes Peter and Warren to act strangely.
 
“Odd Man Out” (10/21/95) – Peter and Fudge’s classes end up paired together for a buddy program.
 
“A Foreign Affair” (10/28/95) – Peter falls for an exchange student from China.
 
“Slam Funk” (11/4/95) – A new neighbor trounces Peter in basketball.
 
“Reversal of Fortune” (11/11/95) – Peter is in a panic when he discovers Fudge gave away his lucky nickel.
 
“The Mouse Trappers” (11/18/95) – Fudge befriending a mouse leads Peter to believe their mother is pregnant with multiple babies.
 
“Midnight Cowboys” (12/16/95) – Peter is tasked with watching over Fudge during the Hatchers’ New Year’s Eve party.

September 25, 2023

DAVID McCALLUM DEAD AT 90

 


You can read the full story here.


Best known from The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and NCIS, he also played Professor Paradox in the original Ben 10 franchise timeline.