CAMP
CANDY
(NBC, Syndication, September 9, 1989-??, 1992)
DiC Entertainment (season 1), Saban International
Services, Worldvision Enterprises, Frostback Productions
MAIN CAST:
John Candy – John Candy
Lewis Arquette – Xavier DeForest
III
Valri Bromfield – Nurse Molly
Danny Mann – Chester
Tony Ail – George “Binky” Jones
(season 1-2)
Chiara Zanni – Alex Dawson (season 1-2)
Andrew Seebaran – Rick Quimby
(season 1-2)
E.G. Daily – Alex Dawson, George “Binky” Jones,
Rick Quimby (all season 3)
Danielle Fernandes (season 1), Cree Summer (season 2), Candi Milo (season 3) –
Robin McClain
Willow Johnson – Vanessa Van
Pelt (season 1-2)
Gail Matthius – Vanessa Van Pelt
(season 3)
Tom Davidson – Iggy Jones (season 1-2)
Originally studying journalism at McMaster University,
John Candy ended up starring in several small roles throughout the early 1970s
until landing a spot in Toronto’s branch of The Second City
improvisational troupe. As a member, he began to achieve wide North American
popularity that only seemed to increase once the troupe spun off into the
television series Second City Television (SCTV). In 1979, Candy began to branch
out by being cast in larger films such as 1941 and The
Blues Brothers.
He
continued to have starring or supporting roles in movies of varying success
throughout the 1980s and appeared twice on Saturday
Night Live.
 |
| John Candy with Nurse Molly, Iggy, Rick, Binky, Robin, Vanessa and Alex. |
In 1989, Candy decided to use his
experience as a camp counselor to produce a Saturday morning television series.
Created by Joel
Andryc, Ellen
Levy
and Phil Harnage
and developed by Jack
Mendelsohn and Scott Shaw
along with Candy, Camp Candy centered
on camp counselor John Candy (voicing himself) and his ethnically diverse
collection of young campers. Although there were more depicted in wider shots,
the primary campers included nature lover Robin McClain (Danielle Fernandes,
Cree Summer & Candi Milo); tomboy Alex Dawson (Chiara Zanni & E.G.
Daily); rich and snobby fashionista Vanessa Van Pelt (Willow Johnson & Gail
Matthius); hypochondriac Iggy Jones (Tom Davidson & Katie Leigh) and his
more adventurous younger brother George “Binky” Jones (Tony Ail & Daily);
and arrogant prankster Rick Quimby (Andrew Seebaran & Daily). The camp’s
nurse, Nurse Molly (Second City veteran Valri Bromfield) had a poorly-hidden
crush on Candy, although Candy himself was smitten with the camp’s receptionist,
Miss Sweetingham.
 |
| DeForest and Chester plotting. |
Most episodes would center around
Candy showing his campers how to do something outdoors, which would almost
always remind him of a story. He would proceed to regale his charges with the
tale, teaching a lesson about nature and life in the process. Some episodes
also dealt with crooked developer Xavier “Rex” DeForest III (Lewis Arquette)
and his dim-witted henchman, Chester (Danny Mann). DeForest wanted nothing more
than to tear down Camp Candy and the surrounding forest in order to build a
condominium near Lake Katchatoree.
Camp
Candy was introduced to audiences through the Saturday morning preview
special Who Shrunk Saturday Mornings, which
was hosted by the cast of Saved by the Bell. The show began its
run the next day on NBC
on September 9, 1989, replacing fellow SCTV
alum Martin
Short’s show The Completely Mental Misadventures
of Ed Grimley on
the network’s schedule. It was written by Doug Molitor,
Bradley Kesden,
Sean Roche,
Skip Shepard,
Anthony Adams,
Christina Adams,
Chris Bittler,
David Carren,
J. Larry Carroll,
Diane Dixon,
Mark Edward Edens,
Michael Edens,
Sam Graham,
Chris Hubbell,
David Markov, Michael O'Mahony,
Sharon O'Mahony,
Chris Weber,
Karen Willson,
Betty G. Birney,
Eleanor Burian-Mohr, David Ehrman,
Jack Hanrahan,
Sandra Ryan,
Kati Rocky
and Judy Rothman Rofé.
The
series was produced by DiC
Entertainment with animation from Sei
Young Studios, Ltd. Harry Nilsson
composed the theme, which was sung by Nilsson and Candy. The rest of the
series’ music was handled by Shuki
Levy.
Playing over the closing credits were songs about the camp set to the tune of
various well-known campfire songs.
 |
| Chow time! |
After running for two seasons, the
show was cancelled by NBC as part of their animation purge in favor of more
teen-oriented programming. However, the series was revived in 1992 for
syndication in order to use Candy to attract his fan base, primarily preteen
boys, to daytime television. Production was picked up by Saban International Services,
bringing on Haim
Saban as an executive producer along with Candy and Andy Heyward,
with distribution by Worldvision
Enterprises. The primary difference between the two
versions, along with the recasting of all the kids’ voices to replace the
Canadian actors, was the addition of live-action segments starring Candy that
would bookend the episodes. Conceived by Candy himself, he would discuss
various facts about the great outdoors and wildlife before leading into the
day’s animated adventure. The revival, however, only lasted one additional
season.
 |
| Nothing like a little TV in the woods. |
Much as Short’s previous series had
done, some of Candy’s former Second City colleagues made guest-appearances on
the program. Amongst them were Eugene Levy,
Andrea Martin
and Dave
Thomas. Other notable guest-stars included Roddy McDowall,
David Lander,
Marcia Wallace,
and Candy’s own children, Jennifer
and Chris.
 |
| Camp Candy, the comic. |
In
1990, Marvel Comics
published a 6-issue
series based on the show. Thermos released a lunch
box
and Milton
Bradley produced two 60-piece
puzzles. In 1993, Anchor
Bay Entertainment released several
VHS tapes containing various episodes; the only release of the
series so far.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Season 1:
“The
Forest’s Prime Evil (9/8/89) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Small
Foot, Big Trouble” (9/16/89) – Robin gets separated from the group during a
birdwatching hike and ends up having to help a baby Bigfoot find his mother.
“The
Katchatoree Creature” (9/23/89) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Tough
as Nayles” (9/30/89) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Bird
is the Word / Best Behavior” (10/7/89) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Fool’s
Gold” (10/14/89) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Sleight
of Hand / Thanks, But No Pranks” (10/21/89) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Mind
Over Matter / Brat Pact” (11/4/89) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“May
the Best Parents Win” (11/11/89) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Not
So Brae Brave / Opposites Attract” (11/18/89) – John discovers a treaty from
George Washington that gives the camp’s land to an Indian tribe.
“Indian
Love Call / Spoiled Sports” (12/2/89) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Rick
Gets the Picture / Poor Little Rich Girl” (12/9/89) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Christmas
in July” (12/16/89) – The campers try to fend of a heatwave by make-believing
it’s Christmas-time while also having to teach Vanessa about the Christmas spirit.
Season 2:
“Robo-Camp
/ The Glasnost Menagerie” (9/8/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Color
War and Peace” (9/15/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Camp
Cuisine / Take the Compass and Run” (9/22/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Candy
Springs” (9/29/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Wish
Upon a Fish” (10/6/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Taking
the Bully by the Horns / Rock Candy” (10/13/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Dear
Mom and Dad” (10/20/90) – The kids write home to their parents explaining how
each was responsible for the destruction of the mess hall.
“Stand
Up and Deliver / Ruthless Campers” (10/27/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Camp
Candy’s Funniest Home Videos” (11/3/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Robin’s
Ark” (11/10/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Candy
and the Ants / Smart Moose, Foolish Choices” (11/17/90) – John tries to save
his camp from a swarm of Navy Ants. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“One
Million Years B.C.” (11/24/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Jokers
of the Wild / Uncle Rexie” (12/1/90) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Scare
Package” (1/19/91) – Iggy begins seeing monsters everywhere after John shows
the campers his favorite scary movie.
Season 3:
“TV
or Not TV” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Rock
and Rest / Rick Van Winkle” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“The
Last Word” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“A
Ribbeting Experience / The Bamboo Woodpecker” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Wild,
Wild Candy” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“When
It Rains…It Snows” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Saturday
Night Polka Fever” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Chester’s
Millions” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Bee
Prepared / Signs of Silence” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Dr.
Tongue’s Amazing Adventure / Lucky Dog” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Wild
World of Camping / Total Lack of Recall” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Battle
of the Badges / The Return of the Magnificent Three” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
“Ladies
and Gentlemen, Your Host, Bobby Bittman” - NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
Originally posted in 2016. Updated in 2019.
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