September 30, 2023

FUDGE

 

FUDGE
(ABC, January 14-December 16, 1995)
 
Kevin Slattery Productions, Amblin Television, MCA Television Entertainment

 

 

MAIN CAST:
Jake Richardson – Peter Warren Hatcher
Luke Tarsitano – Farley Drexel “Fudge” Hatcher
Eve Plumb – Anne Hatcher
Forrest Witt – Warren Hatcher
Nassira Nicola – Sheila Tubman
Alex Burrall – Jimmy Fargo

 

 

Judy Blume is the author of children’s, young adult and adult fiction. Having always been concocting stories in her head, she finally decided to put them down on paper when her children began pre-school. He first book, The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo, was published in 1969, and she’d go on to write a total of 32 (to date) across her career. She became one of the first young adult authors to write about controversial topics like masturbation, menstruation, birth control, teenage sex and death. These not only made her books beloved by generations of audiences, but often landed her at the top of banned book lists. She had won more than 90 literary awards and was named a Living Legend by the Library of Congress, among other honors. Her work has also been adapted several times into other media; with the first being a 1978 TV film based on the novel Forever.

Fudge, Peter and ill-fated turtle Dribble as depicted by Roy Doty.


In 1972, Blume introduced the beginning of the Fudge series of books. “Fudge” was the nickname of Farley Drexel Hatcher, a 2 ½-3-year-old toddler who was very loud, demanding and mischievous with an overactive imagination who deathly hated his given name. Despite the series being named after him, the protagonist was actually his long-suffering older brother, Peter, and the stories were generally told from his perspective. One of his contentions is that Fudge is seemingly allowed to get away with anything or always gets what he wants, along with driving him crazy in the process. Other characters included their parents (naturally), Peter’s best friend Jimmy Fargo, and his neighbor and rival, know-it-all Sheila Tubman.

A more realistic depiction on a later edition cover.


The first book, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, was inspired by Blume’s babysitter, Willie Mae Bartlett, showing her a news article about a toddler swallowing a tiny pet turtle. She wrote a picture book called Peter, Fudge and Dribble that made the rounds to various publishers and was rejected. Later, it was submitted to Ann Durrell, editor of children’s books at E.P. Dutton, who suggested changing it from a picture book and making its story a chapter in a longer book about the whole family. So, Blume did; basing Fudge on her son, Larry, and setting it in the New York City building where her best friend, Mary Weaver, lived. Durrell loved the book, but the title needed to change thanks to the book Peter Potts having just come out. Out of a list of 20 suggestions by Blume, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing was chosen and the book was published.

Sheila gets her chance to shine.


The next book was a spin-off, called Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, as Blume wanted to give focus to Sheila after finishing the first book. The next three books—Superfudge, Fudge-a-mania, and Double Fudge—returned to the Hatcher family and their everyday adventures. Blume never actively worked on the series as much as fans kept requesting further installments; rather, she wrote each successive book as soon as inspiration for their story struck. “The thing about funny books is, they have to spill out spontaneously, or they don’t work. (At least that’s how it is with me)” Blume explained on the Superfudge page of her website.

DVD cover to Sheila's film.


The first adaptation of a Fudge book was Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great, written and produced by Blume and her son and directed by him. It aired as one of two new entries during the 13th season of ABC Weekend Specials. The next adaptation was a made-for-TV film based on Fudge-a-mania, also airing on ABC on January 7th, 1995. Written and directed by Bob Clark (director of A Christmas Story and its original sequel), the film starred Jake Richardson as Peter, Eve Plumb and Forrest Witt as his parents Warren and Ann, Nassira Nicola as Sheila, Alex Burrall as Jimmy, and Luke Tarsitano as Fudge in his first acting role. Florence Henderson also appeared as grandmother Muriel, bringing a small Brady Bunch reunion with Plumb.

The Hatchers come to life.


As not much information currently exists about Fudge’s live-action adaptations, it’s unknown whether the film was always intended to act as a potential pilot or if the network liked what they saw enough to move forward with a series. Regardless, Fudge the sitcom would debut the following week on January 14th, with all of the film’s primary cast carried over. It was a co-production of Kevin Slattery Productions, Amblin Television and MCA Television Entertainment. Episodes were largely adapted from the chapters of Fourth Grade Nothing and Superfudge, with a few original stories sprinkled in. As with the books, Peter provided narrative commentary and would address the audience directly in fourth wall breaks. Writers included Tom J. Astle, George Thompson, Robin Stein, Jay Ingram, Joseph Purdy and producers Russell Marcus and Mary Gregory de Butts. Dick Marx, Shelly Berg and Tom Halm handled the music, while costume designs were done by Nancy Fox-Taylor.

Sheila observes some Fudge shenanigans.


The first season ran for only nine episodes, but viewers didn’t have to wait too long as the second season began that August. It wasn’t renewed for a third, however, which could be attributed to either the series failing to match the popularity of its source material or it being a casualty of the Disney purge after they had purchased the network and wanted to populate it with their own programming. Fudge’s second season returned to television in 1997 as part of CBSThink CBS Kids programming block, which was entirely populated by live-action programming designed to fill new educational and informational requirements mandated by the FCC (many sources mistakenly claim that the second season first ran on CBS, but the airdates and schedules contradict that). While the film has seen an official home media release the series itself remains largely forgotten outside of a VHS release for “Ducky Soup”. Only two fair quality episodes, the intro and outro have surfaced online so far. 

Fudge on the hunt for his audience.


The Fudge books continue to remain in print, receiving minor updates between editions to dialogue and featured technology to bring them closer to the current times. In February of 2022, it was reported that an animated adaptation of Superfudge would be coming to Disney+ courtesy of Joe and Anthony Russo (provided it hasn’t become a casualty of Disney’s cost-cutting measures in the interim). To date, Blume’s last published book was 2015’s In the Unlikely Event. In the meantime, she’s remained a steadfast activist against the banning and censorship of books as a  member of the National Coalition Against Censorship; served on the boards of The Authors Guild, the Society of Chidldren’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and the Key West Literary Seminar; and opened a non-profit book store called Books & Books in her current hometown of Key West, Florida.

 

 

EPISODE GUIDE:
Movie:
“Fudge-A-Mania” (1/7/95) – The Hatchers and Tubmans decide to go to Maine together for a getaway only to have conflicts and chaos ensue.
 
Season 1:
“How Turtle Got His Name” (1/14/95) – After Fudge ate Peter’s pet turtle Dribble, his father got him a new dog that he named “Turtle” in his honor.
 
“Saving Up is Hard to Do” (1/21/95) – Fudge becomes an elevator operator in order to earn money for an anniversary gift for his parents.
 
“Fudge Meets Ratface” (1/28/95) – Fudge climbs to the top shelf in his kindergarten class and refuses to come down as his teacher won’t address him as “Fudge”.
 
“The TV Star” (2/4/95) – Spending a day at their father’s office results in Fudge becoming the star of a commercial.
 
“To Catch a Fudge” (2/11/95) – Sheila volunteers to babysit Fuge so that their parents can have dinner together.
 
“The Birthday Bash” (2/18/95) – Peter is forced to stay home for Fudge’s birthday party.
 
“The Flying Train Committee” (2/25/95) – Fudge vandalizes the project Peter and his friends were working on the day before it’s due, forcing their parents to build a wall to separate them.
 
“Uncle Feather” (3/4/95) – In order to keep their wall, Peter suggests getting Fudge a pet bird to help ease his fear of monsters in his room.
 
“Ducky Soup” (3/11/95) – Peter gives Fudge his stuffed duck until his stuffed monkey can be repaired after accidentally being washed.
 
Season 2:
“The Grade Escape” (8/19/95) – Fudge fills out Peter’s aptitude test, resulting in Peter’s being labeled a “genius”.
 
“The Art of Friendship” (8/26/95) – Jimmy’s father speaking at Career Day at school puts a strain on his friendship with Peter.
 
“No Exit” (9/2/95) – A visit from a cousin causes Peter to reconsider his thoughts about young kids.
 
“Play it Again, Dad” (9/9/95) – A girl winking at him after watching a street performer encourages Peter to consider taking up music.
 
“The Candyman Shouldn’t” (9/16/95) – After Fudge is found to have four cavities, his parents challenge the family to give up sweets for a week.
 
“My Grandmother the Card” (9/23/95) – Their grandmother comes to babysit the kids for the weekend, putting a damper on Peter’s plans with his friends.
 
“Big Little Lie” (9/30/95) – Peter gets his friends to help him fix a table before his parents find out he and Fudge broke it.
 
“Bye Anxiety” (10/7/95) – Sheila’s family announces they’re moving to Chicago.
 
“Bad Housekeeping” (10/14/95) – The new maid causes Peter and Warren to act strangely.
 
“Odd Man Out” (10/21/95) – Peter and Fudge’s classes end up paired together for a buddy program.
 
“A Foreign Affair” (10/28/95) – Peter falls for an exchange student from China.
 
“Slam Funk” (11/4/95) – A new neighbor trounces Peter in basketball.
 
“Reversal of Fortune” (11/11/95) – Peter is in a panic when he discovers Fudge gave away his lucky nickel.
 
“The Mouse Trappers” (11/18/95) – Fudge befriending a mouse leads Peter to believe their mother is pregnant with multiple babies.
 
“Midnight Cowboys” (12/16/95) – Peter is tasked with watching over Fudge during the Hatchers’ New Year’s Eve party.

September 25, 2023

DAVID McCALLUM DEAD AT 90

 


You can read the full story here.


Best known from The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and NCIS, he also played Professor Paradox in the original Ben 10 franchise timeline. 




September 23, 2023

THE PUPPY'S NEW ADVENTURES / THE PUPPY'S FURTHER ADVENTURES / THE PUPPY'S GREAT ADVENTURES

 

THE PUPPY’S NEW ADVENTURES / THE PUPPY’S FURTHER ADVENTURES / THE PUPPY’S GREAT ADVENTURES
(ABC, September 25, 1982-October 29, 1983)
 
Ruby-Spears Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions (season 1)

 

MAIN CAST:
Billy Jacoby – Petey
Nancy McKeon – Dolly
Michael Bell – Duke, Dash, various
Peter Cullen – Lucky
Tony O’Dell – Tommy
Janet Waldo – Tommy’s mother
John Stephenson – Tommy’s father, various

  

Catherine Woolley was a prolific writer best known for her children’s books under both her name and her pen name, Jane Thayer. Her first book, I Like Trains, was published in 1944 and her last, Writing for Children, in 1989. Within that 45-year timeframe, she had penned 87 children’s books, including 1958’s The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy. It was the story of a puppy named Petey who wanted a little boy of his own for Christmas in a town where they were in short supply. After trying and failing to convince several dogs to give up their boys, he would eventually find Ricky at an orphanage, and found himself with not one but many boys.

The original book.


20 years later, the book got a second life as it was one of the ones chosen for an adaptation into an episode of the anthology series ABC Weekend Specials. Produced by Ruby-Spears Enterprises, it followed Beagle mix Petey (Todd Turquand), the only member of a litter not to be adopted, as he searched for a boy of his own. Like the book, he tried to convince a couple of dogs to give up their boys to no avail. In order to expand the story to a full 22-minutes, Barbara Avedon and Barbara Corday added Petey encountering two dog bullies and foiling their attempt to steal food; escaping capture from a cruel dog-seller with a group of strays; and attempting to pass himself off as a toy dog so a boy and his mother would buy him. He finally found his boy, now named Tommy, at the orphanage.

The original special title card.


The episode performed well enough to not only earn Ruby-Spears its first Emmy nomination, but gained something the book itself never did: sequels. “The Puppy’s Great Adventure” saw Petey (now Bryan Scott) have to win over Tommy’s dog-hating adoptive parents. “The Puppy’s Amazing Rescue” had Petey and his friend/love interest, a Cocker Spaniel mix named Dolly (Nancy McKeon), try to avoid dangers while getting help for their humans trapped in an avalanche. “The Puppy Saves the Circus” gave Petey (now Sparky Marcus) amnesia and saw him becoming a breakout performer in a struggling circus.

Dash, Duke, Lucky, Dolly and Petey.


With the sequels also being well-received, and reruns of the original still getting high ratings, ABC decided to take things to the next level and greenlight a full animated series. Dubbed The Puppy’s New Adventures, Petey’s (now Billy Jacoby) family decided to move overseas by ship and took Dolly with them. Stowing away were Petey’s friends from his days as a stray: Duke (Michael Bell), a German shepherd/Labrador Retriever mix who looked after the group; Dash (also Bell), a sleek and speedy Greyhound who was both the smartest of the group and also the most cowardly; and Lucky (Peter Cullen), a big and strong St. Bernard who was a little light in the brains department. A freak storm washed the dogs overboard and they had to journey through various counties looking for Tommy (Tony O’Dell) and his parents. Along the way, they encountered people (understanding them perfectly, although they couldn’t speak back) or animals who needed their help before they could move on to the next destination. Each episode featured an opening narration by Petey setting up the circumstances of their upcoming adventure.



The Puppy’s New Adventures debuted on ABC on September 25, 1982. Inexplicably, it was combined with the dissimilar Scooby-Doo and Scrappy Doo (1980) in a block called The Scooby & Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour. Hanna-Barbera, makers of Scooby-Doo, and Ruby-Spears were both owned by the same parent company, Taft Broadcasting, and Joe Ruby and Ken Spears were former employees of Hanna-Barbera and the creators of Scooby-Doo. While Hanna-Barbera continued the pre-production and voice-over work for their half of the block, Ruby-Spears handled the actual production of the entire program, resulting in some of their unique sound effects library being heard in the Scooby segments. The series was written by Mark Jones, Buzz Dixon, Diane Dixon, Jack Enyart, Steve Gerber and Gary Greenfield, with Jones serving as executive story consultant and Michael Maurer as story editor. Dean Elliott and Hoyt Curtin were the musical directors, with Paul DeKorte as the musical supervisor.



The series was renewed for a second season, this time airing independently as The Puppy’s Further Adventures. The globe-trotting storyline was ended in a two-part episode resulting in Petey being reunited with his family and his friends being adopted by them. Their new adventures usually involved joining Tommy as his father (John Stephenson) went on scientific expeditions or visited friends. A new recurring dog character was introduced named Glyder (Josh Rodine), whose enormous ears caused him to constantly trip when on the ground, but allowed him to glide in the air. Writers for this season included Jones, Gerber, Flint Dille, Michael J. Reaves, Marc Scott Zicree, Janis Diamond, Martin Pasko and Sheldon Stark, with Diamond serving as story consultant. Although no new episodes were made for the third season, a third season of reruns did air as The Puppy’s Great Adventures from September 8-November 10, 1984. Great Adventures would return for a final run on CBS from September 13-November 8, 1986.

Ad for CBS Saturday morning's initial 1986 line-up.


While Puppy has never seen a home media or streaming release, various episodes have resurfaced online on sites like YouTube. It did, however, receive other merchandise across four years. In 1982, Etone International released stuffed toys of Petey and Dolly. The following year, Antioch Publishing Company released three books—ABC with Petey (a Little Shape book), Hide and Seek (a What’s Inside? Pop-Open book), and The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy (a sticker book)—and Playskool a 15-piece jigsaw puzzle. In 1984, Milton Bradley released a board game and four 25-piece frame-tray puzzles, while Hestair Puzzles released an 80-piece jigsaw puzzle. 1985 saw the release of a coloring book by Western Publishing, and a French language 7” vinyl single titled “Les Poupies” performed by Véronique Bodoin from Polydor Records.

 

 

EPISODE GUIDE:
Season 1:
“The Treasure of the Ancient Ruins” (9/25/82) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“The Puppy’s Dangerous Mission” (10/2/82) – The dogs must keep a serum meant to heal an ailing young king out of the hands of enemy spies.
 
“An American Puppy in Paris” (10/9/82) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“The Puppy and the Pirates” (10/16/82) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“The Mystery of the Wailing Cat” (10/23/82) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“The Puppy’s Australian Adventure” (10/30/82) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“Puppy and the Reluctant Bull” (11/6/82) – The dogs must rescue a gentle bull that has been abducted to participate in a bullfight.
 
“The Puppy’s Hong Kong Adventure” (11/13/82) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“Honolulu Puppy” (11/20/82) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“The Puppy’s Great Escape” (11/27/82) – The dogs attempt to reunite a grandmother separated from her grandchildren by the Berlin Wall.
 
“The Puppy’s Great Race” (12/4/82) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“The Puppy’s Amazon Adventure” (12/11/82) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“Petey and the 101 Seals” (12/18/82) – The dogs must protect a baby seal from some poachers.
 
Season 2:
“Glyder, the Misfit Puppy” (9/10/83) – The dogs try to keep a puppy with enormous ears from becoming a sideshow attraction.
 
“Puppy Goes Home” (9/17/83) – Thieves kidnap Petey’s family to get inside a top-secret government crate.
 
“Puppy and the Badlands” (9/24/83) – Petey’s family goes on an archaeological dig where bandits happen to be looking for lost Civil War gold.
 
“Puppy in Omega World” (10/1/83) – Tommy and the dogs are taken on a tour of futuristic theme park Omega World where things are mysteriously going haywire.
 
“Puppy and the Spies” (10/8/83) – Duke, Dash and Lucky get themselves “recruited” into the scheme of enemy spies looking to steal plans from NASA.
 
“Puppy Goes to College” (10/15/83) – Glyder ends up performing at Tommy’s father’s old college where a plot is in the works against the governor.
 
“Puppy and the Brown Eyed Girl” (10/22/83) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“Biggest Diamond in the World” (10/29/83) – Tommy ends up kidnapped by a pair of jewel thieves whose crime he stumbles across.

September 16, 2023

AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (1972)

 

AROUND THE WORLD IN EIGHTY DAYS (1972)
(NBC, September 9-December 23, 1972)
 
Air Programs International, Five Arrows Films

 

 

MAIN CAST:
Alastair Duncan – Phileas Fogg
Ross Higgins – Jean Passepartout
Max Osbiston – Mr. Fix
Owen Weingott – Lord Maze

 

      Around the World in Eighty Days is an adventure novel written by Jules Verne and first published in 1872 as serialized installments in the French newspaper Le Temps. Events such as the first transcontinental railroad in America, the opening of the Suez Canal, and the linking of railways in India fascinated Verne on what that could mean for global travel. No longer relegated to globe-trotting adventurers, it would soon be possible that the common person could circumnavigate the world on a whim. And that was what kicked his story off.

The 1873 collected publication.


      The novel follows wealthy English gentleman Phileas Fogg who argued with members of his club that the opening of a new railway section in India made it possible to get around the world in 80 days. He's challenged to prove that, with the wager being half his fortune: £20,000 (or roughly £1.9 million in today’s money, time of writing). With his remaining money and valet, Jean Passepartout, Fogg sets out to win the wager.

Phileas Fogg's path.


            Of course, the journey wasn’t smooth. Fogg and Passepartout encountered numerous obstacles both natural and man-made along the way; starting with the fact that the newspaper article that inspired the whole thing ended up being wrong, and that the connecting track in India hadn’t yet been built. They gained a new traveling companion in Aouda, who was set to be sacrificed against her will by fire. They also had a shadow: Scotland Yard detective Fix, who believed Fogg was a bank robber whose description he matched and was determined to arrest him either on British territory or back in London. Ultimately, Fogg did get arrested and subsequently released when it was learned that the actual culprit had already been caught. Believing he missed the deadline, Fogg was resigned to living in poverty until Passepartout reminded him that they were actually ahead of schedule, basically thanks to time zones chipping away time from their journey as went against the sunrise. Fogg won the bet and the love of Aouda, and split the money with Passepartout and Fix.

Game board illustrating Nellie Bly's journey in 1889.


      Around the World became one of Verne’s most acclaimed works. Following the book’s publication, many attempts had been made to follow Fogg’s fictional path and either match or beat his record. Rival reporters Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Bisland both attempted it in 1889 for their respective newspapers; achieving it within 72 days and 76 ½ days, respectively. Theater critic and historian James Willis Sayre used only public transportation in 1903 to make it in just over 54 days. Jumping ahead, media executive Sir Nicholas Coleridge did it within 78 days in 1984, while Monty Python member Michael Palin did it as part of a travelogue, Around the World in 80 Days with Michael Palin, in 17 hours short of 80 days in 1988. In 2009 twelve celebrities did a relay version of the journey for the BBC’s Children in Need charity drive; and in 2017 cyclist Mark Beaumont did it by bicycle in just over 78 days.



            As with other enduring works of literature, Around the World has been adapted, expanded upon, or parodied numerous times across various media; including stage plays as early as 1874, films as early as 1919, television films, games and more. One of those was an Australian animated series that aired in 1972; the first Australian-produced cartoon to be aired on American network television.


Fogg, Passepartout and Toto.


            Around the World in Eighty Days was a very loose adaptation of the novel. While the protagonist was still Phileas Fogg (Alastair Duncan), his motivations for the journey were much different. This version was in love with a woman named Belinda Maze (Janet Waldo) and wanted to marry her. But her uncle, Lord Maze (Owen Weingott), was against a commoner becoming her husband. Maze proposed a wager: if he could successfully travel the world in 80 days, he would allow him to marry Belinda. If he failed, he would never see her again. A pot of £20,000 was thrown in for good measure (and as a nod to the original plotline).


Mr. Fix being chastised by Lord Maze.


            Fogg accepted this proposal and set out with his French valet, Jean Passepartout (Ross Higgins), and Passepartout’s pet monkey, Toto (even the Australians weren’t above the animal sidekick trope prevalent in that era). They would employ all manner of transportation native to the 19th century including balloons, trains, animals and ships. However, Maze planned to win this bet and hired a saboteur, Mr. Fix (Max Osbiston), to interfere and impede Fogg’s journey by any means necessary.

The random collection of stuff Fogg asked for coming in handy as makeshift transport.


            Around the World in Eighty Days debuted on NBC on September 9, 1972. Each episode followed a similar structure: Fogg announced their intended location; Fogg asked Passepartout to pack a bag with a seemingly random collection of items that actually end up serving a purpose in the episode; Fogg delivered a proverb to Passepartout that would also help in their success by episode’s end; Fix had a full discussion with himself about how he planned to stop Fogg; Fogg and Passepartout followed their itinerary and along the way Fogg would explain the history of their visited locations; Fix was hot on their heels, usually in a disguise that they failed to see through at first (typically that of the driver of whatever transport they were taking); and the episode ended with Fogg exclaiming “Good show, Passepartout!” The series was approached with a more comedic slant than the book; particularly in the ridiculous plans Fix kept coming up with that backfired on him, or Passepartout’s overreactions to various situations as they arose (as well as constantly declaring “Fix tricks!” when things went wrong). Occasionally, Maze would take a hand in trying to derail Fogg himself. Belinda would also send Fogg support, information she overheard about Maze’s schemes (some of which was falsely planted by Maze with that expectation) and joined him occasionally along the way.

Fix up to his tricks posing as an engineer.


            The series was produced by Walter J. Hucker, a staff producer for Air Programs International, and entirely written by Chet Stover and directed by Leif Gram, respectively. The series’ music was composed by John Sangster, with the theme being a variation of the tune from “Mademoiselle from Armentières”. Around the World ran for a single season of 16 episodes, and although we never see them actually return to England, the final episode ended with them on their way. 40 years after its original airing, Visual Entertainment would release the complete series to DVDAdditionally, a statue of Mr. Fix was reportedly seen at the Zoo XII Months in Ukraine.

  

EPISODE GUIDE (note: the episodes don’t have official names and are named after the featured locations):
“London, Buckingham Palace” (9/9/72) – Fix tries to keep Fogg from his appointment with the Queen to secure a letter to leave London on his journey.
 
“Paris” (9/16/72) – Fix hijacks the boat and later the train Fogg plans to take to catch an airship out of Paris.
 
“Switzerland and the Alps” (9/23/72) – Fix attempts to frame Fogg for the destruction of a statue of William Tell.
 
“Rome” (9/30/72) – Fix plots to frame Fogg for stealing a painting from the museum via the fact he’s seemingly driving the only car in Rome.
 
“Naples, Pompei” (10/7/72) – Fix attempts to make Fogg a permanent resident of Pompei.
 
“Mediterranean Sea, Greek Islands” (10/14/72) – Maze arranges for Fogg to end up on the wrong ship.
 
“Greece, Athens” (10/21/72) – Maze plots to use inclement weather to trick Fogg into taking a not-so-shortcut to Athens.
 
“Egypt and the Pyramids” (10/28/72) – A dream makes Fix believe Fogg is searching for a magic carpet to help him get around the world quickly.
 
“Sinai and Petra” (11/4/72) – Fix causing them to miss their boat has Fogg taking the dangerous overland route and winding up in the lost city of Petra inhabited by bandits.
 
“Gaza, Damascus and Palmyra” (11/11/72) – Maze has fix kidnap Passepartout and bring him to Palmyra.
 
“Persia, Isfahan” (11/18/72) – Fix poses as a fortune-teller and gets an exhausted Fogg roped into a polo game where losing could prove fatal.
 
“India, Udaipur” (11/25/72) – Fogg gains a new travelling companion in a far-sighted elephant he helped with a custom pair of glasses.
 
“China sea, China” (12/2/72) – After being blown off course, Fogg helps a Chinese village get the money they need to pay their taxes and save their land.
 
“Japan, Tokyo, Mount Fuji” (12/9/72) – Maze has Fix frame Fogg for stealing a pearl in Japan while slowing him down with traps on Mount Fuji.
 
“United States, California, San Francisco” (12/16/72) – Fix enlists the aid of Native Americans and robbers to stop Fogg as he rides on the train carrying the transcontinental railroad golden spike.
 
“United States, Louisiana, New Orleans; England” (12/23/72) – Fix attempts to keep Passepartout from becoming King of Mardi Gras and ordering themselves a boat to England.

September 13, 2023

FALL SATURDAY MORNING SCHEDULES

The fall is here, and that typically meant: NEW TV SCHEDULES! These are the Saturday morning schedules that kicked off the new season across the decades:


ABC Saturday morning schedule 1963: The Jetsons @ 10, The New Casper Cartoon Show @ 10:30, Beany & Cecil @ 11, The Bugs Bunny Show @ 11:30, The Magic Land of AllaKazam @ 12 & My Friend Flicka @ 12:30.

CBS Saturday morning schedule 1963: Captain Kangaroo @ 8, The Alvin Show @ 9, Tennessee Tuxedo & His Tales @ 9:30, Quick Draw McGraw @ 10, Mighty Mouse Playhouse @ 10:30, The Adventures of Rin-Tin-Tin @ 11, The Roy Rogers Show @ 11:30 & Sky King @ 12

NBC Saturday morning schedule 1963: The Ruff & Reddy Show @ 9:30, The Hector Heathcote Show @ 10, Fireball XL-5 @ 10;30, Dennis the Menace @ 11, Fury @ 11:30, Sgt. Preston of the Yukon @ 12 & The Bullwinkle Show @ 12:30.

ABC Saturday morning schedule in 1973: The Bugs Bunny Show @ 8, Yogi's Gang @ 8:30, Super Friends @ 9, Lassie's Rescue Rangers @ 10, Goober & the Ghost Chasers @ 10:30, The Brady Kids @ 11, Mission: Magic! @ 11:30 & The Saturday Superstar Movie @ 12.

CBS Saturday morning schedule in 1973: The Flintstone Comedy Show @ 8, Bailey's Comets @ 8:30, The New Scooby-Doo Movies @ 9, My Favorite Martians @ 10, Jeannie @ 10:30, Speed Buggy @ 11, Josie & the Pussycats @ 11:30, Everything's Archie @ 12 & Fat Albert @ 12:30.

NBC Saturday morning schedule in 1973: Lidsville @ 8, Inch High Private Eye @ 8:30, The Addams Family (1973) @ 9, Emergency +4 @ 9:30, Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kids @ 10, Star Trek: The Animated Series @ 10:30, Sigmund & the Sea Monsters @ 11, The New Pink Panther Show @ 11:30, The Jetsons @ 12 & GO @ 12:30.

ABC Saturday Morning schedule in 1983: The Best of Scooby-Doo @ 8, The Monchhichis/Little Rascals/Richie Rich Show @ 8:30, The Pack-Man & Rubik the Amazing Cube Show @ 9:30, The Littles @ 10:30, The Puppy's Further Adventures @ 11, The New Scooby & Scrappy-Doo Show @ 11:30, ABC Weekend Specials @ 12 & American Bandstand @ 12:30.

CBS Saturday Morning schedule in 1983: Captain Kangaroo @ 7, The Biskitts @ 8, Saturday Supercade @ 8:30, Dungeons & Dragons @ 9:30, The Dukes @ 10, The Charlie Brown & Snoopy Show @ 10:30, Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince @ 11, The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show @ 11:30.

NBC Saturday Morning schedule in 1983: The Flintstone Funnies @ 8, Shirt Tales @ 8:30, The Smurfs @ 9, Alvin & the Chipmunks (1983) @ 10:30, Mr. T @ 11, The Incredible Hulk & The Amazing Spider-Man @ 11:30 & Thundarr the Barbarian @ 12:30.

ABC Saturday Morning schedule in 1993: Cro @ 8, Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa @ 8:30, Sonic the Hedgehog @ 9, The Addams Family (1992) @ 9:30, Tales from the Cryptkeeper @ 10, The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show @ 10:30, City Boys @ 11:30, Land of the Lost (1991) @ 12 & ABC Weekend Specials @ 12:30.

CBS Saturday Morning schedule in 1993: Marsupilami @ 8, The Little Mermaid: The Animated Series @ 8:30, Garfield & Friends @ 9, The All-New Dennis the Menace @ 10, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987) @ 10:30, Cadillacs & Dinosaurs @ 11:30, Beakman's World @ 12 & CBS Storybreak @ 12:30.

FOX Saturday Morning schedule in 1993: Jim Henson's Dog City @ 8, Bobby's World @ 8:30, Tom & Jarry Kids Show @ 9, Eek! the Cat @ 9:30, Tiny Toon Adventures @ 10, Taz-Mania @ 10:30 & back-to-back X-Men: The Animated Series starting @ 11.

NBC Saturday Morning schedule in 1993: Brains & Brawn @ 9, Name Your Adventure @ 9:30, Running the Halls @ 10, Saved by the Bell: The New Class @ 10:30, California Dreams @ 11 & NBA Inside Stuff @ 11:30.

ABC Saturday morning schedule in 2003: Lilo & Stitch: The Series @ 8, Recess @ 8:30, Fillmore! @ 9, The Proud Family @ 9:30, Lizzie McGuire @ 10, That's so Raven @ 10:30, Kim Possible @ 11, Power Rangers Ninja Storm @ 11:30 & NBA Inside Stuff @ 12:30.

CBS Saturday Morning schedule in 2003: The Wild Thornberrys @ 7, Hey Arnold! @ 7:30, ChalkZone @ 8, Little Bill @ 8:30, The Early Show @ 9, Dora the Explorer @ 11 & Blue's Clues @ 11:30.

FOX Saturday Morning schedule in 2003: Cubix @ 8, Ultimate Muscle: The Kinnikuman Legacy @ 8:30, Kirby: Right Back at Ya! @ 9, Sonic X @ 9:30, Shaman King @ 10, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003) @ 10:30, The Cramp Twins @ 11 & Funky Cops @ 11:30.

NBC Saturday Morning schedule in 2003: Crocodile Hunter Croc Files @ 10:30, Jeff Corwin Unleashed @ 11, Trading Spaces: Boys vs. Girls @ 11:30, Endurance @ 12 & Strange Days at Blake Holsey High (or Black Hole High) @ 12:30.

WB Saturday Morning schedule in 2003: What's New, Scooby-Doo? @ 8, Yu-Gi-Oh @ 8 & 11, Jackie Chan Adventures @ 9, Ozzy & Drix @ 9:30, Pokemon Master Quest @ 10, ¡Mucha Lucha! @ 10:30 & X-Men: Evolution @ 11:30.

CW Saturday Morning schedule in 2013: The Adventures of Chuck and Friends @ 7, Rescue Heroes @ 7:30, Sonic X @ 8, Bolts & Blip @ 8:30, The Spectacular Spider-Man @9, Justice League Unlimited @ 9:30, DragonBall Z-Kai @ 10, B-Daman Crossfire @ 10:30, Yu-Gi-Oh! @ 11 & Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal @ 11:30.

NBC Saturday Morning schedule in 2013: The Chica Show @ 10, Jim Henson's Pajanimals @ 10:30, Justin Time @ 11, Tree Fu Tom @ 11:30, Lazy Town @ 12 & Make Way for Noddy @ 12:30.