Hey Vern, It's Ernest!

Last updated
Hey Vern, It's Ernest!
Hey Vern, It's Ernest!.jpg
Genre Family-oriented
Comedy
Directed by John R. Cherry III
Coke Sams
Starring Jim Varney
Gailard Sartain
Bruce Arntson
Mac Bennett
Daniel Butler
Bill Byrge
Debi Derryberry
Mark Goldman
Denice Hicks
Jackie Welch
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producers John R. Cherry III
Andy Heyward
Robby London
ProducersCoke Sams
Stacy Williams
Running time18–22 minutes
(Not including commercials)
Production companiesEmshell Producers Group
DIC Enterprises
Release
Original network CBS
Original releaseSeptember 17 (1988-09-17) 
December 24, 1988 (1988-12-24)

Hey Vern, It's Ernest! is an American children's television program. It aired on Saturday mornings on CBS for one season in 1988. [1] Each episode involved short sketches on a certain theme or scenario, featuring Ernest P. Worrell (Jim Varney), his unseen friend Vern, and various others. The filming locations were in Nashville, Tennessee, and Burbank, California. It was a production of Ernest creator John Cherry's production company, The Emshell Producers' Group, in association with CBS, and was co-produced with DIC Enterprises. The series was later rerun on The Family Channel in the early 1990s.

Contents

Cast

ActorRole
Jim Varney Ernest P. Worrell, Auntie Nelda, Dr. Otto, Sergeant Glory, Baby Ernest, Astor Clement
Gailard Sartain Chuck, Lonnie Don, Matt Finish
Bruce ArntsonExisto the Magician, Mike the Clown, Bill, various singers
Mac BennettMac
Daniel ButlerWillie the Homemade Robot, Earl the Barber, Ernest's Tongue
Bill Byrge Bobby
Debi Derryberry Skeeter, various
Mark GoldmanEddie, various
Denice HicksMrs. Clown, various singers
Jackie WelchMrs. Simon Simmons, Coo, various singers

Recurring sketches and characters

Episodes

No.TitleOriginal air date
1"Hey Vern, It's Outer Space"September 17, 1988 (1988-09-17)
Ernest tries to get rid of a strange, bomb-like device that he thinks is an alien weapon which eventually turns out to be Doctor Otto's toaster.
2"Hey Vern, It's Clothing"September 24, 1988 (1988-09-24)
Ernest and Vern throw a costume party for their neighbors, but Ernest cannot decide what to go as. He decides to be a chicken and invites everyone in the neighborhood, but Auntie Nelda calls the police to arrest Ernest for playing loud music.
3"Hey Vern, It's Scary Things"October 1, 1988 (1988-10-01)
After reading a ghost story, Ernest braves the dark corners of Vern's house in search of the Boogeyman and tries to catch it.
4"Hey Vern, It's Movies"October 8, 1988 (1988-10-08)
Ernest enters a home movie contest.
5"Hey Vern, It's Magic"October 15, 1988 (1988-10-15)
Ernest makes Vern's dog Shorty disappear and cannot bring him back. Ernest later falls into the magic box while searching for Shorty, but the missing dog does eventually show up to him.
6"Hey Vern, It's Sports"October 22, 1988 (1988-10-22)
"Ernest the Furnace" makes the mistake of challenging the pro wrestler "Chainsaw Chester" to a match.
7"Hey Vern, It's Pets"October 29, 1988 (1988-10-29)
Ernest opens a pet day care center in Vern's house in order to save up $100.00 for his own puppy.
8"Hey Vern, It's Hobbies"November 5, 1988 (1988-11-05)
Ernest tries to help Vern capture the rare Orange Honey-Woney butterfly for his collection.
9"Hey Vern, It's Food"November 12, 1988 (1988-11-12)
Everyone competes in a neighborhood bake off, with Ernest entering his grandmother's blue ribbon surprise recipe.
10"Hey Vern, It's Holidays"December 3, 1988 (1988-12-03)
Ernest sets the world record for celebrating every major holiday of the year in one day. The final holiday is Vern's birthday.
11"Hey Vern, It's School"December 10, 1988 (1988-12-10)
Ernest tries to finish his classes in school in order to earn a flashy wrist watch.
12"Hey Vern, It's Lost & Found"December 17, 1988 (1988-12-17)
Ernest searches for a treasure that is buried under Vern's house.
13"Hey Vern, It's Talent"December 24, 1988 (1988-12-24)
Ernest enters the neighborhood talent show, but has a hidden talent.

Releases

Various episodes were released on home video in the late 1980s-early 1990s.

DIC streamed several episodes for free viewing on their KEWL Cartoons website until KewlCartoons became Jaroo.

Mill Creek Entertainment released a two-disc DVD set containing all thirteen episodes on January 18, 2011. [3] This release has been discontinued and is out of print. Mill Creek later re-released the complete series set on DVD in February 2017. [4]

As of 2019, the complete series is available for streaming on Tubi.

Awards

YearAwardCategoryRecipient
1989 Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series [5] Jim Varney
Outstanding Achievement in Graphics and Title DesignJoel Anderson and Barbara Laszewski

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References

  1. Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 212. ISBN   978-0823083152 . Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  2. "Existo". 17 May 1999.
  3. Lambert, David (November 19, 2010). "Hey, Vern, It's Ernest! - Mill Creek's Bringin' Out a DVD That a BUNCH of You Wanted! Y'KnowWhatImean?". TV Shows on DVD. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2014.
  4. Looking for 'The Complete Series' on DVD? It's Coming Back! Archived 2016-12-22 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Dubois, Stephanie (July 8, 1989). "Jim Varney Hopes Cards And Letters Keep Pouring In To Save Poor Ernest". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2010-10-06.