On Wednesdays, I look at shows that lasted one season or less. Today I am looking at 1960s flop The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo!
THE FAMOUS ADVENTURES OF MR. MAGOO
Programming Details:
September 19, 1964 - April 24, 1965
26 episodes
NBC
Starring: Jim Backus
Created by: Walter Black and Barbara Chain
Plot: An animated series based on the bumbling character Mr. Magoo (Backus). In this series, Magoo often puts himself in famous literary stories. The pilot was based on the story of William Tell.
I'm not too familiar with the Mr. Magoo stories and have not really seen the other cartoons or theatrical films. So I'm coming at this with a pretty fresh look. Much of it felt like a pretty standard 1960s-era cartoon including its sensibility as well as its production value. It seems pretty hard to imagine a cartoon today that took famous classic literature as its basis for each episode. I know it was a primetime show so it was a little more mature than some cartoons of its day.
But it's also fascinating to see just how much more sophisticated a show still mostly designed for children was back then. And I don't necessarily mean content. After all, we had plenty of dumb sitcoms in this era. But it was interesting in terms of vocabulary and what they felt was age appropriate to understand and enjoy. Jim Backus brings a good energy to the voice of Magoo and the show was a nice way to introduce families (and me!) to the story of William Tell, which is not that common a legend even though the name is very familiar thanks to the "William Tell Overture."
When The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo premiered, it was just starting to become more common for cartoons to air in primetime thanks to the success of The Flintstones. Mr. Magoo himself had first been seen in short films and then as a short-form daytime cartoon. The decision to give the character a weekly primetime show was made in part after the success of the 1962 special Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol. Being a primetime show, it was considered a little less for children than daytime shows. Jim Backus voiced the title character while also working on the first year of Gilligan's Island.
The series lasted just one season after not making much of a dent in the ratings. Although there were many attempts to have a hit like The Flintstones, animation in primetime didn't really have another big success story until The Simpsons on FOX in 1989. The character of Mr. Magoo hasn't lived on as much as some iconic cartoon character though there was a Saturday morning cartoon in the mid 1970s and specials here and there, all featuring Backus as the very distinguishable voice. A live action movie starring Leslie Nielsen was released in 1997 but it was a flop and Mr. Magoo pretty much disappeared into history after that.
Tomorrow: A look at the second season of Parks and Recreation!
Wednesday in Three Weeks: A look at the 1970s flop The Betty White Show!
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