Remember that one day when you could wake up without an alarm? When you would get your favorite bowl of cereal and sit between the hours of 8 and 12? This is a blog dedicated to the greatest time of our childhood: Saturday mornings. The television programs you watched, the memories attached to them, and maybe introducing you to something you didn't realize existed. Updated every weekend.
The claymation series was set in the bedroom of a human child known
only as “The Boy” (Scott McAfee, played in live action on an actual set). At
night, when The Boy was asleep, things in his house would come to life and have
their own adventures and fun. Amongst them were Mr. Bumpy (Jim Cummings), a
sock-eating green monster that lived under The Boy’s bed; Squishington (Rob
Paulsen), a blue blob-like creature that resided in the tank of the toilet, was
a neat-freak and a bit of a coward; and Molly Coddle (Gail Matthius), The Boy’s
sister’s rag doll who had been abused to the point of falling apart and
repaired using a mixture of mismatched parts. Disrupting things were their
nemesis, the Closet Monster (Cummings), who in the daylight was a pile of dirty
clothes and hangars, and Destructo (also Cummings), a toy robot that acted like
a policeman and had it out for Bumpy.
The dreaded Closet Monster.
Pontac and Bleiman pitched their idea to ABC, who immediately ordered
two full seasons before it ever aired. Securing a proprietary interest in the
show allowed the network to impose some restrictions on the creative process,
such as turning Squishington blue instead of brown (considering where he lived,
after all) and ensuring nothing dangerous was depicted that the young target
audience could imitate and potentially be hurt by. Despite the restrictions,
Pontac and Bleiman were able to bring their vision to screens largely intact.
Toast gone bad.
Bump in
the Night debuted on September 10, 1994,
however the characters were actually seen a year prior. Bumpy, Squishington and
Molly were all featured in a series of commercial bumpers throughout ABC’s
Saturday schedule. When the show actually aired on Saturday afternoon, it
became a huge hit for ABC and was quickly moved to the morning schedule. During
the summer hiatus between seasons, the show was doubled-up into an hour-long
rerun block until the second season premiered to equally high ratings.
“Made in Japan / Dr. Coddle, M.D.” (9/10/94) – Bumpy’s mail-away toy
turns out to be a disappointment but strange things begin to happen when it
arrives. / Bumpy eats Molly’s medical instruction books and replaces them with
home improvement manuals.
“Gum Crazy / Baby Snail” (9/17/94) – Bumpy fights with his internal
organs while attempting to remove undigested gum from his stomach. / Bumpy is
left to watch a snail while Squishy looks for the snail’s mother.
“Hide and Go Freak / Better Homes & Garbage” (9/24/94) – Bumpy and
Squishy teach Molly how to play Hide and Go Freak. / Clean Squishy is forced to
move in with messy Bumpy for a few days.
“Not of This Boy’s Room / To Sleep Perchance to Burp” (10/1/94) –
Bumpy tries to help the aliens that abduct him take over Earth. / The Boy can’t
sleep with Bumpy’s constant noise-making.
“Danger-Unexploded Squishington / Loss of Face” (10/8/94) – Bumpy
figures the ticking in Squishy’s stomach is a bomb. / Squishy accidentally
wipes his face off on a towel and loses it.
Karaoke: “Find a New Neighborhood”
“Sock It To Me / Comforting the Uncomfortable” (10/15/94) – Squishy
tries to get Bumpy off of his sock addiction. / Molly tries to comfort the
Closet Monster.
Karaoke: “You Need a Hug”
“Baby Jail / Night of the Living Bread” (10/22/94) – Bumpy comes to
understand the hardships of babies. / An evil mutant slice of bread threatens
the world.
Karaoke: “Go Away and Don’t Come Back”
“Party Poopers” (10/29/94) – Molly wants to go to the Cute Doll party
and the Cute Dolls want to invite the monsters, but while Squishy wants to go
Bumpy doesn’t.
“Adventures in Microbia / Not a Peep!” (11/12/94) – Bumpy and Squishy
are fighting against germs until a germ girl captures Squishy’s heart. /
Destructo tries to keep Bumpy quiet.
“Penny For Your Thoughts / Farewell, 2 Arms” (11/19/94) – Every thought
Bumpy has causes a penny to fall. / In order to become less helpless, Molly
rebuilds herself with stronger limbs.
“The Bowl of the Squishy Prince / All You Need is Glove” (12/3/94) –
Squishy tries to find a princess to kiss to boost his self-esteem. / Bumpy
fights with a glove over a left-foot sock.
“Long Long Day / Destructo’s Flipside” (9/9/95) – Destructo and the
Closet Monster fight over possession of Bumpy. / Bumpy puts Destructo’s battery
in backwards.
Karaoke: “I’m Bigger Than You”
“Love Stinks / Love’s Labor Bumped” (9/16/95) – Molly attracts the
affections of a stinkbug. / Destructo develops a crush on Molly.
Karaoke: “Why Do You Like Me?”*
“It Sang from Beyond the Stars / Journey to the Center of the
Lungfish” (9/23/95) – Gloog and Sleemoth invade. / Bumpy, Squishy and Molly are
swallowed by a lungfish.
Karaoke: “Find a New Neighborhood”*
“Auntie Matta / Bumpy the Untrappable” (9/30/95) – Bumpy’s scary aunt
visits. / The Boy tries to capture Bumpy.
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7 comments:
Your posts are fun, informative and greatly nostalgic. Keep up the good work
Your posts are fun, informative and greatly nostalgic. Keep up the good work.
Hmm it seems like your website ate my first comment
(it was extremely long) so I guess I'll just
sum it up what I submitted and say, I'm thoroughly enjoying your blog.
I as well am an aspiring blog blogger but I'm still new to the whole
thing. Do you have any points for rookie blog writers? I'd certainly
appreciate it.
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Stick to your focus, utilize the English language properly, and above all have fun doing it. If you're having fun, your readers will have fun. Other than that, just get out there and post and post often.
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