The Roman Holidays

In the fall of 1972, my younger sister and I were alternating weeks on Saturday mornings (I was 10, she was 9). I liked the cartoons on CBS but after watching "Roman Holidays" after the first few episodes, my sister got me hooked on this show thereafter, as well as most of NBC's Saturday morning lineup (e.g. "The Houndcats," "The Barkleys," "Sealab 2020," and "Runaround;" the last show mentioned no longer survives as NBC "wiped" all the tapes it was recorded on, but that's a different story).

My all-time favorite episode of "Roman Holidays" was #9, "Double Dilemma," which originally aired on Saturday, November 3, 1972. That's the one in which Precocia is practicing her drums for a music recital, but the same night Gus is also involved in a bowling tournament, and he is literally torn between the two.

Something about that particular episode "jumped out" at me and I regarded it as more special than all the other episodes in the series. So much so, in fact, that when NBC reran said episode of "Roman Holidays" on Saturday, February 3, 1973, I had recorded the entire episode's soundtrack (minus the commercials) on my portable cassette recorder (which I received that last Christmas as a present). I practically drove the rest of my family nuts playing that soundtrack of "Double Dilemma!"

Even more related to the topic was that I soon developed a crush on Pamelyn Ferdin; the next morning, on Sundays, I would watch her on "Curiosity Shop" on ABC (which, sadly, is now also lost), and then I would say, "That's Precocia!" (In real life Ms. Ferdin played guitar; she did so on a few episodes of "Curiosity Shop.") And in 2003, when Ms. Ferdin hosted her own website, she wrote back (!) and later sent me a genuine, autographed picture of herself. How cool is that?

It's also hard to believe most of the voice cast is deceased. The only ones still alive besides Ms. Ferdin are (as of this posting) Stanley Livingston (Happius) and Judy Strangis (Groovia).

And to correct a piece of raysond's info: There were *13* episodes of "Roman Holidays" made, not 21. As I said in another show's posting, this was because NBC was able to run the entire series in 4 increments in order to fulfill a 52-week commitment. To be sure, I was rather disillusioned when NBC canceled the show in September 1973, and I didn't see it again until 9 years later when the USA network ran "Roman Holidays" as part of their afternoon "Cartoon Express" block. After that, not again until around 1999 when it was rerun on Cartoon Network, and then again on Boomerang a few years later.

But to raysond, Teach-8 and anyone else who's longing to see this show again: "Roman Holidays" *is* finally available on DVD as a manufactured-on-demand title from the WB Shop, Warner Bros.' online store (you can only purchase the show on DVD through that website; it *isn't* available through any mainstream retail outlets). So that now makes it two ultra-rare Hanna-Barbera faves I finally own on DVD, the other being "Top Cat."

And wouldn't you know it? I have the DVD machine cued up to play "Double Dilemma!" Let the good times roll!

The Hanna-Barbera animated series "The Roman Holidays" originally aired on NBC-TV from September of 1972 until July of 1973. Only 21 episodes were made of this series. During the 1960's and the 1970's Hanna-Barbera Productions(under the supervision of William Hanna and his business associate Joesph Barbera)created a series of half-hour animated situation comedies that took place in all different periods of history. For instance,"The Flintstones"(1960-1966),was set in prehistoric times and was based on Jackie Gleason's The Honeymooners; "The Jetsons"(1962-1963),was set in the future and was based on Robert Young's classic 1950's sitcom Father Knows Best;"Top Cat"(1961-1963),was set in the modern stage of the early 1960's(with animal characters)and that show was based on Phil Silvers's classic 1950's show "Sargeant Bilko" aka "The Phil Silvers Show". The other Hanna-Barbera shows consisted of "These Are The Days"(1974-1975),was based during the turn of the depression-era 1930's;while the syndicated sitcom "Wait Till Your Father Gets Home"(1972-1974),was based on All In The Family and during the 1970's.

In essence,the plots of all these animated series were pretty much the same.but with twists determined by whatever during the era they took place in. Humor was on both levels(the father figure who was the man of the house,complete with his lovely wife,great kids,the faithful family pet and his next door neighbor who may come up with some harebrained scheme that may come up with unexpectedly next to get out of the house and away from the ordinary ball and chain of family life) in which both kids and adults could sit together and enjoy throughly. The animated series "The Roman Holidays",was part of this genre since it was set during the times of ancient Rome around AD 63. This show was basically on the same formula as Hanna-Barbera's The Jetsons since it followed the ongoing adventures of the Holiday family. The characters in this series were the standard for this genre---a working middle class family man with a strong devoted wife,a dictatorial money-grabbing boss,a loyal buddy,intelligent kids,and even an intelligent family pet(in this case,a lion). The characters featured the ongoing adventures of Gus and Laurie Holiday(voiced by Dave Willock and Shirley Mitchell),a middle class family with two intelligent kids, Precocia(voiced by Pamelyn Ferdin of Lassie fame),and Happius(voiced by Stanley Livingston of My Three Sons fame). Gus' boss was money grabbing Mr. Tycoonis(voiced by Hal Smith of The Andy Griffith Show),and the family pet Brutus,the intelligent lion(voiced by Hanna-Barbera great Daws Butler). Since this show was seen only on Saturday Mornings,it has the similarities of both "The Flintstones",and "The Jetsons",especially since it is the same formula used from "The Jetsons" to be brought unto this series. Exact same premise. Nevertheless,it was enjoyable entertainment that was appeal to both children and adults. I can still remember the catchy theme song("When in Rome,you do as the Romans do,you play as the Romans play together") since I haven't heard it in years. It is a crying shame that this classic is never ever seen anymore since it was one of the better Hanna-Barbera shows that came out of the 1970's which showed imagination and relied on good wholesome family values,which these days is thrown out the window. I wish that Boomerrang would bring this show back as part of a marathon from the classic cartoon vaults of Hanna-Barbera Productions,don't you think?

In the 1960s and 1970s, Hanna-Barbera Productions created a series of half-hour animated situation comedies that took place in all different periods of history--"The Flintstones" (prehistoric), "The Jetsons" (the future), "These are the Days" (the early 1900s), and "Wait Till Your Father Gets Home" (1970s). In essence, the plots of all these animated series were pretty much the same, but with twists determined by whatever era they took place during. Humor was on two levels--both kids and adults could sit together and enjoy the show thoroughly. "Roman Holidays" was part of this genre; taking place in ancient Rome (AD 63), this show followed the adventures of the Holiday family. The characters were standard for this genre--a working middle-class family man with a strong, devoted wife, a dictatorial money-grabbing boss, a loyal buddy, even an intelligent family pet (in this case, a lion). I remember seeing this show on Saturday mornings when I was a kid and noting the similarities between its plots and that of "The Flintstones" and "The Jetsons." Nevertheless, I enjoyed it, as did my parents, and I can still remember the theme song ("When in Rome, you do as the Romans do, you play as the Romans play together..."). It is a shame that there are no longer any series on TV quite like it--it showed imagination and relied on the fact that a good family show must appeal to both children and adults, and that cartoons were not supposed to be half-hour commercials for some action figures. "Roman Holidays" would be a great show to release on video/DVD.