NEW @ TOOBWORLD CENTRAL

Most times when I get a DVD delivery here at Toobworld Central, Postman Pat(ruchev) leaves it just outside my door, knowing that I'm asleep during the daytime hours. And I usually find it as I'm going to work later that night and just toss it on the shelves just inside my apartment in what I call the "mud hall".

And because of my Swiss cheese memory, I usually forget they're down there for a few days.

So it was with another addition to the Library here, which arrived long before "The New Maverick"......

"Hiya, Kids!! (A '50s Saturday Morning"

This is a compilation of 21 episodes from shows that many Boomers from the "Peanut Gallery" should remember:

'Kukla, Fran, and Ollie'
'Howdy Doody'
'Lassie'
'Annie Oakley'
'Flash Gordon'
'Ding Dong School'
'Time For Beany'
'The Paul Winchell Show'
'The Roy Rogers Show'
'Captain Z-Ro'
'The Rootie Kazootie Club'
'Winky Dink and You'
'Super Circus'
'Andy's Gang'
'The Cisco Kid'
'Sky King'
'The Magic Clown'
'Kids and Company'
'Juvenile Jury'
'The Pinky Lee Show'
'Sheena, Queen Of The Jungle'

Some may find this hard to believe, but I grew up seeing very few of those shows - 'Lassie', 'Ding Dong School', 'Time For Beany' and Paul Winchell and Roy Rogers. There was more of a focus back in Connecticut by the early sixties on locally produced children's programming like 'The Hap Richards Show', 'Ranger Andy', and 'Mr. Goober'.

Of course, by the time I was 25 and delving more and more into the Television heritage, I got the chance to familiarize myself with many of these shows via public access channels, nostalgic TV specials, and the Museum of Broadcasting (which became the Museum of Television & Radio, but is now known as the Paley Center for Media).

Still, there are a couple of them I never heard of before - 'Kids and Company' & 'The Magic Clown'. (Like that baby warns in the online trading blipvert - never underestimate the creepiness factor of clowns!)

Of course, I didn't expect to find my local shows remembered here, but luckily I got a DVD from CPTV of a special they did about early Connecticut broadcasting. And I didn't expect to see Soupy Sales or Walt Disney represented either, as they have their own marketing deals going on.

The one show I'm most eager to see from this collection? 'Captain Z-Ro'. It's a time travel series that sounded interesting, even if pictures I've seen make it look like it was made on the cheap on a scale far below the standards of early 'Doctor Who' production. (I am also surprised not to see more of the sci-fi show heroes of the time besides Z-Ro and Flash - Captain Video, Tom Corbett, the Rocket Rangers and the gang from Space Patrol.)

So here's another DVD collection that will making the summer trek with me to the Lake. I'll be curious to see whether or not any of these shows can hold the interest of my 3½ year old nephew, who's probably jaded by all of the CGI DVD cartoons he watches!

BCnU!
Toby OB