Be it ever so howl-ble,
there's no place like home
Boy, the way Glen Millshun played…
songs that made the hit p-arf-rade…
mutts like us, we had it made…
Those were the days!
Hi everyone and welcome back.
Let’s talk about All in the Family.
On second thought, let's not; we all know what that show is. Long story short, a bigot, his dim (yet sometimes way more intelligent) wife, his sweet-yet-assertive daughter and his worldly and talkative (but sometimes just as badly opinionative) son-in-law go through the motions of life and discuss the then-current aspects of it and society in Queens, New York City. Archie Bunker hears/learns about something or someone he’s not comfortable and/or understanding with and goes into a verbal tirade about such a subject and tries his hardest to stop or change it -- all the while looking and sounding ignorant and foolish about it -- with everyone else begrudgingly along for the ride, with the subject getting the better of him in the end (and sometimes he gets the better of them), with Archie ending up the butt of the joke. That’s the main plot and humor of the show. And that’s what The Barkleys -- and its main character Arnie Barkley -- are also about. Just take away swearing, derogatory slurs, innuendo, adult humor, Emmy Awards and slightly less nuance … and make the son-in-law their biological son… and give them a third kid (who's also a son)… oh, and make all of them and everyone else dogs too. Woof.
They are (and it’s) The Barkleys.
Created and produced by David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng in association with associate producers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears for DFE Films and airing on NBC from September 9 to December 2 in 1972, The Barkleys centers on…
The Barkleys, an all-American family of dogs living their day-to-day lives, while also falling into wild shenanigans each and every time -- all of them caused by house head Arnie. While he does a good job (somewhat) taking care of and providing for his family (his wife Agnes, and their three children -- college-aged eldest son Roger, high school-aged only daughter Terry and 10-year-old youngest son Chester), Arnie lets his bad judgment, greed, and short temper get the best of him whenever his wife or any/all of their kids engage in an activity he doesn’t like and/or agree with - to his unabashed and boisterous protests, or forces them into an activity or relationship they don’t like or agree with - to their more tranquil and very understandable protests. Agnes is happy to do whatever she’s used to and enjoying already (like her housework) or is okay with taking up something new (like job switching with him), while the kids want to do whatever kids and teenagers like and enjoy to do in 1972 (like dating a new squeeze, or working at a music station or… whatever bright ten-year-old boys do). Arnie then tries everything in his power to make sure everything goes his way, but his try-hard mentality and limited knowledge of almost everything he takes part in or what (then) modern-day kids are into ruins his plans and makes him look, act and feel the giant fool he really is. It’s at this point that Arnie realizes he messed up and must do everything in his power to fix the situation and make it right for and for his family and other characters, praise the other characters for being good at what they do, accept that this is what they like and realize that his place in the world is just being their proud and supportive father (although there's a couple cases where he can't even do that).
Characters:
Let’s begin with the family themselves, in order of the theme song.
Arnold M. Barkley aka Arnie
(voiced by Henry Corden):
The hot-headed, hard-hearted (of gold) head of the Barkley house, Arnie is a bus driver, and takes his job very seriously -- to the point where he can be hated by the passengers (which he himself openly says in "Law and Missorder"). Although he loves his kids, it seems he wants them living under his thumb -- doing things they don't want to do, or prohibiting them from doing things they do want to do. He would rather Roger date the snobby daughter [who isn’t even interested in him] of a former classmate he hated that is now rich, than be okay with him dating another girl he’s already steady with; he also becomes a radio disc jockey playing music only he likes because he hates that Roger is a disc jockey playing music everyone else (specifically teenagers of the day) likes - or at least tolerates. He didn’t want Terry dating a sweet, sensible straight-A student because of the (then-)trendy hair and outfit he wears (mostly due to being an old-fashioned overprotective TV dad). He was a sexist male chauvinist who embarrassed his family to "object" to his own daughter's debate speech about gender equality and cried about how men are the better sex because they do full-time menial labor while the women lounge around and watch TV when their barefoot-and-pregnant rear-ends should be in the kitchen. He signs up as a coach of a little league basketball team and forces Chester to play the school-aged sport (despite his refusals from the jump [literally, he jumped as he refused]) because he wants him to be a millionaire basketball star [seemingly the typical tall black kind], and then at one point spends more time with Roger and then Terry than with him - causing him to run away, dejected and heartbroken.) He at times is incredibly selfish by taking whatever talents one of the kids has in a certain episode and tries to benefit himself from it -- financially or attention-wise (which ties into his forcing the kids to do what they don’t want) -- like forcing Roger to date the aforementioned very wealthy and VERY snobby daughter of a former classmate he hated who struck it rich and his sweet, kindly, beautiful wife (quite an irony that the “dopey little pest” is now super loaded while our protagonist is a struggling bus driver [at least his kids are raised much better so he done did good on one thing].
Also, does anyone else notice that while he’s shown to love his kids, he treats Chester the worst? He yells at and talks down to the 10-year-old boy in an angry tone frequently for no reason, belittles him, uses him and treats him worse than either Terry (daddy’s little girl, of course) or Roger (whom he also doesn’t get close to most times). There’s even an episode (“Play No Favorites”) where Chester even runs away because of that and his sadness from being ignored by Arnie (and Agnes too as we don’t see her bond with him and shamed Arnie for not spending time with him… after telling him to bond with Terry. So shame on her for that too.) It’s as if he’s intimidated by Chester’s intelligence and conduct that he acts this way towards the boy. Either that or the writers hate the character because NBC daytime executives probably suggested adding a child character to the family and use Arnie’s temperament and negative dialogue against him as a release. His treatments against Roger and Terry are barely better.
Arnie is a giant asshole who didn't put in much in life and thinks he has a right to everything he desires in a better life, but at the end of the day, he does have a heart and loves his family dearly, doing all he can to do right by them and fix the problems he caused.
Agnes Barkley (voiced by Joan Gerber):
The sweet, timid, level-headed and put-upon (but somewhat scatterbrained) and (hopelessly) devoted and loving wife to Arnie and mother to their kids. She is a housewife and mother first, foremost and last, but sometimes also takes part in the kids’ activities and at one point gets to do her husband's job. She’s very loving and understanding to everyone, and patient and long-suffering to her husband. Speaking on her patience, I feel sorry for her for dealing with her husband's extraneous, superfluous antics, idiocy and nonsense; hearing his rant on Women's Liberation must leave her utterly ashamed and embarrassed.
Terry Barkley
(voiced by Julie McWhirter):
The only daughter of Arnie and Agnes and only sister of Roger and Chester. She’s a sweet, smart and sensible girl next door who's always there to help and stands up for herself and her family/ friends, and does what’s right when the time comes (In “Lib and Let Lib”, she - in a winning effort by the judges - argues for second women's liberation; in "No Place for a Lady", she goes to her dad's boss to apologize for causing his embarrassing car drive for a senator to his party). As part of her feministic beliefs, she also like to enjoy independence wherever it leads her. She also really likes boys (She has a new boyfriend named Chuck in “Match Breaker”, and in “No Place for a Lady”, she switches an elective from chemistry to shop class to be around them (which makes me think - is she straying from Chuck?). Also, in "Law and Missorder", she and her female girl friends go to the Great Kennel Mountains for a girls-only weekend [with Agnes as chaperone] to get close to nature.)
Roger Barkley (voiced by Steve Lewis):
The eldest son and overall kid of Arnie and Agnes and older brother of Terry and Chester. Roger is a tall and lanky hip and easygoing young man who enjoys regular young adult things like dating, sports, and having fun. But he also carries a lot of common sense, compassion and courtesy for his family and others. He attends State University (as revealed later in “Arnie Come Clean”) He owns his own motorcycle and regularly rides it (and can also drive the family car from time to time).
Chester Barkley
(voiced by Gene Andrusco*):
The youngest son and kid overall of Arnie and Agnes, and baby brother of Roger and Terry. He’s ten years old, but despite his age, he’s extremely bright and highly precocious. He’s a STEM prodigy before it was even a thing; he has a test-tube display in his bedroom; he's an inventor and gadgeteer, building machines that help and improve certain situations -- like the Buried Treasure Stiffer-Outer (“Finders Weepers”) . He’s also incredible at math - with his ability to work a calculator to make a several-digit solution; and turns out to be a basketball fiend when given the right position. Even with the attribute of high intelligence (and the crap he goes through from time to time), he's still a little kid; he’s sweet, plucky and can make a cute-yet-snarky one-liner pretty regularly. He also has the biggest appetite of the whole family; he’s willing to eat anyone’s breakfast when they’re not hungry (“Match Breaker”), his lunch consists of several sandwiches (“Lib and Let Lib”) and probably gets thirds for dinner (which has to be a joke based on growing young boys of the time being overly hungry; see Bobby Brady from The Brady Bunch). There's a reason Arnie called him a chowhound.
While at first sight, you’d think the Barkleys are a normal, respectable, morally-rich family to the brim with love and understanding. And you’d be right; as the theme song intones, “[T]hey’re Okay”. That is until you see the dysfunction within - almost completely thanks to Arnie.
And now, recurring characters, in order of first appearance:
- Marsha Mudson (also voiced by Joan Garber): Terry’s best friend and next-door neighbor
- Chuck (voiced by Michael Bell): He’s Terry’s newest boyfriend. He’s sweet, kind, smart and very on-the-ball. His worry about Arnie’s whereabouts and his happiness about being alone with Terry sounded super sus although his intentions were innocent.
- Hartwell Beagle [yes, that really is his first name] (voiced by Michael Bell[?]): Mr. Beagle is the next-door neighbor of the Barkley family. Hartwell is a mild-mannered and well-meaning man who has his own family -- a wife (a one-shot with one line in “Lib and Let Lib”) and a son (a silent one-shot in “Half-Pint Hero”) that he loves dearly, and - judging by what little we see - they live in a very nice home. He seems to be really well-off (he has a seated lawn mower, a heated outdoor swimming pool, and can afford a businessmans lunch at a local greasy spoon). Although he is kind and courteous to everyone in the main family -- and (most of) them to him, Arnie hates him -- but it’s very clear that he’s insanely jealous of him and his much better life.
- Mr. Airedale (voiced by Michael Bell): Arnie’s boss at the bus company. While he’s not a terrible leader (several lines do imply he’s good at his job and cares about his workers), he’s usually always about the bottom line, and factors his workers (usually Arnie) into it -- like convincing Arnie chauffeur a state senator to a party he (Airedale) threw, and invited Arnie only the night before for that, and quite too gleefully docking Arnie one day’s pay [to be fair, he [Arnie] wasn’t sick]).
- Ethel Bowser-Bagge: Terry's other best friend and a walking fat joke -- and zero of them are good. Seriously, it's all she's known for: eating, talking about eating, thinking about eating, and whining about things are not related to eating (except boys of course). Not only is it bad, it's uncomfortable that it's female characters always suffering through this.
Voice Acting:
Even if the whole thing sounds like it’s been transmitted on AM radio, the acting is well-done.
- Henry Corden "certainty" does a bang-up job as Arnie. His performance of him is a perfect cross between Archie Bunker and Fred Flintstone (which is crazy because five years later in 1977, Corden would succeed Alan Reed as the voice of Fred in Flintstones media). He captures the emotions Archie typically exudes (especially the anger and frustration) in Arnie so well, as well as his moments of sadness and vulnerability.
- Joan Garber both contrasts and complements in her role Agnes sounding like a less Queens-accented but still timid and patient version of Edith (Gerber also did a great job with the other female characters she voiced; they sound obvious but I do recognize a range).
- The respective actors voicing Terry and Roger do a great job in their roles, although I can't help it; Terry sounds like a higher-pitched Gloria, while Roger sounds like Mike with a general accent and a crackle. And speaking of Roger, I also can't help but snicker every time I hear Roger's voice cracking; he's a college-aged young man yet he still sounds like he's going through puberty (Freddie Benson's voice dropped deep not too far into iCarly for goodness sake!).
- All other voice actors also do fantastic work (especially Michael Bell)
- The one performance I love the most is by Gene Andrusco as Chester; most child actors voicing cartoon kids generally do a good job of portraying their roles at the very least, but Gene goes the extra mile as Chester. He not only makes Chester sound believable as a child character (even if he is a puppy dog), he also gives him a range of emotion while voicing him (especially in Chester-centered episodes): happy, sad, angry, hurt, confusion, curiosity and cheerfulness. It's incredible how this young man could put such an act into the voice of Chester, but it's so good it's near baffling. His talents used best in "Play No Favorites"; I almost cried twice -- the first time when he said “The most important moment in my life and Dad doesn’t have the time” and the second when he packs up and runs away from home (especially the line about packing tissues because he’ll be spending a lot of time crying [stupid laugh track aside]) -- and felt like jumping through the screen to give him a big hug and telling him everything's gonna be okay.
Writing:
Unlike most of its contemporaries (which feature the missions and heroics of a talking animal spy team, the day-to-day life of a Iron Age family with a bipedal lion whose speech is full of onomatopoeias (and his stomach full of their food), and a popular teenybopper girl group and their friends encountering aliens in outer space while piloting a rocket ship they have zero experience piloting and the surreal misadventures), The Barkleys has a less absurd and more realistic approach to Saturday morning cartoon storylines (yes, I write this as I know that this Saturday morning cartoon features all characters that are dogs) with some plots based around the Second Women’s Liberation, gender norms, lying (“No Place for a Lady”), attempted romance based on wealth (“For the Love of Money”), favoritism and runaway children (“Play No Favorites”), fraudulent businesses [along with ecology] (‘Barkley Beware)“, and phony talent scouts (“The Great Talent Caper”). Basically, plots I would never think would be utilized in a Saturday morning cartoon, and they're utilized really well.
Other plots like Arnie being an overprotective dad towards Terry (“Match Breaker” - not liking her new boyfriend; and “Law and Misorder” - spying on Terry and her friends during a girls-only camping trip because he saw uninterested but friendly motorcyclists [a professor named Dan Shepherd and his best student Paul] visiting the same place), and found money and choosing whether to return it (“Finder’s Weepers”),
has a touch or two more nuance to it. Yeah, they’re plots you’ve recognized before, but they’re surprisingly more mature for a Saturday morning cartoon.
Animation:
Looking at these characters (specifically the titular family) - without knowing who or what they are, you’d think they’re either just characters of a short-lived cartoon you’ve never heard of (and they are) or a drawing someone made that you randomly came across one day on a Facebook group (which you probably did). But these are a real breed. In case you haven’t noticed, the entire collection of characters (main, secondary, one-shot, whatever) are dogs, and all are different breeds - yet all of them have fur that’s fair skin-shaded. Whatever age groups they represent are represented well. And they all look great. And Chester looks adorable -- especially during the title sequence when he looks for his name (just don’t say it around him).
The movements are all over the place; sometimes fluid, sometimes crusty, sometimes in-between.
Although bright and flushed, the backgrounds look very nice. When backgrounds are important to a specific scene or the plot at large, they look wonderful and nicely detailed. The Barkley home in particular is a beautifully-designed house that looks like the type of place a normal, middle-class American family would live in, and while it isn’t as full with fancy trinkets and gadgets like other cartoons, it featured the same things most American homes had -- a TV, chairs, tables and barely-stocked kitchen, and that’s the point.
We have a trope called “Ears as Hair”, and it’s pretty ridiculous yet clever when drawn right.
I love how the team managed to intertwine dog ears and then-trendy human hairstyles into these character designs. Some characters have hair that covers their ears (like Terry, her friends Marsha and Ethel and other female characters), some have ears that look like hair -- like Arnie (combover?), Agnes (curly/frizzy), Roger, Chuck (the long messy look most teens at the time [see Greg, Peter and Mike in season five of The Brady Bunch]) and Chester (blonde-like cut that’s giving Bobby Brady season 4 & 5 vibes), while others just have regular dog ears (Beagle, Airedale, etc., etc.). That’s a great attention to detail.
One fascination I have is this: while the characters have hind dog paws, they also have human hands. I guess that’s because it’d look weird for them to hold items with front dog paws (but then again, Scooby-Doo does just that in his franchise, so nevermind that). But even weirder is that in some close-up shots, those dog hands have human fingernails (see Arnie fixing a sandwich in "Lib and Let Lib"); those clearly aren’t necessary, and I’ve never seen a scene of any character biting them (probably for obvious time-consuming reasons). But I bet one animator put them there by accident because they saw a hand and they have to put details on it, but it’s an utterly odd detail to be sure.
And real quickly, I’d like to discuss the title sequence. I adore it. The intro at the start looks and feels like something out of a family living room, with family and home photos introducing each member and is followed up with a brief scene of them doing a certain thing -- Arnie lounging on his chair and watching TV while Agnes gives him the TV Guide and his slippers (and later driving his bus); Agnes doing housework while Arnie’s sleeping and lifting him off his chair to vacuum under it; and the kids playing baseball, then Chester scoring at basketball). The use of the bouncing ball technique for the starting lyrics (it’s how I learned them, and is easy for you learn too) is also featured in the first half, and it's also well done. The moments at the end with Arnie tripping on amd getting hit on the head by Chester's roller skate and being the model for Agnes' dressmaking while the kids laugh at him are also hilarious.
Music:
Let's begin with the theme song.
Based on the song "Be It Ever So Humble, There's No Place Like Home" -- with some no-doubt obvious influence from "Those Were The Days" [from you know what], the theme song introduces the family and their relation to one another, says "They're Okay", and ends with mentioning Arnie exercising the opinioned ways straight from his "very open mind" (which I think is as sarcastic as it is full-on ironic) and revealing that despite being a butthole, he's also a butthole with a heart.
There's a reason why I have this as a ringtone on my phone. It's catchy to the max, with a mellow yet upbeat production to match.
Laugh Track: YEP.
There’s also a track where the “audience” reacts shockingly in a few scenes in “Lib and Let Lib” (specifically when Arnie uses a portable hair dryer to dry dishes). I love this touch, actually.
Thoughts:
Saturday, November 25, 2017. I was watching TV early that day and was messing around on my cable’s programming guide and saw some interesting titles airing on the Retro TV network: The Houndcats and The Barkleys. I then decided to check them out to see what they're about. And I've been watching ever since.
I love this. It’s completely different from their contemporaries in without sacrificing the laughs and slapstick humor, and also teaches the young viewers some important life lessons and skills to be mindful with when they get older.
The Barkleys is a brilliant, grounded Saturday morning cartoon and should be seen as such in the decades since its airing. I adore it and you should too.
That’s it for now. We’re reaching our second and final commercial break, but I’ll be back very soon for our last episode. So please join me as we take a trip… somewhere and hang out, sing along with and revel in the insanity and cheesiness of The Brady Kids. Oh and if you’re interested, join me also for a special evening revue on September 12, when I try to help the Boyles cope after they hear the dreaded words, Wait Till Your Father Gets Home.
Until then, I’m Andrew, saying… stifle.
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