Mark Y

Banana Splits ??? (Still planned for 2007?)

Haven't heard any further details beyond the announcement of several Hanna-Barbera shows (including Wally Gator, Quick Draw McGraw, another season of Scooby-Doo, Banana Splits and several others) which were being "tentatively planned" for DVD release by WB in 2007.

I know Earl Kress made one remark on his weblog that one thing against "The Banana Splits Adventure Hour" (correct original title of the show) being released is the current state of the original elements, and he said the show "is going to be very difficult to piece back together."

The "Splits" having been my favorite show as a child, that statement kind of scares me a little (especially in light of how other H-B shows have come out on DVD with key elements lost or missing...or in some ways worse yet, still in some archive somewhere but with the compilers not willing to make the effort to find it).

I've heard they "can't find" the original Season 1 show opening and closing credits. I've stated this publicly before...I have this in 16mm and they are welcome to it. (Let's give Richard "Superman/Lethal Weapon" Donner rightful credit for directing the entire show--apart from the cartoons--not just "Danger Island.") I also have some "Quick Draw McGraw" interstitials in 16mm. They are welcome to that too. So far no one has approached me, and it's not a big deal, but seeing how "Magilla Gorilla" went out with no show opening or closing at all, and "Huckleberry Hound" had some segments which they had to copy from multi-generation VHS tape dubs...if I can help in some small way to make any of these releases better, then by all means I want to volunteer to do that...they don't even have to pay me.

I have compiled a pretty thorough episode guide for "The Banana Splits Adventure Hour," with full run-downs of at least the Season 1 shows, and an attempt to reconstruct Season 2 with TV Guide listings and original scripts. The Season 2 portion is still a work in progress...but if the folks trying to do these DVDs want to refer to this list....if it helps in any way to get it right...here's the link:

http://bananasplits.4t.com/EpisodeGuideMain.html

The site also has a link to a video clip (from a Brazilian site) of the original Season 1 opening. I have it in better quality than that, on an original film print.

Mick Tees

Re: Banana Splits ??? (Still planned for 2007?)

That's great Mark! I too am a BIG fan of the Splits. I hope they get in touch with you and tap into the wealth of information and archival footage that you have.

The more this set is like the original the better, just like we remember watching it growing up in the 1970's.

Jeff Ulmer

Re: Banana Splits ??? (Still planned for 2007?)

Fa la la, fa la la la...

I loved this show as a kid, which I lump in with memories of JP Patches and his ICU2 TV, which I never got as a kid...

DVD Reviewer, digitallyOBSESSED.com | Othyrworld

James_S

Re: Banana Splits ??? (Still planned for 2007?)

I also loved this show also. I remember wanting to go on a big slide and play around like in ti opening. But never got a chance.

Nice looking site Mark!


PS: February 2008 will mark the 50th anniversary of the first broadcast of The J.P. Patches Show!

Do you spend time with your family.....
Cause a man that doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man.
- Marlon Brando, The Godfather 1972

Demolition Forum
My Pathetic DVD Collection

Mark Y

Re: Banana Splits ??? (Still planned for 2007?)

Well, it's "Tra La La," but that's OK...

I've not seen "JP Patches." Is that a local show?

Mark Y

Re: Banana Splits ??? (Still planned for 2007?)

Thanks for the compliment on the site. It was down for a few years because of some issues with the server...I'm trying to put it all back together and add a lot of stuff, including a lot of the original scripts for the "lost episodes." Still working on it, trying to clean it up and make it more readable and accessible.

The amusement park scenes in the show opening were filmed at Coney Island in Cincinnati, Ohio, which was closed down in the early 1970s. However, a lot of the attractions were moved to King's Island (where the costumed characters could be seen walking around in suits for a number of years after the show ended, though I'm told they are long gone now). The big slide seen in the show opening also was there, but it's been gone for a while too. "The Banana Splits In Hocus Pocus Park" was filmed at King's Island.

Mark Y

Re: Banana Splits ??? (Still planned for 2007?)

I'm with you on that...but if your memory is of the 70s version, that's the chopped up version. Which ironically, is the version most people probably remember.

I really wish WB would ask someone to look these DVD sets over before they get released. Someone familiar with the shows would spot the mistakes immediately. Like releasing something called "The Scooby Doo/Dynomutt Hour: The Complete Series," with a few lines quoted from the original theme song on the back cover, and then on the DVDs are the cut-down half-hour episodes of "The Scooby-Doo Show" and "Dynomutt Dog Wonder," and the "Dynomutt" shows are mysteriously three minutes shorter than the "Scooby Doo" shows. I shake my head at this...but if I were a big Scooby fan, I'd be pretty disappointed.

Other things found on the WB Hanna-Barbera DVD sets include:

"Wacky Races"
Each half-hour is cut into two separate "episodes" (each original show had two cartoon storylines), each with a separate show opening and show closing. The mid-show commercial interstitial is on the set, from 16mm, but it's an "Easter Egg."

"Huckleberry Hound" and "Yogi Bear"
A serious effort was made to recreate the original shows with the long-unseen interstitials, and I am very grateful to the team for their work on this. However, somewhere along the way, a lot of the original masters were lost, along with records of which segments were in which shows. The "Huckleberry Hound" DVD set has all the cartoons (from Season 1) on the set separately, with long theatrical-style opening credits for most of them (this is not how they originally aired, but they were seen this way in reruns, and I consider it more complete). To maintain a semblance of the original running order, the first twelve cartoons are repeated later on in the set, and then some of the first half-hour episodes are reonstructed...some from original color masters, some in B&W, some from 16mm, and some from multi-generation tape dubs. Some of the segments are in the right original episodes and some aren't. Some are in the right sequence and some aren't. The show closings are "freeze-framed" towards the end to eliminate the Screen Gems name, and the effect is jarring. Some vintage Kellogg's commercials are inserted into the first episode (mostly from a home tape source), but they clearly are from a later time. Other interstitials are added on a separate menu. With the repeated cartoons on the main discs along with the "reconstructed" shows, the first twelve cartoons appear on the set three times each. I am very grateful to have this material and the set stands proudly on my shelf next to "Yogi Bear" and "Magilla Gorilla." I applaud the efforts to assemble this. But it's so sad that with the H-B library having changed hands so often down the years, that a lot of material got lost in the process. I even read (I don't know this myself) that when the current owner of the H-B library took posession of the original elements, they threw away all the black and white master material...including the original half-hour show masters as originally aired...and unfortunately, that was the only master material for a lot of the interstitials, which now had to be sourced from tape dupes. Also, even though they did have superior color 35mm masters for a lot of the segments, the original show masters could have been used to identify which segments went with which shows.

So I reiterate.....knowing the above, if I can help in any way...if I can provide them with any material they don't have...even if they DON'T REALIZE they don't have it and DON'T REALIZE the versions they have are not as originally aired, or DON'T REALIZE that "The Banana Splits Adventure Hour" did indeed run two seasons...I want to do whatever I can to help them make these sets the best they possibly can be.

Jeff Ulmer

Re: Banana Splits ??? (Still planned for 2007?)

I figured I was wrong on the Fas or Tras, oh well that's the 50/50/90 law at work - if there's a 50/50 chance, 90% of the time you'll choose the wrong one.

I commend your enthusiasm to try to make any Splits release as complete as possible, and hope you are taken up on the offer. It's been a few years since I watched it (probably the '70s version). I wouldn't be surprised if this show was one of my first incentives to join a band - I wanted to be the drummer...

AFAIK JP Patches was aired out of Seattle, which I would have watched here in Canada on KVOS (I think - again that was a while ago). Was anyone else confused by the ICU2 TV?

DVD Reviewer, digitallyOBSESSED.com | Othyrworld

Mark Lx

Re: Banana Splits ??? (Still planned for 2007?)

Of all the unreleased shows I'm interested in (there aren't many actually), the Banana Splits is the one I most look forward to. I don't know if I saw the original "Adventure Hour". I know I watched at least as early as 1969/70, because we had hand puppets of the characters (came in cereal boxes) when I was in play-school (kindergarten). I already knew the characters at that time. I also remember seeing all the serials and cartoons listed on the "Adventure Hour" at some time or another.

Oh, and J.P. Patches was a Seattle show on a Seattle station (I'm in Victoria). He showed cartoons. It followed or preceeded Romper Room in the late 60s and ran at least a few years into the 70s.

Jeff Ulmer

Re: Banana Splits ??? (Still planned for 2007?)

In looking at your website, I'm pretty sure I saw this when it originally aired, as I recognize the S1 opening and the Jack Wild appearance (also watched Pufnstuf back then). It would be cool to revisit this show again.

I don't remember Romper Room much, but the Splits, Friendly Giant, JP Patches, Mr. Rogers, Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Dressup were all parts of my childhood (along with Sesame Street and Electric Company later on). I can't say that any of the more recent productions I've seen live up to their quality.

DVD Reviewer, digitallyOBSESSED.com | Othyrworld

Mick Tees

Re: Banana Splits ??? (Still planned for 2007?)

Ok we have to play the hand were delt... we're not going to get any more Sid & Marty Krofft releases for the time being but what about The Banana Splits?

Has anyone heard anything about this classic recently?