Video - The History of the Monster Cereals: Count Chocula, Franken Berry, Boo Berry

This video is a good explainer for those curious about how the Monster Kid craze of the 1960's gave birth to the General Mills Monster cereals and the color changing controversies that made bathroom trips concerning! If only Yummy Mummy was available every year at Halloween time. 

Video - Spy Shadow (1967) Cartoon!

How have I never heard of this 60's cartoon before? If this episode is a good example, the show seems like a blast. Are there more odd little Saturday morning gems hiding out there that are nearly forgotten? 

The Animated Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle (1976)

This show premiered when I was eight years old and was my first version of Tarzan that was accurate to the character as written by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Of course, I didn't know that at the time. But when I started reading the original novels soon thereafter it was clear that the "Ugh, me Tarzan" versions were going to be a hard sell to someone immersed in the real deal. So, I occasionally return to this cartoon and love that the show was able create a solid adaptation of the ape lord that doesn't seem very different from the one on the page. Elements are softened, obviously, but the feel is far more true to the character than many other screen Tarzans. 

 

Video - Rahan - Spirit of the Bear (2008) S01E01

And the unexpected surprises continue! Here is the first episode of the 2008 cartoon adaptation of Rahan and it is dubbed in English. It seems aimed at a more juvenile audience than the 80's series but it has fine qualities on its own terms. Check it out! 

Video - RAHAN, SON OF THE FIERCE AGE - Episode 1 (1987) a.k.a. Rahan, fils des âges farouches

File this under 'You Discovery Something New Every Day'. A recent FB post about reprints of the AXA barbarian comics caused friend Nicholas to point me toward this earlier comic character from France. I then spotted the 1987 twenty-six episode cartoon version above. The YouTube generated English subs are, at best, serviceable but they help to get across the story pretty well. Its a shame this stuff isn't more easily viewable and I'd love to read the original comics as well. 

The Bloody Pit #212 - Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-74)

I may have bitten off more than I can chew!

I am joined by a pair of Marks – Mark Maddox and Mark Clark – to discuss STAR TREK: THE ANIMATED SERIES. Since episodes with either of them alone can stretch to more than two hours, putting them together with a subject this big was clearly tempting fate. We survive the show but this is easily the longest episode of The Bloody Pit ever! It might be best to listen to it in chunks.

We dig into the Star Trek Animated Series and talk a bit about all twenty-two episodes. After some confusion we use the original broadcast order and give our thoughts on each one. This takes time and I complicated things by rereading the Alan Dean Foster Log Books for several of the stories. This means I can’t stop myself from dropping in details that were used to flesh out the 22-minute shows until both Marks request that I stop. Rude! But then I bring up Spock Must Die by James Blish and Maddox gets reeled into the book-talk like the sucker he is! Before things are over we have chosen our favorite and least favorites from the series and pulled a couple of episodes apart looking for the tasty bits. If you listen carefully you will hear the moment we realize that this show will be far too long. You can also hear the individual moments when each of us gets our second wind and press on through the second season. You might also hear weeping. You have been warned.

If you have any comments or sympathy for me thebloodypit@gmail.com is the place to send them. The plan is to get another episode out in a few weeks so keep your fingers crossed. And thank you for listening!

Animated Star Trek Title Cards

I've been revisiting the Trek animated show from the early 1970's for a future podcast. It has been fun but a few of the episodes are as bad as I remember. Luckily, the good ones are very good.  

 

Secret Squirrel And Morocco Mole - Super Spy Record - 1966

My fascination with 1960's Hanna-Barbera cartoon shows and their record off-shoots continues with another James Bond inspired entry. Am I crazy for getting a kick out of these strange things?

 

Super Snooper & Blabber Mouse - James Bomb

I only occasionally caught a Snooper & Blabber Mouse cartoon as a kid. They were part of the Quick Draw McGraw show in the early 1960's and were not rerun in my area during my formative years in the 70's. But, now that I've seen a few of them, I admit to getting a few standard Hanna-Barbera chuckles from the show. I was recently reminded of this lesser known cartoon which sent me on a hunt for connected media and look what I found - an audio adventure in which the detectives respond to the James Bond phenomenon. Check it out! 

Video - The He-Man & She-Ra Christmas Special

I don't know why I get a kick out of this Christmas special from 1985. I have never been a fan of the animated show in any incarnation and I find the misbegotten live action film from 1987 to be one of the worst cinematic experiences of my life (even though I've grown to enjoy watching it for all the things that should have worked). But this bizarre 45 minutes of stumbling around entertains me in the same way that footage of a poorly managed college stage production can. It's dumb but kind of soothing because you know its going to end in a sappy holiday themed way and no one will even come close to being hurt. But, much like the Flintstone Christmas stories, you have to wonder just how in the universe this season has a foothold in Eternia. 

New Yorker Halloween Covers

Video - Animated Flash Gordon Classic Style!

This is an impressive fan made animated version of Flash Gordon that makes me wish for more! I would have loved to see 65 episodes of this show produced in the past or any time in the near future. This shows a real love of the original material and an ability to bring it to life. Wow! 

Saturday Morning Cartoon Ads

Anyone else miss the excitement of Saturday morning TV? 

 

Fantastic Voyage Comic Book Covers

The 1968 cartoon television series of Fantastic Voyage spawned a comic book series from Gold Key that - sadly - only lasted two issues. It's possible to get one of the two pretty cheaply online so I might eventually have to check them out.

Video - Fantastic Voyage 1968 Animated TV Show!

Until yesterday I had no idea that this existed! The show was apparently rerun in the 90's on the Sci-Fi Channel but I never caught it. I'm not sure what I might have thought of it then but now I'm just glad to have had it brought to my attention. Not that its great, but I love finding bits of odd pop culture that have been hidden from me. I wonder how many of the 17 episodes I'll be able to find on YouTube? 

What I Watched in October 2021

I've been very happy with both of the computer animated Addams Family films from the past couple of years. The second one isn't as strong as the first but I think that may just be that I'm no longer surprised by how well the material is being handled. The first from 2019 shocked me by keeping very well to the spirit and tone of the 1960’s television series and even finding ways to fold a lot of the original Charles Addams single panel cartons smoothly into the narrative. This new movie takes some inspiration from the 1970’s TV cartoon version of the family as well by having the entire crew riding around America in their gothic styled Creepy Camper. That was unexpected! And the plot smartly focuses on the precocious Wednesday (voiced by Chloë Grace Moretz) as she is lead to believe she might not actually be an Addams. Mon Dieu! The film is funny, eerie and visually arresting throughout with pitch perfect performances from the entire voice cast. In fact, it would be easy to picture most of the actors embodying these roles doing do in a live action film as well which would be quite fun. Oscar Issacs as Gomez and Charlize Theron as Morticia are excellent and I hope they continue to play these characters for years to come.

The List 

SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES (1983) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

THE ADDAMS FAMILY 2 (2021) – 7 

EVILSPEAK (1981) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

GRIZZLY (1976) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

CIRCUS OF HORRORS (1960) – 7 (rewatch on Blu) 

HOUSE OF HORRORS (1946) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

THE PROPHECY (1995) – 8 (rewatch) 

SCREAM (1980) – 3 (deadly dull horror effort made in Texas) 

THE UNSEEN (1980) – 6 (interesting basement lurker/hideous family horror) 

LEPRECHAUN (1993) – 5 (uneasy mixture of kid’s film and bloody horror) 

VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED (1960) – 8 (rewatch on Blu) 

THE MONSTER MAKER (1944) – 5 (rewatch on Blu) (Naish is great in this) 

13 GHOSTS (1960) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

ISLE OF THE DEAD (1945) - 7 (rewatch on Blu) 

BLACK AS NIGHT (2021) – 7 (New Orleans set vampire tale) 

DREAM DEMON (1988) – 6 (interesting British rubber reality film) 

THE FINAL TERROR (1983) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

FRANKENSTEIN MEETS THE WOLF MAN (1943) – 7 (rewatch on Blu)

CIRCUS OF FEAR (1966) – 6 (krimi scares) (rewatch on Blu) 

NO TIME TO DIE (2021) – 9 (an excellent farewell to Craig’s Bond)

REVENGE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1960) – 8 (rewatch on Blu)

THE MAN WITH NINE LIVES (1940) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

DARK INTRUDER (1965)- 7 (rewatch on Blu) 

HALLOWEEN (2018) – 8 (rewatch on Blu)

THE DEVIL BAT (1940) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

ABBOT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948) – 9 (on the big screen!) 

HALLOWEEN KILLS (2021) – 7 

PLAGUE OF THE ZOMBIES (1966) – 8 (rewatch on Blu) 

LEPRECHAUN 2 (1994) – 4 (pretty blah and typically 90’s) 

DARK AUGUST (1976) – 8 (strong low-key horror tale from Vermont) 

AMITYVILLE: THE EVIL ESCAPES (1989) – 3 (with Rifftrax – 8) 

KING OF THE ZOMBIES (1941) – 7 (rewatch on Blu – Mantan Moreland makes this one) 

PROPHECY (1979) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) (by turns ridiculous and sublime) 

UBALDA, ALL NAKED AND WARM (1972) – 4 (Italian sex comedy set in the Middle Ages) 

HALLOWEEN 4 (1988) – 6 (rewatch on Blu) 

CASTLE FREAK (2020) – 4 (weak remake with some bold ideas) 

BODY COUNT (1986) – 6 (rewatch) (Deodado’s killer in the woods slasher) 

THE MANOR (2021) – 7 (slight but satisfying chiller about aging) 

HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1999) – 7 (rewatch on Blu) 

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART VI: JASON LIVES (1986) – 7 (rewatch on Blu) 

THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN (1966) – 8 (rewatch on Blu) 

WRONG TURN 3: LEFT FOR DEAD (2009) – 4 (terrible CGI weighs this down) 

THE RAVEN (1963) – 7 (rewatch on Blu) 

DEMENTIA 13 (1963) – 6 (rewatch on Blu)

A Peanuts Halloween Gallery

It's time for the annual viewing!

 

Speed Buggy! - Hanna-Barbera Revisited

For the past few months, I've been revisiting several Saturday morning television shows from my childhood. I've wanted to see if my memories held any accuracy about their quality level or if they would prove to be the kinds of things that only serve to guide a kid from one level of understanding to another. Most of the best remembered series that I have been able to watch have stood up as still being worthy of the time to rewatch them with some notable exceptions. Even though most of the Hanna-Barbera shows tend to fall down when seen these days, a few have proved to be interesting or entertaining enough to reward adult viewing.

 

My love of Speed Buggy remains undiminished even as my recent rewatches have pointed out the obvious flaws in the entire affair. My favorite realization is how unnecessary Mark is to show. Of the three human characters Mark is the one whose presence is a complete mystery and he only seems present to provide another person to relate information or to occasionally do things. Tinker is the driver/mechanic who 'created' Speedy Buggy and Debbie is the smart woman who seems to figure out the best course of action when needed. But Mark just seems to be there to do what Debbie tells him to do or to give Tinker tools as he works on Speedy. 

Of course, as an adult my mind roams into non-cartoon reasons for Mark to be around so I tend to think of him as Debbie's boy-toy kept as part of the group because she wants him there. This perspective adds an entertaining point of view to most episodes with Mark as an eager to please hanger-on type just trying to make Debbie happy enough to keep him as part of the group. Thinking about the show's dynamic in this way makes even the silliest scenario play out in an amusing way and invest this silly little show with extra value. 

1966 Marvel Super Hero Title Re-Master

 

This is kind of great! 

Songs from THE MAN CALLED FLINTSTONE (1966)

Although I have never been a fan of The Flintstones TV series I was curious about the feature film Hanna-Barbera produced at the height of the show's popularity. In 1966 I'm sure a cartoon spy spoof seemed like a sure-fire hit and it seems to have been well received upon release. Strange how it's become so little discussed or seen these days. 

For me the biggest surprise was the six or seven songs that pepper the soundtrack turning this fun little adventure into a bit of a musical. And the songs are quite fun, too!