Let’s discuss “Jem”

It's truly outrageous. Truly, truly, truly outrageous.

SYNERGY!

I preferred Jiz

My aunt Ullanda McCullough was a member of this show's chorus. Meaning, she provided background vocals on most of the tunes, including the theme. My brother & I loved the show as kids & were under the false impression that Aunt Ullanda was the voice of Jem. But that distinction belongs to Britta Phillips.

In addition to her work on Jem, Ullanda McCullough was a top NYC session vocalist in the 70s & 80s. Countless commercials & background singing spots on hundreds of recordings. She even found time to release several albums/singles of her own.....

I thought this thread was going to be about Phillip Alford.

I watched H.R. Pufnstuf and the Banana Splits in the 70s, I swear the Krofft brothers and their writers were on some serious drugs.

Garbage tv

I loved it

[quote] My brother & I loved the show as kids & were under the false impression that Aunt Ullanda was the voice of Jem. But that distinction belongs to Britta Phillips.

Britt’s was only the singing voice.

Nonsense R9. Britta was the LEAD singing voice on most songs. But there was a band of studio musicians (including Ullanda McCullough) behind her providing background vocals.

A simple Google search would have shown you that you're wrong.

R9, Britta was the singing voice, not Jem’s speaking voice.

Correct R11. And Britta wasn't even the only singing voice on the show. I'm not sure why R9 would attempt to correct me without having any idea what she's talking about?

One of the show's song writers, Dr. Clifford Kinder, quit show biz to go to medical school to help fight AIDS.

Today, he is an HIV/AIDS specialist and Director of Research for the Southern Bureau in Miami, Florida. He has participated in researching most of the anti-retrovirals which have been studied for the past 18 years.

Truly outrageous!

It was the '80s, man. Times were different then.

It was all about the toy marketing

Unfortunately, my partner knows every single word to every single song on the show.

I don’t know why this is the case when he did not have a VCR to record it. And he can remember something from 20+ years ago, but he cannot remember to take out the garbage. Funny how life works.

R12, you made it sound like Britta was the voice of Jem when she was only 1/2 of it.

The Jem theme song is a banger though.

Why did they change the theme song halfway through the series to the lame one?

R17, so I didn't drill home the fact that their were two Jems. A "singing Jem" (Britta Phillips) who sang the musical numbers. And another Jem (voiced by another actress) that handled all dialogue. That has nothing to do with the nonsense you wrote at R9, when you stated that Britta voiced everything.

Ma'am , why are you so HELL BENT on hijacking a fun subject with your "corrections", when it's obvious you have no idea what you're speaking about?

My little brother's then fiancée and all her adult female friends were into it. She tried to get me, the gay future brother-in-law, into it and it wasn't bad, I could see the appeal as a guilty pleasure so I indulged her in the interest of family bonding. But my brother teased her relentlessly about it. Everything she liked that he didn't became "truly truly TRULY outrageous"

Needless to say the marriage never came to be. Nice girl. I blame Jem and my brother's flatulence

R20, calm the fuck down. Jesus.

The film they did a few years ago was dreadful. This is the thing about these shows trying to be rebooted, they don’t understand the initial appeal, they don’t understand camp. The dreadfulness made it endearing. You can’t update it. Keep it set in the 80s and make it gaudy as hell. It’s like trying to do a darker more adult version of the Power Rangers. That wasn’t the appeal. The appeal was the bad acting and dubbing.

This was the show with The Misfits, wasn't it? I don't remember anything else about it.

We are the Misfits

Our songs are better

We are the Misfits

We're gonna get her!

I believe in its original conception Jem was to be voiced by Bonnie Franklin who would both voice both singing and speaking Jem/Jerrica.

Some of the animation during the songs was really interesting in a way that we didn't really get to see otherwise in the 80s.

There was a Broadway-style parody of JEM a couple years back. But JEM is perfect for a MAMMA MIA-style Broadway/West End show: get some pop writers to write basically 2 greatest hits albums and let fly.

R27...

A little Broadway Magic!

Remember that weird episode where Jem thinks Synergy is her mom?

Yep.

The obviously animated to a real person dancing for the opening. It’s pretty amazing animation.

Rio is hot af.

Tell me about it.