Hee-Haw: 1969-1992, Part Seven...

Sunday night's episode of Hee-Haw on RFD-TV featured Waylon Jennings, Jessi Colter, and Cincinnati Reds catcher, Johnny Bench. This particular episode was among those issued on DVD from Time Life back in 2005. Waylon performed "Good Hearted Woman", "Me and Bobby McGee", and with Jessie he sang "I Ain't the One". Jessi performed "I'm Not Lisa". There were several performances from Roy Clark as well as Buck Owens...in addition to The Hagers. Lisa Todd even performed a song in this episode. Johnny Bench would pop-up in various, quick comedy exchanges with individual cast-members. As is the custom when athlete's show up the punchlines that they deliver or the jokes that they set up are typically sports oriented. Bench appeared on Hee-Haw several times.

In this seventh installment of the Hee-Haw retrospective I felt it a change of pace to ponder a question that's been on the minds of a lot of fans for years: Could Hee-Haw ever make it if brought back in first-run syndication? I don't necessarily have a definitive answer for that question but I'd guess and say there's plenty of people who would automatically say 'yes' and some that would quickly answer 'no'. Television syndication is an incredibly competitive business nowadays. It's actually been highly competitive since the dawn of the 1990's but with so many cable-TV channels and many productions working on off-network programs and the seemingly dominate grip on the 7-8pm time-slot by local stations through the week it leads to an ever increasing diagnosis of doom when it comes to trying to make it in television syndication in 2011 as opposed to 1991.

It's been almost 20 years since the Hee-Haw we all recognize went off the air. The final rural version of the program aired on February 23, 1991 and the guest stars on that last program were Tammy Wynette and Steve Wariner. The show went into a prolonged rerun period which lasted through the rest of 1991. It was also during this rerun cycle that the local TV station in my area stopped carrying the show altogether and as I've mentioned before I was never able to watch the 1992 episodes.

Anyway, the new version of Hee-Haw hit the air on January 4, 1992. Barbara Mandrell, Vern Gosdin, and Joe Diffie were the first guests of 1992.

This urbanized twist of the show went off the air in May 1992 and since that point in time there's never been any newly produced episodes of the program to see the light of day. The question of would a show like Hee-Haw work in 2011 remains up in the air for a lot of people. We all like to think the show, if brought back with new episodes in the rural version we all love, would be able to attract an audience of some kind and be successful.

The success of the Time Life DVD's, in addition to all the ratings successes that the reruns have enjoyed every time a channel airs them, is proof enough that the show is remarkably popular after all this time. Attempting to revive the show would be an undertaking to put it mildly.

I kind of get the sense that every so often talk starts up about a possible revival of the show in some form or another and this causes nostalgic feelings for the show to surface...eventually leading to nostalgic and emotional remembrances about the cast-members of the program, etc. etc.

In the most ironic of circumstances plans of reviving the show almost always get pushed onto the back burner because of the idea of reviving a program that's so beloved by it's fans that one false move in the production or casting can lead to severe backlash. Hee-Haw ended on a controversial note, after all. It's long-time fans were not pleased with the new look in the 1992 episodes. The main set, a cornfield, was replaced according to things I've read by a city street. Oh, in the course of the last 18 and a half years since the program's final episode in 1992 it's become even more of a treasured program in the eye's of it's fans...so the controversy over the 1992 episodes didn't necessarily damage the feelings for the show as a whole. This is why I feel if new episodes were to ever be made that the smartest move to make is to have the scenery rural...bringing back the cornfield and other elements of the show. If the program were ever revived it would clearly need to remain purposely corny and showcase a lot of music, too. I guess what I'm saying is a revival of the show would need to have the spirit of the classic Hee-Haw...not necessarily the same exact sketches or cast-members...but if it were done in a faithful way it could work.

Earlier I remarked that reviving the show would be an undertaking...and I assume it would be...but once a revival becomes officially cast, and the scenery and writing becomes intentionally reminiscent of it's early years, and the rapid editing style and showing of bloopers is inserted I think long-time fans of the show would absolutely love a revival of Hee-Haw.

In all my talks about the show I seldom mention the absolute fact that it wasn't the fans of the show that caused it to go out of production in 1992. Affiliate television stations by 1990/1991 were dropping the show...and obviously this will lead to a decline in audience. Well, due to television programmers dropping the show it caused a lot of fans to innocently assume the show was no longer on the air. I'll bet millions of people didn't see the 1990-1992 episodes due to the syndication practices of the era. In 1992 the show went out of production amidst the controversy of the urban Hee-Haw.

I find it ironic, though, that a year and a half after the show ended production in May of 1992 that it became one of the highest rated programs on The Nashville Network beginning in early 1994 when the reruns started airing on Saturday nights. Reruns of the show remained on TNN on a fairly consistent basis through 1997 but the time-slot was often being played around with. For the most part the reruns aired on Saturday nights at 10pm and would re-air at 1am. Later on the reruns were pushed back to 7pm and they'd re-air again at 10pm. TNN's prime-time line-up would always repeat itself for those who didn't catch the early airings. The reruns on TNN were publicized in a couple issues of Country Weekly magazine in 1994 and revitalized interest led to an outdoor stage show, Hee-Haw Live, at the Opryland complex.

The reruns eventually stopped airing on TNN and then came an ill-fated association with CMT who aired reruns of the show inconsistently. CMT apparently didn't want the ratings that Hee-Haw could bring in and so they eventually stopped airing the show altogether...the CMT era was launched on July 29, 2006 when the channel aired a marathon of episodes with the promise that reruns would air on a weekly basis...but this didn't pan out.

Around this same time, the mid 2000's, reruns of the show began appearing on DVD from the Time Life company. No doubt the success of those DVD's increased the belief that the show had remained popular after all these years...and now the reruns are airing on RFD-TV in a much more faithful way. In fact, they're airing in chronological order. Enjoy this beloved program as it airs each Sunday at 8pm Eastern.

41 years of Scooby-Doo...

Last summer I wrote about an up-coming new series of Scooby-Doo cartoons that were to hit the airwaves beginning in the fall of 2009. No doubt, over a year later, those familiar with all things Scooby are well aware that the series didn't exactly make it on the air until the fall of 2010. That series, Scooby-Doo: Mystery Inc., initially aired in April 2010 but didn't debut on a regular basis until July 2010. The program's home, Cartoon Network, continues to air the program...an entry into the series that's like nothing seen before. In this particular version the familiar concept of solving mysteries is still there but there's a much more realistic approach to each of the characters that was lacking in all versions of the program, except perhaps the original run during 1969-1971. In fact, publicity centered around the idea that this latest series was to be a continuation of the 1969-1971 era when the four teenagers were treated as teenagers instead of as adults in teenage clothing.

In the latest version there's a romantic overtone that was lacking in other versions...and I think this romantic element being inserted into the series is a direct result of the internet culture where people, for whatever reason, romantically link Fred and Daphne as well as Shaggy and Velma. There was always this romantic connection between Fred and Daphne, going back to the original 1969 episodes...what with Fred typically more concerned whenever Daphne would get into trouble or vanish. In an episode from 1976 titled "The Frightened Hound meets Demons Underground" Daphne is taken prisoner by one of the demons. Upon realizing this seconds later, Fred shouts out something like: "Daphne!!?! Quick...we gotta find her!!". So, yes, there was always a subtle hint that Fred and Daphne were boyfriend and girlfriend...but it was never an in-your-face distraction.

This sort of romantic insertion, personally speaking, was always troubling to me because it shown irreverence toward the crux of the series: mystery solving. Those familiar with all the different versions of the series will certainly get a shock when they see Scooby-Doo: Mystery Inc. for the first time...the series has it's great moments, though, but I find the romantic edge a distraction which plays more to a fan-fiction crowd than anything else. I prefer the traditional story of ghosts, monsters, goblins, and other assorted demons terrorizing the area and the teenagers, and Scooby, stumbling onto the mystery and solving it. This isn't to say that there's no mystery solving in the latest series...as I remarked, there's plenty of it...but having the romantic overtone is the equivalent of eating ice cream topped with pencil shavings (something Scooby and Shaggy may find incredibly appetizing). There's an on-going sub-plot in this series where the gang continues to find clues as to the whereabouts of another gang of four mystery solving teenagers and their dog who've long since disappeared.

In a rating scale of 5 stars, with 5 being great, I give the series 4 and a half. If the romantic element would be dropped I'd give it 5 stars.

This is the 11th individual series based on the original Scooby-Doo: Where Are You? concept. As the title of this blog entry suggests this is also the 41st year of Scooby-Doo. Here is a look at the various Scooby-related programs that have been on the air since 1969. This list doesn't include the home video/DVD market which have issued direct-to-video movies regularly since 1998...

1. Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?; 1969-1971
2. The New Scooby-Doo Movies; 1972-1973
3. The Scooby-Doo Show; 1976-1978
4. The Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Show; 1979-1980**
5. The Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo Show; 1980-1982**
6. The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show/The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries; 1983-1984***
7. The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo; 1985
8. A Pup Named Scooby-Doo; 1988-1991
9. What's New, Scooby-Doo?; 2002-2005
10. Shaggy and Scooby-Doo: Get a Clue!; 2006-2008
11. Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated; 2010-present

**- there were 99 seven minute episodes produced and they aired as part of the package shows, The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show and The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour. 34 hour programs {21 of the former, 13 of the latter} were produced altogether. In the second series there was a segment that featured Scrappy-Doo and new characters, Yabba-Doo and Deputy Dusty, solving cases with a western setting.

***- this series featured Scooby, Scrappy, Shaggy, and Daphne. There were 52 eleven minute episodes produced...2 eleven minute episodes aired per half hour...26 half hour episodes were produced altogether, 13 each season. The series went under the name of The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show in 1983 and The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries in 1984.

Frank Welker voices Fred in all of the incarnations of the series except for A Pup Named Scooby-Doo in which the characters were all small kids...even though Casey Kasem returned as Shaggy and Don Messick resumed his role as Scooby for that series. Casey was the voice of Shaggy in all incarnations of the series except Shaggy and Scooby-Doo: Get a Clue! and the latest, Scooby-Doo: Mystery Incorporated. Don Messick was the voice of Scooby in all incarnations of the series through 1991. Don retired in 1996 following a stroke and passed away in 1997 and since then the character had been voiced, first by Scott Innes from 1998-2001, and then by Frank Welker starting in 2002. Innes was also the voice of Shaggy during 1999-2001, prior to Casey returning to the role. The Scott Innes characterizations are found on the various home video/DVD/video game releases since there was no television series in production at the time. Heather North, the second voice of Daphne but the actress who held the position the longest, joined in 1970 and remained with the series on and off through 1997. The original voice of Daphne was an actress with the unique name of Stefanianna Christopherson during the initial 1969-1970 season. Mary Kay Bergman held the role from 1998-2000. The current voice is Grey DeLisle...she took over the role in 2001. Velma has had several voice actresses through the years...most notable are Nicole Jaffe, Pat Stevens, and B.J. Ward. The current voice, since 2002, is Mindy Cohn, the face actress known by millions as Natalie on the 1979-1988 TV series, Facts of Life.

Hee-Haw: 1969-1992, Part Six...

This Life in the Kornfield book was released in 1996 and as far as I know it was never re-issued and so the only way an abundance of people were to get this book is if they bought it brand new at the time. It's available on the Amazon marketplace and it may be available on eBay...but it's long been out of print. 2011 will mark the book's 15th anniversary...it would be nice if the book were to get re-released in 2011 and have additional chapters focusing on Sam and the cast's thoughts about the success of the DVD's that Time-Life released in the mid 2000's and the thrill of the show getting a TV Land award a few years ago...in addition to the program's re-airing on RFD-TV...exposing the show to yet another generation. This book has a few flaws, though...those who get bent out of shape if a song might be referred to with a slightly different title or if 100% accuracy is a must you may find the book inferior. A slight inaccuracy is mistakenly crediting Gunilla Hutton as being a former cast-member of "Green Acres" instead of "Petticoat Junction". This sort of inaccuracy, though, would only be caught by those who are devoted fans of those two shows or know Gunilla's career history. The general public always mix-up those two shows because they both take place in the same town and have the same ensemble supporting cast...so, to all the nit-pickers, cut Sam some slack, okay?

This book contains an episode-by-episode breakdown...it's always been a fascinating part of the book...reading the names of all the celebrities that appeared from 1969 through 1992. This feature has added significance with RFD-TV airing the show in chronological order...now we can see ahead of time when one of our favorite singers are to make an appearance. Last night's rerun on RFD was from 1972 and it featured Jeannie C. Riley and Johnny Bench. That particular episode originally aired February 5, 1972. Looking in the episode breakdown I know that next Sunday night's rerun on January 2, 2011 will feature Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton. The episode originally aired on February 12, 1972 of course.

The Hee-Haw 10th Anniversary celebration took place in 1978 as a 2-hour special that aired separately from it's weekly time-slot. This special was taped at the Opry, with a jam-packed audience, and it featured the cast and a lot of country singers stopping by giving their thoughts and memories of the show in addition to performing their current hits. One of the recurring features of the special was to air earlier clips of the cast prior to their current appearance. Tammy Wynette was saluted in a series of clips that spotlighted her various hair styles. Loretta Lynn appeared via video-tape and discussed her fondness for the show and they aired several clips of her and later she introduced Conway Twitty. All in all it was a fun celebration...and it included exclusive sketches performed live for the audience. They did a 20th Anniversary special in 1988 but for whatever reason it was never issued on DVD. In hindsight Time-Life should have issued the 1978 and 1988 anniversary specials together on one DVD. There were a few serious moments on the special...Grandpa Jones was featured sitting alone with a home made fishing pole discussing the murder of fellow cast-member, Dave "Stringbean" Akeman, which led into a video tribute of Stringbean's contributions to the show. Grandpa and Stringbean were close friends in real life. In another tribute, Buck Owens did a medley of his own hit songs as a salute to Don Rich, the leader of the Buckaroos band and an important figure in Buck's career. Don appeared on Hee-Haw every week as part of the Buckaroos band until his 1974 death at the age of 32.

Hee-Haw: 1969-1992.