The Rabbit Ears Quiz (12 of 12)_ Battle of the Planets

Today, we conclude our long-running series dedicated to television shows which first ran from the late '60s to the early '80s with an homage to "Battle of the Planets," one of the first Japanese anime cartoons to be aired in the United States.

The original Japanese series, which was called "Science Ninja Team Gatchman," ran from 1972-74; the American version, which ran in syndication, was on the air from 1978-85.

The "Battle of the Planets" cast of winged superheroes, known as the G-Force, included Mark, Jason, Princess, Keyop and Troy. Interestingly enough, Mark was voiced by none other than Casey Kasem, now age 80, who also voiced Scooby Doo. Kasem also hosted a popular radio show featuring the top 40 hits from the Billboard charts, which aired during the '70s and '80s.

G-Force often clashed with the demented villain Zoltar, pictured here, who was arguably as deviant and as sinister as Flash Gordon's foe Ming the Merciless. "The New Adventures of Flash Gordon," an American science fiction cartoon ran from 1979-82 on NBC; it was based on a 1940s era comic strip called "Flash Gordon," which is still active in circulation.

The main ship for the G-Force was called The Phoenix.

So, today, we asking what is the difference in terms of number of episodes between the original Japanese version of the anime series and its American counterpart. Though the Japanese version lasted for a shorter time span, it actually produced more episodes.

Is the answer?:

A) 10

B) 15

C) 20

D) 25

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com

http://www.funimation.com

UPDATE (July 5, 2012): The answer is C)20

We're Back on the Air- I Hope....

For the last three weeks, there have been many-a-snafus with my mom's personal home computer, and I have summoned to Milton, West Virginia*, to help assist her with it for more or less the last three weekends in a row. It looks they might perhaps very well be fixed. But, like the possibility of yesterday's federal government shutdown (which thankfully didn't go through) anything bad can happen even if you are optomistic as Cheech and Chong when they are high!

So, tonight I could sit back and watch "The Lawrence Welk Show" which airs on most PBS stations around the nation at 7:00 p.m., including North Carolina Public Television (unctv.org), Blue Ridge PBS in Roanoke, Va., (blueridgepbs.org) and Oklahoma Public Television, which syndicates the show.

(*-my mom does not actually reside in Milton, West Virginia).

Lawrence Welk (1903-1992) was born in Strasburg, N.Dak., which is not to be confused with Strasburg, Va., a little town some 75 miles south of Washington, DC, that we mention a lot on this blog.

While researching this entry, we found that American honky tonk singer Danni Leigh, who is my age (we're both a year older than Scooby Doo), resides in Strasburg, Va. On April 22 and 23, Leigh returns to her home state to perform at The Circle T Arena in Hamilton, Tex.

Wikipedia described Welk, whose originally ran from 1955 to 1982, as 'a musician, accordionist, bandleader and tv impresario.'

It should also be pointed out that all the people who watch Lawrence Welk's show tonight in places like Mount Airy, NC, can stay tuned to the British comedy series "As Time Goes By" afterwards. We can't imagine that the college students in Chapel Hill will be watching either of these shows, but then again I listen to Mozart and Metallica!

Nostalgia Monday- The Halloween of 1976

Guess which cartoon character I dressed up as in 1976, and I will send you a five dollar coupon for a round trip flight on Qantas Airlines from Los Angeles to Sydney. (Ok, we are pulling your leg there!) Incidentally, I was six years old in 1976.

Was it:

A) Scooby Doo

B) Dyno-Mutt

C) Underdog

D) Droopy Dog


I'll give the answer here on this blog within the next week.