Yo Yogi!

[Baltofan]

Anybody else remember Yo Yogi from the start of the 1990's?

And was it that really that bad?

[ShadowBlinky]

Anybody else remember Yo Yogi from the start of the 1990's?

And was it really that bad?

Yes to both questions. WORST YOGI EVER.

[creativerealms]

Yes it was.

[Tobias]

I liked the pilot episode, but it was all downhill after that.

Making Yogi & friends younger could have worked if done in the right setting, but making them *extreme* and *hip* was completely unneccesary and intolerable.

Then there's the fact that they de-aged all the characters, yet Ranger Smith, Doggie Daddy, and 'Magilla Ice' (shudder) were still the same age.

[Jayd]

Maybe the younger versions of the characters should have been the offspring of the originals. I find it odd that many of the original characters remained adults like Blab, Jinks, and Hokey, and so on. But I never thought of it being a bad show, but it sure is dated now.

[CyberKFox]

Yo Yogi! is more tolerable than say A Pup Named Scooby Doo

[Blackstar]

Yo Yogi! is more tolerable than say A Pup Named Scooby Doo


Respectfully, I have to disagree. While I'm not a fan of either show, A Pup Named Scooby Doo was at least tolerable in small doses. Yo, Yogi!, on the other hand, was just plain awful and that series reeked of being the soulless by product of committee thinking. Yo, Yogi! was Hanna-Barbera's Poochie; a product marketed by a committee for the specific purpose of being cool and hip (Simpsons episode reference).

[ShadowBlinky]

Then there's the fact that they de-aged all the characters, yet Ranger Smith, Doggie Daddy, and 'Magilla Ice' (shudder) were still the same age.

Actually, Ranger Smith was younger. But why was Hardy Har Har a teen and Lippy wasn't???:confused:

[Zen Man]

One of the few redeeming qualities of the show was that it featured many of H-B's long forgottan characters such as Loopy De Loop and Peter Potamus,among others.

I agree that the premise was just too contrived and forced.

[Still HowardFein]

I agree that the premise was just too contrived and forced.

So do I. If the classic H-B characters are depicted as teenagers, that would imply the series was set in the past. So that would mean that Jellystone Mall predated Jellystone Park- although the notion that a Mall would be torn down to make way for a national park is a rather pleasant one.

But then again, FLINTSTONE KIDS and PUP NAMED SCOOBY regularly featured computers and video games, things that would seem quite implausible to exist for the younger versions of the characters. So maybe I'm reading too much into it.;)

But OY, YOGI (as I call it:p) was a huge disappointement, coming as it did after the vastly superior PUP NAMED and YOGI'S TREASURE HUNT, both of which retained the classic characters' personalities while affectionaly poking fun of them via witty dialogue and nonexcessive fourth-wall breaking. The creative involvement of Tom Ruegger and his talented writing crew (Earl Kress, Charles Howell IV, Gordon Bressack and others) no doubt was an element in what made PUP and HUNT so entertaining. By the time OY premiered, that crew was revitalizing WB TV animation with TINY TOONS, and later ANIMANIACS. So obviously the quality of the scripts suffered.

(Many think the hip-hop theme to TREASURE HUNT was annoying. But the record-scratching intro to OY is far worse.)

It was nice to see cameos and guest appearances by other H-B characters- although a kindergarten-aged Secret Squirrel was a bit off-putting! And while obviously not the fault of anyone, the passing of Daws Butler meant off-kilter replacement voices for many of the characters. Don Messick reprised Boo-Boo and Muttley capably, as usual. But 'Officer' Smith had a very grating, high-pitched, whiny voice- not sure who provided it. And the extremely versatile Rob Paulsen just couldn't capture the sophisticated villainy Paul Winchell gave Dick Dastardly.

By 1991, there was no doubt the H-B studio was running on fumes, and this series made it all too evident. At least the classic studio SFX, which had been gradually disappearing (barely heard at all in the previous season's GRAVEDALE HIGH and BILL & TED) were used regularly in OY, providing some comforting familiarity.

[TheGunheart]

I've actually been somewhat curious about this one. I remember seeing a single episode and being pretty much indifferent towards it except finding "cute".

Beyond the contrived premise and the desperate attempt to appeal to kids, can anyone give me a concrete example of how horrible it was? I'm not saying it wasn't, but I'd like to know a bit more than just the premise.

Also, Pup got points from me simply for actually giving the cast besides Shaggy and Scooby some actual personalities. I mean, sure, they had something in the old toons, but they were very flat compared to the cowardly duo's more exaggerated antics. Pup went ahead and made everyone more exaggerated and cartoony, and I felt it made the cast more balanced that way. I actually find I can still watch this one, while all the other Scooby cartoons bore me.

Though Zombie Island was awesome.

[Tobias]

Beyond the contrived premise and the desperate attempt to appeal to kids, can anyone give me a concrete example of how horrible it was? I'm not saying it wasn't, but I'd like to know a bit more than just the premise.



Well, for starters, they crammed every. Last. 90's cliche into this show. There was an episode called Mall Alone that if I recall correctly, ripped off 'Home Alone', and later there was an appearance by 'Magilla Ice'. Then there was the fact that they made Yogi & friends 'extreme' by making them into skateboarding, rollerblading, bike riding teens.

Then, like others have pointed out, the inconsistant aging of the characters. While Yogi & the core crew were de-aged, Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy remained the same ages; Ranger Smith was slightly de-aged to a young security guard; Dick Dastardly because the punk 'Dickie Dastardly' with puppy Muttley in tow.

A sample of the show's humor:

Dickie (after being tossed into a fountain): I want them arrested for mauling the customers!

Yogi: Well, it is a mall.

And the worst thing of all, although it wouldn't count if aired today... the horrible Chip & Pepper bumps, two annoying 'surfer dudes' who at the time were the mascots for that season's lineup.

[DarkGojira]

But 'Officer' Smith had a very grating, high-pitched, whiny voice- not sure who provided it.

Greg Burson provided the voice of Officer Smith.

Even so, I don't know what they did to him, especially considering Ranger Smith was one of my favorite characters. I guess they wanted to go for a high-pitched, whiny voice, but that doesn't excuse the fact that Don Messick still did the voice of Boo-Boo during that show. With all due respect for Burson, Messick IS, and will ALWAYS, be Ranger Smith.

[Zen Man]

Greg Burson provided the voice of Officer Smith.

Even so, I don't know what they did to him, especially considering Ranger Smith was one of my favorite characters. I guess they wanted to go for a high-pitched, whiny voice, but that doesn't excuse the fact that Don Messick still did the voice of Boo-Boo during that show. With all due respect for Burson, Messick IS, and will ALWAYS, be Ranger Smith.

And even though he did the best he could, I was never too crazy about Burson's Yogi voice; granted it is a difficult voice to pull off. Daws Butler will always be Yogi Bear.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm hoping that Yogi get's another show as "Yo Yogi!" was not a great way for him to go out with.

[ikey2]

I hated it when it was on TV. However I watched all the episodes again about 6 months ago and it was not that bad. Yes it still sucks, but it was fun waste of time to watch before bed each night till I finished watch each episode I had.

[Silverstar]

Yo, Yogi! was practically the inspiration for the facepalm. It was that bad.

I could go into detail about all of the things that were wrong with the show (the fact that it was another babyfication show, the lame wannabe-cool rollerblading, bike riding and skateboarding elements, the fact that they opted to only de-age some of the characters but not all of them, how they changed Jellystone Park to Jellystone MALL, the wrong-sounding voices--though to be fair, that really couldn't be helped in some cases--the ear-piercing theme song, the bad jokes, 'Magilla Ice', and so on), but that would require a post the size of the Encyclopedia Brittanica.

I'll just sum up and say that IMHO, Yo, Yogi! was an ill-conceived idea and an unwatchable mess of a show, and leave it at that.

[Tobias]

To be fair, outside of 'Space Cats' and the TNBC shows at the end of the block that season, NBC just wasn't trying that year. The Smurfs and (I believe) Alvin & The Chipmunks were both cancelled by that point; ALF was no longer on the schedule and Captain N/Super Mario World just didn't have the spirit of the previous season. Then you had the new shows Wish Kid, Pro Stars, Chip & Pepper's Cartoon Madness and Yo Yogi, all of which were horrible beyond comprehension.

[Jeff Harris]

Anybody else remember Yo Yogi from the start of the 1990's?

And was it that really that bad?Yes to both. Let me illustrate it for you:

You remember that episode of The Simpsons that the producers of Itchy and Scratchy created a new character named Poochy? Poochy was created to take focus off the older characters whom the viewers were bored of and, because of a research study, created to be all the so-called hip traits that people think the nation's youth want to see. Poochy ended up being a one-dimensional stereotype that nobody really liked.

The cast of Yo, Yog!i were Poochyfied versions of the classic Hanna-Barbera animal characters. One-dimensional stereotypes that nobody really liked. It was the worst incarnation of those characters, and yeah, I've seen the disco-infused Yogi's Galaxy Goof-Ups.

[AdamYJ]

Then, like others have pointed out, the inconsistant aging of the characters. While Yogi & the core crew were de-aged, Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy remained the same ages; Ranger Smith was slightly de-aged to a young security guard; Dick Dastardly because the punk 'Dickie Dastardly' with puppy Muttley in tow.

Oh, like X-Men: Evolution then. :p Really, there's no rule in the "cartoon handbook" that says you have to "babyfy" all the characters at once. Unless maybe the point was to do a show about the characters before they grew into the characters people know (like WB's Smallville show). However, that wasn't really the case with Yo, Yogi. The show was really just a bunch of Hanna-Barbera characters turned into teenagers for no real reason other than to make a show about a bunch of Hanna-Barbera characters as teenagers.

Now, I haven't seen the show in a while, but as I recall it was really quite . . . average. No, really. Other cartoon fans may rage and say it was the worst thing ever. However, for Saturday morning fare at the time, it was really quite average. The show had lame jokes, but most did. It had references that would become dated fast, which many also had. It also tried really hard to be cool, which most Saturday morning cartoons did. It was really quite run-of-the-mill.

[Steve Carras]

Maybe the younger versions of the characters should have been the offspring of the originals. I find it odd that many of the original characters remained adults like Blab, Jinks, and Hokey, and so on. But I never thought of it being a bad show, but it sure is dated now.
Blab was actually a "kid buddy of the adult" a la Boo Boo, for instance... Jinks and Hokey though were adults., There was just so much inconsistency agewise there. And it sure IS dated now..VANILLA ICE..LOL!

[dth1971]

To the folks at Warner Bros.: If you want to plan to release Yo Yogi on DVD - DON'T COUNT ON IT!!!!!

[Zen Man]

To the folks at Warner Bros.: If you want to plan to release Yo Yogi on DVD - DON'T COUNT ON IT!!!!!

And if you plan on doing another Yogi revival- NO SILLY GIMMICKS!!!!

Just stick to the famous formula...with a more contemporary feel.

[TheGunheart]

You do know they're making a live-action version (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogi_Bear_%28film%29#Live_action_feature_film), right?

Say hello to the Uncanny Valley.

[thesmurfsfan]

This version of Yogi Bear was a disaster, shame to see NBC deleted their whole saturday morning lineup in 1992, because of this trash.

They shouldn't have cancelled the smurfs for this mess and camp candy.

[Silverstar]

This version of Yogi Bear was a disaster, shame to see NBC deleted their whole saturday morning lineup in 1992, because of this trash.

Yo, Yogi! was bad, but it wasn't the reason why NBC stopped airing cartoons on Saturday mornings.

NBC just got lazy and figured that recycling Saved by the Bell over and over again with its' numerous clones was just easier and cheaper than programming cartoons. The alphabet networks were never really that passionate about programming for Saturday morning.

They shouldn't have canceled the smurfs for this mess and camp candy.Neither Smurfs nor Camp Candy were canceled because of Yo, Yogi! Both shows had simply run their course by that time, particularly Smurfs; it had been going on for 9 years and it simply ran out of steam. Smurf Quest was a huge shark jump, and to tell the truth I spotted a fin when they added Scruple to the cast. Again, Yo, Yogi! was crell, no denying that, but let's not try to scapegoat it as being the reason your favorite shows got canceled. That simply isn't true.

[ShadowBlinky]

I'll still never forgive NBC for canceling the Smurfs.:mad:

[Blackstar]

I'll still never forgive NBC for canceling the Smurfs.:mad:

Hey, Smurfs ran for 9 seasons. Nine. That's more than a lot of shows get. I'd feel worse about the shows' cancellation if it hadn't already been on running NBC for nearly a decade.

Anyways, it's already been established that Yo, Yogi! had nothing to do with Smurfs' cancellation. Let's not get sidetracked here.

[thesmurfsfan]

Hey, Smurfs ran for 9 seasons. Nine. That's more than a lot of shows get. I'd feel worse about the shows' cancellation if it hadn't already been on running NBC for nearly a decade.

Anyways, it's already been established that Yo, Yogi! had nothing to do with Smurfs' cancellation. Let's not get sidetracked here.

But the smurfs should have ended with a cliffhanger.
as for Yo! Yogi, the show sucks badly it's a crime.

[Dr.Pepper]

I have never seen this show, but from the sounds of things that is a good thing. I feel sorry for the rest of you.

[thatjailyn]

Yo Yogi! isn't the worst Yogi entry in the H-B canon (IMO)... but it definitely isn't the best, either. Going the "babyfication" route (well, not really, but y'all know what I mean) just didn't work. And dated? This show was dated the day it began its original run.

I never understood why they didn't de-age all the characters. What was up with that?

I liked the episode that revolved around Snooper and Blabber (always good to see them get attention/airtime). Otherwise... meh.

Definitely don't see this one getting the DVD treatment.

[Jayd]

I'm hoping they would put Yogi's Treasure Hunt on DVD, probably the last great incarnation of the whole franchise. My favourite parts were the cameos of other H-B characters like Hokey Wolf and Jinks the Cat. Hokey would often appear as a TV host with Jinksy introducing him as Hokey Wul-uf. At least Jinks was reunited with the meeces in Yo Yogi.

[Steve Carras]

Yo, Yogi! was bad, but it wasn't the reason why NBC stopped airing cartoons on Saturday mornings.

NBC just got lazy and figured that recycling Saved by the Bell over and over again with its' numerous clones was just easier and cheaper than programming cartoons. The alphabet networks were never really that passionate about programming for Saturday morning.

Neither Smurfs nor Camp Candy were canceled because of Yo, Yogi! Both shows had simply run their course by that time, particularly Smurfs; it had been going on for 9 years and it simply ran out of steam. Smurf Quest was a huge shark jump, and to tell the truth I spotted a fin when they added Scruple to the cast..

Well, frankly, to tell you the truth, here, but as a 21 year old by the time that Smurfs to start with aired, I already started, as John Kricfalusi and others in the business mentioned, the Smurfs were a near "rat finishing off the TITANIC" to the career of both animation studios and the schedules in general, in terms of image.

Children exclusively had already been pinpointed as the audience by the mid to late 60os, and to think that some of the best people, from Joe Barbera to the pre-1965 voice actors on the little blue Smurfs [as evil Gargamel the wizard may call them], were on the Smurfs,
is a weeping :sweat:event for me, and not in the way that "My Sister's Keeper" was.:p

In fact the live shows were aimed to leats attrack 11-12 year olds [Saved by the Bell..whose Tiffani Thiessen IS quiite talented, and wound up on 90210's original incarnation replacing Shannen Doherty among the more older pre-teen aged shows], while the animated fare seemed [obvious "girls shows" shows like Punky Brewster & Smurfs and the more "violent" ones like Mister T, as far as NBC goes], weren't even aimed at 9-12 years, the oldest audience to put it kindly for the live shows.


Back then it was the strictly cute or violent shows. As a 25 year old at the height of popularity, 1986, for this, I felt both American Tale and TransFormers and such weren't for me, and I was right. They were for kids. Then again, even when "Smurfs" began, you already could have told me "For Kids?-Where have you been?" to which I would have replied: "Since mid 1960s I agree cartoons haven't been good.]

[Of course, it's damning with faint praise to call the 1990s live shows better than the 198-0s animated one,s but 'least no "Yo Mr.T" or "Smurfy this Smurfy That". To the the cartoons, including the ones the Smurfs and Gu8mmi bears, had true geniuses of voices like June Foray and Bill Scott, aka Rocky and Bullwinkle, and of course I'm not the only one to say this, is enough to make me look like I'd just seen old Yeller. Them tears you saw in this boy's 23 year old eyes in the eighties were tears of shark jumping before it was coined, in animation as if it Scooby-Doo hadn't sunk it already.:rooleyes:]

Sorry to get long-winded about it here, folks...:shrug:

[Steve Carras]

Yo Yogi! isn't the worst Yogi entry in the H-B canon (IMO)... but it definitely isn't the best, either. Going the "babyfication" route (well, not really, but y'all know what I mean) just didn't work. And dated? This show was dated the day it began its original run.

I never understood why they didn't de-age all the characters. What was up with that?

I liked the episode that revolved around Snooper and Blabber (always good to see them get attention/airtime). Otherwise... meh.
Me, too..but if Yogi was a kid here, Blabber wouldn't even have been born, neither would the meces [but then this is the studio that made a Flintstone kids 80s series, without paying attention to how the Flintstones and Rubbles met..]

The mall thing would in the open air shopping center scenario have worked for the old fifties one, and Snooper, Huckleberry, etc., could be put in there, in fatc the pre-Hoyt Curtin stock music cues used there were actually used for shopping centers..that itself [the 1950s] was a golden age for it.

[thatjailyn]

I'm hoping they would put Yogi's Treasure Hunt on DVD, probably the last great incarnation of the whole franchise. My favourite parts were the cameos of other H-B characters like Hokey Wolf and Jinks the Cat. Hokey would often appear as a TV host with Jinksy introducing him as Hokey Wul-uf. At least Jinks was reunited with the meeces in Yo Yogi.

Oh, me too! Yogi's Treasure Hunt is my fave Yogi series... definitely want to see this one on DVD!

[ShadowBlinky]

I'm hoping they would put Yogi's Treasure Hunt on DVD, probably the last great incarnation of the whole franchise. My favourite parts were the cameos of other H-B characters like Hokey Wolf and Jinks the Cat. Hokey would often appear as a TV host with Jinksy introducing him as Hokey Wul-uf. At least Jinks was reunited with the meeces in Yo Yogi.

And "Fender Bender 500" is almost as terrific. I'd love to see that get released on DVD as well!

[Zen Man]

And "Fender Bender 500" is almost as terrific. I'd love to see that get released on DVD as well!

The New Yogi Bear Show wasn't too shabby either; although Daws Butlers was missed as Yogi. And Space Race wasn't that bad if you like campy stuff.

[Steve Carras]

The New Yogi Bear Show wasn't too shabby either; although Daws Butlers was missed as Yogi. And Space Race wasn't that bad if you like campy stuff.

Actusally, I WILL go as far as to say that the segment "Galaxy GFoofups", save maybe the disco segments, were actually pretty good in making Yogi a well, goofup, more like one of Three Stooges than an actually conniving bear, tohugh, but still he sometimes inadvertanly ran afoul of authorities as well as deliberately--this time, not the ranger but [thanks, John Stepehnson] the "Joe Flynn" ["McHales Navy"] sounding boss, Mr.Serdly.

Also Huckleberry Hound with him, and some real oddities-----Mel Blanc imported the real better version of Daffy Duck as Quack Up [that is, the Daffy long abandoned for large by WB] and Joe Besser doing his "ooo, such a pinch act" as "Scare bear", [self-explanatorily named!] who sounds like a cowardly Care Bears reject[HA!]...