Walt Disney Television
The first week of May offers very little in the way of new programming with just a children’s animated series and a sports series premiering across the decades. Neither lasted very long but the animated series has become a beloved part of Disney history. Let’s take a look and see if you remember either of these shows.
1950
- No new series premiered this week in 1950.
1960
- No new series premiered this week in 1960.
1970
- No new series premiered this week in 1970.
1980
- No new series premiered this week in 1980.
1990
- May 5 — Animated series TaleSpin debuts on the Disney Channel. The series is set in the town of Cape Suzette (a pun on Crêpe Suzette) which has a harbor protected by a cliff wall with a single cleft that is the only access to the harbor. The cleft is guarded by anti-aircraft artillery to prevent air pirates from entering the city. The characters are all anthropomorphic animals (who co-exist with actual animals but no humans). There is no specific time frame although the series seems to take place in the late 1930s with the helicopter, television and jet engines experimental devices, and most of the architecture is in the Art Deco style. The lead character is Baloo the bear, from The Jungle Book, now a bush pilot whose cargo freight business “Baloo’s Air Service’ is poached by Rebecca Cunningham upon his default of delinquent bills with the bank, which is run by the tiger Shere Khan, and renamed ‘Higher for Hire’. An orphan boy and former air pirate, Grizzly Kit Cloudkicker, attaches himself to Baloo and becomes his navigator, sometimes calling him ‘Papa Bear’. They are the crew of the new company’s only aircraft named the Sea Duck. The series follows the ups and downs of the company and its staff, sometimes in the style of action-adventure serials from the 1930s and 40s, and contemporay variations like Raiders of the Lost Ark. They often encounter a gang of air pirates led by Don Karnage, as well as representatives of Thembria (a parody of the Soviet Union), or even stranger obstacles. The relationship between Baloo and Rebecca is reminiscent of 1930s screwball comedies, but show co-creator Jymn Magon has stated the characters were based on Sam and Diane from Cheers. The Disney Channel gave TaleSpin a preview run from May 5 to July 15, 1990 and the series began its run in syndication on September 7. The pilot episode was presented as a television movie titled Plunder & Lightning, which received an Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming More Than One Hour) in 1991, and the film was edited down to four 30 minute episodes for the syndicated broadcast. The series ran as its own half-hour show or as part of the two-hour block ‘The Disney Afternoon’. 65 episodes of the show were produced with the final new episodes airing on August 8, 1991. Reruns continued on ‘The Disney Afternoon’ until September 1994. Reruns began on the Disney Channel on October 2, 1995 as part of the two-hour ‘Block Party’ which aired weekdays in the late afternoon. The show moved to Toon Disney from April 1998 to January 2006 (with a break between 2001 and 2002), and returned from January 2007 to May 2008. The show was one of ten ‘Disney Afternoon’ shows to feature established Disney characters, and is one of two animated series based on The Jungle Book, the second being Jungle Cubs. The complete series has been released on DVD in three volumes, but the unedited Plunder & Lightning TV movie has yet to get a home media release.
2000
- No new series premiered this week in 2000.
2010
- May 6 — Sports series MMA Live premieres on ESPN2. Originally an internet series, the show made the move to television after positive reception. Hosts and analysts included Jon Anik, Todd Grisham, Jonathan Coachman, Kenny Florian, Rashad Evans, Miguel Torres, Muhammad Lawal, Chael Sonnen, Brett Okamoto and Molly Qerim. The show included a segment titled ‘MMA for Dummies’ which featured demonstrations of mixed martial arts fighting techniques in a basic, straightforwrd manner performed by a notable MMA fighter. No new episodes have been produced since 2011 but clips featuring MMA news are regularly updated on the ESPN website.
Did you or do you watch any of these show? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below!
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