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The Alvin Show

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The Alvin Show
David Seville and the Chipmunks, as seen on the show's opening sequence.
Created byRoss Bagdasarian
StarringRoss Bagdasarian
Shepard Menken
Country of originUSA
No. of episodes26 Alvin & the Chipmunks episodes, 26 Clyde Crashcup episodes, and 52 musical segments
Production
Running time30 minutes per episode
Original release
NetworkCBS
Release1961 –
1962

The Alvin Show, the first American animated television series to feature the singing characters from Alvin and the Chipmunks, lasted for just one season in prime time (1961 – 1962) but has become something of a cult favourite over the years. Enough so, in fact, that fans of the original series are known to scorn the more successful 1980s update in deference to the original, which rode the momentum of creator Ross Bagdasarian's original hit musical gimmick and developed the singing Chipmunk trio as rambunctious kids---particularly the namesake brat and harmonica-playing star of the show himself, whose mischief contrasted to (and usually exasperated) his brainy brother Simon and his gluttonous brother Theodore, to say nothing of their perpetually put-upon manager-father figure, Dave.

The Hit That Might Have Been

An almost accidental parody of the family situation comedy, the Alvin cartoons are not masterpieces of animation sophistication---but as understated satire they stand up surprisingly well four decades after failing to find a prime time niche. They were up against NBC's formidable hit western Wagon Train as it was, but the real culprit may have been the production delays. The idea was to keep Alvin and company from reaching the air long enough to allow an obvious imitation, The Nutty Squirrels, (which had been created explicitly in response to Bagdasarian's musical success with the Chipmunk concept) to beat the Chipmunks to television by a full year.

Since Bagdasarian's key to success had been happening upon a clever gimmick and getting it up and forward first, that delay (caused mostly by disagreements among Format Films and Bagdasarian Film Corporation on acceptable character designs for the Chipmunks) probably helped doom The Alvin Show before its first installments even went on the air. One of a small number of animated series to be shown in prime time on CBS, The Alvin Show was broadcast in black and white, even though it was produced and later re-run in color (CBS did not switch to full, across-the-board color television until 1964).

In addition, Bagdasarian insisted that The Alvin Show skip the addition of a laugh track, much to the chagrin of CBS brass. And in hindsight, had there not been the delays which fractured much-needed momentum, The Alvin Show might have survived longer than a year.

The Great Inventor

Aside from the seven-minute Chipmunk cartoons, in which Bagdasarian's David Seville was portrayed as a hapless bachelor who managed, mentored, and sometimes wanted to kill the three singing rodents (and Alllllll-viiiiiiiiiin! in particular), one of the show's most endearing features was the satirical Clyde Crashcup---whom some of the show's original fans sometimes think was the real star of the show, no disrespect meant to Alvin. Voiced by Shepard Menken (who lent the character his classic Edwin Carp-like liquid voice), Clyde was an inventor who essentially re-invented the wheel (and practically everything else, from baseball to jokes to you name it) and took credit for dreaming it up in the first place. He wouldn't have known an original idea if it exploded in his face. If anything, his "creations" often backfired on him (classically: when he invented the wife, who turned on him like a shrewish mutant), until his silent, level-headed lab assistant, Leonardo (diminutive, balding, and perpetually whispering in Crashcup's ear) saved him from any further self-immolation.

It was cheerfully insane satire, and it is still hilariously funny to see four decades after its creation. But Clyde's physical life proved even shorter than those of Alvin, Simon, Theodore, and David Seville. They didn't bring Clyde along for the ride when Alvin and the Chipmunks revived in the 1980s. Except for a single cameo, Clyde Crashcup and levelheaded Leonardo were left to the land of trivia contests.

Afterlife

NBC picked up the original Alvin Show cartoons and re-ran them on Saturday mornings for a few years after the show's prime time failure, and the show popped up similarly over the next two decades. Ross Bagdasarian died of a heart attack on January 16, 1972 at age 52, precluding any future Chipmunk activity. But when Ross Bagdasarian, Jr. picked up on a disc jockey's joke and produced the hit Chipmunk Punk (1980) album, new interest was spurred for a brand new animation series with an updated look to the Chipmunks and David Seville (now voiced by Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.). As a result, both the new Alvin and the Chipmunks (1983-1991) as well as the original Alvin Show could be seen at any given time throughout the 1980s. As the 1990s wore on, The Alvin Show disappeared into history at last. It is rarely seen today---but its old fans and their children enjoy it on the rare occasions it does appear. Hopefully, new generations of fans can enjoy The Alvin Show if it makes its way to the thriving TV DVD market.

Voice actors and their characters

Episodes

26 episodes each were produced for the Alvin and the Chipmunks and Clyde Crashcup segments, along with 52 musical segments.

  1. Good Neighbor/Buffalo Gals/Invents Jokes/America the Beautiful
  2. Ostrich/Mexico-the Brave Chipmunks/Invents Self-Presentation/Yankee Doodle
  3. Squares/Italy-Oh, Gondaliero!/Invents Glass/I Wish I Could Speak French
  4. Sam Valiant, Private Nose/August Dear/Invents the Chair/Working on the Railroad
  5. Overworked Alvin/When Johnny Comes Marching Home/Invents the West/Swanee River
  6. Alvin's Curse/Old MacDonald-Cha, Cha, Cha/Invents the Baseball/Switzerland-the Magic Mountain
  7. Alvin's Alter-Ego/Japanese Banana/Invents the Bathtub/The Pidgin English Hula
  8. Stanley the Eagle/Stuck in Arabia/Invents the Wife/I Wish I Had A Horse
  9. Fancy/Chipmunk Fun/Invents Flight/Good Morning Song
  10. Sam Valiant: Real Estate/Alvin for President/Invents the Baby/Home on the Range
  11. Dude Ranch/Witch Doctor/Invents the Stove/Lilly of Laguna
  12. Camping Trip/Spain/Invents Music/Row, Row, Row Your Boat
  13. Bentley Van Rolls/Swing Low, Sweet Chariot/Invents First Aid/Comin' Thru' The Rye
  14. The Whistler/Coming Around the Mountain/Invents Electricity/Pop Goes the Weasel
  15. Love Sick Dave/If You Love Me/Invents Egypt/Maria from Madrid
  16. Jungle Rhythm/Alvin's Orchestra/Invents the Bed/The Little Dog
  17. Theodore's Dog/The Chipmunk Song/Invents the Telephone/Alvin's Harmonica
  18. Hillbilly Son/Three Blind Mice/Invents Do-it-Yourself/Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
  19. Little League/Clementine/Invents the Time Machine/Sing A Goofy Song
  20. Eagle in Love/Daisy/Invents the Time Machine/On Top of Old Smokey
  21. Alvin's Studio/Whistle While You Work/Invents the Shoe/Ragtime Cowboy Joe
  22. Haunted House/My Wild Irish Rose/Invents Physical Fitness/The Band Played On
  23. Sir Alvin/Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair/This is Your Life, Clyde Crashcup!/Funicula-Funicula
  24. Good Manners/Git Along, Little Doggies/Invents the Birthday Party/The Man on the Flying Trapeze
  25. Eagle Music/Polly Wolly Doodle/Invents Self Defense/Down in the Valley
  26. Disc Jockey/The Alvin Twist/Invents Crashcupland/While Strolling Through the Park?

NOTE: Jell-O was one of the show's main sponsors; the other was Post Cereals.

See also

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