Cool finds from The Hardy Boys cartoon and '70s show

[VLoneWolf]

Why is Nancy Drew called Alice?

[MacGyver]

Nancy Drew is called Alice Roy in France, but she's also called other names in other countries. Sometimes it is just because of some quirk on the part of the publishers where they decided that some other name sounds better than the one the character is known by throughout the world. From what I have read, I believe the reason for the name change in France is because "Nancy" is slang in some countries for something bad of a sexual nature. (I am not totally sure exactly what, but that is the explanation I have read.) And in some cases, the name is changed just because a particular culture and language may not have that name as a common name and so the publisher may decide that the books won't sell well there with that name- or it could just be because the name is hard or nigh impossible to pronounce in that language.

[MacGyver]

Here's a 1981 promo for reruns of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries on a local channel somewhere.

[tomswift2002]

With Alice Roy, I believe Nancy's name was changed to that because Nancy is the name of a heavily polluted river in France.

[MacGyver]

Okay- interesting. I hadn't heard that before.

[MacGyver]

[MacGyver]

The above ad is for a 1977 ABC Saturday morning cartoon schedule preview special, which featured Parker Stevenson and Shaun Cassidy and Pamela Sue Martin as Frank, Joe and Nancy, respectively. (I believe I have posted somewhere here before a separate special that Parker and Shaun appear as Frank and Joe Hardy in to promote the second season of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries as well, and the Fall 1977 ABC preview too, but I haven't seen this one before. So now I will be curious to track this one down to watch their appearances.)

[MacGyver]

Whoa! Here's a pretty cool collectible for The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. The Electric Company Magazine featured Frank, Joe and Nancy on the cover (with an illustration based on their portrayals by Parker Stevenson, Shaun Cassidy and Pamela Sue Martin, respectively) of the October 1977 issue! Cool drawing! (And doubly cool for me as a fan of The Electric Company and its parent show- Sesame Street- and of course, Jim Henson and all his Muppets creations in general.)
(And hey!- it's also an issue that features a Spidey Super Story! [As fans may know, a live action Spider-Man appeared on The Electric Company on the original 1970s show. And I guess to balance out the Marvel Comics portion, DC Comics got represented as well with a live action appearance of Blue Beetle!])

[VLoneWolf]

Did the magazine really have secrets about The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew?

[MacGyver]

Probably secrets about the making of the 1970s TV show based on The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.
I don't know what all else the magazine may have covered- I don't have a copy of this, but I'd love to track one down.

[MacGyver]

Well, I managed to find a quick look at this issue online from a Halloween blog (so the only scans there are of suggestions for alternative jack-o-lanterns for Halloween rather than a pumpkin.)

[MacGyver]

This is a pretty rare find- a Hardy Boys watch released in conjunction with the '70s show. A Nancy Drew watch was also released.

[MacGyver]

Here's the Nancy Drew watch.


Read more (and see more pictures) of both watches here.

[MacGyver]

I've posted a picture of this before, but I ran across a picture that actually shows the box open and components inside, so here's another look at The Hardy Boys' Van Model Kit, based on The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries.

[MacGyver]

I can't remember if I've posted this one before, but here's another Hardy Boys puzzle released in conjunction with the '70s show.