The strange shows you grew up on

[AliBaba]

Each generation of course has it's quirky shows but one of my favorite shows as a kid was Hobo Kelly. This woman, a professional clown I guess, taught kids fun lessons or something, sort of like Romper Room. I remember she dressed like a hobo, and spoke in a fake Irish brogue for. I know there have been far weirder shows but this is just one that stands out to me as shrieking out "bad ideas".

[Crius of CoH]

Uncle Croc's Block, which starred Charles Nelson Reilly in a crocodile costume, and featured some cartoon shorts, the only one of which I can remember was a cartoon dog version of MASH, called MUSH (Mangy Unwanted Shaggy Heroes)

[DawnStorm]

Originally Posted by Crius of CoH

Uncle Croc's Block, which starred Charles Nelson Reilly in a crocodile costume, and featured some cartoon shorts, the only one of which I can remember was a cartoon dog version of MASH, called MUSH (Mangy Unwanted Shaggy Heroes)

I remember that one; CNR was everywhere in the 70s!

Little Pink Pill: I loved Schoolhouse Rock! I just introduced the parts of speech ones to my ESL student, thanks to YouTube.

[Ieuan ab Arthur]

Hi All:

Another kid who grew up in the 60s and 70s. I remember all the Canadian shows mentioned previously. The Hilarious House of Frightenstein, with Billy Van playing most of the parts, was about as trippy as it got (especially considering it was made by a local station rather than by a network). I also have a faint recollection of a show in the early 60's (1964, perhaps) that featured a huge colourful ferris wheel with a song about sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. As I was about four at the time, I have no clue what it really about (or if I'm actually conflating two different things).

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the ABC educational shows that appeared between shows in the 60's / 70's that taught things such as grammar ("Conjunction Junction, What's Your Function") and civics ("I'm Just A Bill"). I had no clue what they were talking about, but I knew all the songs!

Finally, though not a program, I have a faint memory of a anti-dandruff commercial (Resdan, I think) which had a rather strange jingle ("Resdan, Resdan, ra ra ra! Dandruff, dandruff, boo!"). But part of the commercial was someone taking a bath in an open-air bathtub on the top of a cliff. Very strange days, indeed.

Ta ra 'wan,

Ieuan "Memories" ab Arthur

[crocoduck_hunter]

Originally Posted by Ieuan ab Arthur

Hi All:I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the ABC educational shows that appeared between shows in the 60's / 70's that taught things such as grammar ("Conjunction Junction, What's Your Function") and civics ("I'm Just A Bill"). I had no clue what they were talking about, but I knew all the songs!

That was Schoolhouse Rock. They showed it again in the early 90s, when I saw it.

[Ieuan ab Arthur]

S'mai bawb:

Just by the by, I just found the Resdan commercial from the 1960s that I mentioned above. It was even weirder than I remembered it.

Resdan Commercial (YouTube)

Ta ra 'wan,

Ieuan "This explains everything" ab Arthur

[Avril]

I definitely watched Alf, which someone mentioned earlier, but possibly even weirder, I watched Ghostwriter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS_lD9_Ur3g

[Crius of CoH]

Originally Posted by Ieuan ab Arthur

Just by the by, I just found the Resdan commercial from the 1960s that I mentioned above. It was even weirder than I remembered it.

Resdan Commercial (YouTube)

Wow. That is a very very surreal commercial.

[kitap]

Hong Kong Phooey

Rocky and Bullwinkle

Sabrina and the Groovy Ghoulies

[Sue]

Originally Posted by Ieuan ab Arthur

I also have a faint recollection of a show in the early 60's (1964, perhaps) that featured a huge colourful ferris wheel with a song about sunshine, lollipops and rainbows. As I was about four at the time, I have no clue what it really about (or if I'm actually conflating two different things).

I remember this as well! It was the song by Leslie Gore and what you're remembering isn't an actual show but the intro to the children's hour (or whatever it was called) on CBC. It may have been as early as '64 but I remember it from a few years later than that. I think it was afterschool programming and I don't remember the shows they featured now but as soon as I read your post i could hear that song and see the ferris wheel!

[Ieuan ab Arthur]

Hi Sue:

I'm glad someone else remembers it (and better than I do). I know that it was on TV before I was old enough to go to school in Fall, 1965.

Ta ra 'wan,

Ieuan "TV or not TV, That is the question" ab Arthur

[Ieuan ab Arthur]

Originally Posted by kitap

Hong Kong Phooey

Rocky and Bullwinkle

Sabrina and the Groovy Ghoulies

How about Roger Ramjet (which, I think, was part of Rocky and Bullwinkle or by the same animators)

[Sooeygun]

Originally Posted by Ieuan ab Arthur

How about Roger Ramjet (which, I think, was part of Rocky and Bullwinkle or by the same animators)

Great, now I have the theme song stuck in my head.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7SqSNQeAFM

[musicgeek]

Another one, which may have been local to the NY/NJ/CT tri-state area, was The Magic Garden:



I vaguely remember having a little-boy crush on Carole (the one in the vest). The Goodbye Song (which shows up next on YouTube's related content) was more memorable for me than the opening theme, but my strongest memories are of the giggle flowers (or something like that) which would pop up jokes on strips of paper for the women to read, and Sherlock the squirrel.

[queen of the caramels]

Cloppa Castle

[Crius of CoH]

The New Zoo Revue. Not really strange, I guess, but strange enough.

And something I still miss to this day, Marlo and the Magic Movie Machine, which in retrospect, was sort of a pre-Internet way of watching random videos and learning interesting facts.

I can still remember both of those theme songs on demand.

[musicgeek]

Was "New Zoo Revue" the one with Ben Vereen? No, wait... that was "Zoobilee (sp.?) Zoo." "New Zoo Revue" had the giant mascot-looking characters, right? I seem to remember a professorial owl, and maybe a hippo?

ETA: Just clicked the link - how could I forget the Frog? I remembered the hook from the theme song right away, too. Yeah, definitely weird enough.

[AliBaba]

oh god musicgeek, I remember that show. It was really quite awful. I remember the human...hosts, I guess, were Doug and Mary Jo...Betty Jo? One of those Jo names. Kuh-reepy.

[smittykins]

Emmy Jo, actually(she and Doug are married).

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zoo_Revue

[snopes]

Originally Posted by AliBaba

Each generation of course has it's quirky shows but one of my favorite shows as a kid was Hobo Kelly. I know there have been far weirder shows but this is just one that stands out to me as shrieking out "bad ideas".

I used to watch that, although I remember it as an afternoon show rather than an early morning show (as mentioned here):

http://www.uniquely-portland-oregon.com/hobo-kelly.html