Wacky and Packy

[BartWinkle]

I've always wondered about Filmation's "Wacky and Packy" on the short-lived Uncle Croc's Block [1975], was it a spoof of Hanna-Barbera's "Valley Of The Dinosaurs"?

[Doyng]

No, Bartwinkle:

Wacky and Packy was a comedy/adventure series about a caveman and Wooly Mammoth who were swept away from prehistoric times (in a flood) and land in New York City, learning about the surroundings from modern times. The late Allan Melvin provided both their voices. Wacky (caveman) sounded like Ralph Kramden, quoting him, "One of these days, Packy, One of these days, POW! Right in the Kisser!" Packy sounded a little like Magilla Gorilla; he always cried "I wanna go home.." At times, it was funny to see them get in trouble buy mistaking objects for what it reminded them of back home.

Valley of The Dinosaurs was a Action/Drama series about the Butlers getting swept in a whirlpool (very similar to the Marshalls from Land of The Lost) and land in a prehistoric valley. They live with Gorak and his family of cavemen. They tried to use any means of solutions to go back home.

Although both series weren't popular favorites at the time, "Valley" would be my choice to watch because it did have some substance than Wacky and Packy.:)

[Silverstar]

Valley of the Dinosaurs was and adventure/drama about a modern-day family transplanted to a prehistoric setting, whereas Wacky & Packy was a comedy about a caveman and his woolly mammoth who end up in modern times, so I'm thinking 'no.' ;)

[Eric B]

Wacky and Packy did always remind me of Valley of the Dinosaurs, because in the opening segment of both, you have characters being sucked through some sort of vortex. Perhaps that's why the OP thought one was a spoof of the other.

[Silverstar]

Wacky and Packy did always remind me of Valley of the Dinosaurs, because in the opening segment of both, you have characters being sucked through some sort of vortex. Perhaps that's why the OP thought one was a spoof of the other.

True, but idly, one could also liken Wacky & Packy to Krofft's Land of the Lost for the same reason.

[ROBOTRON]

I've always wondered about Filmation's "Wacky and Packy" on the short-lived Uncle Croc's Block [1975], was it a spoof of Hanna-Barbera's "Valley Of The Dinosaurs"?

I like it for a short while, but they showed it every week until the show went off the air. What happened to MUSH and The cat cartoon (he had used up 8 lives and only had one left) I forget the name of the toon?:sweat:

[Blackstar]

I like it for a short while, but they showed it every week until the show went off the air. What happened to MUSH and The cat cartoon (he had used up 8 lives and only had one left) I forget the name of the toon?:sweat:

That would be Fraidy Cat. Also, all of those afformentioned cartoons aired as recurring segments on the ABC Saturday morning show, Uncle Croc's Block (1975-1976), starring the late Charles Nelson Riley as Uncle Croc.

[Eric B]

True, but idly, one could also liken Wacky & Packy to Krofft's Land of the Lost for the same reason.
Yeah, that one too, but Valley of the Dinosaurs was the one I remembered best since it not too long ago was airing on Boomerang.

[hobbyfan]

Valley of the Dinosaurs & Land of the Lost premiered the same year (1974), and essentially had the same concept (modern family lost in prehistoric times). Remember, too, that Hanna-Barbera also produced Korg: 70,000 BC, which also was part of the '74-75 freshman class.

Wacky & Packy was done in reverse, with the titular characters pitched forward in time to present-day (circa 1975) America.

Valley is currently airing weekends on Da Boom, the others are in limbo.

[Still HowardFein]

I like it for a short while, but they showed it every week until the show went off the air. What happened to MUSH and The cat cartoon (he had used up 8 lives and only had one left) I forget the name of the toon?:sweat:

In my memory, CROC was cut from an hour to a half-hour about two month after its premiere- usually the sign of a show in trouble. (Indeed, ABC would soon pull the plug altogether, airing GROOVIE GHOULIE reruns in that slot for the rest of the season-thus ending ABC's association with Filmation.) Wacky & Packy was the only cartoon segment to be retained in this truncated version.

Fall 1977 saw the premiere of the syndicated GROOVIE GHOULIE & FRIENDS package. Similar to the way Scooby-Doo was syndicated throughout the eighties, it mixed reruns of various Filmation series: LASSIE'S RESCUE RANGERS, MY FAVORITE MARTIANS, NEW ADVENTURES OF GILLIGAN, WALDO KITTY, the Ghoulies themselves and the three CROC cartoon segments. In fact, it seems that all-new M*U*S*H and Fraidy Cat episodes were made for syndication: if one is really into these things, some episodes seem to have a
'1977 laugh track', rather than from 1975 when CROC originally aired.

All three segments may have seen some limited home video release- possibly public domain. If you look in the bargain DVD at your local drugstore or supermarket, you may find some P.D. DVDs mixing Wacky & Packy, the 1965 Three Stooge cartoons and ancient WB/Famous/Lantz/Terry shorts.

[CPlanetKwame]

Two of my favorite Wacky & Packy episodes include...

1). Where they try to get a job, but blunder along the way, wrecking the employment agency.

2). When they were contestants on Let's Make A Bundle, hosted by Monty Tall!

[Napoleon Solo]

Didn't Uncle Croc's Bloc do so horribly in the ratings that then ABC president Michael Eisner swore that Filmation would never have another show on ABC as long as he was in charge?

[hobbyfan]

Didn't Uncle Croc's Bloc do so horribly in the ratings that then ABC president Michael Eisner swore that Filmation would never have another show on ABC as long as he was in charge?

Eisner wasn't even at ABC in 1975.

Croc, to my memory, bit the dust about halfway through the '75-6 season, which prompted ABC to bring back the Super Friends as a mid-season replacement.