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New Adventure of Huckleberry Finn (1 Viewer)

Mark Y

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What, then, to do with the redubbed Banana Splits bumpers they used in syndication to introduce the various cartoons from other series? If the Banana Splits Adventure Hour ever comes out on DVD, these would make a good "extra" along with whatever bits and pieces are archived from Season 2.
(There wasn't one for Huckleberry Finn -- they just went right into the story on those.)
 

JoeDoakes

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The Region 2 Banana Splits set is worth getting. I wish that there was a second season of it.
 

Mark Y

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I have the Region 2 set. It's OK for what it is, but it's not complete, and the segments are cut together on video from 1990s video masters (they often clip the beginnings and endings, especially noticeable on songs) and audio levels are sometimes inconsistent from one scene to the next. For instance, the song "Toy Piano Melody" is in one of the half-hours and the audio is very low (not to mention the intro to the song is clipped). I remember turning it up to hear it, and then when the song ends, I got BLASTED with the audio of the "Banana Splits News" segment that follows. Try it some time!
 

JoeDoakes

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Mark Y said:
I have the Region 2 set. It's OK for what it is, but it's not complete, and the segments are cut together on video from 1990s video masters (they often clip the beginnings and endings, especially noticeable on songs) and audio levels are sometimes inconsistent from one scene to the next. For instance, the song "Toy Piano Melody" is in one of the half-hours and the audio is very low (not to mention the intro to the song is clipped). I remember turning it up to hear it, and then when the song ends, I got BLASTED with the audio of the "Banana Splits News" segment that follows. Try it some time!
We've watched the whole 6 dvd set, and I think the quality is generally pretty good. I don't know where the cuts were originally, but everything can be followed. IMO it's certainly better than anything you'll find from other sources. For those interested in the music of the Banana Splits, you might try to find a good price on this cd: http://www.amazon.com/Were-Banana-Splits-Here-Beagles/dp/B000JMTPWS/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1432739565&sr=8-5&keywords=banana+splits (also includes the album from the super obscure 60s cartoon The Beagles (http://cartoonresearch.com/index.php/meet-the-beagles-1966/). In addition to the awesome Tra La La Song, many of the Banana Splits songs feature great keyboard work from Al Kooper, who famously contributed the organ part for Bob Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone. Like the DVDs, the CD isn't perfectly remastered, but I think it's more than acceptable.
 

Peter M Fitzgerald

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Regarding The New Adventures of Huck Finn, the live-action opening sequence has to be restored; it's a few minutes long, but fortunately, it was the same opening for evey episode of the show, with no variations that I am aware of... it's important, though, since it sets up the whole weird premise of the show (I'm surprised it was eliminated at all):





Likely the bigger hurdle is that, though there were only 20 episodes in total produced, roughly half of them don't seem to be in the package that has run on Boomerang in recent years, which is odd. Other than faded 16mm prints that have surfaced occasionally on YouTube, I haven't seen episodes like "The Gorgan's Head", "The Ancient Valley", "Strange Experiment" and "All Whirlpools Lead to Atlantis" since they were run on The Banana Splits Adventure Hour in the early 1970s.


Also, something tells me that if/when we finally do see the show released on DVD, they'll probably use one episode's end credits for every episode, making the on-screen info on specific voice actor and animation department credits inaccurate, as was done with the original Jonny Quest and some other H-B releases (and then filters into their IMDB and Wikipedia entries, compounding the damage). I hope I'm wrong on that, though.
 

likewow

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Not sure which elements will be here, or if they're restored. I'm buying it because some of the background music was used on Sooby Doo Where Are You? and it might be possible to hear some of it without dialogue.
 

Ethan Riley

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Regarding The New Adventures of Huck Finn, the live-action opening sequence has to be restored; it's a few minutes long, but fortunately, it was the same opening for evey episode of the show, with no variations that I am aware of... it's important, though, since it sets up the whole weird premise of the show (I'm surprised it was eliminated at all):

Also, something tells me that if/when we finally do see the show released on DVD, they'll probably use one episode's end credits for every episode, making the on-screen info on specific voice actor and animation department credits inaccurate, as was done with the original Jonny Quest and some other H-B releases (and then filters into their IMDB and Wikipedia entries, compounding the damage). I hope I'm wrong on that, though.

They didn't use that whole 4 minute opening every week did they? I only remember seeing it with the pilot. But who knows--I was three.

I wish they would have reunited the cast for the extras--that's one way to make the dvd perfect.
 

Peter M Fitzgerald

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They didn't use that whole 4 minute opening every week did they? I only remember seeing it with the pilot. But who knows--I was three.

I'm pretty sure they did. While I, too, was very young (only about 5 or 6) when I last saw the live-action opening in re-runs, it was a early-prime-time network series, which would've normally clocked-in at about 25 minutes per episode, minus commercials. When Boomerang aired them, they didn't even have the series' opening title sequence/theme song (though the full end credits, with the same theme song, were there) --they just began with the particular episode's title, and those Boomerang re-runs were 20-21 minutes long, minus commercials.

I could be wrong, since it was so long ago, and I was a little kid, but I don't think there was any sort of continuity from episode to episode, which would require different openings. I think it was (probably) the same live-action opening, for every episode, just to set up the premise, and every episode was played as though Huck, Tom and Becky had just started from scratch, going from their familiar, live-action world, to Lilliput, or a prehistoric valley, or an island in the south seas, or ancient Greece, etc.
 

Ethan Riley

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I'm pretty sure they did. While I, too, was very young (only about 5 or 6) when I last saw the live-action opening in re-runs, it was a early-prime-time network series, which would've normally clocked-in at about 25 minutes per episode, minus commercials. When Boomerang aired them, they didn't even have the series' opening title sequence/theme song (though the full end credits, with the same theme song, were there) --they just began with the particular episode's title, and those Boomerang re-runs were 20-21 minutes long, minus commercials.

I could be wrong, since it was so long ago, and I was a little kid, but I don't think there was any sort of continuity from episode to episode, which would require different openings. I think it was (probably) the same live-action opening, for every episode, just to set up the premise, and every episode was played as though Huck, Tom and Becky had just started from scratch, going from their familiar, live-action world, to Lilliput, or a prehistoric valley, or an island in the south seas, or ancient Greece, etc.

Possible. I remember it probably from early syndication. I have no memory of it at all on the Banana Splits show. They were playing it by itself daily on a local station circa 1970. I don't remember seeing that long opening every day, just whenever they reran the first episode. They may have played it weekly on primetime but snipped it for syndication to get more commercials.
 

phenri

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This looks like it will be my first ever Hanna Barbera productions purchase. It looks very interesting, and I haven't seen it since the Banana Splits show back in the day.
 

Mark Y

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I am very glad to see this is coming out. As far as reassembling the episodes, the only thing missing (needing to be restored) would be the intro and prologue. There were at least two different prologues. One had the aunt (Polly?) in it and the other did not. I've only seen the one without. The actress who played the aunt is listed in the closing credits of some shows but not others. Also, there is one episode (called "The Little People" in episode guides but in the syndicated version I've seen, no on-screen title is shown) which seems to begin in the middle of the action, as if it had its own unique intro specific to that episode (missing from the Banana Splits syndicated version). Also, the closing is different, with some different visuals. (I am gonna guess this was the first one filmed?) The story line has to do with Gulliver and Lilliput (of course, Hanna-Barbera was doing "The Adventures Of Gulliver" at the same time as a separate series). I hope they get this right, especially at least the right closings on each one (not the same one repeated as someone speculated earlier). Anything else would be a bonus, since my current copies are the Banana Splits versions anyway.
 

likewow

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Let's hope that since this is the first time the series is being transferred to digital, they will do it properly. Unlike a show such as Gilligan's Island, which was first "cleaned up" for cable by Turner, resulting in the loss of the 3rd season's actual opening theme audio, which was not corrected for DVD. Or I Dream of Jeannie, where the true second season opening theme was jettisoned for syndication and never heard again.
 

Randy Korstick

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I saw this show as part of the Banana Splits reruns in the mid 70's but since this was originally a Prime time show like The Flinstones and The original Jetsons the correct running time should be 25 minutes.
 

Peter M Fitzgerald

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I just received my copy of The New Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the mail, late this morning. I'm starting to skim through the first disc as I type this. Here's what I can tell you, so far--

* It's a 3-disc set, and they are pressed discs.

* 8 episodes each on Disc 1 and Disc 2, with the remaining 4 episodes on Disc 3

* Chapter stops are where the original sponsor and commercial break points would be.

* The first episode, "The Magic Shillelah", has the live-action opening with Mrs. Thatcher and Aunt Polly at the very beginning. The second episode, "Huck of La Mancha", has a slightly abbreviated version of the same opening, minus Mrs. Thatcher and Aunt Polly, and narrated by Huck: "I'm Huck Finn. It all started out in our graveyard in Hannibal, Missouri...". Same with the third episode, "The Terrible Tempered Kahleef". The fourth episode, "The Little People", has the full sequence with Mrs. Thatcher and Aunt Polly included, but has the episode's title and writing and directing credits superimposed, and Huck again provides intro narration over the live-action.

* So far, it looks like all the episodes each have their unique closing credits, unlike the old Jonny Quest (1960s version) DVD set, where one episode's closing credits was used for all episodes.

* The 1968-era Hanna-Barbera ("a division of taft broadcasting company") closing credit is present at the very end of all the episodes I've checked, so far. Actually, it has a couple of different (vintage) versions of it; a different one is used after Episode 7, "The Gorgon's Head".

* Episodes (from what I've checked on Disc 1) each run a total 23 minutes and 39 (or 38, or 40) seconds. No original sponsor stuff or promos.

* Picture quality is nice... decent color, not boosted. There are very minor nicks, scratches and dirt throughout, so they didn't do an extensive restoration, but it looks good; fans won't be disappointed. The mono sound is clear.

I'll see if I can get some screen-shots, later this afternoon.
 
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Peter M Fitzgerald

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Screen captures from the new DVD set... here's the live-action opening sequence:

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This episode title over the live-action portion seems unique to "The Little People" episode:

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Maybe the reason our trio found themselves in all those weird worlds is because they ran into Bronson Cave, home of Robot Monster, It Came from Outer Space, It Conquered the World, Adam West's Bat-Cave, the alternate "I slept too long!!" ending to Army of Darkness and 1001 other film and TV appearances...

CI166186420830528452_zpskaxkinnh.jpg


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--more to come...
 
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