# Do You Remember...



## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

Do you remember any of the these old television programs:

- *Johnny Jellybean*
- *The Trouble With Tracy*
- *Butternut Square*
- *The Hilarious House of Frightenstein*
- *The Forest Rangers*

Discuss! Add your own!


----------



## Mississauga (Oct 27, 2001)

HH of F


----------



## Etaoin Shrdlu (May 19, 2003)

I'll see your Forest Rangers and raise you:*

•Captain Zero
•Howdy Doody* (with Timber Tom and Willow)*
•Mr. Fix-It
•RCMP
•Cannonball
•The CBC News* with Earl Cameron, the mother corp's scintillating news reader without whom the news ain't the news, and hasn't been since the Flood.*

•Razzle Dazzle* – with Michelle Finney and whats-his-name who married the Thighs Buster blonde from* Three's Company.*

And from the shrouding mists of barely discernable memory as mater sweats over a washboard at the kitchen sink and pater gets steam up in the Stanley in the stable comes:

*Knock, knock, knock knock*

"Who's there?"

"It's* The Happy Gang!"*
"Well . . . c'mon in!"
(Intro theme)"Get happy with the Happy Gang, get happy with the Happy Gang. . . ."

[ June 26, 2003, 10:42 AM: Message edited by: Etaoin Shrdlu ]


----------



## Brainstrained (Jan 15, 2002)

That guy who married Suzanne Somers was Al Hamel. He was definitely third banana on Razzle Dazzle behind Howard the Turtle and Michelle Finney. Or, to a young boy just getting interested in girls, should that be Michelle Finney and Howard the Turtle.

Still Forest Rangers was my favourite show.

I remember all those shows (%$#%@$^$ I'm old) and I'll challenge you with:

*Tugboat Annie
Chez Helene
Barney Boomer
Hudson's Bay
Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans*


----------



## Britnell (Jan 4, 2002)

The Trouble with Tracy... it almost ruined Canadian TV permanently.

Poor Billy Van, no longer with us.

And I can still see the face of the blonde kid on Forest Rangers. Nothing like the CBC to make sure that you have your entertainment laced with morality and respect for authority.

Space Ghost... oh Saturday am cartoons!


----------



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Talk about being out of it!?!? I feel as if I am from another planet, never having seen any of these TV shows. Still, times were simplier then, and I would probably be forgiven by most.

Too bad that we don't appreciate our youth when we are young. Such is Life.


----------



## minnes (Aug 15, 2001)

frightenstein was in my top 3 childhood favorite shows of all time. I ove all of it, even though after you see 2 shows you've seen them all. Did you know that show was made in Hamilton! And Igor and the Count were in our santa Clause parade in 1972, ah yes!
Buttternut Square was the prequel to Mr Dresup, but I dont remember watching it
Trouble with Tracy was awful, why did I watch it, I still can't figure that out., maybe because King of Kensington wasnt on.


----------



## Noodleboy (Apr 24, 2003)

I remember a bunch of those shows!

Anyone remember these:
Strange Paradise
Star Lost
Holmes and Yo-Yo
Manimal
Automan

They were all bad shows; but, entertaining in their own way!


----------



## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

Ew, *Starlost*... interesting concept totally defeated by lackluster production and go-nowhere plots. Remember those stupid computer consoles where that annoying bearded guy would appear on-screen and say, _Can I help you? Can I be of assistance?_ 

I remember Chez Helene - watched it every day. Was Suzie the name of the mouse or that strangely perky girl on the show?

My main memory of The Trouble With Tracy is from an episode where Tracy was starring in a t.v. commercial for a soft drink (or something) called Guzzle Up. The punchline had her making an aside to the camera, saying "gad, that's bad stuff" every 5 minutes.

And that blonde kid on The Forest Rangers (was he Chub?) - yup, I can still see his face too. Lots of the actors in that series appeared in other series afterwards, and loads of commercials. Where are they all now?

SPACE GHOST! There's one I haven't thought of in a long time. I also vaguely remember another 'toon on around the same time called *Frankenstein Junior* which I guess I'll have to Google.

The Hilarious House of Frightenstein... it was so, so great. Almost subversively funny. You should check out the website link provided by Mississauga above. I was really saddened to read that the show tapes were all erased however there's a glimmer of hope that masters exist somewhere. But there are lots of great pics on that website, to stir memories around in the noggin.

How about *Swiss Family Robinson* starring the inimitable Chris Wiggins (and others whose names escape me)?


----------



## Chris (Feb 8, 2001)

Yep! I remember most of those! Sure the production values were, let's say, mediocre, but they were sure great for a kid growing up in the 1960s! Anyone else remember these:

Fireball XL5
Stingray
Thunderbirds (actually this has been recently shown on Teletoon)

All of these featured "Supermarionation"! Talk about cheesy! But I love it!  

And how about "Adventures in Rainbow Country"?

Loved 'em all!


----------



## Etaoin Shrdlu (May 19, 2003)

Dr. G, Howdy Doody, at least, would be familiar. Timber Tom was the Canadian (or Toronto's) answer to Buffalo Bob. The show was franchised from the U.S., with duplicates of Mr. Doody, Dilly Dally, Flubadub, Heidi Doody, Mr. Bluster, Clarabelle, Willow and whoever the pirate was — shiver me timbers, I forgot his name. Some of those blockheads may have been unique to Canada's version. Willow was a character played by the late Barbara Hamilton, who was a CBC mainstay actress.

Supercar spawned a decade's worth of me and my friends quoting the wooden-headed professor: "Start ze uzzer engine, Mike!" Every week, when the puppets fled trouble, the professor would utter the immortal phrase just before the car leapt out of the ocean into the sky, to fly jerkily into space on the end of a visible set of strings.

You would be surprised how often "Start ze uzzer engine, Mike!" fits the circumstances of nearly anything. I still mutter it when crawling along at 10 km/h in bumper-to-bumper traffic on a 16-lane highway with a speed limit of 100.

Noodleboy, are you sure about Strange Paradise? There was a show about a sloop in the Caribbean called Adventures in Paradise. The first-mate character's name was Mr. Snow.

More shows:*
•Soldiers of Fortune* (sponsored by 7-Up).*
•How to Marry a Millionaire* (sponsored by Toni, I think).*
•The Millionaire* — The poor schmuck delivering John Beresford Tipton's cheques never got paid a dime. By the by, Tipton's gofer in the show started out as a movie-theatre news-reel narrator.*
•Sword of Freedom;* the guy who played the evil De Medici is the same guy who had the crushing engagement in Goldfinger.

And, of course, who could forget* The Plouffe Family,* the show that drove me nuts while waiting for the hockey game to come on? Oh, man, the days of one TV channel in the frozen wastes of mid-January Winnipeg in the midnight blackness of 4 p.m. No wonder I remember Adventures in Paradise.

Brainstrained, Tugboat Annie's opening had Bullwinkle, her tugboat competitor, shaking his fist at Annie and her first mate, Pinto, and shouting, "Annie, I'll get even with you if it takes the rest of my natural life!" I remember as a kid being confused about the natural — what else could it be?*

•Last of the Mohicans* was with John Hart — and Lon Chaney Jr. (miscasting, if not a tragedy). It was a Davy Crockett knockoff attempting to cash in on the craze. Not much better was Daniel Boone, with Ed Ames. Miscasting? It couldda bin worse. It coulda bin Rosemary Clooney.

How about * Sea Hunt, Manhunt* and *Rescue 8?*

[ June 26, 2003, 11:59 PM: Message edited by: Etaoin Shrdlu ]


----------



## jrtech (Sep 24, 2002)

How about Topper with Cosmo Topper and the Kirby's
My Favorite Martian with Tim and Uncle Martin
Mr. Ed with Ed and Wilbur
Man this is going way back............like Sherman and Mr. Peabody with the way back machine on the Rocky and Bullwinkle show........


----------



## Etaoin Shrdlu (May 19, 2003)

Yeah, Topper. All these shows would be laughed off the air today.

How about * Men In Space,* with William Lundigan, in which their three-day trips to the moon were no more complicated than Cannonball's three-day trips to the States?

That reminds me: Cannonball's sidekick, Jerry, played the alien, spoiled, grown-up-looking child who set himself up as a judge to hang James T. Kirk for crimes against humanity, and later played a nearly normal-looking Klingon, then wrinkly-forehead Klingon in his last battle, with the sycophan . . . er, I mean symbiant woman whom Capt. Sisco, always in need of glasses even in the 24th century, calls "Old Man." I think he played a Klingon in a movie, too.


----------



## Brainstrained (Jan 15, 2002)

Etaoin, a Winnipegger! I shoulda known it! Forty years ago only Winnipeggers sat in front of the TV from Sept. to June because it was too #[email protected]% cold to go out.

Yes, you're right about Lon Chaney. I'd forgotten he was cast as Chinatchook. Hudson's Bay, Mohicans and Daniel Boone were all created to take advantage of the popularity of Davy Crockett.

I remember even in the summer the pressure we put on our parents to get us home by 6 so we could watch Davy Crockett on Disney.

Anyone interested in old TV should check out http://www.memorabletv.com/ and http://www.mtr.org/


----------



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

jrtech, now you are talking about TV shows that I remember as a child. 
Brainstrained, I thought that I was the only one who forced my parents to have supper completed by 7PM so that I could watch Davy Crockett. I would wear my coonskin hat, although, having been born and raised in New York City, I did not have a clue what a real raccoon looking like.......nor a moose like Bullwinkle...........or any other animals other than what I saw in a zoo.


----------



## minnes (Aug 15, 2001)

Dr G
raccoons live very well in cities they steal and tear up anything they want, they really are destructive.
Raccoons are as much a part of our city as squirrels and garter snakes.


----------



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Minnes, not too many non-domesticated animals live within the city limits of NYC, at least not well. I guess I lived a very sheltered life growing up in an apartment in a large city. Still, I have my memories of other things, and I have experienced nature around the world.

So, how is Life treating you these days, mon ami?


----------



## Bill (Jan 16, 2001)

Three's Company are reruns?? 

Had to open my bunker for some fresh air.
Guess I'd better catch up on what in blazes is going on with the rest of the planet ....


----------



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Bill, you should be given an award for the person with over 2 1/2 years of registration posting rights, but only 4 posts. 

Yes, things have changed a bit in the world since you went into your bunker. You might want to go back if we all take a spin for the worse. Still, I am an optimist.

Welcome back to the fight.


----------



## Bill (Jan 16, 2001)

What can I say Dr.G! 
Blame it on .... _I'm a shy person_ .... sounds good.
OR
Didn't need to come out too the real world [or is this the fantasy? Confusion kicking in again] till I ran out of 60watt lightbulbs. 


btw ... did we win the war?


----------



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Bill, a great deal has taken place in the world since Jan. of 2001. Where do I start???


----------



## Brainstrained (Jan 15, 2002)

Sword of Freedom!?!?!

I remember that! It was on Sunday afternoons.

Wow!

And it reminds me of other costume dramas like:

*Prince Valiant* with a very young Robert Wagner
*Ivanhoe* with Roger Moore in his pre-Saint days
and two other British series, *Robin Hood*and *Lancelot*. At least I think it was called Lancelot. Might have been something else.


----------



## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

How about these (in no particular order):

- *Beanie & Cecil*
- *Diver Dan*
- *Tennessee Tuxedo*
- *Dodo The Kid From Outer Space*
- *Tom Terrific*
- *The Banana Splits*
- *Rocket Robin Hood*
- *Joe 90*
- *U.F.O.*
- *Captain Scarlet*
- *Land of the Giants*
- *Night Gallery*

Chris, I'm glad you mentioned the Supermarionation series - I loved all of them. I caught The Thunderbirds last year on YTV. Dated, but still a hoot to watch. When I was little, Fireball XL5 was my favourite (closely followed by _Stingray_). One Christmas I got a 24" Fireball XL5 toy with working missile launchers, a detachable landing pod, and tiny figurines of the show's characters. If only I'd hung onto it... it probably would be a collector's item now. Sigh...


----------



## Etaoin Shrdlu (May 19, 2003)

Brainstrained, as well from Britain was William Tell (snore), Z Cars (boring) and Hancock's Half Hour, which kept me in stitches.

There was — not in any chronological order — Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, half-hour Gunsmoke (with Chester), Roy Rogers, Hopalong Cassidy, Rin Tin Tin, Circus Boy, Duffy's Tavern, Highway Patrol, Dennis the Menace, December Bride, Bachelor Father, Father Knows Best, Perry Mason, San Franciso Beat (Lineup, in the States), Dr. Kildare, Ben Casey — and scraping the bottom of the barrel, Tales of the Riverbank, which was so bad I couldn't watch it, not that much of this stuff was worth watching.

How did Canada retain it's individuality?

Very late at night was wrestling, with such luminaries as Whipper Billy Watson, and long, boring films of pro golf games, shot on film, weeks or months before at such places as Pebble Beach. My dad loved the golf shows. I don't think he touched a club in his life. 

The real boring stuff for a kid: Closeup, The Nation's Business — with such hot items as the pipeline debate and what the St. Lawrence Seaway would mean — and Viewpoint.

There were frustrations, too. Early TV meant lots of problems. The Trouble Temporary slide meant there was a glimmer of hope the show would come back on before it ended. The Network Trouble slide cued the four horsemen: TV would be gone for the night.

Geez, for a one-channel universe — black and white, at that — there was a lot of stuff on, especially when this silly list only scratches the surface. Maybe that's why I rarely watch the thing now; once last week or maybe the week before. Now instead of watching it, I make lists of what was on 40 years ago.

Let's see, it's Friday night: Ooo, Ooo, Mr. Kotter! Naked City, Rescue 8, Sea Hunt and Manhunt!


----------



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

ES, I know that this dates me as an early "baby boomer", but I can recall the experience of the 15 minute show, followed by three 5 minute shows, and this was on a local station in New York City where the shows were originating.  

Still, those were the days........trying to help 
Tinkerbell in the 1955 TV production of Peter Pan with Mary Martin, or trying to outdraw Marshall Dillon every Saturday, or Sunday watching Disney in my coonskin cap.............Ike was president and many wore blinders to what was going around in the US and the rest of the world.


----------



## Etaoin Shrdlu (May 19, 2003)

Dr. G, here's a site that combines Eisenhower with Disney. I can't get the button to work to choose the video format, but if you can't either, the clip is elswhere on the net.

http://www.ammi.org/cgi-bin/video/themes.cgi?highlights,,,,,,#


----------



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

ES, thanks for the URL. I would not want to go back to that era, since I grew up poor in a lower middle class area of NYC. Still, it is nice to daydream to the joys of childhood.


----------



## Etaoin Shrdlu (May 19, 2003)

There were a few 15-minute shows here (that is, in Canada), too.

Florian Zabach played a violin for 15 minutes a week. His theme song was The Hot Canary (I'm scaring myself. Why should I remember that?)

And there was a 15-minute show, later expanded to half an hour, called Silence Please, with Paul Someone or other, who showed silent movie clips, mostly comedies with Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy and Keaton.

Another was on after hockey games, called Juliet, named for the person who was — and is still, I think — a singer in Toronto. Jim Coleman, a sports writer whose zenith was in the '50s, had a 15-minute show on after hockey games, too. Another scary memory: the sponsor was Margurite cigars — and the jingle is running through my mind. 

One of those five-minute shows of which you speak could have been Carson's Cellar. I saw a kinescope of it a few years ago: A very young Johnny Carson's first effort.


----------



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Memories.....................


----------



## minnes (Aug 15, 2001)

This forum thread is great fun, first we the breakfast thread with lots of cereal discussion, now the TV thread with lots of Saturday morning fare, put the two together and you have kid heaven.

First of all on some of our gravstones, will be marked *Here lies ...he watched a lot of TV"!*


- Beanie & Cecil
This was Einstein's favorite show
- Dodo The Kid From Outer Space
one of the first Japanes shows in North America with Astroboy
- Tom Terrific
Dr G likes this one
- The Banana Splits
one of my top ten favorite memories.
I have several Banana Split items, last month I found at an Antique show the Banana splits club kit complete in the mailing envelope from kelloggs
- Rocket Robin Hood
This one was a childhood fave, made in Canada, someone in Hamilton had a ton of drawings from this show that he found somewhere
- Joe 90
There's a Joe 90 cereal box on ebay now from england

-Fireball XL5 
My friend Terry had that same Firball toy and he loved it too, and yes it is likely very expensive now, I would guess about $500 off the top of head in complete near mint condition. Im sure there are some of these on EBay
Yes, Im 37 and some of this tuff was older than me, but I love it all ,a nd caught much of it in reruns


----------



## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

Talk about boring stuff for a kid: *Elwood Glover's Luncheon Date*. I watched it just about every day; don't know why.


----------



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

I watched Soupy Sales everyday, and I DO know why. His brand of humor was just right for the late 50's Kid, and way ahead of it's time.


----------



## jrtech (Sep 24, 2002)

Oh yes Good old Soupy, we had a show JP Patches, which I believe was out of Seattle along with Stan Boreson his accordion and his dog Nomo. The JP Patches show was a clown sort of Captain Kangaroo thing while the Stan Boreson show was again a clubhouse sort of Captain Kangaroo variation. I am sure they were on the KING tv channel. 
King Klubhouse JP Patches I am thinking these were a sort of west coast local thing and I would be surprised if anyone else remembers or has heard of them.


----------



## Brainstrained (Jan 15, 2002)

Does anyone remember the *Hockey Night in Canada * telecasts on Wednesday night?

In Winnipeg they always started just before the beginnning of the second period.

The half hour before the game featured the original *Outer Limits* which always scared the bejeezus out of me.

*The Twilight Zone* wasn't as scary but had better stories.

Also thinking of Canadian series, how about *The Littlest Hobo*. I remember London (all four or five of them) came to Eaton's once for an appearance and the store was packed with kids, me, my brothers and sisters included.


----------



## jrtech (Sep 24, 2002)

Yes the Outer Limits was a good scare for me too, didn't it open with the phrase "we control the horizontal, we control the vertical" and the TV went all wonky. And I also agree with the Twilight Zone having the better twisted stories. We also can not forget the Alfred Hitchcock show which I am sure would fit in this category and who's theme still lingers in my mind from time to time..........


----------



## Dr.G. (Aug 4, 2001)

Ah yes, the original Twilight Zone and Outer Limits. Just the right storylines for the late 50's and early 60's Cold War era mentality. Rod Serling was an excellent writer.


----------



## Chris (Feb 8, 2001)

Ah yes, I remember the Wednesday night hockey games. CTV carried HNIC that night, while CBC had them Saturdays (Danny Gallivan, best play-by-play man ever!)

I had all 5 of the original toy Thunderbirds; got 'em for Christmas and birthdays over a 2 year period. Wish I still had 'em, too! Of course, growing up in Quebec City, we could watch the shows in English and then in French! It's amazing how they could get their lips to match words in either language!  

I'm sure this is what helped me pick up French at a young age. I could watch the wascally wabbit or Popeye in both official languages, before they were official.  

And, yes, I remember Elwood Glover's Luncheon Date. As a child, it always puzzled me. I mean, wouldn't you rather watch The Mighty Hercules?


----------



## The Doug (Jun 14, 2003)

Yup, watched Hercules too of course - it was a staple. Luckily I remember much more of this than Elwood Glover's show. Perhaps too much? As sung by Newton in an episode,

_"I'm glad, I'm glad, 
To have, to have, 
A friend, a friend, 
Like Hercules, like Hercules! 
Whenever, whenever, 
There's trouble, there's trouble,
He gets there, he gets there,
On the double! On the double!"_

Ahem. Best to stop here, methinks.

I also had the Thunderbird toys. A few of them were larger plastic toys with various working parts. I had several *Thunderbird 2* toys in metal (nice healthy lead?), by Corgi. Remember these? With the little pop-down yellow landing legs that always snapped off? I mean, how are you supposed to land your Thunderbird without proper landing gear?


----------



## Cynical Critic (Sep 2, 2002)

I remember *The Littlest Hobo*. I vaguely recall the music it played during the opening credits of the show. I think it was _On the Road Again_ by Willie Nelson. For some reason I always found it sad. Perhaps that just shows that I'm a homebody.


----------



## jrtech (Sep 24, 2002)

I thought that might have been the theme but did some checking and it seems that Terry Bush did the theme


----------



## ErnstNL (Apr 12, 2003)

My brother and I were obsessed with science fiction and "space" in the early 60's. We had Major Matt Mason, GI Joe's ?Gemini or Mercury capsule; We had a telescope to gaze at the planets and stars. We watched all the Nasa launches on TV. We watched Fireball XL5, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlett (we loved those supermarionation shows), Jonny Quest, Batman, occasionally Green Hornet. We had Dinkys of Thunderbirds and Capt. Scarlett ( I still have Capt. S.'s car, scratched a bit and without tires)
The biggest impact for us was back in 1966- watching Star Trek-the first broadcast in Canada. We lived in Montreal, I think it was CTV that broadcast it, I don't remember the exact day but: It literally freaked us out! This was too good to be true! There was nothing like it on television. A show that started us on our journey (?addiction) to Star Trek obsession. 
The British "Space 1999" was pretty good, Martin Landau as the token Colonial and the special effects were decent for the time.
I wish Get Smart would come back; Which network is holding the rights to the series? Comedy Network in the US? It's a classic.


----------



## rhino (Jul 10, 2002)

Elementary school lunchtime I'd wolf my food down so I could run to my buddy's house to watch the 3 Stooges before we had to get back. (no TV in our house back then







)

I also remember Tugboat Annie, Cannonball, FireballXL5, Stingray (loved Marina), Captain Scarlett (waiting to see the Angels), 77 Sunset Strip (Connie Stevens was so hot).

Also after school Elwy Yost used to have a CBC show called "Passport to Adventure". He'd run old movies like Mowgli, Lost Horizon, etc with interesting background info and things to watch for. He always recommended reading the original book too. Found out later that he was there when the Arrow was cancelled. Quick note: his son wrote "Speed" among other screenplays.

Anyone remember watching "Thierry la Fronde" about a French "Robin Hood" type character during the 100 years war against England? He is betrayed by a close friend who becomes a English patronizer. Do a Google search and you'll find some info and lots of the music themes too.

Who else in Canada had their first crush on Michelle from Razzle Dazzle? Howard the Turtle was So COOL  

From Hanna-Barbera I remember Yogi Bear and Boo-boo (of course), Touche Turtle, Snagglepuss (exit, stage left), Top Cat, Huckleberry Hound, Quickdraw McGraw and BabaLouie, Wally Gator, Peter Potamus, Magilla Gorilla, Richocet Rabbit, Lippy the Lion and Hardy-Har-Har, Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinx ("I hate Meeces to Pieces"), Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy, and later Space Ghost, the Herculoids, Birdman, and Dino Boy (trapped in pre-historic times).

Enjoy reading the memories shared with you all.


----------



## Kuni (Feb 4, 2003)

Get Smart is awesome. I think that Fox had the rights to the characters back in 1995 (or whenever) when they made that horrible TV series that was supposed to be about Smart's son (?), but I imagine that things have changed in the past 8 years. Siegfried and "SHTALK-AH!" rock. ^_~ 

....holy cow, I just looked up the series on IMDB, and it was created in part by Mel Brooks. Why am I not surprised?


----------



## minnes (Aug 15, 2001)

There is a good chance a Get Smart boxed set DVD will be available eventually , as many other old shows are now available as such


----------



## Brainstrained (Jan 15, 2002)

I don't remember who did the song to the original Littlest Hobo, but I do remember some of the lyrics. Excuse me I'm not in as good a voice as Gord Garhouse

_Traveling around from town to town,
sometimes I think I'll settle down
But I know I'd hunger to be free.
Rovin' is the only life for me.
A-driftin'. The world is my friend,
a travelin' along the road without end._

And yes, Rhino, I remember Thiery la Fronde, Friday's at 4:30 followed by Elwy at 5 with the end of this week's Passport to Adventure.


----------



## Cynical Critic (Sep 2, 2002)

Well gosh darn it I stand corrected on The Littlest Hobo theme. Thanks for posting the link!

Aaaaaah _Get Smart_. A classic! A good show and what I heard teachers say time and time again...


----------

