"Where's Huddles?" (1970) TV series

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Directors:

Joseph Barbera
William Hanna

Writers:

R.S. Allen (story) (1970)
Harvey Bullock (story) (1970)

Release Date:

1 July 1970 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Family | Sport

Plot:

This summer replacement show starred Ed Huddles, the quarterback for the Rhinos, a professional football team...

Plot Keywords:

Surrealism | American Football

Cast

Mel Blanc	...	Bubba McCoy (voice)
Dick Enberg	...	Sports Announcer (voice)
Herb Jeffries	...	Freight Train (voice)
Paul Lynde	...	Claude Pertwee (voice)
Don Messick	...	Fumbles (voice)
Cliff Norton	...	Ed Huddles (voice)
Alan Reed	...	Mad Dog Maloney (voice)
Jean Vander Pyl	...	Marge Huddles (voice)
Marie Wilson	...	Penny McCoy (voice)

Runtime:

30 min (10 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Hanna-Barbera Productions

Quotes:

Claude Pertwee: Savages!

What a Dilemma.

Where's Huddles?" aired during the summer of 1970. Only ten episodes were made. I find this difficult to fathom, as I do recall the show going into reruns, but I don't see how with only ten episodes. Back then, airing one a day and you're done in two weeks.

As children, we were torn whether to stay outside and swim in the water, or go inside when "Where's Huddles?" would be re-shown.

What a dilemma.

It would be nearly thirty years before I would see this cartoon again. Another person and I had a friendly online disagreement as to which cartoon was worse. He said Huddles. I said Devlin.

Yes, Huddles is Flintstones, Book II.

Alan Reed, who did the voice of Fred, would now do the voice of the coach.

Jean Vander Pyl, the wife in both cartoons.

Mel Blanc, the friend in both cartoons.

Jean Vander Pyl, the baby in both cartoons.

Marie Wilson would now do the voice of the best friend's wife. This would be Wilson's last work before her death from cancer just two years later.

And Dino would now be a dog named Fumbles wearing a football helmet.

In the Harlem Globetrotters cartoon, the dog would be called Dribbles.

I wonder what the mascot would be in a baseball cartoon? Kleats? Strike? Foul?

I think Herb Jeffries as Freight Train is tied with Valerie on "Josie and the Pussycats" for being the first black cartoon character. Whichever came first, they were both right there at the starting gate.

Most fans of The Flintstones are well aware of its inspiration from the HOneymooners, just as Yogi Bear is Art Carney, Wally Gator is Ed Wynn, Doggy Daddy is Jimmy Durante, and the Jetsons are Blondie and Dagwood Bumstead (only recently became aware of this last one).

I've recorded six of those ten episodes of Huddles, and yes, there is one where Freight Train for some reason, shakes the ground when he walks. I'm afraid I missed the other ones with him calling Marge "Miz Fuddles" or his transformations on the field.

But I do have "The Offensives" -- Clearly this was yet another attempt in a cartoon to get a hit song, a pop song on the charts, like the Archies' "Sugar, Sugar" or Ernie on Sesame Street singing "Rubber Ducky", which went to the top 20.

I get so amused seeing these failed attempts in shows, like "Eep Op Ork Ah Ah" on the Jetsons or the Scooby songs, or Josie songs. The Flintstones, likewise, made several attempts.

But this one on Huddles. Whew! It is just an awful song.

I was a bit overwhelmed by "One Man Family" where Bubba McCoy thinks he was pregnant. The only other one I can recall before this episode was an episode of Bewitched where Samantha made Darrin (York, not Sargeant) dream he was pregnant.

The cartoon was a letdown from thirty years ago, but then that was thirty years ago. Thankfully, there were only ten episodes. I wonder how disheartened I would be now had there been more then.