By Michael Lyons
Sandwiched in the middle of Hanna-Barbera’s “Flintstones” decade of the ‘60’s and “Smurfs” decade of the ‘80’s was the Studio’s eclectic “Golden Age” of the ‘70’s.
It was during this time that the preeminent TV animation studio of the time created shows that ran the gamut of every genre possible. One of these seldom seem shows from this time in “HB History” is “Wait ‘Til Your Father Gets Home,” a prime time animated sitcom that ran from 1972 to 1974 on NBC. And, if “The Flintstones” was Hanna Barbera’s take on “The Honeymooners,” then “Wait ‘Til Your Father Gets Home” was their version of “All in the Family,” as it was an “of its time,” no-hold-barred look at fathers and families.
“Wait ‘Til Your Father Gets Home” centers on Harry Boyle (voiced by actor Tom Bosley, who would later go on to voice “Mr. C.” On “Happy Days”) and his family, wife Irma, teenage daughter Alice, unemployed college graduate son Chet and their youngest boy Jamie.
Harry is an average, middle-aged guy, working as a restaurant supply salesman, who may be seemingly surly and argumentative at times, but at the end of each episode audiences would learn how much he truly loves his family and would do anything for him.
The series started life as an episode of the ABC anthology series, “Love American Style,” entitled “Love and the Old Fashioned Father,” a very adult show that would air late in the prime time line up.
“Wait ‘Til Your Father Gets Home” would reflect this rather adult tone and was quite the departure for Hanna-Barbera, as there were episodes that dealt with such topics as the generation gap (focusing on the “Hippies” of the time), race relations, bigotry, adultery and even pre-marital sex...Yabba Dabba...Whoa!
There wasn’t even anything very “animated” about this animated sitcom, no brontosaurus staircases from “The Flintstones” or space-age “Jetsons” flying cars. “Wait ‘Til Your Father Gets Home” is all very rooted in reality. So much so, in fact that it could’ve been live-action.
The look of the show was even a departure for Hanna-Barbera, with a more simple, minimalistic tone that seemed more suited to Sunday comic strips of the time than TV animation.
There were some familiar HB elements, however, like their familiar laugh track and voice actors like Joan Gerber, John Stephenson and Lennie Weinrib.
It even had another staple from Hanna-Barbera, the catchy, ear worm of a theme song that includes the lyrics that seem to sum up the sitcom: “Dad’s not so bad and he seldom gets mad and we aren’t about to desert him.”
“Wait ‘Til Your Father Gets Home” looks at main character Harry as the hero and like most Dads, a put-upon, unsung one at that.
This makes this lost Hanna-Barbera sitcom perfect viewing for Father’s Day. Bringing this show out of the “HB Archives” and dusting it off for a marathon would be perfect...but before you watch it just “Wait ‘Til Your Father Gets Home!”
Happy Father’s Day!
Sources:
IMDb
Wikipedia
No comments:
Post a Comment