Saturday, July 29, 2017

In Search of Saturday

Welcome to “In Search of Saturdays" an advertising space I’ve designed to help our members find those long-lost movies, cartoons, TV shows, toys, games and anything else that we’ve all been looking for, for a very long time.

The instructions are simple. Post your personal “looking for” list in the comments and we’ll all see if we can help you find what you’re looking for. - This will be a group effort please.

If you can’t remember the name of a show or toy that’s alright, post what you can remember and maybe someone here will be able to tell you what it is. Also, please remember that if you are listing television shows or movies please let us know if you are looking to purchase these shows or if you just want to watch them online. Then we, the members of the group, will help try to help each other and go “in search of” those items for our fellow members.

A good place to start our searches is iOffer which, in my opinion, is better than eBay b/c you can find lots of shows there that you can’t find anywhere else.


MY WANT LIST
This is a list of the Classic Nickelodeon programs that I’m looking for to purchase. Please note that I am a private collector who does not copy and resell my collection. The videos and DVDs that I collect are for my own private viewing here in my home or my Mother’s house where I originally watched them. If you have any of these and would like to sell me copies – for my private viewing – please contact me at peggysueclay@hotmail.com Also, IF YOU CONTACT ME VIA EMAIL PLEASE PUT THE NAME OF THE SHOW IN THE SUBJECT LINE. Thank you.


*** NON-VIDEO ITEMS ***
Muppets Magazine 1982
People Magazine – no date available – Marc Summers’ car accident article
Any '80’s women’s or children’s magazines
Early to Mid-1980’s TV Guides


*** REGULAR PROGRAMS ***
Dusty's Treehouse
Hocus Focus
Kids’ Writes (other than the 6 episodes on youtube)
Livewire
Nick Rocks Video to Go
Spread Your Wings
Standby...Lights! Camera! Action!
Studio See


*** PINWHEEL CARTOONS ***
The Adventures of the Mole
Bunny in the Suitcase
Emily (my favorite)
Hattytown Tales
Magic Coco
The Magic Roundabout


*** SPECIAL DELIVERY ***
Beware, Beware My Beauty Fair
Clarence & The Ottaway (staring Billy Hufsey)
Kids’ Writes (have 6 episodes but would like more)
Mariposa
Silver City (The Righteous Apples special)


Classic Nick Rocks


  

















Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Classic Nick Wed. – The Snowman

In 1978 both Hamish Hamilton in the United Kingdom and Random House in the United States published children's picture book without words by English author Raymond Briggs, that book was The Snowman.

Then in 1982 the book was adapted into a twenty-six-minute animated television special by Dianne Jackson for the fledgling British public service Channel 4. It debuted on Channel 4 on December 26th in the UK and was an immediate success. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film and won a BAFTA TV Award, out of two nominations and has become prominent in British popular culture and its showings have since become an annual festive event. In the states, The Snowman aired on the Nickelodeon Network as a Special Delivery in the mid 1980’s.

In the UK The Snowman book was the runner up for the Kate Greenaway Medal from the Library Association, recognizing the year's best children's book illustration by a British writer. In the US, it was named to the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award list in 1979. The 1982 was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

Like the book the animated special is told the story is told through pictures, action and music which was scored by Howard Blake. The only exception to this was Blake’s composition of both the music and lyrics of the song, "Walking in the Air” performed by a St Paul's Cathedral choirboy Peter Auty.

The Snowman tells the story of a boy who builds a snowman one cold winter’s day, which, much to his surprise, comes to life at the stroke of midnight. As they explore they house they must keep very quiet so as not to awaken the boy’s parents.

Once outside they go for a motorcycle ride which disturbs many neighborhood animals. Later they take flight over the boy's village, then the Royal Pavilion and Brighton Pier, and then out over the ocean and north along the coast of Norway. They continue through an arctic landscape and into the aurora. They land in a snow-covered forest and join a party of snowmen. They meet Father Christmas with his reindeer, who gives him a scarf with a snowman pattern.

The morning after the return journey, the sun has come out and the boy wakes up to find the snowman has melted. The boy reaches into his pocket and finds the snowman scarf given to him by Father Christmas.




2012 sequel: The Snowman and the Snowdog
For the 30th anniversary of The Snowman a new twenty-three-minute special titled The Snowman and The Snowdog aired on Channel 4 on Christmas Eve 2012 at 8pm GMT. It was produced at the London-based animation company Lupus Films,  with many of the original team returning, the sequel was made in the same traditional techniques as the original film, and features the Snowman, a new little boy and a snow dog, flying over landmarks and going to another party.

The idea of a sequel had been resisted by Raymond Briggs for several years, but finally in 2012 he gave his permission for the film. The sequel was dedicated to the memory of producer John Coates, who died in September 2012, during its production.




Stage Version
The Snowman has also been made into a stage show. It was first produced by Contact Theatre, Manchester in 1986. The Contact Theatre production was adapted and produced by Anthony Clark. It had a full script and used Howard Blake's music and lyrics. In 1993, Birmingham Repertory Company produced a version, with music and lyrics by Howard Blake, scenario by Blake, with Bill Alexander and choreography by Robert North.

Since 1997, Sadler's Wells has presented it every year as the Christmas Show at the Peacock Theatre. As in the book and the film, there are no words, apart from the lyrics of the song "Walking in the Air". The story is told through images and movement.
Special effects include the Snowman and boy flying high over the stage (with assistance of wires and harnesses) and ‘snow’ falling in part of the auditorium. The production has had several revisions – the most extensive happening in 2000, when major changes were made to the second act, introducing new characters: The Ice Princess and Jack Frost.


Video Game
Quicksilva published an official video game in 1984, for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, and MSX.




Friday, July 21, 2017

**NICKCON UPDATE**

First, I would like to say thank you to everyone who are following my blog, have liked my pages and joined my various groups on Facebook. right now it may seem like these communities are small but hopefully they will grow large enough to help make this happen.

As of right now I can confirm that two (2) former Nickelodeon stars who love this idea and have agreed to be guests *IF* this convention can get off the ground. I can also confirm that an author and two film makers have also agreed to be guests as well giving us an updated take on the network. That leaves one guest I still need to talk to, please help me pray they say yes and that their fees are reasonable.

Also, today I spoke with two ladies in my community who had some good ideas for me which gave me an idea of who to talk to in regards to sponsorships for this event. I can’t fund it myself so I will need help with planning, execution and most of all financially.


That’s it for now, thank you for your time and for standing with the Classic Nickelodeon Fan Blog and A New Beginning For Classic Nickelodeon Yahoo email group in helping to make this happen. 

To be a part of the community please visit the NickCon - The Dream Facebook Page

Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Special Delivery – Big Apple Birthday

BigApple Birthday 1978

It’s Amy’s 10th birthday, is she excited? Not in the least. “It’s a bore!” she declares as she wakes up and looks at the calendar. Upon arriving downstairs, where her family is waiting with gifts and a cake, she tells them how bored she is with the whole affair.

When her parents tell her that her Aunt Lucy has a gift for her she asks, “Oh Mom, do I have to sit though that long boring bus right when I can be bored with much less trouble right here at home?” But with a little coaxing from her parents she decides that she may as well go and get it over with so off she goes. She arrives at her aunt’s apartment building and discovered that it’s unlike any apartment building she’s ever been to; it is most certainly not a bore!

The first person she meets is the wacky doorman who thinks her Aunt Lucy has been turned into a butterfly! Next is the elevator man, the wacky picknickers, then Little Bo Peep? Old King Cole? “You mean, you’re all characters from fairy tales?” She asks. “Of course, isn’t everybody?” Sleeping Beauty asks with a yawn.

As the characters begin to tell how their average everyday lives changed from humdrum to exciting something begins to happen to Amy. By the time she returns home her whole outlook on life has changed and she can’t wait to tell her best friend who, only yesterday was boring. Before she leaves her mother brings out the gift from Aunt Lucy. What is it? I can’t tell you that, you’ll have to watch and find out for yourself 😉.

Songs include: "What a Bore!" "Look What Happened to Me" and "Feel."



Director: Nick De Noia
Writers: Lewis Carroll (novels) and David Wolf (writer)


Cast (in credits order)
Kelly Ellen Collins - Amy Patterson
Lea Collins – Mrs. Patterson (as Her Mother)
Bill Drew – The Doorman
Warren Ball – The Elevator Man
Ira Lee Collings – The Picnickers
Ronald Kienhuis – The Picnickers (as Ronny Kienhuis)
Warren Parker – The Picnickers
Anthony Ventresca – Gordon Patterson
Thomas Tierney – Mr. Patterson
Maria Malfitano – Aunt Lucy
Rep Gurst – Sleeping Beauty
Robin Black – Cinderella
John Nevitt – Little Jack Horner
Trini Alvarado – Goldilocks
Alex Paez – Aladdin
Phil Rash – Ole King Cole
Ann Nevill – Little Bo Peep
Peter Taylor – Pinocchio
Neil Cerbone – Frog
Peter G. Boynton – Frog Prince (as Peter Boynton)
K.K. Preece – Fairy Godmother
Mark Manley – The Fiddlers Three
Alan U. Schwartz – The Fiddlers Three (as Alan Schwartz)
Marcelino Sánchez – The Fiddlers Three


More Fairy Tale Folk
Craig Alfano, Kim Cahill, Kerry Finn, Linda Germer, Joy Goodson, Dawn Herbert, Bonnie Kline, Earl Aaron Levine, Kevin Lugo, Lois McGuire, Nancy Raymon, Larry McLeon, Jay May, Rene Roy, Brent Saunders, Seth Tomasini, Steven Williams


Wednesday, July 5, 2017

Classic Nick Wednesday – Hocus Focus

For those of us who loved Pinwheel Hocus Focus was right up our alley.

known for his puppeteering on Pinwheel Brad Williams stared as Kryspen, an apprentice wizard, who, along with his shape-shifting pet Oulak, magically traveled through time to our world from the Middle Ages.

Upon arriving in the 20th century Kryspen procures a job in a public library where he works in the film department where he would watch short videos to learn about our world.

His friends included the absent-minded Professor Rhombus played by Jim Jinkens, who was also a puppeteer on Pinwheel (he played Minus), and a young woman named Daisy, actress unknown. It should also be noted that Mr. George James (Jake from Pinwheel) wrote the theme song for Hocus Focus. 


Distributed by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment in 1980 Hocus Focus found its home when it aired on Nickelodeon for only one season, but for those of us who remember it, it was a wonderful season. ðŸ˜Š

Hocus Focus early Nickelodeon TV show from 1981