1980&#39;s Saturday Morning Historical Preservation Society

The cat on roller skates was a "He"?

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cptlbryant.livejournal.com

There was Dotty Dog and she was like a cheerleader on roller skates. And there was the cat on a skateboard. All the stuffed "dolls" came with roller skates. I'm not sure why. Going to look for a video of the toys...

From:

cptlbryant.livejournal.com

Here's a picture of the cat...Zipper Cat. (how could I forget that?)

http://www.amazon.com/GET-ALONG-GANG-Skatin-Zipper/dp/B003LZ7L2G

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Well, the designs are cute and tastes like diabetes, frankly, but that's okay. 80's cuteness is funny like that.

And I'd like to know who sent out the memo about making reptiles the villains in media (like in 0:30). At least, the Ninja Turtles would break that trope somewhat, 3 years later.

On the plus side, the gator looking like a badass jock amuses me greatly. I don't know why.

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http: //en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Get-Along_Gang

Wikipedia has a good profile of the show, including a provocative criticism from Mark Evenier.

~~Nicky Katt as the young villain sidekick. That's just so awesome.~~

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Oooh! Mark Evanier is my HERO! I'm going to go read it right now :)

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Indeed. I was surprised to find how the Buddy Bears in Garfield and Friends came into being -- to essentially criticize the principle of the "Get Along Gang" and others. (Of course, being a young dope, I didn't quite get the subtext, at the time.)

I do agree with his overall thesis, and I am now wondering if much has changed in recent years (individualism vs. groupthink in modern-day Saturday cartoons). He nailed it with the now TV Tropes org heading, "the Complainer is always wrong." Poor Wheeler from Captain Planet -- he learned that the hard way. Heh.

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And then at times, it is nice to have friends who may agree with you, especially when the situation involves a morally right reaction like helping someone in trouble, protecting a valuable thing from damage or destruction, and obeying the law for one's safety.

There were moments when the individual Get Along Gang kids did go on their own to solve a problem so the "groupthink" stereotype did not apply to each story.

Thinking differently is always encouraged...as long as one doesn't develop a pushy or off-putting attitude and alienating one's friends when doing so.

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You raise the best possible counterpoint to Evanier's contention, especially if, ironically, the team is strong enough to tolerant different opinions. However, there has to be a give and take, and it depends on how sophisticated the writers are. (The latter probably matters most of all.)

And you also raise another good point in how certain people or personalities just become obnoxious or too aggressive or off-putting or outright moody. (I have to watch more of 80's Grumpy Bear, before I can give a better analysis. He certainly would be the poster child of this, yet you could always count on him in the end.)

It's the eternal debate with the human condition, as both sides have their strengths and weaknesses (Evanier articulated well for his side, you with yours). We'll be debating it for the rest of our existence, but it makes for fun philosophical debate. Of course, such thoughts are easy to wax and hard to practice, especially when you have to crank out a weekly animated series.

Either way, I'll debate the matter, though, it will have to be for another day. Hopefully, I made at least some sense on this comment. (One can hope. Heh.)

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I suppose there was a point why the Get Along Gang kids hung out at Mr. Hoofnagel's ice cream parlor often. Serving multiple flavors. And the kids didn't all eat the same flavor at any scene there. Subtle difference.

I respect Mr. Evanier and his work. I believe his "Dungeons and Dragons" series was broadcast on the same CBS schedule as "The Get Along Gang." Sizing up the competition and probably working to present things differently to stay on the network schedule. Variety and different stuff makes for good tv programming.

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ghrelin.livejournal.com

it was memorable to me, except not as a show. I never saw the show. I had one book and I thought the characters were so cool, especially the dog with pigtails. Kinda wish I had gotten to watch this.

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So you're the only person I know of who claims to actively remember this show, and you've never actually seen it!

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ghrelin.livejournal.com

Well, I don't actively remember this show because I've never watched it. I actively remember the one book of it that I had, haha.

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Oh, okay, that makes more sense :) Still, you remember the show more than most people who DID watch it :)

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verychimerical.livejournal.com

Zipper Cat was on one of my birthday cakes! And I had all the toys. And my favorite character was Rudyard Lion, who would have been my cake but we couldn't find any pictures of him. And I had a coat and beret that I picked out because it reminded me of Lola Squirrel.

That said, I do not remember a single episode of this show.

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verychimerical.livejournal.com

Er...Lolly Squirrel. Why I typed Lola I do not know.

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For another perspective, the "Our Gang"/"Little Rascals" shorts from the 1930s and 1940s were rerun frequently weekday afternoons along with "Three Stooges" reruns in the 1970s. "Our Gang" was the inspiration behind the creation of the "Get Along Gang" with a group of kids hanging out together and usually working together towards a common goal. Given the depression and later World War II era when the shorts were made, the Our Gang kids were not wealthy. The humor derived from the junkyard gadgets they used to do things with and the natural reactions they had towards bullies, snobby rich kids, irritating adults, and the other kids within the gang who misunderstood things. Scruffy and lower income kids but very symapthetic.

Also, given that "Hill Street Blues" and "St. Elsewhere" were popular 80s prime time shows at the time with multiple characters and storylines...a cast of 6 kids in the group seemed to be a trend.

Not exactly the funniest or the most well written cartoon show but "The Get Along Gang" had some funny moments and cute characters. Lots of good creative potential within a "Real World" non-fantasy small town setting.

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For the record, there were 6 kids who comprised the Gang in the Get Along Gang cartoon series:

Montgomery Moose- patient leader of the gang
Dotty Dog- cheerleader dog
Zipper Cat- athletic cat with a temper
Woolma Lamb-ballerina who admires herself in a mirror often
Bingo Beaver-smooth talking and materialistic
Portia Porcupine-youngest, soft spoken, tended to act like a crybaby at times.

American Greetings had created other "gang" kids who made short cameo appearances in a few episodes...only Braker spoke dialogue:

Braker Turtle-bespectacled turtle who ran fast
Bernice Bear- cautious bear who was good at cooking
Rocco Rabbit- reformed bully
Lolly Squirrel- rich girl in the beret. Father owned the town candy factory
Rudyard Lion-exchange student who liked Woolma
Flora Fox- loves flowers and photography
Hocus Hare-girl magician
Pocus Possum-boy magician

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deepseasiren.livejournal.com

Okay I must have been in a fog or something because I don't remember this show at all!

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