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Wednesday, August 21, 2013

A Paul Frees fix for Jay:



This is the opening to a tragically amusing CBS offering in the late sixties:






Paul Frees did a standout narration. No-one says "man" quite like he.

7 comments:

Michael W said...

"Tragically amusing". I miss "Mr. Terrific" (which, if I recall correctly, was on at the same time as "Captain Nice", the other superhero spoof show from that year). Mr. Terrific had the better uniform, the better music and John McGiver.

The Aardvark said...

The doofy superhero wars of CBS and NBC were...odd. "Terrific" was by far superior to "Nice", with William Daniels and Alice Ghostley. The "Terrific" ensemble was eponymously so. Paul Smith was an unsung character actor who shone in his naysaying, a great foil to McGiver.

YouTube has the unaired pilot of "Mr. Terrific". Alan Young stars as a hapless shoe salesman, working under Jesse White. Edward Andrews plays the project head, and comes across more like a second-tier actor in a "Mr. Chicken" movie.

Black Plague or smallpox? You takes your pick.

I bought a *ahem* grey market set, apparently copied from a German DVD release. It will likely never make it over here. That darn pill is too much like a DRUG!!!

I know that watching it turned ME into an opium eater.

The Aardvark said...

"Nice" was by Buck Henry, who could not leave the Mel Brooks Zone, and thus had the quintessentially Jewish gag of the nebbish dominated by his mother.

He fought crime because Mommy told him to.

Michael W said...

Speaking of superheroes and their mothers, I presume you caught the Wonder Woman pilot made back in 1967? My stomach still gets in a knot whenever I consider it.

The Aardvark said...

Better or worse than the Star Wars Holiday Special?

Jay said...

@-Michael-Just TRIED to see the '67 Wonder Woman pilot. Couldn't get thru more than 2/3 of it.

@-'Vark-The Star Wars Holiday Special? I remember ... & don't want to.

It was slightly worse than the airing of the actual Star Wars flick on network TV with all those commercials and celebrity hoopla. Up until then, I thought Fred Flintstone was a only a cartoon character!

I remember Mr. Terrific. The year after it ran, it was put on late Saturday morning/early afternoon.

Michael W said...

@Der Varkster --- At least the Star Wars Holiday Special featured a cool cartoon which introduced Boba Fett. That's its one redeeming quality.

@Jay --- Prudent move. You avoided having to see Wonder Woman take off into the air,