Chun King Chow Mein Hour (1962 TV Special) User Reviews

A Stan Freberg gem but of a different era

[rctimms · 10/10 · 12 July 2014]

I watched the Chun King Chow Mein Hour as a grade school child. It aired on ABC. Today, were someone to produce this show, ABC would not likely air it, due to what we (today) would call ethnic insensitivities. But one should not judge one era by another's standards.

What I enjoy about the show is the classic Freberg approach, applying satire to the events and media of the day. His "Simg Along With Freeb" is hilarious...if you remember "Sing Along With Mitch" If not, it's just silliness.

I'm also impressed with the cameos by the stars of the day.

I was fortunate enough to acquire a copy of the show on VHS several years ago. I don't know that any digital media exist. I'd buy a DVD if there were a legal one. But, being Freberg-addicted, that's true of any video of his.

So strange and surreal...it's pretty hard to explain!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 26 May 2024]

"Chun King Chow Mein Hour" is one of the strangest, if not the strangest, TV specials of all time. It's very surreal and bizarre...and essentially is one giant strange commercial for Chun King products...nasty Chinese-ish food that came in cans or frozen TV dinners. But it follows no known format...and just is a strange stream of consciousness.

FIrst off, it took a while until the show started and the star, Stan Freberg, eventually walks into a giant TV set and the show begins. Following this, there are some odd celebrity cameos, a parody of the "Mitch Miller Show", a strange celebration of Chinese New Year, a panel show, a long (and historically incorrect) cartoon about the purchase of Manhattan in the 17th century, a puppet, and a show about flower arranging with heavy Mike Mazurki. It's all very frenetic and odd....and I think it best you just go to YouTube to find it and see it for yourself.