Tonight's post X-mas Wacky Wednesday post is called "Diver Dan" and was a very short kid's TV show that ran for one season in 1961. The fish with the cigarette in it's mouth is classic!
Although "Diver Dan" should have been completely in my wheelhouse, I do not remember this series at all! Not even a tiny bit!
I see they've got episodes numbered up all the way to number 102, but it looks like there was only 35 of them, and there's not much info on most of them. This episode titled "An Unusual Fish" was episode number 15!
Each episode of "Diver Dan" was about seven minutes long, so there's not a whole Helluva lot going on at any given time! Frank Freda was Diver Dan!
Dan's just tromping around at the bottom of the sea in his diving suit, and talking to some fish with names like The Captain!
The unusual fish in the title is this guy named Horace! He's an old friend of The Captain's, and a fish unlike anything Dan has ever seen before!
In fact, Horace is so unusual, Dan decides to take a picture of him!
The queen of the sea, this mermaid was played by Suzanne Turner. Neither Suzanne or Frank Freda have any other acting credits!
I don't know what it is with me and puppets lately, but they seem to be popping up all over the place for some reason!
Episode 15 is about a continuing trial for nefarious bad guy fish Baron Barracuda who has been accused of all kinds of crimes, but mostly, he's just a two bit thief! Since he is a newcomer to the scene and should in impartial, Horace is asked by the mermaid to be the Judge in the case!
The whole concept of underwater marionettes is pretty fascinating, and they actually do a pretty good job with it!
I love how they have Baron Baracuda held captive with a ball and chain!
Here's an album I actually don't have, but if you're interested in all sorts of different music, check out my new store front on Discogs. I only have a little over 150 records listed so far, but if I ever get done, it will be in the thousands. Just like "Diver Dan," it's been fun thus far, so, if you like good music, come on by and see for yourself!
4 comments:
Ahhh yes... I do remember 'Diver Dan'. I'd love to have action figures of those fish!
I very vaguely remember watching the show on weekday afternoons. But I was too young to actually follow the plots, and all I remember is the guy walking around in the deep sea diving suit, and the puppet fish hovering around talking.
Evidently, it was nationally syndicated. My impression is that it was shown as a segment of local TV children's shows (as were Roger Ramjet, UPA's Dick Tracy cartoons, etc.), with the episodes being introduced by the local host, like "Sheriff John" or "Officer Joe."
This was one of those syndicated shows local TV stations could buy to fill their morning pre-school programs. I saw a good number of your posts on these shows, usually shown at 7 am to watch while getting ready for school.
Oddly enough, while there were only a few episodes there were a lot of tie-ins like comics and story records.
Wow! That's funny Lacey, because I don't remember ever watching any TV before going to school, but I used to watch Captain Kangaroo all the time. Maybe that was in the Summer.
Post a Comment