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The Tomfoolery Show

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For the revue musical based on the words and music of Tom Lehrer, seeTomfoolery.For the 1936 German comedy film, seeTomfoolery (film).

The Tomfoolery Showis a 1970–1971 American animated comedy television series, based on the works ofEdward Learwhich aired onNBC.[1]The animation was done at theHalas and BatchelorStudios in London and Stroud. Though the works of other writers were also used, notablyLewis CarrollandOgden Nash,Lear's works were the main source, and characters like the Yongy-Bonghy-Bo and the Umbrageous Umbrella Maker were all Lear creations. Other characters included the Enthusiastic Elephant, the Fizzgiggious Fish, and the Scroobious Snake.[2]The show's writing was credited to Lear, Carroll, andRomeo Muller,the latter being responsible for the adaptations of the earlier writers' works. Some original material was also written based on characters created by Lear, although much of the material was a straight recital of poems and limericks or songs using Lear's poems set to music. A recurring joke had a delivery boy running around trying to deliver a large plant and shouting, "Plant for Mrs Discobolus!"

The show also included characters fromGelett Burgess' work, including "The Purple Cow"and theGoops.[3]

Some of the gags were based onAbbott and Costelloskits which involved one of the regular characters in troubling situations.

A cooking lesson for a silly recipe was also presented in each episode. Two memorable examples were:-

  • "Baked Alaska"where a map of the US state ofAlaskawas cut out of anatlasand placed in the oven.
  • "Upside-down cake"where the entire cartoon image was literally turned upside-down in order to carry out the cooking lesson.

The series was produced byRankin/Bass,(formerlyVideocraft International), who also made theRudolph the Red-Nosed ReindeerandFrosty the Snowmantelevision specials.

17 episodes were broadcast from September 12, 1970 to September 4, 1971,[3]featuring the voices ofPeter Hawkins,Bernard Spear,and theMaury LawsSingers.[4]

Reception

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InChildren's Television: The First Thirty-five Years,George W. Woolery said, "A bit too literary and lofty,Tomfoolerywas a noble failure. "[3]David Perlmutter agreed inThe Encyclopedia of American Animated TV Shows,saying that the show was "a failed attempt... The problem was that the approach to the material did not do it justice — the program was structured in the style of a revue à laRowan & Martin's Laugh-Inrather than a proper narrative...The odd mélange lasted only a year on the air despite its noble intent. "[1]

References

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  1. ^abPerlmutter, David (2018).The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows.Rowman & Littlefield. p. 652.ISBN978-1538103739.
  2. ^Erickson, Hal (2005).Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003(2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 863.ISBN978-1476665993.
  3. ^abcWoolery, George W. (1983).Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part 1: Animated Cartoon Series.Scarecrow Press. pp. 296–297.ISBN0-8108-1557-5.Retrieved22 March2020.
  4. ^Hyatt, Wesley (1997).The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television.Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 441.ISBN978-0823083152.Retrieved22 March2020.
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