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.

THE TOM AND JERRY SHOW (1975)

 

THE TOM AND JERRY SHOW (1975)

(ABC, September 6-December 13, 1975)

 

Hanna-Barbera Productions, MGM Television

 

 

MAIN CAST:
John Stephenson – Tom Cat, Jerry Mouse (both vocal effects), Spike
Don Messick – Spike, various
Joe E. Ross – Spike

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

 

            18 years after their last time, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera decided to reunite with their old friends Tom and Jerry. They acquired the rights from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to produce an all-new animated series featuring the pair; the first time any content would be made exclusively for television. They pitched the idea to ABC by showing their executives five of their original theatrical shorts. While the executives reportedly laughed their heads off, the reality was that because of current children’s television standards they could never air anything remotely close to the violent content found in those productions; despite the fact that CBS had been running them between 1965-72 with the only alteration being the replacement of the racially-charged Mammy Two Shoes human character. Knowing this, Hanna and Barbera offered a key change to the dynamic: this time, Tom and Jerry would be friends.

Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry.

            Hanna-Barbera’s The Tom and Jerry Show (also known as The New Tom and Jerry Show) did just that: Tom and Jerry (vocal effects by John Stephenson) were no longer bitter rivals (unless they were competing against each other in some kind of competition); instead, they were friends who went on misadventures together. They would be co-workers as farmers, police officers or janitors working together to deal with a common problem or annoyance; roommates dealing with annoying house guests or home invaders; or just hapless victims of circumstance that put them in the wrong place at the wrong time. Instead of slapstick, the comedy was meant to come from the situations the characters often found themselves in or the characters they interacted with. Spike (voiced at various times by Stephenson, Don Messick and Joe E. Ross) was on hand as an occasional friend and often rival, helping to perpetuate the pratfalls that befell Tom and Jerry.

No longer rivals.

            The Tom and Jerry Show debuted on ABC on September 6, 1975. In keeping with Hanna-Barbera’s limited animation practices, Jerry was given a bowtie to allow them to animate just his head independently from his body. However, one aspect they absolutely retained was the fact that Tom and Jerry were mute, allowing other characters to do all the speaking courtesy of the likes of Stephenson, Messick, Ross, Henry Corden, Kathy Gori, Alan Oppenheimer, Lennie Weinrib, Janet Waldo, Jean Vander Pyl, Hal Smith and Frank Welker. Each episode was comprised of three segments written by Bill Ackerman, Larz Bourne, Tom Dagenais, Alan Dinehart, Don Jurwich, Joel Kane, Dick Kinney and Frank Ridgeway, with music by Hoyt Curtin and Paul DeKorte.

Spike gets in on the fun. Sometimes.

            Throughout its run, Tom and Jerry was paired up with other Hanna-Barbera properties to form an hour-long programming block. At its debut it was paired with The Great Grape Ape Show to form The New Tom and Jerry/Grape Ape Show. As part of ABC’s Thanksgiving Funshine Festival, a special episode aired on Thanksgiving afternoon with the rest of the network’s Saturday morning offerings. The following September, The Mumbly Cartoon Show was added while the other two shows aired reruns, forming The Tom and Jerry/Grape Ape/Mumbly Show. However, that incarnation only lasted until that November as Grape Ape was broken off into his own half-hour of reruns, leaving The Tom and Jerry/Mumbly Show. Despite remaining on the network until the fall of 1977, Tom and Jerry was only produced for one season. Fans—and particularly MGM—weren’t too pleased with what Hanna-Barbera had made and pulled the plug on any future production on the show. Once ABC let it lapse, MGM removed the intro and credits and integrated the segments into their theatrical short package for future syndication. MGM would try their hand at television again in 1980 with Hanna-Barbera rival Filmation.

More Tom and Jerry to come.

            In 1986, Turner Broadcasting System purchased the pre-1986 MGM library and began airing the shorts on their networks TBS, Cartoon Network and Boomerang (sometimes with the titles and credits intact). They also aired in Canada on Teletoon and Teletoon Retro, and had been airing for a decade on Seven Network in Australia since 1985. To date, the series has not seen a complete home media release. The first episode was released as part of Warner Home Video’s Saturday Morning Cartoons: the 1970S Volume 2 in 2009 and as part of the collected Saturday Morning Cartoons: 1960s-1980s in 2018. “Cosmic Cat and Meteor Mouse” was included in the Tom and Jerry: The Deluxe Anniversary Collection set in 2010. An episode was also included in the digital version of Tom and Jerry: School’s Out and two episodes on Tom and Jerry: House Pests. With the exception of 5 of the segments, the majority of the series was available to stream on the now-defunct Boomerang streaming service intermixed with the theatrical shorts.

 

 

EPISODE GUIDE

“No Way Stowaways / The Ski Bunny / Stay Awake or Else…” (9/6/75) – Caught stowing away Tom and Jerry must compete to become a cabin boy or be thrown overboard. / Tom and Jerry compete for the affections of a pretty feline. / Jerry tries to keep Tom awake and employed after he spends all night partying.

 

“No Bones About It / An Ill Wind / Beach Bully” (9/13/75) – Tom and Jerry try to save their museum jobs by getting a dinosaur bone back from Spike. / Tom and Jerry fight over a map to a gold mine that an outlaw has his sights on as well. / Tom and Jerry get revenge on a cat that spoiled their beach day.

 

“The Mammoth Manhunt / The Wacky World of Sports / Robin Ho Ho” (9/20/75) – Tom and Jerry must get a revived wooly mammoth back to Alaska. / Tom uses dirty tricks to beat Jerry in a decathlon. / Tom and Jerry engage in a series of tests to join Robin Ho Ho’s Merry Men.

 

“Safe But Not Sorry / Gopher Broke / The Super Bowler” (9/27/75) – A mischievous puppy sabotages Tom and Jerry’s attempts to deliver a heavy safe to a house on a large hill. / Tom and Jerry try to get rid of the gopher eating their vegetables. / Tom uses dirty tricks to try and beat Jerry at bowling.

 

“Tricky McTrout / The Tennis Menace / Cosmic Cat and Meteor Mouse” (10/4/75) – Attempting to catch a fish keeps landing Tom and Jerry in trouble with a park ranger. / Tom uses dirty tricks to try and beat Jerry at tennis. / Tom and Jerry attempt to watch their favorite superhero show without waking Spike.

 

“The Castle Whiz / Grim and Bear It / The Flying Sorceress” (10/11/75) – Tom and Jerry spend the night in a haunted castle. / Forest rangers Tom and Jerry try to protect a bear cub without angering his mother. / A witch takes on Tom and Jerry as helpers.

 

“The Kitten Sitters / Termites Plus Two / Planet’s Pest” (10/18/75) – Tom and Jerry take in six kittens without telling Spike, who’s driven crazy when he sees the same one everywhere. / Tom and Jerry must protect their house from a gang of termite bikers. / A shape-changing alien pits Tom, Jerry and Spike against each other while eating all their food.

 

“The Hypochondriac Lion / Give ‘Em the Air / The Egg and Tom and Jerry” (10/25/75) – Veterinarians Tom and Jerry must remove a splinter from a nervous lion’s paw. / Tom and Jerry must beat the despicable Purple Baron in an airplane race. / Tom ends up mothering a baby eagle while his mother thinks Jerry is hers.

 

“Watch Out, Watch Dog / The Super Cyclists / The Police Kitten” (11/1/75) – Watchdog Spike mistakes janitors Tom and Jerry for prowlers. / Tom and Jerry compete in a cross-country motorcycle race. / Tom and Jerry resent having to train the new female feline police officer who ends up being better at their jobs than they are.

 

“The Outfoxed Fox / The Towering Fiasco / The Lost Duckling” (11/8/75) – A fox takes refuge from a hound in Tom and Jerry’s house. / Dog walkers Tom and Jerry end up with a sheepdog that keeps getting into trouble. / Tom and Jerry try to help a duckling get south for the winter.

 

“Beanstalk Buddies / Two Stars Are Born / Son of Gopher Broke” (11/15/75) – Tom and Jerry climb a beanstalk and find themselves at a giant’s castle. / Tom and Jerry are hired as stuntmen for a movie. / Groundskeepers Tom and Jerry must stop a gopher from ruining their employer’s garden.

 

“The Sorcerer’s Apprentices / Hold That Pose / The Supercape Caper” (11/22/75) – When a sorcerer takes on Tom and Jerry as his new apprentices, his old apprentice challenges them to a magic duel. / Tom and Jerry try to get a photograph of an extremely rare and elusive bird. / A superhero that’s lost his nerve deputizes Tom and Jerry to take on a group of villains.

 

“Chickenrella / Double Trouble Crow / Jerry’s Nephew” (11/27/75) – Tom and Jerry end up in a dream helping Cindy and her blundering fairy godmother that turned her into a chicken. / Farmers Tom and Jerry must keep a cow from eating their corn crops. / Jerry’s nephew comes to visit and keeps ending up in harm’s way.

 

“See Dr. Jackal and Hide / Planet of the Dogs / The Campout Cutup” (11/29/75) – Dr. Jackal’s height formula turns him into a monster instead. / Tom and Jerry run from Spike and end up on a rocket bound for a planet populated by cat and mice-hating dogs. / A mosquito puts a damper on Tom and Jerry’s camping trip.

 

“Triple Trouble / The Bull Fighters / The Cruise Kitty” (12/6/75) – While a squirrel may have saved his tree from Tom and Jerry, they still must deal with Spike bulldozing the forest. / Bullfighter Tom thinks he has it easy when he’s put against a bull that likes him, but then he ends up being injured and replaced with a meaner bull. / Tom and Jerry end up accidentally stowing away on a cruise ship and must evade security officer Spike.

 

“It’s No Picnic / The Big Feet / The Great Motorboat Race” (12/13/75) – A giant ant crashes Tom and Jerry’s picnic. / Tom and Jerry are recruited to help trap the sasquatch that’s been scaring away lumberjacks. / Tom and Jerry compete in a boat race.

BILL & TED'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURES (ANIMATED)

BILL & TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURES

(CBS & FOX, September 15, 1990-November 16, 1991)

Hanna-Barbera Productions, DiC Entertainment, L.P. (season 2), Nelson Entertainment, Orion Television, MGM Television

MAIN CAST:

Alex Winter (season 1) & Evan Richards (season 2) – Bill S. Preston, Esq.

Keanu Reeves (season 1) & Christopher Kennedy (season 2) – Ted “Theodore” Logan

George Carlin (season 1) & Rick Overton (season 2) – Rufus

            When the future is in peril who can save it? Two dudes from San Dimas, that’s who.

Poster for the first movie.

Rufus (George Carlin), a resident of the utopian year 2688, was tasked by his leaders to travel back to 20^th Century San Dimas, California, to ensure the two Great Ones responsible for their society successfully passed their history class. Those Great Ones? Bill S. Preston, Esq. (Alex Winter) and Ted “Theodore” Logan (Keanu Reeves); the slacker best friends of the garage band Wyld Stallyons. Traveling back in a phone booth-shaped time machine, Rufus’ offer of helping them write their paper on how historical figures would view the present was rejected until a future Bill and Ted arrived in the phone booth and convince them otherwise. They traveled back in time to round up historical figures for their report, but ended up running into difficulties when the phone booth began to go haywire.

Bill, Rufus and Ted from the Hanna-Barbera version.

During an improv workshop in 1983, Ed Solomon and Chris Matheson came up with the characters of Bill and Ted: two ignorant teenagers who had no clue about anything they said. They had such fun creating and acting as the characters that they revisited them over the next year. By 1984, they had crafted a script and began shopping it around. Several studios expressed interest in the script and Solomon and Matheson rewrote them to each studio’s specifications. Ultimately, it landed at Warner Bros., who brought it to the attention of director Stephen Herek; but they eventually opted out of the deal, citing the death of the teen comedy genre.

Rufus getting the royal Roman treatment in a production drawing.

            Dino De Laurentis’ De Laurentis Entertainment Group picked up the option and partnered with Interscope Communications, and the film was put into pre-production. Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves were cast as Bill and Ted, respectively (although initially they were cast in the opposite roles). With their casting, the characters were altered from their original envisioned state as being 14-year-old skinny guys who were despised by the popular kids as it would be hard to believe given how cool Winter and Reeves appeared to be. The final lead role of Rufus went to comedian George Carlin after producer Scott Kroopf saw him at a Comic Relief concert. Initially, they were looking at for a more serious actor in the role.

The Dudes and Bill's step-mom Missy.

Filming ran through 1987, but De Laurentis’ company went bankrupt before its release after a series of box office bombs. The film sat in limbo until Orion Pictures picked up the theatrical distribution rights with De Laurentis’ Nelson Entertainment handling home video production. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure was finally released on February 17, 1989 to negative reviews, but the movie ended up grossing over $40 million against its $10 million budget, becoming a box office success.

            Looking to bank further on that success, Hanna-Barbera was tasked with bringing the movie to the small screen in the form of Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventures for CBS. The basic concept remained unchanged, save for a few cosmetic differences with the characters and renaming the dudes’ favorite hangout the Kozy Korner rather than the Circle K. Traveling in the phone booth was accompanied by a brief segment of CGI showing it propelling through the time stream. The series was written by Paul Dini, Sharman Divono, Rowby Goren, Wayne Kaatz, Gordon Kent, John Loy, John Ludin, Mary Jo Ludin, Doug Molitor, Sean Roche and Jim Thut, with music by Chuck Loeb. It was animated by Fil-Cartoons, Wang Film Productions and Cuckoo’s Nest Studios.

Like, wrong number, dude.

The most unusual aspect of the show was that unlike other movie-to-TV adaptations, the actual movie actors provided their voices for the main characters. That came about at the insistence of Judy Price, the Vice President of Children’s Programs and Daytime Specials at CBS, as a way to maintain a degree of credibility with the project. Ralston also secured the rights to produce a cereal promoting the series, although different actors provided the characters’ voices in its commercial.

            After one season, CBS decided to drop the show due to the production going over budget and delivery delays, despite the shows always airing on time and respectable ratings. The following year, the relatively new FOX network decided to pick up the series with production moving to DiC Entertainment. DiC reworked the character designs slightly and animation was handled by Big Star Enterprise and Spectrum Animation Studio. FOX sought to improve the repetitiveness they felt the Hanna-Barbera episodes fell into by having the phone booth able to send Bill and Ted into literature, films and even inside the human body. Goren and Molitor remained, but were joined by Jim Aitken, Phil Harnage, Perry Martin, Kati Rocky, Judy Rothman Rofé, Barbara Slade and Ellis Weiner on scripts, with Murray McFadden and Timothy Mulholland on music. As FOX was also planning a live-action show in anticipation of the sequel film, Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey, being as successful as the first, they decided to tie the cartoon into it by recasting the voices with their live-action actors: Evan Richards, Christopher Kennedy and Rick Overton.

Bill & Ted: the comic strip.

            The changes didn’t sit well with fans and the show only lasted eight more episodes; one episode longer than its live-action counterpart, which also flopped. When the show began airing in the United Kingdom, episodes were adapted along with original stories in comic form in the magazine Look In! In 2005, the first episode was released as a special feature in the Bill and Ted’s Most Excellent Collection DVD box set. In 2013, TGG Direct, LLC released a “best of” collection on two discs, which omits five episodes from the first season. Originally a Wal-Mart exclusive, it was soon made available nationwide. In 2014, both discs were released individually.

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1:

“One Sweet & Sour Chinese Adventure” (9/15/90) – The dudes go to ancient China to replace a vase they broke and meet Marco Polo.

“The Birth of Rock ‘N Roll or Too Hip for the Womb” (9/22/90) – Bill and Ted are flunky music appreciation and given an assignment about classical music.

“A Most Excellent Roman Holiday” (9/29/90) – The dudes head to ancient Rome and end up saving Julius Caesar from being assassinated.

“Model ‘T’ For Ted” (10/6/90) – Ted accidentally wrecks his father’s car and they head back in time to help fix it.

“The More Heinous They Are, the Harder They Fall” (10/20/90) – The dudes head back in time to find a bigger bully to deal with their bully at school.

“Birds of A Feather Stick to the Roof Of Your Mouth” (10/27/90) – The dudes head into time to try and find a replacement for a rare bird they allowed a cat to eat.

“A Black Night in San Dimas” (11/3/90) – Bill and Ted face expulsion unless they can improve their grades.

“Pocket Watch Full of Miracles” (11/10/90) – The dudes head into time to find an antique pocket watch for Mr. Preston’s birthday.

“The Babe Ruth “BABE” is A DUDE, Dude” (11/24/90) – After accidentally washing a signature off Coach Sweatsock’s baseball the dudes head into time to get it resigned.

“When the Going Gets Tough, Bill & Ted Are History” (12/1/90) – Fed up with no applause, the band breaks up causing a breach in time security.

“Never the Twain Shall Meet” (12/8/90) – The dudes search for someone to bring to Career Day.

“A Job, a Job—My Kingdom For a Job” (12/15/90) – Bill & Ted must find a job.

“A Grimm Story of an Overdue Book” (12/22/90) – Ted has a very overdue library book so the dudes head back in time to try and find a copy to replace it.

Season 2:

“Now Museum, Now You Don’t” (9/14/91) – Bill and Ted have to try and replace the Mona Lisa and Venus De Milo.

“The Totally Gross Anatomy of a Gym Teacher” (9/21/91) – A new phone shrinks Bill and Ted and they take a journey through their gym coach’s body.

“The Star Strangled Banner” (9/28/91) – Music is threatened when Missy sings a horrible rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner” at the opening of a baseball game.

“Leave It to Bill & Ted” (10/5/91) – Bill and Ted head into TV land in order to change the outcome of their favorite shows, Leave it to Badger.

“Goodbye Columbus…And America” (10/20/91) – Bill and Ted accidentally discourage Columbus from discovering America.

“It’s A Bogus Day in the Neighborhood” (10/26/91) – Bill and Ted must keep their childhood idol Mr. Radish from quitting.

“Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure in Babysitting” (11/2/91) – Bill and Ted go back in time to find Mr. Preston’s old guitar and end up babysitting themselves.

“The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Phone Booth” (11/16/91) – Bill and Ted learn Mr. Logan wasn’t always as disciplined as he wants Ted to be.