1. Hot Fudge

This 1974 kids’ show from Detroit has a little bit Muppet, a little bit Pinwheel, and a little bit Great Space Coaster all lumped together.

Originally hosted by comic Arte Johnson, Hot Fudge featured humans interacting with puppets (called “Mits”), lots of music, and segments where kids narrate things out in the real world.  Johnson was replaced by Larry Santos and Seymour the hip, green puppet after the first season, and continued to host through the rest of the series.

For every neat thing about this show – the groovy star power, the typography, the sweet lessons – there seems to be something that didn’t age well.  The songs aren’t great for the most part, the human puppets are difficult to look at, and the production just feels flat at times compared to other kids’ shows from that era.  Still, it’s impressive for what it is – a local Detroit production gone national, and it’s certainly unique.  And I’m nuts for the design and fonts used.

Here’s an episode:

2. Fifth Element Concept Art

Iamag’s got some stunning concept art from The Fifth Element up.  I’m a sucker for this stuff, and it’s remarkable to see how close the movie came to some of these concepts! Hit the link for more, but here are some of my favorites.

Amazing!

3. Breakin’ and Poppin’

Before he was Carlton, Alfonso Ribeiro was Ricky Schroeder’s super-hip pal in Silver Spoons.  He was a pretty hot item back in 1985 – he did a killer Michael Jackson impersonation complete with moonwalk. His breakdancing was remarkable, too; so remarkable that someone thought it’d be a good idea to package him up and put a price tag on it.  Here’s a commercial for his video, “Breakin’ and Poppin'”.

It even comes with a foldout cardboard mat!

4. Alvin and the Chipmunks

This mid-’80s magazine ad for Alvin and the Chipmunks toys takes me back.  I had the stuffed Alvin in the middle there, and took him everywhere with me.  He’s in a box in my 2-year-old’s closet right now, and I’m still debating whether he’ll ever get to touch him.

Collect all the cute and WHAT? Unfortunately, I could only find page one of this two page ad.

5. How Long

It’s hard to describe my feelings for this.  This looks like a parody video of a 1975 hit song, but it’s real and it’s terrific.  I almost wish it were a parody though.

-ds