The Roman Holidays
{{short description|American animated TV series}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image = romanholidays.jpg
| image_size = 250
| genre = Animated sitcom
| creator =
| voices = Dom DeLuise
Daws Butler
Pamelyn Ferdin
Stanley Livingston
Shirley Mitchell
Hal Smith
Dave Willock
| composer = Hoyt Curtin
| country = United States
| language = English
| num_seasons = 1
| num_episodes = 13
| first_aired = {{start date|1972|9|9}}
| last_aired = {{end date|1972|12|2}}
| executive_producer = William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
| company = Hanna-Barbera Productions
| channel = NBC
}}
The Roman Holidays is a half-hour Saturday morning animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on NBC from September 9 to December 2, 1972.{{cite book |last1=Woolery |first1=George W. |title=Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946–1981, Part 1: Animated Cartoon Series |date=1983 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=0-8108-1557-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/childrenstelevis0000wool/page/242/mode/2up |access-date=14 March 2020 |pages=243–244}} Reruns were later shown on the USA Cartoon Express during the 1980s, Cartoon Network during the 1990s and Boomerang during the 2000s.{{cite book |last1=Erickson |first1=Hal |title=Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 |date=2005 |edition=2nd |publisher=McFarland & Co |isbn=978-1476665993 |pages=687–688}}
The show was an attempt by Hanna-Barbera to replicate the success of their 1960-1966 show The Flintstones, with another modern family living in heavily fictionalized Roman times.{{cite book |last1=Perlmutter |first1=David |title=The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows |date=2018 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1538103739 |pages=517–518}} Thirteen episodes were produced. An Ancient Roman setting was one of the ideas that Hanna-Barbera considered when creating The Flintstones.{{cite book |last1=Erickson |first1=Hal |title=Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 |date=2005 |publisher=McFarland & Co |isbn=978-1476665993 |edition=2nd |page=336}}
Very similar in theme to both The Flintstones and The Jetsons, The Roman Holidays brought a look at the "marble age" life in Ancient Rome, as seen through the eyes of Augustus "Gus" Holiday and his family.{{cite book |last1=Sennett |first1=Ted |url=https://archive.org/details/artofhannabarber00teds/page/178/mode/2up |title=The Art of Hanna-Barbera: Fifty Years of Creativity |date=1989 |publisher=Studio |isbn=978-0670829781 |page=178 |access-date=2 June 2020}} The opening shows a chariot traffic jam and a TV, showing football on Channel "IV".
Plot
The Holidays, a Roman family living at the Venus DeMilo Arms Apartments in A.D. 63, deal with a variety of modern-day problems. Gus Holiday works at the Forum Construction Company for his demanding boss, Mr. Tycoonius, who is constantly threatening to fire Gus if an assignment he is given goes awry. He lives with his wife, Laurie, the children Precocia and Happius (Happy), and pet lion, Brutus. Their neighbors are good friends: Herman, Henrietta and their daughter, Groovia, Happy's girlfriend. Their lives are embittered by their exasperated landlord, Mr. Evictus, who: tries to find proof of Brutus living with the Holidays, has a daughter, named Snobbia, and excites Gus's tagline "Evictus will evict us !".{{cite book |last1=Hyatt |first1=Wesley |title=The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television |date=1997 |publisher=Watson-Guptill Publications |isbn=978-0823083152 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofda00hyat/page/362/mode/2up|access-date=19 March 2020|pages=363–364}}
Cast
- Dom DeLuise as Mr. Evictus
- Daws Butler as Brutus the Lion
- Pamelyn Ferdin as Precocia Holiday
- Stanley Livingston as Happius Holiday
- Shirley Mitchell as Laurie Holiday
- Harold Peary as Herman
- Hal Smith as Mr. Tycoonius
- John Stephenson
- Judy Strangis as Groovia
- Janet Waldo as Henrietta
- Dave Willock as Gus Holiday
Episodes
{{Episode table |background=#87051d |overall=6 |title=30 |airdate=20 |prodcode=10 |episodes=
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 1
| Title = Double Date
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1972|9|9}}
| ProdCode = 58-1
| ShortSummary = Mr. Evictus threatens to evict the Holiday family if they fail to fix up his daughter Snobbia with a date for the big high school dance.
| LineColor = 87051d
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 2
| Title = The Lion's Share
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1972|9|16}}
| ProdCode = 58-2
| ShortSummary = After Mr. Evictus threatens to evict the family for violating the "no pets" policy, Brutus runs away to find his long-lost father.
| LineColor = 87051d
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 3
| Title = Star For A Day
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1972|9|23}}
| ProdCode = 58-3
| ShortSummary = Hap turns out to be a look-alike for rock star Davey Cassius, so the two trade places for the day.
| LineColor = 87051d
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 4
| Title = Hero-Sandwiched
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1972|9|30}}
| ProdCode = 58-4
| ShortSummary = Gus struggles with his conscience when he's mistakenly honored as the hero who foiled a robbery.
| LineColor = 87051d
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 5
| Title = The Big Split-Up
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1972|10|7}}
| ProdCode = 58-5
| ShortSummary = When Groovia overhears Precocia setting up Brutus on a date, she thinks it's for Hap and breaks up with him.
| LineColor = 87051d
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 6
| Title = Hectic Holiday
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1972|10|14}}
| ProdCode = 58-6
| ShortSummary = The family finds an offer to trade houses with another family in Venice for a free vacation.
| LineColor = 87051d
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 7
| Title = Switch Is Which?
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1972|10|21}}
| ProdCode = 58-7
| ShortSummary = After Gus stays up all night working on architectural plans for a big client under the orders of Mr. Tycoonius, Laurie dons a fake mustache to fool the client into believing she's Gus.
| LineColor = 87051d
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 8
| Title = That's Show Biz
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1972|10|28}}
| ProdCode = 58-8
| ShortSummary = When the circus comes to town, Gus gets tickets from his old school chum Hammus Terrificus.
| LineColor = 87051d
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 9
| Title = Double Dilemma
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1972|11|4}}
| ProdCode = 58-9
| ShortSummary = When Precocia's drum performance conflicts with his bowling team's big match, Gus must find a way to be in two places at once.
Note: This episode is a re-working of The Flintstones episode "Fred Strikes Out", which originally aired on March 2, 1962. Also "The Jetsons" episode "Las Venus" aired on December 16. 1962.
| LineColor = 87051d
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 10
| Title = A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Chariot Wash
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1972|11|11}}
| ProdCode = 58-10
| ShortSummary = Mr. Tycoonius orders Gus to get his prized racing chariot washed, but the chariot is destroyed before Gus can return it.
| LineColor = 87051d
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 11
| Title = Buried Treasure
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1972|11|18}}
| ProdCode = 58-11
| ShortSummary = Gus believes a treasure map he's found at the bottom of some junk leads to a fortune buried under the apartment building.
| LineColor = 87051d
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 12
| Title = Cyrano De Happius
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1972|11|25}}||58-12
| ShortSummary = Hap tries to fix up his friend with a beautiful cheerleader, but the cheerleader falls for Hap and Groovia starts dating Hap's friend.
| LineColor = 87051d
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 13
| Title = Father Of The Year
| ShortSummary = Gus and Mr. Evictus compete in Rome's most prestigious competition, the Father of the Year awards.
| ProdCode = 58-13
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1972|12|2}}
| LineColor = 87051d
}}
}}
Comics
Gold Key produced a comic book based on the series from November 1972 to August 1973. Only four issues were published. Pete Alvarado drew the first three; Jack Manning drew the final issue.[http://www.toonopedia.com/romanhol.htm The Roman Holidays] at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. [https://archive.today/20240527133324/https://www.webcitation.org/6busHIEC4?url=http://toonopedia.com/romanhol.htm Archived] from the original on September 29, 2015.
Home media
The first episode, "Double Date", is available on the DVD Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1970s Volume 1. On April 23, 2013, Warner Archive released The Roman Holidays: The Complete Series on DVD in region 1 as part of their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection. This is a manufacture-on-demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.{{cite web|title=The Roman Holidays|url=http://www.wbshop.com/product/code/1000405411.do?promo=sliderROMANhome}}
Appearances in other media
Manatee versions of the characters Laurie and Precocia Holiday and Mr. Tycoonius appear as sirens in the Jellystone! episode "Balloon Kids". The rap song in the episode features a reference to the year the series was originally released (1972). Gus and Laurie Holliday and their lion Brutus appeared in a season three episode "Spy Thriller" as characters in a Secret Squirrel film.
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- {{IMDb title|0068125}}
- [https://archive.today/20120720214918/http://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Hanna-Barbera_Studios/P-R/The_Roman_Holidays/ Episode Guide]
{{Hanna-Barbera}}
{{Children's programming on NBC in the 1970s}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Holidays, The}}
Category:1970s American animated comedy television series
Category:1970s American children's comedy television series
Category:1970s American sitcoms
Category:1972 American animated television series debuts
Category:1973 American television series endings
Category:American animated sitcoms
Category:American children's animated comedy television series
Category:American children's television sitcoms
Category:American English-language television shows
Category:Works set in ancient Rome
Category:Television shows adapted into comics
Category:Television series by Hanna-Barbera