ABC Fall 1971 Promotional Campaign, "The Place To Be"

This is the opening to a film presentation for ABC network's affiliate convention in 1971 introducing their fall lineup. ABC's slogan that season was "The Place To Be." I love the soft, easygoing tone and presentation in this clip; you would never see any of the networks create something like this today, when everything has to be "hot" and "extreme." It captures that laid back feeling that ran through a good bit of mainstream pop culture at the time (think TV as presented by Bacharach and David). Very nicely done!

ABC's Fall 1966 Lineup--Courtesy of Batman

The title says it all! Thanks to Kliph Nesteroff of the Classic Television Showbiz blog for bringing this to my attention.

Kevin Conroy IS Batman!

Yes he is!



Worshipped in geek circles (deservedly so) for his great voice work as the Dark Knight in several animated series and films, it's interesting to see the man behind the voice, especially in other work.

Here he is on the drama Matlock.



Here he is again in a rare comedic turn on Murphy Brown. Quite a different approach than what is needed for the Caped Crusader!



Batman and Murphy Brown--that's a Brave and the Bold team-up right there!

Mego Batmobile Commercial from the 70s

Staying with the Batman theme of the last couple of days, here is a cool commercial for Mego's Batmobile toy from the 1970s. Obviously influenced by the 60s TV series, this commerical is a lot of fun, with cool toys to boot!

Batman, "The Yegg Foes in Gotham"

When we last left our heroes, Batman and Robin were in the clutches of villainous Egghead. But wait, "the most eggcrusiating circumstances are yet to come!"

Batman, "An Egg Grows in Gotham"

Today I'm happy to present a fun episode of Batman, this time starring the late, great Vincent Price as Egghead. Enjoy!





Come back tomorrow for hte conclusion. "Same Bat time, same Bat channel!"

Saturday Morning Recreated: CBS, Fall 1981

Here once again, we travel back in time to check out a Saturday morning children's schedule of the past. Today we peruse the schedule for CBS in the Fall of 1981!

First up at 8am is the Kwicky Koala Show. Only lasting one season, the character Kwicky Koala was one of the last creations by legendary animator Tex Avery.




Following at 8:30am is the Trollkins, also lasting just one season. I could only find the intro, so this is all you have the judge the quality of the show. I vaguely remember this show, but can't remember if it was any good--I'm assuming not. It appears to be a cross between the Smurfs and the Dukes of Hazzard, if that can be imagined. Ironically, this premiered the same month as the Smurfs.



At 9am, my beloved Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show!





A full hour and a half later at 10:30am, it's the Popeye and Olive Oyl Show, a shortened version of 1980's All New Popeye Hour.



At 11am was the action cartoon Blackstar. This was just one in a trend of cosmic barbarian series that appeared around this time, such as Thundarr, Herculoids, Masters of the Universe, etc.





At 11:30 was the Tarzan/Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Hour by Filmation. Tarzan had been successful on CBS for a few seasons by this time, so Filmation decided to add other classic adventure stars to the mix. Although well done and entertaining, this turned out to be Tarzan's final season and the only season for the Lone Ranger and Zorro.



You have to love William Conrad's reading of the classic Lone Ranger intro!




At 12:30pm (yes, we're in the afternoon now) is, lamentably, The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show. I've ranted about the poor quality of this show before, so I won't do it now. To make it more interesting, I present an installment of the show--in Spanish!



At 1pm is CBS perennial Fat Albert.



Wrapping things up at 1:30pm is 30 Minutes, a news program aimed at teens that I don't remember and can never find footage of.

And that's the long CBS Saturday morning! Although I always admired CBS for having such a long morning, it didn't always matter, as they often preempted their kids shows for sports in the early afternoon. This must not have been a good ratings season for the network, as most of these shows did not air the next season, as far as I know. I look forward to posting CBS Fall 1982 for comparison.

Thanks!