1963 series liner notes ...

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

I just recently purchased both sets of the 'Right Stuf' DVD's for the 1963 Astro Boy ELV series. The liner notes as well as a video interview with Fred Ladd tell an interesting story of how the series was sold to NBC Associates.

Mushi Productions had committed to 193 episodes to the Japanese TV networks, and they used the money earned from selling the first 52 episodes to NBC to improve the animation on later episodes. They assumed that NBC would extend their contract for a second (and third!) season, each with 52 episodes. The Japanese TV networks rarely re-ran any programs, rather they demanded new episodes. This was in contrast to the American TV model where the networks would usually buy no more than 52 episodes (a years worth of weekly shows) and re-run them for several years.

NBC Productions did not have an exclusive contract with Mushi, so the studio told them that if they did not sign on for a second season, then Mushi would be free to sell following episodes to another network. NBC didn't want this, it would not be good for ratings if two different networks had the same program! Since the first 52 episodes had commanded a good audience (Astro Boy was a syndicated show not necessarily on the major networks, and was outperforming the News programs and 'The Adventures of Superman" in the same time slot!), so they agreed to purchase a final run of 52 episodes, IF Mushi would grant them an exclusive on the show. Mushi realized that they would not milk a third sale out of NBC, but they did agree to the terms, they would still turn a good enough profit to remain solvent, and fulfill their contract with the Japanese TV networks for the 193 episodes.

I wonder what would have happened if NBC had backed out and another player had stepped in to purchase the remainder of the episodes. We might have had most of the 193 episodes dubbed into English and seen on US television!

In a previous post I included a frame I found on the Kimba series with Astro in it, the episode had Kimba visiting a Paris museum where an exhibit of a possible future with robots was shown. I thought this might have been the very first color appearance of Astro on TV. Technically this was true, although Mushi DID make ONE episode of Astro in color (The Moon Monsters) however this was NEVER actually broadcast in color. The episode IS included in the second box of the Right Stuf collection. The Episode "the last day on earth" with Bem was made in pseudo color, and I think it may have been broadcast that way, the episode on the DVD IS in this condition.

Unrelated ... Here are some pictures I found on line taken at Mushi Productions with the gang Cosplaying ....

[ASTROBUDDY]

The photos you posted were interesting!

"Attack from Space" (aka "Last Day on Earth") may have been broadcast in the partial color that it was, (probably an early color test as money from NBC poured in to help Mushi Prod. convert to color production for Japan's first color series, "Kimba, the White Lion"), but with B/W televisions you would not be able to see the partial tinted color.

Any way as you know "Attack from Space" along with "The Moon Monsters" (aka "Earth Defense Squadron") were part of the film known as: "Astro Boy, the Brave in Space" which was a compilation of AB episodes and shown in Japanese theaters in 1964!

I

[Tetsuwan Penguin]

The photos you posted were interesting!

"Attack from Space" (aka "Last Day on Earth") may have been broadcast in the partial color that it was, (probably an early color test as money from NBC poured in to help Mushi Prod. convert to color production for Japan's first color series, "Kimba, the White Lion"), but with B/W televisions you would not be able to see the partial tinted color.

Any way as you know "Attack from Space" along with "The Moon Monsters" (aka "Earth Defense Squadron") were part of the film known as: "Astro Boy, the Brave in Space" which was a compilation of AB episodes and shown in Japanese theaters in 1964!

I

Also "the phantom spaceship".

[jeffbert]

Thanks for the pics, Tetsuwan Penguin! BTW, I have begun transcribing while google translates some of the data in the JLV booklets, but it is really slow-going!

[ASTROBUDDY]

Great, JeffBert!

And let's not forget "The Phantom Spaceship"! Too bad "The Right Stuf" did not heed my plea to release "Astro Boy, the Brave in Space" in English (or subtitled) in the good ol' USA. They have the technology. It could been released as a special collector's edition.

Oh, well at least the episodes are available individually in the box sets!


I