I got a chance to see this lost show from the mid-1970's during one of those children's cable channels,and I was very impressed about this show. It was a spinoff of a very successful TV show of the same period,and it also had a mixture of cartoon animals that portrayed each of the characters from that show(think of it as a fox in the Alan Alda role,and a poodle dog in the Loretta Swit role). It would have really been great if they had gotten the entire cast for the M*A*S*H series to do the voiceovers-which never got off the ground,but instead gotten certain individuals for each of the roles since M*A*S*H itself was one of the best successful shows of its day,and it quickly turned into a short-lived Saturday Morning cartoon show. I do remember some of the show as a child when it was part of "The Groovie Ghoulies-Archies Hour". The reruns are out there,but do get a chance to see this seldom seen series.
3 Reviews
a disappointment
CineMage24 September 2016
Warning: Spoilers
Saturday Morning cartoons and live-action programs swung the pendulum when it comes to satire: during some decades, these series have gotten away with a degree of satire that few live-action television series managed (such as *Rocky and Bullwinkle* and *George of the Jungle* or *G. I. Joe* during its first two seasons), but during other decades, neurotic executive and political panic reduced Saturday Morning fare to the point that tepid pablum such as *The Get-Along Gang* was the norm.
Charles Nelson Reilly's clever *Uncle Croc's Bloc* came about during one of the latter periods. Watching an episode, one could see the remnants of genuine satire and insight throughout the script, and Reilly as always managed to make the most of even the more uninspired lines, but generally, the satire had been sanitized into poorly executed zaniness and a bland mimicry of "edginess".
As part of the series' futile efforts to smuggle in "edgy" satire, *Uncle Croc's Bloc* tried to include satirical cartoon shorts -- shorts which sound good but which never had a chance to come close to their potential during that more sanitized time. These included a short about a cat on his ninth life haunted by the ghosts of his previous eight lives as they constantly try to murder him (an "edgy" idea at the time), a caveman and his pet trying to understand a dystopic modern big city (Bob Clampett or Jay Ward could have had a field day with the idea), and M*U*S*H, a parody of the popular adult live-action series M*A*S*H.
The series M*U*S*H (Mangy Unwanted Shabby Heroes) tries so hard to come across as funny that an adult viewer finds himself or herself cheering it on even though there is never a moment's doubt it will fail to provide any amusement at all. Although this cartoon series allegedly parodies the activities of Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John from the TV series, the plots have more in common with *F Troop* -- but with none of the vaudeville talent and unapologetic shtick that made that series work.
The animation is neither particularly terrible for a Saturday morning short nor above the baseline norm, and the voice actors perform their lackluster script dialogue as though they were performing honestly comedic lines. In M*U*S*H, Hawkeye Pierce becomes Bullseye, a schemer with the annoying verbal tic of laughing at his own alleged witticisms before he even makes them. Trapper John becomes Trooper, an uninspired mimicry of John Wayne characters. "Radar" O'Reilly becomes Sonar, a source of tacky jokes about near-sightedness and with an odd verbal tic of chirping just before or just after he speaks. Margaret "Hot Lips" Hoolihan becomes Cold-Lips, who sounds and behave like a rote imitation of Flip Wilson's Geraldine character. Frank Burns becomes Hank Sideburns, the mustachioed designated villain. And Colonel Henry Blake becomes Colonel Flake, for whom the voice actor inexplicably uses the sort of voice usually used in cartoons to represent a stereotypical Southern Confederate Cavalry Officer.
Watching this series in the 21st century is definitely an interesting experience, but only for the insight it gives a person into what the Saturday Morning writers and actors of the time had to work with.
Charles Nelson Reilly's clever *Uncle Croc's Bloc* came about during one of the latter periods. Watching an episode, one could see the remnants of genuine satire and insight throughout the script, and Reilly as always managed to make the most of even the more uninspired lines, but generally, the satire had been sanitized into poorly executed zaniness and a bland mimicry of "edginess".
As part of the series' futile efforts to smuggle in "edgy" satire, *Uncle Croc's Bloc* tried to include satirical cartoon shorts -- shorts which sound good but which never had a chance to come close to their potential during that more sanitized time. These included a short about a cat on his ninth life haunted by the ghosts of his previous eight lives as they constantly try to murder him (an "edgy" idea at the time), a caveman and his pet trying to understand a dystopic modern big city (Bob Clampett or Jay Ward could have had a field day with the idea), and M*U*S*H, a parody of the popular adult live-action series M*A*S*H.
The series M*U*S*H (Mangy Unwanted Shabby Heroes) tries so hard to come across as funny that an adult viewer finds himself or herself cheering it on even though there is never a moment's doubt it will fail to provide any amusement at all. Although this cartoon series allegedly parodies the activities of Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John from the TV series, the plots have more in common with *F Troop* -- but with none of the vaudeville talent and unapologetic shtick that made that series work.
The animation is neither particularly terrible for a Saturday morning short nor above the baseline norm, and the voice actors perform their lackluster script dialogue as though they were performing honestly comedic lines. In M*U*S*H, Hawkeye Pierce becomes Bullseye, a schemer with the annoying verbal tic of laughing at his own alleged witticisms before he even makes them. Trapper John becomes Trooper, an uninspired mimicry of John Wayne characters. "Radar" O'Reilly becomes Sonar, a source of tacky jokes about near-sightedness and with an odd verbal tic of chirping just before or just after he speaks. Margaret "Hot Lips" Hoolihan becomes Cold-Lips, who sounds and behave like a rote imitation of Flip Wilson's Geraldine character. Frank Burns becomes Hank Sideburns, the mustachioed designated villain. And Colonel Henry Blake becomes Colonel Flake, for whom the voice actor inexplicably uses the sort of voice usually used in cartoons to represent a stereotypical Southern Confederate Cavalry Officer.
Watching this series in the 21st century is definitely an interesting experience, but only for the insight it gives a person into what the Saturday Morning writers and actors of the time had to work with.
I don't remember it as very good.
margot25 November 2005
I saw most airings of 'Uncle Croc's Block' in 75-76, so saw quite a few M-U-S-H episodes. My impression was that it was a very lame, off-brand cartoon. In fact, I thought the quality of the Filmation cartoons on 'Uncle Croc' was the main reason the show didn't last. They were derivative and formulaic, smudged carbon copies of assembly-line 1960s animation (think 'Tennessee Tuxedo" or "Hector Heathcote"). Right before and after the show you could see 'Schoolhouse Rock', a truly catchy and innovative series. 'Uncle Croc' itself was a hilarious, forward-thinking comedy show in the tradition of Soupy Sales and Doodles Weaver. There was great Saturday-morning stuff going on in the mid-70s, but the people who made M-U-S-H didn't get the memo.
Does M-U-S-H look good as a standalone item when viewed today? Maybe it does. I'd like to take a look and see.
Does M-U-S-H look good as a standalone item when viewed today? Maybe it does. I'd like to take a look and see.
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