My recent blog post about the short-lived General Mills cereal mascots Sir Grapefellow and Baron Von Redberry reminded me that – even though I covered the five Monster Cereals from General Mills in 2021 – I had neglected to cover the four new Monster Cereal mascots that General Mills contemplated using in the late 1990s. (Carmella Creeper didn’t come along until 2023.)
This post will remedy that by examining the proposed mascots for what would have been GM’s new cereal flavored like raspberry mixed with hints of other berries.
BRIDE OF FRANKENBERRY
Monster Model: Elsa Lanchester as the Bride of Frankenstein
Comment: Okay, Count Chocula, Frankenberry, Boo-Berry, Fruit Brute and Yummy Mummy were long overdue for a female mascot to join their ranks.
Personally, I feel that Yummy Mummy should have been female, and that way Bride of Frankenberry would have been a second distaff addition, but what can ya do?
Downside: Bland, not very monstrous appearance. Fan art (see below) of a spicier version of the Bride made her more monstrous but did nothing to combat the fact that she was basically just a retread. Continue reading
ADVENTURES IN RAINBOW COUNTRY (1970-1971) – This forgotten Canadian series starred LOIS MAXWELL herself as Nancy Williams, a widowed single mother raising her teenage son and daughter in a home on Lake Huron in the late 1960s. 
STANDOUT EPISODES: 
JOHN CARPENTER’S CANCELED 1988 REMAKE OF THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON: IN-DEPTH SCRIPT REVIEW – The internet is crawling with all manner of scripts for movies that didn’t get made, but this is the first time I’m mentioning one. That’s because I feel this one could have been a hit. Maybe not a cash cow but a solid hit. 
At this point the term “Lovecraftian” has been incredibly overused but let’s face it, that atmosphere is needed to breathe new life into this long-dormant franchise. Lovecraft’s tales of Dagon and Innsmouth and the underwater ruins in The Temple would fit this franchise like a glove. 
CUCUMBER CASTLE (1970) – Eight years before the Bee Gees embarrassed themselves on the big screen with a horrible movie forcing a storyline to the Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band they embarrassed themselves on the small screen forcing a storyline to their own album Cucumber Castle. 
Cucumber Castle is so awful that not being in it was presumably brother Robin Gibb’s greatest professional triumph. He had recently left the Bee Gees in a huff to try a solo career, and little Andy Gibb was only twelve years old, so Barry and Maurice, who also produced, were left holding the 
THE Nth MAN (1920 – 1924?) – Written by Homer Eon Flint, who died in 1924. Though this short novel was not published until 1928 many fans of the author argue that it was actually written in 1920. 
Time for another look back at a clash of cereal mascots. Previously, Balladeer’s Blog covered 
General Mills tried replicating their Monster Cereal success with a pair of cartoon World War One flying aces as mascots for two new cereals. Sir Grapefellow was a stiff upper lip British fighter pilot whose cereal featured oats and grape-flavored marshmallows called Starbits. Baron Von Redberry, clearly based on Germany’s Red Baron, represented a cereal with oats and berry-flavored marshmallows/ Starbits.
CLOSE CALL FOR NUMBER ONE – The nation’s number one team – the NORTH AMERICAN UNIVERSITY STALLIONS – clashed with the visiting TEXAS A&M AT TEXARKANA EAGLES (should be Texarks). The 1st Half ended with the Stallions on top 37-29 but Texarkana was ready for a comeback. Their rally fell short as NAU held on to win 74-71. Jayden Jackson led the Stallions with 23 points, while teammate Joseph Cormier got a Double Double of 11 points and 12 rebounds. 
CENTURY CLUB – Teams scoring 100 or more points in Regulation: The (6) NEWPORT NEWS APPRENTICE SCHOOL BUILDERS (Shipbuilders) obliterated the CENTRAL INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE CARDINALS 121-65 ### The BLOOMFIELD COLLEGE BEARS won 110-108 at the BRYANT & STRATTON COLLEGE (Albany) BOBCATS ### And the (10) PAUL QUINN COLLEGE TIGERS mauled the WILEY UNIVERSITY WILDCATS 107-53. 
SPIDER-MAN Vol 1 #50 (Jul 1967) 
Over the next few weeks, the crime rate in New York City skyrockets with no Spider-Man getting in the way of villainy and only Daredevil fighting street-level wrongdoing. Our hero’s absence is noted in criminal circles, inspiring the Kingpin to at last operate openly. 
THE GHOST GOES GEAR (1966) – Okay, how could anyone resist a film that features a song titled Show Me Your English Teeth? This movie was the Spencer Davis Group’s addition to all the imitation Help! flicks from the 1960s as so many British bands tried to replicate the Beatles’ big screen success but fell below even some of the worst Monkees episodes in quality. 
For those readers not familiar with them, the Spencer Davis Group was made up of THE Steve Winwood, his brother Muff Winwood (but not his sister Dick Winwood), Pete York and of course Spencer Davis. 
Balladeer's Blog 