The Bootleg Files: Sesame Street Episode 847

Posted on July 22, 2022 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 808: “Sesame Street Episode 847” (1976 offering of the TV classic with guest Margaret Hamilton).

LAST SEEN: On YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: Not yet.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It’s complicated.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Who knows?

In the 1970s, character actress Margaret Hamilton experienced a career upswing. She landed the part of Cora, the New England general store manager, in a long-running series of Maxwell House coffee television commercials. And she had a few opportunities to revisit her beloved film role as the Wicked Witch of the West from “The Wizard of Oz” in several television appearances, including a kindly visit without her green make-up on “Mister Rogers” and in a wacky and ribald riff (with her green hue) in Paul Lynde’s campy Halloween special.
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The Bootleg Files: Uncle Croc’s Block

Posted on July 12, 2019 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 692: “Uncle Croc’s Block” (1975-76 television series with Charles Nelson Reilly and Jonathan Harris).

LAST SEEN: Bits and pieces are on YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: It was considered a bomb in its time.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely.

I genuinely feel sorry for today’s children, as their television viewing choices are too safe and too benign for their own good. Back in the 1970s when I was a kid, television aimed at the school-age crowd was delightfully weird and funky. But even by the standards of that excessive era, there was nothing as truly bizarre as a 1975-76 ABC show called “Uncle Croc’s Block.”
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The Bootleg Files: Storybook Squares

Posted on June 14, 2019 by Phil Hall

BOOTLEG FILES 689: “Storybook Squares” (TV game show that aired in the 1969 and 1976-77 seasons).

LAST SEEN: Three episodes are on YouTube.

AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.

REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: A mostly-lost series.

CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Unlikely unless the lost shows are recovered.

One of the most popular game shows in U.S. television history was “Hollywood Squares,” which placed nine celebrities in an oversized tic-tac-toe set for a game that mixed trivia questions with laughs. The series ran from 1966 to 1981 and appeared in a daytime show that aired on weekdays and a syndicated nighttime version that initially aired once a week and was later made into a twice-a-week offering.
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