Beth and I got to talking about television the other day and, invariably, we started comparing notes about the shows we grew up on. We had some really screwed up stuff back then — like The Banana Splitz. Anybody willing to admit to that one? Okay, if you’re admitting to it. Can you name them? I can. There’s Fleegle (beagle), Bingo (gorilla), Drooper (lion) and Snorky (elephant). This was really pretty awful stuff with lots of “bubble gum” era music. It was like Fraggle Rock gone bad.

Here’s one Beth didn’t even know about (but then again, I”m six years older than Beth so I’ve had the benefit of a few more years of bad television): Fantasmic Features hosted by a wacky looking little alien named FEEP. This came on about eleven at night, so it was exciting because I got to stay up late and watch TV. Fantasmic Features consisted of bad 50’s sci fi. Feep worked hard at trying to scare the shit out of you, and it worked when you were pre-teen, I can tell you that.  Later in life I used to get whacked and watch it for a laugh.

How about Daktari with Clarence the Crosseyed Lion? Or Jonny Quest (this was a favorite of mine for many years). They actually brought this show back recently and it just wasn’t the same. Before there was Star Trek and the Enterprise, there was Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and the Seaview. Anybody remember The Rat Patrol? Or Lost in Space? “Danger, Will Robinson!”

Waaaay back, I remember my parents watching Sing Along with Mitch. This was always a must at Christmas. But the biggest thrill came when we all gathered around the television set to watch my oldest sister on Dick Clark’s American Bandstand.

But the cartoons were the best of all, and the best of all the cartoons  had to be Rocky & Bullwinkle (Moose & Squirrel). They were just awesome, and their enemies — like Boris and Natasha — were just unbelievably funny. This show was just so much the reflection of the ‘cold war’ mentality gripping the nation at the time.