One interesting thing about F Troop: it was also very much a show about military comedy, in spite of the western setting. Several of the writers and actors (including Forrest Tucker, Ken Berry, and James Hampton, who played Dobbs the bugler) were former military from WW2, and some of the characters and scripts were based on things they experienced. The episode about Agarn having to take the place in the firing line of a prisoner he let escape was based on real military rules from the 1800's, for example. Oh, and the gag with Duffy, the old soldier? Bob Steele was a veteran of westerns going all the way back to the silent era, so his rambling stories were references to those. Him standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Davy Crockett at the Alamo is right out of a scene in one of his old films.
It does make sense having writers and actors who are in a war in a show about a war that actually happened and and have episodes based on their own experiences during World War II
The rural purge was primarily a CBS thing due to the fact that many of rural shows of the time were on CBS. As for F Troop, my guess on why it aired on Nickelodeon is because it was cartoony enough that it could work on the network.
I grew up with really strict fundy Christian parents. I was only allowed to watch old shows on Nick at nite and F-Troop was my favorite!! I named my dog Jane after wrangler Jane. Please do more Nick at nite!
That "Power of Four" commercial you showed at the start is almost ironic given that block meant to counteract "Saturday Morning Cartoons" aired the same year Nickelodeon basically killed it in another way: their own cartoons.
No matter how much I try to convince myself that CZcamsrs have actual lives and watch CZcams themselves, there’s always that 5-second shock moment when I see a CZcamsr I like commenting under a video of another CZcamsr I like.
I thoroughly enjoy your talk at 14:49 about the shift from domestic to gimmick to contemporary social issues phases of sitcom. I have been talking about this myself. Favorite era would be the gimmick shows because they present the most imaginative, varied premises.
Now that you mention it, I wanted to learn the F Troop meaning, in an episode of "Freakazoid", where in the episode Candle Jack, Freakazoid wants to go into a side-wipe, like in F-Troop. And he said "...like in F-Troop, when Agarn said, "There's NO way I'm wearing that dress! NO WAY! Absolutely not! No dress!" And then Forrest Tucker was like, "Yeah, you're gonna wear that dress! You're wearing that dress!" And then they wiped… BLBLBLBLBLBL! And then Agarn's wearing the dress." Years later, I saw the episode "Loco Brothers" on TV, and that wasn't how Freakazoid said it. And I said "Freakazoid never remembered how the episode went. They did it wrong."
As we all get ready to see our loved ones for the holidays, let us examine the time Nickelodeon aired an old sitcom devoted almost entirely to making fun of Native Americans. *MERRY CHRISTMAS!*
Just want to say I really appreciate the dedication to giving the full treatment to every Nickelodeon show, even weird and mostly-bad outlier shows like this thing. Like I'm sure a lot of people did, I landed here by randomly stumbling on the Double Dare episode, and since then I've learned a lot and been reminded of a bunch of shows I totally forgot (surprisingly vivid memories of the Kids' Court screaming robot buried deep in my brain). Here's hoping Clarissa and the Nicktoons and Snick and whatnot blow the doors off this project, and even if not, keep up the excellent work.
When you were leading up to where most people know F Troop from, I REALLY thought you were going to cut to Larry Storch on Married With Children, where Kelly Bundy took his acting class, and all anyone knew Storch from was this show (which was part of the joke). I actually knew Ken Berry most from his long run as Vinton on Mama’sFamily, too. Guy had a pretty lengthy career.
I can't say I know much about this show beyond the Freakazoid clip shown and a reference in a Nostalgia Critic video (not that I'm proud to say that), but it was an interesting video regardless. It doesn't look like I missed out on much, but the bit at 18:57 got a smile out of me. That's some impressive obliviousness. 100th episode is next. Curious if there's a reason why Clarissa Explains it All was the show chosen to mark that milestone, but like I indicated in the comment on my last video, F Troop feels like a good dividing line between the Nickelodeon of old and what most would associate with the channel that decade, so it's good to end 2023 on this. 2024 is gonna be lit (on this channel anyways)!
As for why Nick aired it, IIRC reruns of F Troop on network TV had actually proven to be a big hit with kids during the 70s. (which incidentally led directly to the creation of Filmation's "Ghostbusters" and the later copyright kerfuffle with the movie) I assume Nick were hoping that particular lightning would strike twice.
I was like 5 when this started airing on Nickelodeon, and I actually remember liking this as a kid and not being into the Superman show. Guess I had weird taste.
I also only know of this show because of Freakzoid. I was watching broadcast Saturday morning cartoons on Saturday mornings up until the late 90s so I happily missed this show.
As a connoisseur of old shows I'd watch in the nineties while home sick, where the studio audience tended to laugh at things that only seemed faintly funny, F Troop always struck me as the poor man's Hogan's Heroes, so I never bothered. Good to see that impression mostly confirmed.
@@Nick-ty9us He lived 1933-2018. He was 50 when he started on mama's family. So yeah he was older at that point but he was still a good physical comedian.
I vaguely remember catching bits of this on Nick at Nite as a kid if I stayed up late, and it never held my attention. Watching this video is the first time I ever got a full-scale look at what the show was about beyond the osmosis of "everyone is dumb and goofy". "Call me too modern" nah, I agree. This isn't like how William Frawley was almost 20 years older than Vivian Vance, they were both well into adulthood by then. I appreciated such a nuanced look at a show that was basically outdated offensive Indian jokes, especially how you found something to appreciate in Ken Berry's physical comedy. CLARISSA EXPLAINS IT ALL, YES! That was one of my all-time faves.
Weirdly that episode of F Troop was the only one that stuck with me thanks to Nickelodeon. So when they started talking about F Troop it brought that memory back quite easily.
I'd heard of F Troop, but I had no idea what it was even about until I saw this. Wow. I agree, it must have been a contractual package deal because I can't think of any other reason why this would have aired on Nick.
It's no Blazing Saddles for sure. I won't lie, some of the jokes between the Natives you showcased were amusing...redface aside. I knew Larry Storch only from The Ghost Busters cause Bob Burns played Tracy The Gorilla.
Ken Berry is on record saying he was incredibly uncomfortable with Melody Patterson being underage (once he found out) but he was a professional so he did the scenes.
I enjoyed this show when discovering it on Nick at Nite. The Hekawi were portrayed as a tribe wanting to live their own lives, not really interested in making war.
All of these were made in the 60s and 70s before cable. I watched them all back then. Plus they still run on free antenna tv. I watch F-Troop every day.
The moment you realize that Larry Storch also voiced Cool Cat in those infamous late 1960s Looney Tunes shorts, and the last of those installments (and the very last official Looney Tunes short overall) was ALSO a racist portrayal of indigenous people. Poor guy couldn’t catch a break with being involved in the exact same kind of horribly outdated thing, huh?
The original FTroop run got me interested in pop music for the first time. I was seven when an episode from the second season featured Agarn managing a pop music group that did a rendition of “Mr. Tambourine Man.” I loved the sound, and my mom subsequently introduced me to The Monkees and Beatles. Nothing like the sound of ‘60s music!
Until now, I never knew what F Troop was about despite being aware of the name forever. Now that I do know, I can't fathom how it could catch on with any audience of any age in any era.
My guess personally about Nick's decision to air F Troop was the need for another western after Hey Dude aired its final original episode weeks earlier (Though reruns would air until January 1999 of that show). BTW I remember catching the end of F Troop at 5:30am slot on Saturdays.
Nick at Nite had great success with CAR 54, PATTY DUKE, GREEN ACRES among others in the years leading up to acquiring F TROOP in 1991, so another favorite from the same era with an outlandish premise fit right in with what Nick at Nite had been doing. And apparently it was a big success as Nick originally acquired it for weekends only and ended up running it five nights a week within a few months and keeping it on the weekday schedule for as long as they had kept CAR 54, which had a similar number of episodes (60). F TROOP was still highly-rated when it went out of production (its demise resulted from a power struggle inside its studio, shorthand version) and had been successfully syndicated for a quarter century prior to Nick at Nite picking it up despite the lower-than-optimal number of episodes.
When you described the plot of F-Troop, I was immediately reminded of Sgt. Bilko, the mid-1990s movie, which I had not realized was based on a TV show.
I guess I'm the rare millennial that actually knew about F Troop from Nickelodeon and not Freakazoid. Granted, I never watched F Troop, but I definitely remember it being advertised (I remember one commercial that went something along the lines of "Nickelodeon is giving you an F...F Troop, that is!"). The show did not look appealing at all to me and now, having watched your video, it still doesn't look like a hidden gem. Funny enough, Herbie Rides Again and The Cat From Outer Space were childhood favorites of mine, so I guess did have a soft spot for Ken Berry.
Oh, I've been looking forward to this episode! I had no attachment to F-Troop but, like your Mister Ed documentary, this will be a wonderfully executed and well educated take down.
I've got the entire series on DVD! I love F Troop, especially the OTHER show that Larry Storch and Forrest Tucker were in, The Ghost Busters, produced by Filmation in the '70s for CBS' Saturday morning schedule! I love that show, no matter what people say!
I was definitely watching Nickelodeon when they aired this, but I steered clear of it entirely, even though I loved most of the old reruns they would show. There was just something about it that gave me this sense that it wasn't for me.
Had zero why this was on Nick as a kid and still have no idea at age 40, lol. I think your theory of it being apart of a syndicated package and having to contractually air it somewhere on Nickelodeon in addition to Nick at Nite makes TONS of sense. LOL. I love how the “Power of Four” ad insists kids go skip their typical Saturday morning fare of Real Ghostbusters, Muppet Babies, TMNT, and other hits of the time to go watch some live action shows from the 1950s/1960s. Yes, F-Troop instead of all those, sounds fun. 😂 Like you said though, at least Superman is loved by kids/adults (even if the version they were playing was dated), the animal shows can appeal to kids, and Dennis the Menace had some appeal to kids of 90s (I watched it.) F-Troop… should have been Nick at Nite exclusive
As someone born in early-ish 1986; I recall promos on Nick @ Nite, but I never remembered it actually being on Nickelodeon. Only saw promos for it and never watched it, as at night time, I watched primetime TV (mainly The Simpsons) and MTV.
Storch did a lot of voice work for Filmation, but didn't come back for the Filmation Ghostbusters cartoon because Forrest Tucker had passed away and he didn't feel right redoing his character without his friend, the originals being the fathers of the main human characters.
My guess is that Nick assumed that kids were at least heard of either Larry Storch or Ken Berry via the Seven Arts Looney Tunes shorts, his Filmation work or as Mr Whoopie on Tennessee Tuxedo. As for Ken kids probably saw Mama's Family in syndication or caught him on the Carroll Burnett Show and/or Mayberry RFD. Warner theory is probably the most likely what happened.
Forrest Tucker also appeared in Westerns at the time, including a recurring appearance on Gunsmoke. So he added a bit of authenticity in that regard. As to showing this to kids, I was aging out of Nickelodeon's target age groups but it was still a funny show thanks to the actors more than the writing. (Did not know about how young the girl was. Geez.) I'm not sure how easy it was to find Native American actors back in the 60s (The Lone Ranger did show they were out there so maybe F-Troop didn't try hard enough) but I'm not as bothered by the stereotypes here because basically everyone was a mockery of stereotypes, including the troops. Even the competent ones had some kind of issue, like Palmenter's dad. It didn't really spare anyone, including the bad tribe.
....Well I guess where that one Freakzoid gag comes from, finally. I hope you get to talk about ye ole boomer shows in the future, I didn't really touch Nick at Nite as a kid, but my born in 1960 dad did his utmost to raise me with many of those, especially Get Smart.
Pretty funny to see a video talking about a WB show that aired on a Paramount-owned channel with...what just dropped in the news. Talk about convenient (or inconvenient?) timing. 🤣
Aside from it being quite racist (which it most definitely is), it's not hard for me to see why this was on Nickelodeon. It's an incredibly silly show! Kids could watch it with their boomer parents on the weekends, which is what I used to do with my dad. We loved watching F Troop, Superman, Get Smart together.
I think the syndication package theory is the most likely situation. Tho with hindsight, Nick should've kept both as solely Nick At Night shows. Probably could've had their cake and eat it to by having Adventures of Superman as the Nick to Nick at Night transitional show and aired F-Troop way later into the night.
1991 had been a challenging year for Nickelodeon when it came to finding shows to place in the Saturday morning 11 A.M. - Noon time slots opposite NBC's top dog, "Saved By The Bell". By October, 4 shows were placed in that hour long time slot only to be cancelled for good afterwords, well sort of. "Don't Just Sit There" aired its last show on May 25th, "Think Fast" on 6-29, "SK8 TV" couldn't reach October and "Out Of Control" went elsewhere. My theory other than the one mentioned by the guy behind Patreon was that Nickelodeon probably put the "weakest link" in that time slot as they knew in advance that very few if any would turn off Saved By The Bell for F Troop and you know, they may have been right on that issue since it didn't last a full year. Saved By The Bell was obviously NBC's key program at the time even lasting through 1997 during its "new class" years starting 4 years earlier. Nick's replacement for F Troop was, among other things, You Can't Do That On Television which was 2 episodes each from 1982-90 that was still airing on weekends at 4 P.M. (Until December 26, 1992 Nick News was airing on Saturday afternoons before it was replaced with YCDTOT) and would continue to do so until late January 1994. YCDTOT's reign on the SBTB time slot would also last a full year probably attracting die hard fans or those too old for the network but still watch it as a nostaglia momento. And I agree with everything inferior. F Troop was too outdated for reruns even after its network cancellation. Heck, I still remember when it aired on Sunday mornings on WPIX TV 11 when cartoons were on and that would signal the end following boring two hour long movies before relief from NBC's Wonderful World Of Disney. At least you allowed some other fictional character to mention The Past Was a Mistake slogan as that's how I feel about its entire run. Hopefully the next episode (100!) will be more upbeat and true to its current trendy generation distant from the already expired genre that once reign supreme through its many traditionalists.
Eh, I remember F Troop from Nick, for sure. I agree with you that it is racist and inappropriate for kids (or anyone), but I don’t quite understand your bemusement at it being on Nick. By the early 90s there was definitely an understanding that blackface was wrong, but other stereotypes were not as heavily censured in culture. See, for instance, the comedy Asian voices in old Super Dave routines. And Baby Boomers always saw Westerns as a kid-friendly genre, since they grew up watching them. My suspicion is that F-Troop was seen by the network similarly to Beverly Hillbillies, as a silly-ass show that was cheap, had kid appeal, and could plug a hole in the schedule. The fact that F-Troop had once had a comic book shows there was a kid-friendly aspect to it, at least in the days when this sort of casual racism was still considered acceptable. The early 90s were thankfully the end of that era.
I'm not sure why Nick at Night chose to air "F-Troop" but I think your theory has some weight. (But I'll say that I understood the Freakazoid reference because of F-Troop on Nick at Night, not the other way around.)
I hate that what I am about to imply could be the case, but the secondary guess I have as to why this ended up on Nick mostly boils down to Storch. While I have zero clue about the package Nick had in 1991, Larry Storch had also been a regular presence as Cool Cat and Col. Rimfire in the similarly owned by WB Cool Cat shorts from the 7arts Looney Tunes era.
this is before McHale's Navy. same theme but different outcome. F Troop had someone who is clueless of the schemes. McHale's had one who is on the scheme.
Legit the only thing I remember from this show was its great intro (one of several memorable intros from those weird 60s sitcoms) and some of the slapstick, at 18:57, the clip you brought up while discussing it was very well choreographed. The racism baked into the Hekawi tribe's portrayal combined with the "antagonistic Indian" stereotypes we also saw turned me away from the show. It's a shame because I think a Western parody deconstructing the typical tropes and cliches of the genre could've been done well without having to resort to racist stereotypes. I think you raise a good theory - it would make sense that Nick bought the rights to this show *solely* because it was a package deal with The Adventures of Superman, because its content is so at odds with the rest of what they were airing that it doesn't make any sense. Adding possible weight to this theory is that the Nick at Nite promos for this show were *very* snarky, even more so than usual, possibly hinting that they disliked having to air it too.
I had fond memories of this show as a kid. But as a kid I didn't have the background to recognize the uninspired humor or experience to realize the overt racism. The simple flat characters (bugler who can't play, lookout who can't see, etc) were just my level of childish humor and I didn't need any more. Storch and Tucker's schemes were the highlight for me. Cartoonish is right, Storch putting on so many differening costumes with a lampshade to the audience was a staple of Bugs Bunny cartoons, especially being less afraid to hint at gender fluidity. I hate to admit it, but their depiction of Indians was among the first I've seen that weren't mindless brutal savages and had humanity and a desire to live in peace and comfort. Though that's less this show being progressive and more the rest of pop culture being so regressive. I didn't know about Melody Patterson. Oof. They could've kept it to grade school playground levels of flirtation without mouth to mouth kissing. I don't think I appreciated Ken Berry's acrobatic performances at the time. I'm almost tempted to rewatch just to see that level of physical comedy. But no, I think after your commentary, I think I can tie my memories up with a "well, that happened" bow, pat them on the head, and leave them in the past.
I'm an elder Gen X-er and I NEVER got the appeal of this one. I came on at the end of Saturday Morning cartoons before it was aired on Nick and it was usually the signal to go outside, touch grass, and run off those calories from all those frosted sugar bombs I just ate.
One interesting thing about F Troop: it was also very much a show about military comedy, in spite of the western setting. Several of the writers and actors (including Forrest Tucker, Ken Berry, and James Hampton, who played Dobbs the bugler) were former military from WW2, and some of the characters and scripts were based on things they experienced. The episode about Agarn having to take the place in the firing line of a prisoner he let escape was based on real military rules from the 1800's, for example.
Oh, and the gag with Duffy, the old soldier? Bob Steele was a veteran of westerns going all the way back to the silent era, so his rambling stories were references to those. Him standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Davy Crockett at the Alamo is right out of a scene in one of his old films.
Also, Ken Berry served in the Army with Leonard Nimoy.
Larry Storch was actually in Navy during World War II
It does make sense having writers and actors who are in a war in a show about a war that actually happened and and have episodes based on their own experiences during World War II
The rural purge was primarily a CBS thing due to the fact that many of rural shows of the time were on CBS. As for F Troop, my guess on why it aired on Nickelodeon is because it was cartoony enough that it could work on the network.
I wish Nick had promoted the show with the slogan, "Get F'd Up!"
F-Troop was my favorite show growing up in the early 90’s. It may not hold up to contemporary standards but it’s a hilarious time capsule ❤
The "Say the line, Bart!" part got me busting out in laughter, thank you so much.
I grew up with really strict fundy Christian parents. I was only allowed to watch old shows on Nick at nite and F-Troop was my favorite!! I named my dog Jane after wrangler Jane. Please do more Nick at nite!
That "Power of Four" commercial you showed at the start is almost ironic given that block meant to counteract "Saturday Morning Cartoons" aired the same year Nickelodeon basically killed it in another way: their own cartoons.
It's so funny. Feels like the end of the era for Nick in a way. But the next era will be so much better.
They thought Saved By The Bell would go away. It didn't, lasting until 1997.
If you call the New Class "lasting".
Coming up... My first TV crush, Clarissa! I was only 8 or so but I remember wanting to watch her as much as possible and had no idea why at the time.
No matter how much I try to convince myself that CZcamsrs have actual lives and watch CZcams themselves, there’s always that 5-second shock moment when I see a CZcamsr I like commenting under a video of another CZcamsr I like.
Glad you brought up that Freakazoid scene with Candle Jack. Anyway, looking forw
I thoroughly enjoy your talk at 14:49 about the shift from domestic to gimmick to contemporary social issues phases of sitcom. I have been talking about this myself. Favorite era would be the gimmick shows because they present the most imaginative, varied premises.
Now that you mention it, I wanted to learn the F Troop meaning, in an episode of "Freakazoid", where in the episode Candle Jack, Freakazoid wants to go into a side-wipe, like in F-Troop. And he said "...like in F-Troop, when Agarn said, "There's NO way I'm wearing that dress! NO WAY! Absolutely not! No dress!" And then Forrest Tucker was like, "Yeah, you're gonna wear that dress! You're wearing that dress!" And then they wiped… BLBLBLBLBLBL! And then Agarn's wearing the dress."
Years later, I saw the episode "Loco Brothers" on TV, and that wasn't how Freakazoid said it. And I said "Freakazoid never remembered how the episode went. They did it wrong."
As we all get ready to see our loved ones for the holidays, let us examine the time Nickelodeon aired an old sitcom devoted almost entirely to making fun of Native Americans.
*MERRY CHRISTMAS!*
It doesn't seem like it was, it seemed more like it made fun of the Union army.
This would be better if this episode aired on Thanksgiving.
That stuff with Melody reminds me of That 70's Show's issues with Mila Kunis
F Troop and Get Smart were my favorite TV shows. I will watch them where ever they turn up.
Just want to say I really appreciate the dedication to giving the full treatment to every Nickelodeon show, even weird and mostly-bad outlier shows like this thing. Like I'm sure a lot of people did, I landed here by randomly stumbling on the Double Dare episode, and since then I've learned a lot and been reminded of a bunch of shows I totally forgot (surprisingly vivid memories of the Kids' Court screaming robot buried deep in my brain). Here's hoping Clarissa and the Nicktoons and Snick and whatnot blow the doors off this project, and even if not, keep up the excellent work.
Freakazoid! is a deep cut... damn.
When you were leading up to where most people know F Troop from, I REALLY thought you were going to cut to Larry Storch on Married With Children, where Kelly Bundy took his acting class, and all anyone knew Storch from was this show (which was part of the joke). I actually knew Ken Berry most from his long run as Vinton on Mama’sFamily, too. Guy had a pretty lengthy career.
I can't say I know much about this show beyond the Freakazoid clip shown and a reference in a Nostalgia Critic video (not that I'm proud to say that), but it was an interesting video regardless. It doesn't look like I missed out on much, but the bit at 18:57 got a smile out of me. That's some impressive obliviousness.
100th episode is next. Curious if there's a reason why Clarissa Explains it All was the show chosen to mark that milestone, but like I indicated in the comment on my last video, F Troop feels like a good dividing line between the Nickelodeon of old and what most would associate with the channel that decade, so it's good to end 2023 on this. 2024 is gonna be lit (on this channel anyways)!
I'm glad Greg made note of Ken Berry's amazing pratfalls. The man made being clumsy into an art.
As for why Nick aired it, IIRC reruns of F Troop on network TV had actually proven to be a big hit with kids during the 70s. (which incidentally led directly to the creation of Filmation's "Ghostbusters" and the later copyright kerfuffle with the movie) I assume Nick were hoping that particular lightning would strike twice.
This is one of my favorite sitcoms
I was like 5 when this started airing on Nickelodeon, and I actually remember liking this as a kid and not being into the Superman show. Guess I had weird taste.
Yeah, that was me too. Wrangler Jane was a badass.
Same, I think I liked F Troop because it was a silly comedy, and Superman was just too serious and boring to me, despite the fantastical premise.
I've always been curious about this one. I'm been sick in bed all day, and this show really makes me happy. Thanks!
IM 62 YRS OLD...I ENJOYED F - TROOP BACK IN THE DAY...AND CONTINUE TO DO SO TODAY
I remember watching F Troop but I all I remember about the show was Ken Berry and the tower constantly being knocked down.
Ah Yes, Episode 100 “Clarissa Explains It All” will be a banger and a bop. I can’t wait to see it once we kick off 2024. 😁
I also only know of this show because of Freakzoid. I was watching broadcast Saturday morning cartoons on Saturday mornings up until the late 90s so I happily missed this show.
As a connoisseur of old shows I'd watch in the nineties while home sick, where the studio audience tended to laugh at things that only seemed faintly funny, F Troop always struck me as the poor man's Hogan's Heroes, so I never bothered. Good to see that impression mostly confirmed.
26:31 - I knew that gag was gonna get brought up! Can't wait for episode 100! It's gonna be awesome!
Ken Berry was on the 80s show Mama's Family. That's what I knew him from back in 1991.
Even on that show, he still did a lot of physical comedy
@@Nick-ty9us yes he does. I've been watching Mama's Family on CMT recently and I have noticed they showcase his physical comedy in that too.
@@user-vr8ul3fd7d even though by 1983 he was older
@@Nick-ty9us He lived 1933-2018. He was 50 when he started on mama's family. So yeah he was older at that point but he was still a good physical comedian.
@@user-vr8ul3fd7d he couldn’t do the type of physical comedy. He did an F Troop, so he did more simple, physical comedy.
I vaguely remember catching bits of this on Nick at Nite as a kid if I stayed up late, and it never held my attention. Watching this video is the first time I ever got a full-scale look at what the show was about beyond the osmosis of "everyone is dumb and goofy".
"Call me too modern" nah, I agree. This isn't like how William Frawley was almost 20 years older than Vivian Vance, they were both well into adulthood by then.
I appreciated such a nuanced look at a show that was basically outdated offensive Indian jokes, especially how you found something to appreciate in Ken Berry's physical comedy.
CLARISSA EXPLAINS IT ALL, YES! That was one of my all-time faves.
I remember watching this on Nickelodeon, mostly remembered it as being somewhat silly. I could remember the theme song almost in its entirety though
Who else only knows about this show because of Freakazoid?
Me.
Pretty much
Yes, but he shouldn’t have shown the clip. It has Candle Jack in it, which we all know means that
Weirdly that episode of F Troop was the only one that stuck with me thanks to Nickelodeon. So when they started talking about F Troop it brought that memory back quite easily.
Crossword puzzles
As always, an excellent video. Thank you.
Next episode of Nick Knacks will be the big 100!
I'd heard of F Troop, but I had no idea what it was even about until I saw this. Wow. I agree, it must have been a contractual package deal because I can't think of any other reason why this would have aired on Nick.
It's no Blazing Saddles for sure. I won't lie, some of the jokes between the Natives you showcased were amusing...redface aside.
I knew Larry Storch only from The Ghost Busters cause Bob Burns played Tracy The Gorilla.
Ken Berry is on record saying he was incredibly uncomfortable with Melody Patterson being underage (once he found out) but he was a professional so he did the scenes.
“Of course, for safety reasons… we don’t keep the cannon loaded. It’s just common sense.”
Larry Scotch did the voice of Cool Cat in the late '60s for Looney Tunes cartoon. Cool Cat cartoon aired during Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon.
Larry was a major voice actor in the 70's. He was a favorite of Filmation, who among other roles played Drac in Groovie Goolies.
And was also a standup comedian
I enjoyed this show when discovering it on Nick at Nite. The Hekawi were portrayed as a tribe wanting to live their own lives, not really interested in making war.
All of these were made in the 60s and 70s before cable. I watched them all back then. Plus they still run on free antenna tv. I watch F-Troop every day.
I've never been that big a fan of nickoloedon but I've been really enjoying these videos on nickoloedon and viacoms history
The moment you realize that Larry Storch also voiced Cool Cat in those infamous late 1960s Looney Tunes shorts, and the last of those installments (and the very last official Looney Tunes short overall) was ALSO a racist portrayal of indigenous people.
Poor guy couldn’t catch a break with being involved in the exact same kind of horribly outdated thing, huh?
On top of that, the music was done by William Lava, who did almost all the music for the WB cartoons in the 1960s.
Larry Storch also was in the movie the great race, 1965 and was Mr. Whoopie on Tennessee tuxedo
@@NB1980 and his music on F Troop was not that bad
I tried to catch F Troop anytime it showed …..I love it till this day I was only 6 years old lol ….still hilarious
A very measured take on a problematic show, excellent work as always
Agreed 😊
The original FTroop run got me interested in pop music for the first time. I was seven when an episode from the second season featured Agarn managing a pop music group that did a rendition of “Mr. Tambourine Man.” I loved the sound, and my mom subsequently introduced me to The Monkees and Beatles. Nothing like the sound of ‘60s music!
Saw this on nick at nite i was 7 in 1991. Until I was 8 in 1992 hilarious show 😊
Millennial here, watched this on Nick as a kid. Never caught the Freekazoid reference.
Until now, I never knew what F Troop was about despite being aware of the name forever. Now that I do know, I can't fathom how it could catch on with any audience of any age in any era.
My guess personally about Nick's decision to air F Troop was the need for another western after Hey Dude aired its final original episode weeks earlier (Though reruns would air until January 1999 of that show). BTW I remember catching the end of F Troop at 5:30am slot on Saturdays.
F Troop is goated 💪🏻 born in 1984, I loved it as a nickelodeon addict 🤩
F-Troop was F-tier.
Had a good laugh right at the beginning and the show hadn’t even started yet 😂
F troop was AWESOME!
Nick at Nite had great success with CAR 54, PATTY DUKE, GREEN ACRES among others in the years leading up to acquiring F TROOP in 1991, so another favorite from the same era with an outlandish premise fit right in with what Nick at Nite had been doing. And apparently it was a big success as Nick originally acquired it for weekends only and ended up running it five nights a week within a few months and keeping it on the weekday schedule for as long as they had kept CAR 54, which had a similar number of episodes (60). F TROOP was still highly-rated when it went out of production (its demise resulted from a power struggle inside its studio, shorthand version) and had been successfully syndicated for a quarter century prior to Nick at Nite picking it up despite the lower-than-optimal number of episodes.
When you described the plot of F-Troop, I was immediately reminded of Sgt. Bilko, the mid-1990s movie, which I had not realized was based on a TV show.
I guess I'm the rare millennial that actually knew about F Troop from Nickelodeon and not Freakazoid. Granted, I never watched F Troop, but I definitely remember it being advertised (I remember one commercial that went something along the lines of "Nickelodeon is giving you an F...F Troop, that is!"). The show did not look appealing at all to me and now, having watched your video, it still doesn't look like a hidden gem. Funny enough, Herbie Rides Again and The Cat From Outer Space were childhood favorites of mine, so I guess did have a soft spot for Ken Berry.
Oh, I've been looking forward to this episode! I had no attachment to F-Troop but, like your Mister Ed documentary, this will be a wonderfully executed and well educated take down.
Fun fact: Tucker and Storch would reunite in the 70s, as the original Ghost Busters.
Mentioned on this Nick Knacks.
I loved F Troop.
I'm so excited that Clarissa Explains It All is next
God help your soul when you get to Tak & the Power of Juju.
Seems kind of like Hogan's Heroes? The military camp with the incompetent leader seems like a similar dynamic.
When I was little and Eisenhower was president I used to ride a horse wearing Cpt Parmenter's hat , shirt. And holster.
I remember this show. I was real young but i remember watching it with my grandfather.
I've got the entire series on DVD!
I love F Troop, especially the OTHER
show that Larry Storch and Forrest
Tucker were in, The Ghost Busters,
produced by Filmation in the '70s for
CBS' Saturday morning schedule! I love
that show, no matter what people say!
Great show
I watched this show as a child!
I was definitely watching Nickelodeon when they aired this, but I steered clear of it entirely, even though I loved most of the old reruns they would show. There was just something about it that gave me this sense that it wasn't for me.
Had zero why this was on Nick as a kid and still have no idea at age 40, lol. I think your theory of it being apart of a syndicated package and having to contractually air it somewhere on Nickelodeon in addition to Nick at Nite makes TONS of sense. LOL.
I love how the “Power of Four” ad insists kids go skip their typical Saturday morning fare of Real Ghostbusters, Muppet Babies, TMNT, and other hits of the time to go watch some live action shows from the 1950s/1960s. Yes, F-Troop instead of all those, sounds fun. 😂
Like you said though, at least Superman is loved by kids/adults (even if the version they were playing was dated), the animal shows can appeal to kids, and Dennis the Menace had some appeal to kids of 90s (I watched it.) F-Troop… should have been Nick at Nite exclusive
3:28 It was important for Nickelodeon to clarify that the clip of white children dressed in Native American attire was not from F Troop.
As someone born in early-ish 1986; I recall promos on Nick @ Nite, but I never remembered it actually being on Nickelodeon. Only saw promos for it and never watched it, as at night time, I watched primetime TV (mainly The Simpsons) and MTV.
I also here's some intresting food for thought. Larry was also the voice of the animated Joker in one of the Filmmation Batman cartoons.
And Marlon the Mynah Bird in the Brady Kids cartoon.
Storch did a lot of voice work for Filmation, but didn't come back for the Filmation Ghostbusters cartoon because Forrest Tucker had passed away and he didn't feel right redoing his character without his friend, the originals being the fathers of the main human characters.
My guess is that Nick assumed that kids were at least heard of either Larry Storch or Ken Berry via the Seven Arts Looney Tunes shorts, his Filmation work or as Mr Whoopie on Tennessee Tuxedo. As for Ken kids probably saw Mama's Family in syndication or caught him on the Carroll Burnett Show and/or Mayberry RFD. Warner theory is probably the most likely what happened.
Forrest Tucker also appeared in Westerns at the time, including a recurring appearance on Gunsmoke. So he added a bit of authenticity in that regard.
As to showing this to kids, I was aging out of Nickelodeon's target age groups but it was still a funny show thanks to the actors more than the writing. (Did not know about how young the girl was. Geez.) I'm not sure how easy it was to find Native American actors back in the 60s (The Lone Ranger did show they were out there so maybe F-Troop didn't try hard enough) but I'm not as bothered by the stereotypes here because basically everyone was a mockery of stereotypes, including the troops. Even the competent ones had some kind of issue, like Palmenter's dad. It didn't really spare anyone, including the bad tribe.
13:01 wait, there was already a Western called Rango!?!
Nine, teen, six-ties, casual race-ism!
Listening to you absolutely tear into regressive politics in old shows is always a profound delight
Ken berry does not get enough credit as physical comedian and dancer as well
....Well I guess where that one Freakzoid gag comes from, finally. I hope you get to talk about ye ole boomer shows in the future, I didn't really touch Nick at Nite as a kid, but my born in 1960 dad did his utmost to raise me with many of those, especially Get Smart.
I'm 41 and a massive golden age Nick fan. I have no memory of this airing on Nick. Another good video, nonetheless.
I loved this comedy as a kid. Reminds me of sleepovers at grandma's.
Pretty funny to see a video talking about a WB show that aired on a Paramount-owned channel with...what just dropped in the news. Talk about convenient (or inconvenient?) timing. 🤣
Aside from it being quite racist (which it most definitely is), it's not hard for me to see why this was on Nickelodeon. It's an incredibly silly show! Kids could watch it with their boomer parents on the weekends, which is what I used to do with my dad. We loved watching F Troop, Superman, Get Smart together.
I lived this show as a kid on nick. I thought it was so funny. Even the intro music is a crazy story
I think the syndication package theory is the most likely situation.
Tho with hindsight, Nick should've kept both as solely Nick At Night shows. Probably could've had their cake and eat it to by having Adventures of Superman as the Nick to Nick at Night transitional show and aired F-Troop way later into the night.
1991 had been a challenging year for Nickelodeon when it came to finding shows to place in the Saturday morning 11 A.M. - Noon time slots opposite NBC's top dog, "Saved By The Bell". By October, 4 shows were placed in that hour long time slot only to be cancelled for good afterwords, well sort of. "Don't Just Sit There" aired its last show on May 25th, "Think Fast" on 6-29, "SK8 TV" couldn't reach October and "Out Of Control" went elsewhere. My theory other than the one mentioned by the guy behind Patreon was that Nickelodeon probably put the "weakest link" in that time slot as they knew in advance that very few if any would turn off Saved By The Bell for F Troop and you know, they may have been right on that issue since it didn't last a full year. Saved By The Bell was obviously NBC's key program at the time even lasting through 1997 during its "new class" years starting 4 years earlier. Nick's replacement for F Troop was, among other things, You Can't Do That On Television which was 2 episodes each from 1982-90 that was still airing on weekends at 4 P.M. (Until December 26, 1992 Nick News was airing on Saturday afternoons before it was replaced with YCDTOT) and would continue to do so until late January 1994. YCDTOT's reign on the SBTB time slot would also last a full year probably attracting die hard fans or those too old for the network but still watch it as a nostaglia momento. And I agree with everything inferior. F Troop was too outdated for reruns even after its network cancellation. Heck, I still remember when it aired on Sunday mornings on WPIX TV 11 when cartoons were on and that would signal the end following boring two hour long movies before relief from NBC's Wonderful World Of Disney.
At least you allowed some other fictional character to mention The Past Was a Mistake slogan as that's how I feel about its entire run. Hopefully the next episode (100!) will be more upbeat and true to its current trendy generation distant from the already expired genre that once reign supreme through its many traditionalists.
Eh, I remember F Troop from Nick, for sure. I agree with you that it is racist and inappropriate for kids (or anyone), but I don’t quite understand your bemusement at it being on Nick. By the early 90s there was definitely an understanding that blackface was wrong, but other stereotypes were not as heavily censured in culture. See, for instance, the comedy Asian voices in old Super Dave routines. And Baby Boomers always saw Westerns as a kid-friendly genre, since they grew up watching them.
My suspicion is that F-Troop was seen by the network similarly to Beverly Hillbillies, as a silly-ass show that was cheap, had kid appeal, and could plug a hole in the schedule. The fact that F-Troop had once had a comic book shows there was a kid-friendly aspect to it, at least in the days when this sort of casual racism was still considered acceptable. The early 90s were thankfully the end of that era.
Its a shame this show got such a brief Nick at Nite run. I remember being so disappointed when it went away.
I only knew about this show because I would see it listed on the Cable Guide channel. Had zero idea about who was in it or the subject matter.
This hilarious cuz I understand
Wait...is Wrangler Jane a pun on Wrangler jeans?
I'm not sure why Nick at Night chose to air "F-Troop" but I think your theory has some weight. (But I'll say that I understood the Freakazoid reference because of F-Troop on Nick at Night, not the other way around.)
my guess was that nick aired the show as a way to promote cowboys and indian toys to kids since in the 90s most shows had to sell toys in some way.
I heard it as regular Jane until the last part
I hate that what I am about to imply could be the case, but the secondary guess I have as to why this ended up on Nick mostly boils down to Storch. While I have zero clue about the package Nick had in 1991, Larry Storch had also been a regular presence as Cool Cat and Col. Rimfire in the similarly owned by WB Cool Cat shorts from the 7arts Looney Tunes era.
this is before McHale's Navy. same theme but different outcome. F Troop had someone who is clueless of the schemes. McHale's had one who is on the scheme.
Legit the only thing I remember from this show was its great intro (one of several memorable intros from those weird 60s sitcoms) and some of the slapstick, at 18:57, the clip you brought up while discussing it was very well choreographed. The racism baked into the Hekawi tribe's portrayal combined with the "antagonistic Indian" stereotypes we also saw turned me away from the show. It's a shame because I think a Western parody deconstructing the typical tropes and cliches of the genre could've been done well without having to resort to racist stereotypes.
I think you raise a good theory - it would make sense that Nick bought the rights to this show *solely* because it was a package deal with The Adventures of Superman, because its content is so at odds with the rest of what they were airing that it doesn't make any sense. Adding possible weight to this theory is that the Nick at Nite promos for this show were *very* snarky, even more so than usual, possibly hinting that they disliked having to air it too.
I had fond memories of this show as a kid. But as a kid I didn't have the background to recognize the uninspired humor or experience to realize the overt racism. The simple flat characters (bugler who can't play, lookout who can't see, etc) were just my level of childish humor and I didn't need any more. Storch and Tucker's schemes were the highlight for me. Cartoonish is right, Storch putting on so many differening costumes with a lampshade to the audience was a staple of Bugs Bunny cartoons, especially being less afraid to hint at gender fluidity.
I hate to admit it, but their depiction of Indians was among the first I've seen that weren't mindless brutal savages and had humanity and a desire to live in peace and comfort. Though that's less this show being progressive and more the rest of pop culture being so regressive.
I didn't know about Melody Patterson. Oof. They could've kept it to grade school playground levels of flirtation without mouth to mouth kissing.
I don't think I appreciated Ken Berry's acrobatic performances at the time. I'm almost tempted to rewatch just to see that level of physical comedy. But no, I think after your commentary, I think I can tie my memories up with a "well, that happened" bow, pat them on the head, and leave them in the past.
I'm an elder Gen X-er and I NEVER got the appeal of this one. I came on at the end of Saturday Morning cartoons before it was aired on Nick and it was usually the signal to go outside, touch grass, and run off those calories from all those frosted sugar bombs I just ate.
Hope you'll have a good day