YOGI'S TREASURE HUNT

 

YOGI’S TREASURE HUNT
(Syndication, September 6, 1985-March 25, 1988)
 
Hanna-Barbera Productions

  

For the history of Yogi Bear, check out the post here.

        Yogi’s Treasure Hunt was the fifth entry in the Hanna-Barbera’s Yogi Bear franchise, and his third headlining an ensemble program. As with his previous series, Yogi’s Gang, Yogi (Daws Butler) and his friends—Ranger Smith, Boo-Boo Bear (both Don Messick), Huckleberry Hound, Quick Draw McGraw, Snagglepuss, Snooper, Blabber, Augie Doggie (all Butler) and Doggie Daddy (John Stephenson)—were once again on a flying ship, the S.S. Jelly Roger (a Jellystone-inspired play on Jolly Roger), travelling around the world. This time, however, they were sent on treasure hunts by Top Cat (Arnold Stang) who provided them riddles and cryptic clues to lead the way. However, they were often in an unknown race against Dick Dastardly (Paul Winchell) and Muttley (Messick) using their usual dirty tricks to try and get the treasure first on their own ship, the S.S. Dirty Tricks. This premise was similar to the Popeye’s Treasure Hunt segments of Hanna-Barbera’s earlier The All-New Popeye Hour.

Top Cat giving Yogi and his gang their next clue.

          Yogi’s Treasure Hunt debuted on September 6, 1985, running as part of the syndicated programming block The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbra. In fact, its working title was The Funtastic Treasure Hunt as an extension of Hanna-Barbera’s “fantastic” branding, and remained the title of the series’ theme performed by Jon “Bowzer” Bauman from Sha-Na-Na and the “Funtastic Singers”. This would be Butler’s final show voicing his characters for the studio as he would die in May of 1988 (the television films The Good, the Bad and Huckleberry Hound would air that month and Yogi and the Invasion of the Space Bears later that year). Reruns of the series would air on USA Cartoon Express before moving to Cartoon Network from 1993-99. In 2024, it would join the rotating line-up of Yogi cartoon on retro animation network MeTV Toons.

THE TOM AND JERRY COMEDY SHOW

 

THE TOM AND JERRY COMEDY SHOW
(CBS, September 6-December 13, 1980)
 
Filmation Associates, MGM Television

 

 

MAIN CAST:

Frank Welker – Spike, Tyke (episodes 1-6), Droopy, Slick Wolf (episodes 1-6, 12, 14), Tuffy (episodes 1-2, 8), Barney Bear (episodes 1-6, 8), various

Lou Scheimer – Tom Cat, Jerry Mouse, Spike (episodes 6-15), Tuffy, Slick Wolf (episodes 7-15), Barney Bear (episode 4, 7-15), opening announcer, various

 

For the history of Tom and Jerry, check out the post here.

 

            Following Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s displeasure with Hanna-Barbera’s attempts to bring new Tom and Jerry cartoons to television with The Tom and Jerry Show, they decided to give their chief rival, Filmation, a shot.

Promotional artwork of Tom and Jerry.

            Hanna-Barbera’s previous effort sought to subvert television restrictions on violence by making Tom and Jerry friends. Filmation decided to restore the more adversarial nature of the property; but rather than enemies, they were simply rivals always competing against each other. They also got rid of the bowtie Hanna-Barbera added to Jerry in order to section off his head for their animation style and restored the element of slapstick comedy. Bulldog father and son Spike and Tyke also returned to give the pair additional foils. Occasionally, another Tom and Jerry character would make an appearance: the diaper-wearing orphan mouse Nibbles (renamed “Tuffy” here), who first appeared in the 1946 short, The Milky Waif.

Droopy going to work with Spike.

            Filmation decided to load up the show with additional MGM properties. Sandwiched between two Tom and Jerry story segments was a Droopy segment. Droopy was a lethargic and depressed-sounding Basset Hound created by Tex Avery for the 1943 short, Dumb-Hounded (although he went unnamed on screen until his 5^th short, 1949’s Señor Droopy). His voice and personality were modeled after the character Wallace Wimple from the radio program Fibber Mcgee and Molly, and was initially portrayed by Wimple’s actor Bill Thompson before and after serving in World War II. Droopy’s demeanor and size hid a great strength, which was often utilized as a recurring gag for whenever he got upset (well, upset for him) or easily moved an obstacle out of his way. Like other characters of the era, Droopy was often featured in a variety of scenarios and occupations. He appeared in 24 shorts until MGM shut down their cartoon division in 1957, with his last one shown in 1958.

Slick Wolf up to his old tricks against Droopy.

            Another featured Avery creation was the villainous Slick Wolf, who had undergone several different names over his career: Big Bad Wolf, Adolf Wolf, Wally Wolf and McWolf. He made his debut in 1942’s Blitz Wolf—Avery’s first for MGM—in a WWII-influenced retelling of The Three Little Pigs. His most memorable short was most likely 1943’s Red Hot Riding Hood, where he’s aroused by the buxom Red’s song and dance number (this short was seen and referenced in the 1994 film The Mask). While simultaneously starring in more girl-chasing shorts, he would also be used as a frequent foe against Droopy until his last appearance in 1952. Filmation once again utilized Slick to be a frequent foe and rival against Droopy. Spike would occasionally be paired up with Slick or replace him as the story’s antagonist, taking the place of Avery’s own Spike character (later renamed Butch to avoid confusion between the two characters) that appeared in Droopy’s shorts.

Barney Bear interfering with Slick Wolf's scheme.

            Another MGM character that played supporting roles in both Tom and Jerry and Droopy’s segments was Barney Bear. He was created by director Rudolf Ising, who also initially voiced him, and debuted in 1939’s The Bear That Couldn’t Sleep. Barney was a sluggish, sleepy bear that often wanted nothing more than peace and quiet and constantly struggled to attain either, or set out to accomplish a task and ended up overdoing it or just completely mucking it up. He had a grumpy yet pleasant disposition based on Ising’s own personality, and his mannerisms were largely based on actor Wallace Beery’s. He appeared in 26 shorts, ending his run in 1954.

Droopy painting in the scene for the wraparound segments.

            The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show, also known as The New Adventures of Tom and Jerry, debuted on CBS on September 6, 1980. As well as starring in his own segments, Droopy would also introduce wraparound segments by using a comically-large paintbrush to paint a scene into view in which a short routine would follow with the series’ speaking characters. Frank Welker was tapped to provide all of the voices on the show. He completed recording six episodes’ worth of material when a Screen Actors Guild strike occurred, forcing him to stop work. Producer Lou Schimer ended up assuming the voices for the remainder. Additional voices were provided by an uncredited Linda Gary, Jay Scheimer, Alan Oppenheimer, Erika Scheimer and Diane Pershing. A very limited score was composed by Norm Prescott (as Jeff Michael) and Ray Ellis (as Yvette Blais) modeled after ragtime to give the shorts a vintage feel (although theatrical shorts generally used swing and big band music).

Vehicles being added to the classic chase.

            While Coslough Johnson and Jack Hanrahan were the series’ primary writers, with additional scripts by Charlie Howell and Eddie Fitzgerald, a number of the animation staff ended up getting writing credits as well; including Mike Joens, Steve Clark, Tom Minton, Mike O’Connor, Jim Mueller and Wendell Washer. During the show’s production, a rivalry had developed between the writing and animation staff. The writers wanted their scripts to be followed to the letter. The animators, many of them new additions to the Filmation crew, wanted to make Tom and Jerry as comparable to their classic shorts as possible. They attempted to make them livelier than the usual Filmation output every chance they could, which was not well-received by others at the studio. Unscripted sight gags were added to the storyboards, as were classic animation techniques inspired by theatrical shorts. Layout artist John Kricfalusi was heavily inspired by Chuck Jones’ The Dover Boys at Pimento University and tried to incorporate abstract elements into a zip-pan shot, which angered background department head Erv Kaplan. In the unreleased book The Art of Spümcø and John K, Kricfalusi alleged that animator Lynne Naylor was almost fired by Scheimer for incorporating “smear frames”—a method of simulating a motion blur to convey fast movements without requiring multiple drawings—in a Droopy segment. Additionally, many of their attempts at subversion would end up sterilized as the art went through the process before making it to their episodes. Scheimer would state in his own book, Creating the Filmation Generation, that they tried to encourage the staff to go “as wild as possible” despite budget restrictions.

Alberto De Mello's model sheet for Tom.

            The production also encountered two more hurdles. Lead character designer Alberto De Mello was introduced to classic model sheets and Preston Blair’s animation instruction books. The old techniques excited De Mello and he attempted to design the show’s characters using them—completely misunderstanding how to use them in the process. Following the classic breakdown of characters into geometric shapes resulted in De Mello’s models looking like sausage-fingered horror balloons. The crew chose to follow older model sheets instead. The other hurdle was CBS executive Faith Heckman. She felt that characters balling up their hands into fists just before they started running—a classic cartoon action—was too violent and potentially threatening to their kid audience. Every instance of fists had to be redrawn to show the hands as being open.

Tom at Spike's mercy.

            Despite their intentions to outdo Hanna-Barbera’s effort, Filmation’s rendition of the show didn’t fare much better. While arguably the most lively and dynamic out of Filmation’s offerings, it still didn’t compare with the theatrical versions of Tom and Jerry fans had come to know and love. No further episodes were ordered, but the show did remain on the network schedule until the new 1982 season began. The following year, it was absorbed into the syndicated Tom and Jerry packages from Turner Television.

Jerry's super-strong identical cousin comes for a visit. Chaos ensues.

            The poor reception of the series during its initial broadcast has left no urgency in current rights-holder Warner Bros. to release it on home media. “Jerry’s Country Cousin”, however, was included on Tom and Jerry: The Deluxe Anniversary Collection in 2010, and “Snowbrawl” was a bonus cartoon on the DVD Tom and Jerry: Snowman’s Land in 2022. All of the Tom and Jerry segments and 8 of the Droopy segments were available to stream on the Boomerang app until it was closed in 2024. Reruns had also aired on Cartoon Network and Boomerang, as well as Pop in the United Kingdom.

            

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

“Farewell, Sweet Mouse / Droopy’s Restless Night / New Mouse in the House” (9/6/80) – Jerry takes advantage of Tom thinking he’s dead by pretending to be a ghost. / Spike seeks to get revenge on Droopy for constantly getting him in trouble with their foreman. / Tom tries to trap Jerry with a remote-controlled female mouse.

 

“Heavy Booking / Matterhorn Droopy / The Puppy Sitter” (9/13/80) – Tom chases Jerry into a library where he must keep him quiet to prevent the large librarian from waking. / Slick pretends to run a rescue dog school to take Droopy’s money. / Jerry tries to make Tom’s job of babysitting Tyke difficult.

 

“Most Wanted Cat / Pest in the West / Cat in the Fiddle” (9/20/80) – Jerry must get Tom to come back to the house before the owner calls in pest control. / Slick and Spike attempt to rob Droopy’s stagecoach. / Jerry tries to keep Tom from disastrously playing the violin.

 

“Invasion of the Mouse Snatchers / The Incredible Droop / The Plaid Baron Strikes Again” (9/27/80) – Tom tries to fool Jerry into thinking he’s a hostile invading alien. / Droopy uses a Jekyll and Hyde formula to keep a scientist’s ray gun out of Slick’s hands. / Spike’s model airplane gets destroyed when Tom chases Jerry into it.

 

“Incredible Shrinking Cat / Scared Bear / When the Rooster Crows” (10/4/80) – Jerry uses a mad scientist’s size-modifier on Tom and himself. / Slick disguises himself as a ghost to chase Droopy and Barney out of an old house where they search for treasure. / Jerry uses a stranded circus rooster to constantly wake up Tom.

 

“School for Cats / Disco Droopy / Pied Piper Puss” (10/11/80) – Tom is sent to military school where Spike is his instructor and Jerry is on hand to make him miserable. / Droopy engages Slick in a disco contest. / Tom uses a flute to capture Jerry and Tuffy.

 

“Under the Big Top / Lumber Jerks / Gopher It, Tom” (10/18/80) – Jerry gets Tom involved in a circus act he subsequently sabotages. / Droopy and Slick compete to see who’s the best lumberjack. / Jerry keeps Tom from capturing a gopher in his master’s garden.

 

“Snowbrawl / Getting the Foot / Kitty Hawk Kitty” (10/25/80) – Tom and Jerry attempt to lock each other out on Christmas Eve. / Droopy and Slick compete to see who can get a picture of Bigfoot for their paper. / Tom is chosen to be the test pilot for the Wright Brothers.

 

“Get Along, Little Jerry / Star-Crossed Wolf / Spike’s Birthday” (11/1/80) – Tom chases Jerry onto a ranch and ends up becoming a reluctant cowboy. / Slick wants to get into a Hollywood studio but is constantly foiled by security guard Droopy. / Tom is ordered to guard Spike’s birthday food and Jerry is intent on ruining it.

 

“No Museum Peace / A Day at the Bakery / Mouse Over Miami” (11/8/80) – Spike keeps kicking Tom out of the museum where Jerry and Tuffy absconded with his fish. / Droopy and Spike compete to make the best cake for a gorgeous movie star. / Lifeguard Spike protects Jerry from Tom.

 

“The Trojan Dog / Foreign Legion Droopy / Pie in the Sky” (11/15/80) – Tom tries to get the upper hand on Jerry and his robot dog. / Droopy is assigned to capture Alley-Ben Slick. / Tom chases Jerry into a construction site where he has to deal with Spike.

 

“Save That Mouse / Old Mother Hubbard / Say What?” (11/22/80) – Tom’s owner’s sister believes Jerry to be a hamster and won’t let Tom near him. / Droopy must keep Slick in check while they’re in Storybook Land. / Jerry teams up with a new pet parrot to give Tom trouble.

 

“Superstocker / Droopy’s Good Luck Charm / The Great Mousini” (11/29/80) – Tom chases Jerry around a supermarket to protect the food stock from him. / Slick and Spike attempt to get back the good luck charm Slick sold to Droopy after Spike tells him it’s legit. / Jerry joins the circus with a magic act and Tom as his assistant.

 

“Jerry’s Country Cousin / The Great Diamond Heist / Mechanical Failure” (12/6/80) – Jerry’s identical and super-strong country cousin comes for a visit. / Inspector Droopy is on the trail of a stolen diamond. / Tom and Jerry use a new robot maid against each other.

 

“A Connecticut Mouse in King Arthur’s Cork / The Great Train Rubbery / Stage Struck” (12/13/80) – Tom dreams about chasing Jerry in a medieval setting. / Slick attempts to steal a bank package from mail clerk Droopy. / Tom get jealous of Spike’s appreciation for Jerry’s dancing ability.

SLIME TIME

 

SLIME TIME
(Syndication, June 11-September 3, 1988)
 
Hunt-Jaffe Productions, O.K.T. Inc.

 

MAIN CAST:
Marty Cohen – Host
Dean Goss – Announcer

  

Nickelodeon struck gold when it debuted its kid-centric game show Double Dare in 1986. Double Dare would pit two teams of two kids against each other by having them win money answering trivia questions. If they didn’t know an answer, or thought the other team didn’t, they could pass it over with a “dare” for double the money. But it could be “double dared” back for four times the money, in which case that dared team either had to answer or take a “physical challenge”. These physical challenges often featured deceptively simple and incredibly messy tasks; like building an ice cream sundae on their partner’s head, popping goop-filled balloons with a needle headpiece, plucking cherries out of gelatin with their mouths, etc. Success won them the money; failure gave it to the opposing team. The team with the most money then went on to an even messier obstacle course for a chance to win up to 8 prizes within a minute.

Slime being dumped on the losing team's teacher.

In the world of entertainment, a success breeds imitators trying to duplicate that success. One of the most blatant copycats was Slime Time; dubbed “the messiest half hour on TV”. Slime Time was played between two teams comprised of three students and a teacher, adorned in either red or blue sweat pants and shirts (the same colors as Double Dare) supplied by Jerzees. The students each had to answer questions and perform stunts with their teams to build up their cash score to $1,000. The first team to do so got to watch the opposing team’s teacher be doused with slime, along with taking home the cash and additional prizes consisting of educational items, musical instruments, various electronics and clothing.

Host Marty Cohen between the two teams as they prepare to get messy with the opening stunt.

Similarly to Double Dare, the show opened up with the two teams performing a stunt that would net the winning team a $25 head start towards their cash goal (Double Dare’s would decide which team would get to answer questions first). After taking their places at their respective podiums and introducing themselves, one student from each team would go up to the host podium to answer a buzz-in toss-up question akin to Family Feud. The correct answer would net $25 and a chance to choose a stunt; but an incorrect answer would give that to the other team. A snafu in the production was that sometimes these questions would be the same ones used during try-outs or practice rounds, accidentally giving anyone paying attention a bit of an edge.

Mr. Slimehead.

Stunts were chosen from a giant ugly head on center stage dubbed “Mr. Slimehead”. The students could pick either eye, ear, or nostril to have a card with the stunt’s description pop out of Mr. Slimehead’s mouth on a slimy tongue. Sometimes the stunt would have a prize attached to it that the team would keep, win or lose. Both teams would then have to perform the prescribed stunt to win another $25 (awarded to both in the event of a tie). These could include “rescuing” a fake spider or bobbing for worms with their mouths by plunging their faces into pie tins of whipped cream and chocolate syrup; the teachers having to carry ice cream sundaes in their mouths across the stage on tricycles so that the students can cover them in whipped cream; putting novelty snakes back in their cans (a stunt seen on Double Dare) with the addition of the teachers’ being made extra slimy with—you guessed it—whipped cream; finding the most “sea creatures” in fish tanks full of murky water and oil; the teachers having to catch and break goop-filled balloons tossed to them with symbols strapped to their arms or through basketball hoops while they wore pin-tipped caps under them; the students smearing peanut butter and sticking the most pieces of bread to their teachers; and more. Any stunt with a time limit was always given 20 seconds.

The teachers under the slime faucet.

After two questions and stunts, the game moved on to round two where the dollar values were doubled and Mr. Slimehead was reloaded with new stunts and nicer prizes. Once time for the round ran out, the game moved on to the final round. Unlike Double Dare’s obstacle course, the final challenge was a series of toss-up questions worth $100 apiece; with wrong answers giving the opposing team the money. Mr. Slimehead was turned around to reveal the slime faucet, under which each teacher stood. The faucet waved back and forth while the students answered their questions. Once $1,000 was reached, the faucet would stop over the losing team’s teacher and dump gallons of slime on them. The winning team got the cash and a large prize package while the losing team got a consolation prize, along with whatever else both teams won along the way.

Gunk-filled balloons being tossed and popped on the teachers' heads.

Slime Time debuted in syndication on June 11^th, 1988; usually paired up with fellow children’s game show Treasure Mall. The series was created by Barry Jaffe and Gary Hunt through their company Hunt-Jaffe Productions in association with O.K.T., Inc. Jaffe also served as the primary writer. Actor, stand-up comic, and frequent game show guest Marty Cohen was the host and opened the show with a bit leading into the first stunt. He was always dressed like a referee. Announcing duties went to Dean Goss, marking his second children’s game show after I’m Telling! Joey Carbone was the series’ composer, with William Harris (who also worked on another Double Dare clone, Fun House) and Fred Duer serving as the art directors and James Hundhausen operating Mr. Slimehead.

Popping goop-filled balloons with arm symbols.

Despite copious amounts of messy shenanigans and going as far as they could to copy Double Dare short of a lawsuit, Slime Time failed to garner the same response as Double Dare. After 13 weeks, it was cancelled along with Treasure Mall and has fallen into relative obscurity save for some video recordings uploaded to YouTube. In a bit of turnabout, Nickelodeon would later produce another game show called Slime Time Live from 2000 to 2004. It initially served as promotion for the launch of the short-lived Double Dare 2000, but ended up far outliving it. The series had nothing to do with the original Slime Time beyond coopting the name and being as messy as possible, reaffirming Nickelodeon’s place as home of the messy kids’ game shows.

MEATBALLS & SPAGHETTI

 

MEATBALLS & SPAGHETTI
(CBS, September 18-December 11, 1982)
 
InterMedia Entertainment Company, Marvel Productions, MGM/UA Television, Pan Sang East Co. Ltd.

 

 

MAIN CAST:
Ron Masak – Meatball
Sally Julian – Spaghetti
Barry Gordon – Clyde
Frank Welker – Woofer, various

 

 

            Fred Silverman was the television executive credited with creating Saturday mornings as we knew them. After successful tenures heading up CBS and ABC and revitalizing their programming, his final move to NBC proved to be disastrous; full of high-profile and costly mistakes. After 3 years at the network, Silverman jumped sides and went into producing for television himself. He formed InterMedia Entertainment Company (later The Fred Silverman Company) in 1981 with partner George Reeves (the ABC executive, not the Superman actor) and struck a production deal with United Artists and its parent company, MGM. Soon after, they entered into a partnership with fledgling Marvel Productions to co-produce new animated series.

Clyde, Meatball, Spaghetti and Woofer rocking out on stage.

            One of the first results of that partnership was Meatballs and Spaghetti, whose name was a play on the dish spaghetti and meatballs, created by Silverman and Jerry Eisenberg. But this wasn’t a show about food; rather, that was the name of the featured rock band (and also the names of two of its members). Meatball (no “s” in the name as spoken by the other characters, voiced by Ron Masak) was the heavyset lead singer and guitarist. Spaghetti (Sally Julian) was the super thin, slightly ditzy keytarist, singer and Meatball’s wife. The pair took inspiration from Sonny & Cher, while Meatball was inspired by musician Meatloaf (however his overall look was taken from Eisenberg’s cousin that frequented the studio offices). Their friend Clyde (Barry Gordon) was the bassist that often teetered the line between being a book smart inventor and dim-witted screw-up. Their dog, Woofer (Frank Welker), was semi-anthropomorphized and served as their drummer, when not testing Meatball’s patience. Additionally, they had a pet piranha that could eat almost as much as Meatball. The band travelled around the country in mobile home either going to or looking for their next gig, or some money to tide them over in the meantime.

A gorilla plays the band's bus like an accordion.

            Each episode was broken up into two segments. Many stories typically revolved around Meatball attempting some kind of get-rich-quick scheme, or trying to drum up publicity to increase attendance for one of their gigs. Ala The Honeymooners or The Flintstones, Clyde was usually along for the ride as his hapless accomplice. Between the story segments a musical number would air that thematically tied into the second story. They were done in a music video style comprised of a series of visual gags set to music. The lyrics, however, were sparse and generally consisted of conversation between the characters in sing-song.

Meatballs & Spaghetti sing a tribute to Mexico and their food.

            Meatballs & Spaghetti debuted on CBS on September 18, 1982 as part of their Starcade programming block. Jack Mendelsohn was the credited writer for every episode, while Steven DePatie handled the music and lyrics in his final project. Animation duties were handled by Pan Sang East Co. Ltd. Unfortunately, neither of InterMedia and Marvel’s inaugural offerings were met with much praise from audiences or reviewers; with Variety stating “No try at music here, or even much comedy either. It’s without any socially redeeming value.” It was cancelled at the end of its single season.

CBS Saturday morning Starcade ad.

            With Amazon’s acquisition of MGM, they had also gained ownership of the show. In 2025, it was finally released for streaming on Amazon’s Cartoon Rewind after having not been seen since it originally aired. It was also made available for streaming on Tubi.

  

EPISODE GUIDE:

“Woofer the Wonder Dog / Jazz Meets Jaws” (9/18/82) – Meatball decides to get rid of the annoying Woofer by giving him to a circus. / Coming across a mechanical shark for a movie gives Meatball the idea to stage a shark attack to drum up attendance for their next show.

 

“Mixed up Medical Reports / The Werewolf Story” (9/25/82) – Meatball’s x-rays get mixed-up with those of a 200-year-old parrot with only two weeks to live. / Playing up to the town’s history of werewolves for their next gig gets the band invited to dinner by actual werewolves.

 

“Once Upon a Farm / The Big Shrink” (10/2/82) – Meatball is tricked into trading their bus for a rundown farm. / Clyde accidentally creates a shrink ray that ends up shrinking him and Meatball to the size of insects.

 

“Spaghetti’s Old Boyfriend / Watch the Birdie” (10/9/82) – Meatball finds himself feeling inferior to Spaghetti’s handsome and athletic old boyfriend. / Meatball and Clyde plot to get a photo of a rare bird being born in order to win a $500 competition.

 

“The Space Aliens / Big Bad Bigfoot” (10/16/82) – Aliens lure the band onto their ship to run experiments on them. / A camping vacation puts the band right in Bigfoot’s backyard.

 

“Come Back Little Woofer / Sunken Treasure Cruise” (10/23/82) – Woofer falls on his head and develops amnesia after Meatball enters him into a dog show. / Finding a treasure map in an old chest that Spaghetti buys causes Meatball to spend all their money to go on a treasure hunt.

 

“Monkey Doodle Dandies / Throwing the Bull” (10/30/82) – After discovering a chimpanzee’s paintings sell for big bucks, Meatball decides to teach a chimp of their own to paint. / The band comes up with plans to replace the bull they had accidentally knocked out in an upcoming bullfight.

 

“Going to the Dogs / The Caveman Story” (11/6/82) – Meatball plans to rent out Woofer as a guard dog for extra money. / Clyde builds Spaghetti an arcade machine for her birthday he accidentally made with a part from an experimental time machine.

 

“Piracy on the High C’s / Robot Roadie” (11/13/82) – Meatball and Clyde end up with jobs as night watchmen at a record company the night record pirates decide to rob the place. / Meatball tasks Clyde with building the band a robot roadie to handle their equipment for them.

 

“The Kid Sitters / Doubles or Nothing” (11/20/82) – Meatball and Clyde babysit the pet goat of a famous record producer to get him to listen to their demo. / Meatball and Clyde get jobs as extras in a movie just as a thief robs the studio payroll.

 

“Foreign Legion Air-Heads / Magical Moments” (11/27/82) – Meatball and Clyde accidentally enlist in the French Foreign Legion and are shipped off to a desert outpost. / Jealous Meatball thinks Spaghetti is leaving him for a man with more money.

 

“Woofer Meets Tweeter / Flying Carpet Caper” (12/4/82) – The band is talked into taking over Spaghetti’s cousin Debbie’s pizza stand so that she and her friends can go to a rock concert. / Spaghetti buys a chest at an auction that ends up containing a magic flying carpet that a couple of strange characters want to get their hands on.

 

“A Christmas Tale / The Beach Peaches” (12/11/82) – Meatball and Clyde must deliver presents after they end up getting the real Santa arrested for chaos they caused in their department store jobs. / Debbie and her friends enter a boat race against their rival, and if she wins they must leave the beach…for good.

I'M TELLING!

 

I’M TELLING!
(NBC, September 12, 1987-March 5, 1988)
 
DiC Enterprises, Saban Productions

 

MAIN CAST:
Laurie Faso – Host
Dean Goss – Announcer

  

In 1987, DiC Enterprises partnered with Saban Productions to co-produce several shows, which Saban would then handle the international distribution of. Together, they entered into an agreement with NBC to provide them several programs for their Saturday morning line-up. One of them was the live-action game show, I’m Telling!, marking Saban’s expansion into the medium.

The contestants ready to play.

Created by Ellen Levy and developed by Levy and Saban co-founder Haim Saban, I’m Telling! was essentially a kid version of The Newlywed Game. However, instead of romantic partners, I’m Telling! was played by three pairs of siblings—typically a brother and a sister, outside of special “Brothers’ Day” or “Sisters’ Day” episodes featuring siblings of the same sex. That comparison, by the way, didn’t go unnoticed by Newlywed Game producer Chuck Barris, who filed an injunction against Saban. Notably, Fast and the Furious franchise star Paul Walker appeared as a contestant with his sister, Ashlie, very early into his career.

A sister selecting a category.

The game featured three rounds. The first two rounds saw one of the siblings “teleported” to the “isolation zone” via special effects and video editing. In actuality, they were taken from the stage and placed in a soundproof room. The remaining sibling randomly selected one of three pun-laden categories by hitting a button and were asked a question loosely based on that category about their offstage sibling. Much like its inspiration, the questions were often designed to lead to humorous and embarrassing answers. After the three siblings answered every question, the isolated sibling was brought back out and the teams were awarded points for how many of their answers matched; gaining 25 points for matching the first, 50 for the second, and 75 for the third. The roles were then switched for the second round with the points increased to 50, 75 and 150, respectively.

The consolation prizes.

The team with the most points, or with an uncatchable substantial lead, won a $1,000 savings bond and advanced to the final round, while the other teams received consolation prizes that included Huffy bicycles, a 7-Eleven coupon book, and a copy of the I’m Telling! home game by Pressman Toy Corporation (now Goliath Games). In the event of a tie, the winner was selected from the team that came closest to guessing how many objects were placed into the “I’m Telling! Fun Box” or a jar without going over before the show.

The Pick-A-Prize Arcade.

The final round was the Pick-a-Prize Arcade, which was played after the set rotated 180 degrees to reveal 20 prizes in 2 rows of 10 on color-coded podiums; pink for the girls, yellow for the boys. Before the show, each sibling had to make a guess as to what 6 prizes the other would go for during this round. They then took turns selecting their 6 desired prizes from their designated rows. If their choices matched what their sibling selected beforehand, a light would flash after they hit a corresponding button. The team then took home every prize they matched (or, rather, a Service Merchandise gift certificate of equivalent value). If they matched a combined total of 10 prizes, they then won all 20 prizes.

Scoring a prize match.

I’m Telling! debuted on NBC on September 12, 1987. The game was hosted by actor Laurie Faso, with actor and veteran game show announcer Dean Goss announcing. Saban and partner Shuki Levy provided the series’ music. NBC would also have various stars from their shows appear in interstitials leading into a commercial break. Two episodes were populated by young NBC stars and their siblings, including Shannen Doherty (Our House) and her brother, Sean; Mackenzie Astin (The Facts of Life) and his brother, Sean; Heidi Zeigler (Rags to Riches) and her brother, Chuck; Chad Allen (Our House) and his sister, Charity; Benji Gregory (ALF) and his sister, Becky; and Ami Foster (Punky Brewster) and her brother, Shawn. For these shows, the equivalent of any winnings was donated to charity on top of a guaranteed $500.

Faso with that episode's winners.

Unfortunately, the show didn’t perform well on NBC’s already struggling Saturday morning lineup. The final new episode aired on March 5, 1988 and remained in reruns through August. On September 9, 1989, reruns aired on The Family Channel (now Freeform) for a year. It would return for two more runs on August 29, 1994 through September 30, 1995, and on October 30, 1995 through March 29, 1996. Notably, plugs for 7-Eleven and the commercial break between rounds 1 and 2 were edited out, and the credits were redone and presented over the descriptions of the prizes won. In the years since, several episodes of varying quality have found their way onto video sites like YouTube. This would be DiC’s only foray into game shows, while Saban would produce another for syndication, Treasure Mall, reusing several sounds and a reworking of the theme from I’m Telling!

TURBO TEEN

 

TURBO TEEN
(ABC, September 8-December 1, 1984)
 
Ruby-Spears Productions

 

 

MAIN CAST:
T.K. Carter – Alex
Pat Fraley – Dr. Chase, Eddie
Pamela Hayden – Pattie
Michael Mish – Brett Matthews/Turbo Teen
Clive Revill – Agent Caldwell
Frank Welker – Rusty, Dark Rider, Flip, various

 

 

  Knight Rider burst onto the scene in 1982. The series was about a lone man, Michael Knight (David Hasselhoff), travelling around and doing good wherever he wound up. His partner in these endeavors was a technologically advanced Pontiac Trans Am, the Knight Industries Two Thousand—or K.I.T.T. K.I.T.T. was nearly indestructible, could perform amazing feats at the push of a button, and was in possession of an advanced artificial intelligence (voiced by William Daniels) that could allow it to operate autonomously when needed. Critics found the concept unbearably silly, but audiences showed up and allowed it to run for four seasons. In the wake of its success, an imitator was inevitable.

Promotional artwork of Brett changing into his car form.

            That came in the form of Ruby-Spears Productions’ Turbo Teen. However, rather than give a character an intelligent super car, they decided to make the character the intelligent super car. The series centered on teenager Brett Matthews (Michael Mish) who was out joyriding when a lightning strike sent him barreling into a scientific experiment. Exposed to a molecular beam invented by Dr. Chase (Pat Fraley) for a government agent named Caldwell (Clive Revill), Brett became fused with his car and was able to transform into it when exposed to heat. He not only retained his full faculties as the car, but could move at will and perform an almost limitless number of stunts far beyond the realm of physics. He could only transform back to human form after being exposed to the cold. As this change was involuntary, it often happened at inopportune times.

Brett micro-sized with Alex, Rusty and Pattie.

            While Chase and Caldwell worked to find a permanent cure, they decided to put his new abilities to use and sent him to investigate local mysteries or put a stop to criminal activity around the world under the codename Turbo Teen. Joining him on his adventures was his girlfriend, freelance reporter Pattie (Pamela Hayden), his best friend, mechanic Alex (T.K. Carter), and his dog, Rusty (Frank Welker). A recurring villain was the unseen Dark Rider (Welker); a master of disguise that plagued the Turbo Team in an advanced monster truck of his own design. The Dark Rider had apparently designed a supercar that resembled Brett’s and sought revenge for what he believed was his stolen design. Additionally, their classmates from Hillmount High, Eddie (Fraley) and Flip (Welker), would cause the Turbo Team some trouble by being typical dim-witted bullies constantly looking to show up Brett and his car.

Just a car enjoying some arcade games.

            The Knight Rider inspiration was very evident. Aside from being self-driving, Brett’s car and his car form was very much modeled after a 1984 Trans Am; however colored red instead of black. To avoid a lawsuit from General Motors or paying them a licensing fee, the car did have some differences: the tail lights were reminiscent of the third generation Chevrolet Camaro, the pop-up headlights were removed with the turn signals serving as the headlights, and the center roof bar that would make it a T-top was removed (however, the official press photo was not shy about showing a very clearly black Trans Am). As with K.I.T.T., a voice modulator was present on the dashboard that reacted to whenever Brett spoke in car form; however, it was located in the lower center rather than over the wheel and was represented by a horizontal line and waves instead of vertical lines (or a flashing box, in Knight Rider’s earlier episodes). The Dark Rider having a connection to Brett’s vehicle form and driving his own much larger super vehicle was similar to the character of Garthe Knight (Hasselhoff), the evil son of K.I.T.T.’s creator who drove a souped-up semi-truck named Goliath. Not to mention that Brett just happened to be driving the exact make and model of a super car that was already in development (before meeting K.I.T.T., Michael Knight drove a regular black Trans Am in the series pilot). Then there was the fact that in car form, Brett could pull of impossible stunts (more so than even Knight Rider, since they didn’t have to worry about the expense of replacing actual cars) and was seemingly indestructible.

The original concepts for Cary Becomes a Car by Jack Kirby.

            The concept for the series started out a bit differently. Originally pitched as Cary Becomes a Car, the legendary Jack Kirby whipped up several concept sketches. Under Kirby, the series had a decidedly more action flare. Cary was still a teenager, but his transformation appeared to be more deliberate. Although it was written that Cary transformed into a Camaro, the car he drew more closely resembled a Ford Mustang. This sketch was featured in the biographical graphic novel Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of the King of Comics by Tom Scioli during the section on Kirby’s Ruby-Spears tenure. There were also concepts for several villains—many with car-themed names: Mogal, the Magi-Mechanic was a sorcerer that carried around a magic tool box; Super Sonica was a super-speed witch; Hot Rodney Rumpkin was an overweight race car driver always in the company of his butler, Dingy Doolittle; and Barney Brannigan, a leprechaun-esque figure that conjured up crazy obstacles for drivers. Most notable was Speed Demon, described as a “sinister driver of unknown origin shadows hero”. He seemed to be the prototype for what would become The Dark Rider—albeit minus being an actual demon. Additional Kirby sketches have surfaced showing the slow evolution from Cary Becomes a Car into Turbo Teen, including depictions of Brett as a hatchback encountering more science-fiction fare; Brett as a sportier-looking car surrounded by a legion of human characters and early versions of Pattie and Rusty; and Pattie and Alex riding in Brett’s final form while evading some unusual-looking enemies (under the name Turbo-Teens). Along with Kirby, characters were designed by Duncan Marjoribanks, Doug Wildey and Thom Enriquez.

Brett transforming.

            Turbo Teen debuted on ABC on September 8, 1984. It and the network’s other new offerings were promoted the night before in the Saturday morning preview special The ABC Saturday Morning Preview Park hosted by “Weird Al” Yankovic. The series was developed and story edited by Michael Maurer, who also wrote a couple episodes alongside Mark Jones, Matt Uitz, Evelyn A.R. Gabai, Dennis Marks, Michael Ray Brown, Cliff Ruby, Elana Lesser and Ted Pedersen. Animation duties were handled by Hanho Heung-Up Company and Toei Animation, with XAM! Productions working on layouts. Bill Perez designed the opening titles that laid out the entire origin story, with John Kimball animating its transformation scene. Udi Harpaz composed and conducted the music under the supervision of Paul DeKorte.

Glow time means 3D time!

            ABC had originally planned to have certain shows within its 1984 line-up—Turbo Teen being one, The Mighty Orbots another—include a faux 3D effect. This was accomplished by producing those programs with a higher percentage of moving overlays and underlays panning at different speeds, coupled with a pair of 3D glasses that had one polarized lens and one blank lens to give the illusion of depth. Turbo Teen’s 3D sequences were signaled by flashes within the show to indicate when to put on and take off the glasses. However, story director Tom Minton stated that ABC was told by their legal department at the last minute that they couldn’t promise every viewer that experience or supply enough free glasses to viewers. As a result, all advertising about the gimmick had to be dropped and those became very expensive and pointlessly elaborate sequences.

The Dark Rider's monster truck.

           The novel notion of a kid turning into a car was ultimately failed by its execution. Retrospectives about Turbo Teen would sum up its problems as having poor scripts, even worse animation, and a nightmare-inducing transformation sequence whenever Brett changed. Storyboard supervisor James Woodring would go on to lambast the series as “one of the masterpieces of s--t” in various interviews; a sentiment he claimed was shared by others in Ruby-Spears’ employ at the time. Viewers and the network seemed to back up his estimation as Turbo Teen was cancelled by the end of its sole season.

Rolling down the roller coaster tracks.

            Not much was released in terms of merchandise for the show. There was a coloring book published by Golden, and a transforming model kit by Monogram that was originally made for the product-exclusive GoBots character Trans Am. The model was a stock Trans Am complete with a decal of the trademark Screaming Chicken graphic for the hood. However, it could be changed into a humanoid body. The Turbo Teen version got a new head sculpt representing Brett. None of the episodes have been released to home media legally in North America, although some can be found on video hosting sites like YouTube. Internationally, at least 6 episodes have been released on VHS.

Cold soda about to change Turbo Teen back into Brett.

            Turbo Teen hasn’t been completely forgotten and has been referenced in other projects. In the 2000 Futurama episode “The Honking”, robot Bender (John DiMaggio) was run over by a non-hovering car that turned him into a werecar—the robotic version of a werewolf. His transformation sequence was similar to Turbo Teen’s. Robot Chicken directly spoofed Turbo Teen in the 2007 episode “Rabbits on a Roller Coaster”. The Rotten Tomatoes Show also spoofed Turbo Teen in a commercial featuring a live-action version of Brett (Brett Erlich) encountering a Decepticon from Transformers in 2009. The Rick and Morty 2015 episode “The Ricks Must Be Crazy” featured Morty (Justin Roiland) being secretly given the ability to turn into a car by Rick (also Roiland), and, while quick, the transformation was similar to Turbo Teen (right down to Morty’s car form being red). Teen Titans Go! featured the most overt reference of all in the 2019 episode “Teen Titans Vroom!” as the titular team was sent careening by a lightning strike into a top-secret government science experiment that gave them all the ability to turn into cars.

  

EPISODE GUIDE:
“Turbo Thieves” (9/8/84) – A pair of thieves learn of Turbo Teen’s existence and plot to kidnap him to make themselves rich.
 
“The Dark Rider” (9/15/84) – The Dark Rider pursues Turbo Teen while he participates in an exhibition.
 
“Mystery of Fantasy Park” (9/22/84) – Turbo Teen and his friends investigate strange goings on at a local amusement park.
 
“No Show UFO” (9/29/84) – Agent Cauldwell tasks the Turbo Team with investigating UFO sightings.
 
“Micro-Teen” (10/6/84) – Dr. Chase’s team creates a shrink ray that will allow the Turbo Team to go on an infiltration mission.
 
“The Sinister Souped-Up Seven” (10/13/84) – His friends must help Brett get over his amnesia while preventing the destruction of a mission on a reservation.
 
“Video Venger” (10/20/84) – The Turbo Team discover an arcade game is a training program for an invasion on Washington, D.C. when the war machines inside it come to life.
 
“Dark Rider and the Wolves of Doom” (10/27/84) – Dark Rider kidnaps a scientist whose formula can regress dogs to their primitive state.
 
“The Curse of the Twisted Claw” (11/3/84) – The Turbo Team heads to India to stop an archaeological discovery from unlocking a weapon of great destruction.
 
“Daredevil Run” (11/10/84) – The Turbo Team enter a cross-country race as a cover to get a witness to court to testify against a jewel thief.
 
“The Amazon Adventure” (11/17/84) – A trip to the Amazon sees the Turbo Team and Brett’s father embroiled in a conflict with a local thug.
 
“Fright Friday” (11/24/84) – A campfire story about a local legend comes true and endangers the Turbo Team’s friends.
 
“The Mystery of the Dark Rider” (12/1/84) – Turbo Teen must clear his name after a clone robs a bank while also uncovering the identity of the Dark Rider once and for all.