Tuesday's Overlooked TV: The Fantastic Funnies (1980)

This week's Tuesday's Overlooked TV is the 1980 television special The Fantastic Funnies.

Airing on May 15, 1980 on CBS, this hour-long special showcased the most popular newspaper comic strips of the 20th century up to that time, many of them in animated form, some for the first time. The special was hosted by Loni Anderson with a special guest appearance by her WKRP in Cincinati co-star Howard Hessman in character as Dr. Johnny Fever.

I was going to write more at length about this special, but another blogger has already done so, and better than I could have done it (what a shock). Charles Brubaker of the animation blog Cartoon Research wrote a great article about the special, and you can read it here. Great stuff!

I will, however, provide the entire special right here, courtesy of the online Museum of Classic Chicago Television. I remember seeing this special live when it first aired, as I loved both cartoons and comic strips. Enjoy!

Tuesday's Overlooked Film: US Department of War, "Don't Be A Sucker"

This week's Tuesday's Overlooked Film is a unique outing from the US Department of War (now the Department of Defense) created during World War II titled "Don't Be A Sucker."

It urges Americans not to..well, just watch. I'll just say it is very relevant today, sixty-plus years later.

Thanks!

Tuesday's Overlooked TV: Out of This World

It's been far too long since I've featured a Tuesday's Overlooked selection. It's time to rectify that with this week's feature, the syndicated family sitcom Out of This World.

The series revolved around Evie Garland--a young teen girl who is half human, half alien. The girl is raised by her human mother in a posh community and believes her father is a secret agent. When she develops super powers on her 13th birthday, her mother is forced to reveal the truth to Evie. Evie is able to communicate with her alien father via a special communicator. The series' comedy is usually the result of Evie misusing her powers, leading to wacky family sitcom-style crazy situations.

Despite everything you just read, the craziest detail might be that the voice of the alien dad was played by Burt Reynolds.

While the show certainly didn't win any Peabody awards, it was a light, fun series perfect for families to enjoy at 5pm on a Saturday afternoon. The series aired in first-run syndication from September 1987 to May 1991.

Here for your entertainment is the series' first episode. Enjoy!