07.30.
I Learned It By Watching You!
I learned it by watching you! was a large-scale United States anti-narcotics campaign by Partnership for a Drug-Free America. Launched in 1987, the campaign used a televised public service announcement.
The PSA features a father confronting his son in his bedroom after finding a box containing an unspecified controlled substance and drug paraphernalia. After his father angrily asks him how he learned to use drugs, the son shouts, “From you, all right?! I learned it by watching you!” The narrator then intones, “Parents who use drugs have children who use drugs.”
The PSA was parodied in the “My Déjà Vu, My Déjà Vu” episode of Scrubs, in which J.D. talks about his coffee addiction and imagines discovering a coffee maker under the bed of his future son. Click here to watch the PSA »
No Comments07.29.
Mr. Wizard’s World
Mr. Wizard’s World, a faster-paced version of the show developed by Don Herbert, was shown three times a week on the then rising kids cable channel Nickelodeon. The show produced 78 episodes from 1983 onwards, and continued to run thereafter as reruns. During its airing on Nickelodeon, Mr. Wizard’s World was the channel’s #3 rated show in 1983 (behind Livewire, and You Can’t Do That on Television). The show was also famous for its Ask Mr. Wizard segment where Mr. Wizard answered questions sent in by Nickelodeon viewers of all ages. Episodes of Mr. Wizard’s World were re-aired in 2005-2006 on the digital cable channel The Science Channel. Mr. Wizard’s World still frequently airs on The Science Channel, and is considered a candidate for Nickelodeon’s “Nick Rewind” DVD/VHS release. Don Herbert once said: “My time on this Earth is getting shorter and shorter each day, but no matter how old I get, and even when I am dead, Mr. Wizard’s World will never die”. This series was canceled in 1990, though reruns continued on Nick at Nite until 1995 and often in early morning time slots right after Nick at Nite finished, through at least 1997. Click here to watch the intro »
No Comments07.29.
Funny Face
Funny Face was a powdered instant drink mix similar to Kool-Aid, marketed by Pillsbury in the 1960s and 1970s. They originally used calcium cyclamate as a sweetener, but because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) banned the use of cyclamates, the sweetener was changed to saccharin, with the option of buying packets with no sweetener. The product line was sold to another company which limited the distribution and discontinued it in 1978. An animated series based on the drinks is being produced by Renegade Animation. Click here to watch a commercial for Funny Face that wouldn’t be allowed on TV today »
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