#Lennie Weinrib

[haveyouseenthisseries-poll]

[oldshowbiz]

Time for Timer

[rattfinkswife]

Watching this episode of the Dick Van Dyke Show cuz my husband’s voice actor’s in it

[badmovieihave]

Bad movie I have Jabberjaw 1976-1978

[elijones94]

In “The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show”, Penny has an unexplained dislike of the geeky and friendly Moonrock and only refers to him as “Creep”. In the episode “The Birthday Present”, while searching for Pebbles’s missing birthday present for Wilma, the kids investigate at the Gruesomes’ spooky house and are spooked by Gobby and his giant spider. Penny apparently jumps into Moonrock’s arms while Wiggy leaps onto his shoulders.

[chernobog13]

S IS FOR SUPERMAN!

Even though I was older than the target audience for Sesame Street when it premiered in 1969, my siblings were not, and I sometimes watched it along with them.

I was especially fond of the episodes sponsored by the letter S, because it probably meant I would get to see this little gem:

Please note that Superman is NOT voiced here by Bud Collyer, the man who had voiced the character on radio, in the Fleischer short films, and in previous Filmation cartoons. This Sesame Street segment was produced in 1970, a year after Collyer passed away.

Superman is voiced here instead by actor Lennie Weinrib. Weinrib would reprise the role in 1972 in an episode of Filmation's animated series The Brady Kids, when the six siblings meet Superman.

[docgold13]

All The Jokers

From the best of the best to the not so best of the rest...*

1). Mark Hamill

2). Heath Ledger

3). Cesar Romero

4). Frank Welker

5). Jack Nicholson

6). Alan Tudyk

7). Joaquin Phoenix

8). Zach Galfinakis

9). Lennie Weinrib

10). John DiMaggio 11). Kevin Michael Richardson

12). Jeff Bennett

13). Cameron Monaghan**

14). Troy Baker 15). John Kassir

16). Jason Spisak

17). Larry Storch

18). Brent Spiner 19). Michael Emerson

20). Michael McKean

21). Jeff Bergman

22). Barry Keoghan

23). Lloyd Floyd

24). Jared Leto

*Agree, disagree; have I left anyone out? Let me know what you think.

**Cameron Monaghan did not specifically portray The Joker in the television show Gotham; but rather a thinly veiled alternative due to licensing rights or some such matter. Yet The Joker and Jerome were essentially a difference without a distinction...

[thealmightyemprex]

@ariel-seagull-wings @themousefromfantasyland @the-blue-fairie

@theancientvaleofsoulmaking @princesssarisa @countesspetofi

@amalthea9 @filmcityworld1 @barbossas-wench

[brokehorrorfan]

The New Adventures of Batman will be released on Blu-ray on June 25 via Warner Bros. Produced by Filmation and DC Comics, the animated series ran for sixteen episodes on CBS in 1977.

It stars Adam West as Batman, Burt Ward as Robin, Melendy Britt as Batgirl and Catwoman, Lou Scheimer as Bat-Mite and Clayface, and Lennie Weinrib as Commissioner Gordon, Joker, and Penguin.

Special features are listed below.

Special features:

The Dark Knight Revisited

Featuring the voices of Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin, these animated adventures of the Caped Crusader and Boy Wonder originally produced by animation powerhouse Filmation in 1977, are revered by generations of cartoon fans. With heroine Batgirl and zany sidekick Batmite, these brave Bat-heroes match wits with clever criminals like the Joker, the Penguin, Catwoman, Mr. Freeze and the cosmic uber-villain Zarbor!

Pre-order The New Adventures of Batman.

[gameraboy2]

1960s "I Love You" record card featuring Dracula and the Wolfman, with the voices of Mel Blanc and Lennie Weinrib

[scooby-review]

Scooby-Doo and Scrappy Doo S1 E1-4

Following the network's complaints about the Scooby formula growing stale, the writers were tasked with rejuvenating the franchise. Scrappy came as their solution, a puppy sidekick to the franchise's mascot. 

However, Scrappy wasn’t the end all be all to this issue, as the studio issued their fears over Scrappy being too independent, which the higher ups deemed a negative message for children. Ultimately, the studio decided the episodes written were perfectly fine, yet still, they hired a new writer to edit the episodes, likely because the character would later be toned down and therefore, re-airing these early episodes would become difficult. 

Another issue that has plagued Scrappy as a character is his voice, with many an actor picked to play the character until finally, they settled on Lennie Weinrib, although come the end of the season, he was fired for requesting a pay rise, something Hanna Barbera simply weren’t willing to do, not for anyone. 

Despite the desire for something new, the formula remains the same for now, with a sixteen episode season emerging at the start of this new era for the franchise, which many consider its dark age, often blaming this solely on Scrappy. 

1. The Scarab Lives!

Continuity has always existed within the Scooby franchise, although this comes loosely, however I would argue that this appears to be a slight shift, the previous series added lines within their episodes to suggest the first three iterations of the series were all a single, clean timeline, but with the addition of Scrappy, there remains a slight idea of continuity, but the reality is, it was never a true focus for the series, such ideas weren’t priorities and actively discouraged when it came to this style of episodic cartoon - serialisation makes rerunning a series far more difficult. 

Yet introducing a new character is something that demands explanation, returning to the prior point of interest, serialisation grows troublesome when the episodes are re-aired, those tuning in may feel clueless as to what they’re watching, which can discourage viewership, therefore, anyone who’d watched any of the prior Scooby series may find themselves confused as to this new mainstay. Within episodes that contain Scooby Dum, they frequently referenced their relation (albeit incorrectly at times) yet doing so in every episode of this new series would be impractical. 

As such, the series intro gives us the backstory and explanation as to who this new puppy is; there’s little to it - Scrappy is delivered to Scooby in a cardboard box, announcing himself as Scooby’s nephew, and then the intro continues to play out. Being completely honest, this intro kind of sucks, although has grown into more of an earworm for me. Yet the addictive sound of the prior three seasons now lacks quite as poignant of a design, it’s a little too much and feels rhythmically flat. It is also worth mentioning that there is a greater backstory given further in the franchise's lifespan, but for now, this is all we are offered, a quick and simple explanation. 

As for the main man himself, I have to admit, I adore Scrappy. Growing up on Scooby VHS tapes, I frequently watched the Scrappy trilogy of movies, and found him to be a lovable addition to the cast! Alongside this, I’ve also watched all of 13 Ghosts, and that too offers a depiction of Scrappy I adore! 

John Latchem stated on "Scooby-Doo Still Going Strong” that one of the earliest ideas for the dog sidekick of the series was a small, feisty dog, before they settled on the cowardly Scooby, yet the hints from these earlier ideas do come into full effect here. Scrappy’s design mirrors Scooby’s in colour, he too is a great Dane, however physically, they juxtapose one another to exaggerate their most prominent qualities. Scooby is large and lanky, this figure often denoting a frailer, more cowardly, meanwhile Scrappy is tiny, his head is larger than his body which denotes his more fiery intentions which don’t match up with his own capabilities. Posing wise, his frequent brawling of fists shows his bravery. 

Providing such a distinct opposite to Scooby (and Shaggy) works perfectly, he lacks the cowardice even seen within Fred, Daphne and Velma, who stick it out more frequently, but act rationally. In contrast, Scrappy always assumes he can win, he runs towards danger, which in turn, draws more problems for the gang. Again, this returns to his role as a puppy, he’s full of energy, almost yappy, and his name is evidently suggestive of his personality while also alluding perfectly to Scooby. 

It’s also worth noting that his admiration for Scooby too adds greatly to his character, he follows what he believes his uncle does, he’s brave for he wants to grow into his uncle, regardless of the rose tinted glasses he wears. 

As for the episode itself, the gang are called to aid the author of Shaggy and Scooby’s favourite comic book, as his character has come to life, haunting him. Based on a comic story by Mark Evanier, (who also wrote this pilot episode for the series, and has an amazing blog post about it here) the episode went under a bombarde of rewrites, as it acted as a way to prove to the network that Scooby was worth keeping around, and that Scrappy did reinvigorate the series. 

Between this and the comic, the villain was redesigned. 

The Blue Scarab exhibits a lot of typical stylistic motifs for superheroes, the almost wrestler-like mask, he’s muscular with a cape, his emblem rests in the centre of his chest and his costume is minimal in its colour scheme, using a collage of blues. It’s for all these reasons he works so well as a character, and I much prefer this design to the version seen in the comics.

Conceptually, I adore the idea of a creators creation coming to life, the fear of one's work being tarnished and tangled feels oddly fitting given the episode introduces Scrappy, a character who, over the years, has grown villainized, distant from his original iteration, a sweet and feisty little puppy. Yet as of late, his appearances are placing him as the monster, although, his upcoming appearance on Jellystone! does give me hope that the character can see some new life once more (although it's unclear in what light he'll be portrayed in the series). I believe he was planned as an announcer for Multiverses too, but given the game shutting down soon, I doubt any of that content will see the light of day any time soon. 

It’s a fairly simple mystery here, not a story that feels like it was crafted, and then a culprit was reverse engineered (which Mark discusses in his blog, describing the process of pitching a Scooby episode as being simply coming up with a monster that hadn’t already been used). But simplicity works in its favour, as it offers the gang room to explore an actual investigation. The story structure here too is simple, yet it works perfectly as a pilot for this new era. 

However, it’s worth mentioning that this episode does continue to draw focus away from Fred, Daphne and Velma, and by the end of the season, they’ll be gone from the narrative. Although I enjoy Scrappy, his interactions with this side of the gang feel flat in this episode, they all treat him the same way, in contrast to Shaggy and Scooby who view him uniquely. It’s this lack of characterisation of that side of the gang that highlights their drifting intentions, that the dogs are the focus, and they are secondary to this. 

Ultimately, it’s not too bad here, and the great setting and concept alone are enough for me to love this episode! The villain’s a joy to watch, and I love Scrappy Doo so much, unapologetically. 

2. The Night Ghoul of Wonderworld

Attempting to explain this episode has left me incredibly confused, so I’ll try my best. 

The gang head into Wonderworld, which is an amusement park divided into unique areas, and they “make everyone's fantasy a reality”. Already, this opens a whole can of worms, but I’ll ignore them. 

Velma is the centre of this episode, for now, and her fantasy is to solve a mystery with Sherlock Holmes, so the gang are taken to London World, which is so funny when the gang have to pass locations like “Prehistoric World” on the way. From here, they meet Sherlock, a robot, as are all the characters in the park, which is empty of all other guests, I assume. The mystery at hand is the theft of the crown jewels, a classic plot. 

However, as it turns out, the actual crown jewels have been stolen, I believe this is what we witness in the cold open. So, the villain of the episode, the titular ghoul, stole the real crown jewels and hid them inside of Wonderworld, however, the computer (there’s a computer) took Velma’s fantasy, to solve a mystery with Sherlock Holmes, and then took inspiration from the real crime of the crown jewels having recently been stolen, to tell its story. 

Inside London World, there is therefore, also a robotic ghoul, who stole the real crown jewels, and hid them, and therefore, the real ghoul then entered London World to search for these jewels, attempting to scare off the gang in the process. 

I hope that makes sense. 

I love this stupid kind of plot - presumably, Wonder World is located somewhere in the US, and therefore, the ghoul must have stolen the jewels from London, and then managed to return to America, where he hid them inside the theme park he works at. Amazing stuff. 

All of this would be perfect, if the episode didn’t lose focus from Velma. Hell I mean that, if the episode fixated mostly on Velma for its duration, I would be discussing this as one of the franchises best, but of course, it switches to focus more so on Scooby, Shaggy and Scrappy. It’s a shame, because just the concept of Velma working with Sherlock is perfect! I adore London World and the final set piece in Big Ben, I just wish the story didn’t lose focus from this initial concept of Velma solving the mystery. 

At the very least, I appreciate where they go with this idea. The episode sees Scooby and Shaggy growing a false sense of confidence after they solve the mystery, as set up by the computer, only to have this shattered as the non-robotic ghoul arrives. It’s a lot of fun and a nice direction to take the story if it’s going to focus on them instead.  

The location itself is a reference to the 1973 movie “Westworld”, which has a similar set up of an amusement park with robots, and the villains identity of Mr. Marino is a reference to Mr. Roarke in “Fantasy Island”. 

As for the ghoul himself, he’s fine! Typical of ghoul conventions, he has a slender face, his large hanging chin allows for a wide, groaning expression, only complemented by his most distinct feature, his huge black eyes with tiny crimson pupils. With his grey hair, top hat and fancy attire, the ghoul resembles the archetype of a British Gentleman, although the cape also offers some inspiration from Dracula. 

I wish this season could have had an episode centred on Fred, Daphne and Velma amidst the rest focused more so on Shaggy and the dogs, but alas, such treats cannot exist. 

Regardless, this is an enjoyable enough time, and I really enjoy when Scrappy walks like a dog, this less anthropomorphised imagery is a lot of fun and incredibly endearing. 

3. Strange Encounters of a Scooby Kind

I’m kind of a sucker for weird alien stories, this is a great example of the basic idea I enjoy; the gang are out camping, when they encounter a UFO. As someone who’s afraid of aliens and space conceptually, this concept is eternally frightening to me. 

Having the characters roam these locations, discussing alien sightings and disappearances is something that appeals fairly specifically to me. 

Of course, at the centre of this mystery are aliens, and I can’t exactly say I love them. With a large, hulking design, these swampy aliens have an almost primitive mouth, large black eyes and a uniquely shaped head. There’s simply something about this design I don’t enjoy - it gets across fairly clearly that its an alien, through the large eyes and head shape, so in this sense the design works. 

Again, Scrappy continues to reinvigorate these plots, as rather than have Fred simply pick Shaggy and Scooby to act as bait, Scrappy excitedly volunteers them, it’s such a great twist on the usual formula, and it made me giggle. All of this leads into a fairly enjoyable sequence inside the UFO, and I enjoy the explanation of the craft being picked up by a crane, it’s the perfect level of silly and the hints towards this are cohesive and well laid out. 

Otherwise, the only other point I feel is worth mentioning here is how great the score is, it’s a perfect eerie accompaniment to the episodes, they’re not quite as horror focused as Show, but the score and plots generally still aid in this aesthetic. 

4. The Neon Phantom of the Roller Disco!

This is another fairly middling episode unfortunately! As the gang’s trip to the Hollywood Bowl is cut short after the neon phantom steals all their electricity, and therefore, the gang must chase him and learn of his intentions. 

There’s four main locations at play here, and I enjoy them all to varying degrees - there’s the aforementioned Hollywood Bowl, a recording studio, a roller disco and the Chinese theatre (which was previously used in The Chiller Diller Movie Thriller). Jumping around to all of these does give the episode more merit, I appreciate the stories that can be told using them, and this wider variety means the episode moves at a faster pace. Also, such a wide look at Hollywood is a nice place to set the episode generally.

In fact, I would argue all the pieces are here to make a great episode, the roller disco finale that ends on the Hollywood sign, a recording studio with a fun band, and I’m always a fan of a theatre setting. Yet it feels like the bulk of the episode doesn’t do much with this power. For the most part, we’re just seeing the streets of Hollywood, which is far less interesting than visiting these locations in depth, but I guess having the villain stalk them through the streets is easier than within the buildings, given his power is to steal electricity. Yet I can’t help but feel a little disappointed that, between these great set pieces and fun moments, there feels like very little substance. 

Although I do really enjoy having Fred, Daphne and Velma in the recording studio to investigate, they have a slightly larger presence as a result, and they have some cute moments here!

I want to emphasise this isn’t a bad episode, it’s a little mediocre, but above all, it’s disappointing and feels like a misuse of its potential, and nowhere does that shine through greater than the Neon Phantom. Colour Scheme wise, he works great for his intentions, the contrasting midnight blue with the neon green, alongside the glowing aura, is fantastic, yet the actual details are where this design falls for me. Mostly in the face, there’s such a goofy appearance to this character, the wide mouth, tiny eyes and large nose don’t scream scary, nor do they continue the skeleton motif the design starts with a small ribcage, although, it feels more so like this was done to bulk out the design a little more, because without that, the entire chest area would be blue. Nothing else here really screams skeleton, and so I’m left wondering exactly what the intentions with this guy were. It’s a shame given that an electricity stealing skeleton is a really cool concept!

I would also be remiss not to mention that the plot of the episode has some similarities to The Phantom of the Paradise, an amazing horror movie that places a rock opera take on Phantom of the Opera, diving into the music industry and the way artists are treated. I found the similarities to be minimal, but I will take any chance I get to discuss Paradise. 

Thank you so much for reading this review! I'm excited, and a little apprehensive, to start the Scrappy era! I can't wait to return to end of this era with 13 Ghosts and the trio of movies, but having heard tales of the middle of this era, I can't say I'm thrilled to be stuck there for a while! But I do love Scrappy, I hope one day we can see him again where he isn't just the butt of every joke, or a villain.

Have a great week! :)

Socials - My debut novel is now available! Any support is hugely appreciated :)

Next Review: Scooby and Scrappy Doo Season 1 Episodes 5-8

Previous Review: Scooby Doo Goes Hollywood

[oldshowbiz]

Written by Lennie Weinrib, the voice of Scrappy-Doo

[cakeinabasket]

The winner will go up against another Gomez tomorrow until we have a final champion!

[coffee-n-cacti]

1960’s rare Buzza Cardozo card with record that plays a monster love ballad. Voices include Mel Blanc and Lennie Weinrib!

[thatcartoonnetworkblog]

Cartoon Network Friday Spotlight: Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo- “Twenty Thousand Screams Under the Sea”

Scrappy-Doo remains among the most controversial additions to the Scooby-Doo franchise... Mindy Kaling’s take on Velma notwithstanding. 

If you ask the crew who worked on the franchise or Hanna-Barbera at the time, they’ll either call Scrappy the savior of the franchise or a necessary evil to keep it afloat. The fact is that ABC, who had given Scooby’s previous shows a home, were looking to not bring back the studio’s biggest cash cow of the 70′s unless some changes were made, and adding in a tough-minded nephew seemed to have done the trick, keeping Scooby around well into the 80′s. From what I can gather, kids at the time liked Scrappy, but when older fans who returned to the franchise during Cartoon Network’s heyday in the 90′s and early 2000′s got a hold of his material, he wasn’t very well received, and thus became the butt of many a joke since.

Scrappy... kind of deserves it, although not every project he was in stunk. I think that his first series was a tolerable continuation of the monster of the week format, even though he was one monster hunter too many, and he does get annoying. I have less defense for the run where it’s just him, Scooby, and Shaggy, though.

Here’s a decent episode from that first series, where the gang is resting in the beaches of Acapulco as they intend to watch a cliff diving competiton. The star diver, Tiger Morris is late, and from there the beach city is haunted by a sea beast. Who has to solve it? Three guesses, and the first two don’t count.

I generally prefer this when Scrappy isn’t a big part of it, as Lennie Weinrib’s strong New York voice grows old fast. I actually prefer Don Messick’s later take on the character, but it has its moments, and cool atmosphere with the dark sea before a reveal that makes sense.