The Alvin Show
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| The Alvin Show | |
|---|---|
 Alvin and The Chipmunks with David Seville, as seen on the show's opening sequence. |
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| Genre | Animated series |
| Running time | 30 minutes per episode |
| Creator(s) | Ross Bagdasarian |
| Starring | Ross Bagdasarian Shepard Menken |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Original run | October 4, 1961–September 12, 1962 |
| No. of episodes | 26 Alvin & the Chipmunks episodes, 26 Clyde Crashcup episodes, and 52 musical segments |
The Alvin Show, the first American animated television series to feature the singing characters The Chipmunks, lasted for just one season in prime time (October 4, 1961 - September 12, 1962), but has become something of a cult favourite over the years. The original rode the momentum of creator Ross Bagdasarian's original hit musical gimmick and developed the singing Chipmunk trio as rambunctious kids---particularly the namesake brat and harmonica-playing star of the show himself, whose mischief contrasted to (and usually exasperated) his tall, brainy brother Simon and his chubby, gluttonous brother Theodore, to say nothing of their long-suffering, perpetually put-upon manager-father figure, Dave Seville.
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[edit] The Hit That Might Have Been
An almost accidental parody of the family situation comedy, the Alvin cartoons are not masterpieces of animation sophistication---but as understated satire they stand up surprisingly well four decades after failing to find a prime time niche. They were up against NBC's formidable hit western Wagon Train as it was, but the real culprit may have been the production delays. The idea was to keep Alvin and company from reaching the air long enough to allow an obvious imitation, The Nutty Squirrels, (which had been created explicitly in response to Bagdasarian's musical success with the Chipmunk concept) to beat The Chipmunks to television by a full year.
Since Bagdasarian's key to success had been happening upon a clever gimmick and getting it up and forward first, that delay (caused mostly by disagreements among Format Films and Bagdasarian Film Corporation on acceptable character designs for The Chipmunks) probably helped doom The Alvin Show before its first installments even went on the air. One of a small number of animated series to be shown in prime time on CBS, The Alvin Show was originally broadcast in black and white, even though it was produced and later re-run in color (CBS did not switch to full, across-the-board color television until 1964).
In addition, Bagdasarian insisted that The Alvin Show skip the addition of a laugh track, much to the chagrin of CBS brass. And in hindsight, had there not been the delays which fractured much-needed momentum, The Alvin Show might have survived longer than a year.
[edit] The Great Inventor
Aside from the seven-minute Chipmunk cartoons, in which Bagdasarian's David Seville was portrayed as a hapless bachelor who managed and mentored the three singing rodents (and Alvin in particular), one of the show's most endearing features was the satirical Clyde Crashcup. Voiced by the late Shepard Menken (who lent the character his classic Edwin Carp-like liquid voice), Clyde was an inventor who essentially re-invented the wheel (and practically everything else) and took credit for dreaming it up in the first place. If anything, his "creations" often backfired on him (classically: when he invented the wife, who turned on him like a shrewish mutant), until his silent, level-headed lab assistant, Leonardo (diminutive, balding, and perpetually whispering in Crashcup's ear) saved him from any further self-immolation.
But Clyde's physical life proved even shorter than those of Alvin, Simon, Theodore, and David Seville. The cartoon was not brought back when Alvin and the Chipmunks were revived in the 1980s. Except for a single cameo, Clyde Crashcup and levelheaded Leonardo were left to the land of trivia contests.
[edit] Afterlife
NBC picked up the original Alvin Show cartoons and re-ran them on Saturday mornings for a few years after the show's prime time failure, and the show popped up similarly over the next two decades. Ross Bagdasarian died of a heart attack on January 16, 1972 at age 52, 11 days before his 53rd birthday, precluding any future Chipmunk activity. But when Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. picked up on a disc jockey's joke and produced the hit Chipmunk Punk (1980) album, new interest was spurred for a brand new animation series with an updated look to The Chipmunks and David Seville (now voiced by Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.). As a result, both the new Ruby-Spears-produced Alvin and The Chipmunks (1983-1991) as well as the original Alvin Show could be seen at any given time throughout the 1980s.
[edit] Voice cast
- Ross Bagdasarian - Alvin, Simon, Theodore, David Seville
- Shepard Menken - Clyde Crashcup
[edit] Episodes
26 episodes each were produced for the Alvin & the Chipmunks and Clyde Crashcup segments, along with 52 musical segments.
- Good Neighbor/Buffalo Gals/Invents Jokes/America the Beautiful
- Ostrich/Mexico-the Brave Chipmunks/Invents Self-Presentation/Yankee Doodle
- Squares/Italy-Oh, Gondaliero!/Invents Glass/I Wish I Could Speak French
- Sam Valiant, Private Nose/August Dear/Invents the Chair/Working on the Railroad
- Overworked Alvin/When Johnny Comes Marching Home/Invents the West/Swanee River
- Alvin's Curse/Old MacDonald-Cha, Cha, Cha/Invents the Baseball/Switzerland-the Magic Mountain
- Alvin's Alter-Ego/Japanese Banana/Invents the Bathtub/The Pidgin English Hula
- Stanley the Eagle/Stuck in Arabia/Invents the Wife/I Wish I Had A Horse
- Fancy/Chipmunk Fun/Invents Flight/Good Morning Song
- Sam Valiant: Real Estate/Alvin for President/Invents the Baby/Home on the Range
- Dude Ranch/Witch Doctor/Invents the Stove/Lilly of Laguna
- Camping Trip/Spain/Invents Music/Row, Row, Row Your Boat
- Bentley Van Rolls/Swing Low, Sweet Chariot/Invents First Aid/Comin' Thru' The Rye
- The Whistler/Coming Around the Mountain/Invents Electricity/Pop Goes the Weasel
- Love Sick Dave/If You Love Me/Invents Egypt/Maria from Madrid
- Jungle Rhythm/Alvin's Orchestra/Invents the Bed/The Little Dog
- Theodore's Dog/The Chipmunk Song/Invents the Telephone/Alvin's Harmonica
- Hillbilly Son/Three Blind Mice/Invents Do-it-Yourself/Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
- Little League/Clementine/Invents the Time Machine/Sing A Goofy Song
- Eagle in Love/Daisy/Invents the Time Machine/On Top of Old Smokey
- Alvin's Studio/Whistle While You Work/Invents the Shoe/Ragtime Cowboy Joe
- Haunted House/My Wild Irish Rose/Invents Physical Fitness/The Band Played On
- Sir Alvin/Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair/This is Your Life, Clyde Crashcup!/Funicula-Funicula
- Good Manners/Git Along, Little Doggies/Invents the Birthday Party/The Man on the Flying Trapeze
- Eagle Music/Polly Wolly Doodle/Invents Self Defense/Down in the Valley
- Disc Jockey/The Alvin Twist/Invents Crashcupland/While Strolling Through the Park?
General Foods was the show's main sponsor; as such, Dave Seville and The Chipmunks appeared in several humorous half-minute commercials for Jell-O and Post cereals.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- The Alvin Show at the Internet Movie Database
- Toon Tracker's The Alvin Show web page
- Alvin and the Chipmunks page at Toonopedia
- The Alvin Show at TV.com
| Formerly Broadcast Animated Nickelodeon Shows of the 1980s |
|---|
| Channels on the Nickelodeon Network: TV Land | Nick Too | Nick GAS | Nicktoons Network | Noggin / The N |
| Premiered between 1983-1989:
Bananaman | DangerMouse | Belle and Sebastian | Star Trek: The Animated Series | The Little Prince | The Smurfs | Mysterious Cities of Gold | Spartakus and the Sun Beneath the Sea | Adventures of the Little Koala | Heathcliff | Jim Henson's Muppet Babies | Inspector Gadget | Maple Town | Count Duckula | The Alvin Show on Nickelodeon | Beetlejuice | Grimm's Fairy Tale Classics | Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon | Noozles | The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! | The World of David the Gnome |
