by G. Jack Urso
 |
| Article about Hot Hero Sandwich by Jerry
Krupnick, Newhouse News Service, Fall 1979 |
This article by
Jerry Krupnick, long-time television reporter and critic for the Star-Ledger (New Jersey), previewing the
Hot Hero Sandwich is notable for
providing an extended interview with series’ creators and producer Bruce and
Carole Hart. It’s unclear whether this was a “live” interview or whether the Q
& A was pulled from pre-packaged PR materials, but I’ve not come across
similar responses in other news articles, so it may be an original interview
between Krupnick and the Harts.
The date of the
article is unknown, but since it is referencing the original Oct. 20, 1979, start
date for the show, I’m guessing this article was published in late August or
September, before the start date for Hot
Hero Sandwich was moved up to Nov. 10, 1979. As noted in the article, the
show was aimed for “preteens,” but as the series evolved, the music acts and
innovative animation drew teens. This dichotomy led to
some uneven continuity in the early episodes with sketches written for preteens
and tweens, but also with content appreciated by older teens.
The full text of
the article is provided below.
_________________________________________________________________________
“HOT HERO
SANDWICH” For Kids With ‘Growing Pains’
BY JERRY
KRUPNICK Newhouse News Service
NEW YORK-Bruce
and Carole Hart seem to have a special wire into the minds and mores of today’s
youngsters. They have based their considerable careers on interpreting these
thoughts in music and comedy, on giving the kids some knowledge, some hope and
some advice without catering or condescension.
The Harts began
in television as the original staff writers for “Sesame Street.” They joined
Marlo Thomas on her Emmy-winning special “Free to Be You and Me.” They wrote,
produced and directed an outstanding drama of young love called “Sooner or
Later,” which was one of NBC’s highlights last season.
Now, starting in
October, Bruce and Carole are putting together a unique hour-long series aimed
at the unique mix of audience that watches television at noon on Saturdays.
“Hot Hero
Sandwich,” which NBC will air starting Oct. 20, is primarily intended for the
preteens who are “going through all kinds of changes-physical and mental-who
are discovering sex and independence and are undergoing what we used to call ‘growing
pains,’” Carole said.
Interviews with ‘Heroes’
Yet the Harts
believe their series will also appeal to youngsters from the age of 6 on up, “who
have been watching the set all morning anyhow, who may not under-stand
everything that’s happening but will be entertained by the music and the fun
and the animation and may come away with more than we thought possible,” she
said.
At the same
time, the “Hot Hero Sandwich” creators are hopeful that adults also will find
their show, perhaps watch it with their kids and get a new perspective on how
their youngsters feel, what they react to, what bugs them, what turns them on.
The gimmick, if
we can call it that, to the series is the use of interviews with “heroes,”
celebrities from all walks of life who have special appeal to the adolescents.
So far, 30 of
these interviews have been taped, ranging from Olivia Newton-John to Kurt
Vonnegut, from Erik Estrada to Bruce Jenner, from Donna Pescow to Leonard
Nimoy.
“The people we’ve
talked to are those whom youngsters most admire. But we’ve not talked to them
about their latest movie, latest book, latest scientific breakthrough,” Carole
said. “Instead, our conversations have been exclusively limited to their own
teen-age years, the problems they faced in school, at home, with their peers.
“We were told at
the start that these were busy people and we would be fortunate to get 20
minutes each from them. Some of our conversations, however, ran up to two or
three hours. It was amazing how these celebrities got into their past, into
their hangups, into their shyness, into their first encounters with the
opposite sex,” she said.
Terrified of Girls
Her husband
continued, “Bruce Jenner, for instance, was terrified of girls when he was a
teen-ager. Finally he began going with one young lady, but never could get up
his nerve for that first kiss.
“At last, on one
date, Bruce braced himself, closed his eyes and gave the girl a fleeting
goodnight peck on the cheek. “Then,” he told us, ‘I opened the car door and I
took off as fast as I could. That was the beginning of my track career.
Four of the
interview segments will be used on each hour of “Hot Hero Sandwich,” interspersed
with comedy skits by a resident company of youngsters and musical numbers by
guest bands and singers.
Change will be
the key word for the weekly themes. “Suddenly,” Carole said, “the opposite sex
has a new meaning and appearance in a youngster’s life, which he or she must
figure out how to relate to. That’s always anxiety making.
“Also,
adolescents find they will have to renegotiate contracts with the adults in
their life,” she said. “They suddenly come to a time when they want to be
independent, they want to be strong, they want to be on their own. But, at the
same time, they still need adult support and it’s just not so cool to admit it,
it brings about conflict, insecurity, rebellion.”
‘Quietly Going Crazy’
To which Bruce
added, “Primarily, young people reach the stage where they feel like they’re
going crazy, very quietly and in an isolated way, and no one can seem to
reassure them that’s not the case.
“We’ve set out
to design a show, an entertainment, which would attract these young people and
which would assure them that the insanity they think they’re feeling is not
craziness. It is normal. This is just the way things are. And, just as
important, we want to show them they are not alone in their feelings, that
their peers and their parents before them and their own future youngsters all
go through these changes.”
That’s a lot to
chew on. It’s a large order for television and requires a special expertise, a
special touch. Given the track record of Bruce and Carole Hart, it would seem
that they are capable of pulling it off. We’ll have to wait until October to
find out.
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