Channel Umptee-3

Last updated
Channel Umptee-3
Channel Umptee-3.png
Also known asUmptee-3
Genre Comedy
Created byJim George
Developed byJim George
Norman Lear
John Baskin
Directed byChris Headrick
Don Jurwich
Mike Peraza
David Schwartz
Bob Seeley
Voices of Gregg Berger
Greg Burson
Alice Ghostley
Jonathan Harris
Rob Paulsen
David Paymer
Neil Ross
Susan Silo
Theme music composerJim George
Opening theme"Channel Umptee-3 Theme" performed by Rob Paulsen, David Paymer, and Jonathan Harris
Ending theme"Channel Umptee-3 Theme" (instrumental)
Composer Walter Murphy
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producersJim George
Norman Lear
John Baskin
Richard Raynis
Everett Peck
Producers Jeff Kline
Peggy George
Bob Seeley
Running time21 minutes
Production companies Adelaide Productions
Act III Productions
Enchanté George
Columbia TriStar Television
Original release
Network The WB (Kids' WB)
ReleaseOctober 25, 1997 (1997-10-25) 
February 20, 1998 (1998-02-20)

Channel Umptee-3 (also known simply as Umptee-3) is a Saturday morning animated television series created by Jim George and produced by Norman Lear. [1] It aired on The WB as part of the Kids' WB programming block from 1997 to 1998. [2] [3] The one-season cartoon was designed to teach children to appreciate the wonders of everyday things, such as sleep and water. The title is derived from the fictitonal number "umpteen". It was also the last television series that Lear was involved in as an executive producer (and the last to feature an original story) until the 2017 revival of One Day at a Time .

Contents

Format

Ogden Ostrich, Holey Moley (a mole), and Sheldon S. Cargo (a snail) drive around the world in a van with their own underground pirate television station. [4] Channel Umptee-3, which exists between other channels and is broadcast from a mobile station, tries to focus on a specific topic in each episode, but is normally diverted from it and shifted onto another topic; e.g., one episode started out discussing cats, but quickly segued into the subject of ownership (which was the real topic of that show). Meanwhile, "The Frumps" (i.e., Stickley Rickets and his henchmen) would try to shut the station down or increase their own power, but whatever plan they came up with would fail.

The show made great use of stock footage, as did the earlier WB show Freakazoid! Also, the show sometimes made references to well-known films and TV shows; e.g., the episode "Yours, Mine, and Ours" included references to Cats , Harvey , Star Wars , Dragnet , and The People's Court , and the title was that of a classic film.

Characters

The Umptees

The Frumps

Other voices

Other voice actors who appeared on the show included:

Crew

Episodes

No.TitleTopic(s)Original air date
1"The Music Show" Music October 25, 1997 (1997-10-25)
2"Umptee Sunrise"The sun November 1, 1997 (1997-11-01)
3"The U.F.O. Show" UFOs and extraterrestrial life November 8, 1997 (1997-11-08)
4"What's So Funny" Laughter and humor November 15, 1997 (1997-11-15)
5"The Now Voyagers" Time November 22, 1997 (1997-11-22)
6"Just Add Water" Water December 6, 1997 (1997-12-06)
7"Perchance to Dream" Sleep and dreams December 19, 1997 (1997-12-19)
Ogden is determined never to sleep again because of a nightmare he'd had, and his friends try to explain to him that everyone needs to sleep.
8"Sale of the Century" Money January 2, 1998 (1998-01-02)
9"The Fear Show" Fear January 9, 1998 (1998-01-09)
10"The Weather Show" Weather January 16, 1998 (1998-01-16)
11"Yours, Mine, and Ours" Ownership February 6, 1998 (1998-02-06)
The Umptees win an award in the form of a huge chocolate bunny, and Ogden and Sheldon argue over whether to eat it or display it; this leads to some information about ownership from Professor Relevant. Meanwhile, Stickley's men steal Holey Moley's portable hole, because Stickley believes that there's a fortune inside of it.
12"The Lying Show" Truth and lies February 13, 1998 (1998-02-13)
13"Words Are Weird" Words February 20, 1998 (1998-02-20)

Episode status

Due to the short run and general obscurity of Channel Umptee-3, only four episodes and the intro music have been found publicly after its initial airing. [5] Originally, the second, third, tenth and twelfth episodes were posted to YouTube, but they were blocked worldwide by Sony Pictures, leading them to be posted elsewhere, ultimately on the Internet Archive.

Currently, Sony Pictures Television has the full rights to Channel Umptee-3, and has the option to provide the series for streaming content providers. As of 2022, it is not yet available on any streaming platform, although it was rumored at one point to be potentially available on streaming platform Crackle sometime in late 2022/early 2023.

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References

  1. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 121–122. ISBN   978-1538103739.
  2. "WB's 'Umptee-3' has Norman Lear's signature". Variety . September 15, 1997. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  3. Collins, James; McDowell, Jeanne; Tynan, William (November 24, 2007). "Television: Tube for Tots". Time . Archived from the original on 2009-09-18. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
  4. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 199. ISBN   978-1476665993.
  5. "Channel Umptee-3 (partially found Kids' WB! educational animated series; 1997) - The Lost Media Wiki". lostmediawiki.com.