m1b@rayssd.UUCP (03/13/85)
> [ Now for something we hope you'll REALLY like ] > > The part of the R&B show that I always enjoyed the most was the > Peabody and Sherman segments, which detailed the trips into the past of > a dog and his boy. Peabody was a dog with glasses who acted like a few > professors that I have known here at MIT. Sherman was a budding nerd, > the kind of kid who could say "gee-whiz!" and mean it. Does anybody > remember any of the deliciously awful puns with which they would always > end each episode? Groan! > > Warren J. Madden > > ...!decvax!mit-athena!wjmadden > > "Where should I set the Way-back Machine for THIS time, Mr. Peabody?" > One episode that has stuck in my mind all these years is when Mr. Peabody and Sherm land in France during WWI. At one point, they are standing in a desolate plain that Mr. Peabody states is the Argonne Forest... Sherm: "But there aren't any trees!" Peabody: "Exactly, Sherman, they Ar Gonne!" Sherm: "<Groan> You should have saved THAT for the end of the show!" Peabody: "I have one that's even better!" Mr. Peabody keeps his word, too! At the end of the show, he tells Sherman that England had a desperation plan had the Germans won WWI. All the citizens of England were going to embark in a gigantic zeppelin to escape the invading Germans... Sherm: "I've never heard of such a plan." Peabody: "Of course you have, Sherman -- 'one nation, in dirigible!'" (Quotes aren't exact.) Joe Barone, {allegra, decvax!brunix, ccieng5}!rayssd!m1b Raytheon Co, Submarine Signal Div., Portsmouth, RI No doubt about it, I need a new hat!
lauren@vortex.UUCP (Lauren Weinstein) (03/13/85)
When I held my infamous "Jay Ward Film Festival" a few years ago,
Bill Scott (Producer, voice of Bullwinkle, Dudley, etc., etc.)
admitted that he was responsible for most of the puns scattered
throughout all segments of the various J. Ward productions.
The Ward studios are still out in Hollywood quite close to
the "Dudley Do-Right Emporium" which sells all manner of
J. Ward goodies (the shopkeeper is usually Mrs. Jay Ward herself!
Nobody ever sees Mr. Jay Ward--though he is known to exist
(unlike the Executive Producer for most of the J. Ward productions,
known as Penosbry Britt (I may have blown the spelling; I don't
have my syndication sheet at hand). Britt NEVER existed at all,
though his name shows up in most of the credits. They did, however,
have a fake bio to send out in case anyone ever asked about him.
Both Bill Scott and June Foray (voice of Rocky, Nell, and provider
of most female voices) demonstrated clearly that the shows
were a labor of love, and told the gathered throng of the problems
they've had trying to get something similar back on the air
in today's market.
---
By the way, the FIRST episode of "Peabody and Sherman" is quite
instructive. In it, we learn how Mr. P. came to have a pet
boy, and how Mr. P. built the Way-Back machine to help keep
Sherman amused. The first version of the Way-Back ("how things
in the past were") machine had two problems, however:
1) You often couldn't understand what the people were saying. They
went to ancient Rome, and everyone was speaking Latin. Sherman
couldn't understand Latin.
2) You couldn't interact with the past. They tried talking to the
people and they wouldn't respond. Apparently this model of the
past could not be affected by travelers from the future.
So Mr. P. modified the Way-Back to make it a "how things MIGHT
HAVE BEEN" machine. And he threw in language translation
while he was at it. The added random factor of "might have been"
allowed interaction and led to the many other adventures that
we've all come to know and love.
--Lauren--
P.S. "Hey Rocky! Watch me pull a really useful message
out of Usenet!"
"But that trick never works...."
"This time for SURE..."
--LW--