We kicked off our tenth season of Battle of the Network Shows on April 22 with an Easter Special looking at Rankin-Bass' beloved The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town, which premiered April 6, 1977 on ABC.
We discussed the mysteries of Easter EXPLAINED, the odd economic system of Town, our own Easter memories, and much more!
Anonymous Batty Insider says: "Rankin-Bass shows score well in the Best Song category, and this year should be no exception, but they have not proven to be be big winners in the major categories. Does the fact that Bunny was back in April mean it will be hazier in voters' minds?"
Yes, Kingston Confidential has but a tangential connection to this week's podcast subject--an episode of the Raymond Burr drama series happened to air the same night The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town premiered--but we're spotlighting it anyway because it is an interesting failed effort.
There is very little footage of this short-lived 1977 NBC series on YouTube. The two-hour pilot, Kingston: The Power Play, appeared in 1976 and led to the 13-episode program. Set in San Francicso, the show features Burr as an investigative journalist turned broadcast/publishing magnate R.B. Kingston, a man not content to be a media mogul. No, he solves crimes "in his spare time!"
We didn't mention it on the podcast, but also in the cast is BOTNS fave Art Hindle as young reporter Tony Marino! Pamela Hensley (another reporter) and Nancy Olson (the COO of the company) are other regulars. Harry and Wally's Favorite TV Shows gives it a mere *.5 out of **** and says producer David Victor was more successful with medical shows Marcus Welby and Dr. Kildare.
This week, let's rank the top players in the 1977 Rankin-Bass special The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town, the subject of our season opener this week. As much as I enjoy the program, it's not rich in vivid characters, in my opinion, so we will limit it to the top 5. Remember, this is based on if these characters competed on a grass field in Lincoln, Nebraska.
1) S.D. Kluger: We rave about Fred Astaire's performance in the podcast, and can you blame us? Kluger steals the show by not only narrating, but performing the best songs AND providing a baffling but fun conundrum by being the only one in Kidtown who (we know) ages.
2) Gadzooks: He starts as a cliched beast in the wild but reveals glimpses of his potential when he gets the classy Easter threads. The romantic subplot with him is discarded, and Gadzooks is underutilized, but I don't blame him for the creative decisions to focus on more Easter-y elements of the story.
3) Sunny: Despite my hang-up about his name, I do appreciate what the bunny himself brings to this special. Some of his quirks are a little bizarre, but his "how to eat an egg" scene tops anything in screen history outside Cool Hand Luke. And of course Over Easy.
4) Chugs: Talk about "can-do" spirit! His inspiring grit and determination makes a perfect combination with Kluger's smooth motivational singing. Chugs is a reminder that the special isn't all jellybeans and hard-boiled eggs. It's about ganas--desire!
5) Burl Ives: Yes, Burl Ives, who isn't a "character" in The Easter Bunny, nor even a performer in it. He still looms large over the whole special. There is his previous performance as Sam the Snowman that makes us yearn for a team-up with Kluger. Also, his underrated turn in The First Easter Rabbit is a key link from that Rankin-Bass effort to this more ambitious Animagic production. "There's That Rabbit" and Ives might have made this an all-time classic.
*Happy Easter and all of its surrounding festivities and landmarks! Hope you had a good Easter Sunday whether you celebrate the holiday or not.
*Before we get into the Show Notes, know that the YouTube playlist for this episode is already live! Click below to enjoy clips, promos, and commercials. You will see glimpses of some of the other shows that were on the night this special premiered (Kingston Confidential, anyone?), vintage Easter ads, and you just might find the original Rankin-Bass special we discuss...while it lasts! All kinds of Easter cheer just by clicking below, or you can hit our official YouTube page for all of our past episodes and playlists for each one of them!
*Rankin-Bass' third Easter-themed special, The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town, premiered Wednesday, April 6, 1977 on the ABC broadcast network.
*As of this writing, the special is streaming free with ads on Tubi.
*Here Comes Peter Cottontail premiered April 4, 1971 on ABC; and The First Easter Rabbit premiered April 9, 1976 on NBC. And we might as well include Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, too! That one premiered December 13, 1970 on ABC.
*Here are pics Mike found of the Paas toys he mentions on the podcast. He believes these are from 1979.
Don't read anything into the fact that I put the chicken before the egg!
*The 1977 CBS TV movie Something for Joey stars Marc Singer as Penn State running back John Cappelletti, winner of the 1973 Heisman Trophy in college football. He dedicated the award to his little brother Joey, who had leukemia. Geraldine Page, Jeffrey Lynas, Linda Kelsey, and a young Steve Guttenberg co-star, with Paul Picerni (The Untouchables) as Joe Paterno. This movie was the highest-rated program in prime time the week it (and The Easter Bunny Is Comin' to Town) aired!
*Barbara Walters never did land the Easter Bunny for an interview.
*Fritz the Cat hit theaters in 1972. Skip "Sunny" Hinnant returned for 1974's The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat, which did not involve creator Robert Crumb nor original director Ralph Bakshi.
*The First Easter Rabbit is worth watching if only for Burl Ives' rendition of "Where's that Rabbit?"
*Kidville's economy still awaits a thorough academic analysis.
*Hallelujah H. Jones is voiced by Ron Marshall, who also plays Mr. Thistlewhite in Year Without a Santa Claus.
*"Big Rock Candy Mountain" is a folk song originally recorded in 1928 by Harry McClintock, AKA Haywire Mac.
*Thanks for joining us this week, and stay with us for lots more to come here in our tenth season of the podcast!
In our Season 10 opener, Sunny The Easter Bunny braves a grouchy bear, a grouchy duchess, and more to spread joy to the dismal Town. Yet again, Rankin-Bass manage to consolidate and convolute holiday traditions into a single mythology, and yet again Rick and Mike do their best to make sense of it all.
40 years ago tonight, NBC gave America not one but two--count 'em, TWO--brand-new animated specials.
The Smurf Springtime Special was a typical Smurfy special centered on--stop us if you heard this one before--Gargamel trying to capture the wee blue ones. In this case, he goes after Mother Nature to prevent the arrival of Spring!
A Family Circus Easter is also self-explanatory. The kids have an Easter egg hunt, trying to help lovable lil' PJ find an egg. Oh, and Dizzy Gillespie appears as The Easter Bunny.
Disclaimer: In our ongoing effort to avoid potentially divisive and/or controversial topics, we are in no way going to address the Mandela Effect and the chance that it may have been Berenstein Bears at one point.
On this day 40 years ago, NBC looked ahead to Easter (Is Easter the most variable holiday of them all? It's been a week and a half this year, but in 1981 it was the upcoming weekend) with this new original animated special,:
The special was third of 5 annual Berenstain bears cartoons aired during the "dark years" of NBC. I haven't seen it in a while, but it is not at all hard to find if you want to check it out (sorry for the flashback to yesterday's post, and the official Bears Facebook account has posted the video free for all to see.
Two of my favorite things are roller skating (preferably Roller Disco) and Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs. However, I can't find a roller skating/Reese's ad, so let's give Easter one last glimpse with this vintage Cadbury's spot:
