60TH ANNIVERSARIES

 We enter the home stretch with the shows turning

*Intros or images for Cartoonville and Do You Know? are unavailable. 

JACK ANGEL DEAD AT 90

 

You can read the full story here.

He played Flash, Hawkman, Samurai and several smaller characters in The All-New Super Friends Hour, Challenge of the Super Friends, Super Friends (1981), SuperFriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show and The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians; Donald Blake, Man Mountain Marko and Moe in Spider-Man (1981); Dr. Zachary Darret in Pole Position; Dr. Aeolis in Challenge of the GoBots; Miguel Alonso, Lord Carfax, Andrew, Miyan, Archbishop, Emmett Benton, Beldrix’ manager, Carfax guards and a conman in Jem; Professor Chin in Denver, the Last Dinosaur; Robert Mullins, Eucrates Cookson and Olook in Peter Pan and the Pirates; Rex-1 and LEX in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987); The Liquidator, Moloculo Macawber and a robber in Darkwing Duck; Cro-Magnum PI in Raw Toonage; Oniro and a computer in Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm; Nick Fury in Spider-Man: The Animated Series; and Old Man Year Before That and Old Man Year Before Year Before That in ChalkZone.

 

He also provided voices for Meatballs and Spaghetti, Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, The New Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo, The Smurfs, Alvin & the Chipmunks (1983), The Dukes, Snorks, CBS Storybreak, Dino-Riders, Kid ‘n’ Play, Tiny Toon Adventures, The Wizard of Oz (1990), Back to the Future: The Animated Series, Where’s Waldo?, Space Cats, ProStars, Super Dave: Daredevil for Hire, Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa, All-New Dennis the Menace and Casper (1996).

LITTLE RICHARD DEAD AT 87

You can read the full story here.

He was a singer, songwriter and musician hailed as one of the “Founding Fathers of Rock”. He had made appearances on, American Bandstand, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures and Sesame Street, and his music he wrote was featured in The Beatles (“Long Tall Sally”) and The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper (“Casper the Friendly Ghost”). He also composed the theme for the original Magic Schoolbus.

SATURDAY MORNING MASTERS: MARK HAMILL

 

MARK HAMILL

(September 25, 1951- )

 

Notable Roles: Kent Murray, Corey Anders, Doobie Wheeler, Luke Skywalker, The Trickster/James Jesse, Joker, Maximus the Mad, Hobgoblin/Jason Phillips Macendale, Dr. Jak, General Vostok, Gargoyle, Detective Armbrister, Buzz Buzzard, “Divine Rod” Petrie, Wolverine/Logan, Larry 3000, Solomon Grundy, Stickybeard, The Spectre, Red Skull, Chthon, Abraham Kane, Senator Stampingston, Darth Bane, Alvin the Treacherous, Sinestro, Arnim Zola, Woodrow Burns, Nightmare, Ox, Kravaxas, Swamp Thing/Alec Holland, Gadfly Garnett, Dictatious, Megatronus, Bob Block, Chucky, Bardle, Skeletor

 

With his father in the Navy, Hamill moved around a lot in his childhood. He became a member of the Drama Club at Nile C. Kinnick High School in Japan, then majored in drama at Los Angeles City College back in the United States. Hamill got his start with the recurring role of Kent Murray on the soap opera General Hospital and as Doobie Wheeler in the short-lived sitcom The Texas Wheelers. He also landed a lead role in the equally short-lived Hanna-Barbera I Dream of Jeannie spin-off, Jeannie, voicing the genie’s master, Corey Anders; which he would reprise for The New Scooby-Doo Movies. After a steady string of appearances on various sitcoms and in some television films, Hamill’s big break came when he auditioned for the role of Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise. To keep from being typecast, Hamill took different roles in the 1978 film Corvette Summer and the 1980 film The Big Red One, as well as several Broadway roles beginning with The Elephant Man. He auditioned to reprise his role when Amadeus was being adapted from the stage to the screen, but a studio executive said, “I don’t want Luke Skywalker in this film.” After a six-year break, Hamill returned to the screen in 1989 in films such as Slipstream, Midnight Ride and The Guyver, as well as appeared as The Trickster in the first The Flash series. In 1992, Hamill gained another breakout role when he began portraying the DC Comics villain The Joker starting with Batman: The Animated Series. For many, Hamill has become the definitive voice for the character, much like his co-star Kevin Conroy has for his portrayal of Batman. Despite several attempts to retire from the character, Hamill has often been lured back to reprise it. The Joker’s success opened many voice-acting opportunities for Hamill, allowing him to win roles in multiple Marvel Comics productions, The Simpsons, Phantom 2040, Wing Commander Academy, The New Woody Woodpecker Show, Codename: Kids Next Door, Pepper Ann, Transformers: Rescue Bots and more. He has also done dubbing work on anime shows and films and worked extensively in video games. A self-professed comic book nerd, Hamill has co-written The Black Pearl for Dark Horse Comics and provided a story for Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror #7 from Bongo Comics, as well as starred in and directed Comic Book: The Movie, a mockumentary filmed at San Diego Comic-Con in 2003. Over the course of his career, Hamill has been nominated for and won numerous awards and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

 

Saturday Credits:

Jeannie
The New Scooby-Doo Movies
Biker Mice from Mars (1993)
Wild West C.O.W.-Boys of Moo Mesa
Batman: The Animated Series
The Little Mermaid: The Animated Series
ABC Weekend Specials (episodes)
Red Planet
Garfield and Friends
What a Mess
Spider-Man: The Animated Series
The Tick
The Savage Dragon
Casper
Superman: The Animated Series
The Legend of Calamity Jane
Men in Black: The Series
Batman Beyond
Buzz Lightyear of Star Command
Pepper Ann
The New Woody Woodpecker Show
Static Shock
What’s New, Scooby-Doo?
The Batman
Stuart Little
Loonatics Unleashed
SpongeBob SquarePants
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Ben 10: Omniverse
Transformers: Rescue Bots
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012)
Justice League Action
Milo Murphy’s Law

THE NEW CASPER CARTOON SHOW

THE NEW CASPER CARTOON SHOW

(ABC, October 5-December 28, 1963)

Harvey Films, Famous Studios

MAIN CAST:

Norma MacMillan – Casper, Wendy, Nightmare, various

Bradley Bolke – The Ghostly Trio, Spooky, various

For the history of Casper, check out the post here.

            Casper the Friendly Ghost had been appearing in theatrical shorts produced by Paramount Pictures’ Famous Studios for seven years when Harvey Comics founder Alfred Harvey acquired the rights to produce comics based on the concept. His series began with #7 in 1952, picking up from where the previous publisher, St. John Publications, left off. 

The first issue of the Harvey Comics series.

Initially, the Harvey Comics followed the theatrical shorts closely. Determining that to be very limiting due to their formulaic nature—Casper scared off potential friends because he was a ghost until he did something nice for them—the comics branched out and did their own thing beginning with Casper, The Friendly Ghost #20 (1953). Casper became a bit more well-adjusted to his un-living situation and now dwelled in an Enchanted Forest where he had a plethora of friends (although the running gag of new beings he encountered being frightened by his lack of corporeal state was still used from time to time). Among them was Wendy, a young witch who desired to do good, unlike other witches; Nightmare, a talking ghost horse; the mischievous Spooky, who wore a derby and enjoyed scaring people; and Spooky’s girlfriend, Poil. Several of these characters appeared in the shorts at the same time, which was no surprise since the comics were written and drawn by members of Famous Studios. Casper also interacted with and befriended various other Harvey characters, including little devil Hot Stuff and wealthy urchin Richie Rich. 

Casper with Wendy, The Ghostly Trio, Nightmare and Spooky.

Casper was always depicted as residing in haunted houses with a group of indistinguishable ghosts who, unlike him, enjoyed scaring and often picked on Casper for his friendly ways. Harvey decided to take three of those ghosts and give them their own defining traits, eventually leading to The Ghostly Trio. They were Fatso, the overweight and gluttonous (ghosts could eat in early stories) leader of the group due to his being marginally the smartest and the toughest; Fusso, an average-looking ghost with extreme fussiness and attention to detail; and Lazo, the tallest, laziest and dumbest. It should be noted that only Fatso’s name remained consistent in their appearances, as sometimes the other two could have different names such as Eeko and Stretcho (which would become one of the official names circa the 1995 film).

Production cels of Wendy with her magically cursed dancing shoes.

In 1959, Harvey purchased the character outright along with several other Famous properties, giving him access to all the theatrical shorts produced after 1950 (the pre-1950 library had already been acquired by U.M. & M TV Corporation in 1956). Harvey put the shorts on television in the compilation series Matty’s Funday Funnies, which was sponsored by Mattel and presented by their mascots, Matty Mattel and Sister Belle. The original Paramount Noveltoons banner was changed to Harveytoons to reflect their new ownership. The series ran from October 11, 1959 until December 30, 1961 on ABC. Afterward, it entered syndication as Casper and Company without Mattel’s involvement. With the shorts doing well, Harvey decided to invest in some new material created specifically for television.

Casper and Wendy with The Evil Witch.

The New Casper Cartoon Show debuted on ABC on October 5, 1963. The series was comprised of classic Casper shorts with 26 new ones created by Famous Studios, now known as Paramount Cartoon Studios. Unlike the original Famous shorts, the new Paramount shorts followed the format of the Harvey Comics in everything from the setting to the supporting characters. Norma MacMillan voiced Casper, Wendy and all of the female characters, while Bradley Bolke voiced the Ghostly Trio, Spooky and all of the male characters. The music was composed by Winston Sharples. Many of the same crew who worked on the original theatrical shorts also worked on the television shorts. This marked the final solo directorial work of prolific Famous Studios director Seymour Kneitel, who died of a heart attack in 1964.

Casper with his woodland friends.

Each episode was comprised of two Casper shorts with one of the theatrical ones in between; typically, from the Modern Madcaps series. These new shorts were directly adapted from the Harvey Comics condensed to fit into a 5-minute runtime (an unusual reversal as the comics were usually inspired by the shorts). Although only 26 new Casper shorts were produced and aired entirely in their first season, ABC kept the program on their schedule until the end of 1969. The series entered into syndication after, running either under its original New title, as simply Casper, or as The Casper Show. 

The Ghostly Trio spooking.

Universal Studios Home Entertainment began releasing various segments onto VHS in 1992 in their own collections and with the theatrical shorts. The only segment not to see release was “The Bored Billionaire”, likely due to an instance of cigar smoking in the short. In 2011, Shout! Factory released Casper the Friendly Ghosts: The Complete Collection (1945-1963) onto DVD. The set contained every Casper short made until 1963, including the 26 for the show (although they weren’t presented as broadcast and lacked their opening and closing segments). Bonus features included commentary and interviews by Bolke, Edmee Reit (widow of Casper co-creator Seymour Reit), Alison Arngrim (daughter of MacMillan), and Mark Arnold (editor of The Harveyville Fun Times), as well as a gallery of comic book covers.

EPISODE GUIDE (new segments only):

“The Greedy Giants / Red Robbing Hood” (10/5/63) – Casper decides to help the Weeping Willow stop being teased by the other trees. / Casper helps vigilante Red Robbing Hood get his throne back from his evil cousin.

“The Lonesome Giant / A Visit From Mars” (10/12/63) – Casper tries to help a giant become friends with the forest animals. / A little Martian boy runs away to Earth and the Martians are convinced his “borrowed” saucer was stolen by humans.

“Bedtime Trouble / The Bored Billionaire” (10/19/63) – While The Ghostly Trio keeps him up, Casper tries to help an insomniac bear get some sleep with the help of the Sandman. / Casper saves a billionaire from a witch.

“City Snicker / Cold Wave” (10/26/63) – Casper wants to protect his visiting cousin Spooky from the strange noises in the night. / Casper has to stop an evil scientist from blocking the sun’s light from reaching Earth.

“Growing Up / Kings of Toyland” (11/2/63) – The Ghostly Trio give Casper a growth potion. / Casper settles a war between two kings.

“Little Lost Ghost / Mother Goose Land” (11/9/63) – Casper helps a little ghost find his mother. / Casper and Wendy have to save Mother Goose Land from the Ghostly Trio.

“The Professor’s Problem / Small Spooks” (11/16/63) – Casper helps another ghost turn a castle into a nursery. / The Ghostly Trio trick Casper into getting them shrinking pills so that they can scare all of the insects.

“Super Spooks / The Absent-Minded Robot” (11/23/63) – Casper recruits his muscular look-alike cousin to scare the Ghostly Trio out of bullying. / Casper tries to help a misfit robot make new friends in the forest.

“The Enchanted Horse / The Enchanted Prince” (11/30/63) – An evil magician gives Nightmare an apple that turns her into his slave. / Wendy helps Casper free a prince from an evil spell.

“The Heart of Gold / The Magic Touch” (12/7/63) – Casper helps Midas find a heart of gold to help free him from the golden touch. / Casper helps the Great Foozini perform his magic act.

“The Timid Knight / The Wandering Ghost” (12/14/63) – Casper helps a cowardly knight find courage to rescue the princess from a dragon. / Casper rescues a boatful of pilgrims from a sea monster.

“The Witching Hour / Twin Trouble” (12/21/63) – Casper has to help Wendy retrieve all of her furniture after a hex causes them to run away. / Wendy’s aunts and The Ghostly Trio create evil duplicates of Wendy and Casper to cause trouble.

“Weather or Not / Wendy’s Wish” (12/28/63) – The Ghostly Trio want to go scaring and send Casper out to check the weather. / Casper tries to fulfill Wendy’s wish for dancing shoes, but ends up giving her a cursed pair.

SATURDAY MORNING MASTERS: FRANK WELKER

FRANK WELKER

(March 12, 1946- )

Notable Roles: Fred Jones, Scooby-Doo, Pudge, Wheelie, Chopper, Jabberjaw, Wonderbug, Dynomutt, Buford, Nugget Nose, H.E.R.B.I.E., Impossible Man, Crazy Legs Crane Jr., Dragonfly, Toyman, Dinky Dog, Shmooo, Mr. Mxyzptlk, Droopy Dog, Dingbat, Rockjaw, Dollar, Cosmo, Blip, Mr. Cool, Dirty Dawg, Hefty Smurf, Poet Smurf, Smurfberry Bird, Timber, Wild Bill, Rock ‘n Roll, Marvin, Wonder Dog, Fangface, Donkey Kong Jr., Flash the dog, the General Lee, Smokey, Iceman/Bobby Drake, Flash Thompson, Darkseid, Kalibak, The Joker, Dr. Claw, Brain, Uni, Scoooter, Blaster, Rest-Q, Cap’n O.G. Readmore, Megatron, Soundwave, Skywarp, Dr. Ray Stantz, Slimer, Foofur, Catgut, Tooter Shelby, Occy, Bigtime Beagle, Baggy Beagle, Bubba the Caveduck, Toto, Kermit the Frog, Skeeter, Beaker, Abu, Gogo Dodo, Furball, Barney Rubble, Fall-Apart Rabbit, Dr. Viper, Bo, Booker, Sheldon, Bronx, Ralph the Security Guard, Krypto the Superdog, Father Time

When Welker moved to California, he attended Santa Monica College where he majored in theatrical arts. He received honors for his performance as the Cowardly Lion in the school’s 1966 production of The Wizard of Oz. His career officially started on stage as a stand-up comedian and impressionist, landing his first voice-over role in a Friskies commercial. The producer’s girlfriend encouraged him to audition for Hanna-Barbera while they were casting for Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! He auditioned for Scooby-Doo and Shaggy but ended up with the role of Fred Jones, which he has played in almost every incarnation of the franchise since (he did eventually get the role of Scooby after original actor Don Messick retired). Welker has since led a prolific voice acting career, spanning television shows and films. Along with Scooby, he’s most associated with the Transformers franchise; voicing several characters including primary antagonist, Megatron. Notable for his creature and animal sound effects, Welker is often cast as monsters, ghosts, animals or other inhuman characters. A good range of his vocal effects can be heard with the character Tooter from Snorks, who only communicated via sounds. He has done work for all the major animation studios, including Hanna-Barbera, Filmation, Ruby-Spears, Marvel Productions, DiC Entertainment, Warner Bros., Disney and others. Though rare, Welker has made on-camera appearances in films and television shows. His first on-screen role was as a kid who befriended Elvis Presley in 1969’s The Trouble with Girls. He also appeared in The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes and its sequel, How to Frame a Figg and Dirty Little Billy. On television, he’s appeared on Laugh-In, Love, American Style, The Patridge Family, Catch-22 and others. Welker made an on-camera appearance in CBS’ 1984 Saturday morning preview special, which showcased his recording an episode of Muppet Babies. In 2016, he was honored with a lifetime achievement Emmy Award.

Saturday Credits:

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!

The Barkleys

The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie

The New Scooby-Doo Movies

Super Friends (1973)

Bailey’s Comets

Valley of the Dinosaurs

Hong Kong Phooey

Wheelie and the Chopper Bunch

The New Tom & Jerry Show

The Oddball Couple

Jabberjaw

Wonderbug

The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour

Dynomutt, Dog Wonder

What’s New, Mr. Magoo?

The Skatebirds

Scooby’s Laff-A-Lympics

Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels

Fred Flintstone and Friends

The Robonic Stooges

The All-New Popeye Hour

Fangface

Yogi’s Space Race

The Fantastic Four (1978)

The All-New Pink Panther Show

Challenge of the Superfriends

Dinky Dog

The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle

Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo

The New Shmoo

Casper and the Angels

The World’s Greatest Superfriends

The Super Globetrotters

The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show

The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show

The Tarzan/Lone Ranger/Zorro Adventure Hour

Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (1979)

Heathcliff (1980)

Super Friends (1980)

The Flintstone Comedy Show

The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show

Richie Rich

Space Stars

The Fonz and the Happy Days Gang

Trollkins

Blackstar

The Kwicky Koala Show

The Smurfs

Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

Shirt Tales

The Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Puppy Hour

The Puppy’s Further Adventures

Mork & Mindy/Laverne & Shirley/Fonz Hour

Pac Preview Party

Pac-Man

Inspector Gadget

Dungeons & Dragons

Monchichis

Saturday Supercade

The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show

The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries

ABC Weekend Specials (episodes)

The Dukes

Alvin & The Chipmunks (1983)

The Littles

SuperFriends: The Legendary Super Powers Show

Snorks

The Get Along Gang

Turbo Teen

Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies

Pink Panther and Sons

Back to Next Saturday

Jim Henson’s Little Muppet Monsters

Punky Brewster

Robotix

The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo

The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians

The Wuzzles

Challenge of the GoBots

There Berenstain Bears

Galtar and the Golden Lance

Pound Puppies (1986)

The Real Ghostbusters

Scooby’s Mystery Funhouse

Kissyfur

Teen Wolf

CBS Storybreak

Wildfire

Foofur

Lazer Tag and Academy

DuckTales (1987)

Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears

The Flintstone Kids

Popeye and Son

Yogi’s Treasure Hunt

The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley

Superman (1988)

Garfield and Friends

The New Yogi Bear Show

Dino-Riders

A Pup Named Scooby-Doo

Dink, the Little Dinosaur

Pryde of the X-Men

Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue

The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera

The Wizard of Oz

Rick Moranis in Gravedale High

Captain N: The Game Master

Where’s Waldo? (1991)

Yo Yogi!

Tom & Jerry Kids Show

Tiny Toon Adventures

Bobby’s World

The Plucky Duck Show

Darkwing Duck

The Pirates of Dark Water

Goof Troop

The Addams Family (1992)

Batman: The Animated Series

The Little Mermaid: The Animated Series

Marsupilami

Sonic the Hedgehog (1993)

Cro

Animaniacs

Droopy: Master Detective

Gargoyles

Freakazoid!

The Savage Dragon

The Mask: The Animated Series

Pinky and the Brain

Timon & Pumbaa

The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries

Mighty Ducks

Casper

101 Dalmatians: The Series

Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm

Road Rovers

Jungle Cubs

The Legend of Calamity Jane

Waynehead

Superman: The Animated Series

Cave Kids

The Secret Files of the SpyDogs

Hercules: The Animated Series

Histeria!

Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain

Xyber9: New Dawn

Mickey Mouse Works

CASPER (1996)

CASPER (1996)

(FOX, FOX Family Channel, February 24, 1996-October 17, 1998)

Amblin Entertainment, The Harvey Entertainment Company, Universal Cartoon Studios, Saban International, Film Roman

MAIN CAST:

Malachi Pearson – Casper McFadden

Kath Soucie – Kathleen “Kat” Harvey, various

Joe Nipote – Stretch

Joe Alaskey – Stinky, Baby Huey, various

Brad Garrett – Fatso (season 1-2)

Jess Harnell – Fatso (season 3-4), various

Dan Castellaneta – Dr. James Harvey

Rob Paulsen – Spooky

Miriam Flynn – Poil

Tress MacNeille – Ms. Banshee, various

For the history of Casper, check out the post here.

            In 1995, Casper made a big return to the public consciousness with the release of his first full-length feature film by Amblin Entertainment and the Harvey Entertainment Company, featuring live-action mixed with computer animated ghosts.

Directed by Brad Silberling from a script by Sherri Stoner and Deanna Oliver, Casper followed greedy heiress Carrigan Crittenden (Cathy Moriarty) and her sniveling sidekick Paul “Dibs” Plutzker (Eric Idle) as they attempted to find a treasure in the run-down Whipstaff Manor she had inherited from her father. The only thing blocking her way was that the house was haunted by The Ghostly Trio: elongated leader Stretch (Joe Nipolte), foul-smelling Stinky (Joe Alaskey) and the aptly-named Fatso (Brad Garrett). The trio had been a staple of Casper cartoons and comics since first appearing in the short “Fright from Wrong” in 1956; however, their appearances and names have undergone several revisions.

Serving up a heaping helping of Casper.

After several failed attempts to remove the ghosts--including an exorcism by Father Guido Sarducci (Don Novello) and paranormal extermination by Dr. Ray Stantz (Dan Aykroyd, reprising his role from Ghostbusters, which was ironic considering Harvey once sued Columbia Pictures claiming their logo was too reminiscent of Fatso)--Crittenden was turned on to the services of one Dr. James Harvey (named after Harvey Comics and played by Bill Pullman), a ghost therapist, through the machinations of the fourth Whipstaff ghost: Casper (Malachi Pearson). Casper, having seen a news report about Harvey, immediately fell for his daughter, “Kat” (Christina Ricci), and figured Crittenden’s greed was his best chance to meet her. The film also served as an origin story for Casper, providing him with a pre-ghostly background as the son of an inventor. 

Kat and Casper.

Releasing on May 25, 1995 by Universal Pictures, the film proved a box-office success despite mixed reviews; although not as much of one as was projected. A sequel movie was planned, but with Pullman and Ricci’s commitments to other projects, the sequel was ultimately scrapped. Fortunately, the producers had already decided to continue the franchise in the form of a new animated series based on the movie, which was announced by Fox Kids head Margaret Loesch months before the film came out. It would be Casper’s third on Saturday mornings and the second based on a movie starring Ricci (the first being 1992’s The Addams Family). 

Some...radical therapy by Dr. Harvey.

Casper debuted on FOX on February 24, 1996 as part of the Fox Kids programming block. The series featured most of the movie’s cast returning to voice their respective characters, with Dan Castellaneta and Kath Soucie replacing Pullman and Ricci in their roles. Even Ben Stein, who played Crittenden’s father’s attorney in the film, made an appearance in an episode as a teacher at Kat’s school. Casper hit the top of the ratings and remained there for its first two seasons. The series also earned an Emmy for Bruce Babcock’s score during the second season. Other music was provided by Charles Frenandez, Harvey Cohen, Ron Grant, Michael Tavera and Thomas Richard Sharp. The series’ animation was handled by Akom Production Company.

The Ghostly Trio: Stinky, Stretch and Fatso.

Changes were naturally made to better transition the movie to the series. All references of Crittenden and how the Harveys arrived to Whipstaff were removed; however Dr. Harvey remained The Ghostly Trio’s therapist. Casper’s attraction to Kat was downgraded to simply being her best friend. Casper was also made a student at a ghost school, which opened up a new set of supporting characters and plot lines. The series was able to reintroduce characters from the Harvey books such as Spooky (Rob Paulsen), a black-nosed ghost who spoke with a Brooklyn accent and wore a derby hat, and Poil (Miriam Flynn), originally introduced as Pearl, Spooky’s blonde-haired dim-witted girlfriend. A new character for the show was Ms. Banshee (Tress MacNeille), a teacher at Casper’s school who often lived up to her name. Kat’s nemesis from the film, Amber Whitmire (Debi Derryberry) was given new sidekicks in the form of three girls all named Jennifer (and all voiced by Sherry Lynn). They were portrayed as rich, spoiled Valley girl types despite the setting of the show being Maine and not California. Interestingly enough, while the movie pointed out that the four-fingered Casper once had five when he was alive, the cartoon chose to give its human characters the traditional four fingers cartoon characters are often depicted as having.

Poil and Spooky.

Many of the people involved with the show had worked on Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain (including the film’s writers, who also worked on the series), resulting in the show having a very similar style. Set in a sitcom atmosphere, the show featured quick deliveries, pop-culture references, songs and fourth-wall breaking gags. Also like the previous shows, each episode consisted typically of three segments of varying lengths. Additional writers for the show included Michael Merton, Sean Hogan, Alex Borstein, Bob Claster, Ken Koonce, Scott Kreamer, Chris Otsuki and Mark York. When shows ran short, the end credits were often filled with shots of a cemetery with humorous inscriptions on the tombstones and the movie version of Casper’s theme song by Mack David and Jerry Livingston playing over it. The opening titles were simply the Casper logo materializing like a ghost on the screen, typically with a few chords of the theme.

The show was marketed as The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper during its second season (although only Casper ever appeared on the title screen). For the third season, Jess Harnell would replace Garrett as the voice of Fatso for the remainder of the series and the subsequent live-action direct-to-video movies as Garrett went on to star in the hit sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. It also aired concurrently on Monday afternoons before eventually being removed from its Saturday timeslot to make way for reruns of Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation after its original replacement, Ned’s Newt, was delayed. 

Stretch sending Casper to his new network via air mail.

In February of 1998, the show aired on Fridays in both the morning and afternoon timeslots before being completely removed from the line-up. It ended up on sister channel FOX Family Channel where it played out in both reruns and the final six-episode fourth season. Although Casper was still getting respectable ratings, Saban Entertainment, who took over Fox Kids in 1996, and 20^th Century Fox, who had acquired distribution rights, wanted to focus on the live-action sequel films.

From 1996 through 1998, Universal Studios Home Video would release various episodes from the first three seasons onto VHS. In 2007 and 2008, Universal Studios Home Entertainment released two DVDs containing the first and last five episodes of the first season. In 1997, Trendmasters produced a small line of action figures for the show. The first wave featured all four ghosts disguised as humans at various jobs. The next wave, “Hide & Seek Friends”, had the ghosts able to hide inside an included accessory. Finally, there was a Whipstaff Manor playset which featured miniature figures of the ghosts, Dr. Harvey and Kat.

The future of Casper.

This would be Casper’s last foray into Saturday morning television. Casper would eventually return to film beginning with 1997’s live-action/CGI direct-to-video film Casper: A Spirited Beginning with two others following. In 2006, the completely CGI film Casper’s Scare School was spun-off into a new computer animated series.

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1:

“Spooking Bee / Fugedaboudit / The Flew” (2/24/96) – Casper and Spooky try to outdo each other in a spooking bee. / Fatso explores his depths in a musical number. / The trio pass their ghost flu to the Harveys, making them think they’re ghosts.

“Paws / The Alphabet Song / Is So Too” (3/2/96) – A ghost puppy follows Casper home, but the trio hate dogs. / Stinkie keeps messing up Stretch and Fatso’s educational song. / Casper follows Kat on a study session with a boy, constantly ribbing her that it’s a date.

“Legend of Duh Bigfoot / The Ghostly Day / Invasion of the UGFO’s” (3/9/96) – A bonding camping trip with James and the trio leads to an encounter with Bigfoot. / Kat recalls visits from scared scientists. / Dinosaur ghost aliens visit Whipstaff.

“Rocket Booster / A Really Scary Casper Moment / Day of the Living Casper” (3/16/96) – Casper tells Kat about the time he went into space. / Casper proves that he can be scary if he wants. / Casper uses Kat’s make-up to pretend he’s human for a day.

“Three Boos and a Babe / The Whipstaff Inmates / Elusive Exclusive” (3/30/96) – A parent-teacher conference leads the trio to falling for Ms. Banshee. / Introducing the primary cast. / A reporter tries to achieve fame by broadcasting the Whipstaff ghosts.

“Paranormal Press / Another Spooky and Poil Moment / Deadstock” (4/20/96) – A bored Casper helps Kat get revenge on Amber and the Jennifers in the school paper. / Poil helps Spooky get into further trouble with Ms. Banshee. / Casper has to fill Whipstaff with ghosts to keep his family from being evicted.

“Poil Jammed / The Who That I Am / A Picture Says 1000 Words” (4/27/96) – Spooky refuses to take Poil to a big shindig. / Casper goes to Dr. Harvey to better himself. / A picture-haunting ghost manages to annoy everyone with his authoritative stance on everything.

“Spooks, Lies & Videotape / Ghostfather” (5/4/96) – Casper tries to show he’s creative by filming a movie to send into a show. / The Trio tries to scare out the Harveys before the Ghostfather pays them a visit.

“Rebel Without a Date / Don’t Bank on It” (5/11/96) – Casper turns to James Dean for help in winning the new exchange student from Spooky. / A new bank puts James in deep debt.

“Casper vs. the Ultimate Fan Boy / Field of Screams” (5/18/96) – Casper and Kat meet an overly-obsessed fan at a comic convention. / The ghosts help Kat’s softball team win.

Season 2:

“Grim and Bear It / Fatso of the Opera” (9/7/96) – Casper tries to stall the Grim Reaper from taking James. / Fatso gets the chance to be a famous opera singer.

“Dead of the Class / A Spooky and Poil Moment / Y-Files” (9/14/96) – The Trio’s 150^th High Ghoul reunion reveals Stretch never graduated. / Spooky tries to find out what Poil wants to see on TV. / Skully and Moldy try to figure out why everyone but Casper disappeared.

“Losing Face / Galloping Ghost” (9/21/96) – Doc’s old school rival is coming to visit after he lied and told him he had reformed The Ghostly Trio. / Casper befriends a ghost horse.

“Aunt Misbehavin’ / Split Personalities” (9/28/96) – The trio change themselves into women to prevent Casper from being taken away. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“Something to Stink About / Pulp Friction” (10/5/96) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“Ectoplasms / Stink of the Road / Doc’s Depression” (10/12/96) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / Stinkie sings about himself. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“Boo to the Future / All That Falderal” (10/19/96) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“Spooky and Poil Meet the Monsters / You Know You’re Alive When… / 13 Ways to Scare a Fleshie / The Trick’s a Treat” (10/26/96) – Spooky wants to haunt a house, but encounters monsters instead. / How to tell the difference between being alive and dead. / The trio responds to fan mail about how to scare a fleshie. / Casper promotes Kat’s party with the promise of real ghosts, but the union forbids scaring on Halloween.

“Frightening Storm / The Ghostly Trio / The Legend of Whitebeard” (11/2/96) – / The trio decides to leave when they feel ignored. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“Three Ghosts and a Baby / I Wanna Be Rude / Leave it to Casper” (11/9/96) – Casper changes into a baby on James’ suggestion and is in danger of being stuck that way. / Spooky tries to prove he’s rude after sparing Poil’s feelings. / The ghosts pose as fleshies to escape a ghost hunter.

“Luck of the Spookish / Day Care Nightmare” (11/16/96) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“Scream Card / You Know When Your Alive When / Lady Screams the Boos” (11/23/96) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“A Christmas Peril / Ms. Banshee’s Holiday Hits / Good Morning Dr. Harvey / Fright Before Christmas” (12/21/96) – The trio fill in for the ghosts of Christmas. / An ad for Ms. Banshee’s holiday album. / The trio interrupts James and Casper’s singing session. / Kat tales the tell of how the trio spooked Santa.

“A Midsummer’s Night Scream / Auntie Maimed” (2/1/97) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“Gargoils / Ms. Banshee’s Public Domain Hits / Boosom Buddies” (2/15/97) – / An ad for Ms. Banshee’s new album. /

“What Goes Around / Scavenger Hunt” (2/22/97) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

Season 3:

“Columboo / All About ‘C’” (9/6/97) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“Hat Sick / Cancion De Olor / The Boo-Muda Triangle” (9/13/97) – Spooky bets Poil his hat Casper won’t make the scare team. / Stinkie sings to Kat about smells to help with her project. / Casper tries to save the Harveys’ cruise ship from the Bermuda Triangle.

“Intensive Scare / F-A-T-S-O / Stench!” (9/20/97) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / At a network executive’s request, the cast sings a song about Fatso. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“The Phantom of the Oprah / Stretch’s Information Tidbit / The Crying Game” (9/27/97) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“Free Goldie / I’d Pick Your Nose / Birthday Boos” (10/4/97) – The trio decide to return Kat’s goldfish to the wild. / Poil sings about why she likes Spooky. / James enters a midlife crisis.

“Rats! / Stinkie Time Theater / Great Ghouly Governess” (10/20/97) – A bet of servitude has the trio taking jobs as exterminators. / Stinkie’s version of Cinderella. / Scay Ploppins answers Casper’s ad for help minding the trio.

“Above the Law / Ten Little Fatsos / Haunt-A-Thon” (10/31/97) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / A song about Fatso. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“This Old Manor / Scareobicize” (11/3/97) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“Gingersnap Out of It / Send a Good Stink Up Their Noses / Ghostly Locks and the Three Scares” (11/10/97) –

“Booparty / Do You Like Me? / MacDeath!” (11/17/97) – / Poil sings her wonder if Spooky likes her or not. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“The Scummies / Three-Ring Whipstaff / It’s Best to be the Most” (11/27/97) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / Stretch and Stinkie ruin Fatso’s magazine with him on the cover, prompting him to break into song.

“The Son Also Rises / Stretching is Good For You / Ghostfinger” (12/12/97) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“Mom Always Likes Ghouls Best / Bury Maguire / Dare to Scare” (12/19/97) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / The trio sing about why they love to scare.

“Four Funerals and a Wedding / I Can Be Anything / Family Reunion” (2/6/98) – The trio try to ruin Ms. Banshee’s wedding. / Fatso tries to convince Ms. Banshee to date him in song. / James convinces the trio to attend the McFadden family reunion.

“Horrid Copy / I’m Nothing Without My Hat / Caspeer Pressure” (2/13/98) – / Spooky loses his hat and finds out he’s useless without it. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“That Thing You Boo! / A Good Walk Poiled” (2/13/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“Jasper / It’s Great To Be a Ghost / The Boo-Bloods of Whipstaff” (2/20/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“Ghost Jam / Do the Spooky / Dr. Harvey and Mr. Gruesome” (2/20/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“Politically Co-Wrecked Casper / Three Little Letters / Pen and Tell Her” (2/27/98) – / The trio sing to Casper after he fails his scaring test. / Fatso’s pen pal is coming to visit, but Fatso lied about himself in his letters to her.

“Jack and the Scream Stalk / Boo Bash a Bone Bag / Artistic? That’s a Stretch!” (2/27/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / The trio sing about going scaring. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

Season 4:

“Scaredy Boo Where Have You Got To? / Casper’s New Theme Song / The Daunting Game” (9/12/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“At the BOO-vies / Sing Yourself Happy / Snowball’s Chance” (9/19/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“NYPD BOO / Three Cool Ghouls / Working Ghouls” (9/26/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“Scream Test / Ms. Banshee’s Kid Songs / The Doctor is Out” (10/3/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / An ad for Ms. Banshee’s new album. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“Miami Nice / If You’re Unhappy and You Know It / That Advice Stinks” (10/10/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

“BOO-Kini Beach / Garlic Bread Man” (10/17/98) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

Originally posted in 2016. Updated in 2021.