Uncle Croc's Block

Uncle Croc's Block is an hour-long live-action/animated television series. It was produced by Filmation, and broadcast on ABC in 1975–76.[1]

Uncle Croc's Block
Title card
GenreLive action/animation
StarringCharles Nelson Reilly
Jonathan Harris
Alfie Wise
Voices ofKenneth Mars
Allan Melvin
Alan Oppenheimer
Robert Ridgely
Lennie Weinrib
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producersNorm Prescott
Lou Scheimer
Dick Rosenbloom
Running time60 minutes, later 30 minutes
Production companyFilmation
DistributorNBCUniversal Television Distribution
Release
Original networkABC
Picture formatColor
Original releaseSeptember 6, 1975 (1975-09-06) 
February 14, 1976 (1976-02-14)

The show was a spoof of live kids' shows, with Charles Nelson Reilly playing the eponymous Uncle Croc, a crocodile that hated his job as the show's host. Also featured were Alfie Wise as his rabbit sidekick, Mr. Rabbit Ears, and Jonathan Harris as Basil Bitterbottom, the show-within-a-show's frustrated director. A motorcycle-riding bird named Koo Koo Knievel (a parody of stuntman Evel Knievel) popped out of a clock to announce when it was "Star Time", and a celebrity "guest" would appear.[2]

The series premiered at 10:30 am ET on September 6, 1975. Uncle Croc's Block was up against the second half of the popular The Shazam!/Isis Hour (another Filmation property) and Far Out Space Nuts on CBS. The show, which was fitted with an adult laugh track, was shortened to 30 minutes, then scrapped on February 14, 1976, after half a season on the air.[3]

As a result of the show's poor performance, ABC president Fred Silverman severed all ties with Filmation and began commissioning its Saturday morning cartoons from Hanna-Barbera, with which he had had a working relationship during his time at CBS. In an attempt to save ratings, Filmation had planned to repackage the repeated Groovie Goolies episodes as a new segment, redubbed the Super Fiends (capitalizing on the title of rival Hanna-Barbera's Super Friends), but the show was shelved before the change could be incorporated. The animated segments were featured in the Filmation syndicated package, The Groovie Goolies and Friends, and also resurfaced in the home video market in the 1980s.

Star Time

Each episode contained a "Star Time" segment in which parodies of popular characters appeared, usually making denigrating remarks about the show and/or its staff, and demonstrating their abilities (or lack thereof). Guests included:

Cartoon segments

The show also included the cartoon shorts:

References

  1. Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part 1: Animated Cartoon Series. Scarecrow Press. pp. 299–301. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  2. Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 448. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  3. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 880–882. ISBN 978-1476665993.
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