Trippy TV from Sixties Saturdays: The 55th Anniversary of "The Banana Splits"

  

 by Michael Lyons

The Banana Splits is a show that could have only happened in the 60s.

Anyone of a certain age and particular generation only needs to hear a few bars of that theme song:

"Tra, la la, tra la la, la 

One banana, two banana, three banana, four

All bananas make a split, so do many more

Over hill and highway, the banana buggies go

Come along to bring you the Banana Splits Show."

...and we are instantly transported back to another time when Saturday morning was much more psychedelic.

On September 7, 1968, The Banana Splits debuted. The show's full title was Kellogg's of Battle Creek Presents The Banana Splits Adventure Hour (at a time when sponsors reigned supreme in TV) and was one of the most decidedly different and original outings from the Hanna-Barbera Studio.

That studio, synonymous with some of television's most popular animated characters, ventured into live-action territory with The Banana Splits. Taking the model of the "kid's cartoon host" shows from local stations, The Banana Splits was hosted by four live-action characters: actors in costumes who portrayed the titular characters, a fictional rock band.

There was Fleegle, a dog; Bingo, an orangutan; Drooper, a lion; and Snorky, an elephant. Each wore what looked like a cross between a Roman helmet and a marching band hat and hung out in their oh-so-colorful clubhouse.

Here, the Banana Splits would introduce cartoon segments, which included the adventures Arabian Knights and Three Musketeers, as well as Micro Ventures, which was about a scientist father and his kids who can shrink in size and see the world from the size of an insect.

Another live-action segment, Danger Island, was reminiscent of classic movie serial adventures (and directed by Richard Donner, many years before his Goonies and Lethal Weapon fame).

 In between, the Banana Splits would take part in quick, Laugh-In-like skits and engage with the arch enemies, "The Sour Grapes" (a group of adolescent girls who looked less like villains and more like Girl Scouts).

As The Banana Splits were a musical group, they also performed songs, which were included in the show as fast-paced music videos. Some featured Fleegle, Bingo, Drooper, and Snorky, filmed at the theme parks Six Flags Over Texas and Coney Island in Ohio.

The costumes for the characters were designed for Hanna-Barbera by Sid and Marty Krofft, who would go on to be Saturday morning superstars in their own right with shows like H.R. Pufnstuf and Land of the Lost.

In his book, Pufnstuf & Other Stuff, author David Martindale featured  a portion of an interview with Sid Krofft where he recalled creating the costumes: 

“They came in with the idea in a rough sketch. We had to redesign them. And after it was said and done, when the Hanna-Barbera guys walked out of the door, I looked at my brother, and I said, ‘My God, because of us, they're going to make millions.’”

 

This incentivized the Krofft brothers to begin producing their own shows, and Sid was right. The Banana Splits' success did generate revenue for Hanna-Barbera. From comic books to lunch boxes, the characters were featured on a number of products at the time.

After their cancelation in 1970, The Banana Splits disappeared for several years, resurfacing in 1972 for a made-for-TV-movie The Banana Splits in Hocus Pocus Park, on ABC's anthology show, The Saturday Superstar Movie.

In 1977, the show came into syndication as The Banana Splits and Friends, where several other Hanna-Barbera series, such as Atom Ant and Secret Squirrel, were inserted into the show as part of this syndicated package. 

This format "chopped up" the original Banana Splits Adventure Hour, but at least it allowed the show to continue for a new generation.

As both a beloved and a cult favorite, the show's legacy has been sustained as The Banana Splits celebrate their 55th anniversary this year. There was a re-boot of new shorts and music videos on Cartoon Network in 2008. That same year, the Hard Rock Cafe theme park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, debuted a kids’ area named "Banana Splitsville," which revolved around the characters.

And, in 2019, the characters somehow found themselves the subject of a gory, R-rated horror film aptly named The Banana Splits Movie.

And, although it threatened to, that movie couldn't smudge the bright childhood memories that The Banana Splits have provided for so many of another time.

It was a time when Saturday morning cartoons were the perfect antidote kids needed at the end of a school week; a time when Hanna-Barbera were the kings of TV animation; a time when four costumed characters would joke, dance, and sing, and we would all join in with a rousing "Tra La La!"

Sources:

Pufnstuf & Other Stuff by David Martindale, Renaissance Books, 1998.

 

For more of my articles, podcasts, public speaking engagements and to learn more about my book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance, head over to my website:  Words From Lyons

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Book Club: Sitcoms Go Back to School

The "Sweathogs" from Welcome Back, Kotter.

Clockwise: Robert Hegyes, Ron Palillo,

Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs and John Travolta.

 by Michael Lyons

The store shelves have replaced that lovely plastic smell of pool floats and beach pails with spiral notebooks and pens. That season that seemed so never-ending in June is now unfurling to its inevitable conclusion with Labor Day.

Summer is ending, and it's back-to-school time. 

Many schools have already started classes this month, and all students will be back by early September. It's always sad to say goodbye to the sweet freedom of summer and return to the weekday grind of textbooks, homework, and cafeteria food.

But, take comfort in the fact that the ups and downs and highs and lows of school life are something that students have grappled with for generations, as seen in a selection of TV sitcoms that examined school and humorously illuminated the life of a student:

 

Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000)

One of the most underrated series of all time, this hour-long comedy was executive produced by Judd Apatow before his movie blockbusters like The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up, examined high school life in the early 1980s.

From its spot-on look at its setting of the early 80s (with perfect pop-culture references) to humor and poignancy highlighting everything from first crushes to trying desperately to fit in at school, Freaks and Geeks deserved better than the one-season run it got and should have, and maybe could have, found its audience.

Even though short-lived, the series did serve as a launching pad for a tremendous amount of talent, such as James Franco, Linda Cardellini, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, and Busy Philipps, as well as writer-director Paul Feig, who would later helm Bridesmaids.

 

Head of the Class (1986-1991)

This sitcom centered on a class of gifted students in an honors program at a Manhattan high school, and the history teacher, Mr. Moore (Howard Hesseman), who serves as their mentor (Hesseman left in the last season and was replaced by Billy Connolly, as Mr. MacGregor).

Somewhat of a Big Bang Theory before its time, Head of the Class examined the "real world" struggles of these more book-smart students as the show tackled issues from stereotypes to cultural barriers.

 

Welcome Back, Kotter (1975-1979)

This hit, iconic 70s sitcom is the opposite of Head of the Class.

It is based on the stand-up routine of comedian Gabe Kaplan, who stars in the lead as Gabe Kotter, a teacher who returns to his tough Brooklyn alma mater, James Buchanan High School, to teach.

His students are the next generation of "delinquents" that he once was part of: The Sweathogs. They include the leader, cocky heartthrob, Vinnie Barbarino (John Travolta in the role that launched him to stardom), Freddy "Boom Boom" Washington (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs), the smooth-talker, Juan Epstein (Robert Hegyes), a con artist who always had a "note from his mother," and the innocent Arnold Horshack (Ron Palillo) who eagerly knew the answer to any question, even if he didn't.

This show appeared on everything from lunch boxes to board games, with sayings like "Up your nose with a rubber hose" that became a large part of the real-life school lexicon. Welcome Back, Kotter was solidly a part of the 1970s landscape.

While the series wound down in later seasons, with some cast members leaving and others looking a wee bit too mature to still be in high school, there is no denying that Welcome Back, Kotter is still one of TV's most satisfying sitcoms. 

Room 222 (1969-1974)

This "dramedy" took a different look at teachers and schools and was set in a fictional high school in Los Angeles. Room 222, is centered on understanding history teacher Pete (Lloyd Haynes), his girlfriend, Liz (Denise Nicholas), the school's kind guidance counselor, the wise, and sarcastic, principal, Seymour (Michael Constantine), and the overtly-sunny student teacher Alice (Karen Valentine).

From its folk-song-like guitar and flute opening theme to topics tackled like racial tensions and Watergate, Room 222 perfectly fits the changing and more realistic tone of television in the 1970s. 

Our Miss Brooks (1952-1956)

One of the biggest hits from TV's earliest days, the innocence of Our Miss Brooks is the other side of the spectrum from Room 222.

Eve Arden plays the titular character, a sarcastic high school English teacher, in this sitcom that began life as a radio show in 1948. The show's plots usually revolved around simpler situations, like Miss Brooks' dating life, entanglements with the curmudgeon principal (Gale Gordon), or the innocent and gawky student Walter Denton (Richard Crenna, who would later play Colonel Trautman in the Rambo films!).

However, Our Miss Brooks was groundbreaking in many ways, not only for having a female lead but also for that lead being a strong, competent character who would wind up solving challenges for others (including her male peers and the principal).

 

So, pack that lunch, complete that homework assignment, and be grateful for your teachers daily. As these sitcoms show through their humorous moments, teachers are among those who shape us into who we become, which we realize years later when school days are like these shows: part of our fond memories.

Wishing everyone a Happy Labor Day Weekend and a wonderful school year!

Looking for another book as you head back to school? Check out mine: Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance, which is available at Amazon  , and signed and personalized copies are available at my website: Words From Lyons !

 

Sorry For The Delay: Late Summer Movie Season Entries that Helped Make the Dog Days Just a Little Cooler

by Michael Lyons

 

The musical group Bananrama said it best in 1984: "It's a cruel, cruel summer."

This year, Hollywood, unfortunately, knows that too well. The summer movie season's legacy of adventure-fueled, popcorn-chomping movies held so much promise in May. Then, sadly, many of the most eagerly anticipated films of the summer underperformed. Layered on top of this was a writers' and an actors' strike. Then, everything was saved by a woman named Barbie and a man named Oppenheimer.

The past few months were rough, whether it was "franchise fatigue" or the encroaching world of streaming services, movie theatres weren't what they once were.

But could there be a late summer savior?  A movie released in the waning dog days that surprises both audiences and critics? Could be. It's happened before.

As Screen Saver has done the past several summers, what follows below is a look back at some late-summer movie entries that were true seasonal surprises:

Blade (1998)

Twenty-five years ago, an adaptation of a Marvel comic hit theaters not in early May to kick off the summer but instead at the end of August to end summer with some...bite. This tale of the title character, a half-human/half-vampire (played by Wesley Snipes) who turns out to be humanity's protector, turned out to be an action-packed, stylish surprise that spawned two sequels.

The character of Blade has remained such a favorite that a "re-boot," starring Mahershala Ali, is slated for 2025.

Clean and Sober (1988)

One year before he would utter, "I'm Batman," and change the summer movie season forever, Michael Keaton embarked on his first dramatic film, which bowed in August of 1988.

In it, he plays Daryl Poynter, a real estate agent who has found himself way over his head with his drug and alcohol addiction and winds up in a rehabilitation facility.  Keaton's performance, worthy of an Oscar nomination he never received, is raw, real, and emotional.

Clean and Sober also featured an outstanding supporting cast, including Kathy Baker, Morgan Freeman, and M. Emmet Walsh, in a completely compelling film that, unfortunately, has faded in many moviegoers' memories through the years. Celebrating its 35th anniversary this summer, Clean and Sober is most definitely worthy of a watch if you've never seen it.

Easy Money (1983)

Forty summers ago, in his first movie since his film debut with Caddyshack, Rodney Dangerfield plays Monty Capuletti, who has to agree to give up drinking and gambling to inherit his mother-in-law's fortune.

Can he do it? That's all the fun and humor in this very funny vehicle, perfect for Dangerfield's iconic, twitchy, "no respect" style.

Piranha (1978) 

In the years after Jaws soared to box-office history, filmmakers scrambled to make their own "nature attacks" horror films. Most have faded from memory, except this B-movie from director Joe Dante (his solo debut) about the titular fish gobbling up swimmers in the waters of a summer resort.

Forty-five years later, Piranha is a beloved cult classic, spawning two sequels (including one in 2010 that starred Jaws' own Richard Dreyfuss).

 

As we look back at these late summer movie surprises from years past, here's a hope that the 2023 season can follow suit, with a movie or two more to rescue the box office, before Labor Day leads us into all the promise of something new...like the fall and holiday movie season.

Hoping everyone is having a wonderful summer!

For more of my articles, podcasts and to learn more about my book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance, head over to my website, Words From Lyons !

 

 

It's Cool To Be Funny: Beat The Heat With These Classic Sitcom Episodes!

 

by Michael Lyons

 

"The Hottest Day on Earth."  You couldn't turn on the news last week without hearing about this startling record set on the Fourth of July, which had the hottest global temperature ever recorded.

All you had to do was step outside to the sauna that's now your backyard or the sand on the beach that slowly seared the skin off your feet to realize how true this was, before quickly heading back into your air-conditioned comfort or the plunge of a welcoming pool, for relief.

As we continue through these blistering days, it's not just the ACs and chlorinated waters that can provide relief. Try to go back in time to enjoy these episodes of classic sitcoms. All of them center on the freezing months of winter and may provide a cool distraction:

 "Please Leave the Premises," The Honeymooners, originally aired March 10, 1956

Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason) refuses to pay his rent, which results in the landlord turning off the heat and electricity (in the middle of winter!)

Ralph and Alice (Audrey Meadows) are evicted, and sit at their iconic kitchen table on the sidewalk outside their apartment building. When it starts to snow, Ralph finally relents and goes back inside to pay the increase, stating to Alice, "I know how easy you get virus!"

It's never fun to watch any characters suffer through a cold winter, but it is when it's this funny and outlandish. That, along with Norton's (Art Carney) winter layers, which include multiple water bottles hanging from his neck, should provide comically cool relief.

 "The Rent Strike," The Odd Couple, originally aired January 31, 1975

Another episode that revolves around the refusal to pay rent, electricity, and heat being turned off in the middle of a New York winter.

To the chagrin of Oscar (Jack Klugman), Felix (Tony Randall) goes to war with a new building manager (guest star Victor Buono) and leads the tenants against him. This results in a lack of heat and the removal of everyone's front door!

Watching Klugman as Oscar hilariously tries to stay warm by not only wrapping himself in a blanket but also holding boxing gloves to his ears could help melt any heatwave in this episode of the consistently funny sitcom.

 

"Let It Snow," Night Court, originally aired December 17, 1987

Technically, this is a Christmas episode, but it also revolves around a blizzard that strands all in night court. Then, the boiler in the building breaks, and everyone struggles to stay warm.

The episode contains trademark cartoon-like humor, especially a gag involving Bull (Richard Moll) being frozen stiff. He's placed in a makeshift hot tub, and his reaction when he comes to in front of everyone in the courtroom is priceless.

 

"The One Without the Ski Trip," Friends, originally aired March 6, 1997

The gang heads off on a ski trip but has to leave Ross (David Schwimmer) behind, as he and Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) have split up and are estranged.

When the cab that Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) has borrowed from her grandmother breaks down at a rest area, they all have no choice but to call Ross to help.

While they wait, they are stranded in the snowy cold roadside stop, hilariously getting on each other's nerves. Matthew Perry's Chandler has some typically clever asides, especially as he tries to sneak smoking cigarettes without his friends knowing.

 

Just a few 30-minute respites to help you find some relief from the unrelenting heat, and maybe as you watch these chilly, winter-centered shows, you'll also realize that summer, even with its heat, isn't all that bad.

Stay cool, everyone!

Check out more of my articles, podcasts and information on my book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance at Words From Lyons

 

 

 

 

The Picture of Patriotism: Fourth of July Scenes in Movies

A scene from Avalon (1990)

 

by Michael Lyons

 

Whether you enjoy hot dogs in your backyard with a small group of friends or watching fireworks at your local park with hundreds of strangers, we all celebrate the Fourth of July in our own way.

Through the years, movies have done the same. Some films have centered entirely on Independence Day, while others have had a scene or two focused on July Fourth.

All of them make perfect viewing as we head into this holiday weekend. Here are just a few to choose from:

Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

An Independence Day movie staple, thanks mainly to Turner Classic Movies, and one of the many reasons to #savetcm! James Cagney rightly won an Oscar for his tour-de-force performance in this biopic of George M. Cohan, who was born on the third of July. To make the film just a dash more patriotic, events are changed to bit, to have Cohan born on July 4th, in a wonderfully melodramatic scene, where his father rushes through an Independence Day celebration to see his newborn son.

Then, of course, there's the "Yankee Doodle Dandy" song and dance sequence, one of the best musical numbers in film history, and, while not set on July 4th, brims with the holiday spirit.

 Ben & Me (1953)

A small, often-overlooked gem from Walt Disney and his artists, this featurette tells the tale of Amos, a mouse who assists Benjamin Franklin and the other Founding Fathers in crafting the Declaration of Independence on July 4th of, 1776.

Filled with the Disney Studio's animated creativity, this is a beautiful window into opening one's mind to American history for kids of all ages.

 1776 (1972)

Back to that Fourth of July in 1776, for this film adaptation of the Broadway musical based on the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Filled with thoughtful musical numbers that (while fictionalized) still give one pause to the diligence that went into crafting the document that provides us with all we can enjoy today.

 Jaws (1975)

"You yell 'Barracuda!' everyone says, 'Huh?' 'What?' You yell 'Shark!", we've got a panic on our hands on the Fourth of July."

So says Mayor Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) to Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) in Steven Spielberg's seminal summer blockbuster about a great white shark terrorizing a small New England town.

Ironically, there is a panic on the Fourth of July when the shark attacks, sending swimmers panicking after the mayor refuses to listen to the chief. That July Fourth attack sets one of the most famous film third acts, where the Chief and marine biologist, Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), board a boat with Captain Quint (Robert Shaw), to hunt down the shark.

 Rollercoaster (1977)

George Segal plays a safety inspector tracking a terrorist, played by Timothy Bottoms, who is planting bombs on amusement park rollercoasters.  Initially shown in theaters using Senssuround, a sound system that would enhance the action on screen and, in this case, make it feel like the audience was riding a rollercoaster.

The film's ending climax takes place at California's Magic Mountain theme park on the Fourth of July, seen here in all of its 70s summer movie goodness.

 Miss Firecracker (1989)

Holly Hunter stars as Carnelle Scott, an unlikely contestant in a Fourth of July beauty contest held in Mississippi.

Based on a popular stage play with a supporting cast that includes Mary Steenburgen, Tim Robbins, Alfre Woodard, and Scott Glenn, this is an oft-overlooked film that provides a nice slice of small-town summer life.

 Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

Not an upbeat July Fourth film, but a powerful one in every way. Tom Cruise is outstanding in the real-life story of Ron Kovic, the Vietnam veteran whose harrowing experience during the war changed him forever.

As the title states, Kovic was born on the Fourth of July. The film depicts the holiday in his small town in two different scenes: one at the beginning of the film, when he is a young boy, and another after he returns home from Vietnam and marches with other veterans in the parade, which is painful to watch.

The scenes depict the innocence lost in the story and how different the holiday can be for so many.

 Avalon (1990)

Director Barry Levinson's semi-autobiographical film follows several generations of a Polish immigrant family living in Baltimore.

The patriarch of the family recalls how he first came to America, arriving on July 4th, 1914, and this beautifully crafted film returns to Independence Day again in the movie as it explores the American dream and how that has changed through the years.

 

Independence Day (1996)

It doesn't feel like the holiday until you've watched Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin's event movie from the summer of '96, where aliens attack (and demolish) Earth over the July Fourth weekend. For completists, the timeline for the film, from initial contact through the battle at the finale, is July 2nd through the 4th.

We’re the Millers (2013)

A well-crafted comedy from director Rawson Marshall Thurber about a smart-aleck pot dealer (Jason Sudeikis) who convinces a stripper (Jennifer Aniston), a runaway (Emma Roberts), and an innocent kid from his neighborhood (Will Poulter) to pose as an All-American family, so that they can smuggle drugs into Mexico.

This cynical, dark comedy is set against the backdrop of the Fourth of July weekend, and with its settings of RVs, campgrounds, and fireworks, this all plays out like a family road trip gone very wrong.

 

As you take a break from the burgers and beers in your backyard, and the booms coming from your neighbor setting off fireworks just a little too close to your house, enjoy one or all of these movies as you enjoy the holiday!

 

Wishing everyone a Safe and Happy Fourth of July!

Looking for more of my articles, podcasts and information about my book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance? Head over to my website: Words From Lyons !

 

 

Dad's Declarations: Wisdom from Classic TV Sitcom Fathers

by Michael Lyons 

Sunday is Father's Day, and like Mom, Dads deserve more than one day, considering all that they do for us.

A big part of what fathers bring to our lives is providing us with wisdom that we can keep near us as a guidepost.

This has also been provided by the dads in some of television's most popular sitcoms. A few years ago, "Screen Saver" looked back at some of them, but there are more. Here are their words in a TV tribute to fathers:

 

Leave it to Beaver

Ward Cleaver (Hugh Beaumont): "A man never gets so old that he forgets how it was being a little boy."

 

The Brady Bunch

Mike Brady (Robert Reed): "Greg, it may be the hip thing to call parents by their first names, but around here, we're still Mom and Dad."

 

Happy Days

Howard (Tom Bosley): "What is it that you did last night?"

Richie (Ron Howard): "Do you wanna hear what really happened or the lie we're gonna tell everyone else?"

Howard: "Start with the lie. It's probably more interesting."

 

Family Ties

Steven (Michael Gross): "Alex, you're a young man. You should be thinking about hopping on a steam trainer and going around the world or putting a pack on your back and heading down to Mexico."

Alex (Michael J. Fox): "The 1960s are over, Dad."

Steven: "Thanks for the tip."

 

Everybody Loves Raymond 

Frank Barone (Peter Boyle): "I don't like games. Follow the rules, pay attention, wait your turn...It's just like work dressed up as play."

Modern Family

Phil Dunphy (Ty Burrell); "Dance until your feet hurt, sing until your lungs hurt, act until your William Hurt."

 

To these TV Dads, we thank them for the wisdom and laughter, and to Dads everywhere, we thank you for wisdom and love.

Happy Father's Day!

 

 Looking for more of my articles, podcasts and information on my book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance, head over to Words From Lyons !

 

Sources: 

poemofquotes.com

bradybunc.fandom.com

quote soup.com

raymondfandom.com

screen rant.com