TV Review #1: Clue Club (1976)

 

It's time to stop talking about December Holiday specials and talk about something even less interesting to most of the people who read this blog (Hi Port). I've decided to start reviewing an entire show giving it a full several paragraphs cobbled together instead of just one paragraph in a group. I probably won't do this for every Disney Afternoon show (I said what I said about some of them and I don't care to discuss any further. Unless you pay me, that's the only way I'm ever watching every single episode of Quack Pack). What fine television program gets the initial spot? Why a obscure Hanna-Barbera cartoon from the 1970s, of course.

I fucking love Hanna-Barbera. OK, I may honestly not care that much for the Flintstones or the Jetsons (despite enjoying the NES games), but give me Huckleberry Hound or Yogi Bear or Snagglepuss, or Scooby Doo and day of the week and I'll be happy. Nothing reminds me of the sweet days of yore more than those rascals. For those not in the know, I mean I don't know maybe you were born in 2001 and are wondering what this old man who enjoys run on sentences is talking about. Hanna-Barbera was an animation company/partnership/friendship that started up in 1937. You know, when your grandfather was being born you fucking young whippersnapper! Man why am I yelling at these imaginary people? Joseph Barbera and William Hanna created Tom and Jerry for MGM Pictures in the 1940s, and then on July 7th, 1957 they created a animation studio that lasted for about 44 years. That's some wild shit. Say what you want about them but you cant deny their longevity.

The detractors of the sweet old men who brought us wonderful cartoons (Hi again, Port) was that they were cheap and if they found something that was popular they would ripoff their own works and create several dozen cash-ins. I can't really deny this but I also can't deny that a lot of these cartoons make me laugh and that's all I'm really asking for when I watch something like Clue Club.  It's like comfort food, I know what it is and what I'm getting and I'm perfectly fine with that. So like two sentences ago I said they'd create cash ins, well you know Scooby Doo right? Yeah I'm gonna just assume that yes you do. Well Clue Club is literally Scooby Doo with a different coat of paint and an extra dog. This was before Scrappy Doo and probably even Scooby Dumb. Who is clearly the best character in the Scooby Doo Universe.

See Scooby Doo was fucking popular as shit in the 1970s. So Hanna-Barbera decided to make about 30 cash-ins or ripoffs. I'm pretty sure every one of these featured a dog. Hanna-Barbera fucking loved dogs. Since this is my blog and it exictes me to see large articles full of purty words on my screen I will attempt to name every single mystery show they made! Let's go! Josie and the Pussycats, Josie and the Pussycats in Space (a lot different than the original show), Inch High Private Eye, Captain Caveman and the Teenage Angels, Goober and the Ghost Chasers, Speed Buggy, Jabberjaw, The Funky Phantom (this one featured a gay ghost with Snagglepuss' voice!), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids,  Buford and the Galloping Ghosts, The New Shmoo (with the Shmoo from Al Capp's Lil' Abner comic strip!), Charlie Chan and the Chan Clan, hell even Ruby Spears (who worked at Hanna-Barbera) got in on the action with Fangface and yes I'm sure I will end up making terrible blog posts on every single one of them because I have nothing better to do with the God given gift of life. 

Now let's finally get to the television show Clue Club, which lasted for not even an entire year. It started on September 4th, 1976 and ended on December 11, 1976. It stared a group of teenagers (and one very smart kid) and TWO dogs. Clearly way different than Scooby Doo. The two dogs were Woofer and Wimper. One was a saucy rascal and the other one thought he was the smartest creature alive (and well wasn't). That's pretty much where all the comedy comes from. I think this show was pretty funny and that's why I like to watch old cartoons. So yeah that's about it. I'm amazed that the review portion of this blog post is "this cartoon makes me laugh so I like it" but it is. I do want to try something where I give a top ten list of best episodes of the show, but it's kinda hard to do that with this one because only sixteen episodes ever existed. I mean Hanna Barbera being the cheap rascals they were they did edit this into something called The Skatebirds (apparently a live action / animation show) where they called it Woofer and Wimper: Dog Detectives. I don't know how that version is. Oh, and Woofer and Wimper: Dog Detectives also appeared on the Robonic Stooges. Yes the Three Stooges were robots in a cartoon. I'm sure you are asking why and I'm saying cocaine is the reason. I don't know who did the cocaine but someone did because you don't come up with an idea like that without some sweet sweet cocaine.

FINAL VERDICT: If Hanna-Barbera cartoons bother you for whatever reason, well this is not the one that will change your mind. If you enjoy Hanna Barbera cartoons you might have some fun with this series. I enjoyed this series and even I'm amazed that I could bullshit an entire article about it. I'm pretty great with being a wordy fucker.