The Deadly Asteroid (Hanna-Barbera GODZILLA, Season 2 Episode 13, 1979) Turner Screener VHS Tape!

 

And now, here is the other of the two Turner Network "screener" VHS tapes I recently acquired! This is episode #7913 of the Hanna-Barbera GODZILLA, or as we know it, Season 2, episode 13, which happens to be the very last episode.  

I have gone on at length about this episode, because I seem to have a special connection with it that I can't escape.  I happen to own a handful of original backgrounds and cels from this episode, and I did a special post that shows them all, as well as showing screenshots of what they looked like when used in the finished episode! You can see all of that in this post from a few years ago, right here.  What is interesting about that post is seeing how much of the finished backgrounds ended up obscured in the finished product.  And this is for a company famous for cutting corners.  You will see what I mean. Also, the way that the colors change slightly from production, to filming, to recording is also interesting to see.

I should point out something I completely neglected to mention in my other HB GODZILLA screener VHS post--these two episodes have NO TNT or Cartoon Network "bugs" in the bottom corner, which is sadly what you run into with the second-season episodes that circulate.  Why? Because they have STILL never had an official release on any physical media whatsoever.  Now, Toho did put them on their YouTube channel a couple years back, but they divided all of them into thirds that are about 7 minutes each.  They are good quality, but the one I discussed last time seemed to have a different audio mix than my tape, because the music and sound effects were much quieter.  So anyhow, these two episodes are worth downloading just for that reason.  Moving on...

The plot of this episode, once it gets going, really has more of a SUPERFRIENDS feel to it than GODZILLA.  Some Ice Aliens from planet Something have come to Earth, and in order to make it hospitable for them, have focused a beam on one of their moons (note: not an asteroid), and will simply slam it into the Earth, thereby making it a frozen wasteland where they can live. Makes sense, right?

Well, no, but it's Saturday morning cartoons, and I am not going to argue.  The day--and the world--are both saved by Godzilla, who grabs the flying saucer generating the beam, and uses it to push the moon back into space.....somewhere.  The aliens actually quickly follow and fly away, and there is a solid moment where you straight up expect Godzilla to blow their saucer out of the sky....but again, it's Saturday morning cartoons, and everyone just lets them get away.

Before we get to the download--since I've covered this episode before, here are some items that particularly struck me on this viewing:

The episode actually begins in a way very remniscent of the first GAMERA film, with some Eskimos in the Arctic Circle reacting to the aliens' flying saucer.  

Is photo-bombing still a thing? Godzooky knows how to do it.

Godzilla doesn't have a whole lot to do in this episode, but here he smashes ice walls with an ice club.

What happens when you have an episode about aliens made of literal ice carrying ice guns? You get:  a Brock-cicle....

...a Godzilla-cicle....

...and, a Godzooky-cicle, all in the same episode!

Here's another thing--this is one of MANY fictional franchise universes where famous landmarks no longer stand, because of some cataclysm, alien invasion, or what have you.  It's a very popular thing to do in fiction--how many can you name? I can think of a handful, just typing this...

Yep, there goes Big Ben....

And, there goes the Eiffel Tower...

Wait, NO NOT THE SPHINX! We take that personally around here!

Oh, well, it's...safe? That's BETTER?

Here is a WEIRD one.  So the crew gets hold of one of the aliens' ice guns, and sets it for "reverse," and melts several of the alien soldiers to puddles of water (I know).  Right before they escape in their flying saucer, there is a VERY quick pan over to the alien leader, who silently struggles to his feet and pushes some controls on the wall.  Before the camera stops on him, it briefly passes over what looks like a mound of reconstituted alien soldiers! Maybe it's supposed to be a pile of bodies, but the whole thing is bizarrely confusing, and never explained. The above photo are two combined screenshots, made from the quick pan.

Now that you've made it through all of THAT, you can see it for yourself!

GODZILLA - The Deadly Asteroid (1979)

Enjoy!

Island Of Doom (Hanna-Barbera GODZILLA, Season 2 Episode 12, 1979) Turner Screener VHS Tape!

Get ready, because here is one of a pair of amazing items! This is a VHS "screener" tape made for internal use by one of the Turner networks.  I believe this to be from, most likely, TNT, because as you'll recall, they were the first to air the Hanna-Barbera GODZILLA for many years, before Cartoon Network even existed.  Another reason is that the Cartoon Network tapes that I have seen identify themselves as such, like this one:

In fact, this particular CN tape is what started this whole chain of events! I bought it from a super-nice Ebay seller in Georgia (that's important to our story, as that is where Turner's networks are located), who had bought a lot of about 40 such tapes at an estate sale, held at the estate of a person who worked for Turner Broadcasting System.  The seller thought--as I did--that the tape contained an episode of the Hanna-Barbera GODZILLA, but it actually turned out to be the 1998 animated series made to support the first American film! I had no idea that CN had ever even shown that series.  

About the time I am discovering this, the seller reaches back out to me, saying they had discovered two OTHER Godzilla tapes in the lot, and this time they were indeed the HB show! They were nice enough to take the CN tape back, and a deal was struck, for which I'll be eternally grateful! So.......let's get right to it, and then you can see it for yourself!

One strange thing about this tape is that there are no opening credits.  In fact, it begins choppily in mid-title card! Another interesting characteristic of this recording is that there is a 20-second gap where each commercial break should be, where the screen goes black for that duration.

This is the penultimate episode of the series, and it's a notable one I had forgotten about, for several reasons.  It's all about a renegade criminal pseudo-military organization with their own island base (and nuclear reactor, naturally), who shoot down a weather satellite with a fancy missile:

In fact, you should probably recognize the organization, because it's none other than...

COBRA! (Or "Cobraaaaaaaaa!" as you probably remember it). And here is Cobra Commander:

Okay, it's not THAT Cobra.  But still.  So they blow up the satellite, and the crew of The Calico gets involved.

Of course, you wouldn't see this without freezing it, but: interestingly, if you look closely at the cursive on this map, the (identically-spaced) lanes of water are labelled "STRAITS," "OCEAN," and "CHANNEL."  Huh. Aparently I am not the only one who had a D in Geography, it seems.

They go to investigate--before this, Pete and Godzooky are arguing over crates of vegetables:

Godzooky wants to eat them.  Looking closely reveals the large crate behind Pete is labelled "PRUNE." In the name of all that is holy, people, do NOT let Godzooky eat those!

So they get to the island, and immediately all get captured by the Cobra guys.  At this point in the tape, I need to point out that the soundtrack had a bit of decay, or possibly magnetic damage.  For a few minutes, there was a volume drop and lots of loud static.  However, I restored the missing few minutes of audio using an extraction from the official Toho YouTube upload, and it matched perfectly, which amazed me, I have to say.  I really expected to have to pitch-correct something, but it fit perfectly.  So, the good news is that the episode is intact.

Cobra puts everyone in the same jail cell....EVEN GODZOOKY.  This is nuts. If you ask me, this is the 1979 equivalent to having Minya ride in the guy's truck in FINAL WARS.  It is at this point that the episode goes into overdrive.

In fact, what strikes me about viewing this episode now (rather than when I first saw it at 6 years old) is that this is the one episode of the entire series that is most like a vintage Godzilla movie.  Because the last third of the episode is Godzilla going on a rampage and destroying the entire island base, wading through launching, exploding missiles, swatting down airplanes, smashing buildings...the whole works.  You could dub in the sound effects and the roar from the Heisei film of your choice, and make it very convincing. It's pretty awesome.

"Oh look! That Jana of the Jungle is finally over! Get the Big G sampler pack and some bowls!"

After which, Godzilla grabs Cobra's overloading nuclear reactor (which represents the stakes in the story) and stops it from exploding by throwing it into the ocean to cool it off....and thereby probably creating some sort of massive environmental hazard, but hey, who's counting?

Another cool aspect of this episode is that Doug Wildey (as in JOHNNY QUEST and lots of other awesome things) as designer got to flex a bit and design some really cool weaponry and stuff for Cobra, which is a lot of fun to see (on the right:  the original model sheet for the laser turrets, which Godzilla completely MELTS into goo, by the way).  

So, if you aren't convinced yet, I have converted, restored, and uploaded the episode for you to enjoy, and you can download it right here:

GODZILLA - Island Of Doom (1979)

Stay tuned, because we still have one more Turner screener tape coming! 

Promotional Calendar (Hanna-Barbera Productions, 1978) Godzilla! Super Friends! ........Godzooky.

 

Who knew, but in December of 1978, Hanna-Barbera sent out promotional calendars as gifts, which were printed on 11 x 14 glossy paper, and bound at the top with a green comb, the type of which is still used today. We can obviously spot our favorite kaiju right there on the front, inside of a giant stocking (I mean a GIANT stocking) with everyone else!

Oh, and Godzooky is also there.

Let's jump in, and take a look at the contents!

January shows us YOGI'S SPACE RACE, a short-lived attempt to space-ify some HB characters in the wake of Star Wars, which is what everyone else was doing too.  It was also one of those Saturday-morning shows that was part of a "programming block," (in this case, 90 minutes) that included some other features we are going to see shortly.

February's subject might be unknown to you, but JANA OF THE JUNGLE was 1/2 of the original GODZILLA POWER HOUR, and did not go over at all. It's pretty obscure, but episodes are on the YouTubes.

March and April are even more obscure, if that's even possible! GALLOPING GHOST was originally a segment of YOGI'S SPACE RACE, and was later given half of a show, combined with THE BUFORD FILES (hold on for that one).

May is the main attraction, of course. This is a pretty well-used piece of promotional artwork for the series, but the composition is sort of odd, the more you look at it.  It almost seems like a paste-up. Godzilla's image is at a weird angle, and then Godzooky is just sort of tucked into the back.

For June, we have DINKY DOG, and I have no memory of this one whatsoever.  Wikipedia tells me it was part of THE ALL-NEW POPEYE HOUR, and later spun off to its own show.  It was also Hanna-Barbera's first show produced in Australia.

As previously mentioned, THE BUFORD FILES (which I don't remember either) was part of YOGI'S SPACE RACE.

August, however, is pretty special, and my second-favorite page in this calendar.  Not only was Saturday morning my introduction to Godzilla, but Super Friends was very important to me, and I didn't miss it. The 1979 season of the show would've been WORLD'S GREATEST SUPERFRIENDS, which was a good year!

September is SCOOBY-DOO, and if you can sort out the million permutations and combinations of Scooby-Doo shows that have aired over the decades, you are a better man than I.  I will point out that for the 1977-78 season, CAPTAIN CAVEMAN AND THE TEEN ANGELS was shown in the same 2-hour block, which brings us to October.  Do you remember kids running around the playground yelling "Captaaaaaain Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaavemaaannnnnnn!"???

We wrap up the year with two more easy ones.  Huckleberry Hound would've been seen on LAFF-A-LYMPICS about this time, and A FLINTSTONE CHRISTMAS was a prime-time TV special in 1977.

As a bonus, here is the original outer envelope that the calendar was mailed in!

Note the extra artwork up by the postage--9 years old by this time, Scooby-Doo was already the ambassador and symbol of Hanna-Barbera:

You may be interested to know, just in case you save and printout these calendar pages, they will be perfectly good to use again in the years 2029, 2035, 2046...and so on! Enjoy!

"Magnetic Godzilla Character TV & Cartoon Pals" (Item #2129, manufacturer unknown, 1979)

 

An extremely rare set of Godzilla items today--these 7-inch giant "puffy magnets" were produced to promote the Hanna-Barbera cartoon.  Three different styles were available: two Godzillas and one Godzooky.  These are scarce on their own, loose, but practically unheard of in their original packaging.  The same nameless company also made smaller "puffy magnet keychains" and various sizes of puffy stickers......apparently "puffy" was this company's specialty.

These were drug store and gift shop types of things, and, for the record, the magnets are extremely weak and hardly do anything. They would've been sold on spinner racks which would've been full of the same sorts of products for dozens of other properties.

Packaged, they measure about 11 x 6 inches (roughly, as there was some variation in the way the header cards were stapled).  For completeness, here is what the backs of the magnets look like:

The printing reads "© 1979 Toho Co., Ltd & Benedict Pictures Corporation." 

I have shared this here in past years, but I even own a quarter machine header card from that era that includes one of the Godzooky jumbo puffy magnets:

I can only assume that these were unsold overstock, and that the magnet would've been grotesquely folded beyond recognition to fit into one of those quarter machine capsules...IF it's even true that they were even a possible prize...after all, there were those full-sized digital watches that nobody ever really won, but every kid tried to.

"The Firebird" GODZILLA! Pilot Script (Hanna-Barbera, 1978) REVISITED

 

"Say, what are we looking at?"

Scouring the KING KONG vs. GODZILLA script made me remember--with much embarrassment--that I'd never found time in the past three years to go back to the other script I own, that of the pilot for what at the time was called GODZILLA! with an exclamation point.  When I first got the script, it was messily stapled together in bundles, and I was afraid of taking it apart...well, that fear is conquered. It's been carefully un-stapled and completely scanned, as well as meticulously compared to the finished episode.  As hinted at in the few lazy photos I'd included in the original post, it's very different from the finished product.

Whereas the KING KONG vs. GODZILLA script included mostly smaller differences to the finished product (and may have even been constructed after the fact?), the Firebird script is full of altered dialogue, cut lines, and most of all, unproduced scenes...multiple pages of them, in fact. 

As I slowly went through the finished episode a couple of seconds at a time, I annotated all of the changes in red (using Adobe Acrobat which enabled me to both line through discarded parts, and type in new and changed dialogue because you don't want to mess with my handwriting), which you can see in the screenshot above.  Spoiler alert:  there is metric tons of red.

Here are some of my random observations:

*This obviously wasn't the "Final Draft," which would've been the working version for the episode--which makes this script all the more important, and interesting!

*While lots of dialogue is cut out, and conversations are compressed for time, it quickly becomes apparent that many of the scenes were simply changed because they would've required too much animation...in other words, cost more. Let's fact it, Hanna-Barbera wasn't known for high art, but instead for cutting corners to crank out as much product as possible.  Two shocking examples of this are: 1) the scientists fleeing the flowing lava, which was shortened and simplified to the point of embarrassment, and 2) the final battle between Godzilla and the Firebird as originally written, which took place on a shrinking ice floe that melts down to just enough room for the two of them.  That would've been really cool!

*While much was deleted from the 52-page script, I had to type 9 pages of my own that wasn't in the original draft.  As you would guess, lots of the material involves cramming more Godzooky into the proceedings.  It's not that he's absent from the original, just not nearly goofy enough for their liking.  The rest of the additions involve rewrites of the more complicated scenes, to simplify them for animating.  

It's a very interesting read, and a real behind-the-scenes lesson in the production of the show and others like it.  I should point out that the download includes two complete versions of the script; the original untouched script AND my annotated/red-lined/supplemented version.  Read along with the finished episode, and you will be quite surprised!

LINK:  The Firebird (Pilot Script) both versions