Voting Station

The Alvin Show

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TV Series

The Resume

    (October 4, 1961-September 12, 1962)
    Aired on CBS
    Ross Bagdasarian as Dave Seville and The Chipmunks (Alvin, Simon, Theodore)
    Shepard Menken as Clyde Crashcup
    June Foray as Daisy Bell
    Lee Patrick as Mrs. Frumpington
    Performed hit songs 'The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late),' 'Witch Doctor,' 'Alvin’s Harmonica,' and 'Alvin for President'

Why The Alvin Show might be annoying:

    It showed oddly irrelevant segments starring the quack inventor, Clyde Crashcup.
    It was given the green-light as the answer to The Flintstones on ABC.
    Dave was much more of a 'comic foil' and nemesis to Alvin than later incarnations (one segment even ended with his being committed to a mental institution).
    Fans of the franchise as-a-whole tend to point out that Alvin is shown to be the shortest of the three (when in all other versions he's the second tallest in the middle).
    Its slot was put directly up against Wagon Train on NBC - which would be the #1 rated show for 1961 - 62 season, resulting in the show bombing in prime-time.
    Who knew you could squeeze a whole season of television and a decades-long franchise out of a novelty act of a guy speeding his voice up while yelling at himself?

Why The Alvin Show might not be annoying:

    It was sponsored by General Foods Jell-O and Post cereals (the Chipmunks starred in commercials for both).
    The music segments were among the earliest prototypes of what would later be known as music videos.
    Its popularity resulted in 'The Chipmunk Song {Christmas Don't Be Late)' re-entering the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 39.
    Alvin regularly threw shade at Clyde Crashcup on the show, including in the intro.
    It found more success when it was moved to the CBS Saturday morning block, where reruns aired until 1965.
    The three leads performed public domain classics, including the spiritual 'Swing Low Sweet Chariot.'
    It featured a misanthropic mother-obsessed Brit neighbor, clearly based on Alfred Hitchcock.
    It conceptualized the Chipmunks in their most recognizable cartoon form (and not resembling real chipmunks as on their Ed Sullivan Show appearance).

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 7 Votes: 42.86% Annoying