Television tagged with 70s - 4/10

Inch High Private Eye

Don Adams, who brought Maxwell Smart to life in Get Smart, would later give voice to a trenchcoat-wearing crime fighter named Inspector Gadget. But a decade earlier, there was another diminutive cartoon detective whose voice also bore an uncanny resemblance. Only this time, it wasn’t Adams, it was someone doing an impersonation of Maxwell Smart. Proving yet again that size isn’t everything, this little guy was known as Inch High Private Eye.

Iron Eyes Cody

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The story of Iron Eyes Cody is a rather fascinating one. With a solitary tear dripping down his cheek as he mourned the increasingly polluted land around him, his image served as a catalyst for modern environmentalism and encouraged many to do their part in helping to clean up the growing litter problem. A champion of Native-American causes, an actor that appeared in dozens of films, he is without doubt the single most recognizable Native -American face in modern culture. Of course, there’s just one little tiny detail, a seldom -mentioned tidbit of information that somewhat clouds the history of this iconic character – he wasn’t really an Indian.

Jabberjaw

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A pinch of Curly from The Three Stooges, a dash of Rodney Dangerfield throw in for good measure. Mix the ingredients and stuff them into a Great White shark and you have the makings for Jabberjaw - a fondly-remembered aquatic creature animated by Hanna-Barbera. Jabberjaw debuted on Saturday mornings in 1976, and although his stay [...]

Jackson 5ive

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With the 1969 release of Diana Ross presents The Jackson Five, featuring the #1 single, “I Want You Back,” the Jackson Five were breaking down color barriers and becoming enormously popular with their own brand of “bubblegum soul.” Soon, the marketing machine was in full force – stickers, posters, coloring books – and in 1971, their very own Saturday morning cartoon, The Jackson 5ive. Produced by Rankin/Bass, the show featured Michael and his brothers in various comic misadventures, centered around each other as well as Michael’s pet mice, Ray and Charles (get it?) and Rosie, a snake.

Jonny Quest

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Just about every kid of the 70s, at least those who had access to a TV on Saturday morning, remembers Jonny Quest. The reason is simple: there was hardly a time that the Hanna-Barbera produced series wasn’t on TV. From 1967 through most of the 70s, and even into the 80s, kids have been following the adventures of Johnny and his pals. That’s some surprising longevity considering that only 26 episodes of the original animated series were ever produced.

Josie and the Pussycats

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Josie wasn’t always a pussycat. In the late 60’s, this future feline rocker was simply Josie, star of her own Archie comic book about the adventures of Josie and her best friend, Melody. But with the musical success of The Archies on the rise, it was determined by the creators that it might not be such a bad thing if Josie and Melody started up their own group. And so was born, Josie and the Pussycats.

Kid Power

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In 1965, cartoonist Morrie Turner introduced his popular newspaper comic strip, Wee Pals, which focused on a collection of multicultural kids called “The Rainbow Club.” And, although a portion of society was a wee bit uncomfortable with the socially conscious subject matter at the time, it was hard to deny that the cartoon was, above all, funny – funny enough, in fact, to lead ABC to base a Saturday morning animated series on the comic strip called Kid Power.

Krofft Supershow

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Adults of the 70s had a plethora of variety shows to keep them entertained, from Sonny and Cher to Donnie and Marie. It only made sense that the kids might prefer a pint-sized version. Debuting in 1976 on ABC’s Saturday morning lineup, Krofft Supershow was a live-action variety show produced by brothers Sid and Marty Krofft that featured both musical entertainment and a number of adventure based segments to ensure that there was something for every young viewer to enjoy.

Kung Fu

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If ever there were an example of “East meets West” in prime time broadcasting, it was Kung Fu, a show that followed the travels of a usually pacifist Chinese Shaolin monk through the American Old West. And, in the course of his journey, the quiet and introverted refugee faced numerous injustices and prejudices along the way, most of which required him to eventually show off his formidable martial arts mastery.

Land of the Lost

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Perhaps one of the most fondly remembered live-action series to ever grace the Saturday morning airwaves, Land of the Lost stranded a family of modern humans in a prehistoric setting where they had to contend with underdeveloped technology, strange people and of course, a few hungry dinosaurs. The brainchild of iconic children’s show producers, Sid and Marty Krofft, Land of the Lost was far from being just typical campy and kooky Saturday morning fare; it was a well-written and ambitious offering and its continued popularity is a testament to its quality.