The All New Popeye Hour: "Merry Madness at the Mardi Gras"

Premiered December 17, 1979.

Popeye (Jack Mercer) and Olive Oyl (Marilyn Schreffler) are watching a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans.  They’re planning to attend a costume contest after the parade. 

They’re planning to attend a costume contest after the parade.  The sailor man says he enjoys Mardi Gras, but he worries their nemesis Bluto (Allan Melvin) will show up and mess up everything, like he always does.  Olive suggests they get Mardi Gras costumes, so Bluto won’t recognize them.

Sure enough, Bluto shows up disguised in a gorilla suit.  He throws Popeye up in air and takes his place by Olive’s side.  She thinks it’s Popeye dressed as a gorilla.  Popeye quickly returns and dispatches of Bluto. 

Bluto eventually decides to encase Popeye in quick-drying liquid iron.  This upsets Popeye, since Olive was counting on him to escort her to the costume contest. 

With his rival (seemingly) out of the picture, Bluto puts on a “Popeye” costume and escorts Olive Oyl to the contest.

Can Popeye escape from his liquid-iron prison?  Will Bluto ruin their Mardi Gras celebration? 

J.A. Morris says:

This isn’t a great episode and the plot is rather thin.  However, I was a regular viewer of The All New Popeye Hour when it was new, so this was a nice opportunity to revisit a childhood favorite.  If you’ve seen a Popeye cartoon, you know the drill: Popeye and Bluto compete for Olive Oyl’s attention, stuff happens, etc.  Only this time their competition takes place at a Mardi Gras parade. 

This episode features some funny visuals, such as Bluto’s Popeye costume, and Bluto turning Popeye into a “Popeye balloon.” 

This series might not have been the best Popeye cartoon, but the voice actors were top-notch.  Jack Mercer voiced Popeye, a role he’d been performing since 1935. 

Veteran character actor Allan Melvin provided the voice of Bluto in this series.  Melvin did a lot of cartoon voice work, but he’s probably best remembered for his roles on The Phil Silvers Show, Gomer Pyle:USMC, The Brady Bunch and All In The Family. 

"Merry Madness at the Mardi Gras" is a short, fun Mardi Gras-themed episode.  There aren’t many episodes, specials or movies that focus on Fat Tuesday, so it’s always nice to discover one.  It’s not great, but it’s recommended, especially for Popeye fans.

J.A. Morris’ rating:

2 and a half King Cakes.

RigbyMel says: 

As a Saturday morning cartoon devotee, The All-New Popeye Hour was my introduction to Popeye as a child.   In the manner of lots of Hanna Barbera produced animation, it's pretty cheap looking from an adult perspective, but it's generally enjoyable, plus (as noted by J.A.)  the voice talent is great.

Wimpy makes a cameo as a balloon vendor in the short. 

"Merry Madness at the Mardi Gras" is a harmless, family-friendly romp around New Orleans.   I am not sure I remember seeing this particular episode as a child, but it may well have been some folks' introduction to the concept of the Mardi Gras.   Some of the physics (even if it's cartoon physics), bugged me -- wouldn't liquid iron be scaldingly  hot, for example?    Also, poor Olive Oyl doesn't come off too well in this,  Bluto's disguises are pretty darned easy to see through.

Maybe her Mardi Gras mask was obscuring her vision?

It's short and silly,  but as there aren't too many Mardi Gras themed cartoons out there, it's amusing enough.  Not a classic, but worth seeing at least once. 

RigbyMel's rating:

2 King Cakes

Jem: "Mardi Gras"

Premiered November 4, 1987.

Jem (Samantha Newark) and her rock band the Holograms have been booked to perform at New Orleans' annual Mardi Gras festivities.  

They learn that they have been chosen to wear jewelry owned by legendary NOLA pirate Jean Lafitte that haven't been seen since 1814.   He intended to give the jewels to legendary singer Lily LaRose, his unrequited love.    

The band meets their local contact Pierre L'Arquette.  He is quickly smitten with Holograms' bassist Shana (Cindy McGee), but she informs him that she already has a boyfriend.  

Shana is also accosted by a mysterious old woman known as Mama Lou who warns her to "Beware of zombies on Fat Tuesday!"  

When Jem and friends arrive at Maison Fleur, an old mansion where they will stay.  They meet their hostess Mademoiselle Yvette and her butler Maurice, and are told the story of Lafitte's forbidden love affair with Lily LaRose.  It turns out that  Lily happens to bear a striking resemblance to Shana!  Moreover,  Lafitte's ghost is said to haunt the area, protecting the jewels. 

The Holograms' rival band the Misfits are also in New Orleans and are scheming to take the glory and the jewels with the help of a group called the Zomboys!  

Will Lafitte's ghost show up?   Will Jem and the Holograms get to perform or will the Misfits steal their thunder?  

RigbyMel says :

I remember watching the Jem cartoon show intermittently during the 1980s, but definitely did not remember that there was a Mardi Gras themed episode!   

The plot of this episode is mainly an excuse to string together some tropes relating to the celebration of Mardi Gras in NOLA -- but in family friendly fashion (no women exposing themselves to get beads tossed from parade floats here -- although, I wouldn't put it past the Misfits.)    We get a riverboat cruise, music, masks, floats, costumes, parades, cod French-Cajun-ish accents, stories of pirates, ghosts and a creepy old house for good measure.  

They missed out on opportunities to include alligators and/or swamp boats, but as it's only a 22 minute episode,  I guess they didn't want to over-do it.  

As was typical of the series (and as it's appropriate for Mardi Gras),  we get several songs.   The Holograms sing 2 songs  "Let Me Take You To The Mardi Gras" and "Everybody Wears A Mask" while the Misfits sing "Surprise, Surprise" while wrecking havoc on a street car.    The songs are kind of laughably silly 1980s artifacts,  but are also ear worms, so beware if you watch this one.  

Overall, the episode is ... not great, but it probably did serve as an introduction to Mardi Gras for some children of the 1980s, which is worthwhile, I suppose. 

RigbyMel's rating:

2 king cakes


J.A. Morris says:
I don't have a lot to add here, this is a silly episode but I thought it was entertaining.

I wouldn't call this episode "educational," I appreciated the inclusion of Jean Lafitte, who was a real-life pirate who fought in the Battle Of New Orleans.  There's even a line that mentions that Lafitte was a slave trader, so it doesn't sugar-coat his history.

There aren't many Mardi Gras-themed episodes or specials out there, so I'll give this one some credit for originality.

"Mardi Gras" isn't a classic, but if you're in the mood for some clean entertainment on Fat Tuesday, it's an 80s-tastic way to entertain yourself for a little while.

J.A. Morris' rating:

2 and a half king cakes.

Saturday Night Live: "Mardi Gras Special"

Premiered February 20, 1977.

For this review, we depart from our usual summary-review format.  Because that wouldn't be fair to this special.

We're both huge fans of the "original cast" era of Saturday Night Live.  This Mardi Gras special was broadcast once and never re-shown on television.  This gave it a legendary status among fans of SNL.

Part of the allure of SNL is that "anything can happen" on live tv.  But cast members and hosts have rarely gone off script, nor have any major on-air accidents occurred.  In the Mardi Gras special, just about anything that could have happened did happen, and the result was mixed at best.  This special only aired once and was unavailable until the recent DVD release of the series.

What works:

Dan Aykroyd begins the festivities, doing his perfect impression of Jimmy Carter.  When the camera pans out, we see he's sitting on the back of the equestrian Andrew Jackson statue, located in Jackson Square!

Instead of the usual "Live from New York", Aykroyd/Carter exclaims "Live from Mardi Gras, it's Saturday Night!"

After the cold-opening, Randy Newman sings his song "Louisiana 1927".  It's about the Great Mississipi Flood of 1927, but the song (sadly) gained new currency after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005. Newman later performs another Lousiana-centric song called "The Kingfish", about Gov. Huey Long.

Jane Curtin and Buck Henry had the thankless task of covering the Bacchus Parade, surrounded by thousands of drunken revelers.  They did the best they could, under difficult circumstances, with writers composing jokes on the fly, projectiles being hurled at them by the crowd and the parade running way behind schedule.

We get a scene featuring guest Penny Marshall and recurring SNL characters Sherry the stewardess (Laraine Newman) and Rhonda Weiss (Gilda Radner) looking to meet guys.  The guys they meet are members of the Wild Bees Motorcyle Club!

Garret Morris performs a K-Telesque commercial for an album called "Garrett Morris Sings Fats Domino".

Baba Wawa (Radner) interviews Henry Winkler, who was very famous at the time for his role as Fonzie on Happy Days.  In a humorous exchange, Winkler seems confused about where his personality ends and Fonzie's begins.  Winkler served as King of the Bacchus Parade during Mardi Gras '77.

Eric Idle reports on the Mardi Gras festivities being held at a local restaurant.  Unfortunately, the party has ended and emptied out by the time Idle goes on the air!

Awkward (presumed) ad-libbing at its finest

SNL's resident filmmaker Gary Weis gives us two short films that capture the spirit of New Orleans.

The New Leviathan Oriental Foxtrot Orchestra performs a nice, 1920s flavored performance of the song "Rebecca Came Back From Mecca".

Paul Shaffer (then part of SNL's house band) sings "The Antler Dance"...

You've gotta love Paul Shaffer's "groovy" 70s shirt!

...while Michael "Mr. Mike" O'Donoghue does the Antler Dance on a balcony in the French Quarter.  Many in the crowd below O'Donoghue attempt to do the Antler Dance as well.

"Put your hands on your head, like a big ol' moose
Keep your elbows high, and your legs real loose
Groove around the floor, kinda leap and prance
Shake your middle just a little, and you're doing the Antler Dance!
Well, well, well, the Antler Dance!
Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!" 

Emily Litella (Radner) confuses the words "liver" and "river" while interviewing a riverboat captain.

New Orleans Mayor Moon Landrieu gives native son Garret Morris the "Combination To The City".  In the background, a random masked man approaches them before he's restrained by security.  Kind of creepy
.

In a bizarre (but funny) sketch, Weekend Update anchor Laraine Newman interviews people who are celebrating "Mouse Sunday".  This involves taping white mice over their eyes!

The high point for us was John Belushi's reenactment of the "Stella!" scene from A Streetcar Named Desire, with unexpected results.  Belushi's Brando impression was great as always, plus Streetcar was set in New Orleans, giving it extra resonance.

"STELLLAAAAA!"

I won't spoil it, but the absolute best joke of the whole special comes from Jane Curtin at the very end.

While they "work", most of the above aren't exactly hilarious.  

What doesn't work?
Just about everything else.  Don't get us wrong, it's interesting to watch a live broadcast struggle to keep from falling apart.  But the rest of the show isn't very funny or entertaining. 

I've always loved Aykroyd's impression of Tom Snyder.  But the sketch where Snyder investigates topless & bottomless strip clubs starts out well, but goes on forever, to no effect.

Tom Snyder (Aykroyd) interview a stripper named Velocity (Cindy Williams).

While I like Randy Newman's music, this show has too much Newman.  Four songs in a 90-minute special is about two too many.  This was done because Newman's theater location was the most stable spot they had to work with and served as "home base" for the chaotic production.

The show's coverage of the Apollo Ball is hampered by bad camera work and sound.  Plus, Cindy Williams was lost in the crowd outside when they first cut to the ball, and poor Penny Marshall seems uncertain of how to cover for Williams' absence.

Belushi's "reenactment" of Mussolini's speech seems pointless, all build-up with little pay-off.  And the drunken crowd chanting "Duce! Duce!" is a bit ... unsettling.

Belushi as Moussolini.

Bill Murray portrays legendary New Orleans pirate Jean Lafitte, in a one-joke sketch.  Lafitte doesn't like to be called a pirate.  He proceeds to shoot everyone who calls him a pirate, it gets old fast.

Don't call Lafitte a pirate.

This isn't a great special, but if you're a fan of Classic SNL, you owe it to yourself to watch it.  This special can be found as a bonus feature of Satuday Night Live:The Complete Second Season (disc 8, to be exact).

The cast and everyone who worked behind the scenes deserves an A for effort, but this special is no lost classic.

J.A. Morris and RigbyMel's rating:

2 and a half King Cakes.