October 2020 Archives

Click above to watch Tales From the Crypt Keeper

The 1950’s introduced us to Tales From the Crypt, a wry, sardonic E.C. Comics series that turned the saccharine theme of good versus evil on its head.

Like its comic predecessor and the HBO horror anthology it inspired, the 1990’s animated series Tales from the Cryptkeeper maintained a cool distance from the “nice” cartoons that littered Saturday mornings.

The ABC network and Nelvana studios made a deal to obtain the rights of the EC Comics’ character, Cryptkeeper, from his new owners, filmmakers Richard Donner, Walter Hill, Robert Zemeckis, Joel Silver, and David Giler. The Cryptkeeper was then animated into a wisecracking skeleton who told tales of moral comeuppance, much like the original comic.

On an old episode of The Retro Network Podcast, Tony Grate and I discussed some of our favorite Halloween specials from through the years, and one of my favorites was always the Tom & Jerry’s TBS Funhouse Halloween Special. Back in the late ’80s, Ted Turner and TBS launched Tom & Jerry’s TBS Funhouse. It was an hour and a half cartoon block every morning and afternoon where they combined Tom & Jerry shorts with Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies, shorts from the Droopy library, and Popeye cartoons. It was a really fun block with great variety. During the holiday seasons, they kicked it up a notch and put together specials for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

These specials would usually air several times in the weeks leading up to the holiday, and they selected appropriate shorts to fit the theme. Mixed in with the cartoon shorts were live-action bumpers filmed with Josh Jarboe and Audra Lee of the TBS show, Kid’s Beat. They would dress up and tell jokes or give history about the holiday featured in the special.

Month: October 2020

Tales From the Crypt Keeper Cartoon

Tom & Jerry’s TBS Funhouse Halloween Special