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| Uncle Croc's Block | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Genre | Live-action/animation |
| Starring | Charles Nelson Reilly Jonathan Harris Alfie Wise |
| Voices of | Linda Gary (uncredited) Kenneth Mars Allan Melvin Alan Oppenheimer Robert Ridgely Lou Scheimer (uncredited) Jay Scheimer (uncredited) Lennie Weinrib |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Norm Prescott Lou Scheimer Dick Rosenbloom |
| Running time | 60 minutes (later 30 minutes) |
| Production company | Filmation |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | September 6, 1975 (1975-09-06) – February 14, 1976 (1976-02-14) |
Uncle Croc's Block is an hour-long Americanlive-action/animated television series produced byFilmation, and broadcast onABC in 1975–76.[1] The show was aparody of live kids' shows but with (asMeTV would later describe it) a "bitter edge".[2][3]
The series premiered at 10:30 amET on September 6, 1975.Uncle Croc's Block was up against the second half of the popularTheShazam!/Isis Hour (another Filmation property) andFar Out Space Nuts onCBS andRun, Joe, Run andReturn to the Planet of the Apes onNBC. The show, which was fitted with an adultlaugh track, was shortened to 30 minutes, then scrapped on February 14, 1976, after half a season on the air.[4]
Charles Nelson Reilly played the eponymousUncle Croc, a crocodile that hated his job as the show's host and made only the barest of efforts to hide his contempt. Also featured wereAlfie Wise (originallyJohnny Silver) as his rabbit sidekick,Mr. Rabbit Ears, andJonathan Harris asBasil Bitterbottom, the show-within-a-show's frustrated director. A motorcycle-riding bird namedKoo Koo Knievel (a parody of stuntmanEvel Knievel) popped out of a clock to announce when it was "Star Time", and a "celebrity" guest would appear.[5][2][6]
Each episode contained a "Star Time" segment in which parodies of popular characters appeared, usually making denigrating remarks about the show and/or its staff, and demonstrating their abilities (or lack thereof).[6] Guests included:
The show also included the cartoon shorts:
Of all of the aired cartoon segments, onlyFraidy Cat had the longest continued existence, with the last official home media release being distributed by BCI on a DVD set in 2006, 31 years after the show's conclusion.[10]
The voice cast part of the end credits had a disclaimer stating "All voice and vocal impressions were performed by the cast and not by the actual celebrities themselves".
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As a result of the show's poor performance,ABC presidentFred Silverman severed all ties with Filmation and began commissioning itsSaturday-morning cartoons fromHanna-Barbera, with which he had a working relationship during his time at CBS. Though Filmation had had several series end after short runs, none had ever been cancelled before completing their runs up to that point. Filmation noted that the cancellation actually saved the studio money because ABC had already paid for a full season and now Filmation did not have to follow through on paying to produce the remaining episodes.[8][10][3] In an attempt to save ratings, Filmation had planned to repackage the repeatedGroovie Goolies episodes as a new segment, redubbed theSuper Fiends (capitalizing on the title of rival Hanna-Barbera'sSuper Friends), but the show was shelved before the change could be incorporated. The animated segments were featured in the Filmation syndicated package,The Groovie Goolies and Friends, and also resurfaced in the home video market in the 1980s.[10][3]