THE SKATEBIRDS seemed to be a Forgotten TV show the year after it went off the air.
Back in 1979 or 1980, I found a board game. It was THE SKATEBIRDS game. Yet, I had never heard of THE SKATEBIRDS. What was this show, and why was there a board game of it?
I bought it, and thought it was a fun game. But I had never seen the show.
THE SKATEBIRDS was a Hanna-Barbera production that aired on CBS from 1978 to 1979. Essentially a reworking of the previous Hanna-Barbera series THE BANANA SPLITS, the show featured costumed characters introducing a mixture of animated cartoons as well as live action shorts.
They were made up of three birds, all on roller skates. Scooter was a penguin, Knock-Knock a woodpecker, and Satchel, a Pelican. Scatman Crothers voiced Scat Cat, a roller skating cat who was out to get them.
Among the cartoons was that unforgettable take on THE THREE STOOGES known as THE ROBONIC STOOGES. I'm sure everyone always wanted to see the Three Stooges as robots. Other cartoons featured WONDER WHEELS, WOOFER AND WHIMPER DOG DETECTIVES and the live action MYSTERY ISLAND.
I did eventually catch the show when it was repeated on Sunday mornings in a half hour version. It also has run on USA and the Cartoon Network in recent years.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
FORGOTTEN TV: THE SKATEBIRDS (1978-1979)
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3 comments:
I am so glad to see this game posted. I had asked many people my age if they remember the show or game. I always get the response of NO, never heard of it. Was beginning to think I imagined it, but alas I wasn't. You have a pic of the game, I was only 3 yrs old when the show came out, so I think I probably saw it as re-runs in 1980 instead. I honestly don't remember the show, just that I had that game, I remembered the ramp an the marble you used. So a huge thank you for posting the game picture.
Glad you liked it.
The game did have that marble that you rolled down the ramp. Don't remember much else about it.
The Mystery Island segment, which was dropped in the second season of The Skatebirds, features a greatly altered Lost in Space Robot! Here, he's called POPS and talks like William F. Buckley. As you can see, Mystery Island didn't make it to The Skatebirds Game, either! The Mystery Island theme is still referenced in the opening for the second season, though. I have no recollection of the show...picked up a 1977 promo folder for The Skatebirds and noticed the Robot, and since I'm a Lost in Space fan I wanted to know more. I've got one poor quality copy of a complete first season Skatebirds Show, and one good quality second season show. It's typical 70s H/B stuff. Back then, I regarded stuff like that as cheap crap...now it interests me as nostalgia! Go figure! Birdman rocks, too! Mike Warden
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