Boat Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch

"Droodles" was a fad-type show on early TV that made a big splash creating ripples that quickly dissipated. I was eleven when it aired on our l7-inch tube in 1954 and for a few months it was the talk of the neighborhood. I even sent in some droodles that were never used. At the end of the show a no-name droodle was spotlighted. Viewers were asked to put a caption to it. If chosen, the sender received $l00. I participated in this part of the program too but mine were never picked.

Droodles were lines on a piece of paper (on TV, a cue card or idiot card as it was called in those bygone days). The droodle might look like this :||: The caption could read, "A bear climbing up the other side of a tree." One of the most famous droodles used on the program was entitled, "Boat Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch."

The show was hosted by Roger Price, a comedy writer, who resembled the ubiquitous game show host of the day, Bill Cullen, then in charge of the popular "Name That Tune." Price with his partner, Leonard Stern, had turned droodles into an extremely lucrative business enterprise. Author of the best sellers, "Droodles" and "Classic Droodles," Price was much in demand by TV executives, who themselves saw droodles that looked like this $$.

There were three regular panelists, playwright Marc Connelly (author of "Green Pastures"), actress Denise Lor ("The Garry Moore Show"), and funny man Carl Reiner ("Your Show of Shows"), attempting to guess the captions for droodles submitted by home viewers or by Roger Price himself. If the droodle presented by a viewer stumped the panelists then the drawer received a prize. There would be a guest panelist each week signing in by drawing his/her own droodle. The three regulars tried to guess the caption before the guest was seated on the panel. I recall vividly Carl Reiner and Denise Lor. Marc Connelly is rather hazy for me now.

The family genre features stories specifically created to be suitable for a wide range of age groups within a family. Family-oriented content is designed to be enjoyed by both children and adults, often providing entertainment that is wholesome, relatable, and appropriate for all members of a family to watch or experience together.

Drew Barrymore and Pat Welsh in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

The game show genre features TV series with contestants competing against each other in various challenges, tasks, or quizzes to win prizes or rewards. Game shows are designed to engage viewers by presenting exciting and often competitive scenarios that involve participants using their knowledge, skills, and strategies to outperform their opponents and win.

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Panelists try to guess the titles of "droodles".

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