Rocky & Bullwinkle, A Favorite TV Show of the Past

Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Bullwinkle Moose first entered the hearts of many a kid in the early 1960s. I say "first entered," because their show continued in reruns (syndication) for many years thereafter. You don't have to be a kid to like Rocky and Bullwinkle and the cast of characters from other segments of their show. No, I still like them! And you wouldn't believe how many other people, long removed from their childhood years, mention their fondness for the cartoon series.

Originally airing during the Cold War era of espionage and spies, Rocky and Bullwinkle usually found themselves involved trying to evade the evil clutches of Boris Badenov and Natasha, both complete with Russian-like accents (the Soviet Union was THE adversary, in those days), who were under the direction of one "Fearless Leader," a scar faced, Nazi-type military uniform wearing caricature, who was anything but "fearless," as he gave orders, but seldom, if ever, endangered himself.

The show was divided into other segments, or features, besides the adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, and there was a group of these features that sort of rotated over the course of episodes. These segments were: Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties, who, along with his girlfriend Nell, and Inspector Fenwick, the commander of the RCMP post (Royal Canadian Mounted Police), did constant battle with ruthless Snidely Whiplash, who twirled his long black mustache as he did evil to the world. Then there were Mr. Peabody and Sherman, who used the "WAYBAC machine," to travel to notable events in mankind's history. Further there was Aesop and Son, which featured a take on fables from the famous Greek, as he tried to teach his son lessons about life. Then there was "Fractured Fairytales," a feature which appeared, I believe, in EVERY episode, as it was not part of the rotating features mentioned above. It was narrated by actor Edward Everett Horton and this feature was always a favorite of mine, as it related a fairytale, but with twists on the original, thus, "fractured." Rocky and Bullwinkle also appeared in other segments of the show, unrelated to their adventure part of the episodes. These segments included Bullwinkle reading poetry or famous stories, although with all of the fumbling and humor we had come to expect from the moose, and this was called "Bullwinkle's Corner." Then there was "Mr. Know It All," where Bullwinkle tried his "expertise" at a variety of subjects.

I'm sure I haven't touched on every aspect of the show, but hopefully I brought back some memories to some, and perhaps I made younger folks a little curious about the show, enough to check it out.

Photo is of Season 1 of the 2012 Classic Media DVD release of "Rocky & Bullwinkle & Friends, The Complete Series"

WORD HISTORY:
Sky-This word goes back to the Indo European root "skeu," which had the notion "to cover." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "skeujam," meaning "cloud." This then gave Old Norse, a Germanic language, "sky," meaning "cloud." It also gave Old English "sceo," then the word for "cloud" in English. When North Germanic invaders settled in eastern England and southern Scotland, especially beginning around 900 A.D., they brought along "sky," which still had the meaning "cloud," as it likely joined with and reinforced the native English word "sceo," by about 1100 or 1200, with the spelling "sky," prevailing. The meaning, "the vast space above the Earth," did not begin until the 1300s, and "sky" gradually overtook the ancestor of modern "heaven" (Old English "heofon," then "hevin"), which meant both "sky and home of God, or the gods," in that meaning, leaving "heaven" to the religious abode meaning. For the "Word History" of "cloud," see my article at this link:  http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2012/11/its-about-coalitions-not-purity-part_24.html