pokey

Premavision Inc, the company that owns Gumby, recently entered into a joint deal with Classic Media which will see Classic Media manage all rights to the Gumby characters, including any television, film and video releases. This includes a library of 223 episodes of the original Gumby Show series. The companies also plan to have a direct-to-video movie released sometime in 2008. I'm too young to have grown up with Gumby, but thanks to video I did see several episodes of his 50s television program when I was a kid. Even then I found it too sugary and slow-paced for my enjoyment, and I wonder if kids today would have any interest in Gumby at all. While I'd hate to see the little green guy disappear completely, I still have to ask if it's possible for him to have the appeal he once did, or if he's merely a relic from a more innocent era of children's television.

I had no idea the backstory on the creation of one of my favorites memories as a kid, Gumby. Seems creator Art Clokey (still alive, by the way, at 83) had a hard childhood. His dad died when he was 10 years old, and his stepfather didn't want him so his mother gave him away to an orphanage. Wow. Yesterday a new exhibit honoring Gumby's first 50 years opened at the Lynn House Gallery north of San Francisco, and later this year we'll see Gumby on DVD (the 80s version) and in video game form. There were 223 episodes of the show! They're working on an updated version of the show (please, don't make him "hip" or "extreme," OK?), and a full-length movie.