THE
ARCHIE SHOW
(CBS, September 14, 1968-January 4, 1969)
Filmation Associates
MAIN CAST:
Dallas McKennon – Archie Andrews,
Hot Dog, Mr. Weatherbee, Pop Tate, Hiram Lodge, Coach Kleats, various
Ron Dante – Archie Andrews (singing)
Jane Webb – Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge,
Miss Grundy, Big
Ethel, various
Toni Wine –
Betty Cooper (singing), Veronica Lodge (singing)
Howard Morris – Jughead Jones, Moose Mason, Dilton Doiley,
various
For the history of Archie, check out the post here.
After spending two years working on
action-oriented shows for DC Comics, and
with growing
concerns over violence in children’s shows, Filmation was about ready to
switch gears and tackle another genre. Fortunately, their agent, Irv Wilson,
had just the thing for them. Wilson had approached Archie Comics publisher John Goldwater about
licensing out his comics for adaptation to other media. Upon receiving the
license, Wilson presented the concept to producer Lou Scheimer, who had never heard
of Archie or was aware of their popularity with the younger readers. However,
he realized that doing a show about teenagers doing teenaged things could
potentially attract a slightly older audience than their other offerings had. After
meeting with Goldwater and securing a deal, Scheimer presented the idea to Fred Silverman, the head of
daytime programming at CBS. Reportedly, the
entire series pitch consisted of a stack of Archie comics that got Silverman to
laugh; something he rarely did at pitch meetings. Silverman bought the show and
The Archie Show was greenlit.
 |
| Archie, Veronica, Betty and Jughead hanging out at the Chok'lit Shoppe. |
Much like the comics, The Archie
Show was going to focus on Archie Andrews (Dallas McKennon) and his core
group of friends: Jughead (Howard Morris), Reggie (John Erwin), Betty and
Veronica (both Jane Webb). They would go on dates, participate in races, work
various jobs for money, and hang out at Pop’s Chok'lit Shoppe. Although Riverdale
High was sparsely populated due to animation limitations (which prevented Archie from having his iconic hair markings), other Archie characters
did make appearances as the story dictated: including principal Mr. Weatherbee, restaurateur Pop Tate, Veronica’s wealthy father (all McKennon), school genius
Dilton Doiley (Morris) and others. Newly created for the show was Hot Dog
(McKennon), Jughead’s dog who would “speak” to the audience and offer
commentary about the characters and the situations (because of the different
production times, Hot Dog actually appeared first in comic form in Pep
Comics #224, originally as
Archie’s dog).
Initially, Filmation intended to duplicate
the success they found with The
New Adventures of Superman by hiring the cast from the radio show, Archie
Andrews. They even had one of the cast members, Bob Hastings, on staff already
as the voice of their Superboy.
But they never used Hastings and were unable to find the rest of the cast, so
they turned to the then-49-year-old McKennon to voice “America’s teenager”, Filmation
regular Webb to do as many of the female roles as legally allowed, Hanna-Barbera regular
Morris, and Filmation newcomer Erwin. Notably, the Lodges were portrayed as
having a southern accent. This was likely due to the radio show’s Gloria Mann
use of one when voicing Veronica as in the comics she was said to have hailed
from either Boston or New York City (or a lifelong resident of Riverdale—continuity
was never steadfast in the world of Archie).
 |
| The Archies with Hot Dog conducting. |
While The Archie Show was
already shaping up into something unique on Saturday mornings, Filmation wanted
to take it a step further: they decided to bring music into it by making the
Archie characters have a band that would play during the show called The
Archies. Archie would play rhythm guitar and sing lead, Reggie would play bass,
Betty played lead guitar or percussion (usually a tambourine), Veronica would
play the keyboard, and Jughead played the drums. Jughead was also the only one
who wasn’t a regular vocalist. The notion of Archie having a band was presented
in Life
With Archie #60 (1967), but was
a one-time thing at that point.
 |
| The Archies meet Don Kirshner in Archie #189. |
The idea was partially inspired by The Monkees, so
Filmation approached music producer Don Kirschner
about handling the music for their show. Kirschner, who had been responsible
for some of The Monkees’ early hits, was
ousted by the band as they wanted more creative control over what they recorded
and performed, as well as for releasing the single “A Little Bit Me, A Little
Bit You” without Columbia
Pictures’ consent. He saw The Archie Show as a chance to prove that
he didn’t need The Monkees or Columbia. As the songs wouldn’t be directly
related to the content of the show or utilize the same voices, both were
allowed to be produced independently and simultaneously. Filmation would just give
Kirschner a general idea of the stories they were doing.
 |
| The first single from The Archies. |
Kirschner assembled a set of studio
musicians including Gary
Chester on drums, Dave
Appell on guitars, Joey Macho on
bass, and Ron Frangipane on
keyboards. Ron Dante provided Archie’s vocals, and sometimes Reggie’s, and Toni
Wine did Betty and Veronica’s. Jeff Barry, Ritchie Adams and Mark Barkan served as the
song writers, with Barry also being the producer and providing vocals for
Jughead occasionally. 17 songs were recorded for inclusion on the show, with 11
of them (not counting the show’s theme, “Everything’s Archie”) being released
on the first album, The Archies, from
Kirschner’s Calendar Records, plus 17 shorter tunes for the dance sequences. Two
singles were also released: “Bang-Shang-A-Lang” with “Truck Driver”, and “Feelin’ So Good
(S.K.O.O.B.Y.-D.O.O.)” with “Love Light”.
 |
| Reggie joins in for a jam session in Archie's jalopy. |
The Archie Show debuted on
CBS on September 14, 1968. Although the series relied heavily on what was
established in the comics, they didn’t use the comics’ writers as they had with
Superman. The series was written by Bob Ogle, and featured additional
music by Ray Ellis. Each
episode started and ended with a standard 8-minute Archie story with the gang
going about their everyday lives and dealing with trouble frequently caused by
mischief-maker, Reggie. Each story would be given an introduction by one of the
characters; usually Archie. In between, there would be a short “dance of the
week” segment where a character—usually Jughead—would teach it to the audience
(although, a number of them were impossible unless you were an animated
character). Viewers were then encouraged to use their new dance move for the
next segment, which was The Archies playing one of their songs in a music
video-like format. With Filmation’s penchant for
stock footage, most of the band’s movements were constantly reused. There was also one more brief segment where Jughead and Hot
Dog would get involved in some kind of hijinks (only one episode skipped this
segment). It became notable as the first Saturday morning cartoon to use a
laugh track, which was added to make the audience feel involved as part of the
show.
 |
| The Archies head to Filmation in Everything's Archie #1. |
Nobody was more surprised by the success
of The Archie Show than Filmation themselves. The series landed an
impressive 47% ratings share, which is equal to modern Super Bowl ratings. The album was
also performing extremely well on the sales charts. The first single had sold
over 500,000 copies by the end of November, and it reached #22 on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. Also,
on November 17th The Ed Sullivan Show played
“The Bubblegum” and “Bang-Shang-A-Lang” from the first episode. “Seventeen Ain’t
Young” became a top 40 hit in Australia when it was covered by Frankie Howson. To
capitalize on this success, Archie Comics brought The Archies back in the
comics and had Mr. Lodge introduce them to Kirschner in Archie
#189 (1969). They also began a
new title centered on the band, Everything’s Archie (named
after the theme song). The first issue even had the Archie gang visit the Filmation
studios.
 |
| Jughead overdid it on the celebratory sodas. |
The Archie Show became only the
first entry in a decade-long partnership between Filmation and Archie Comics.
CBS wanted more Archie, and Filmation was happy to give it to them. To keep the
show fresh and interesting, Filmation constantly reinvented it for each new
television season instead of just keeping it going as it was; making use of the
malleability of the characters to put them in as many different situations as
possible. It also kicked off a musical revolution on Saturday mornings, as not
only Filmation but every studio at the time would try make their own musically-centered
programs to try and duplicate The Archie Show’s success.
 |
| Ad for the complete series DVD. |
At least one VHS of The
Archie Show was released by Thorn
EMI Video. In 2004, Nostalgia Ventures released three episodes to VHS and
DVD as part of their Archie &
Friends line, with an additional episode from the later incarnation U.S.
of Archie. The complete
series would be released to DVD by Classic
Media in 2007. The YouTube channel DreamWorks TV by
Peacock Kids posted numerous clips from the show beginning in 2014. In 2018, Universal Studios Home Entertainment released a new 10-episode
compilation DVD.
EPISODE GUIDE:
“The
Added Distraction / Fetch / Disappearing Act” (9/14/68) – Reggie causes trouble
when the gang goes out to sea for a treasure hunt. / Jughead teaches Hot Dog
how to fetch and ends up all wet. / Jughead manages to invent invisible paint
and Reggie steals it to make his competition for the talent show literally
vanish.
Dance: The
Bubblegum
Song: Bang-Shang-A-Lang
“A
Hard Day’s Knight / Shadow Boxing / Beauty is Only Fur Deep” (9/21/68) – Reggie
challenges Archie to a joust for the hand of Veronica. / Jughead ends up KO’d
while shadow boxing. / Jughead decides to enter Hot Dog into the dog show to
show up Reggie’s dog.
Dance: The
Jughead
Song: Boys and Girls
“Anchors
Away / Double Duty / Jughead’s Double” (9/28/68) – Without his glasses, Mr.
Weatherbee thinks Hot Dog is a commodore who missed his ship and unknowingly
enlists the boys to help get him there. / Hot Dog helps Jughead water ski while
he waters the yard. / Reggie unknowingly picks on a Jughead duplicate who
happens to be a karate champ.
Dance: The
Beanie
Song: Truck Driver
“The
Circus / Painting / The Prize Winner” (10/5/68) – Reggie convinces the guys to
join the circus. / Jughead paints Hot Dog’s portrait. / Reggie tries to get rid
of Jughead by making him think he won an airplane he’ll spend all his time
fixing up.
Dance: The
Hamburger Hop
Song: Catching Up on Fun
“Flying
Saucers / Homework / Field Trip” (10/12/68) – The gang goes to a costume party
as a group of aliens and Reggie alerts the authorities for a gag. / Hot Dog
unwittingly helps Jughead with his homework. / Reggie causes mischief on the school
field trip to the mountain.
Dance: The
Stick Shift
Song: Ride Ride Ride
“The
Marathon Runner / Pole Vaulting / Way Out West” (10/19/68) – It looks like
Reggie is a cinch to win the marathon, unless his ego wins out instead. / Jughead
breaks a few records while pole vaulting. / While the gang helps out at Mr.
Lodge’s new dude ranch, Reggie disguises himself as a guest to get out of doing
any work.
Dance: The
Veronica Walk
Song: La Dee Doo Down Down
“Hot
Rod Drag / Research / Snow Business” (10/26/68) – The gang helps Archie get his
car ready for the big drag race. / Jughead learns that the world is flat. / The
gang goes to work at Mr. Lodge’s ski lodge and Reggie plots trouble to get some
alone time with Veronica.
Dance: The
Betty
Song: You Make Me Wanna Dance
“Chimp
off the Old Block / Skiing / Who’s Afraid of Reggie Wolf” (11/2/68) – A gorilla
follows Jughead from the zoo and ends up in the Riverdale High football
tryouts. / Hot Dog helps Jughead go over his skiing checklist. / Reggie tricks
the gang into going into a haunted mine.
Dance: The
Banana Split
Song: Time For Love
“Kids
Day / Jughead ‘Sampson’ Jones” (11/9/68) – Archie is named mayor for a day. /
Jughead drinks Dilton’s super-strength formula.
Dance: The
Drag
Song: Hide and Seek
“Rocket
Rock / Retrieval / Par One” (11/16/68) – Believing it a missile they lost, the
Army takes Jughead’s rocket—with the gang inside. / Jughead returns a bag that
falls out of an armored car. / The boys get jobs as caddies and Reggie attempts
to sabotage Archie when Mr. Lodge picks him to be his.
Dance: The
Angel
Song: You Little Angel You
“Groovy
Ghosts / Dancing / PFC Hot Dog” (11/23/68) – Reggie decides to frighten the
gang in their creepy new clubhouse. / Jughead and Hot Dog cut a rug. / Reggie
insulting Hot Dog leads to his running away and inadvertently joining the army.
Dance: The
Weatherbee
Song: I’m In Love
“Surf
Bored / Searching / The Computer” (11/30/68) – The surf contest is interrupted
by a menacing swordfish. / Jughead looks for a quarter he lost. / Reggie sneaks
into Dilton’s lab to use his computer to do his homework.
Dance: The
Surfer
Song: Love Light
“The
Old Sea Dog / Late / Jughead’s Girl” (12/6/68) – Reggie volunteers the gang to
star in Jughead’s movie and proceeds to upstage everyone. / Hot Dog and Jughead
are late to pick up Reggie. / Jughead and Hot Dog are in unrequited love with a
girl and her poodle.
Dance: The
Grundy
Song: Rock ‘n Roll Music
“Dilton’s
Folly / Fishing / Lodge Department Stores” (12/13/68) – Jughead and Reggie spy
on Dilton’s latest invention and watch as he turns himself into a monster. /
Jughead goes fishing and lands a whopper. / Reggie does whatever it takes to
secure a bonus while working at Lodge’s Department Store.
Dance: The
Rocket Ship
Song: Don’t Touch My Guitar
“Private
Eye Jughead / Ice Cream / Reggie’s Cousin” (12/20/68) – Jughead gets a new
detective kit and plays investigator. / Jughead wants some ice cream, but he’s
broke. / Reggie tricks the gang into helping watch his annoying cousin.
Dance: The
Indian
Song: Seventeen Ain’t Young
“Strike
Three / Magic / Cat Next Door” (12/27/68) – Reggie’s hand gets injured,
resulting in Jughead having to pitch in the big game. / Jughead puts on a magic
show for burgers. / Hot Dog gets into it with the new neighbors’ cat.
Dance: The
Milkshake
Song: Circle of Blue
“Jones
Farm / Housepaint / Veronica’s Veil” (1/4/69) – The gang goes to help out at
the Jones farm and Reggie tries to get his hands on Grandma Jones’ pies. /
Jughead paints himself out of a corner. / Jealous of the attention Betty is
getting from the boys, Veronica pretends to be an exotic exchange student.
Dance: The
Touchdown
Song: Kissin’
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