The other night, I was watching Boomerang (a spinoff of the Cartoon Network) and I saw an abomination called “The New Shmoo”, which teamed up Al Capp’s creation with three kids who ran around solving mysteries a la the Scooby-Doo formula.
I had missed this iteration of that formula the first time around (no big loss) but it got me to thinking-- the H-B factory, in the Sixties and Seventies, once they got a cartoon hit, would crank out variations of that theme until we were dizzy. Examples-
The Flintstones Formula-A family living in another time. Examples- The Jetsons, The Roman Holidays.
The Smurfs Formula- Cute little Humanoids running around in their own world. Example- The Snorks, Trollkins.
The Spinoff Formula- Take a popular TV Show, throw a kid or a wacky pet in it, and stand back. Examples- Happy Days, The Dukes of Hazzard.
And the Granddaddy of them all, the Scooby Doo Formula. Take Three Kids and a Pet(or ghost, or living machine), and have them running around the world solving mysteries. Examples- Speed Buggy, Butch Cassidy And the Sundance Kids, Captian Caveman, Josie and the Pussy Cats, Buford and the Ghost, the aforementioned Shmoo, etc., etc., etc.
(Don’t know how many of these were H-B but rip-offs, er, similarities occur across the networks:)
The Funky Phantom was another in the ScoobyDoo formula.
(I’m embarassed that I remember that.)
The spin-off formula:
The Brady Kids (tv kids plus dog, add two pandas (wth?) and a talking crow (wth[sup]2[/sup]?).
Emergency plus 4 (Roy and Johnny, plus four kids).
Oh, another formula:
Take a established show and add an annoying character -
The Flintstones - add the Great Gazoo
ScoobyDoo - add ScrappyDoo et al.
Ah yes, H-B cartoons in all their glorious crapness. If there was any one common signature (besides the animation shortcuts), it would have to be the Sentient Pet. It seems that for any series containing humans, there absolutely had to be a self-aware, semi-talking dog, cat, monkey, dinosaur or whatever.
Beyond that, well, how about the Pint-sized Sidekick: Augie Doggy and Doggy Daddy, Dastardly and Muttley, Quick-draw McGraw and Baba Looey, Yogi Bear and Boo-Boo, Top Cat and Choo-Choo(?), Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo, George Jetson and (after a fashion) his boy Elroy.
Dang, that reminds me, wish I had remembered El Kabong when I was choosing my screen name for the SDMB…
I avoided most H-B shows, having learned quite early on that it was a sure sign of crap (though not as sure as Schermer-Prescott – ST:TAS excepted). Not only did they use the same formulas in creating “new” shows, but they ran them to death in the old ones.
I mean “Scooby Doo,” which for some reason unknown to sanity is their most beloved series after “The Flintstones,” was nothing but formula: supernatural doings, Scooby gets scared, Scooby accidentally reveals the source – a person who was just pretending to be the supernatural being (And whose identity was obvious in the first five minutes, especially under Ebert’s Law of Conservation of Characters).
The typical Jetsons plot was: Mr. Spacely gets George into some hairbrained scheme to put Cogswell Cogs out of business.
Don’t forget the Space Ghost formula–two kids, a cute pet, and some kind of superhero. (Gah, I can still remember Space Ghost and Jan and Jace and that monkey–guess I’m revealing my age.)
But I seem to recall a show about a genie (“Shazam”?) that had the genie, two kids, and a flying camel. It was eseentially Space Ghost transported to the desert, IIRC.
And just what were the Herculoids, anyway?
As for Rocket88’s Sentient Pet theory–well, they probably wanted to use Daws Butler to full advantage. Let him do voices (his strength) for Sentient Pets.
Was HB also responsible for those spin-offs like “The Partridge Family 2000” and their ilk? I think Filmation did the “Brady Kids” one, but HB must have done a few too.
Was “Superfriends” an H-B? This would explain Space Monkey Gleek. Didn’t every episode end with everyone laughing uproariously at something “cute” Gleek did?
Top Ten Things Heard on Every Episode of “Scooby Doo” Ever Made:
[list=1]
[li]“Zoinks!”[/li][li]“Shaggy, you and Scooby go that way; Daphne, Velma, and I will go this way.”[/li][li]“I lost my glasses! I can’t see without them!”[/li][li]“Would you do it for a Scooby Snack?”[/li][li]“Ruh-roh!”[/li][li]“Jeepers!”[/li][li]“Would you do it for two Scooby Snacks?”[/li][li]“Looks like Danger-prone Daphne’s done it again!”[/li][li]“Mr. (insert name of character who turns out to be the monster when they finally catch it and pull off its face)!!!”[/li][li]“And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn’t’ve been for these meddling kids!”[/li][/list=1]
How bout “the bunch of misfits on an adventure or quest” formula. I think the Herculoids might fit in this category, but I cant remember too many specifics about them. But the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon would fit in this genre along with a pirate cartoon I cant remember the name to (they were seeking the 13 treasures of Rue). Anyway, classic elements of this formula are superpowers or magic abilities, supernatural occurances and a journey or goal.
About an established character theft:
sometimes, H-B would run out of its own characters, and would take some from other animation studios!
80’s Pink Panther and Sons (Originally DePatie/Freling, by way of United Artists)
70’s Tom and Jerry Show (Originally MGM, although Hanna and Barbera originally penned the cat & mouse there).
"But I seem to recall a show about a genie (“Shazam”?) that had the genie, two kids, and a flying camel. It was eseentially Space Ghost transported to the desert, IIRC. "
That was “Shazzan”. (“Shazam” was what Billy Batston used to yell to be transformed into Captain Marvel. But that would REALLY be showing your age. Fawcett probably had that copyrighted, but Gomer Pyle ended up saying it somehow.)
The name of the camel was “Kaboobie”, which seems to me should be the sound made when a woman releases herself from her bra.
Yes! Thank you, CalMeacham, “Shazzan” is the name I remember. And thanks for “Kaboobie” too. (I’ve been trying to recall those all day since I posted the above.)
I do remember the DC version of Captain Marvel, which is why I wasn’t at all sure about “Shazam.” But heck, even knowing the DC version shows our age, I guess.
HB also had several shows which involved a race or some other type of contest.
The earliest one I can remember is “Wacky Races.” In addition, there were shows like “Yogi’s Space Race,” “Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics” and some utterly forgettable show involving rollerskaters.
There were a few shows that defy classification, at least in my mind. “Yogi’s Gang” was one of them – a bunch of classic HB animal characters on board Yogi’s Ark. “The Perils of Penelope Pitstop” don’t seem to match any category I can think of. Then there was “Dinky Dog” a non-comedic comedy that was inexorably painful to watch, even by HB standards.
Oh, man, I loved the Laff-a-Lympics! My two older brothers and I used to pick which team–Scoobie Doobies, Yogi Yahooies, or Really Rottens–we thought would win. Being the youngest, I always got last pick and was stuck with the Really Rottens. I think they won a grand total of one time, because the instant replay (which usually caught them cheating) was broken. It was a glorious day indeed.
Space Ghost Formula - “Blue Falcon and Dynomutt”. They were revived for an episode of “Dexter’s Lab”
Spin-off and/or Scooby Doo Formula - “The Amazing Chan and the Chan Clan”
I’d have to vote for “Jabberjaw” as the most inane and annoying of the H-B cartoons. A bunch of kids solving underwater (or water-themed) crimes with a gigantic shark that talks like Curly Howard. You can actually feel your I.Q. dropping as you watch.
But to give credit where credit’s due, H-B produced one of the greatest cartoon series ever, the original “Jonny Quest”.
Jabberjaw, even though nominally following the “Scooby-Doo” formula, to me is an example of the “Pop culture ripoff” formula - after “Jaws” became popular, make a cartoon with a shark. CB radio popular? Make a cartoon with the characters using CB radios (C.B. Bears). It’s like doing a spinoff without paying licensing fees.