Reminder - Rascals Back on Me TV

[mtw12055]

Quick reminder that the Rascals will return to television (on Me TV - Saturdays at 7:00am) beginning tomorrow.

This week's shorts are BORED OF EDUCATION, THE PIGSKIN PALOOKA, DIVOT DIGGERS, and THREE MEN IN A TUB.

Next week's shorts are BEAR FACTS, FRAMING YOUTH, THE LUCKY CORNER, and HEARTS ARE THUMPS.

I'd much rather stick with my DVDs than waking up so early on a Saturday morning to watch shorts that I've seen too many times already, but that's just me.

Regardless, I'm all for the Rascals getting more exposure. Whether you decide to watch or not, please feel free to let Me TV know how great it is to have the Gang back on the tube again.

[Deleted]

So, based on the episode selection for the first two weeks, it looks as if they're starting with the later Hal Roach era shorts (with Darla Hood as the leading lady). I would have expected the earlier Roach-era talkies (such as "School's Out", "Fly My Kite", etc.) to be shown first.

As much as I want to say the first two weekends of shorts are from the better period of the Roach era, I'd much rather see the obscure post-Roach era shorts, though they are not part of the syndication package. I guess DVD sets are the only way I can view them, or maybe someday they might appear on YouTube someday, even if only for a very short time.

[myhomeo]

I suspect they're doing their best to avoid the more... controversial shorts, ie the ones with racial stereotyping...

[Deleted]

Oct 1, 2016 15:53:36 GMT -5 myhomeo said:

I suspect they're doing their best to avoid the more... controversial shorts, ie the ones with racial stereotyping...

I think you may be on to something.  To be honest, I don't even remember what shorts from the Darla Hood era involved controversial content.

I do know that some of the earlier Roach-era talkies (with Stymie as a regular character) were controversial, and I think it's quite possible that sticking to the Darla Hood years of the Hal Roach era may be their way of playing it safe and avoiding backlash from certain groups of people.  However, if there is a very narrow variety of shorts to be broadcast, it makes me wonder if MeTV will end up going through them all before Thanksgiving?  I have a funny feeling rerun abuse is looming.

I bet "Fishy Tales", "Night N' Gales", "Roamin' Holiday" and "Hide and Shriek" will be aired relatively soon.

[mtw12055]

In two weeks (Oct. 15), ME TV will be showing LITTLE SINNER, MIKE FRIGHT, and RUSHIN' BALLET. I have a feeling they might try to edit LITTLE SINNER. From what I understand, ME TV has gone back to running the films with new music tracks, as they've done for previous runs. No idea why this is done. Apparently, even the ones that already contain music have been given this treatment.

Incidentally, ME TV's Little Rascals episode guide gives a list of all 221 films, but only gives plot synopses for the 71 films in the CBS package - the ones ME TV has access to. Whether or not all 71 will be shown is still up in the air.

[myhomeo]

I'm surprised they're airing LITTLE SINNER at all. It wasn't included in the 70's syndication package due to the stereotypical Blacks at the baptism ceremony. But maybe they've got something in mind. Or maybe they're not editing for content after all...

[mtw12055]

If LITTLE SINNER was taken out of the package, it was reinstated not too long after - but with the Baptism gone entirely. One moment, you're seeing Spanky and Buckwheat walk through the woods, the next, Spanky is back at church. Very bad editing job. If memory serves, the Baptism sequence was at least partially kept in for the AMC run in the early '00s.

[Deleted]

I'd like to ask, what website do you find out what shorts are airing in the future?

[mtw12055]

Oct 13, 2016 13:55:23 GMT -5 @darlajeanhoodfan said:

I'd like to ask, what website do you find out what shorts are airing in the future?

MeTV's website.

www.metv.com/schedule/

Next week will feature FORGOTTEN BABIES, CHOO-CHOO!, and CAME THE BRAWN.

[Deleted]

On October 29:

"For Pete's Sake!"
"Love Business"
"The Awful Tooth"

I have noticed, as of yesterday's episode selection, there seems to be a familiar format. A shorter short, followed by an extended short, followed by one more shorter short.

I agree, we'll probably get only the episodes that were syndicated since the 1950s (with material being deemed questionable having been edited out of course).

Is "Love Business" the earliest short in this run so far?

[Deleted]

Oct 13, 2016 17:37:49 GMT -5 mtw12055 said:

Oct 13, 2016 13:55:23 GMT -5 @darlajeanhoodfan said:

I'd like to ask, what website do you find out what shorts are airing in the future?

MeTV's website.

www.metv.com/schedule/

Next week will feature FORGOTTEN BABIES, CHOO-CHOO!, and CAME THE BRAWN.

The shorts lined up for next week have never aired on the NBC affiliate in Detroit on a regular basis, if I remember correctly.

I vividly remember seeing the title card for "Choo-Choo!" on the local NBC affiliate in Bangor, Maine in the early-80s, though (long before the animated series debut on ABC).

[mtw12055]

Oct 16, 2016 14:05:32 GMT -5 @darlajeanhoodfan said:

On October 29:

"For Pete's Sake!"
"Love Business"
"The Awful Tooth"

I have noticed, as of yesterday's episode selection, there seems to be a familiar format. A shorter short, followed by an extended short, followed by one more shorter short.

I agree, we'll probably get only the episodes that were syndicated since the 1950s (with material being deemed questionable having been edited out of course).

Is "Love Business" the earliest short in this run so far?

Looks like it.

Actually, all but one of the Roach talkies (1929's RAILROADIN' - whose soundtrack was missing at the time) were syndicated in the '50s. It wasn't until 1971 that the censorship and banning of shorts began. We likely won't see the aforementioned RAILROADIN,' SMALL TALK, LAZY DAYS, MOAN & GROAN, INC., A TOUGH WINTER, LITTLE DADDY, BIG EARS, A LAD AN' A LAMP, or THE KID FROM BORNEO on TV - at least not anytime soon.

From what I've heard, the films have been show uncut thus far, but MeTV (or perhaps CBS) has insisted on adding new music on top of the shorts - even if they already have music in them. This has happened during the network's showings in the past. An odd thing to do.

[tboneator64]

Oct 16, 2016 14:20:58 GMT -5 mtw12055 said:

Oct 16, 2016 14:05:32 GMT -5 @darlajeanhoodfan said:

On October 29:

"For Pete's Sake!"
"Love Business"
"The Awful Tooth"

I have noticed, as of yesterday's episode selection, there seems to be a familiar format. A shorter short, followed by an extended short, followed by one more shorter short.

I agree, we'll probably get only the episodes that were syndicated since the 1950s (with material being deemed questionable having been edited out of course).

Is "Love Business" the earliest short in this run so far?

Looks like it.

Actually, all but one of the Roach talkies (1929's RAILROADIN' - whose soundtrack was missing at the time) were syndicated in the '50s. It wasn't until 1971 that the censorship and banning of shorts began. We likely won't see the aforementioned RAILROADIN,' SMALL TALK, LAZY DAYS, MOAN & GROAN, INC., A TOUGH WINTER, LITTLE DADDY, BIG EARS, A LAD AN' A LAMP, or THE KID FROM BORNEO on TV - at least not anytime soon.

From what I've heard, the films have been show uncut thus far, but MeTV (or perhaps CBS) has insisted on adding new music on top of the shorts - even if they already have music in them. This has happened during the network's showings in the past. An odd thing to do.

For all the cuts that used to happen in the 1970s and '80s airings, I'm glad our stations at least never replaced the original music!  Just what music do they use, anyway?  Is it similar stylistically, at least?  While I think it's great that MeTV airs these at all, I do wish they'd stick with the original soundtrack.  It's like when episodes of LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE are aired, even the older episodes use a different sounding music closing (Though still clearly, the David Rose composed music!), that if memory serves me correctly, was only in the later episodes, but now have taken the place of the breezier sounding closing music from the earlier seasons - It's just not the same, but by now most people have probably forgotten about how they used to sound, which I think is very unfortunate.  Thankfully, I was able to locate some of these breezier sounding LHotP closings on YouTube!  Late '70 homemade video recordings always surprise me, and what I viewed looked and sounded surprisingly decent, but I feel myself rambling on, so I'll stop for now!

CHEERS!

[rascalstooge]

Unfortunately, our MeTV outlet cut off the last few minutes of the film and went to an infomercial.

[mtw12055]

Don't know what kind of music they're using. Don't even know if I get MeTV. Either way, I'm not getting up that early on a Saturday!

My guess is that it's CBS's way of combatting bootleggers/YouTube uploaders. If it's music that can be automatically traced as copyrighted material, than you can kiss your upload (and perhaps your channel) goodbye. It doubt it would be to replace the Shield/Hatley music. That all probably fell into the public domain a long, long time ago.

Of course, that doesn't explain why the four public domain Rascals talkies keep getting flagged, but that's another story...