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eddstarr
This may require some explanation.

When Filmation teamed up with CBS in 1965 the result was, "The NEW Adventures of Superman". In one powerful "Swoop", Saturday mornings in the USA woke up and televisions across the country suddenly went loud and colorful as the Man of Steel put criminals in their place.

Buy 1966 - CBS owned SatAM as filmation unleashed a flood of new superheroes, some making their first appearance on television. 

A line was drawn in the sand and Hanna-Barbera was eager to cross it and take on Filmation directly. Saturday mornings exploded with every conceivable costumed hero you could imagine. And ABC made it clear that they would not let CBS steal the show. ABC made deals that led to an agreement with Marvel Comics to bring characters to Saturday mornings.

But NBC was left in the dust as CBS and ABC fought it out for superhero cartoon supermency. NBC had cast it's fortune with DePatie-Freleng, creators of the "Pink Panther" empire. I think you see the problem here!

The Pink Panther has fans but the pink cat was no match for Filmation's and H-B's cavalcade of superheroes. With NBC putting the pressure on all of its content providers, DePatie-Freleng had to come up with something to keep the network happy. 


With DFE-Films striking out with one bad cartoon after another, NBC needed something to pair up with their only SatAM star, the Pink Panther. Better late than never - DFE came up with, "Super President".

And now you see the downside of being last to the superhero party. All the cool guys are spoken for.



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jkatz
I'm repeatedly impressed by your knowledge of old, obscure cartoons and the history behind them. You wouldn't happen to work in the animation industry by any chance, would you?
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The women of New Vegas ask me a lot if there's a Mrs. New Vegas. Well, of course there is! You're her. And you're still just as perfect as the day we met.
Mr Magic
Addams Family cartoon.

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"Magic can happen to you."

eddstarr
jkatz wrote :

I'm repeatedly impressed by your knowledge of old, obscure cartoons and the history behind them. You wouldn't happen to work in the animation industry by any chance, would you?
-end quote

Believe it or not, I've never been an "industry insider". All the stuff I know is actually an accident of my upbringing.

My family, especially my sister, my cousins, favorite aunt and uncle, my neighbors and even the navy kids I went to school with - they all lived and breathed entertainment like movies and television. I cannot overstate how these people helped to shape the man I am today. 

My neighborhood was an improbable mix of the most unbelievable people you can imagine. If I could take you back to 1963 and introduce you to the "hood", you'd swear you were extra on a film set. Like the "Andy Griffith Show", my racially segregated neighborhood resulted in people that were unusual, funny, delightful and unforgettable.

All the people I knew as a kid growing up, even my father's friends from the Pentagon and NASA at Langley, they all inspired me to "Pay attention to the Details". Before the computer and the VCR you could only share what you remembered. 

When I post here about cartoons it's because I talked about cartoons all my life. 

Don't forget, many of the great names in animation lived to be interviewed in the 1970's by guys like Dick Cavett,  Johnny Carson, Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin. They all had TV shows and I took these conversations about "the industry" and added that info to what I knew - like a pile-on effect.

While Johnny Carson talked to celebrities on "The Tonight Show", I'm from that generation that watched Tom Snyder on, "The Tomorrow Show" - one of the greatest television shows about the inner workings of the medium I've ever seen! Tom Snyder would talk to cameramen, write-up men and wardrobe/make-up artist.

Tom and The Tomorrow Show were a national treasure - but remember, this was looong before the personal computer and the internet became commonplace. 

The truth is - I'm not much different from the people that raised me. The only difference is that I lived long enough to see the era of the internet. The people I grew-up with taught me to not look at the dirt beneath my feet, but to look up at the stars. 

I'm still looking, only now I'm not alone. You are all with me.


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Mr Magic
Hoppity Hooper. Created by Jay Ward of Rocky and Bullwinkle fame.

This show is pretty much the same as Rocky and Bullwinkle.

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"Magic can happen to you."

eddstarr
Mr Magic wrote :

Hoppity Hooper. Created by Jay Ward of Rocky and Bullwinkle fame.

This show is pretty much the same as Rocky and Bullwinkle.

-end quote


Agreed MM, with all due respect to Jay Ward fans, Hoppity Hooper was pretty bad.

"Rocky and Bullwinkle" from 1959 was a tough act to follow and Jay Ward Productions never had a solid hit until "George of the Jungle" in 1967.  Can't fault JWP for trying but Hoppity Hooper seemed like a rehash of Bullwinkle to me.

Jay Ward Productions really shined with breakfast cereal commercials in my opinion.

Try this Kellogg's Sugar Pops ad from 1960-1962, guessing from the cereal box art.
You guys remember "Sugar Pops Pete", the cartoon prairie dog cereal mascot with the six shooter that shoots "sugar"? 

Truly bizarre, lol.
 


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Mr Magic
That's the first time I've ever heard about Sugar Pops Pete.

Has anyone ever heard of Hubie and Bertie?

Image
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"Magic can happen to you."

eddstarr
Mr Magic wrote :

That's the first time I've ever heard about Sugar Pops Pete.

Has anyone ever heard of Hubie and Bertie?

Image
-end quote


That's what I find so weird about Kellogg's cereal mascots from the late 50's, even Tony the Tiger looked alien. And as a little boy my mom kept me away from the cereal aisle at the grocery store, she I used to cry at the sight of Tony's teeth.

Sugar Pops Pete may be the first and only cartoon prairie dog  but Sugar Pops was the sweetest cereal ever made back in the day. It actually had more sugar than corn, (just kidding).

See if you recognize any of the other cereal mascots in the closing credits of the Huckleberry Hound Show from 1959:   




And please give a shout out to 
Hubie and Bertie. They gave Claude the cat one hell of a hard time, LOL!!! 

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shakin steak

I liked Hoppity Hooper and Uncle Waldo , but maybe I was too young to be critical. I never disliked anything I saw from Jay Ward.

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eddstarr
shakin steak wrote :

I liked Hoppity Hooper and Uncle Waldo , but maybe I was too young to be critical. I never disliked anything I saw from Jay Ward.

-end quote


Well SnS . . . if I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times: every cartoon series has that one episode that stand out from the rest.

And in the case of Hoppity Hooper that one episode was a spoof of Rod Serling's "Twilight Zone" in the Jay Ward production called, "The Traffic Zone"

For many of my friends in school back in 1964, "The Traffic Zone" was the cartoon that was fun to quote - with every teacher wondering what we're all talking about!

Whaddayaknow - it's on YouTube:



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