The Tomfoolery Show

The Tomfoolery Show is a 1970–1971 American animated comedy television series, based on the works of Edward Lear which aired on NBC.[1] The animation was done at the Halas and Batchelor Studios in London and Stroud. Though the works of other writers were also used, notably Lewis Carroll and Ogden 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] 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!"

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

The show also included characters from Gelett Burgess' work, including "The Purple Cow" and the Goops.[3]

Some of the gags were based on Abbott and Costello skits 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 of Alaska was cut out of an atlas and 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 by Rankin/Bass, and Videocraft International, who also made the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman television specials.

17 episodes were broadcast from September 12th 1970 to September 4th 1971,[3] featuring the voices of Peter Hawkins, Bernard Spear, and the Maury Laws Singers.[4]

Reception

In Children's Television: The First Thirty-five Years, George W. Woolery said, "A bit too literary and lofty, Tomfoolery was a noble failure."[3] David Perlmutter agreed in The 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 la Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In rather than a proper narrative...The odd mélange lasted only a year on the air despite its noble intent."[1]

References
  1. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 652. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  2. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 863. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  3. Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part 1: Animated Cartoon Series. Scarecrow Press. pp. 296–297. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  4. Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 441. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
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