John T. Ryan PACKAGING ALL OF his "OUR GANG" Sound Shorts into one lump sum for television showing, Mr. Hal Roach used the alias of "THE LITTLE RASCALS." For whatever reason, this Rascals pseudonym was chosen, it was the name that we "Boomers" knew the gang by.* THE FIRST SHOWING of the comedies came by way of ABC TV, who broadcast them from their studios in New York City. They were shown with the annoyance of commercial interruption. Much the same as all just about all other kid oriented show, the show had an in-studio audience, had some other sketch humor and of course, as go-between, an M.C.IN THIS CASE, we watched and listened to one Chubby Jackson, who hosted the show during its run. Dark haired and rotund, Mr. Jackson projected a likable personality and did seem to have a way with the kids. But little did we know of a deep, dark well kept secret about 'Chubby.' AS WE FOUND out some years later by way of THE STUDS' TERKEL Radio Show, Chubby Jackson was a very talented Jazz Musician! WELL, WE ALL gotta eat!NOTE: * At one point in the early forties, Hal Roach sold the 'Gang' and the 'Our Gang' name lock, stock and barrel to MGM. Although the old films in his vault remained his, the name was questionable. So, Roach and company came up with the 'Little Rascals' name; which had been use in an on screen introduction done by some young dancing girls to introduce the early "talkie" OUR GANG Movies.

mamamiasweetpeaches When I was a kid in the '70s (B.C.= Before Cable) they used to play THE LITTLE RASCALS on TV after school. Me and my friends (Really- everyone in my class practically!) watched it. We didn't care if it was a show made in the '30s (I'm referring to what I like to call "The Spanky Years", as there are in fact OUR GANG shorts even older- so old that they aren't even "talkies!" Just "silent movies" accompanied with music and subtitles!) We didn't care that it was black and white. We didn't care that our folks -or even grandparents- had watched it. We didn't care that it showed an old fashioned simpler time we couldn't relate to. All we knew was that it featured an appealing bunch of kids and that it was funny as Hell! I remember always carrying a special torch in my heart for the show all through my teen years and early adulthood. I honestly believed that the show had in some way "shaped me" and made me a better person.Now that I'm a grown up in my thirties -and a parent- I wondered if I had built the show up in my mind as being something bigger and better than what it actually was. I told my daughter about the show and she would say "Oh really?" without even looking at me, playing with her video game, listening to a CD and watching TV all at the same time.I decided to fish around to see if The Rascals were out on DVD yet and was pleased to find they were.With great anticipation I put the DVD on and then warned my daughter that this was gonna be sort of "old time" and that if she didn't dig it I would totally understand.To my (pleasant) surprise we both totally loved it! Now she BEGS me to play the DVDs! There is some ageless,timeless quality to the show. "Kids Is Kids" is the way I imagine The Rascals would put it. There is something so totally appealing about seeing the world through the eyes of the child. Hal Roach knew it. I know it. Now my daughter knows it.A weird thing about watching THE LITTLE RASCALS now is that there are characters we all know that have been tattooed on our brains: Spanky, Alfalfa, Buckwheat, Porky, Darla, Stymie. Then there are lesser known characters (I remember as a little girl having a huge crush on Scotty! Now my daughter does!) like Scotty, Wheezer, Dorothy, Dickie, Wally, Uh-Huh ....within moments of seeing their faces again I remembered them again! It was like running into old friends I hadn't seen in years! There is no reason why this show shouldn't be playing on cable regularly. It is such a happy, funny, uplifting show. I recommend that anyone who remembers enjoying it as a kid get some of the DVDs for their children. You might be surprised to find out they love it just as much as you did/do.Remarkable!

tedg Spoilers herein.I'm sure there are all sorts of sociological observations that have been made about the ethnic makeup of this group, their class standing, the portrayal of adults and wealth and on and on. Complicated and slippery stuff, that.But the cinematics of the thing is simple, I think. Its all about faces. And about us knowing that these are actors-who-are-not-actors. Even the dog who has his own rather obvious costume.There's something to be said about so-called "natural" acting. The idea is to find someone who as a person is appealing, and then more or less let then be themselves by placing them in situations where they have an excuse. Clara Bow is a great example to my mind. Wayne a more well known one, and today we have Freeman, Hackman, even Arnold and that always refreshed glueball of ingenues. Most of TeeVee is this way.Today, all such actors are dreary, even discouraging and destructive to the craft. But these kids are appealing. The sad part is the machinery: the producers just used these kids until the charm faded and then replaced them with others. Someone somewhere was making boodles, but these kids -- most of them -- stayed in the underclass.Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements

mahajanssen Amazingly, my Asian father loved these series when it was broadcasted in Singapore a few years back. I reckon it was never showed anytime before that but it quickly caught on simply for the innocent and carefree humour of the kids in the show. Notwithstanding these were just kids trying to act, they pulled off a very good show. The humour is subtle and not overflowing, which might be difficult to understand in the present world of extremity in comedy shows worldwide. This show is good clean fun for kids and adults alike but it might take a while for it to sink it. If it doesn't rub off on you after a while, then it's not for you. If you have the patience, then bear with it. It'll remind you of how simple life can be and once a upon a time, kids didn't need video games to keep themselves entertained. Now, if only we could convince our kids of the same.