Our Gang

Our Gang is an American series of comedy shorts about an ever-changing group of childhood friends and their adventures. The series was produced from 1922 until 1944. The series' theme song was "The Good Old Days" and is highly-recognizable.

The series was created by filmmaker Hal Roach, who sold the franchise to MGM in 1938. When re-releasing his shorts to theaters and repackaging them for television, Roach used the title The Little Rascals, which became the series' best-known title. MGM continued to produce new Our Gang shorts without Roach until the series ended in 1944.

Over forty child actors were featured in the series over the years. The most popular stars were George McFarland (as Spanky), Carl Switzer (as Alfalfa), Darla Hood (as Darla), and William Thomas (as Buckwheat).

In 1982, an animated Little Rascals series debuted. A feature film recreating the classic characters was produced in 1994 with a straight-to-video prequel released in 2014. The series and its characters remain in the popular consciousness and have been referenced on The Simpsons and Saturday Night Live (most notably with Eddie Murphy as Buckwheat and Mary Gross as Alfalfa).

Our Gang Actors in MST3K films

• The Mad Monster
  • Mae Busch
  • Johnny Downs
  • George Zucco
• Lost Continent
  • Hugh Beaumont
• Manhunt in Space and Crash of Moons
  • Scotty Beckett
  • Maurice Cass

References in MST3K

• #K16 - City on Fire - Joel winds up with a black ring around his eye, and Servo tells him he "looks like Petey" (the Our Gang dog).
• #105 - The Corpse Vanishes - The music in the film is referred to at least twice as "The Little Rascals" music, and at one point is dubbed "Laurel and Hardy" music (another Hal Roach production).
• #203 - Jungle Goddess - Towards the end of the film, one of the main characters discusses a farm that he plans to buy. He intends to have "alfalfa" and "wheat." Servo adds the names of other Rascals "Stymie," "Spanky," and "Farina" to his list.
• #311 - It Conquered the World - During the opening of the short, "Snow Thrills," Servo comments, "Hal Roach presents an Our Gang comedy.
• #505 - The Magic Voyage of Sinbad - One scene in the film features a young boy and an elderly man, both of whom bear a resemblance to former Rascal Jackie Cooper. Crow takes note of this by stating, "The two stages of Jackie Cooper: young, old."
• #507 - I Accuse My Parents - During the movie's opening credits, Joel comments, "Music by the Little Rascals."
• #515 - The Wild Wild World of Batwoman - In the short, "Cheating," one character waits for a phone call in a dark room, and Servo quips, "For depressing phone sex, dial 1-900-ALFALFA."
• #521 - Santa Claus - In one scene, three boys are seen sitting on a curb, and Crow begins humming the Our Gang theme. Later, when Santa spots the three boys, he exclaims "There you are, you little rascals." and Servo hums the tune again.
• #813 - Jack Frost - In one scene, Marfushka is dressed in rather hideous make-up. Crow quips that it's "Alfalfa's greatest role!".
• #819 - Invasion of the Neptune Men - The opening titles feature upbeat music weirdly similar to Our Gang theme. Mike remarks it "sounds like the Little Rascals are going to be in this."