Boomerang Brews Up Something Special For Halloween All October
Boomerang Brews October of Spine-Tingling Halloween Programming Highlighted by The Munsters, The Addams Family & Scooby-Doo
Family-Friendly Line-up Includes Creepy Classics and Haunted Holiday Movies
All Presented Commercial-Free
Boomerang is bewitched this October with a line-up of spooky episodes and specials themed around everyone’s favorite haunted celebration. Spotlighting the month-long Halloween festivities, Boomerang will feature spooktacular blocks of The Funky Phantom, Goober and the Ghost Chasers, What’s New, Scooby-Doo?, The Munsters (live-action series, 1964-66) and The Addams Family (animated, 1992-95, as well as live-action series, 1964-66) on weekdays from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (ET, PT) and 9 p.m. to midnight (ET, PT).
On weekends, the network is offering a bag full of treats with classic series and specials, including The Halloween Tree, The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone and Scooby-Doo and the Reluctant Werewolf from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (ET, PT) and 10 p.m. to midnight (ET, PT).
The Munsters comically depicted the “average” American home life of a close-knit blue-collar family—of monsters—that were based on the classic monsters of Universal Studios, including Frankenstein, Count Dracula, The Werewolf and The Bride of Dracula. Presented in black-and-white, the half-hour series starred Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster; Yvonne De Carlo as his wife, Lily; Al Lewis as Grandpa; Butch Patrick as Eddie; and Beverly Owen/Pat Priest as Marilyn, the “ugly niece” who resembled Marilyn Monroe. The show featured satirical situations where the lovable Munsters interacted as normal, good citizens with an unsuspecting public, who were terrified solely by their appearance. The Munsters premiered on CBS Television on Sept. 24, 1964, and played for two full seasons (70 episodes) that concluded on May 12, 1966.
Based on Charles Addams’ New Yorker comics, The Addams Family featured a much more well-to-do family of creepy characters that generally stayed within their eerie yet palatial mansion. Also shot in black-and-white and immortalized by a catchy, snappy theme-song, The Addams Family starred John Astin as Gomez Addams; Carolyn Jones as his wife, Morticia; Jackie Coogan as Uncle Fester; Ted Cassidy as the butler, Lurch; Blossom Rock as Grandmama Addams; and Lisa Loring and Ken Weatherwax, respectively, as the Addams’ children, Wednesday and Pugsley. The series’ humor derives from a culture clash with the rest of the world—the Addams treat normal visitors (often arriving with evil intentions) with great warmth and courtesy, but are puzzled by the horrified reactions to their “ordinary” behavior and tastes. The Addams Family premiered on ABC Television on Sept. 18, 1964, and presented 64 episodes that concluded on April 8, 1966.
Additional highlights of Boomerang’s October programming schedule include the following:
The Funky Phantom (TV-G) M-F, 2 p.m. (ET, PT)—Three teenagers and the ghost of a patriot (Jonathan “Mudsy” Muddlemore) from the American Revolution set across the country to uphold justice and fight discrimination.
Goober and the Ghost Chasers (TV-G) M-F, 2:30 p.m. (ET, PT)—A dog, able to become temporarily invisible, and his three human companions (Tina, Gilly and Ted) investigate mysteries involving the paranormal.
What’s New Scooby-Doo (TV-Y7FV) M-F, 3 p.m. (ET, PT)— A club of teenage super-sleuths and their talking dog named “Scooby-Doo” solve mysteries involving supposedly supernatural creatures through a series of antics and missteps.
The Addams Family (TV-G) M-F, 4 p.m. (ET, PT)—In this animated series, the Addams are not your typical family: they take delight in most of the things that “normal” people would be terrified of. Gomez Adams is an extremely wealthy man, and is able to indulge his wife Morticia’s every desire—be it cultivation of poisonous plants, or a candlelit dinner in a graveyard. People visiting the Addams family just don’t seem to appreciate the 7 foot tall butler “Lurch” or the helping hand (which is just a disembodied hand” named “Thing”).
The Halloween Tree (TV-G) Saturday, Oct. 27, 9 a.m. (ET, PT) —Based on the fantasy novel by renown author Ray Bradbury, a group of children learn the origins of Halloween customs while trying to save the life of their friend. On Halloween, a group of boys discover their friend Pipkin has been whisked away on a journey that could determine whether he lives or dies. Aided by a mysterious character named Moundshroud, they pursue their friend across time and space through ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman cultures, Celtic Druidism, Notre Dame Cathedral in Medieval Paris, and The Day of the Dead in Mexico. Along the way, they learn the origins of the holiday that they celebrate. The Halloween Tree itself, with its many branches laden with jack-o’-lanterns, serves as a metaphor for the historical confluence of these traditions.
The Flintstones Meet Rockula and Frankenstone (TV-G) Sunday, Oct. 21, 9 a.m. (ET, PT) — The Flintstones and Rubbles win a trip on “Make a Deal or Don’t” to Count Rockula’s castle in Rocksylvania where they have an unpleasant meeting with the Count and his servant, Frankenstone.
