Two things that nobody seems to know but me - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

tBrittReid · 07-13-2001, 12:30 AM

I just discovered this message board. While I am not one of MFM's biggest fans, I have enjoyed it in my time. This includes watching the original CBS run as a child, syndicated reruns in the next few years thereafter, and watching it one last time on TNT cable in the early nineties. There are two facts about this series that no reference source gets right. I convinced the Internet Movie Database at www.imdb.com to correct one, but to submit the other one to them requires a piece of information I do not possess. We'll start with that since the other is something of a shocker. There was one regular cast member who has been forgotten. Near the end of the run, another Martian joined the O'Hara household: Martin's REAL nephew, Andromeda, called Andy for short. The problem is that I have no idea of the identity of the young actor who played the boy, or the exact point at which he joined. The episode titled "When You Get Back Home To Mars, Are You Going To Get It" (or something like that) would seem to feature such a Martian child, but is it his first appearance? As for the other point--and hold on to your hats!--Mrs. Brown's first name was not Lorelei, not in any episode (with the possible exception of the pilot)! It was in fact given--on the rare occasions that it came up--as Laura Lee. I've always known that it was that early on, but would have conceded that it was changed to Lorelei by the last, color season, until the aforementioned TNT cablecasts, where I was surprised to see that it never did so. A long email--speculating that an early reviewer miunderstood the name or, while writing his review, misread the notes he had scrawled hastily during the screening (remember, this was the 1960s, without home video, so our reviewer watched it either in a theater-like screening room, or right off the air, no freeze-frame, no rewinding, etc.) and had his mistake parrotted by all subsequent researchers--convinced the IMDB, as mentioned earlier, to post the correct name in their listing for this series. I now realize that it is possible that she was called Lorelei in the pilot, as it is not unusual for things like that to be changed between pilot and subsequent series. Does anyone out there own a tape of the pilot that they can review and see what first name, if any, Mrs. Brown is given there, and does anybody have that set of last season videos where they can find the name of the actor who played "Andy," when he first appeared, and how many episodes he did? Thank you.

jharison · 07-15-2001, 12:48 PM

The role of Andromeda was played by child actor Wayne Stam. The episode he was in was televised only once, Feb 27, 1966 and it had been written to serve as an introduction to the 4th season. But CBS rejected that idea and cancelled the series about the same time. So it is incorrect to say that the character was a regular cast member in the filmed series. That episode was never rerun on CBS in 1966. However, the character of a teenage Andromeda was added to the cast of the MFM cartoon series in 1973.

As for Mrs. Brown’s first name, the spelling for it is actually Loralee because this is how it appears in all the typed scripts for the series. But in the MFM comics and in the newspapers her name was spelled Lorelei (which can be pronounced as “Lau-ra-lie” with a long I last syllable.) Perhaps that is the source of confusion. But no, the pronunciation of her name from first season on was always Loralee.

Additional information about the series can be found on my website:
http://members.tripod.com/~jhh_2/TVMFM.htm

tBrittReid · 07-15-2001, 10:48 PM

So Wayne Stam played Andy "Andromeda" O'Hara, and in only one episode. Thanks. As for Mrs. Brown's first name, if Loralei is what's in the scripts, then that's what's in the scripts. But the pronumciation was definitely "Laura," not "Lora." This jumped out at me, even way back then, because my mother's first name is Laura Lee.

Pam 140 · 08-02-2003, 01:24 PM

I have been trying for several years to get a copy of that episode. Oddly enough, even though I was only 7 years old at the time when I saw it, I have a clear memory of a child in the school classroom standing up and pointing and shouting something like "That kid is a martian!" Of all the episodes and of all the kids in that classroom, for some reason I remembered him. 12 years later I married him! Does anyone know where I could get a copy of this episode for him and also my kids? I think it would be a hoot to see it again and I have not been able to catch it the times they have been runing the series.

jharison · 08-06-2003, 09:56 PM

That color episode is available on the Rhino Video's box set of MFM's third season

07-13-2001, 12:30 AM	#1
tBrittReid Member Forum Cub Join Date: Jul 12, 2001 Location: Dallas, Tx., USA Posts: 2	Two things that nobody seems to know but me I just discovered this message board. While I am not one of MFM's biggest fans, I have enjoyed it in my time. This includes watching the original CBS run as a child, syndicated reruns in the next few years thereafter, and watching it one last time on TNT cable in the early nineties. There are two facts about this series that no reference source gets right. I convinced the Internet Movie Database at www.imdb.com to correct one, but to submit the other one to them requires a piece of information I do not possess. We'll start with that since the other is something of a shocker. There was one regular cast member who has been forgotten. Near the end of the run, another Martian joined the O'Hara household: Martin's REAL nephew, Andromeda, called Andy for short. The problem is that I have no idea of the identity of the young actor who played the boy, or the exact point at which he joined. The episode titled "When You Get Back Home To Mars, Are You Going To Get It" (or something like that) would seem to feature such a Martian child, but is it his first appearance? As for the other point--and hold on to your hats!--Mrs. Brown's first name was not Lorelei, not in any episode (with the possible exception of the pilot)! It was in fact given--on the rare occasions that it came up--as Laura Lee. I've always known that it was that early on, but would have conceded that it was changed to Lorelei by the last, color season, until the aforementioned TNT cablecasts, where I was surprised to see that it never did so. A long email--speculating that an early reviewer miunderstood the name or, while writing his review, misread the notes he had scrawled hastily during the screening (remember, this was the 1960s, without home video, so our reviewer watched it either in a theater-like screening room, or right off the air, no freeze-frame, no rewinding, etc.) and had his mistake parrotted by all subsequent researchers--convinced the IMDB, as mentioned earlier, to post the correct name in their listing for this series. I now realize that it is possible that she was called Lorelei in the pilot, as it is not unusual for things like that to be changed between pilot and subsequent series. Does anyone out there own a tape of the pilot that they can review and see what first name, if any, Mrs. Brown is given there, and does anybody have that set of last season videos where they can find the name of the actor who played "Andy," when he first appeared, and how many episodes he did? Thank you.

08-02-2003, 01:24 PM	#4
Pam 140 Member Forum Cub Join Date: Aug 02, 2003 Posts: 2	My ex husband was in that episode! I have been trying for several years to get a copy of that episode. Oddly enough, even though I was only 7 years old at the time when I saw it, I have a clear memory of a child in the school classroom standing up and pointing and shouting something like "That kid is a martian!" Of all the episodes and of all the kids in that classroom, for some reason I remembered him. 12 years later I married him! Does anyone know where I could get a copy of this episode for him and also my kids? I think it would be a hoot to see it again and I have not been able to catch it the times they have been runing the series.

07-15-2001, 12:48 PM	#2
jharison Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 25, 2000 Posts: 95	The role of Andromeda was played by child actor Wayne Stam. The episode he was in was televised only once, Feb 27, 1966 and it had been written to serve as an introduction to the 4th season. But CBS rejected that idea and cancelled the series about the same time. So it is incorrect to say that the character was a regular cast member in the filmed series. That episode was never rerun on CBS in 1966. However, the character of a teenage Andromeda was added to the cast of the MFM cartoon series in 1973. As for Mrs. Brown’s first name, the spelling for it is actually Loralee because this is how it appears in all the typed scripts for the series. But in the MFM comics and in the newspapers her name was spelled Lorelei (which can be pronounced as “Lau-ra-lie” with a long I last syllable.) Perhaps that is the source of confusion. But no, the pronunciation of her name from first season on was always Loralee. Additional information about the series can be found on my website: http://members.tripod.com/~jhh_2/TVMFM.htm

07-15-2001, 10:48 PM	#3
tBrittReid Member Forum Cub Join Date: Jul 12, 2001 Location: Dallas, Tx., USA Posts: 2	So Wayne Stam played Andy "Andromeda" O'Hara, and in only one episode. Thanks. As for Mrs. Brown's first name, if Loralei is what's in the scripts, then that's what's in the scripts. But the pronumciation was definitely "Laura," not "Lora." This jumped out at me, even way back then, because my mother's first name is Laura Lee.

08-06-2003, 09:56 PM	#5
jharison Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Sep 25, 2000 Posts: 95	That color episode is available on the Rhino Video's box set of MFM's third season