This came out about 2 months after 9/11. A quick Google search shows literally nothing for this broadcast, which I had found a VHS tape of while helping to clear out my school library's archive. Sensing that something was up with this tape I snagged it.
This is how Doraemon's 1973 series was originally transmitted. I'm starting with the first run and then will put rerun info.
Each symbol represents a network. ■ = Nippon TV; △ = TBS; ☆ = Fuji TV; ● = TV Asahi.
FIRST RUN: Network run: April 1, 1973-September 30, 1973, Sundays at 7-7:30pm (STV, RAB, ABS, YBC, NTV, KNB, FBC, CTV, YTV, RNC, JRT, RKC, RNB, KRY, FBS all ■, TVI, MTB, FCT, NKT dual ■●, HTV, KTV dual ■☆, TKU, TOS, UMK, KTS dual ☆■) Off-network runs: Broadcasting System of Niigata (BSN, △): September 4th, 1974-October 11th, 1974, weekdays 5-5:30pm Ryukyu Broadcasting (RBC, Okinawa, △): dates and timeslot info unknown TV Shizuoka (SUT, ☆): April 17th, 1975-unknown, Thursdays 6-6:30pm Data unknown for Nagano, Ishikawa, Okayama and Saga.
RERUNS: Nippon Television (NTV, Tokyo, ■): first rerun: March 27th-May 2nd, 1974, weekdays 8:20-8:55am, later moved to 8-8:30am second rerun: April 1, 1975-May 6th, 1975, weekdays 8-8:30am Aomori Broadcasting (RAB, ■): December 5th, 1974-January 17th, 1975, weekdays 4:55-5:25pm Iwate Television (TVI, ■●): January 5th, 1975-February 17th, 1975, weekdays 5-5:30pm Fukuoka Broadcasting System (FBS, ■): April 17th, 1975-May 22nd, 1975, timeslot info unknown Yomiuri Television (YTV, Osaka, ■): May 12th, 1975-June 12th, 1975, weekdays 6:30pm, episode 26 unaired Hiroshima HOME Television (UHT/HOME, ●): May 22nd, 1975-June 26th, 1975, timeslots unknown Miyagi Television Broadcasting (MTB, ■): July 9th, 1975-August 18th, 1975, weekdays 8-8:30am, timeslots unknown RKK Kumamoto Broadcasting (△): 1976/1977, timezone info unknown Toyama Television (T34/BBT, ☆): July 24th, 1979-August 3rd, 1979, weekdays 6:45-7pm, only one episode instead of two. Shogakukan sent a letter to T34 in order to abort the reruns after episode 9 aired. In 1980, the series was no longer available for rerun syndication. The 1979 anime premiered in April of that year. By then, said anime was most likely being transmitted on KNB (no TV Asahi affiliate exists in the prefecture, they still air the modern show).
Woah.
Am I the only one who is honestly surprised that even with this many reruns it's still lost?
I vividly remember bits of this show, but it came out around the time I going out of the Playhouse Disney age group. A quick Google search brings up both versions of the LMW articles, as well as these shorts:
I have sent a message to Disney XD about Fujiko Fujio Productions. I want to contact the Walt Disney Company, but I don't know which branch to contact; the corporate branch or the press branch.
Go with corporate. I contacted them in my search for "Breakfast with Bear" and they were helpful enough to reroute me to the archives.
So the Disney Archives (after almost 4 months) finally replied to me. Here was their response:
"Dear captainmedia:
Thank you for your interest in the history and heritage of The Walt Disney Company.
To our collective knowledge, the series was not packaged for retail sale, though, several home entertainment offerings have been released over the years on DVD and VHS, that feature the "Bear in the Big Blue House” characters and content from their various television shows and programs.
To find this material, we recommend that you visit your local library or check with third-party online retailers.
We hope this additional information helps.
Many thanks,
Walt Disney Archives"
TL;DR: Disney says it never had a retail release, but that we should check VHS and DVD for possible episodes
Incidentally, I'm also a magical Sloth-Walrus Mermaid Hybrid with the ability to summon chicken nuggets at will and protects Switzerland from the Korean Gypsy Narawhals
Coincidentally, I'm a time traveling teen that protects the city of Swallow Falls while doing it before curfew.
Yeah. Were reruns ever shown of this show? Turns out the guy who wrote the article is actually a co-founder of the Muppet Wiki, so if anyone is gonna help us, it'd be him.
Hello, long-time reader, first-time poster. Finally found something on the boards that could concern me. I watched this show when I was little, so my memory is obviously sketchy. However, I did find this comedy article, on some sort of Muppet fansite, where a guy outlines the plots for five episodes, and provides his thoughts. He doesn't mention an episode I recall, where Bear visits a girl in some sort of urban environment (Brittany of Bronx, maybe?), eats oatmeal with her, and hula-hoops with her, though. His email is below, and I might consider contacting him to see if he still has the episodes saved to somewhere, although I wouldn't cross my fingers, given that it was written almost eleven years ago.
Apologies for double posting, but I did get ahold of a Disney archives employee. She said that while she herself couldn't tell us anything, the email I sent earlier would get a reply within a few weeks after the archives do some searching. Keep your fingers crossed!
Wow, that's awesome! It's looking up
Just giving an update, have had no reply from Disney about it.
Apologies for double posting, but I did get ahold of a Disney archives employee. She said that while she herself couldn't tell us anything, the email I sent earlier would get a reply within a few weeks after the archives do some searching. Keep your fingers crossed!