"Buster and Me" was one of my favorite series as a child growing up in the 1980s. It aired on KRON Channel 4, which was the NBC affiliate at that point.
From www.busterandme.com:
"For twenty years Buster and Me racked up awards and delighted television audiences with an inter-species sitcom designed to entertain, delight and educate children by bringing them into the world of two chimps and their human mother. Robin, played by writer/puppeteer Robin Goodrow, does her best as a struggling single mom to bring up young Buster, played by writer/puppeteer Chris Pray, and his little sister Vanilla, also performed by Goodrow. Buster's best friend Russell, a young orangutan, is played by John Gilkerson. Christina Metcalfe served as the shows producer.
Bridging serious themes and hilarious comedy, Buster and Me has addressed many important issues, from divorce and telling the truth to world peace. Along the way it has collected, in addition to two Parents Choice Awards and four local Emmy's, the prestigious Iris Award, given by The National Association of Television Program Executives for "The Best Local Children's Show in America".
What is rare about this series is that it survives almost in it's entirety. KRON was going to destroy all of the tapes because they no longer had the room to store them. One of their executives saved "Buster and Me". Only a few episodes have been lost because of "accidentally" erasure of their master tapes.
Sadly I must note that John Gilkerson passed away many years ago and along with him went Russell.
Here is a preview of the episode "Witchcraft". You can buy a DVD with the entire episode, and 2 more, plus T-Shirts at:
www.busterandme.com
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
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