Faerie Tale Theatre (Season 3)

This third season of Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre is a big one, fully in stride with some brilliant casting.

“Goldilocks and the Three Bears” is a hilarious twist on the ol’ tale, with the perfectly bratty Tatum O’Neal as Goldilocks, the brilliant John Lithgow as Goldilocks’ Father, the also-brilliant Carole King as Goldilocks’ Mother, Hoyt Axton as the Forest Ranger, Alex Karras as Papa Bear, Brandis Kemp as Mama Bear, and Donovan Scott as Cubby Bear. Say whaaaaa…?

“The Princess and the Pea” more than meets the superstar challenge with the legendary Liza Minnelli as Princess Alecia. She’s supported by Tom Conti as Prince Richard, Beatrice Straight as Queen Veronica, Pat McCormick as King Fredrico, Tim Kazurinsky as the Fool, and Nancy Allen as Princess Elizabeth.

My personal favorite is next: “Pinocchio,” which boasts one of the greatest casting decisions in the history of television: Paul Reubens as the best Pinocchio ever, only to be equaled by… wait for it… Carl Reiner as his adoptive dad, Gepetto, The two of them take the art of bad Italian accents to new artistic heights. We’re not done, though: Lainie Kazan is Sofia the Blue Fairy, James Coburn plays a great mean Gypsy, Jim Belushi bullies his way as Mario, Michael Richards plays Vince, and- last but certainly not least- the great 80’s character actor, Vincent Schiavelli, lends a legitimate Italian air to the show as the Priest. It’s comedy brilliance!

It’s hard to top that one, but “Thumbelina” gives it the ol’ college try by putting Princess Leia in the lead role. There’s also William Katt as the Flower Prince, Burgess Meredith as Mr. Mortimer Mole, Donovan Scott as Herman Toad, and Conchata Ferrell as Thumbelina’s Mother.

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” is next, with the beautiful and fair Elizabeth McGovern as Snow White. Vanessa Redgrave is perfect as the Evil Queen, and Vincent Price is even more perfect as the wisecracking Magic Mirror. Let’s not forget our seven dwarves: Lou Carry, Tony Cox, Billy Curtis, Phil Fondacaro Daniel Frishman, Peter Risch and Kevin Thompson. Oh yeah- Rex Smith is the Prince.

“Beauty and the Beast” makes the ballsy move of casting Susan Sarandon as Beauty and Klaus Kinski as the Beast. Now THAT’S some steamy genius! There’s also Stephen Elliott as Beauty’s Father, and Nancy Lenehan & Anjelica Huston as Beauty’s sisters.

Finally, we have a lesser known tale that’s actually one of the strongest shows of the series: “The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers” stars Peter MacNicol as Martin, Dana Hill as Princess Amanda, Christopher Lee as King Vladimir V, David Warner as Zandor the Innkeeper, Jack Riley as the Deacon, and Frank Zappa as Atilla. That’s right- Frank Zappa! And it’s even narrated by Vincent Price- don’t miss it!