Halloween : King of the Hill : Hilloween

Halloween 

            King of the Hill  has at least two Halloween episodes, and I'm writing about the one that doesn't end up with a man going mad and being turned into sausages.  The very first Halloween episode is from the series' second season called "Hilloween" 

            I'm going to kind of assume that most here would be knowing the show "King of the Hill" are reading this post, but some might be very curious.  King of the Hill  was a FOX Network animated sitcom series, that probably the tamest in how it is, minus that one thing I mentioned, it's a show that most of it's episodes are TV-PG , minus like one that hit TV-14. It plays things to a more grounded sense, and is very much a tactical difference to shows like "The Simpsons"  or  "Family Guy".  

         This episode is about Hank wanting Bobby, his son, to have a good Halloween like he did as a kid. It has a flashback of him and his friends as kids, with copyright safe "That's not really Peanuts, don't use us" music.  At the store, Hank wants Bobby to have a scary costume and not a dalmatian. Bobby makes a good point that dogs can be scary. It's interesting how this episode will play into Hank's characterization of being very rigid on things, but also seems to be heavily focused on him wanting something you'd otherwise think he'd not be a fan of.  

         Next we meet the antagonist for the episode, Junie Harper. She's a very Christian woman who thinks witches are real and doesn't like Halloween because she feels it's a Satanic holiday.  (jokes on her, that would be New Year's Eve)  Luanne, Peggy and Hank's niece, is getting praised for being so smart when Junie asks baseline questions.  She brings the information she got from Junie and brings it Hank and Peggy to address her concern. Hank dismisses it. She runs to Junie Harper and by this point Junie gets info that she's really interested in. 

             She finds out that the middle school that Bobby goes to is holding a haunted house for Halloween, that Hank is putting together. She makes the case that it should be stopped because she decides to use separation of church and state as a reason, since she says some might consider Halloween a religious holiday.  It gets canceled, since Hank decides he's not going to change the whole thing. Bill's line is fun too.   

          There are some weak points to this episode.  Hank does seem a little overtly mean to Luanne in this episode. Though some of it could be showing more of Hank's frustration because he's doing this Halloween stuff because he wants to make sure Bobby has a good one like he did. He wants to pass it down and is pretty annoyed that Junie Harper messed up his plans.  Luanne from a point of view likes how Harper called her smart- having Hank caller her dumb is good contrast- that makes her feel good at passing information along. She also seems to be become more of someone who just ends up repeating things Harper said.  

        It's funny that Hank, normally heavily law abiding and orderly has decided to each Bobby how to egg and TP a house.  It ties back to his memory flashback, and it's funny to see Bobby say it's wrong to his dad.  The biggest mistake is that Hank decides to egg Junie Harper's house and she hears and decides to chase, running over and killing her cat too- and  I think this set her off.  "Get out of my house-- Exodus" is a funny line. (Good Kate Bush song too) 

                Bobby feels bad. Luanne talks to him and she gets to him as well.  Anyway, she's been set off by her cat being killed -by herself- and she's gotten the city council to pass a curfew to cancel Halloween trick or treating and stuff.  Bobby goes to Harper's Halleluiah house where she does stuff.  Peggy finds out and gets mad at Luanne because of her "coming between her son and husband".  

        Hank decides to put on a costume and decides to defy the whole curfew and start staying "Trick or Treat".   His friends, and even Luanne decide to join in. Also the club thing is trying to feel like they are joining a timeshare agreement, Bobby don't sign---noooo.

         Hank shows up to get Bobby and it works when he does a fake organ thing and some fake eye thing and Bobby decides he'd rather be with his father rather than anything else. 

               The full basic premise of the episode is really a story where Hank just wants to share Halloween with his son and doesn't want anything to get in the way of that. Yeah, that's my view. The episode isn't going for a debate over Halloween.  Hank (and Peggy) are Christians as well, so the show isn't going for that route of them being against Junie because of that. If anything, Junie is just a local agitator and even though she got the school thing canceled, she didn't go for the harder thing until she ran over cat after Hank and Bobby egged her house. If anything, that's Hank's fault on agitating her more.  The episode doesn't really say Hank is right or Junie is right,  because they both kind of do the wrong things in this episode. Luanne's part was kind of annoying, again Hank was kind of mean to her, but- at first she was more just saying stuff she got from Harper, Hank is free to celebrate Halloween -as Peggy said.  

         Bobby doesn't get to do much in this episode either. That's kind of a shame, he kind of drifts along with Luanne's plan and then decides he just wants to spend time with his father. I do find it interesting that he was going with a moral center, that ironically Hank and Peggy taught him, but Hank wants to nudge him out of it for Halloween.  There's not much fun Peggy moments either, she kind of exists to be between Hank and Luanne. She also gets mad at Luanne when she feels the latter got in-between son and father.    Luanne's turn around at the end was I don't know that was an ending. The episode goes out of the way to say that she's easily influenced and maybe Peggy yelling at her influenced her, but yeah that was a mess. 

             Sadly, not a overly strong story episode, but does have some funny moments and it's pretty interesting to see  Hank that invested in Halloween and really just wanting to spend time with his son.  There are some funny moments, Dale brings grade A funny in the small moments he's there, Peggy doesn't have much, neither does Bobby. Hank gets some funny liners in like "Get out of my House, Exodus" line.  Luanne has some funny lines too.  Bill doesn't show up much either, but liked his idea of making it a house of pancakes. (careful Bill) 

            That's it for now , tune in next time when someone tries to ban Thanksgiving because Turkey is evil. 

      

Into the Twilight: Word Play

The Twilight Zone   1985 Series 

  

         Words. We seemingly have agreed in someway that all words have a standardized meaning. We see the word "cat" and mostly agree what the concept of cat is, even if we see a different breed or type, we all understand that cat is cat.

        

Horse 

 

            This episode of 1985 version of "The Twilight Zone" takes us to the idea of what if.. words just sandwich faced ham pickled glued.  I apologize in advance, I'm going to make this post very weird. 

            Our  look comes from segment "a" of the very second episode of the series called "Word Play". Word Play was written by Wes Craven.   He also did the both segments of the first episode, he was busy here.  

             This episode delves in to the idea  of what if you just ended up not being understand anyone anymore. (When you become 40 and can't understand anyone 20 years old anymore) Since this is also from the 1985 series it's not a long segment either.  I actually did think, as I watched it, that it was either the main character's dream , or something that had to do with his son being sick. It was not. 

          Our main character is named Bill Lowery (played by Robert Klein) he's a salesman. His company has ended up switching to selling medical supply products.  He's been learning the words, and hasn't been sleeping well.  His wife (played by Annie Potts) at least seems understanding, there's also their son who seems to be a little sick.  

Uh oh, he's sick on a TV show? That's bad / Copyright Paramount 

                   A great touch in this episode is how it throws in details that aren't right and you have catch them or are more noticeable in rewatch. When Bill is shaving you  hear the radio announcer go "Friday, Saturday, Sun Flower". Bill doesn't notice since he was concentrating on his shaving and learning the medical supply terms.  It's a great touch because the viewer might not notice easily too, since Sun Flower and Sunday sound close.  Also when the  wife says "Dr. Bumper" and he goes "Is that really his name?" it actually doesn't stand out that much until watching the episode and going hmm maybe that was a sign? Then Bill goes outside and there's his neighbor whose dog is an encyclopedia breed had puppies. 

             Then at bacon ranch [work].  Bill does start to notice things getting weirder.   I like how the word "dinosaur" is what throws him into a spiral. He's like what is dinosaur? --Lunch--.  At some point, the viewer will end up like Bill and start to not understand anything that's being said either, we will soon join the madness. That sets him off even more when his wife says dinosaur too.  "What does lunch have to do with anything?" is my favorite Tina Turner song cover. 

            The episode ends up just being a man slowly losing his mind at what's going on, and the viewers probably being very cucumber too.   This must have been a fun episode to write, though. It doesn't feel like random words were being used, there's an order and structure here that makes it feel like language but words changed, instead of just random nonsense.  

No, I'm voting for Finkle Mc Lunchman. 

             Bill's son is now sick.  Will Bill's worry about Donnie, his frustration is high while this is happening at the same time.  This episode really is kind of horrifying in a way it's not like a monster or a scary person, it's just the fact that the simplest thing people do is talk to each other and Bill can't even talk to people and they can't understand him.  It also might be like what English sounds like to non-English speakers.  It's unsettling, especially when Donnie is really sick.  This is something, in a way, that could happen for real in different ways, including medical. It's an uncomfortable episode. I feel for poor Bill. 

            Donnie will live!  We can't have an episode cause a man to lose all sense of understand and then kill his kid, that'd be too much.  The part where he prays and thanks God again is really human moment and well acted. I like Bill's character in this episode. He's not bad guy, he wasn't even the kind of workaholic character, he was just over spending his time trying to learn the new medical stuff, but he comes for lunch to see his wife and son. He's not a bad guy, it makes it more impactful.  

         At home, he goes to his son's room and decides to use one of the picture books to figure out some of these words and how they work now. It ends with him learning about many people's favorite pet, the Wednesday, cute furry creatures that go woof. 

             I've seen some different thoughts on this episode on what it could be about.  Like it could be about an guy in a changing world not understanding the world anymore. The ending does make it feel like that could be a very clue to that being what the episode was going for.  It might be like our current time and generations before not really understanding each other in the world.   It also fits a little better than the idea of it being like a medical condition, but I don't dislike that idea either. 

             I think it's a strong episode, it does a good job at making the viewer feel confused and unsettled, while being a bit funny. The idea of everything being the same but then you can't understand anything is really a scary concept even more than a present danger. It's good episode, very strong.  

             

                            

                

Into the Twilight: How Much Do You Love Your Kid? (Twilight Zone 2002)

Twilight Zone

      Reality TV shows aren't they fun? (Wait come back!)  Today we head back into the 2002 "Twilight Zone" to look at episode 33, "How Much Do You Love Your Kid?". This episode seems to point to early 2000's TV culture of reality shows really getting over the top and weird with their premises.  Though, I'm sure we've never had a kidnapping reality show. 

    "How Much Do You Love Your Kid?" stars Bonnie Somerville who starred on "Grosse Pointe" (hey!)  and later ended up on "Friends" and also on The OC and more. Steve Bacic als is in this episode, if you've watched "Andromeda" you know who he is. Wayne Knight shows up but more on him soon. 

 

   Yes this post contains spoilers. (For a 20 year old show) 

         It starts with a wife and husband, and they seem to be going through money troubles you can tell by them talking about bills. The husband ,Ted, is going for a new job and hopefully this will fix the problem.  This is the Twilight Zone, so this might not go to plan. (That's my line!)  They also have a son named Wiley, who needs braces (dental plan, Wiley needs braces). That's to show they really need money.  That comes important for this so far very sitcom like episode. Also the wife, Donna, does have seem to have money for a facial. (That's explains alot)  

Running out of money stresses me out, I wish I knew where it goes / Copyright Paramount

    While Donna was getting a facial, she gets a phone call that Wiley didn't show up to school. she goes to the police station. Then Wayne Knight shows up. (He has come to Pimp Her Ride, wait no, everything is wrong about this statement, I'm sorry)  He's there to tell her that she's been chosen for the new show "How Much Do You Love Your Kid?" (roll credits) Wayne Knight tells her that she has 60 minutes (also wrong show) to find her kid or... bad things happen. (Bold this can be said in a police station) 

I'm here to take you to the set of "Third Rock from the Sun" / Copyright Paramount 

     

   They show her a video of her son being kidnapped. (Roll Twilight Zone 2002 intro) The woman acts logically and asks the police officer to police office, but he can't help because the show has their child kidnapping loicense. (What the heck?)  The officer is there to give clues instead. (Her reactions are me watching this episode) 

      Also Wayne Knight plays the role of the host too well.  Donna calls her husband  and cellphones don't work well (should have gotten Sprint).  This game show is weird and she mentions "Lord of the Rings". (Who is this reality show for?)  If  the people around aren't working with the show, then they are of no help. Wayne Knight doesn't tell her what happens if she doesn't find Wiley because drama reasons.  

What the heck am I watching? / Copyright Paramount 

        She's able to find her kid, being in a red car, and there's a car chase, because sure. (this show is weird) Wiley has been found, but not fully safe, he has to go the hospital. I believe Wayne Knight's character is way too good at this reality show host. He gives her the option to play for 1 million dollars. He even offers her a gun. (Does she get a I get to kill someone loisence?) The son even says he should go after the guy. (I wonder if he was in this or something) She agrees and goes to find a kidnapper.  (Round 3 will be weirder) 

He's alright , he won't be but for now.../ Copyright Paramount 

        She borrows a Jeep and chases some guy, while the TV show people follow her. She finds out the kidnapper is her husband. Apparently, Ted is an idiot, and he agreed to "kidnap" their son to win money, because "they needed the money"  Donna is unhappy, he makes a pitch  that they have a million dollars.  Then she shoots him dead, then she's arrested. (Oh now the cops arrest somebody) 

She wants a divorce and decided to go the death they shall part version/ Copyright Paramount

        

          Like I said this came out in a time when Reality Shows were pretty a new concept and having some off weird concepts.  "Fear Factor" a reality show where people will do almost anything for money maybe could accelerate to a reality show where people try to win money at any cost. This episode sets up things in the beginning well. The family was having money troubles and it sets up the motives well. Ted wanted money quick and when the reality show people found him , he thought it would help. You can understand why he would have done such a thing, but it also shows that people might do anything for money even something stupid.  

    Donna's role at first wasn't about the money, she  was rightly angry and bothered by this stupid realty show and felt she had play by their rules in the insanity to get her son back. I think her role after getting her son was an interesting turn as well. Wayne Knight plays a role of trying to get manipulate her into going further using her human urge for revenge. I'm sure she could have stopped after getting her son and won some money, but something about the idea of getting the kidnapper and maybe getting a million dollars was tempting. 

   

       Wayne Knight is a star in this episode, he pays the role of the host very well and it's good how he feels genuinely disturbing, yet you aren't sure if he is truly wanting to help her at times or just trying to get the show to move along and make her fall into his reality show pitfalls.  

       

        I like that the reality show sprung up on them, and they didn't have the intention of being on one, showing how people can fall into things for reasons like greed on the husband's part and revenge on the wife's part.   Simple episode but interesting to see and makes one wonder how far someone would go for money even in our times. 

   That's it for now, tune in next time when we wonder would you eat your phone for $12,311,214.22?  

Afterschool Sessions: The Last of the Curlews

The Flashback  ABC  

           This time on Afterschool Sessions: We look an ABC After School Special  but not just any one, we are looking at the very first one. The Last of the Curlews. This special first aired on October 4, 1972 and begins the long run of the ABC After School Special series.  "The Last of the Curlews" is based off the book of the same name by Fred Bodsworth.  This special is also animated and that was done by Hanna-Barbera. For those that have read the past posts you'll find this won't be the only time either.  

        It starts in fall with where a father and his son named Mark are on hunting trip.  There's a narrator , voiced by Lee Vines. The father and son hunters aren't the most important part of this special, they really aren't even main characters, they are a supporting role for the story itself. The special is presented as if it was a nature documentary in animation.  

It's rabbit season, son/ Copyright Hanna-Barbera 

        The story is told only by the narrator as he explains about a bird called the Eskimo Curlew.  This bird is a lonely bird who only really to have a mate and some offspring.  He resists as long as he can the trip that birds make in  the autumn but eventually has to go.  The bird finds himself eventually teamed up with some  golden plover birds who seem to like him and they even let him lead them on the track to Venezuela. 

Hey I'm the last of my kind/ Copyright Hanna-Barbera

        The special really has the animation do most of the work, beyond the narrator.  As the story wants you to understand the bird as a character.  The bird is presented to give the humans a way to understand and connect to him. He's lonely seeking out someone of his own kind to be with and continues to hope for that. There's a sense of warmth in this special, but also unease. Nothing in here is sugar coated either. The story tells of how the Curlews used to be plentiful and the were over hunted to near extinction. Death is not avoided in this special as we saw a hunter kill a buck earlier -not the hunter father and son , more on them later- and on the trip many of the plovers die by nature's hand. 

            The original story was published  in 1954, again written by Canadian reporter, Fred Bodsworth.  The book itself presents the journey of the curlew the same way giving it some human characterization to better connect with the audience.  The curlew is a real or was, that's the hard part. The story in the special is true where the bird was over hunted to near death in the late 19th century.  The last confirmed sightings of the bird were in the 1962 where a photo of it comes from.  And 1963 where they found a body.  Possibly, but unconfirmed reports of any after that.  Currently, its status is critically endangered, which the one step before any type of extinction.  Also, hence the title. 

         

            The special does end up showing a lady curlew and she doesn't become more part of the story until the last third of it where she and him actually meet up. It shows their struggles as their journey back up north. Yeah, we do pass through the seasons in this.  Sadly, there's not a happy story in this as the female curlew ends up getting shot by a farmer on their way back.  Eventually, the boy finds the bird as sees that she has died, with the male curlew flying off and the narration saying soon there will be none. 

Curlew love...the rarest love/ Copyright Hanna-Barbera

          Going back to the hunter and son.  There's a careful writing here the special doesn't present the father as overzealous, mean, or wanting to kill for killing. He tells his son that they hunt responsibly, don't do things illegally, shoot things they aren't supposed to, and that it's fine because nature does it too. It doesn't go hunting is evil and bad and should be banned.   I like that it has the nuance it wants to bring its [young] audience. It shows that there was hunting that was done wrongly and un reigned in caused an essential extinction.  Mark, the boy, also seems a little apprehensive of the whole idea, and he finds the bird too.   Also have to mention that that Wikipedia description, as of this writing, is wrong the hunter and son they really don't debate killing a curlew, the only times they bring up the bird is when the boy sees it and points out that it's flying alone and thinks that it might be alone, and the dad [wrongly] thinking that it's sick and/or old or a straggler. They never mention the idea of shooting it.  They didn't even end up killing a curlew that was a farmer.  

He was way too happy here/ Copyright Hanna-Barbera

        In the way its presented it's done well to bring in facts, but also present a fictional journey of a bird using realism.  The story has warmth to it with happy moments ,but there is always background feeling of unease and a sense of danger. How it mentions why the curlew is alone, and deaths of animals is to show that there a sense of death being present in the background and impactful. 

         It's well animated with the backgrounds being watercolor.  It also does mostly realistic drawn animals, something different for Hanna-Barbera. The music is well scored and I think the most memorable will probably be  Once on Golden Wings song , I'm not sure what the real name is but it's a very somber and fittingly played. As mentioned earlier, there's a very strong nature doc feel to present a story where we get gulfed and see birds in realistic motion and actions. The animation makes it feel almost like an illustrated book.   This one sets an interesting tone for what ABC After School Specials would be, which varied. This one was somewhat educational but not heavily blatant, it has a social message , and yet it doesn't over explain or over force itself to be something to its viewers.  It's a good special with the impact it brings and a well done story with a somber note that makes one think. 

        That's it for now, tune in next time when we  wonder why the birds just took that route.  

The Lookback: The Munsters: The 60th Year

The Flashback 

            Yeah  I'm going to start it this way. A few days after The Addams Family premiered on ABC, CBS had their concept of a strange family that doesn't fit in our society premiere. The Addams Family  and The Munsters are often tied together by human people. The reasoning might be how they both ran nearly the same time :1964 to 1966. The Munsters started 6 days later and ran a couple weeks longer than the previous and has slightly more episodes going with 70, versus the other's 64.  They also both have the concept of a family that is kind of spooky living in our normal society. Of course, there are differences to both shows.   

         The Munsters premiered on CBS on September 22, 1964.   CBS had placed the show as the lead of their Thursday night line up airing at 7:30 pm Eastern and Pacific that's 6:30pm to us Central and Mountain folks. That slot that networks don't have anymore.  It ran in the line up before Perry Mason, which would also end about a week after this show ended.  They also had Password , and premiering that night with this show, was a sitcom called The Baileys of Balboa, which has the backstory of being created out of spite, the CBS network president didn't like Gilligan's Island -which also came out in 1964 and aired on CBS-  and thought of a idea that would be better, in his mind.  And finally, a show called "The Defenders"  The Munsters was on against the Flintstones and Later Jonny Quest on ABC.

            In this post, I am mostly going to use the first episode  to talk about whilst weaving in stuff about the show.  Also I have written about other Munsters media before, you can check those out too.    

            Monsters are Universal 

          Take some writers from Rocky and Bullwinkle, dash in the creators of Leave it To Beaver, sprinkle a mix of some Universal monsters, and small dash of Charles Addams. You get this.   Allan Burns worked with Jay Ward on the Jay Ward cartoons and ended up working with Chris Hayward  again for a new sitcom , then they also worked together to make My Mother the Car.  Since they were working with MCA TV which was a studio owned with Universal Pictures they had access to the designs of classic monsters made by the movie studio. Since,  specific designs are owned by the studio, like how the Frankenstein monster looks. Eventually, they even settled on making the show live-action instead of an animated one.  

            I'm trying to keep the "Addams Family" comparisons down a little, because I don't want to detract from either show, but I do want to offer one of the contrasts here.  While, that series had people who, mostly, looked like people you'd run into and not think anything of, this show stands out. Starting with Herman Munster.  Herman is the father and husband character of the show.  He also happens to be a Frankenstein monster.  Though he might not be the one from the 30's movies , otherwise Herman Munster killing a little girl is disturbing.  Then there's Lily, his wife, who is the daughter of  a vampire, possibly Count Dracula, but the Grandpa on the show is just called Grandpa (because when you get old you lose your name) and he lives with the family.  Lily and Herman have a son who is a ware-wolf ish  boy.  Don't ask how that works.

            Also a difference between that show and this one, is the Munsters were more working class, Herman works, they have money troubles at times, and sometimes Lilly and Grandpa take up jobs. The show has different basic premise than the other show, even if it seems they have the same joke. The Munsters, also see themselves as typical American family, and kind of think the world around them is strange. They take different approaches to that. 

The Lookback: The Addams Family 60th Year

The Flashback 

       

    Fall TV in 1964 had two interesting shows premiere at only a few days apart from each other. They both had the same basic concept, but with different execution.  Starting with September 18, 1964, that's when this sitcom "The Addams Family" first premiered on ABC.  The episode was  "The Addams Family Goes to School".

        This is not going to be a post about the entire series, as there are reasons I couldn't do that in time, but  I wanted to do something for the anniversary of the series. So a look at the very first episode but with some more added in to talk about the series as a whole.   

            Adaptation 

        This series was an adaptation of a single panel comic series by Charles Addams for The New Yorker.  Addams began working at the magazine in 1932,  the first Addams Family cartoon came out in 1938.  He introduced characters one by one, starting with Morticia, then Gomez, Pugsley, Wednesday, and finally Uncle Fester. The Addams family is rich family with old money that delight in the things we find disturbing and grotesque. They have an unawareness that people find them strange or scary.  I will mention that the names didn't really exist at first either. Morticia and Wednesday were named thanks to a doll collection.  Gomez and Pugsley were named thanks to the 1964 series.  Originally, Pugsley was called Pubert but network people didn't like the name and yeah Pugsley is better. 

           Television executive for NBC saw one of Addams' books at a bookstore and thought that be great for TV.   Addams liked the idea and they thought up names for the characters.  The comics were a little dark and the TV series decided to not take that approach, went for a sitcom with comedy and lighter elements.  The series was developed by David Levy. The series also ended up airing on ABC. 

            Meet the Family 

        My first introduction to the Addams Family would have to be reruns of the cartoon series, though I either remember first seeing the 1973 animated series or the one that aired later. I also remember when they met Scooby Doo and the gang. A crossover that  blew my mind.  I didn't see the 1964 series until a little later when those reruns showed up again.  

         I feel that this series was probably a bigger introduction the characters for many before the 1990's movies came out. But does seem to get a little over shadowed thanks to those movies.  Originally the series aired on ABC Friday night line up. Also a big night, where Jonny Quest also premiered. Then after that it was The Famer's Daughter, which had its second season premiere. A short 3 season run series, a short 3 run series with 101 episodes. (because TV was better then) After The Addams Family , ABC premiered a new series called Valentine's Day (not the best title) 

                    

       I don't know if networks thought of flow scheduling then, but that's an awkward line up. I might be implying something here. 

        Let's talk about something that is really well known thanks to this series- the theme song.  The song was written and arranged by Vic Mizzy. He also wrote the score for the The Green Acres theme. (New York is where I'd rather stay)    

            The First Episode 

        Let's dig into the first episode of the series, again called "The Addams Family Goes to School".  It was co written by Seaman Jacobs and Ed James.  This is the only episode Jacobs wrote, but he worked on other sitcoms.  

            The episode starts and throws the viewer right into the absurdity. Mailman comes by to deliver the mail into the mail box and gets greeted by a dethatched hand-that's Thing. Anyway a truant officer asks the mailman if the house belongs to the Addams family.  The mailman says yes and things are going to happen. 

Stupid self closing gates/ copyright MGM 

            I am using the first episode as a way to talk about the series. This is also very fits in with the 60's sitcom era. An era of sitcom that hasn't been matched since.  A lot of  60's sitcoms, especially around this point, start to not reject, but move away from a more ridged 50's style of show. Sitcoms where the premise takes something a little off and runs with it.  "My Favorite Martian" , a sitcom about a Martian who has come to Earth and that's not the strangest thing about that show.  Coming out the same season, about 9 days after this show is "My Living Doll" a show about a guy  helping a Julie Newmar robot help become more human.    

                     

         The other kinds of shows that would exist in this era are shows that take a strange and pit them with a straight man or a force that'd we consider the normal going against the abnormal.  Bewitched , which premiered one day before this show, takes the idea of the American  married couple and decides to go what if one was a witch?  It also takes the idea of a fighting contrast of the husband wanting his wife to do things and be "normal" against the force of her own family and even kind of her, to want to still do and be witch, which she is.  The Addams Family are family that are strange to our ideals, but they see themselves as normal.   

            This episode has the truant officer  encounter the house first. The viewer doesn't even see any of the Addams family characters, besides Thing, after the theme song for about 2 minutes.  We see the funny things that happen around his encounters with the gate, and the funny doorknob.  (Also laugh track, because 1960's sitcom)  Then Wednesday answers the door . Wednesday is an interesting character mostly because the well noted depictions of her are from the 1990's movies and then the Netflix show that bares her name.  She is more a cynical person and more emotionally disconnected. Shown to be more sadistic and embraces a darker edge of the darkness part of her family's enjoyment.  That is not how she is in this series. Also, she's younger than later depictions.

Hello, are you a door to door salesman? / Copyright MGM

        Here she answers the door, and there's not much that would give away the strangeness of the Addams Family- other than the funny gags that happened before- as besides having some outdated clothing, even for the 1960's children, she acts with warm and good nature to the guest at the door.  Lisa Loring's Wednesday is still a great depiction.  She lets him in and she doesn't do anything that makes it seem strange. That's the house's role where the man being our eyes sees the strange decorations of the house. 

            Knowing the show later usually opts for Lurch to answer the door and bring people in, I like how it's Wednesday letting Sam Hillard in. He's relies on her for ease since the house's strangeness is putting him at unease.  While, I won't deny that the Lurch interactions are funnier, because of how the guest(s) are reacting to him and his reactions to them are just as funny.  The interaction with Wednesday also gives a great hint to how the Addams's are as people with being warm and welcoming. 

This is a man who is wondering how many minutes he has left to live/Copyright MGM

The Flashback: Detention ( A Cartoon Series)

The Flashback   Kids WB 

         Kids WB had an very strange run in what it is in context of time. I've written about the block (twice!) and it seems there's a period where the block launches and lives on the idea of bringing in the Warner Bros. TV animated shows from FOX Kids, then in 1999, it decides Pokémon.  Then it brings in some more anime, then it stops, then it dies. That also means that Kids WB has stuff they dropped in between the stuff they are known  for like Phantom Investigators .  Another case, would this show: Detention.  

        Funny enough, over on ABC, Disney had a series called Recess. That series came out in 1997 and was mostly a series that took place at a kids' favorite part of the school day :recess.  I'm not saying that this show was trying to run on the success of that show or a copy of it. It's more a genre of show that existed that we really don't get now.   Like Recess, Detention takes from something that happens at school and brings it to the forefront, that being detention.  Unlike, recess -the time period- detention isn't seen as a very positive thing and isn't supposed to be. In media,  it had different showings and usages.  The famous depiction of the event is The Breakfast Club.  

        Detention , the series, takes a look at the idea of kids who somehow end up always being in detention and like The Breakfast Club has a mis-mash mixture of kids forced together in one spot.  It premiered on Saturday, September 11, 1999 on the WB.   The show was created by Bob Doucette.   

              

One Shot Posts: As Told By Ginger Does a Death

Nickelodeon   One Shot Posts

 

        As Told By Ginger  has got to be one of my personal top favorite Nicktoon series, and Nickelodeon overall. Not number 1, but not below number 5 either. It's an interesting cartoon that ran from well that's kind of iffy in how it broadcast but it did kick off in the year 2000. It's a great series created by  Emily Kapnek and yes done by the animation studio Klasky Csupó, and the animation style probably filtered the weak out from a great show.  

     I'm not going to be writing about the whole show here, I'm instead taking a look at one episode. This one is called "Carl and Maude" it's the second episode of the entire series.  As Told By Ginger was slightly different than many other animated shows in a few ways. It offered a realism its world-even characters change clothes- the show has funny moments, but it's not a full 100% comedy series. The characters age, and the show holds a continuity and can be kind of considered somewhat story driven in the sense that episodes are driven more by their story and that a plot might not even finish in one episode.  It also would be hard to take a random episode of the show and talk about it since so many key points might have come before it. With episode 2 , it's not too far in.

         This is also where even episode 2 has stuff that carries over from episode 1 where Ginger and her friends Jodie and Macie, have to go to the retirement home to do community service because they stole a sign from the bank. Ginger's younger brother, Carl, is there with them - he didn't do anything with the sign; she just has to watch him. 

 

                                  Don't forget to spay and neuter ...wait a minute/ Copyright Paramount
 

           Episode 2 taking something from episode 1 where the trio ended up getting in trouble for stealing a sign carried over here is an example of how this show was different to other cartoon shows on Nickelodeon and other cartoons on other networks.  It didn't end up as an off thing where they contained it into one episode.  This will be important for this episode too. 

         There's an older woman named Maude that Carl hears about it and finds here fascinating.  He's a mischievous person himself.  He and her quickly hit it off and become good friends, which is sweet in its own gross way. 

        Ginger's plot isn't about her working at the retirement home, it's actually about Courtney Gripling deciding to invite herself over to Ginger's house for dinner.  Courtney Gripling is a girl in school, the popular rich one. In fact, the reason Ginger stole a sign in the first place was to impress Courtney. She ended up falling into a trap set by Courtney's friend Miranda. Courtney is a great character, she takes an interest in Ginger , even though they aren't the same "social class" or  income class. It's something different from other shows. 

                                        The cordless home phone was the status symbol / Copyright Paramount
 

        Anyway, Courtney has decided to the fun thing of inviting herself to Ginger's house for dinner, which is a bold step. Ginger wants to make her home look cool enough for Courtney and wants the dinner to go well. which would mean uh-oh.  Carl has decided to invite Maude for dinner.  

      

   More after the jump