Dragons, Wagons and Wax is the perfect title for a medieval-themed kids show. Unfortunately, this show couldn’t be less of a medieval-themed kids show. Fortunately, what it is is pretty unique and pleasant. This breath of fresh air came out of WCET in Cincinnati in the late 1970s. Shown in schools and distributed to PBS,…
Get It, Not Eat It – Boglins 1-900 Number (1980s)
The mid ’80s saw a rush on dolls that “come to live with you.” Television ad space was filled with toys literally asking to be a part of your home. If Pound Puppies, Cabbage Patch Kids, or My Buddy were too cute for your taste, you could always adopt a Boglin. These grotesque rubber hand…
Hey Willy! ALF (Sega Master System) (1989)
The quirky, furry, wisecracking ALF had a bit of a cultural moment there in the late 1980s, enjoying a licensing spree spun out of the decently popular NBC sitcom. He got a cartoon, some toys on shelf, and a Pizza Hut hand puppet. He also had a handful of educational video games and toward the…
I’ve Got Pals Over Here – Popeye & Pals (1970s-80s)
I don’t know about you but from my end nothing enhances the enjoyment of a good block of cartoons like a bunch of kids crammed into a bleacher and loaded up with fried chicken and soda. Popeye’s Fried Chicken did this for, like, a really long time with “Popeye and Pals”, a kid’s block on…
The Secret’s Out- Storyphone (1990s)
I know that the 900-number industry isn’t exactly known for their respectability, but this one seems particularly shady. Who doesn’t like to have fun, am I right? And what better way than to spend three dollars for the first minute and thirty-five cents for each additional minute to call a phone number to hear someone…
Thinkabout (1979)
The Agency for Instructional Technology may sound like some actually-nefarious organization in the Fallout universe, but here in the real world they had a big role in creating and distributing educational programs and other tools to broadcast outlets and schools in the US and Canada. The ’70s saw a nation still rich with optimism about…
Popeye Sells Out – Popeye Commercials (1980s)
I get it, nothing in entertainment is sacred, cartoon characters least of all. If there’s a buck to be made by putting a character on a product, that buck will likely be made. That’s just the way it is. I’m not even a big Popeye guy. Are there big Popeye guys? If there are, I’m…
Push Witch – King’s Quest (Sega Master System) (1989)
While it was probably an easy decision to make – take Sierra’s insanely popular King’s Quest game and port it to your console to make $$$$ – it couldn’t have been easy to execute. Microsmiths and Parker Brothers were up to the task, and the end product is surprisingly better than I expected it to…
Radical Tunes – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1-900 Number (1990s)
I can picture the board room where this idea was pitched. It’s the ’90s, you’ve got a hot property that just released a movie that has a soundtrack and you want to make as much money as you can, right? Also happening at the same time is this saturation of near-scam 1-900 phone numbers with…
Gone Hollywood – 7-Eleven Movie Rentals (1986)
Not quite Blockbuster and not quite Redbox, 7-Eleven’s brief flirtation with a movie and VCR rental service in 1986 and 1987 was a weird sort of future vision that was a little too ahead of its time. MovieQuik (later RentaMovie) broke new ground by offering 24-hour rentals and no membership fees. The catch was that…