Xenozoic Tales / Cadillacs And Dinosaurs (Kitchen Sink Comix / Game Designers' Workshop / Tyco)

Xenozoic Tales
Kitchen Sink Comix
1987 - 1996

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs is an interesting tale of pop culture history. Unlike numerous toy lines out there which began as a result of a cartoon, C&D has a little more depth to it than your average story. While it would eventually lead to the animated series, which would in turn segue into the toy line, the birth of the "franchise" started in black and white form in the pages of Kitchen Sink Comix Xenozoic Tales.

The series ran sporadically for fourteen issues between 1987 and 1996 before ending mid-story arc. This was not only disappointing to fans back in 1996, but remains one to this day as the story has yet to be finished.

It's interesting to note that its cancellation wasn't due to the books being poorly received. In fact, this was quite the opposite. Xenozoic Tales won a total of four Harvey Awards during the 90's. Unfortunately, issues just got further and further apart in publication, and then seemingly ceased overnight.

No reason has ever been given as to why the series ended abruptly. In fact, Flesk Publications had a deal in the works with series creator Mark Schultz for an additional 80-page treatment which would have concluded the current story arc. Sadly, the last mention of this was back in 2013 when Flesk released the massive 352 page trade paperback, Xenozoic.

Between 1990 and 1991, Marvel Comics picked up the license to the series, and under their Epic banner released reprints of the series. With all new covers, color printing and the title changed to Cadillacs and Dinosaurs, it was the hope of many that the series would find a strong foothold and be the new home for the books. Unfortunately, only the first six issues ever came to fruition.

Topps Comics began publishing a second volume of books in 1994, but sadly this too proved futile. Rather than continue the current story, Shultz used the Topps banner to produce stories which filled in the gaps which were left after issue ten. However, after three story arcs and nine issues, the series went on hiatus just before the printing of Xenozoic Tales number 13.

Cadillacs And Dinosaurs
Game Designers' Workshop
1990

In 1990, Cadillacs and Dinosaurs was converted into a pen and paper roleplaying game by Game Designers' Workshop. The core of the game was designed around the popular Twilight: 2000 rules, which first began publication in 1984.

The publication of the book / game must have sold enough that a second edition was considered and even advertised in 1993. However, much like the comic book series, it's unknown as to what happened with its release. Overnight, it too vanished into obscurity, and with that, nothing was ever heard from the roleplaying world again about the game.

Cadillacs And Dinosaurs
Tyco
1993

With the comic book still, somewhat, in publication, this leads the story of Cadillacs and Dinosaurs to 1993 where CBS Kids airs the cartoon. If you hadn't seen this coming, the television series didn't last very long either. It ran for a mere thirteen episodes between 1993 and 1994.

To coincide with the series, Tyco procured the rights to produce a series of action figures, dinosaurs and vehicles. For a company which typically specializes in toy cars, they surprisingly did a pretty good job with the line.

The six figures produced each featured five points of articulation and a slew of launching projectile accessories. 

To add a little extra "oomph" to the line, each card back was also individually designed to feature artwork of the character inside. Though it certainly adds to the production costs of any line, I have to admit, this little added "love" shown by toy manufacturers really adds that something extra to the line.

Tyco produced two types of dinosaurs. These smaller carded versions were definitely more wallet friendly than the larger ones, but couldn't hold a candle in the cool factor to them.

The Kentrosaurus and Triceratops were beast! Not only for the dinosaurs they were, but their plastic sizes.

Tyco also produced three vehicles for the line. Of course, you can't have Cadillacs and Dinosaurs without producing Jack Tenrec's cadillac. It's as iconic to the series as he himself is.

The animated series wasn't limited to the action figure line for promotions. There were also a handful of video games, which included the arcade cabinet, a Sega CD game and a handful of PC ones. Believe it or not, the video games are actually much more scarce than the toy line, and command some pretty high prices. Especially the arcade cabinet - Not that those are cheap to begin with.

Cadillacs and Dinosaurs is definitely a series which holds a lot of interesting history to it. It's not one of those fly by night cartoons of the 80 / 90's where the toy line came first, then the cartoon to promote it and so on. With its great storytelling in the pages of comic books, and an already established fan base, it seemed like it would have been destined to succeed. Too bad everything related to the "franchise" seemed to be abandoned over time.

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Dixie's Diner (Tyco)

Dixie's Diner
Tyco
1989

I love that feeling I get when I finish up a post I've been working on for years. Some times it takes a bit of effort to track down every single piece from a toy line. I can't tell you how many posts I still have in the works because I simply couldn't find everything from the line.

Well, enough of that.

Let's look at today's entry, Dixie's Diner from Tyco. The line features characters and playsets designed in a sense to that of your standard 1950's diner - A diner of course run by Dixie. In total there were eleven dolls - six of which came packaged individually and the remaining five with a playset.

Each stood approximately three inches tall and featured moveable heads,  arms and legs. Additionally, they each came with a set of unique cloth clothing. In essence, they were miniature dolls.

 Patty*Peggy Sue*Darren

 Bobby*Darla*Frankie

To flesh out Dixie's Diner you could purchase additional accessories such as the Counter Service Set, Kitchen Set and Refrigerator - All a must have if you ask me.

 Counter Service Set*Kitchen Set*Refrigerator

To take Dixie's Diner to a whole new level, Tyco also produced several deluxe style playset accessories. Each one came packed with a unique figure.

 Juke Box with Dotty*Diner Booth Set with Barbara Ann

Pinball Machine with Eddie*Pool Table with Mitch

Sure, you could hoof it over to Dixie's, but that wouldn't be hip. Rather it's far more cool to ride your pink or blue convertible over to the joint. It was cool how Tyco made one for the guys and one for the gals - Even if they're the exact same molds in different colors.

 50's Style Convertable

Pink and Blue

To get Dixie herself, you'd have to purchase the Diner Playset. The set also included a counter with seats and a table setting set for two.

 Diner

Of course if you're down with the one stop shopping, Tyco was happy to sell kids a Deluxe Furnished Diner Playset. This massive set featured (of course) the diner with counter, seats and a table setting for two as well as all four of the playset accessories; jukebox, diner booth, pinball machine and pool table. If that wasn't enough, the set also included a Dixie figure as well as the four figures packed in with the playset accessories; Dotty, Barbara Ann, Edie and Mitch.

Deluxe Furnished Playset

Dixie's Diner is a pretty fun set of toys. Despite the pink packaging (not that there's anything wrong with pink), the line is both boy and girl friendly. As a kid I would have had no problems playing with this set because I love cooking so much. This set would have totally fueled my imagination for running my own restaurant. Of course, I'd have to be Frankie and Dixie would be one of my waitresses.

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Gorzak (Tyco)

Gorzak
Tyco
1994

Gorzak! The monster you control!...but probably have never heard of. Let's start this off by taking a look at the original trailer which aired on television for the "figure".

Good stuff! Makes us wish there was actually a cartoon based on the character. Also makes us wish that Tyco had released some of the blue "army" men to go along with Gorzak. Sadly, they never did.

Gorzak stands roughly thirteen to fifteen inches high, and comes with a beastly looking axe as well as a set of chains that bind his wrist - For a little while anyway. With the help of four C batteries, and the power of your voice commands, Gorzak swings into action, destroying everything in his path.

If you couldn't tell by the commercial, or you didn't watch it, Gorzak is definitely not portraying himself as a good guy. His sole purpose in life is to destroy and murder, but that's typically what giant beasts with equally humongous axes do.

Gorzak falls more so into the uncommon category in terms of finding him on secondary markets. However, this would be for one that is typically loose, and missing accessories. Finding a complete one is much more difficult, and finding one in the box is where you step into rare territory.

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The Completely Mental Misadventures Of Ed Grimley (Tyco)

The Completely Mental Misadventures Of Ed Grimley
Tyco
1988

Ed Grimley is the character created by comedian Martin Short. Short started playing the character in the early 80's with The  Second City improv comedy troupe. When the actor joined SCTV in 1982, he brought with him the character for its television debut. Grimley became so popular that when Short moved on to Saturday Night Live that he continued to act as the character. 1988 would become the biggest breakthrough when Ed Grimley became the animated (and live action) star of his own television show, The Completely Mental Misadventures Of Ed Grimley.

With the character came the actors / alum of Second City's SCTV. Characters such as Count Floyd, The Amazing Gustav Brothers, Ms. Malone and her son Wendell were mainstays in each episode. Despite the success of the character, The Completely Mental Misadventures Of Ed Grimley only lasted one season - A total of thirteen episodes.

However this short lived run didn't stop Tyco from procuring the rights to a Talking Ed Grimley Doll, as well as a Stick-On Ed Grimley.

The talking doll stood sixteen inches tall, and with the pull of a string said phrases such as;

"I'm as doomed as doomed can be, you know."
"Oh, give me a break!"
and
"This is like a joke I must say"

Mind you, those aren't the only phrases the doll says.

As is custom with pull string dolls, the discs inside are prone to warp over time if not kept in cool dry storage. As such, many dolls get that iconic squeaky chipmunk voice that toys such as this type are prone to get.

Depending on the condition, the dolls have been known to sell for as little as $10.00 in the box, and as much as $50.00. Just remember that the box condition shouldn't be your only factor in paying high end prices. Make sure you get one with a fairly good working voice feature.

The Stick-On Ed Grimley was a much smaller plush doll with plastic head that featured suction cups on its hands for sticking to various surfaces - Thus the name, Stick-On. Unlike the sixteen inch doll, there's not much to really say about this one as it's fairly simplistic in nature.

Though it's not as common as the sixteen inch doll, the Stick-On Ed Grimley typically doesn't sell well on secondary markets. This is most likely a result of sellers pricing them too high (for what people seem willing to pay). Even at $15.00 they don't typically sell - Which is a shame because it's not a bad collectible if you're a fan of the character and / or show.

***BONUS***

Ed Grimley - A Flame Retardant Collegeville Costume
Collegeville Costumes
1988

If you're a child of the 70's or 80's, then chances are incredibly high that you wore a Collegeville Costume brand costume at some point in your life - Either for fun, but most likely for Halloween. The company has produced so many iconic pop culture characters over the years - Raggedy Anne, Popeye, Gollum - Seriously, this list could go on and on, and one could amass an impressive collection just of costumes alone.

With so many characters under its belt, it's no surprise that Ed Grimley joined the fray in 1988. Though we don't personally know too many kids that dressed up as the character - There were more Ninja Turtles that particular year - We're sure somewhere out there that there was at least one child that was determined to be Ed Grimely on October 31, 1988.

These days you're bound to be able to find some form of vinyl costume based on your favorite character from the 70's and 80's from classic companies such as Collegeville Costumes, Ben Cooper, Inc. and / or Halco. However, they're sadly incredibly expensive, and rightly so. With how many kids wore them, tore them, or in general threw them out as they quickly grew out of them, there probably aren't honestly all that many to be found mint in the box. 

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(Family Matters) Urkel (Hasbro, Milton Bradley, Tyco and Colorforms)

(Family Matters) Urkel
Hasbro, Milton Bradley, Tyco and Colorforms
1991

It's funny how things that one would never think become popular would do just that. Originally slated as a one time character on the show Family Matters, Steve Urkel quickly became the show's focus each and every week - To the point that other cast members were pushed from the spotlight, and eventually left the series. Jaleel White portrayed the character as such a loveable nerd that audiences couldn't help but be drawn in to root for him.

During the height of the character's popularity, merchandising became a big money making deal. Toys, games, cereal and t-shirts were all produced based on Urkel. It seemed like every product developer out there wanted a piece of the action.

Today, we're going to look at some of our favorite Urkel related items. Mind you, this is just the tip of the iceberg of the vast amount of products that were produced based on the TV persona.

For our money, Hasbro probably released the absolute best Urkel item to date - The Family Matters Urkel "I Speak My Mind!" doll in 1991. With the pull of a string, Urkel says phrases such as;

"No sweat, my pet!"
"Hee, hee, hee, *snort*"
"Got any cheese?"

And of course you couldn't have a talking Urkel doll if it didn't say, "Did I do that?"

These days the doll is fairly common on secondary markets, and one can obtain one for as little as fifteen to twenty dollars mint in the box. Of course you'll run across the occasional seller here and there that thinks someone will drop fifty to a hundred on it - Which they won't.

"If you want to do the Steve Urkel Dance,
All you have to do is hitch up your pants,
Bend your knees, and stick out your pelvis;
(I'm  telling you, baby, it's better than Elvis)"

Those were some of the obnoxious lyrics to what would soon be dubbed the Do the Urkel dance. The dance steps incorporated all as noted above, and oddly enough it took the world by storm. So much to the point that White portrayed the character in a cross-over episode of Full House where he reprises the dance.

In 1991, game makers Milton Bradley wanted folks at home to join in on doing the Urkel with their fun boardgame of the same name. Though the game involved a lot of doing the Urkel, the main concept was to be the first player to obtain eight Bow Tie cards.

Game play was simple enough. Each player chooses a corner of the board to start in, then a chosen starting player rolls the dice in the designated dice tray. The dice will either land on an arrow, or a pair of glasses. If it lands on an arrow, the player takes the corresponding Bow Tie card that it is pointing to. If it lands on the glasses, the player can choose any of the cards.

Players must then act out the instructions on the cards before claiming them which could include singing the lyrics to Do the Urkel, hiking up their pants, snorting, and more. After claiming their card, the player can continue to roll if they choose or pass to the turn to the next player. Should they continue to roll, if the arrow points to another card, they can claim that card as well by performing out the acts, and can then continue rolling. However, should the dice arrow point in the direction of a card that has already been claimed, all cards are forfeit, and the turn moves on to the next player.

You continue this torture until someone has obtained a set of eight cards, and the game ends.

This next item actually has a rather ironic packaging scheme. It's entitled the Family Matters View-Master 3-D. However, Tyco makes the central focus of the package Urkel, with the rest of the cast confined to a small bubble off to the side of the character. Apparently family doesn't matter.

Tyco produced the View-Master 3-D in 1991 along side several others TGIF lineup shows such as Full House and Blossom. Though we don't remember what story was showcased on the packed in reels, the blister pack was based on the episode where Urkel "rescues" an orangutang from a local research facility, and brings it to the Winslow's home. Now not only could you take in the visual story of Family Matters, but you could do it all in glorious 3D!

Last, but certainly not lease in the realm of Urkel "collectibles" is Colorforms 1991 Urkel! The premise was simple - Take a gloss finished background of Steve Urkel, and adhere peel and stick outfit pieces on top of him. When finished, peel of the pieces again, and put them back in the box or mix and match further combinations. Wow, what a blast of a good time....Zzzzzzz.

Sadly there isn't much more to this one that we can say. It's a pretty straight forward concept.

Though we didn't go into great detail on it, you can also check out the cereal box for Urkel-O's from our post on Cereals of the 80's. With that, we wrap up our look at one of the world's most beloved nerd. Now if only we could get all of the above utilizing the character Booger.

Join us next time when we take a look at Army of Two - 40th Day!

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From Filmation's Ghostbusters (AKA Filmation's Ghostbusters) (Schaper) (Tyco)

From Filmation's Ghostbusters (AKA Filmation's Ghostbusters)
Schaper (Tyco)
1986

Schaper was a toy company made somewhat famous for their board game, Cootie in the late 1940's.  It was designed and developed by founder, Herbert Schaper, who actually created the game in his spare time while working as a mailman.  Throughout the years his company has found little bits of success with other games, and a handful of action figure lines.  One such line is the highly controversial (between Ghostbusters fans) From Filmation's Ghostbusters - AKA Filmation's Ghostbusters.

Fans of Ivan Reitman's Ghostbusters films (and animated series The Real Ghostbusters) take great offense to Filmation's version which began airing in 1986.  They felt that it was a complete rip off and was duping fans to tune into a series not in fact based on the beloved screen renditions of the Ghostbusters, but rather a mocking farce of the series.  The sad truth is while Filmation's Ghostbusters series didn't launch until after the Reitman film premiered, and was probably brought to light as a result of its success, Filmation actual had the rights to the name Ghost Busters due in part to their 1975 live-action series - The Ghost Busters.

The short version of this tale is that when the film Ghostbusters was in production, Filmation sued over the rights to the name, and actually won.  Thus when the animated series of the Reitman based Busters came out it was known as The Real Ghostbusters - A proverbial middle finger to Filmation?

Tiffs between studios aside, Schaper stepped in to produce a fantastic line of toys based on the animated series which ran for sixty-five episodes in late 1986 (September - December).  Unique to the packaging was the circular "ghost" symbol at the top.  You have to keep in mind when looking at these that this was the day and age of rectangular cards that either had rounded edges or sharp corners.  To do something like this was typically unheard of, and most major companies with high selling toys (such as G.I. Joe) shied away from such "gimmicks".

In total, twelve figures were produced - Six Ghostbusters, or good guys as they were, and six Evil Prime minions, or the bad guys if you will.

Belfry and Rat-A-Rat*Eddie*Futura

Jake*Jessica*Tracey

Fangster*Fib Face*Haunter

Mysteria*Prime Evil*Scared Stiff

In addition to the figures, Schaper produced four vehicles and a playset.  The Ghost Command is a playset that would rival most of its time, and even to date.  The shear size, design and incorporated mechanisms designed to increase the amount of play aspects are fantastic.  The biggest shame of it all was that it was produced for a toy line that so many kids passed on.

That's not to say that the vehicles are anything to frown about.  Fans of the series praise (in particular) the Ghost Buggy for being true to the show both in design and its ability to "transform" as seen on screen.

Ghost Buggy*Scare Scooter

Time Hopper*Bone Troller

Ghost Command

Its important to note that Schaper toys was acquired by Tyco in 1986, and as a result every toy shown above can be found with either a Schaper or Tyco logo on the packaging.  In addition to that, several other companies were given the rights to release the toys in various other countries.  These toys don't have either the Schaper or Tyco logo on them, but rather the foreign distributed companies name.  What does this mean?  It means that for a true mint in package variant hunter that this series could be a dream come true collection or a nightmare waiting to unfold.

Join us next time when we take a look at Tron!

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Double Dragon (Tyco)

Double Dragon
Tyco
1993

When you're a young lad in the 80's, and you step into an arcade to find an all new video game cabinet. When you see that said game has the word "Dragon" in it, you definitely take more notice than you would have at a glance. Then you put your quarter in, and the first thing you see is a group of thugs walking over to a woman. They thrust a fist into her gut, and as she doubles over, they scoop her up and take her away. What just happened?

If you're lucky, several quarters later you'll not only have that answer, but also have your girl back.

Tyco's brand of Double Dragon figures are actually based on the 1993 to 1994 animated series from DiC - Which in turn is loosely based on the 1980's arcade hit. The cartoon was a short lived series, lasting for just twenty-six episodes over two seasons.

The premise of the show had Billy and Jimmy Lee separated from birth. When first meeting, they meet as adversaries, only to find out that they are long lost brothers. The two then unite to face the Shadow Boss. The show is dominated by magical themes - Such as magical swords and masks - Something very different from the actual game. This completely new direction could have been a contributing factor in why many DD fans shunned the show.

However, for those fans, there was a great line of toys produced. Seven figures and three vehicles encompass the whole line - None of which are all that difficult to track down these days.

FIGURES

Billy Lee*Blaster*Jimmy Lee*Vortex

FIGURES

Shadow Master*Sickle*Trigger Happy

VEHICLES

Cruiser

Cycle*Shadow Raven

Join us Friday, November 1st for a special announcement!

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Tickle Me Elmo (Tyco, Fisher-Price, Playskool and Mattel)

Tickle Me Elmo
Tyco, Fisher-Price, Playskool, and Mattel
1996 - 2013

There are few toys out there that make the world go crazy.  We're not just talking popular that people wanted to collect them, but rather those even rarer ones that people wanted so badly that they stood in line for hours, days, weeks, or longer, trampled other people to be one of the few who would get their hands on it, or worse, got into physical altercations over them.

Tickle Me Elmo will forever be that toy from 1996 that caused all of the above.  People so desperately wanted a Tickle Me Elmo doll for either themselves, or children for the 1996 Christmas season, and they went to great (sometimes illegal) lengths to get them.  But why?  What made Tickle Me Elmo so popular that overnight parents who had no clue about the doll suddenly "needed it?"

That credit, or blame, depending on how you look at it, starts with daytime television host Rosie O'Donnell who was sent one of the dolls by Tyco for her one year old son, and another two hundred dolls for the producers.  In an episode while recreating a stunt with the doll based on an original one performed by Groucho Marx, O'Donnell would throw a doll out into the audience whenever a guest would say the word "wall".  While this started the craze for the doll, it was later boosted even further when Bryant Gumble held one of the dolls throughout an entire episode of The Today Show.

When Black Friday hit in 1996, the dolls sold out across the Country in just less than two hours.  Tyco had originally produced 400,000 pieces, but quickly found they were struggling to keep up with supply vs. demand.  By Christmas over one million Tickle Me Elmo's were sold, and by the end of the following year that number had gone up to over five million.

Due to the high demand, places like eBay became a hot spot for the item.  A doll that sold for $29.99 was immediately selling for hundreds of dollars, and one jewelry shop was even reported as selling a diamond necklace and bracelet draped over the doll for one million dollars.  No follow up reports were ever given as to whether or not the doll sold.

When the holiday season died down in 1996, Tyco was able to slow their factories down, and focus on a firmer marketing plan for the doll.  Thus in 1997 the Tickle Me Elmo and Pal two pack was released.  The second doll didn't giggle and vibrate as Elmo did, and was only about half the size.  It was available with either Zoe or Cookie Monster.  While many people weren't so concerned with the additionally packed in plush doll at the time, today the "Pal" version of Elmo is much harder to find than the original.

In 1997, Tyco also attempted to find success with the Tickle Me versions of Ernie, Big Bird, Cookie Monster and Zoe.  While the dolls sold reasonably well, they never reached the success that the Elmo version found.  Though one could speculate that had the dolls been available during the 1996 holiday season they probably would have.

Worth noting is that today the Zoe doll is the most difficult to find and the ones that are typically don't come in their original packaging.

In 1997, Tyco was purchased by Mattel, and in 2001 Tickle Me Elmo was re-launched under their Fisher-Price banner as Tickle Me Elmo Surprise! - Though most collectors refer to it as the Fifth Anniversary Edition.  What made this particular doll sell well was the elaborate scheme...er...contest that was incorporated with it.  With its release was the announcement that on January 9, 2002, five of the dolls would stop laughing and announce that the person holding it was a winner.

The grand prize winner would receive a $200,000.00 check which could only be used towards the purchase of a new house, $60,000.00 in savings bonds for their child's future education, a new Volkswagen Beetle, a new PC, and Ride-On Battery Operated Volkswagen toy car for their child.  The four runners up would receive a brand new Volkswagen Bettle, a $40,000.00 savings bond for their child's future education, a new PC, and the battery operated Ride-On toy car.

While many people flocked to stores to purchase the dolls, others cried out over the selling point.  Peter Van der Linden, a Silicon Valley software consultant summed it up best by saying, "Christmas is traditionally a time of greed and this toy speaks directly to that tradition.  It subtly manipulates the parents to provide a toy for their child in the hope of some later benefit for them."

The grand prize winner would know they won because they would be greeted by Elmo saying, "Congratulations."  The four runner ups would receive a message that said, "You found it!"  For those who didn't win a prize, Elmo would instead introduce new play patterns.

In honor of Tickle Me Elmo's tenth anniversary, in 2006 Fisher-Price developed the T.M.X. (aka Tickle Me Extreme) Elmo.  It was released in three different waves - The first being with a "Top Secret" sticker, which is now the hardest and most expensive version to find on secondary markets.  The second was released with a parody "Warning" label, and the third had a "Try Me" sticker on it with a hole now incorporated into the packaging.

The T.M.X. version intrigued people enough that Tickle Me Elmo mania seemed to be coming back.  Most retail locations sold out of the doll, but due to the various online channels that have cropped up with the aging of the internet, it was still somewhat easy for most buyers to find the doll via sites such as Amazon, and to an extent, eBay.

Mattel also took the opportunity this year to combine Tickle Me Elmo with one of their hottest selling products - Barbie.  It's smart if you think about it.  If you have one product that people are crazy about, why not combine it with another product that other people are crazy about?  Sell twice the merchandise to both sides.  It was brilliant.

The twelve inch Barbie doll came decked out in a unique Elmo shirt and belt, and was packed with a very small Barbie sized Tickle Me Elmo, which even included the T.M.X. package.  It's actually really cool to see all the detail that went into this item.

Fisher-Price followed up in 2007 with a new Extra Special Edition which now came in a red box.  This edition boasted that it now included a song, and had hidden silly surprises to be found.

Fisher-Price also updated the original Tickle Me Ernie and Tickle Me Cookie Monster, releasing them in the all new T.M.X. packaging.  Due to lackluster sales the Big Bird and Zoe dolls never got the same treatment.

The last version available of Tickle Me Elmo came in a standard package which somewhat resembles the original Tyco packaging.  The doll also has a tag around its neck which states that it's THE original Tickle Me Elmo - Basically meaning that it doesn't have all the upgraded mechanics that came with the T.M.X. version.

To many the doll was too much of a step down from the T.M.X. version, and as a result really didn't sell as well as Fisher-Price had hoped.

If we had to speculate as to why this version of the doll was released, we would suggest that this was in response to Playskool releasing their own laughing Elmo doll...

...LOL Elmo.  This is technically the latest version of Tickle Me Elmo, and was released in 2012.  To date the LOL version hasn't been as popular as the Tickle Me version.  This could be because people don't associate the two dolls due to the name change.

Will Tickle Me Elmo ever see the success these days that it saw in 1996?  Probably not - Which is probably a good thing due to the numerous people injured, robbed, and maliciously beaten by people who wanted a doll.  For us, the doll stands as a page in history of the great absurd lengths that people will go to in order to get a toy for their child who will probably only play with it for a few months, then toss it aside for the next "best" thing they want.

Join us next time when we take a look at Talespin!

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Looney Tunes (Tyco)

Looney Tunes toys have been a childhood staple ever since Bugs Bunny first walked on the screen and said, "What's Up, Doc," in 1940 (the character was created in April of 1938, but didn't make his official appearance until July 27, 1940).

While you can find Looney Tunes merchandise of all kinds, action figure collectors have been a little more limited in options. While it's true that several variations of toys have been produced, most were simple one-shot figures, and not part of an actual series.

To find a series of figures, one can look to the 1994 series produced by Tyco toys. Small, hard to come by, yet relatively cheap, these five figures are fairly spot on renditions of their cartoon short counterparts - Though the accessories don't make all that much sense to the characters- such as Bugs Bunny's carrot launcher.

One of the best things to stand out from this series is the individuality of each package. Rather than just have a generic packaging for all the figures, each figure's package is specifically designed to coincide with the figure inside.

The series had great potential, but sadly never got the chance to thrive. Characters like Daffy Duck, Foghorn Leghorn, Porky Pig, Sylvester the Cat, and even more Looney Tunes characters than one could ever list would have made for an excellent second series and beyond. While it's disappointing that more figures weren't made, for Looney Tunes fans, this series is a must.

Join us next Monday for our look at Indie Spotlight: Comic Book Heroes!

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