OK, so clearly my Babble List (25 Great Children's TV Shows That Aren't On DVD) is taking the entertainment world by storm.
First, you had the Banana Splits' comeback (kinda). Now, after more years than I care to admit, Carole, Paula, the Chuckle Patch and the rest of The Magic Garden will be available on DVD.
I loved this show when I was little. Carole and Paula were like the best babysitters you ever had. Looking back, I realize that I had crushes on both of them. They were young, attractive, played guitar – the feeling I get remembering them is the same that I get when I think about Gina, my first real-life babysitter. She was… well, I remember her fondly. Let's just leave it at that.
The path from "lost classic" to "found classic" wasn't that easy. Like so much television back in the day, no one thought "The Magic Garden" would ever be valuable, so the tapes – yes, videotapes – weren't stored terribly well by WPIX, the station that aired the show. After discovering that some of those tapes had been destroyed, a search was started to find every episode. Eventually, they succeeded, and now we have this DVD. I think its ironic that the TV shows we – and by we I mean me – would most like to watch is often the hardest to find, whereas the stuff we – me – would be least interested in is readily available. The package also includes a CD of Carole and Paula songs – "See ya, see ya, hope you have a good good mornin'…" If you want a little preview of the tunes (or in my case, a flashback), check out this fan site.
I haven't watched it yet; when I do, I'll post my review. For now, it makes me smile just to know that this great show is at least available for current and future generations to see.
The 2 DVD/1 CD set will be available on October 14th. To order, click here. For more about the ladies of the Garden, visit caroleandpaula.com.
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