Professor Walter's History Lessons

The "lost" episode of Star Wars

In 1977 the world was introduced to a galaxy a long time ago and far far away.  They learned the ways of the force, of Darth Vader, the Rebel Alliance, and the Empire.  The success of the movie was unprecedented and it became the highest grossing film of all time.  Looking to capitalize on this success CBS-TV created a two hour Christmas special and aired it in 1978.  George Lucas had limited involvement and was not happy with the results.  Starring Art Carney, Harvey Korman, Beatrice Arthur, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamil the plot centers on Han Solo and Chewbacca's attempts to return Chewbacca to his home in time to celebrate Life Day with his family which consisted of  his father Attichitcuk, his wife Mallatobuck, and his son Lumpawarrump.  In the final moments of the show Princess Leia Organa gives a speech about the meaning of Life Day and sings a Life Day song to the tune of John Williams theme to Star Wars.

The response was as strong as it was for the movie, only negative this time.  The show was universally panned.  It was called "The horrible Holiday Special that nobody talks about" by Anthony Davis.  It has never been shown again or released on DVD/VHS.

However, I found a copy on the internet you may view here.

-Professor Walter

Too short to serve, but not for controversy

During World War One (WWI) Charlie Chaplin was criticized for not joining the Army and going to war.  The truth of the matter is that Chaplin was drafted (view his draft card) and he did present himself for service, but was turned away because he was too short and underweight.  During the war Chaplin worked raising finds for the war effort through war bond drives and making The Bond, a propaganda film in 1918 at his own expense.  Many believe the controversy prevented Chaplin from receiving the knighthood in the 1930s.  Chaplin was eventually knighted in 1975 at the age of 85 by Queen Elizabeth II.

As recently as last year this tale expanded with a new surprise discovery on eBay.  Collector Morace Park found a battered film container and purchased it because he liked the look of it for £3.20.  At first he didn't even open it, when he did he found a surprise.  He found that it was a vintage Charlie Chaplin film called Zepped showing Zeppelins over London during WWI.  Some googling and other searching found no mention of this film.  It was a lost piece of propaganda history.  The film appears to be a collection of clips from other films connected to create a new piece.  It was coded for original showing in Egypt.  The discovery was made in November, and the film is not yet publicly available.

Chaplin died on Christmas Day in 1977 in Vevey, Switzerland.

-Professor Walter

With each improvement comes greater success

In 1950 Jackie Gleason took over as the host of Cavalcade of Stars on the DuMont Television Network.  The comedy variety show had a collection of shorts, including one about a bus driver named Ralph Kramden called The Honeymooners.  The show was an attempt to capture the life of a married poor couple living in Brooklyn.  The success of the segment led to the creation of a new family sitcom in 1951.  Initial high ratings gave way to competition and the show ended as a stand alone production.  Although it returned as a sketch show until 1957 when Art Carney left.  Many credit this show with being one of the founders of the modern day sitcom. Three years after the end of the Honeymooners a new show would take off using many themes similar to the Honeymooners. 

In 1960 Hanna-Barbera produced a new show called The Flintstones.  The show was a prehistoric Honeymooners and ran from 1960 to 1966 on ABC.  In addition it spawned numerous specials and a few spin off shows.  The concept borrowed from The Honeymooners created the first primetime animated show which would hold the title of the only animated prime time show until 1989.

In 1987 The Tracey Ullman show on the Fox Network was looking for content and was pitched a dysfunctional animated family sketch by Matt Groening.  Groening conceived for the concept with James L. Brooks and The Simpsons were born.  Feeding off the same base that was built by The Honeymooners and refined by The Flintstones, The Simpsons was a distorted view of the family structure that existed previously.  Now in its 21st season with 423 episodes under its belt, The Simpsons has become a staple of Sunday night programming across the United States achieving a level of success never dreamed of by its predecessors.

With each iteration of the core concept there were successes and failures.  Each time refining the concept so that each success would be as enduring as possible.

-Professor Walter

Sherlock Holmes's Pipe

The traditional view of the world's most famous detective Sherlock Holmes always includes his trademark calabash pipe.  But, this is not quite accurate.  In fact Holmes, as drawn by the original artist Sidney Pagat, used a long-stemmed (chuchwarden) pipe.  The calabash pipe actually has a mellowing effect upon the smoking mixture, which would have been against Holmes's preference to strong harsh tobacco.

The truth behind the pipe comes from the stage performances of Sherlock Holmes by William Gillette.  As an actor on the stage he chose the calabash pipe because of its low center of gravity which allows the smoker to hold the pipe in the mouth alone.  That way he was free to act with both hands, but still keep the pipe in his mouth.    The popularized pipe of Sherlock Holmes was used by Basil Rathbone in motion pictures and became a part of the Holmes legend, even though it is a pipe he would not have smoked.

-Professor Walter

Sometimes it is something simple like a schedule error that has the biggest impact

Seth MacFarlane is currently the highest paid television writer and producer in television history.  He has three shows currently on the air: Family Guy, American Dad, and The Cleveland Show.  His success is unparalleled in television.  And it nearly ended before it really began...

MacFarlane gave the keynote speech at his alma mater on September 10th 2001.  The following day he went to Logan International Airport to fly home, but the wrong departure time had been given to him by his travel agent.  He was expecting to leave at 8:15 am, but the flight was at 7:45 am.  He arrived at the airport at 7:30am and the gate had closed so he could not board.  The flight he missed was American Airlines Flight 11 which was hijacked fifteen minutes after takeoff.  At 8:46 am the plane was flown into the north tower of the World Trade Center.  

"The only reason it hasn’t really affected me as it maybe could have is I didn’t really know that I was in any danger until after it was over, so I never had that panic moment. After the fact, it was sobering, but people have a lot of close calls; you’re crossing the street and you almost get hit by a car… this one just happened to be related to something massive. I really can’t let it affect me because I’m a comedy writer. I have to put that in the back of my head." - Seth MacFarlane

A difference of just a few minutes saved his life.  As a result television comedy has evolved and prime time animated adult entertainment will never be the same.

-Professor Walter

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, One of the Most Dangerous Invasive Species

In 1984 a new comic books was produced as a parody of the current superhero comics.  This new comic was called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT).  In the following years TMNT grew in popularity with comics, cartoons and motion pictures, even a show at Disney/MGM.  However one of the greatest impacts of this phenomenon was a result of a revelation in the second column of Tales of the TMNT comic book.  In that issue it was revealed that the turtles were Red-Eared Slider.

In the United States turtles as pets have been outlawed since the '70s (this is in the process of changing now) due to risk of salmonella.  However in the UK turtles were acceptable pets, and the popularity of TMNT created a large demand for red-eared sliders.  It is believed that when owners became tired of their pets they released them into the wild or flushed them down the toilet.  Once in the wild they flourished. 

The turtle is native to Mississippi, Tennessee and Cumberland Valleys of the United Stated.  The turtle is highly adaptable, and can hibernate in winter.  They are become aggressive meat eaters, and can hybridize with native turtles damaging the integrity of the native species.  As of today the red-eared slider is considered one of the top 100 most invasive species today.

-Professor Walter

The end of Bimbo was the effect of Betty Boop's transformation

In 1930 Fleischer's Talkartoons series release a new character named Bimbo.  Bimbo was an anthropomorphic dog, who had a poodle girlfriend usually called "Nancy Lee" or "Nan McGrew".  The character proved to be more popular than Bimbo, and evolved into a human.  The long poodle ears became large earrings and her black poodle nose became a button nose.  Within a short time she became Betty Boop and the star of the cartoons.  In 1933 Bimbo was eliminated as a result of the Motion Picture Production Code.

The code was a set of industry censorship guidelines which determines the production of the majority of motion pictures made in the United States from 1930-1968.  In 1968 the Motion Picture Association of America replaced the code with the MPAA film rating system which includes the familiar, G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17 ratings. 

Since Betty Boop had evolved into a human character, Bimbo was no longer a suitable mate since he was a dog which suggested bestiality.

-Professor Walter

Bimbo, Betty Boop and their dog Pudgy

Topsy the Elephant

Born roughly in 1875 Topsy the elephant was a star attraction at Forepaugh Circus at Coney Island's Luna Park.  In the stretch of a few years Topsy killed three men including his drunken abusive trainer who attempted to feed him a lit cigarette.  Because of this Topsy was considered a threat it was decided that he had to be executed.  Initially death by hanging was considered, however the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) protested.   Thompson & Dundy, the owners of Luna Park had an idea and contacted Thomas Edison.

At the time Thomas Edison was pushing DC (Direct Current) for a home power standard while George Westinghouse was pushing AC (Alternating Current).  DC was suitable for short distances, but lost power too easily beyond a few miles on transmission lines.  AC worked well over great distances and did eventually win the battle.  Thomas Edison, who did not like to lose, took a unique tactic in promoting DC.  AC, due to its nature can electrocute a person quite easily, due to the contraction of muscles created by the alternating power.  If a person was electrocuted they cannot pull away from the power source and may die.  DC did not have this drawback.  For this reason Thomas Edison invented and promoted the electric chair in 1890 as proof AC was too dangerous to be in the home.  For this reason Topsy would be electrocuted.

On January 4th 1903 Topsy was fed cyanide laced carrots to ensure that death would be guaranteed and connected to a 6,600 volt AC power source for ten seconds.  Approx. 1,500 people witnessed the electrocution, and Edison's film of the event was seen throughout the United States.

Despite the efforts of Thomas Edison, DC never became the global standard.  Instead AC, which was better suited to this purpose, did.  Topsy's death was a show to promote the park and bury AC.  The result is the famous video (below) which did nothing to deter the success of AC, and a good day for the park.  In 1944 the park was hit by a series of fires and was never rebuilt.  Out of many "Luna Parks" that were created in the image of this park only two survive to today.  Both in Australia.