ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

Growing up in the 1950s was an experience nobody younger than I could possibly experience. It was a unique time in American history.

In 1955, channel 2 (the ABC affiliate in Atlanta) began promoting an exciting new show — the Mickey Mouse Club. My family’s poor b&w television somehow managed to dazzled me with images of this new TV event.

I actually remember a warm Monday afternoon on October 3rd in 1955 when I was seven years old, playing in my front yard with neighborhood friends. My mother stepped out onto the front porch and told me The Mickey Mouse Club was about to start.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but the promos had me eager to see it, so I rushed into the house.

YouTube offers this original opening of the series, in color — but of course, in 1955 none of us kids got to see it this way.

_________ Mickey Mouse Club Color Intro 1950's


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I found a wonderful documentary about The Mickey Mouse Club which includes great interviews with grown-up members of the Mouseketeers, along with fascinating information about this legendary, beloved series.

_________ The Mickey Mouse Club Story (Complete)


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Gentlemen. can any of the younger members of All Sci-Fi imagine an American society in which kids all over America would spend an hour each weekday afternoon in front of the family b&w television and be enthralled by this warm and innocent show?

One element of each episode was the terrific serials, like The Adventures of Spin and Marty.

For all you old guys (like me), here's a blast from your 1950s past.

New Adventures of Spin and Marty: An Introduction Plus Episodes 1 - 3


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New Adventures of Spin and Marty: Episodes 4 - 7


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Further Adventures of Spin and Marty: Ep. 8 "Summer Daze" and Ep. 9 "The Rescue"


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Further Adventures of Spin and Marty: Ep. 10 "Perkins Strikes Back" and Ep. 11 "A Dancing Lesson"


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Further Adventures of Spin and Marty: Ep 12 "The Wienie Roast" and Ep. 13 "Sailor to the Rescue"


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Further Adventures of Spin and Marty: Ep. 14 "Skyrocket in Trouble" and Ep. 15 "The Long Night"


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Further Adventures of Spin and Marty: Ep. 16 "The Runaway" and Ep. 17 "Busy Little Bees"


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Further Adventures of Spin and Marty: Ep. 18 "The Dance" and Ep. 19 "Trouble Ahead"


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Further Adventures of Spin and Marty Ep. 20-22 "At It Again" "The Swimming Meet" "The Last Campfire"


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That, folks, was the unique nature of the 1950s which made it possible for America to galvanize our nation and our industry to create space vehicles which could take mankind from the Earth to the Moon.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

The Micky Mouse Club had much more than singing and dancing and Disney theatrical release cartoons. It presented a carefully organized series of weekly "themes" which made each day distinctive and interesting.

Here's the weekly schedule.

~ Monday – Fun with Music Day
~ Tuesday – Guest Star Day
~ Wednesday – Anything Can Happen Day
~ Thursday – Circus Day
~ Friday – Talent Round-up Day

The serials included The Hardy Boys and The Adventures of Spin and Marty, all of which presented kid-pleasing stories which kept its young audience glued to the carpet in front of the family TV — the same way the re-reruns of the Flash Gordon serials did on Saturday mornings in the early 1950s when my sister and I watched them!





Try this interesting experiment, folks.

Get off your couch and sit cross-legged on the floor in front of your TV while you enjoy the Micky Mouse Club serial below.

You might have to download if from YouTube first, of course — but luckily this is the 21st Century and we can do cool stuff like that!

The Hardy Boys 1956 Mystery of the Applegate Treasure (all 19 episodes)


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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I discovered that The Mystery of the Ghost Farm is fairly enjoyable, despite being inferior to The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure.

Here's what a website called The Original Mickey Mouse Club Show says about this serial.
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After all the hoopla and expense of the first Hardy Boys serial, the studio came up with this anti-climatic sequel for the third season.

The five principal cast members returned, and the teleplay was again handled by Jackson Gillis, but nearly all other elements that contributed to the success of the first serial were abandoned, for budgetary reasons and scheduling constraints.
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Once a viewer (like me, for example) has been warned not to expect too much, this serial is enjoyably. in fact, by the time the complicated plot concludes, I was impressed by the imagination it displays.

A word of warning to the folks who dediced to watch it: there are several long scenes that desperately needed be edited down! They are positively sleep inducing!

Also, do NOT try to watch the YouTube version called "The Hardy Boys 1957 Mystery of Ghost Farm (all 12 episodes)". The picture quality is poor, there are edits that make the action choppy and confusing, and the audio is out of sync with the video.

Better versions of the episodes are in the videos I posted below, although the picture qualty is not much better.

Finally, if you're wonder why the Hardy Boys serials deserve to be discussed in a thread called The Future . . . according to the 1950s, I submit that young people who find their excitement by conducting their own investigations of strange situations is quite different from today's youth and their mindless addiction to half-literate text messages and mind-numbing video games.

Ah, the good old days . . . and future that should have lead to.

The Hardy Boys - The Mystery of Ghost Farm - Episodes 1 and 2


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The Hardy Boys – The Mystery of Ghost Farm – Episodes 3 — 5


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The Hardy Boys – The Mystery of Ghost Farm, Episodes 6 — 8


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The Hardy Boys – The Mystery of Ghost Farm, Episodes 9 — 11


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The Hardy Boys – The Mystery of Ghost Farm, Episodes 12 —14 (end)


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Gentlemen, I'm sure you're wondering where I'm going with all this stuff about The Mickey Mouse Club and the other Disney productions which shaped the American culture in the 1950s.

Well, let's consider the other popular TV programs which captured the hearts of the nation during that era and inspired the country to take pride in our history.

The best of these programs was Davy Crockett . . . which became a cultural phenomenon that swept the nation! Ever kid from coast to coast suddenly had to have a coonskin cap!

Folks, today's young people would think this was the height of stupidity!

Can you imagine our kids — glued to their cell phones and worshiping their video games — would suddenly yearn to own a coonskin cap because all the other kids in the neighborhood already had theirs?

Gentlemen, this phenomenon was not an example of mass conformity being forced on our nation by the government. It was a spontaneous national movement to express our pride in the heroes of our country.

That is what's wrong with America today.

We no longer believe in American heroes . . . either today or in the past. Our citizens, both old and young, think that mankind is both corrupt and incapable of bravely fighting to accomplish tasks which would benefit mankind.

I sincerely hope they're wrong.

However, I often wonder if they're right.

And so . . . this is a thread on All Sci-Fi that allows our members to propose their ideas on a future which includes American heroes.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Today I received my box set of The Adventures of Spin and Marty from an eBay source that cost me a heck of a lot less than than the Amazon version!

After watching the first few episodes, I was delighted to learn that it was much more enjoyable that than the two sequels that The Mickey Mouse Club aired in later seasons, which I sampled from episodes available on YouTube.

The dramatic boxing match between the fair-minded Spin (Tim Consedine) and the spoiled-brat Marty (David Stollery) was a beautiful big of drama.

Spin deliberately allowed the match to drag out until it was called a draw, just to prevent the unpopular rich kid from being humiliated in front of all their other boys was noble gesture.

But just when we thought the serial would resolve this dramatic conflict, the smug and superior Marty dug his heels in and kept the drama going by demanding that he wanted to leave the Triple R Ranch and go home!

Gentlemen, I'm afraid that "The New Adventures of Spin and Marty" and "The Further Adventures of Spin and Marty" were both inferior to this extremely popular original.

But this wonderful serial brought back fond memories from my childhood, and I'm looking forward to finishing the two-disc set, which includes a wonderful introduction by Leonard Maltin.

Mr. Maltin also does fine introductions to my DVDs of Disney Science Fact box set, as well as my Davy Crockett box set.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Gord Green]

Way out there on the triple R
Yippi-A, Yippi-O
The horses are the best by far
Yippi-A, Yippi-O
So saddle up boys and saddle up well
And listen up to the story that we have to tell
Yippi-A, Yippi-I, Yippi-O

[Verse 2]
Spin is a cowboy yes siree
Yippi-A, Yippi-O
The best ever seen by you or me
Yippi-A, Yippi-O
When he jumps in the saddle what a sight to see
The pony's tail's where his head should be
Yippi-A, Yippi-I, Yippi-O

[Verse 3]
Marty sure was a pain in the ass
Yippi-A, Yippi-O
he merrily made his place in the class
Yippi-A, Yippi-O
No telling what he might have been
But he sure swells down 'cause his head's too big
Yippi-A, Yippi-I, Yippi-O

[Verse 4]
When we go down to the swimming hole
Yippi-A, Yippi-O
We take along a fishing pole
Yippi-A, Yippi-O
If the fish won't bite and the weather is hot
The last one in is a you-know-what
Yippi-A, Yippi-I, Yippi-O

[Verse 5]
We're gonna have a rodeo
Yippi-A, Yippi-O
Grab hold that rope and let her go
Yippi-A, Yippi-O
So rope and throw and tie 'em up well
Though you had any there with a cowboy well
Yippi-A, Yippi-I, Yippi-O

[Verse 6]
The day of parting now draws near
Yippi-A, Yippi-O
Tomorrow is the day we clear
Yippi-A, Yippi-O
Back home to school and scattered far
But we'll never forget the triple R
Yippi-A, Yippi-I, Yippi-O
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[Bud Brewster]

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Thanks, Gord!

Here's a fine example of the heart-warming song that Tex Green provided the basic lyrics for above, obviously from one of the two sequels to the original serial.

I've almost finished watching the episodes on my new box set of the original serial, and it saddens me that Disney doesn't offer DVDs of either the first or second sequels.

The video below is from someone's old VHS tape, recorded from the early days of the Disney Channel, when they padded out their programming with material from the golden age of Disney.

The New Adventure of Spin and Marty Triple R Song/Slue Foot Sue


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Gentlemen, many of the treasures from the Golden Age of Baby Boomers have been barrier and forgotten.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Today I started watching my new DVD of The Adventures of the Hardy Boys - The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure, and brother it certainly is an improvement over the YouTube videos!

Not only is the picture quality much better, the YouTube version crops the image on all foor sides!

Dammit, there are so many classic programs that either aren't available video or are only available on VHS recordings from old TV broadcast!

Here's my list of programs, I'd love to have high quality videos of.
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Rocky Jones, Space Ranger

Captain Midnight

Men Into Space

Tales of Tomorrow

The Hardy Boys - The Mystery of the Ghost Ranch

The Adventures of Spin and Marty (the 2nd and 3rd sequels)

The Mickey Mouse Club - complete 1st and 2nd seasons
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That last one on the list is a gold mine of treasures from America's 1950s culture — back when Walt Disney was energetically trying to inspire the youth of our nation to dream big and prepare themselves to become the leaders of a future in which mankind would lead mankind into a utopia where science enhanced our lives!

Today, the world has lost that dream.

I'll never see it, and I doubt that my children or grandchildren will either.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)