Mr. Pizza's Hardy Boys Forum

Other Hardy Boys Series Discussion => Hardy Boys on TV => Topic started by: hardygirl847 on November 12, 2009, 03:25:41 PM

Title: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: hardygirl847 on November 12, 2009, 03:25:41 PM
When I was a teen I would have disliked the 70s show but I found some episodes on youtube and I LOVE THEM. Of course I am older and am crushing on Parker Stevenson! lol

How do you feel about the television series?

I haven't seen the 1995 version in a long time and I mean to watch them eventually.

Do you feel Frank and Joe are represented correctly?

For those of you who are aware they are attempting to make a movie called The Hardy Men...how do you think this will affect the books?

I don't think the characters will be portrayed properly and it have a negative affect on the old and new books.

Personally, I think the 70s show was good. The 1995 story lacked substance. The movie should NOT be made! Tom Cruise And Ben Stiller aren't even tall enough to play Frank and Joe!! Plus, I would rather see them in a Casefile type of story than being older and barely brothers...

I vote for books because I see them as 18 and 17 just like in the Casefiles. Plus I don't think a casting crew would do a good job of getting their looks etc right. 

I know there are several different questions but...What do YOU think?
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: tomswift2002 on November 12, 2009, 06:53:12 PM
You realize that Seasons 1 & 2 of the 1977 Universal show are available on DVD from Universal (Season 1 was released in 2005, Season 2 followed in 2007). 

The 1995 Nelvana show is also available on DVD---but only in Canada, so for many Americans they've had to order it from Amazon.ca, but it will still play in American players because the US and Canada are both Region 1 NTSC countries.  It was released in 2006, and in this series the Hardy Boys are 22 (Frank) and 20 (Joe).

2006 also saw the release of the 1956 Mickey Mouse Club serial The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of The Applegate Treasure on DVD in the form of a "Walt Disney Treasure" release with a limit of only 65,000 copies.

As for the movie...that has been floating around the internet since 2000 with the "news" never gettting much beyond the fact that they are in early pre-production and the script writing stage. 

I think the "premise" of the movie is very interesting, although I would think that by now the rights to a movie based on the Hardy Boys would've reverted back to Simon & Schuster, CBS and Paramount Pictures.  (CBS and Paramount Pictures would be the more natural option for a movie based on the series to emerge from, considering that CBS owns Simon & Schuster, and Paramount is owned by Viacom, and both Viacom and CBS's parent company is National Amusements.)

Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: hardygirl847 on November 16, 2009, 04:40:07 PM
Thanks for the information. I do know that the DVDs can be purchased but youtube is how I found them and it is free. :)

I didn't know about the Mickey Mouse Club DVD but it just goes to show how long they boys have been around. :)

The premise for the movie might be interesting but I personally don't think it will be done correctly. I would rather have the boys portrayed how most of us see them instead of two actors that seem nothing like them. Yes, it can be argued that they could act like them. To me, they just don't fit the bill. If the speculation has been around since 2000, then perhaps it will not happen. Nine years is a long time.

Either way, I still prefer the Casefiles. They will continue to be my favorite.

Thanks for responding!
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on November 28, 2009, 10:37:50 PM
I've seen the Mickey Mouse Club serial, "The Mystery of The Applegate Treasure" and that was a pretty good representation of The Hardy Boys. I'd still love to see the other one, "The Mystery of Ghost Farm" get released on DVD. I've thoroughly enjoyed Seasons 1 and 2 of "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" on DVD and I seriously want to see Season 3 released so I can finish watching the series. I also have the entire 1995 series of The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew and I've enjoyed both of those series. Yes, the half hour format makes it hard to cram in a really good storyline, but you can say the same of the graphic novels. I still enjoy them all. I think it makes you stay on your toes and think that much more to keep up with what's going on. For that matter, I've also seen the 1930s Nancy Drew movies and the 2007 Nancy Drew movie and really enjoyed all of them. I'd love to track down The Hardy Boys pilot episode from 1967, "The Mystery of the Chinese Junk" and check that out some time, not to mention the 1969 cartoon series of "The Hardy Boys". 
I actually just recently acquired a copy of one of the comic book issues based on the cartoon, so I'm interested to see check that out. It would be great for Filmation to release the cartoon on DVD someday.
      I have heard about the movie and I think it could be funny and pretty good if done well and if respect was maintained for The Hardy Boys so as not to tarnish their reputation. I think just the right amount of tongue-in-cheek humor like the 2007 Nancy Drew movie had would work fine. I like Ben Stiller and Tom Cruise in a number of movies and I really think they could pull it off if they wanted to. Probably the best thing that would come out of that is not even so much the movie itself, but it might give Universal the impetus to hurry up and release Season 3 of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries already. And maybe Disney would release "The Mystery of Ghost Farm" too, for that matter.
        As far as any of these TV productions having any closeness to the books... well, "The Mystery of The Applegate Treasure" was based on The Hardy Boys #1 "The Tower Treasure". (Though based on the original version, of course.) I'm not sure how true it was to the book since I haven't read the original version myself just yet, but it seems to be very well loved by older Hardy fans particularly and from what I can tell, seems to be fairly faithful. I enjoyed it at any rate. I would have to see this 1967 pilot "The Mystery of the Chinese Junk" myself to know if it's true to the book, but it is definitely based on The Hardy Boys #34.
     
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on November 28, 2009, 11:28:26 PM
I meant #39 there of course.

As for the 1969 cartoon series of The Hardy Boys, almost all of them had episode titles from the books, but I don't know how true they were to the books. You can see the titles here.

http://www.tv.com/the-hardy-boys-1969/show/28228/episode.html?tag=ep_guide;paginator;1&season=1

Also, the 1995 series of The Hardy Boys had an episode called "The Last Laugh" but it didn't really have anything to do with The Hardy Boys Casefiles #42 "The Last Laugh".
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on November 28, 2009, 11:38:30 PM
The first episode of the 1969 cartoon series of The Hardy Boys seemed to be an origin episode of sorts, wherein they solve their first case (and it's a two-parter at that), so it may be based on "The Tower Treasure", but I can't say that for sure. I'd love to see the show to confirm this if it ever got released to DVD.
      Also on the 1970s The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries show, a few episodes had the same name as books, but I don't know that they were that close to the books beyond maybe a few vague similarities- "The Disappearing Floor" and "The Flickering Torch Mystery". However, "The Mystery of Witches' Hollow" was definitely based on #41 "The Clue of the Screeching Owl" and did a great job bringing that book to life on the TV screen. Also, "The Secret of the Whispering Walls" seems to be based on 2 Nancy Drew books- #2 "The Hidden Staircase" and #6 "The Secret of Red Gate Farm".
        The 1930s Nancy Drew movies also had 2 based on books. "Nancy Drew, Detective" was based on #10 "The Password to Larkspur Lane" and "Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase" was of course based on #2 "The Hidden Staircase".
There was also a 2002 Nancy Drew TV-movie from ABC (intended as a pilot for a TV series that didn't happen), but it wasn't necessarily based on any books that I can tell. But I enjoyed it pretty well.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on November 28, 2009, 11:43:30 PM
Okay, just remembered one other thing I was going to mention. The 1970s show also had an episode centered on The Hardy Boys called "Scorpion's Sting", but I am unsure if this had anything to do with #58 in the original series, "The Sting of the Scorpion".
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: tomswift2002 on November 29, 2009, 01:53:45 PM
Quote from: MacGyver on November 28, 2009, 10:37:50 PM
I'd love to track down The Hardy Boys pilot episode from 1967, "The Mystery of the Chinese Junk" and check that out some time, not to mention the 1969 cartoon series of "The Hardy Boys". 
I actually just recently acquired a copy of one of the comic book issues based on the cartoon, so I'm interested to see check that out. It would be great for Filmation to release the cartoon on DVD someday.
With the 1960 pilot  it might be better to see if whoever owns the film negatives to the show would go in for a manufacture-on-demand release, just like Warner Brothers recently did with 2 Gene Roddenberry pilots from the 1970's (http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Andromeda-Genesis-II-Planet_Earth/12760) that were never picked up for a series, rather than getting a release in stores.  Of course, from what I've heard for MOD releases the studio's only have the US or country of origin rights.

As for the Filmation cartoon that aired from 1969-1971, because Filmation doesn't exist anymore, their library of TV shows and films has been divided up between number of studio's and companies.  Unfortunately no one knows who owns the rights to The Hardy Boys cartoon.  It is assumed that Simon & Schuster, and because they are owned by the same company, CBS own the series, whoever neither S&S or CBS have confirmed that, plus it appears that in the 1980's, the last time that people have been able to find any sort of distribution agreement for the show, 20th Century Fox had the rights to distribute the show on TV and on home video. 


Quote
        As far as any of these TV productions having any closeness to the books... well, "The Mystery of The Applegate Treasure" was based on The Hardy Boys #1 "The Tower Treasure". (Though based on the original version, of course.) I'm not sure how true it was to the book since I haven't read the original version myself just yet, but it seems to be very well loved by older Hardy fans particularly and from what I can tell, seems to be fairly faithful.

I've seen the Disney adaptation of The Tower Treasure, and aside from Mr. Applegate being called a different name (the character of Adelia Applegate was completely removed), and Iola having a far greater role in the serial than she did in the book; Perry Robinson is an orphan, and Aunt Gertrude replaces Laura Hardy.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on November 29, 2009, 11:44:06 PM
QuoteI actually just recently acquired a copy of one of the comic book issues based on the cartoon, so I'm interested to see check that out. It would be great for Filmation to release the cartoon on DVD someday.
Well, after having read this comic just the other day (#3 of 4, by the way), it seems that this issue and I'm guessing probably all the issues, contains 2 stories- one was based on the cartoon episode "The Secret of Wildcat Swamp" (which, from what I recall of the book, actually did more or less follow the revised version) and then there was another story that was original- "The Mystery of the Headless Horseman". If the cartoon ran about like the comic book issues did, and from what bits of it I've seen on Youtube, The Hardy Boys cartoon honestly doesn't seem all that bad to me. I've seen some on the Internet really rag on it a good bit, but I think I'd probably enjoy it pretty well. In any case, I still want to see it sometime.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: tomswift2002 on November 30, 2009, 09:59:44 AM
Quote from: MacGyver on November 29, 2009, 11:44:06 PM
If the cartoon ran about like the comic book issues did, and from what bits of it I've seen on Youtube, The Hardy Boys cartoon honestly doesn't seem all that bad to me. I've seen some on the Internet really rag on it a good bit, but I think I'd probably enjoy it pretty well. In any case, I still want to see it sometime.

The only thing that I've heard about the cartoon is that the books that were adapted into the show were highly compressed into segments that were only about 10 minutes in length inorder to show 2 episodes per half-hour plus have a song in the middle of the show.

But I do know that some episodes were released in the 1970's on 16mm film for the home market by Castle Films.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on December 02, 2009, 12:15:16 PM
QuoteBut I do know that some episodes were released in the 1970's on 16mm film for the home market by Castle Films.
Cool- good to know. Too bad I don't have access to a 16mm projector anymore. But I do remember watching film through them at church when I was younger. Nowadays we have DVDs and online videos and things like that- and even VHS tapes at church. ;)
         Ah- for the good ol' days of 16mm projectors and Beta tapes.  8)
Well, maybe this will come to DVD one of these days. Does anyone on here maybe have some episodes on VHS, DVD, mpeg, avi, etc? :D
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: Olivia on April 25, 2010, 03:17:18 PM
The one thing that stood out to me about the 70's series was how much (for lack of a better term) "softer" Joe was portrayed. As some of you have mentioned, he didn't seem as impulsive and so on. It worked and I'm glad, because straying from an original concept is just not good many times. Anyways, I don't know if I could picture Shaun Cassidy hotheaded all the time ;D

I enjoy the 70's series very much. I like the simplicity of its time. There's no excess - the characters just shine through. And humour was brought in at the right moments.

As for the 90's series, I think it would have fared better being an hour series instead of half an hour. Although it was different, I don't think it even came close to bringing disgrace to the Hardy name...like The Hardy Men undoubtedly will. (I know I'm pre-judging, but there are certain things for me that I think shouldn't be "touched" in a certain way, and this is one I feel strongly about).

There are a couple of threads from months ago where I go more into detail about my feelings about this possible movie :P
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on April 27, 2010, 05:51:42 PM
I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but someone now has a complete episode of The Hardy Boys cartoon on Youtube! :) (I'll post the exact link later.) The whole cartoon episode is 30 minutes long and broken down just as tomswift2002 described it earlier- an adaptation of one of the first 58 books that runs about 10 minutes and then a song and then another 10 minute book adaptation. I don't know that all 58 books were ever adapted, but it seems they did quite a few on the show. The one episode I've found on Youtube seems to be "The Mystery at Devil's Paw" and I'm not sure which book is being adapted for the second half. It seems like it might be "The Haunted Fort" maybe- but I really couldn't quite tell.
But it was neat to finally watch a full episode of the series. I enjoy it well enough. But wow- if you thought the '90s live action Hardy Boys show had really compact mysteries- try keeping up with the cartoon! I think if they had tried to follow the Scooby-Doo model and had at least a half hour to focus on just one mystery- that would probably be much better for pacing and to help the storyline flow. But I guess it is a different approach though- so you don't just lump it in with Scooby-Doo and various other similar shows. Thus far, it's still the most adaptations of any of The Hardy Boys books we've had produced anywhere. There's the 1967 live action pilot for "The Mystery of the Chinese Junk" and of course, Disney's version of "The Tower Treasure" with "The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure" on The Mickey Mouse Club. The '90s didn't really adapt any of the books and only "The Mystery of Witches' Hollow" on the '70s show can really be called an adaptation of "The Clue of The Screeching Owl".  The other episodes that used the names of the books didn't really follow the storylines.
      But for the cartoon series- wow, there's tons of super condensed versions of the books to enjoy with this series- and I do like that. And the music and clothes and lingo are all totally groovy! I would still love to see this whole series out on DVD.

Okay- and apparently there's also this production for The Hardy Boys, which I'm guessing is strictly fanmade- http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1594997/
Check out the comments for the Hardy Boys cartoon show on IMDB.com
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0264255/usercomments
One of them is particularly interesting to me, as a user seems to indicate that "The Mystery of the Chinese Junk" pilot was actually briefly continued as a series in 1967. Here's a quote-
"
Often forgotten was another adaption of The Hardy Boys that aired also in prime-time and also was short-lived that ran on NBC from September 8,1967 until November 29,1967. That version had Rick Gates and Tim Matheson in the leads."
Can anyone confirm this? Were there more episodes aired beyond that pilot? I don't know where the IMDB poster got this information, but it is certainly interesting.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on April 27, 2010, 05:55:57 PM
And like Columbo, there's just one more thing.
I just saw this on the IMDB page for "The Mystery of the Chinese Junk". Apparently a fan is working to make it available to other fans on DVD! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0202490/synopsis
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on April 27, 2010, 11:20:36 PM
Here's that link to "The Mystery at Devil's Paw" episode of The Hardy Boys cartoon!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqx-47e0xqU
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: SDLagent on April 28, 2010, 05:48:40 PM
That show is probably the worst I've ever seen.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: tomswift2002 on April 28, 2010, 06:31:28 PM
I just watched that episode as well.  Yeah the segments were based on The Mystery At Devil's Paw (1959) (the Revised was issued in 1973) and The Haunted Fort.  The song that the Hardy Boys performed was Carnival Time (I'll have to check it out but I think its the last song on Side B) from their LP Wheels/The Hardy Boys

In terms of the overall quality of the cartoon, the animation was definitely better than the 1966 New Adventures of Superman cartoon that Filmation made, but then it felt like I was watching a combination of the 1960/61 UPA cartoon Dick Tracy (if you think 10 minutes is a terrible time for trying to tell a story, try telling it in a cartoon that only has 5 minutes in which to tell it, with about 1.5 of those minutes taken up in opening and closing credits, which is how this series was), Scooby-Doo, Flintstones, Yogi Bear and the 1967 Spider-Man series.  As far as story-telling goes, most of the time I was having a hard time following the over all narrative of the cartoon, since the charactes would start to explain where a clue came from and then all of a sudden you'd have that psychedelic curtain just come out of nowhere and then the scene was else where. 

Even though the cartoon has got to be the worst version of the Hardy Boys on TV, it would still be nice if it was out on DVD just to see the whole thing just to have some good laughs.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on April 28, 2010, 07:50:27 PM
Well, I think The Hardy Boys cartoon certainly left a mark in the Hardy Boys world- I would imagine the revised version of "The Flickering Torch Mystery" is proof of that. I wonder if it also influenced the '70s live action show in having Joe singing or I guess that was probably just due to Shaun Cassidy's fame as a singer already in place.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: hardygirl847 on April 29, 2010, 03:42:52 PM
Well first...thanks for posting the link. It's definitely worth checking out. However, with that said, I don't really have any desire to watch anymore. The character's voice for Chet (I'm assuming it was Chet) was so ear piercingly horrible. AHHH! But anyways, I am not a fan of the cartoon. If the powers that be created a cartoon for the Hardys in today's terms...it would be bad ass. I could just imagine the action, awesome stunts, better animation, etc.

The song in the beginning was kind of a catchy....I will admit but it made so sense. Hardys are not about having a party! :) But then again this was the 60s. haha
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: tomswift2002 on April 29, 2010, 06:12:04 PM
Quote from: hardygirl847 on April 29, 2010, 03:42:52 PM
The song in the beginning was kind of a catchy....I will admit but it made so sense. Hardys are not about having a party! :) But then again this was the 60s. haha

Well think of how many times in the books the Hardy's are either at a party (What Happened At Midnight (1931)) or are dancing to some records with Callie and Iola (The Shore Road Mystery (1966))?
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on April 29, 2010, 08:03:09 PM
Well, that and it rhymes. ;D
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on April 29, 2010, 10:23:37 PM
The Hardy Boys cartoon is also notable for having the first regular African-American character, Pete. 8)
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: hardygirl847 on April 30, 2010, 06:24:13 PM
Quote from: tomswift2002 on April 29, 2010, 06:12:04 PM
Well think of how many times in the books the Hardy's are either at a party (What Happened At Midnight (1931)) or are dancing to some records with Callie and Iola (The Shore Road Mystery (1966))?

Well I haven't read those and I'm basing it off my Casefiles knowledge more than my Originals. I can remember one or two stories where they are at a party. Gosh...I cannot think of the title of one. They go to a friend's house and something happens. I believe it's the person's birthday and they receive a special gun. I believe they get shot at while they are outside at some point. AHH I can't think of it!

But anyways, yes it rhymes or whatever....but still...the whole beginning seemed way off. Confetti and bouncing around the stage like that? Um no thanks.

Quote from: MacGyver on April 29, 2010, 10:23:37 PM
The Hardy Boys cartoon is also notable for having the first regular African-American character, Pete. 8)

That is definitely noteworthy. :)
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on May 02, 2010, 12:59:50 AM
I think the book you're thinking of is #16 in The Hardy Boys Casefiles, "Line of Fire", wherein Frank and Joe go to Denny Payson's birthday party and he gets that gun you mentioned. It's not quite the same as a party really, but Frank and Callie go to Bayport's hot new rock club in #30 "The Deadliest Dare". (So you do have a party-like atmosphere there and pulsating music.) In #80 "Dead of Night", the Hardys were headed to a Halloween party with the gang at the start of the book before other events derailed those plans.
There's probably other examples- I know in the originals the Hardys would sometimes have parties to celebrate solving cases- I'm pretty sure there was one such party at the end of "The Mystery of the Spiral Bridge" with most all the gang there.
       But in any case, the whole gist of the TV show is that the Hardy Boys now double as band members and detectives, so of course, they're going to have to use that theme and tone in the opening credits, which I think they did a pretty good job of at that.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: Olivia on May 02, 2010, 05:44:40 PM
Quote from: hardygirl847 on April 29, 2010, 03:42:52 PM
The character's voice for Chet (I'm assuming it was Chet) was so ear piercingly horrible. AHHH!

That's one reason why I couldn't get past the first five minutes.

It might be an okay cartoon - for real - but I just can't get past the voices :D
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: tomswift2002 on May 02, 2010, 06:04:01 PM
Quote from: hardygirl847 on April 30, 2010, 06:24:13 PM
Well I haven't read those and I'm basing it off my Casefiles knowledge more than my Originals. I can remember one or two stories where they are at a party. Gosh...I cannot think of the title of one. They go to a friend's house and something happens. I believe it's the person's birthday and they receive a special gun. I believe they get shot at while they are outside at some point. AHH I can't think of it!

Well in the Casefiles some of the books that have parties that I can think of are:

#7 Deathgame (sure it was a paintball game, but some people think of those as parties)
#13 The Borgia Dagger (as I recall the boys are invited to a party at the actress' home)
#16 Line Of Fire (birthday party)
#30 Deadliest Dare
#61 Grave Danger
#65 No Mercy (Joe complains about having to wear a "penguin suit" to a party when most parties in Bayport are T-Shirts and jeans)
#126 Fire In The Sky
A Crime For Christmas (UN Christmas party in New York)
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on May 02, 2010, 09:59:04 PM
I thought there was a party in "The Borgia Dagger", but couldn't remember for sure. But yeah- the Hardys have been to plenty of parties. As to playing music or even just talking about musical preferences- that may be more limited. But the revised version of "The Flickering Torch Mystery" would be an obvious one and I do recall Frank having a Rolling Stones cassette tape in "Too Many Traitors". Joe also taps out a rhythm on the steering wheel of their car in "Revenge of the Desert Phantom". The Hardys seem to mainly enjoy mainstream and classic rock as "Rock 'N' Revenge" and "Mystery with a Dangerous Beat" and "Wreck 'N' Roll" would seem to indicate. And they appreciate rap as seen in "Bad Rap". And I'm sure there's more. In any case, the whole premise of the cartoon is not entirely out of line with the more modern books as such- I could see Frank and Joe going undercover with a band to solve a case, though I don't think they would be doing it on a regular basis and solving mysteries.
     But of course, this is where the influence of The Archies and Scooby-Doo comes in as well. ;)
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: hardygirl847 on May 03, 2010, 06:01:36 PM
Line of Fire is the one I was thinking of! I was having a brain moment at the time. :) Thanks for helping me out there! I stand corrected...I didn't realize how many parties they have had. However, out of the vast number of HBs, SuperMysteries, etc...there really hasn't been that many. And I still don't like the opening credits that much. Or the voices. Sorry.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on August 09, 2011, 07:35:57 PM
One other little tidbit I ran across regarding The Hardy Boys cartoon- not only was it the first cartoon to feature a regular leading role African-American character, Pete Jones- it apparently had a couple of other firsts.
Here's is a quote from a great, informative article on the cartoon series, as well as some of the merchandise released associated with it (particularly the Rolls Royce car from Corgi with the figuirines of The Hardys and their band).

"And the show was something of a trailblazer. As well as scoring its racial first and being the first cartoon on the air to revolve around mystery-solving musician characters, it was also the first animated series to have an episode plot revolve around drug-smuggling and to have a character use the word "dope" (quite something in 1969). Plus, it was also the first Filmation show to end with "public service announcements" from the characters, a feature the company widely adopted thereafter. These short additional sequences would feature Frank, Joe, Pete and the others exhorting the audience to keep to the straight and narrow by not doing things like smoking or taking drugs while making sure that they did do stuff like being polite and always wearing their seatbelts (this last was somewhat hypocritical on part of the characters, since they never used them when in the Rolls, which didn't appear to have any!)"
http://www.toycollector.com/index.php?option=com_myblog&show=the-hardy-boysa-a-a-rolls-royce-corgia-a-a-s-most-obscure-far-out-character-toyhtml&Itemid=86477

Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: tomswift2002 on August 09, 2011, 07:51:15 PM
Quote from: MacGyver on May 02, 2010, 09:59:04 PM
But yeah- the Hardys have been to plenty of parties.

They've even been to political parties:  Campaign of Crime.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: Hardy Boys UB Fan on August 09, 2011, 08:46:05 PM
They were at a political banquet in Casefile #5 Edge of Destruction. Does that count?
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on August 09, 2011, 10:15:34 PM
Sure- it's one of those more refined formal (i.e. boring) parties, but still a party nonetheless. ;D
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: Hardy Boys UB Fan on August 11, 2011, 10:34:55 AM
Quote from: MacGyver on August 09, 2011, 10:15:34 PM
Sure- it's one of those more refined formal (i.e. boring) parties, but still a party nonetheless. ;D

I did like that book. 8) But I have a few things that don't make since to me. I'll post those in the Casefiles thread.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on August 11, 2011, 11:15:00 AM
Edge of Destruction is a great one- if I recall correctly, I think this was the first of The Hardy Boys Casefiles that I read- I remember being intrigued by it as a kid from seeing Frank and Joe crawling out of a manhole cover and immediately thinking of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles :) ;D 8)
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on August 19, 2011, 01:31:42 PM
Just thought I'd post this link- here's a few scans (http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=W+OS++887-02) from Dell's comic book  (http://coa.inducks.org/story.php?c=W+OS++887-02) version of The Mystery of Ghost Farm, the second of The Hardy Boys serials aired on The Mickey Mouse Club and the one that Disney still has not put on DVD yet.
I'm pretty sure I've probably posted this site before, but there's a great fan site for The Mickey Mouse Club online that has a lot of info on The Hardy Boys serials, including scans (http://www.originalmmc.com/comics.html) of all 4 of the Dell Comics produced for The Hardy Boys, based on the Disney portrayal. (Note: By scans, I mean the front and back cover and a page or two-not the whole issue.)
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on August 19, 2011, 01:50:15 PM
This (http://cool-mo-dee.blogspot.com/2010/03/comics-post-four-color-760-hardy-boys.html), however, looks like it may well be the first of the Dell comics...
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on August 19, 2011, 02:13:29 PM
And don't forget you can also see covers, not to mention a few pages scans, of the 4 issue series of The Hardy Boys comics from Gold Key, based on the 1969 cartoon series at milehighcomics.com (http://www.milehighcomics.com/cgi-bin/backissue.cgi?action=list&title=38709800228&snumber=1) :) 8)
(And the '50s Dell comics and current graphic novels too, of course.)
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on August 19, 2011, 02:59:21 PM
Here's a good review of the first Dell comic (http://sacomics.blogspot.com/2009/02/single-issue-review-four-color-760.html)- based on The Mystery of Applegate Treasure Hardy Boys serial.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: Bigfootman on September 03, 2011, 06:25:39 PM
Quote from: tomswift2002 on May 02, 2010, 06:04:01 PM
Well in the Casefiles some of the books that have parties that I can think of are:

#7 Deathgame (sure it was a paintball game, but some people think of those as parties)
#13 The Borgia Dagger (as I recall the boys are invited to a party at the actress' home)
#16 Line Of Fire (birthday party)
#30 Deadliest Dare
#61 Grave Danger
#65 No Mercy (Joe complains about having to wear a "penguin suit" to a party when most parties in Bayport are T-Shirts and jeans)
#126 Fire In The Sky
A Crime For Christmas (UN Christmas party in New York)

There was a party in #84 False Alarm
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on September 29, 2011, 11:28:19 AM
I don't know where best this would fit, but since this thread was for talking about comparing The Hardy Boys' TV and film appearances to their books, and we had already mentioned The Hardy Boys cartoon show, I thought I'd post it here.
After checking a number of sources online, as well as newspaper microfilm archives at public libraries, I think I've found a complete listing for the episode segments of the cartoon show. I'm not sure of their exact airdates and how they were paired up for each episode, but at least I think I've got the complete list of Hardy Boys books that were adapted for the cartoon show. I'm disappointed that apparently The Tower Treasure wasn't adapted, but oh well- perhaps the show's producers figured it was already pretty well done on The Mickey Mouse Club Hardy Boys serials and didn't need to be done again.
    Anyway- here is a list I pulled off of The Unofficial Hardy Boys Home Page (http://hardyboys.us/hbtv.htm) (By the way, the Big Cartoon Database concurs with this listing as well- (http://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Filmation_Associates/H-R/The_Hardy_Boys/index.html)

Prod # Title Air Date
HB-01 Unknown 09/06/69
HB-02 Unknown 09/13/69
HB-03 The Secret Warning 09/20/69
HB-04 The Viking Symbol Mystery 09/27/69
HB-05 The Secret of the Caves 10/04/69
HB-06 The Secret of the Old Mill 10/11/69
HB-07 The Missing Chums 10/18/69
HB-08 The Mystery of the Desert Giant 10/25/69
HB-09 The Mystery Cabin Island 11/01/69
HB-10 Hunting For Hidden Gold 11/08/69
HB-11 The Mystery of the Aztec Warrior 11/15/69
HB-12 The Hidden Harbor Mystery 11/22/69
HB-13 The Ghost At Skeleton Rock 11/29/69
HB-14 Mystery of The Chinese Junk 12/06/69
HB-15 The Shore Road Mystery 12/13/69
HB-16 What Happenned At Midnight 12/20/69
HB-17 The Sign Of the Crooked Arrow 12/27/69
Prod # Title Air Date
HB-18 The Clue In the Embers 09/12/70
HB-19 The Clue the Screeching Owl 09/19/70
HB-20 The House On the Cliff 09/26/70
HB-21 Mystery Of the Spiral Bridge 10/03/70
HB-22 The Yellow Feather Mystery 10/10/70
HB-23 The Mystery Of Devil's Paw 10/17/70
HB-24 The Sinister Sign Post 10/24/70
HB-25 The Melted Coins 10/31/70
HB-26 The Mark On The Door 11/07/70
HB-27 The Flickering Torch Mystery 11/14/70
HB-28 The Haunted Fort 11/21/70
HB-29 The Mystery of Wildcat Swamp 11/28/70
HB-30 The Clue of the Broken Blade 12/05/70
HB-31 Unknown 12/12/70
HB-32 The Short-Wave Mystery 12/19/70
HB-33 The Hooded Hawk Mystery 12/26/70
HB-34 The Secret Of Pirate's Hill 01/02/71

Three episode titles are listed as unknown. However, after comparing this list with the one on another Hardy Boys site (Hardy-Boys.com), I think I've got the missing episode titles. (http://www.hardy-boys.com/cartoon.shtml)
A listing at Toonarific.com (with episode titles pulled from 16mm films) also helped confirm this. (http://shop.toonarific.com/product.php?productid=16285&cat=0&page=1) Also, this listing from ToonTracker helped (http://www.toontracker.net/video/dvd160.htm)

All sources agree that it was 34 episodes produced and aired, as far as I can tell. And both the Hardy-Boys.com and Toonarific.com sites list these titles not listed in the above list, so it looks like these must be the "unknown" titles.

"Footprints Under the Window"
"The Phantom Freighter"
"A Figure in Hiding"

So anyway- it's just interesting to me to see how many of the original 58 Hardy Boys Mystery Stories were adapted into episodes of the cartoon. Of course, since titles in the series were still being written at the time, some of the books could not be adapted since they hadn't been written yet. Though I am still confused about these airing dates- my understanding is that each episode of the show contained two segments depicting an incredibly truncated and adapted book as well as a music segment to take up the half hour.
So if that airing list is correct, I wonder if episode segments were just paired with earlier reruns along the way...

So yeah- the pairing of episode segments is tricky to determine- here is a partial list (not necessarily in airdate order) from Hardy-Boys.com

............................................................................
Each half-hour episode contained two 15-minute stories. Between stories (sometimes a little bit into the second one) the "Hardy Boys Plus Three" entertained viewers with a new song from one of their records.
.
These episodes aren't in any kind of order. I've included the song in each episode, when known. Although the episodes don't include a title (making it very tough to figure out anything about them), titles have been assigned.
1. Footprints Under the Window/Hidden Gold -- Love & Let Love
2. Desert Giant/Viking Symbol -- Feels So Good
3. Old Mill/Missing Chums -- That's That
4. Cabin Island/Hidden Harbor -- My Little Sweetpea
5. Secret of the Caves/Figure in Hiding -- unknown
6. Secret Warning/Aztec Warrior -- unknown
7. Skeleton Rock/Chinese Junk -- unknown
8. What Happened at Midnight/Clue in the Embers -- unknown
9. Screeching Owl/Yellow Feather -- unknown

10. Devil's Paw/Haunted Fort -- Carnival Time
11. Sinister Signpost/Melted Coins -- unknown
12. Hooded Hawk/Short Wave -- Hello Girl***
13. Shore Road/Crooked Arrow - One Time in a Million
14. Phantom Freighter/Pirate's Hill -- unknown

These are episodes produced, but I
don't know how they pair up (all 1970):
House on the Cliff
Spiral Bridge
Mark on the Door
Flickering Torch
Wildcat Swamp
Broken Blade
*** This song was first released by Reed Kailing (aka Frank Hardy) and The Destinations, his former personal band. Although the Hardy Boys recorded a version for this cartoon, it doesn't appear on any of their recordings.
. .....................................................................................

Toonarific.com's listings seem to concur with Hardy-Boys.com and also fill in the gaps in some places, but still leaves some mystery in others.
Culling from those listings, other matchups for episode segments include:

The House on the Cliff/The Mystery of the Spiral Bridge
The Flickering Torch Mystery/The Mark on the Door
The Secret of Wildcat Swamp/The Mark on the Door
(I've seen both listings like this for "The Mark on the Door"- either there's an error on the site somewhere or perhaps this was a rerun segment...)

Also, can anyone help me determine which episodes the description on this site are for? (http://www.toontracker.net/video/dvd072.htm)
Thanks.
I hope all this is helpful for anyone interested in the airing history of this cartoon. For whatever reason, it's particularly hard to track down...

Also, from what I can determine, it looks like the rights to Filmation shows may have reverted to a company called Classic Media (http://www.classicmedia.tv/)- so I'm going to try to contact them to ask about if they have the rights to The Hardy Boys cartoon show, and if so, what their intentions are towards a DVD release.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on October 27, 2011, 04:33:04 PM
I went ahead and edited The Hardy Boys wiki with a note about the "Unknown" episode titles in the episode guide listings for The Hardy Boys cartoon.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: SDLagent on October 28, 2011, 03:29:10 PM
Thanks. I haven't had much time for the wiki for awhile.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on October 28, 2011, 04:00:03 PM
No problem- I look in on it every now and then... :)
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on January 09, 2012, 03:53:01 PM
wasn't sure where best this would fit, but I just ran across a pretty recent interview with Pamela Sue Martin, (who starred as Nancy Drew for the first season and most of the 2nd. season of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries) online. She mentions her time as Nancy Drew along with some other things. A short, interesting read (http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/16941/interviews-1970s-again-with-walton-sisters-pamela-sue-martin?page=0%2C1).
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: Olivia on January 11, 2012, 11:11:25 AM
Quote from: MacGyver on January 09, 2012, 03:53:01 PM
wasn't sure where best this would fit, but I just ran across a pretty recent interview with Pamela Sue Martin, (who starred as Nancy Drew for the first season and most of the 2nd. season of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries) online. She mentions her time as Nancy Drew along with some other things. A short, interesting read (http://www.hollywoodchicago.com/news/16941/interviews-1970s-again-with-walton-sisters-pamela-sue-martin?page=0%2C1).

Yay, my fav actress. Thanks!

A good interview, as it has stuff I didn't know. Like the one photoshoot (yeah...) sort of had some good come from it, in raising environmental awareness, besides helping to "change her image". I think she's one of the first to have made a career move like that, and it probably helped to eventually land a role on Dynasty.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on January 11, 2012, 01:14:57 PM
QuoteA good interview, as it has stuff I didn't know. Like the one photoshoot (yeah...) sort of had some good come from it, in raising environmental awareness, besides helping to "change her image". I think she's one of the first to have made a career move like that, and it probably helped to eventually land a role on Dynasty.
Yeah- there are others for whom it didn't quite work out the same- like Elizabeth Berkley with the whole Showgirls movie in 1995.... (and of course, I've never seen that movie)- but yeah, I think I'd rather remember her as Jessie Spano on Saved By the Bell.
And no offense as I know you like Pamela Sue Martin and Dynasty- but considering some of the stuff that went on with that show, I can see how the racy photoshoot would help...
That's another case where I'd rather remember Pamela Sue Martin as Nancy Drew.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: Olivia on January 15, 2012, 03:02:34 PM
Quote from: MacGyver on January 11, 2012, 01:14:57 PM
Yeah- there are others for whom it didn't quite work out the same- like Elizabeth Berkley with the whole Showgirls movie in 1995.... (and of course, I've never seen that movie)- but yeah, I think I'd rather remember her as Jessie Spano on Saved By the Bell.
And no offense as I know you like Pamela Sue Martin and Dynasty- but considering some of the stuff that went on with that show, I can see how the racy photoshoot would help...
That's another case where I'd rather remember Pamela Sue Martin as Nancy Drew.

No worries. I know the reputation the show has. Emphasis is always placed on the racy stuff. In the early days, there was a lot of intelligent writing, as well as the occasional storyline (and character development) afterwards. But the ratings weren't great, so they included more camp/drama (it was the '80's), and the viewers piled in. PSM left after 4 years, right when it was the #1 show, because she was drained creatively in playing the same character, wanted to pursue other things, and had a health problem.

I was upset in finding out how early she left Nancy Drew. I thought she wasn't being a team player and actually didn't like her for a while. Though now, I understand a bit more that she wanted to do more acting and movies, and not be a recurring character.

As for the Elizabeth Berkley scenario - that was definitely more drastic IMO. At least she knows it was a huge mistake. And it's good to see her doing something positive as she now works with young girls to help with with self-esteem.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on January 15, 2012, 04:37:42 PM
QuoteAs for the Elizabeth Berkley scenario - that was definitely more drastic IMO. At least she knows it was a huge mistake. And it's good to see her doing something positive as she now works with young girls to help with with self-esteem.
Well, that's good to hear then. :)
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on January 17, 2012, 08:09:50 PM
Well, it took a bit of doing but I've finally tracked down all 4 Gold Key issues of The Hardy Boys comic book (based on the 1969-1971 The Hardy Boys cartoon) and all 4 issues of The Hardy Boys from DELL Comics (based on The Hardy Boys serials on The Mickey Mouse Club). So I hope to read them all soon and perhaps offer some observations here. I'm particularly excited to at least be able to read a comic book adaptation of The Mystery of Ghost Farm, since that's the other Hardy Boys serial from the MMC show that I haven't been able to see yet. :)
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on January 26, 2012, 08:17:03 PM
Found a link (http://pernellroberts.net/page.php?p=film3) to a Pernell Roberts site that has clips of his work on two episodes of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries- Season 2's "Arson and Old Lace" and Season 3's "Assault on the Tower"
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on December 04, 2012, 05:05:28 PM
QuoteWell, it took a bit of doing but I've finally tracked down all 4 Gold Key issues of The Hardy Boys comic book (based on the 1969-1971 The Hardy Boys cartoon) and all 4 issues of The Hardy Boys from DELL Comics (based on The Hardy Boys serials on The Mickey Mouse Club). So I hope to read them all soon and perhaps offer some observations here. I'm particularly excited to at least be able to read a comic book adaptation of The Mystery of Ghost Farm, since that's the other Hardy Boys serial from the MMC show that I haven't been able to see yet.
I thought I'd offer a quick breakdown of titles for now. For the DELL Comics, all of the covers and illustrations are based on Tim Considine and Tommy Kirk's portrayals, respectively, of Frank and Joe Hardy on The Mickey Mouse Club. (All 4 covers feature a photograph of both stars.)  Here are the 4 titles: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure is adapted first in DELL No. 760 [printed in 1956] (Disney's version of The Tower Treasure, as seen on The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure serial on The Mickey Mouse Club). DELL No. 830 offers an adaptation of The Secret of the Old Mill (and since this comic was printed in 1957, it's based on the original text version of the book). DELL No. 887 was published in 1957 and it is an adaptation of The Mystery of Ghost Farm, the second Hardy Boys serial [The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of Ghost Farm] that ran on The Mickey Mouse Club). DELL No. 964 is an adaptation of The Mystery of the Caves (and since this comic was printed in 1958, it's based on the original text version of the book).

And now for the Gold Key comics, they are all based on the 1969-1971 Filmation cartoon series, The Hardy Boys. All 4 covers feature a photograph of the band, and all but one also include illustrations from the cartoon on the cover as well.
The Hardy Boys #1 (printed April 1970) has two stories: "Secret of the Orinda Star" [which seems to be an adaptation of Footprints Under the Window, leading me to think that this is also the book that was adapted for the first episode of the cartoon series, which most episode guides label only as "Episode #1".]. The other story is "The Dart-Riddle Rumble".
The Hardy Boys #2 (printed July 1970) has two stories: "Mystery of the Catacombs" and "Secret Mission".
The Hardy Boys #3 (printed October 1970) has two stories: "Mystery of Wildcat Swamp" [which I daresay is an adaptation of The Secret of Wildcat Swamp ;)] and "The Headless Horseman".
The Hardy Boys #4 (printed January 1971) has two stories: "The Guise of Medusa" and "Paddle Wheel Peril".

I'm pretty certain all of these comic books (at least for the ones that are based on books- which I think is all of them; I'm just not sure what book all these stories are adapting right now.)- Anyway, all of them are assuredly based on the revised text rather than the original text.
Also, on all but the 2nd. issue, the Gold Key Hardy Boys comics have this tagline on the cover- "On The Beat!".

Okay- I hope I can offer some more observations on these comic books later.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on January 08, 2013, 10:43:17 AM
I posted this in the "Now Reading" thread, but I thought it'd be appropriate here too. I've decided to read the two novelizations based on The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries and here are some of my observations on the first one.

QuoteI'm now reading The Haunted House & Flight to Nowhere- a two-story book containing novelizations of two episodes of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. (The episodes in question being "The Mystery of the Haunted House" and "The Flickering Torch Mystery".) The book presents them both as separate stories. (i.e. There is no connecting narrative.) I've read the first story so far and as far as I can tell, it plays out almost exactly as presented in the television episode. I noticed a number of lines that were verbatim from the episode. Of course, I also noticed a few lines added that I'm pretty sure were not in the episode- but they were just additional comments echoing what had already been mentioned in the episode. The novelization didn't really seem to add much to what the episode already showed, except for perhaps one scene. Frank and Joe are mentioned finding a chamber of horrors with characters like Jack the Ripper and Bluebeard... but now that I think about it, I think that scene may have been in the episode. However, it was helpful to have the characters' names there in print because it doesn't seem like you always catch them on the episode- especially if it's only mentioned once quickly. The novelization did seem to explain the storyline a little bit better but that may just be because it was written down to read at leisure, rather than the fast-paced nature of the TV show. Anyway, with all the pictures of Parker Stevenson and Shaun Cassidy as Frank and Joe Hardy, respectively- both promotional shots and scenes taken straight from the episode- that definitely helped recreate the episode for fans of the show. I'm sure this kind of TV show novelization was a lot more enthusiastically welcomed in the late '70s when it was released, when fans were happy to have any memorabilia from the show and many did not have access to VCRs to record episodes and thus had little means of rewatching episodes, unless they caught it again in reruns. (Or as I've heard some TV fans would do- record an audio recording of the episode to listen to later.) Or perhaps this was viewed as a second chance to enjoy the episode for fans who may have missed the original airing. When all the episodes are available on DVD, unless the novelization is really fleshing out a lot of elements from the episodes and adding important details- it doesn't seem quite as enticing nowadays. However, it is still interesting to see things come full circle, with The Hardy Boys starting out as a book series and then getting translated to a TV show and then getting translated back to book form via the two novelizations that were released based on the series. I generally find original stories based on TV shows more interesting (see the British annuals (http://www.hardyboys.co.uk/history/tv.php) released based on the series), as that's adding something to the catalog of adventures to me, but the novelizations are still a fun and interesting addition.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on January 09, 2013, 04:47:23 PM
Okay- in reference to this post (http://www.hardyboyscasefiles.com/forums/index.php?topic=1815.msg59417#msg59417)- I have a bit of an update.

QuoteI don't know where best this would fit, but since this thread was for talking about comparing The Hardy Boys' TV and film appearances to their books, and we had already mentioned The Hardy Boys cartoon show, I thought I'd post it here.
After checking a number of sources online, as well as newspaper microfilm archives at public libraries, I think I've found a complete listing for the episode segments of the cartoon show. I'm not sure of their exact airdates and how they were paired up for each episode, but at least I think I've got the complete list of Hardy Boys books that were adapted for the cartoon show. I'm disappointed that apparently The Tower Treasure wasn't adapted, but oh well- perhaps the show's producers figured it was already pretty well done on The Mickey Mouse Club Hardy Boys serials and didn't need to be done again.
    Anyway- here is a list I pulled off of The Unofficial Hardy Boys Home Page (http://hardyboys.us/hbtv.htm) (By the way, the Big Cartoon Database concurs with this listing as well- (http://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Filmation_Associates/H-R/The_Hardy_Boys/index.html)

Prod # Title Air Date
HB-01 Unknown 09/06/69
HB-02 Unknown 09/13/69
HB-03 The Secret Warning 09/20/69
HB-04 The Viking Symbol Mystery 09/27/69
HB-05 The Secret of the Caves 10/04/69
HB-06 The Secret of the Old Mill 10/11/69
HB-07 The Missing Chums 10/18/69
HB-08 The Mystery of the Desert Giant 10/25/69
HB-09 The Mystery Cabin Island 11/01/69
HB-10 Hunting For Hidden Gold 11/08/69
HB-11 The Mystery of the Aztec Warrior 11/15/69
HB-12 The Hidden Harbor Mystery 11/22/69
HB-13 The Ghost At Skeleton Rock 11/29/69
HB-14 Mystery of The Chinese Junk 12/06/69
HB-15 The Shore Road Mystery 12/13/69
HB-16 What Happenned At Midnight 12/20/69
HB-17 The Sign Of the Crooked Arrow 12/27/69
Prod # Title Air Date
HB-18 The Clue In the Embers 09/12/70
HB-19 The Clue the Screeching Owl 09/19/70
HB-20 The House On the Cliff 09/26/70
HB-21 Mystery Of the Spiral Bridge 10/03/70
HB-22 The Yellow Feather Mystery 10/10/70
HB-23 The Mystery Of Devil's Paw 10/17/70
HB-24 The Sinister Sign Post 10/24/70
HB-25 The Melted Coins 10/31/70
HB-26 The Mark On The Door 11/07/70
HB-27 The Flickering Torch Mystery 11/14/70
HB-28 The Haunted Fort 11/21/70
HB-29 The Mystery of Wildcat Swamp 11/28/70
HB-30 The Clue of the Broken Blade 12/05/70
HB-31 Unknown 12/12/70
HB-32 The Short-Wave Mystery 12/19/70
HB-33 The Hooded Hawk Mystery 12/26/70
HB-34 The Secret Of Pirate's Hill 01/02/71

Three episode titles are listed as unknown. However, after comparing this list with the one on another Hardy Boys site (Hardy-Boys.com), I think I've got the missing episode titles. (http://www.hardy-boys.com/cartoon.shtml)
A listing at Toonarific.com (with episode titles pulled from 16mm films) also helped confirm this. (http://shop.toonarific.com/product.php?productid=16285&cat=0&page=1) Also, this listing from ToonTracker helped (http://www.toontracker.net/video/dvd160.htm)

All sources agree that it was 34 episodes produced and aired, as far as I can tell. And both the Hardy-Boys.com and Toonarific.com sites list these titles not listed in the above list, so it looks like these must be the "unknown" titles.

"Footprints Under the Window"
"The Phantom Freighter"
"A Figure in Hiding"

So anyway- it's just interesting to me to see how many of the original 58 Hardy Boys Mystery Stories were adapted into episodes of the cartoon. Of course, since titles in the series were still being written at the time, some of the books could not be adapted since they hadn't been written yet. Though I am still confused about these airing dates- my understanding is that each episode of the show contained two segments depicting an incredibly truncated and adapted book as well as a music segment to take up the half hour.
So if that airing list is correct, I wonder if episode segments were just paired with earlier reruns along the way...

So yeah- the pairing of episode segments is tricky to determine- here is a partial list (not necessarily in airdate order) from Hardy-Boys.com

............................................................................
Each half-hour episode contained two 15-minute stories. Between stories (sometimes a little bit into the second one) the "Hardy Boys Plus Three" entertained viewers with a new song from one of their records.
.
These episodes aren't in any kind of order. I've included the song in each episode, when known. Although the episodes don't include a title (making it very tough to figure out anything about them), titles have been assigned.
1. Footprints Under the Window/Hidden Gold -- Love & Let Love
2. Desert Giant/Viking Symbol -- Feels So Good
3. Old Mill/Missing Chums -- That's That
4. Cabin Island/Hidden Harbor -- My Little Sweetpea
5. Secret of the Caves/Figure in Hiding -- unknown
6. Secret Warning/Aztec Warrior -- unknown
7. Skeleton Rock/Chinese Junk -- unknown
8. What Happened at Midnight/Clue in the Embers -- unknown
9. Screeching Owl/Yellow Feather -- unknown

10. Devil's Paw/Haunted Fort -- Carnival Time
11. Sinister Signpost/Melted Coins -- unknown
12. Hooded Hawk/Short Wave -- Hello Girl***
13. Shore Road/Crooked Arrow - One Time in a Million
14. Phantom Freighter/Pirate's Hill -- unknown

These are episodes produced, but I
don't know how they pair up (all 1970):
House on the Cliff
Spiral Bridge
Mark on the Door
Flickering Torch
Wildcat Swamp
Broken Blade
*** This song was first released by Reed Kailing (aka Frank Hardy) and The Destinations, his former personal band. Although the Hardy Boys recorded a version for this cartoon, it doesn't appear on any of their recordings.
. .....................................................................................

Toonarific.com's listings seem to concur with Hardy-Boys.com and also fill in the gaps in some places, but still leaves some mystery in others.
Culling from those listings, other matchups for episode segments include:

The House on the Cliff/The Mystery of the Spiral Bridge
The Flickering Torch Mystery/The Mark on the Door
The Secret of Wildcat Swamp/The Mark on the Door
(I've seen both listings like this for "The Mark on the Door"- either there's an error on the site somewhere or perhaps this was a rerun segment...)

Also, can anyone help me determine which episodes the description on this site are for? (http://www.toontracker.net/video/dvd072.htm)
Thanks.
I hope all this is helpful for anyone interested in the airing history of this cartoon. For whatever reason, it's particularly hard to track down...

Also, from what I can determine, it looks like the rights to Filmation shows may have reverted to a company called Classic Media- so I'm going to try to contact them to ask about if they have the rights to The Hardy Boys cartoon show, and if so, what their intentions are towards a DVD release.

On the general Wikipedia page for The Hardy Boys cartoon series (i.e. NOT The Hardy Boys Wiki page)- there is a different listing for the episode guide for the cartoon series.

Season 1: 1969-1970
No. Title Airdate
1 "'Footprints Under The Window / Hunting for Hidden Gold" 1969?Sep?06
2 "Mystery of the Desert Giant / The Viking Symbol Mystery" 1969?Sep?13
3 "The Secret of the Old Mill / The Missing Chums" 1969?Sep?20
4 "The Secret Warning / The Mystery of the Aztec Warrior" 1969?Sep?27
5 "The Mystery of Cabin Island / The Hidden Harbor Mystery" 1969?Oct?04
6 "The Secret of the Caves / A Figure In Hiding" 1969?Oct?11
7 "The Ghost at Skeleton Rock / The Mystery of the Chinese Junk" 1969?Oct?18
8 "The Shore Road Mystery / The Sign of the Crooked Arrow" 1969?Oct?25
9 "What Happened at Midnight / The Clue in the Embers" 1969?Nov?01
10 "'The Clue of the Screeching Owl / The Yellow Feather Mystery" 1969?Nov?08
11 "The House on the Cliff / Mystery of the Spiral Bridge" 1969?Nov?15
12 "The Mystery at Devil's Paw / The Haunted Fort" 1969?Nov?22
13 "The Sinister Signpost / The Melted Coins" 1969?Nov?29
14 "The Mark on the Door / The Flickering Torch Mystery" 1969?Dec?06
15 "The Secret of Wildcat Swamp / The Clue of the Broken Blade" 1969?Dec?13
16 "The Hooded Hawk Mystery / The Short Wave Mystery" 1969?Dec?20
17 "The Phantom Freighter / The Secret of Pirates Hill" 1969?Dec?27

[edit] Season 2: 1970?71No. Title Airdate
18 "'repeat of show #1" 1970?Sep?07
19 "repeat of show #2" 1970?Sep?14
20 "repeat of show #3" 1970?Sep?21
21 "repeat of show #4" 1970?Oct?03
22 "repeat of show #5" 1970?Oct?10
23 "repeat of show #6" 1970?Oct?17
24 "repeat of show #7" 1970?Oct?24
25 "'repeat of show #8" 1970?Oct?31
26 "repeat of show #9" 1970?Nov?07
27 "repeat of show #10" 1970?Nov?14
28 "repeat of show #11" 1970?Nov?21
29 "repeat of show #12" 1970?Nov?28
30 "repeat of show #13" 1970?Dec?05
31 "repeat of show #14" 1970?Dec?12
32 "repeat of show #15" 1970?Dec?19
33 "repeat of show #16" 1970?Dec?26
34 "repeat of show #17" 1971?Jan?02

.....................................................................

So apparently the second season was totally reruns. And there are the pairings for the "unknown" episodes as well. If this listing can be trusted as accurate, and it looks like it is, then it's nice to finally have this question settled. :) 8)
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on January 10, 2013, 09:14:20 AM
Just for comparison, here is a list of The Hardy Boys books (Original series), with a note on those that have been adapted to film and comic books.
(*Note- unless otherwise marked, all adaptations of books are based upon the Revised Text version.)

1. The Tower Treasure - ("The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure" serial on The Mickey Mouse Club AND DELL No. 760 Comics- comic is an adaptation of the serial, which is in turn, based on the book. And both are based on the Original Text version of the book.)
2. The House on the Cliff - (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
3. The Secret of the Old Mill - (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon AND DELL No. 830 Comics- comic based on the Original Text version of the book.)
4. The Missing Chums - (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
5. Hunting for Hidden Gold - (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
6. The Shore Road Mystery - (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
7. The Secret of the Caves - (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon AND DELL No. 964 Comics- printed as The Mystery of the Caves on the cover, but the comic story itself has The Secret of the Caves title - comic based on the Original Text version of the book. Also, a Viewmaster set of reels was released based on The Hardy Boys cartoon episode and the Viewmaster set was also entitled "The Mystery of the Caves".)
8. The Mystery of Cabin Island - (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
9. The Great Airport Mystery - (none)
10. What Happened at Midnight - (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
11. While The Clock Ticked - (none)
12. Footprints Under the Window - (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon AND Gold Key Comics' The Hardy Boys #1 [April 1970] - "Secret of the Orinda Star" story- comic is based on the cartoon episode, which is in turn based on the book.)
13. The Mark on the Door -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
14. The Hidden Harbor Mystery -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
15. The Sinister Signpost -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
16. A Figure in Hiding -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
17. The Secret Warning -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
18. The Twisted Claw - (none)
19. The Disappearing Floor - (The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries 1977-1979 live action series had an episode with the same title, but the plot is totally different with perhaps only a few very vague elements used from the book.)
20. The Mystery of the Flying Express - (none)
21. The Clue of the Broken Blade -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
22. The Flickering Torch Mystery -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon AND The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries 1977-1979 live action series had an episode with the same title, but the live action show plot is totally different with perhaps only a few vague elements used from the book.)
23. The Melted Coins -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
24. The Short-Wave Mystery -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
25. The Secret Panel - (none)
26. The Phantom Freighter -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
27. The Secret of Skull Mountain - (none)
28. The Sign of the Crooked Arrow -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
29. The Secret of the Lost Tunnel - (none)
30. The Wailing Siren Mystery - (none)
31. The Secret of Wildcat Swamp -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon AND Gold Key Comics' The Hardy Boys #3 [October 1970] - "Mystery of Wildcat Swamp" story- comic is based on the cartoon episode, which is in turn based on the book.)
32. The Crisscross Shadow - (none)
33. The Yellow Feather Mystery -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
34. The Hooded Hawk Mystery -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
35. The Clue in the Embers -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
36. The Secret of Pirates' Hill -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
37. The Ghost at Skeleton Rock -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
38. The Mystery at Devil's Paw -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
39. The Mystery of the Chinese Junk -  (1967 live action pilot The Hardy Boys: The Mystery of the Chinese Junk AND The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
40. Mystery of the Desert Giant -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
41. The Clue of the Screeching Owl -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon AND The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries 1977-1979 live action series episode "The Mystery of Witches' Hollow")
42. The Viking Symbol Mystery -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
43. The Mystery of the Aztec Warrior -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
44. The Haunted Fort -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
45. The Mystery of the Spiral Bridge -  (The Hardy Boys 1969-1971 cartoon)
46. The Secret Agent on Flight 101 - (none)
47. Mystery of the Whale Tattoo - (none)
48. The Arctic Patrol Mystery - (none)
49. The Bombay Boomerang - (none)
50. Danger on Vampire Trail - (none)
51. The Masked Monkey - (none)
52. The Shattered Helmet - (none)
53. The Clue of the Hissing Serpent - (none)
54. The Mysterious Caravan - (none)
55. The Witchmaster's Key - (none)
56. The Jungle Pyramid - (none)
57. The Firebird Rocket - (none)
58. The Sting of the Scorpion - (none)

[Coincidentally, The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries 1977-1979 live action series has an episode entitled "Scorpion's Sting", but it is not related to The Sting of the Scorpion as the plots are different and the TV show episode was aired before the book was released- so it's very unlikely the two are meant to be connected. The book title may have been inspired by the TV show episode though. Also coincidentally, the TV show had another episode called "Wipe Out", which is also the title of a much later book in The Hardy Boys Mystery Stories series- #96 Wipeout, but the two have different plots and are not connected otherwise.]


Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: tomswift2002 on January 11, 2013, 03:23:27 PM
Well both Wipe-Out's center around surfing, but the TV episode takes place in Hawaii, while the book is set in the Mediterranean.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on January 11, 2013, 03:59:31 PM
Right. I know they both center on surfing but beyond those similarities that I'm sure are only coincidental, the plots are not the same. I know the TV show episode dealt with The Hardy Boys tracking down a gang that was stealing from hotel rooms. As for the book, it had to do with sabotage and counterfeit money.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on January 15, 2013, 10:42:03 AM
Just to add a little bit to my observations on reading this book-
QuoteI posted this in the "Now Reading" thread, but I thought it'd be appropriate here too. I've decided to read the two novelizations based on The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries and here are some of my observations on the first one.


Quote
I'm now reading The Haunted House & Flight to Nowhere- a two-story book containing novelizations of two episodes of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. (The episodes in question being "The Mystery of the Haunted House" and "The Flickering Torch Mystery".) The book presents them both as separate stories. (i.e. There is no connecting narrative.) I've read the first story so far and as far as I can tell, it plays out almost exactly as presented in the television episode. I noticed a number of lines that were verbatim from the episode. Of course, I also noticed a few lines added that I'm pretty sure were not in the episode- but they were just additional comments echoing what had already been mentioned in the episode. The novelization didn't really seem to add much to what the episode already showed, except for perhaps one scene. Frank and Joe are mentioned finding a chamber of horrors with characters like Jack the Ripper and Bluebeard... but now that I think about it, I think that scene may have been in the episode. However, it was helpful to have the characters' names there in print because it doesn't seem like you always catch them on the episode- especially if it's only mentioned once quickly. The novelization did seem to explain the storyline a little bit better but that may just be because it was written down to read at leisure, rather than the fast-paced nature of the TV show. Anyway, with all the pictures of Parker Stevenson and Shaun Cassidy as Frank and Joe Hardy, respectively- both promotional shots and scenes taken straight from the episode- that definitely helped recreate the episode for fans of the show. I'm sure this kind of TV show novelization was a lot more enthusiastically welcomed in the late '70s when it was released, when fans were happy to have any memorabilia from the show and many did not have access to VCRs to record episodes and thus had little means of rewatching episodes, unless they caught it again in reruns. (Or as I've heard some TV fans would do- record an audio recording of the episode to listen to later.) Or perhaps this was viewed as a second chance to enjoy the episode for fans who may have missed the original airing. When all the episodes are available on DVD, unless the novelization is really fleshing out a lot of elements from the episodes and adding important details- it doesn't seem quite as enticing nowadays. However, it is still interesting to see things come full circle, with The Hardy Boys starting out as a book series and then getting translated to a TV show and then getting translated back to book form via the two novelizations that were released based on the series. I generally find original stories based on TV shows more interesting (see the British annuals released based on the series), as that's adding something to the catalog of adventures to me, but the novelizations are still a fun and interesting addition.

I finished this book over the weekend. I don't have much to add regarding the "Flight to Nowhere" portion of the book. It was a pretty good novelization of The Mystery of the Flickering Torch episode. Some quotes were pretty much verbatim from the script. There were a few lines here and there added that were a bit different, but they pretty much conveyed the same idea and didn't really add anything to the plot. The book did clear up one question though that I had from watching the episode- Tony Bird's band is called The Flickering Torch in the episode. The book made that clear from the first sentence. In the book that the episode is based on, The Flickering Torch is the name of a club that the Hardy Boys play a show at and investigate.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: VLoneWolf on January 15, 2013, 05:02:47 PM
Reminds me of the book The Flickering Torch Mystery.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: tomswift2002 on January 16, 2013, 04:56:51 PM
You have to remember that the original text of "The Flickering Torch" was about an actual torch being used as a signal.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on January 16, 2013, 05:30:42 PM
Yeah- it's nice that they worked in some element of the book by using The Flickering Torch as the band name on the episode, and adapting the name of the book for the name of the episode on the '70s show... But I suppose Hardy Boys fans should just consider those slight nods to the books without being a full out adaptation (though that episode had a few scant similarities to the book with a flying scene and the mystery centering on music- the revised text version, that is. I haven't read the original text version just yet.) Maybe a new show would do more straight out adaptations of the books though- it would be nice to see.
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on December 18, 2013, 11:38:20 PM
I posted this in the Hardy Boys Adventures forum, but I thought it was worth mentioning here too.

WHOA! Just noticed something awesome on page 102 of Into Thin Air (#4 in Hardy Boys Adventures series.) Note that this is Chapter 14, "Trapped"- and it's Joe's chapter. And on page 102, in the course of his narration, he uses a classic Joe Hardy catchphrase- from the 1970s The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries show! The classic line Joe used a good bit on that show- "Not to put too fine a point on it." I guess it could be coincidence, but I think that may be a direct reference to the show on the part of the ghostwriter. Anyway- it's cool to see in any case. :) 8)
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: AlwaysAJoefan on December 21, 2013, 03:35:55 PM
Very kewl, Mac... :)
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on December 24, 2013, 08:01:54 PM
Yeah, I thought you all might like it. :) 8)
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on December 08, 2014, 03:50:47 PM
I ran across a cool blog (https://amydeestephens.wordpress.com/2014/07/30/at-the-nancy-drew-sleuth-convention/) that detailed some of the highlights from the 2014 Nancy Drew Sleuth Convention, including the day dedicated to The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries series! Pamela Sue Martin, Parker Stevenson, Arlene Sidaris and Joyce Brotman all made an appearance there! (Too bad they couldn't convince Shaun Cassidy to come to the event. But apparently he just doesn't really make public appearances very much anymore.) Check out the blog for some recent pictures of all 4 of these folks from the show as well as some interesting tidbits. For instance, Arlene Sidaris mentioned that someone had been hired to portray Hannah Gruen on the show but the character got cut in order to give more time to the main characters of Nancy, Frank and Joe. (I suppose that may have been a wise choice in the end, but I would have loved to have seen Hannah Gruen show up at Nancy's house, even if just in a small supporting role, much like Aunt Gertrude served for The Hardy Boys, in the first season anyway.)
       That's certainly interesting to learn. And finding out stuff like this makes me wonder if there is an unaired pilot for the show that might feature Hannah's character before she got cut. These kinds of behind-the-scenes things and glimpses of what could have been are always really intriguing to see. :) 8)
Title: Re: The Hardy Boys on TV and Film VS Books
Post by: MacGyver on December 17, 2014, 09:05:39 AM
Here are a few other interesting things I discovered recently from this site (http://www.angelfire.com/ab7/bg/bg_3.html). According to the Stratemeyer archives housed at the New York Public Library, there were plans for a Hardy Boys book called Mystery at Stingray Cove that was apparently very similar to the plot of the "Dangerous Waters" episode of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries show. (It would be really interesting if it was actually an adaptation of that episode that was being added to the official canon of the Hardy Boys book series.)
      Also worth noting, one of the original titles tossed around for The Sting of the Scorpion was The Scorpion's Sting- and of course, a Season 3 episode of the '70s show was called "Scorpion's Sting". (The episode aired before the book was published and neither really has much of anything to do with the other, but still neat to know.)
:) 8)