#Channel 9

[urbs-in-horto]

Old enough to remember when there were only 5 channels on the dial. 2-5-7-9-11

[tvneon]

[fitsofgloom]

Thrill Me, Chill Me, Fulfill Me!: Thriller Theater, airing afternoons on New York's WOR-TV Channel 9, 1973-1975. Note the very eye-catching promotional art by cartoonist Jack Davis of EC Comics.

[crodfoller-t-rhubarb]

I *just* realized that Gregg Berger aka Cornfed Pig from Duckman aka Jecht from Final Fantasy X aka Cutthroat Bill from Curse of Monkey Island... also worked on the widely syndicated, St. Louis-produced PBS phonics show "The Letter People," which taught me to read by the time I was three. In addition to playing several letter people himself (including Mr. V, the smoothest, suavest motherfucker in the alphabet in his Violet Velvet Vest), he also had a standout performance as the poor experimental word machine that Miss O fucking tortured by forcing it to try applying conventional short vowel logic to words like "cold" or "to" or "word" despite his literal *constant* pleas for her to stop as he belches smoke all over the laboratory. Girlboss gets the goods as usual. It's all on YouTube. Seriously, check out that Mr. V episode. Wait for his introductory song to wrap up, then listen as that velvety sum'bitch learns your ass on what the voiced labiodental fricative is all about.

[domono08]

What time is it in Chi-Town?

[paulagnewart]

(Sa)Tuneday Supercade!

Imagine it's 31st July 1993. After scouring the kitchen for a plate of your preferred breakfast, you scurry out to take prime position on the lounge. Wrapped within the blankets pulled from your bed, there's no better way to spend a cool, lazy morning than accompanied by the low hum of the adjacent television set. Flicking between channels, there's plenty of choice from cartoons to cool tunes. As you continue munching down, something flashes across the screen. A flurry of new and exciting faces accompanied by beloved heroes of old. Over the subsequent two hours, the Australian Saturday morning landscape had changed, with the grand premiere of "What's Up Doc".

Having successfully wrangled the rights to Warner Brothers' library of Looney Tunes cartoons from their traditional home on Seven, Channel Nine had grand plans to celebrate the 50th anniversary of everyone's favourite wascally wabbit. Their initial attempt, aptly titled "The Bugs Bunny Show", was hosted by Sophie Lee and aired weekdays beginning on 4th June 1990. In spite of drawing strong ratings from kids and parents with heavy emphasis on Merrie Melodies shorts (and the occasional Real Ghostbusters, another show poached from Seven), it wasn't to last, with the final episode airing 7th February 1992.

But Nine weren't willing to give up just yet. They switched tactics and set out to challenge then-juggernaut Saturday Disney, kicking off "What's Up Doc" at 8:30am. With Danielle Fairclough as the first in a rotating roster of hosts, viewers saw the continuation of popular series including Tiny Toon Adventures and Beetlejuice, along with an extra helping of new shows such as (and certainly not limited to) Taz-Mania, Animaniacs, Free Willy, Freakazoid, Superman: The Animated Series, and Histeria.

Yet it was Batman: The Animated Series which truly broke the mould. Riding high on the unprecedented success of Tim Burton's live-action films, the show took everything popular from Bob Kane and Bill Finger's beloved Caped Crusader and elevated them to a new level. The action more intense, the heroes more nuanced, the villains more three dimensional. And they in turn went on to influence and inspire their comic counterparts. Airing in its original production order, the series launched that same day and ran an unbroken 65 weeks, swiftly spawning an expansive toyline and slew of matching merchandise.

From Sophie Lee to Lauren Phillips, Andy Sunderland and everyone in between, "What's Up Doc" cemented the Looney Tunes' home on Nine. Its popularity led to a return of weekday afternoon cartoons, and later spinoffs for the next generation of fans including "The Cool Room" And "Kids' WB", each with their own unique hosts and lineups of animated adventures. The relationship between network and studio remained a strong one for just shy of two decades until it all came crashing down; with Nine choosing not to renew their exclusive license, the final "Kids' WB", and Looney Tunes on Australian TV in general, walked into the sunset on 29th November 2019.

[smallscreengifs]

[unpleasant-memories]

[m-odels-stuff]

[newsbrand]

Tariq Nasheed on KCAL News Discussing Microphone Check

The profound historian and author Tariq Nasheed has dropped another successful documentary on the origins of Hip-Hop titled Microphone Check that hit theaters for 1 day only in selected theaters around the country just a month or so ago.

This time, there is a re-release of the theatrical release of Microphone Check and could possibly be nominated for a Grammy

Check out the interview below and order a copy of the Microphone Check documentary at www.microphonecheck.com

[oldshowbiz]

[tvneon]

[fitsofgloom]

The House That Fear Built

[fitsofgloom]

Note the "Fiddler On The Roof" reference in the ad copy.

BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) TV guide ad- 1974

[avaganda]

[samijey]

Friday Night SmackDown - 18/10/2024