Customer Reviews

The Archie Show: The Complete Series

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One of the best animated children's shows to ever come out of the 60's. This series, which featured a lot of chase songs, which also showed up in the Scooby-Doo TV series, are what made the series a lot more fun and enjoyable and very comical to watch. The following episodes consist of the first show:

1 The Added Distraction
2 Who Is Afraid of Reggie Wolf?
3 Beauty is Only Fur Deep
4 The Disappearing Act
5 Hot Rod Drag
6 Jughead's Double
7 Anchor's Away
8 Snow Business
9 Jughead Simpson Jones
10 The Computer
11 Groovy Ghosts
12 PFC Hot Dog
13 Dilton's Folly
14 Jughead's Girl
15 Hard Day's Knight
16 Cat Next Door
17 Chimp off the Old Block
18 Reggie's Cousin
19 The Circus
20 The Prize Winner
21 Field Trip
22 The Great Marathon
23 Flying Saucers
24 Way Out Like West
25 Kid's Day
26 Par One
27 Rocket Rock
28 The Old Sea Dog
29 Private Eye Jughead
30 Strike Three
31 The Jones' Farm
32 Veronica's Veil

The series, as reported by TV Shows on DVD, goes on sale in July, before the SanDiego Comic Convention begins and if you're a parent who is careful what your children watch, this is wholesome cartoony entertainment that even parents can get into. The series is set to be released on July 31st and if there's only one DVD boxed set on your list for this year and you are looking for something great to give your family, please make this DVD set one of your favourites ... it certainly is one of mine and it also features great songs recorded by the fictional rock group "The Archies" who actually recorded several albums during the course of the animated series (eight different Archies animated series which ran from 1968-1977).

Into the SatAm world of caped crusaders in 1968 came the carrot- topped teen from Riverdale, star of radio and comics, the inimitable Archie. The first SatAm cartoon with a laugh track, from the start Filmation's show was all about music. The Archie Show opened with The Archies in a band. Each episode consisted of two ten minute cartoons, a dance and a song by the Archies. One of the songs, "Sugar Sugar", from a later incarnation of the show (there were eight), hit no. 1 on the Billboard chart in 1969.

Anyone who understands how limited were the budgets for kids' TV cartoons, as compared to the lavish resources for theatrical animation, will enjoy watching shows from this era to study what might be called the art of limited animation. As with Hanna- Barbera, it means characters running by the same shops and barber poles repeatedly to minimize backgrounds. It also meant finding clever ways to reuse footage. Here, one way was to use the dance visuals for the song segment. The musical production was supplied by Don Kirshner, fresh from TV's live action teen hit, The Monkees. Archie comics from this era were published by Archie Music Corporation, so the musical angle is not an accident. Another clever Filmation touch is to sometimes use no backgrounds at all, strobing the background color in time to the music. This burgeoning sense of psychedelia in SatAm cartoons would reach its height in Hanna- Barbera's 1969 Cattanooga Cats.

This set is excellently presented, with two single sided discs that look like 45 RPM records. The Archie Show ran 17 episodes, unusual since a season generally has 13. Bonuses on the discs include character sheets and a Jukebox to play the song segments as videos. But what's worth the price of the set is the interview with Filmation producer Lou Scheimer. This hopefully signals a trend for Filmation DVD releases, as interviews were also a high point bonus on their live-action Ghost Busters set.

The packaging is an engaging mix of art from various styles in Archie comics and the animated Filmation characters, which were simplified for the show. They still retain the sense of the comic book however, and the writing also echoes the comic. Jughead's dog, Hotdog "voices" his thoughts to the viewers, and Archie and pals talk to viewers between segments. You even get a miniature reprint of a story from the first "Everything's Archie" comic from 1969 in which the gang meet Norm Prescott, Lou Scheimer and Hal Sutherland of Filmation. The back pages cleverly include the DVD menu and a subscription blank to subscribe to Archie comics in what can only be called a total packaging deal of "Everything Archie". One episode of the show also has the gang meeting Mayor Prescott, a caricature of Norm Prescott. All in all, this ground breaking series made with way more heart than money gives yet more evidence why since 1941, readers, listeners, and viewers can't get enough of Riverdale's most famous teen.

The Archies make their DVD debut in this 2-DVD set from Genius Products, which brings us all 17 original Archie cartoons from 1968.

Archie has a long history, first coming on the scene in 1941 as a character in PEP COMICS and continuing as one of history's most well-known teenagers (six and a half decades later, Archie is STILL 17 years old). This series, created by Filmation in 1968 as a relief from their superhero franchises (Lou Schemier mentions on an interview in this set that "if it had a cape, we did it"), is almost a straight translation from the source material, literally presenting Archie and crew as an animated comic, with the characters themselves speaking directly to the viewer and introducing their own stories. (This would carry over into both the ARCHIE'S FUNHOUSE and SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH series, creating a feeling of involvement in the show for the viewer.)

The series recounts the misadventures of one Archie Andrews (voiced by Dal McKennon), who lives in Riverdale and divides his time between classes at Riverdale High and hanging out with friends at Pop's Chok'lit Shop, the local malt shop and teen diner. His friends include fickle rich-girl Veronica Lodge (Jane Webb), stalwart and level-headed Betty Cooper (Webb again), incorrigible prankster Reggie Mantle (John Erwin) and hamburger fiend Jughead Jones (Howard Morris), plus Jughead's dog Hot Dog (McKennon again), who provides running "thought-commentary" on the various goings-on within the Archies. Most of the stories, which have a definite and possibly deliberate 1940s-50s small-town-life feel, begin innocently enough and escalate into chaos, with a resolution for all parties involved at the end. If you have ever read any Archie comics, you can watch one of these and basically figure out what will happen.

A unique feature (for its time) of this show was its dance-of-the-week and song segments, with various Archies demonstrating and teaching dances to viewers and the group performing songs as a rock band (called The Archies, natch). Most of the song segments predate modern music video by about 13 years, and can be accessed on a "jukebox" feature on the DVDs that allows you to play any song segment at leisure.

The package itself is quite nice, with colorful artwork and an interesting clear-plastic slipcover. The DVDs are designed to look like 45-rpm singles, and the package includes a comic book that reprints an EVERYTHING'S ARCHIE comic from 1969, in which the gang from Riverdale meets the collective brain trust of Filmation Studios (Lou Schemier, Norm Prescott and Hal Sutherland, all excellently caricatured). The video transfers are good for such an elderly series, but the colors are not especially bright.

If you are an ARCHIE fan you will enjoy this set, but the average viewer should be warned: this is very much a time capsule. An excellently presented time capsule, to be sure, but a time capsule nevertheless. Enjoy at your leisure.

The adventures of red headed Archie Andrews, and his pals from Riverdale, known as The Archies, had been the subject of various comic books since the 1940's. Created by Bob Montana, these teenagers, who were mostly squeaky clean examples of all-American wholesomeness, were entertaining, because they were such an unreal and idealistic, portrayal of American teens.

The Archies are Archie Andrews, Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper, Veronica (Roni) Lodge, Reggie Mantle, and Jughead's dog Hot Dog. Filmation, saw great potential in the characters for television, who besides engaging in fun adventures, would also be in a band, and produce original music. The Archie Show (1968), would be the first of several animated series, to feature The Archies. On the show, the group engage in innocent teenage fun, and play a sugary sweet brand of bubble gum music. Producer Lou Scheimer brought Don Kirshner onboard as musical supervisor, to help secure and produce the music. Kirshner had performed a similar function for The Monkees, finding and utilizing the budding songwriting talents of writers like Carole King and Neil Diamond. Kirshner tapped singer Ron Dante to be the voice of The Archies.

The format of The Archie Show included two short adventures that opened and closed the show. In between was the groovy "Archies' Dance of the Week", usually a very goofy, and outrageously ridiculous dance step, followed by a song performed by the group. Sugar Sugar, The Archies' Number 1 smash hit from 1969, is not featured in this set.

With tons of material to draw from, The Archies cartoons featured the gang in a variety of situations. Some adventures involved classic themes related to school, sports, camping, surfing, or playing golf. Others were topical to the times, such as when the gang was trapped in Jughead's homemade spaceship. An adventure which took place in an unoccupied residence, that turned into a haunted house type spoof, is reminiscent of Scooby Doo, which would premiere the following year in 1969.

Through it all, except for Reggie's occasional mean spiritedness, the teens remained glittering examples of well behaved youth. The show is pretty well-written, with very few attempts at cheap humor. While other characters like Pop Tate, Mr. Weatherby, Miss Grundy, Dilton Doiley, and Mr. Lodge, make appearances, the focus is tightly on the core group of six. While very close, in the romance department, little more than a little hand holding occurs.

While The Archies are in a band, playing music is not made part of the stories. So unlike The Monkees, or Scooby Doo, there are no musical interludes, featuring crazy escapades. And the Archies don't hit the road to perform like The Partridge Family. Things are kept very simple and uncomplicated, and the animation work showing the characters singing and dancing is nicely done, and constantly reused.

The seventeen episodes on the two disc set look and sound great. Produced in an era when some were protesting the Viet Nam conflict, and superhero cartoons were popular, co-producer Lou Scheimer provides a look back at the show in a 25 minute bonus featurette. Fans of the comics will love this sweet and goofy show. Nostalgia bluffs many also appreciate the idealistic world of The Archies, though some may find the goodie goodie Archie universe a bit too sweet to swallow.

The characters proved to be very popular on television. While The Archie Show lasted one season, it would be succeeded by several other series during the 1970's that featured the characters, including Archie's Funhouse (1970) and Archie's TV Funnies (1971). Other characters from Archie comics that also became animated series, included Josie and the Pussycats (1970) and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

I am VERY disappointed. I've been looking forward to owning this series on DVD for a long time. This would have been a very impressive set, except for one thing... the audio has been sped up. The sound is too fast and the voices and music are pitched too high. Somebody goofed over at Entertainment Rights. So only two stars from me. Better luck next time? (shrug)

I was really surprised to see that "The Archie Show" was available, in it's complete season, on DVD. Previous releases on VHS and DVD just seemed to offer a few episodes of this Saturday morning classic from 1968. First off, this DVD offers a crisp and vibrant picture. The prints used have been digitally remastered, and they are in top form. The sound is pretty good too. On previous DVD releases, the voices of the characters were very screechy. On this release, the voice track sounds normal, like how it sounded when first telecast. Genius Entertainment has packaged this 2 disc set nicely too. It comes in a plastic slide case, and inside, offers a fold out cardboard case which contains the discs. There is a reproduction comic book inside that features a comic of the Archies visiting Filmation Studios-the studio where the Archies cartoon was produced. Also contained in this comic book is the episode listings, and the songs appearing in each episode. There is also some info on the voices behind the characters, which gives this DVD a nice added touch. Special features on the 2 discs include a jukebox setting, which lists the songs on the disc, and you can just watch the music performance of the Archies. There is an interview segment, and also an episode where you can watch one of the shows without vocals, just the music and sound effects. I don't really understand why this is offered, because you just see the characters mouths moving, but there is no sound. The Archies paved the way for other Saturday morning fare, in the early '70s, like Josie & The Pussycats, Goober & the Ghost Chasers, Scooby Doo, and Speed Buggy. One thing with "The Archie Show" is that it's very dated. Lots of tongue & cheek humour, like the same style as "Laugh-In", and you hear the word "groovy" at least once an episode. For this reason, I don't know if it would appeal to kids today. It is aimed at the audience that originally experienced this show. As far as the animation goes, it's not bad, but you can tell that the animators used a lot of the same poses, with different background art throughout the show. This was to cut down on production costs. Even though "The Archie Show" is not Walt Disney calibre animation, it still remains a classic in my books!

I am elated to see that "The Archie Show" has finally come to DVD.

I was four years old when the series premiered in 1968, and it changed my life by introducing me to music that wasn't my father's Al Hirt albums, which is virtually all I knew up to then. I still have my original copy of "The Archies" vinyl LP as well as all of the studio group's subsequent records.

"The Archie Show" created nothing short of a phenomenon, and this DVD set, complete with an interview with producer Lou Scheimer, demonstrates why. The series was unlike anything else on Saturday morning television, and its appeal spread to teenagers, not just pre-teens. While a perfect example of Filmation's trademark limited animation technique and obvious re-use of stock character poses, the series set the standard for numerous subsequent animated shows that incorporated teen-oriented music -- "The Banana Splits Adventure Hour," "Josie and the Pussycats," "Scooby Doo, Where Are You?," "The Hardy Boys," and "The Bugaloos" among them.

Do yourself a favor and pick up "The Archie Show" today!

I recall clearly watching this show when I was 3 and 4 years old (1968-69) and enjoying it so much I asked Dad if I could play with Archie and Jughead (of course, he dutifully explained that they were cartoons and not real). It's surprising how much of this brings back my earliest memories of watching television.

Nostalgia aside, this was a really good cartoon series! At 2 cartoons a week and a dance/song segment (more on the latter in a minute), the show was as well-written, funny, and creative as the comic books. We have the Archie gang in such wild adventures as running a town, circus capers, dealing with a manic computer, stranded on a desert island, and Veronica impersonating an Arab princess (Southern accent and all!). The voices are excellent, particularly the ever popular Howard (Ernest T) Morris as Jughead and the high-pitched Dallas McKinnon as Archie.

The dance and music segments (Sugar Sugar is not to be found on this particular DVD set, BTW) are interesting psychedelic precursers to MTV. The dances themselves (The Weatherbee, The Hamburger Hop, The Veronica Walk, etc) are so (unintentionally?) absurd that I doubt if anyone actually did them outside of the kids who watched this in their living rooms. But the soings themselves are actually quite good! "Truck Driver," "Rock and Roll Music" (not to be confused with the Chuck Berry Tune)," "You Make Me Wanna Dance," and the classic for those of us who remember, "Catching Up On Fun" are great tunes that should have been real hits at the time. Oh, and dig the little documentary of the story behind the series as well as a reprint (anclosed) of a 1969 comic book spoofing the making of the TV show.

I remember this show making me wish I was a teenger and old enough to go to high school. Too bad the real thing was such a drag for me. But you can watch this and laugh and smile at how it should have been and just to get your day off to a good start or end. Superb family entertainment and no less fun than it was in 1968-69! Catch up on fun and enjoy!

This DVD is just as funny as the comic books. My only negative point was that the voices seemed to be a little sped up and high pitched. Overall it is a joy to watch and I got used to the voices.

I like reading Archie comics, and I've been wanting to see classic Archie cartoons. But I live in Japan, and I don't have much opportunity to see American cartoons. So I was very glad when I find out classic they're available on DVD.