Thursday 18 June 2015

164 Lassie's Rescue Rangers



First  watched : 19  April  1974

Well  here's  another  one  dragged  from  the  outer  edge  of  the  memory  banks. I   don't  think  I've  given  this  one  a  second  thought  since  it  was  last  broadcast  nearly  forty  years  ago.

The  series  transplanted  everybody's  favourite  collie to  a  fictitious  national  park  Thunder  Mountain   run  almost  singlehanded  by  the  Persil-white  Turner  family, the  youngest  kid  being  blind  for  an  extra  yuk  factor. Lassie  and  her  motley  band  of   animal  buddies  such  as  Toothless  the  mountain  lion  were  the  Rescue  Rangers  helping  the  Turners   plus  docile  Indian  Gene  Fox  protect  life  and  limb  from  natural  disasters   and  the  usual  tame  criminals.

It  was   the  first  time  I'd  heard  of  Lassie   but  in  America  it  followed  directly  on  from  the  cancellation  of  the  long  -running  live  action  series  and  was  coolly  received  to  say  the  least. Only  15  episodes  were  made . Even  without  that  cross  to  bear  it  was  poor  stuff.  Made  by  Filmation  rather  than  Hanna-Barbera  the  animation  was  cheap  and  repetitive  and  the  scripts  were  tame  and  boring  making  it  very  easy  to  forget.    

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