The New Archie and Sabrina Hour
Encyclopedia
The New Archie and Sabrina Hour was the seventh and final animated series featuring Archie Comics
characters under the Filmation
banner. The series premiered on NBC
in September 1977, rebroadcasting segments from The Archie Show
, as well as brand-new segments featuring Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
. Fred Silverman
, who had ordered The Archie Show for CBS
in 1968, had just taken over as head of programming for NBC, and was hoping that the show would jumpstart NBC's Saturday morning lineup, just as The Archie Show had done for CBS. The show's format featured three segments per episode: a 15-minute one, a 30-minute one, and another 15-minute one—with the segments separated by songs (2 songs per episode) and the first segment invariably featuring and emphasizing Sabrina.
Unfortunately, low ratings, most likely caused by changing musical tastes and viewer fatigue with the Archie franchise, caused the hourlong format to be shelved by October. The show was retooled, then divided into separate 30-minute shows: Archie's Bang Shang Lollapalooza Show featured Archie's Gang solving mysteries around Riverdale (each 30-minute segment), while Superwitch featured Sabrina solving mysteries using her powers (each pair of 15-minute segments); each show featured one song per episode. The low ratings continued, however, and all three shows were gone by the spring of 1978—thus ending the Archie Comics/Filmation partnership.
The new segments from this show are listed by Entertainment Rights
as "The Archie and Sabrina Surprise Package".
Archie Comics
Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...
characters under the Filmation
Filmation
Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live action programming for television during the latter half of the 20th century. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1963...
banner. The series premiered on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in September 1977, rebroadcasting segments from The Archie Show
The Archie Show
The Archie Show is a Saturday morning cartoon animated series produced by Filmation. Based on the Archie comic books, created by Bob Montana in 1941, The Archie Show debuted on CBS in September 1968 and lasted for one season. A total of 17 half-hour shows, each containing two 11 minute segments,...
, as well as brand-new segments featuring Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
Sabrina the Teenage Witch is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a teenage fictional character named Sabrina Spellman. The character was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo. The comic's characters have also appeared in various other media...
. Fred Silverman
Fred Silverman
Fred Silverman is an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at the CBS, ABC and NBC networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as the series Scooby-Doo , All in the Family , The Waltons , and Charlie's Angels , as well as the...
, who had ordered The Archie Show for CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in 1968, had just taken over as head of programming for NBC, and was hoping that the show would jumpstart NBC's Saturday morning lineup, just as The Archie Show had done for CBS. The show's format featured three segments per episode: a 15-minute one, a 30-minute one, and another 15-minute one—with the segments separated by songs (2 songs per episode) and the first segment invariably featuring and emphasizing Sabrina.
Unfortunately, low ratings, most likely caused by changing musical tastes and viewer fatigue with the Archie franchise, caused the hourlong format to be shelved by October. The show was retooled, then divided into separate 30-minute shows: Archie's Bang Shang Lollapalooza Show featured Archie's Gang solving mysteries around Riverdale (each 30-minute segment), while Superwitch featured Sabrina solving mysteries using her powers (each pair of 15-minute segments); each show featured one song per episode. The low ratings continued, however, and all three shows were gone by the spring of 1978—thus ending the Archie Comics/Filmation partnership.
The new segments from this show are listed by Entertainment Rights
Entertainment Rights
Entertainment Rights Plc was a global media company. Its main role was in children and family television programming.The group was established in 1989 as Sleepykids. In 1999 it become entertainment rights and was focused on the creation and exploitation of major children's characters and brands...
as "The Archie and Sabrina Surprise Package".
Episode list
| № | Archie segment / Sabrina segment | First aired: |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Chief Archie / Alter Ego" | 1977·Sep·10 |
| 2 | "Me and My Shadow / Goolie Sitter" | 1977·Sep·17 |
| 3 | "There Is No Place Like Outer Space / Cliché Castle" | 1977·Sep·24 |
| 4 | "A Moving Experience / Witch Picnic" | 1977·Oct·01 |
| 5 | "Robert Blueford / Moose on the Loose" | 1977·Oct·08 |
| 6 | "Tops in Cops / Pot Luck" | 1977·Oct·15 |
| 7 | "Track and Field / Funny Paper Caper" | 1977·Oct·22 |
| 8 | "Where There Is Smoke / Teenage Grundy" | 1977·Oct·29 |
| 9 | "Archie's Millions / Talking Bird" | 1977·Nov·05 |
| 10 | "Career Day / Merlin's Story" | 1977·Nov·12 |
| 11 | "The Quixote Caper / Teenie the Terror" | 1977·Nov·19 |
| 12 | "Pirate Key / Cartoonie Loonie" | 1977·Nov·26 |
| 13 | "On the 'Q' Tee / Party Pooper" | 1977·Dec·03 |
External links
- Episode index at the Big Cartoon DataBaseBig Cartoon DataBaseThe Big Cartoon DataBase is an online database of information about animated cartoons, animated feature films, animated television shows and cartoon shorts....