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mickfan
Reviews
Star Trek (1966)
I well remember it
Seems like yesterday when I was seven and this show would come on every night that Polly & Hawk would come over to play bridge with my folks. Since I didn't play bridge I would watch Star Trek and eat the bridge mix, which was good. It was that stuff with pretzel sticks, little chex cereal bits, peanuts, and cheese cracker thingys...all coated with a flavorful, chock-full-of MSG oily coating that tasted very tasty. Amazing what the mind can recall after so many years.
Now I cant say if Lost in Space had been run at the same time slot as Star Trek, that Star Trek would have won & been on, but that was when I was 7 and Lost in Space was my most favorite show. Well, fortunately they were scheduled on different evenings. I think it was all a bit over my head Star Trek was, and had pretty scary aliens and monsters at least to a seven-year old. But way better than watching the folks play bridge with the neighbors (very boring). I probably always was too close to the TV laying on the floor right in front of it. And I shudder to think how much second-hand smoke I inhaled in the 1960's-70's, everybody smoked like a freight train at those lovely bridge games.
So I was privileged to view the first run of Star Trek, and even watched the re-runs for many times, so its too predictable for me to bother buying any videos of, I needn't ever see it again but it was a great old show though.
The Mighty Hercules (1963)
I'm Glad, I'm glad for the "The Mighty Hercules"
Granted it doesn't have the detail of Disney nor escape the cyclical backgrounds a la' Hanna-Barbara and many others. But there is no call to pick on The Mighty Hercules like it was the only limited animation, low cell-count animated cartoon around at the time.
As for comparison to any of the bland H&B fare of the day, the Pixie & Dixie & Wally & Yogi & Huckleberry..shall I go on? As a young boy I would pick One Episode of Mighty Hercules over a Full Hour of any of them! How exciting can seeing animals chase each other back and forth get? But Hercules had plenty of fast action, plenty of thrills - and could be quite scary to a five or six year old. But that wasn't the only thing that made it great. Hercules was a wonderful role model for youngsters, and this cartoon always promoted good moral values. Yes, where good always triumphed over evil and taught kids right from wrong.
Cartoons used to do that sort of thing, rather than just gross you out like most are designed to do so today.
True...Newton was a bumbling sidekick, but he was as loyal and devoted to Herc as they come. Addressing stupid comments about his "sexuality" is pointless (he is a cartoon, okay?) Also, ignorance can be attributed to not knowing that Newton's voice changed in mid-episode (actually it was right at the end of one) because Jack Mercer had left the production who had been doing most of the voices. If that person had really been observant they would have noticed other changes, some minor and then a major change when Jimmy Tapp joined the voice talent lineup and everything sounded different to the end of the series.
If Newton (he is a centaur) repeated himself, it was a gimmick, a hook to make him stand out and it certainly did. Oh, and Tewt's (not "toot" and he is a satyr ) little musical instrument.. those are called "panpipes". One of the cutest things you'll see on a Hercules cartoon is little Tewt playing his pipes riding on Newton's back as he sings his signature song... "I'm glad, I'm glad to have a friend, to have a friend...like Hercules, like Hercules...
Wow! I can think of quite of few other cartoons where the "action" is taking place out of sight of the camera, and puff of smoke and stars are all you see - but Hercules didn't pioneer this technique by any means.
The writers were actually professional comic book writers. That's right and I think they did an above average job. The narration is just right, not too wordy - and the dialog is consistent making the characters have their own unique personalities through out the series. What else do you want? Shakespeare? Misinformed "Gen-Xers" may want to try to discourage you from enjoying this cartoon, but if you were a Child of the Sixites or 70's then you know better. The Mighty Hercules made a tremendous impact in it's time. And it's still just as good today too!
Also try to remember thirty & under 21st century adults...this may come as a shock to you... but alas, Mighty Hercules was not produced with YOU in mind. The Mighty Hercules was produced for young children of an era where values were quite different, and frankly I am glad I was part of the original target audience.
Wandâ surî (1965)
More on the Amazing 3
Just to elaborate on the above comment on The Amazing 3.
The mission of Patrol A3 was not just to observe human activity on the Earth in a passive manner, but to determine if the human race would become a threat to interstellar peace because news of the wars and violence on this planet had reached the Galactic Union. Therefore Patrol A3 came equipped with a "anti-proton" device that would be capable of wiping out the entire population of the Earth if a final judgment by the Union weighed against the Earth.
The names and ranks of Patrol A3 as follows: Capt. Bonnie, Corporal Ronnie, and Lt. Zero -- upon landing on Earth they assumed the disguises of Earth animals, namely a bunny, a horse, and a duck. While conditions on Earth would continually shock the aliens, Capt. Bonnie and Ronnie were the most tolerant, whereas Zero was always ready to detonate the bomb and go home, seeing little to no value in Earthlings than their music (and he often played a guitar in the episodes) and Ronnie being the gluttonous one, liked Earth food.
The boy who became A3's companion (not "Jimmy") is Kenny Carter, (voiced by Kurt Nagle) and his brother Randy Carter (Agent P-77) is an agent of the Phoenix Agency for Peace Enforcement.
Many of the episodes then, would revolve around P-77's adventures fighting enemies like "InterSpy" and often Kenny and the A3 would come along his save his neck -- in fact Kenny was once awarded the honorary title of "Fledgling" by "M" the head of Phoenix for helping his brother on many occasions.
Osamu Tezuka was truly a genius of his own time. Granted, much of Tezuka's manga and anime works found inspiration from earlier works of others that he enjoyed or respected, Jules Verne, Walt Disney, etc... But the story of Wonder 3 or The Amazing 3 is quite fresh and original and one the best works of his imagination.
Mickey's Medicine Man (1934)
A very snappy two-reeler comedy
Keeping in step with the Aeriell Mickey McGuire comedies, "Mickey's Medicine Man" continues to exploit the talents of the youngster soon to be known to the world as Mickey Rooney. The plot here parallels that of other McGuire comedies in that fund-raising is the impetus for the events to follow, because trying to operate Uncle Nemo's taxicab while he is in the hospital they wreck it instead. There are some great visuals and gags before this point, such as Billy hanging a sign on another taxi that it is "out of order" and to take the cab in front of it (their cab naturally). But the highlight of the whole show is when after seeing the success of a medicine show, Mickey decides that this is best way to earn money to replace Nemo's taxicab. Before long Ol' Doc McGuire is in business with an amazing liniment (from a recipe found in Hambone's horse cures book) and a cure-all snake oil concocted from who-knows-what, topped off with a box of Mexican Jumping Beans, to give it some "pep". After a few swigs of this wonder medicine series of "miracle cures" ensue with most of the imbibers hopping off into the sunset or out of nearest window! Mickey and his friends are in the end satisfied knowing that not only did they get the money for Uncle Nemo but that they also made a great contribution to the world of medicine!
Mickey's Touchdown (1933)
All this and Coach Jones too...
If you are not familiar with the Mickey McGuire two reelers, their biggest claim to fame is they were the first cinematic showcase that displayed to the world the talent of young Joe Yule Jr. or as he is known today, Mickey Rooney. Mickey McGuire films were probably the best competition going against Hal Roach's "Our Gang" which preceded Mickey McGuire by several years. Although the general theme of mostly exaggerated wacky adventures carried out by young street urchins in the surroundings of 1920's-30's urban squalor is about the same in both series, the similarities end there. "Our Gang" kids mostly all shared the limelight as more of a community of kids, and although some kids in the Gang stood out more than others, the character of Mickey McGuire simply contained so much talent that he naturally shone out above the rest of cast. Having one character, playing the "king of the kids" as a focal point, and the regular appearance of Stinkey Davis, a mean, spoiled rich kid as a foil to McGuire, set this series of over 70 shorts apart.
Mickey's Touchdown is one of the best of these short comedies, and is all about that great sport, the game of football. Although "Touchdown" is not the only McGuire short to focus on the subject of gridiron competition is it the only one where USC Coach Howard Jones steps in to give Mickey and his Scorpions some timely advice about the game. Mickey's ever-present nemesis, Stinkey Davis hears about this of course and cooks up a plan to help his team win...meaning he cheats as usual. What Touchdown lacks in gimmickry (although it has some of that too) it makes up for in a story that starts out with some great laffs, progresses very well to it's critical point and ends with a exciting climax.