Adam in "Cartoon Lost & Found"

[bat-rss]

Bowling Green State University's @DrPopCultureBG Twitter account alerted me to this pilot made in 1989 for Nick at Night. Apparently it was aired but didn't turn into a series. Adam hosts and shows clips of old cartoons, mostly from the early '60s if I'm any judge. It has its moments, but ultimately, since they weren't showing entire cartoons, I'm not sure what the point was.

[robinboyblunderer]

It has its moments, but ultimately, since they weren't showing entire cartoons, I'm not sure what the point was.

What a strange & interesting find. I think the opening is all wrong for a children's show, the tracking shot of the guy's shoes is menacing while an orphanage for abandoned cartoons is miserable, add in the drab setting and I figure most children would not want to watch this, despite Adam's acting skill.

Thanks for sharing.

cheers

[bat-rss]

Since it's Nick at Night, it was presumably aimed at adults. In the '80s, Nick at Night was showing a lot of '60s TV shows too -- Donna Reed, Patty Duke, Car 54. The cartoons we get clips of in this show would scratch the same nostalgia itch for the same demographic.

[robinboyblunderer]

Since it's Nick at Night, it was presumably aimed at adults. In the '80s, Nick at Night was showing a lot of '60s TV shows too -- Donna Reed, Patty Duke, Car 54. The cartoons we get clips of in this show would scratch the same nostalgia itch for the same demographic.

Ah, okay that makes sense. Still, the whole premise feels shaky, I wonder if it was some rights issue, Nick at Night airing clips to hold onto them...?

cheers

[Dan E Kool]

I'm not sure what the point was.

You're forgetting that it stars TV Land's Adam West. This is the point to end all points. No other point is required.

I think it was a cool idea. It's like watching clips of nostalgic shows on YouTube. 30 years ahead of its time. Great find, Tim.

[High C]

Great find! Yeah, Nick At Nite, when it began, was much more of a period piece than what it became. And much better, IMO.

[bat-rss]

I'm not sure what the point was.

You're forgetting that it stars TV Land's Adam West. This is the point to end all points. No other point is required.

I think it was a cool idea. It's like watching clips of nostalgic shows on YouTube. 30 years ahead of its time. Great find, Tim.

Haha, granted! But aside from the identity of the host, the concept seems lacking. I was wishing they'd at least talk more about the cartoons being shown. How was this show supposed to go episode after episode? The content feels so random.

[bat-rss]

Since it's Nick at Night, it was presumably aimed at adults. In the '80s, Nick at Night was showing a lot of '60s TV shows too -- Donna Reed, Patty Duke, Car 54. The cartoons we get clips of in this show would scratch the same nostalgia itch for the same demographic.

Ah, okay that makes sense. Still, the whole premise feels shaky, I wonder if it was some rights issue, Nick at Night airing clips to hold onto them...?

Interesting idea. Yeah, companies have done dumber stuff than this to keep their property in copyright!

[bat-rss]

By the way, credit where it's due, I should mention that the BGSU Twitter account was retweeting this video from @plaidstallions, a '70s and '80s toy & catalog collector website. That tweet said that this pilot had itself been feared lost, and then it unexpectedly appeared on YouTube late last year on the channel BetaGems Lost Media. Their channel's About page says the stuff on their channel was "culled from an archive of over 1000 beta video tapes recorded from 1983 into the 1990s." Unclear to me if it was all taped by the same person. I'm going to see if I can get more info.

[BATWINGED HORNET]

Haha, granted! But aside from the identity of the host, the concept seems lacking. I was wishing they'd at least talk more about the cartoons being shown. How was this show supposed to go episode after episode? The content feels so random.

I remember catching this special when it originally aired and recorded it for the cartoon clips, which at that time, were not available on home video with the exception of a few Jay Ward productions and Astro Boy. Since that time, most of the shows have been released on different formats, although to be perfectly honest, some cartoons are better off being a 60-econd clip, considering the "quality" of its episodes...

I agree that the concept was lacking, since it was not a show designed to have West's segments serve as a framing device for entire episodes. I cannot imagine a well of allegedly "lost" / obscure cartoons (which aired in the U.S.--Nick at Nite's primary audience location) were just waiting to be discovered, at least not enough to build a season of episodes (or more specials).