MovieChat Forums > Mister Rogers' Neighborhood (1968) Discussion > Has anyone ever seen a 1969 season episo...

Has anyone ever seen a 1969 season episode?

posted 19 years ago by mitsguy2001
13 replies | jump to latest

Has anyone ever seen an episode from the 1969 season? If so, when did you see them? I heard that they last aired in 1983-84, but I have no recollection of seeing them. What part of the year in 1983 and 1984 did they air, and which ones do you remember? Thanks.

I know that 1969 is when King Friday and Queen Sara got married. Does anyone remember seeing that episode? Also, I heard there was an opera where Lady Aberlin is the caretaker for a teddy bear, played by Daniel; and she can't find the teddy bear, so she sails around the world in a whaling ship, with John Reardon as the whaling captain, in order to find the teddy bear; and I think I heard that they go to Scotland. I know I nevr saw that opera; and I heard that it stopped airing even before 1983. Does anyone remember it, and when do you remember it? Thanks.

[–] LightsCameraAction1 19 years ago

Hi,
The earliest episode I saw came from a show with a copyright date of 1970/1969 (that's the EXACT dating, not 1969/1970). The episode involved the Frog Family....remember little Tad, the little boy frog puppet? This was before they were replaced by The Platypus Family...Dr. Bill and his daughter Anna. What was the name of his wife; I recall that she always wore a hat.

[–] mitsguy2001 19 years ago

Thanks I definitely don't remember that episode. That was probably a 1969 episode, perhaps the first color episode. Do you remember when you saw it? I have heard that the 1969 episodes last aired sometime around 1983 or 1984. Do you remember what year you saw it in, or, even better, what month it was in or even what day it was? Thanks again.

[–] LightsCameraAction1 19 years ago

Hi,
The episode must have aired on a monday, sometime in the early 1980's, but I can't recall the year.

[–] sjbradford 18 years ago

I remember seeing the 1969 episodes with my younger brother in the early 80s (probably 1983 or 1984). King Friday was dating Sara Saturday, the castle was different, and the Frog family was still living in the neighborhood (I think they were getting ready to move as the early color episodes began).

[–] chatanuga 18 years ago

I remember the Frog family. I remember when Handyman Negri visited Mr. Rogers to get a picture frame for a painting for King Friday. There was another episode where they were digging the holes in the platypus mound and found something buried.

[–] mitsguy2001 18 years ago

What is really strange is that I know that I was watching in the fall of 1983 (when many people have said that the 1969 season last aired), yet I definitely do not remember seeing them. I even remember seeing the premiere of "Conflict" week (Nov. 7 - 11, 1983), which was around the same time, and I remember seeing the 1970 season episodes in early 1984. And, I even remember seeing the episodes with Margaret Hamilton and the crystal ball (which were to prepare kids for the reruns of the very old episodes) in 1983. So it seems as if I stopped watching Mr. Rogers just before the 1969 season reruns began, and then started watching again when Conflict aired and when the 1970 season aired, since I can't imagine that many people being wrong about when the 1969 season aired.

By the way, from what I have heard from someone on the Internet, Episode 1001 (the 1969 season premiere, and the first color episode) last aired on Sept. 19, 1983. Does that sound accurate?

[–] mulroon02 18 years ago

I saw a 1969 episode on Maine Public TV in 1996. The color was excellent, and it definately said 1969 at the end of the episode. In the decade since I haven't seen earlier than a 1981 show.

[–] mitsguy2001 18 years ago

mulroon02: What was the 1969 episode that you saw in 1996 about? I know that the 1969 season definitely did not air nationally in 1996. I wonder if your station always showed old episodes, other than the national episode, or if they aired the wrong episode by mistake.

[–] mulroon02 18 years ago

A correction. I spoke to my friend in Maine, who told me that the Mister Rogers from 1969 that we saw on TV was from a pre-recorded video cassette, not from over the air broadcast TV.

[–] mitsguy2001 18 years ago

I didn't realize that any 1969 episodes were released to video casette. What episode was it? Do you remember the number, or anything about the content of the episode? Did it have the old castle or the Frog Pond? I've been wondering what the old castle and frog pond look like, but I have no way of seeing it.

[–] mulroon02 18 years ago

This was actually one my friend recorded with a VCR while teaching in Tilton, NH. I don't know when it was recorded, but it did have the 1969 copyright at the end and it was in excellent color. The later part of the cassette contained several reruns of 'Get Smart' which were from a 1991 Nick At Night marathon titled "Maximum Smart", so I assume the beginning of the tape was recorded earlier, though I don't know by how much.

[–] mitsguy2001 18 years ago

What was the episode about? From what I've heard, the 1969 season last aired in 1983, so that must have been when it was taped. I'm curious to hear about the content of the episode? Did it have the old castle? Did it have the Frogg pond?

[–] mulroon02 18 years ago

I don't remember the content of the episode. Next time I'm in Maine, I'll ask if the tape still exists.