I saw the topic for this week, “tail/tale,” and immediately started writing about probability and flipping a coin. The more I wrote, the more I said, “I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve written all this already.” So I went back through the archive and, lo and behold, I had, for Stream of Consciousness Saturday back on October 8, 2016. So go back and read that, if you want.
Now, as far as flipping coins, don’t get Niles Crane to do it for you.
So then, having dealt with “tail,” I moved on to “tale,” and remembered I had also written a Two for Tuesday about “Fractured Fairy Tales,” a regular feature on the Rocky & Bullwinkle show. These were sendups of classic fairy tales, narrated by Edward Everett Horton. I always liked the sendups better than the original stories (well, except for “Cinderella,” particularly the original Grimm fairy tale that featured the stepsisters cutting their feet to try and fit into the glass slipper). There are links over there to additional FFT’s and other Rocky and Bullwinkle features, so have fun slipping into a Jay Ward-induced laugh coma.
Stream of Consciousness Saturday is brought to you each week by Linda Hill and this station. Now, here are Jimmy Nelson with Danny O’Day and Farfel for Nestle’s Quik. Makes milk taste like a million!
Happy to read your blog this morning, John. I’ve had a nice little stroll down memory lane. I loved Rocky and Bullwinkle’s Fractured Fairy Tales!
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A similar feature was “Aesop & Son,” that basically did the same thing to Aesop that Fractured Fairy Tales did to the Grimm brothers. It was most kids’ introduction to theater of the absurd, and we just loved it. Didn’t understand a lot of it, which wasn’t a bad thing: when we learned exactly what they were talking about, it made the cartoons even funnier. You can say the same about the Warner Bros. cartoons.
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Absolutely, John. No wonder I later feel in love with Edward Albee.
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Rocky and Bullwinkle remains one of my all time favorite shows.
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Mine, too. They had some great voice actors doing the show: Paul Frees, Hans Conreid, June Foray, Edward Everett Horton, Daws Butler, and William Conrad, who despite all the serious parts he played was a real funny guy. And looking at the list, Leon Askin even lent his voice to some of the characters. Another example of a cartoon aimed at adults that became a kid’s favorite.
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I know. I didn’t always understand why my dad was laughing but I loved the show. It was in reruns when my daughter was little. We eventually bought her the VHS tapes for her birthday.
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It was one of those shows that was funny no matter how many times you saw the cartoons. I haven’t seen it in years, but I still remember Gidney and Cloyd, the mechanical mice, Upsadasium, and counterfeit box tops…
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Thanks for sharing the clip of Frasier. I needed a morning chuckle. Nice seeing John Mahoney’s memory live on. Rocky and Bullwinkle re-runs were the staple of Saturday morning cartoons for us. Can’t say it was a fave since even cartoon tying to railroad tracks made me anxious. Snidely was bad-bad-bad.
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“Dudley Do-Right” was a parody of all the old melodramas. I can understand not wanting to see a woman tied to railroad tracks, though.
John Mahoney will live on in the memories of everyone who sees “Frasier” and can appreciate the humor of it. Things are changing so much now that I fear the millennials won’t be able to fully appreciate the humor, even though it wasn’t that long ago.
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Big fan of Rocky and Bullwinkle here. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
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Glad you enjoyed it!
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Pretty funny, John. Thanks for the chuckles.
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Glad you enjoyed it.
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Oh, my word. You really bring back memories. Hugs.
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Good ones, I hope…
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Indeed. ☺
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Love Rocky and Bullwinkle, and Dudley Doright, and Boris and Natasha. 🙂
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If it was on during that half-hour, I liked it, including Mr. Know-It-All, Poetry Corner, Fractured Fairy Tales and Aesop & Son, and how could I forget Peabody’s Improbable History?
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It was all good. 🙂
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Love Rocky & Bullwinkle!! Now, there is a tale about my dog wagging his tail….
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Love that scene 🙂
I was Faye all the way, sigh.
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Wow! Rocky and Bullwinkle! Fun stuff.
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Maybe my favorite cartoon show. Wish I could see it now. I haven’t found a channel that has them; guess I’ll have to check Netflix or someplace….
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I loved Fractured Fairy Tales. I loved Rocky and Bullwinkle. I love this post because it reminded me of them. sigh The silliness of youth.
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The great thing about it was, it was adult entertainment for kids. We didn’t understand a lot of it until we were older and realized “oh, THAT’S what they were talking about!” The whole Boris and Natasha and Pottsylvania thing sailed over our heads the first time. There was still plenty of things we could laugh at and relate to, but it was educational as well.
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