TOM AND JERRY TALES

 

TOM AND JERRY TALES

(The CW, September 23, 2006-March 22, 2008)

 

Turner Entertainment Co., Warner Bros. Animation

 
 
MAIN CAST:
Don Brown – Tom, Droopy (season 1)
Sam Vincent – Jerry, Kid
Michael Donovan – Spike, Droopy (season 2), Topsy
Colin Murdock – Butch, Meathead

Check out the history of Tom and Jerry at this post here.

 

Warner Bros. was banking heavily on Looney Tunes: Back in Action being a success. So much so, they imagined it as the springboard into which they could revitalize the Looney Tunes franchise and re-introduce theatrical shorts. Unfortunately, those plans all fell apart when the movie underperformed at the box office. Warner Bros. immediately cancelled their planned slate of Looney Tunes shorts, but kept production going on the 30 Tom and Jerry ones they commissioned for the next two years before pulling the plug. While “The Karate Guard” did actually manage to make it to theaters as intended, Warner Bros. decided the best place for the rest was on television. A few of the shorts aired on Cartoon Network before being packaged together to air on Kids’ WB as Tom and Jerry Tales.

Spike and Butch pick on Tom and Jerry at the beach.

The series was a return to form for the Tom and Jerry franchise. Each episode featured three shorts with some kind of connecting theme and had Tom (Don Brown, with co-creator William Hanna’s archived yell used a few times) and Jerry (Sam Vincent) engaged in their slapstick-laden rivalry (although they would occasionally team-up against a common foe). A great number of characters from the franchise were revived for the shorts, including Tom’s primary nemesis Spike (Michael Donovan) and his son, Tyke; Butch (Colin Murdock), an alley cat who was sometimes Tom’s friend and other times his rival for Jerry; Tom’s equally-silent love interest Toodles Galore; Tom’s owner Mrs. Two-Shoes (a modified version of the racially-charged Mammy Two Shoes, voiced by Nicole Oliver); young mouse Nibbles (Reece Thompson & Chantal Strand); and frequent appearances by Droopy Dog (Brown & Donovan). Character designs were handled by Dan Haskett, Frank Molieri, and Tony Cervone, and while they adhered to the most up-to-date models of the characters, occasionally they would slip back into earlier designs in various episodes. Despite having credited voice actors, Tom and Jerry didn’t speak like in the disastrous Tom and Jerry: The Movie.  They only spoke in the short “Kitty Hawked” as it relied on them relaying a story to an audience on and through the screen.

Taking the battle to cyberspace.

Tom and Jerry Tales debuted on The CW as part of the Kids’ WB programming block on September 23, 2006; although it did air in markets outside of the United States earlier in the year. It would be the first Tom and Jerry show produced by Warner Bros. since their acquisition of the MGM properties through the merger of Turner Entertainment and Time Warner. The series was very well-received due to its harkening back to the franchise’s earlier days. The writing and animation by Yearim Productions Co., Ltd, Lotto Animation, Toon City Animation, Inc. and Rough Draft Studios were praised. A second season was ordered and brought the total number of episodes to 26 for the course of the series; with 78 shorts total (some of which served as updates or contained similarities to earlier entries of the franchise).

Jerry model sheet.

Co-creator Joseph Barbera, who worked on “The Karate Guard”, served as an executive producer for the first season and received story credit for “The Itch” before he passed away in December of 2006. The series was written by Cervone, Charles Schneider, Eric Donald, Jim Gomez, Richard Pursel, Robert Ramirez, Matt Wayne, Bradley Zweig, Tom Minton, Earl Kress, Meredith Jennings-Offen, Mark Turosz, Chris Painter, Joe Purdy, Christopher Keenan, Eric Shaw and T.J. House, who also directed and storyboarded some of the season 2 episodes. Minton and Pursel served as story editors, with Painter joining in the second season.  “The Karate Guard” co-producer and co-director and voice of Tom Spike Brandt also joined in season 2 as a writer, director, character designer and storyboarder. The series’ theme and first season music were composed by Tom Erba, with Gordon Goodwin taking over the music for the second season.

Tom being driven crazy by "The Itch".

Any chance of a third season was likely killed by the fact that Kids’ WB was on the way out when the second season was due to finish airing. Reruns of the series survived the block’s transition to The CW4Kids, remaining on the network until September of 2008. The series would return in reruns on Cartoon Network in 2011 where the series was able to be broadcast in the widescreen aspect ratio it was produced in due to the changing television technology.

The Nintendo DS game cover.

A video game based on the show was released for the Nintendo DS as a 3D platformer and Game Boy Advance as a 2D platformer. Developed by Sensory Sweep Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, the game saw the player control Jerry with the objective of getting Tom into trouble and kicked out of the house. 26 shorts were released across 6 DVD volumes between 2006 and 2009 (the United Kingdom releases had slightly different numberings), of which the first 3 were collected and re-released together in 2009 and were all re-released later in two-packs. Volume 1 was also re-released as part of Tom and Jerry Fun Pack in 2011. 12 segments were included on volumes 2 and 3 of Fur Flying Adventures in 2011, with 9 more in In the Dog House in 2012 and 2 more in Summer Holidays in 2012. The complete first season was released in 2012. In 2010, the short “Game of Mouse & Cat” was included in Tom and Jerry: Deluxe Anniversary Collection. The complete first season was released in 2012. The series was made available to stream on Boomerang SD, Boomerang’s Amazon Channel, DIRECTV, iTunes and Amazon Prime Video.

 

EPISODE GUIDE:
 
“Tiger Cat / Feeding Time / Polar Peril” (9/23/06) – After Tom accidentally wrecks his art, a monkey stealthily paints Tom to look like a tiger. / Tom must keep Jerry from feeding the zoo animals or else Spike will fire him. / An overprotective polar bear becomes Jerry’s defender.

“Joy Riding Jokers / Cat Got Your Luggage? / City Dump Chumps” (9/30/06) – Mistaken as parking valets, Tom and Jerry take Spike’s car on a joyride. / Trashing a hotel lobby leads to Tom being made a bellboy to pay for the damages. / Tom and Butch battle over who gets Jerry in a junkyard.

 
“Way-Off Broadway / Egg Beats / Cry Uncle” (10/7/06) – Tom and Jerry compete as buskers to try and out-earn each other. / Tired of the city noise drowning out his music, Jerry moves to Tom’s farm where the music causes Tom’s pet hen to rapidly lay eggs. / Jerry’s uncle Pecos Pest comes for a visit and keeps him and Tom up with his annoying singing.
 
“Bats What I Like About the South / Fraidy Cat Scat / Tomb It May Concern” (10/28/06) – Jerry uses a bat that resembles him to put a scare into Tom. / Jerry pretends to be a ghost in order to scare away Tom after he buys the haunted house he lives in. / Tom follows Jerry to an ancient tomb where they disturb and anger the mummy within.
 
“Dine-O-Sores / Freaky Tiki / Prehisterics” (11/4/06) – Tom and Jerry end up shipwrecked on an island full of dinosaur eggs. / Under mind control, Tom and Jerry enter a Hawaiian volcano where they meet Pele, goddess of flame. / The rivalry transcends generations to Tom and Jerry’s prehistoric ancestors.
 
“Digital Dilemma / Hi, Robot / Tomcat Jetpack” (11/11/06) – A lightning strike sends Tom and Jerry into their new computer. / Jerry falls in love with the robot female mouse Tom builds to trap him. / Jerry and Spike team-up to take Tom down after he acquires a jetpack.
 
“Fire Breathing Tom Cat / Medieval Menace / The Itch” (2/3/07) – Jerry ends up getting Sir Tom eaten by the dragon he’s sent to slay, which ends up with Tom acquiring the dragon’s flame breath for himself. / A chase ending up in a medieval castle goes magical when Tom and Jerry get ahold of a magic wand. / Jerry wants to join a band of rats whose music causes everyone to become itchy.
 
“Ho, Ho, Horrors / Doggone Hill Hog / Northern Light Fish Fight” (2/10/07) – Tom and Jerry battling it out in Tom’s dream ends up with them wrecking the house for real. / Spike claims Tom and Jerry’s sledding hill for himself. / Ice fishing at the North Pole leads to Tom trying to steal Jerry’s fish.
 
“Cat Nebula / Martian Mice / Spaced Out Cat” (2/17/07) – Jerry and Nibbles encounter an alien squid Tom while traveling through space. / Giant mice from Mars abduct Tom and Jerry. / Tom attempts to become the first to reach the moon in order to impress Toodles and win her back from Spike.
 
“Octo Suave / Beach Bully Bingo / Treasure Map Scrap” (2/24/07) – An underwater chase leaves Tom looking like a mermaid and attractive to an octopus. / A relaxing day at the beach for Tom and Jerry is interrupted by Butch and Spike. / Tom attempts to get some sunken treasure for himself and cut Jerry out of the deal.
 
“Destruction Junction / Battle of the Power Tools / Jackhammered Cat” (3/3/07) – An extreme case of splinters sees Spike put in charge of finishing a building’s construction. / A suddenly rich Tom and Jerry try to outdo each other while building their neighboring mansions. / Tom and Jerry attempt to get at a feast Spike is guarding at a construction site.
 
“Tin Cat of Tomorrow / Beefcake Tom / Tomcat Superstar” (4/28/07) – Mrs. Two Shoes gets a robotic cat to catch Jerry. / Tom enrolls in a gym to get into better shape to catch Jerry. / Tired of a life of fame, Tom retires to the countryside.
 
“Piranha Be Loved by You / Spook House Mouse / Abracadumb” (5/5/07) – Jerry sicks a piranha on Tom as Tom tries to win Toodles’ affection. / A chase leads Tom and Jerry into an amusement park haunted house. / Tom and Jerry battle with magic.
 
Season 2:
“More Powers to You / Catch Me Though You Can’t / Power Tom” (2/22/07) – Tom must protect a team of superheroes’ power rings from an evil dog. / Jerry gains super speed, making him uncatchable. / Tom and Jerry accidentally end up in the lair of a superheroine.
 
“Zent Out of Shape / I Dream of Meanie / Which Witch” (9/29/07) – Jerry constantly foils Tom’s attempts to achieve inner peace. / Sultan Tom uses genie Spike to grant his wishes and remove Jerry from his palace. / Tom is caught in a feud between two witches and must catch Jerry for one of their potions.
 
“Don’t Bring Your Pet to School Day / Cat Show Catastrophe / The Cat Whisperer with Casper Lombardo” (10/6/07) – Nancy brings Tom to school and tells him to behave so she’ll win a gold store, but that’s made difficult when another student brings in Jerry. / Jerry and Nibbles try to spoil Tom’s chances at winning a cat show. / When Tom accidentally ruins her tea party, Mrs. Two Shoes hires him a trainer.
 
“Adventures in Penguin Sitting / Cat of Prey / Jungle Love” (10/13/07) – Jerry takes in a penguin that escaped from the zoo. / Tom sneaks into an animal park to make a meal out of its star: Jerry. / Jerry is protected by a baby rhinoceros while a snake falls in love with Tom’s tail.
 
“Invasion of the Body Slammers / Monster Con / Over the River and Boo the Woods” (10/27/07) – A shape-shifting alien emerges from a ship that lands next to Tom and Jerry’s house. / Abraham Van Helsing crashes a monster convention, but all his assistant Tom is interest in is catching Jerry. / A fishing trip takes Tom and Jerry to a haunted forest where they encounter a bat creature.
 
“Xtreme Trouble / A Life Less Guarded / Sasquashed” (11/3/07) – Jerry rides his skateboard to catch a cheese truck with Tom in hot pursuit. / Jerry sabotages Tom as he tries out for a lifeguard job against Droopy. / A camping trip has Tom, Jerry and Tuffy meet Bigfoot.
 
“Summer Squashing / League of Cats / Little Big Mouse” (11/10/07) – Tom must protect a garden from Jerry and his clan. / Butch invites Tom to join a secret organization of cats that unite to catch mice. / Tom gets blamed when Jerry steals all the food from the refrigerator, but Jerry ends up too bothered by an ant to enjoy it.
 
“Bend it Like Thomas / Endless Bummer / Game Set Match’ (12/1/07) – Tom’s enthusiasm for soccer bothers the neighborhood. / Tom and Jerry compete against Droopy in a surfing competition. / Spike forces Tom to teach Tyke tennis.
 
“The Declaration of Independunce / Kitty Hawked / 24 Karat Kat” (12/8/07) – Tom must retrieve the Declaration of Independence after using it to send Jerry off in a paper airplane. / Museum tour guides Tom and Jerry recount their parts in the Wright Brothers’ flight. / Tom and Butch attempt to steal Jerry’s gold claim.
 
“Hockey Schtick / Snow Brawl / Snow Mouse” (2/2/08) – Jerry freezes the pond to skate, but Tom wants to play hockey. / Magic hats end up making Tom and Jerry’s snowball fight more interesting. / Tom and Jerry encounter a giant abominable snow mouse in the Himalayas.
 
“DJ Jerry / Kitty Cat Blues / Flamenco Fiasco” (2/9/08) – Jerry hosts a party in the record store Tom is meant to guard. / Tom gives Jerry as a gift to the girl he likes. / Jerry and his girlfriend compete against Tom and Toodles in a flamenco contest.
 
“You’re Lion / Kangadoofus / Monkey Chow” (3/8/08) – Tom visits his lion relatives to give Jerry as a gift, but they both end up on the menu. / Jerry is adopted by an overprotective momma kangaroo. / Tom and Mrs. Two Shoes move to get away from Jerry, but he follows them and causes trouble with a monkey.
 
“Game of Mouse & Cat / Babysitting Blues / Catfish Follies” (3/22/08) – Tom and Jerry play virtual games in which their roles are reversed. / Tom and Jerry’s nephews prove to be a handful. / A fishing trip leads to an encounter with catfish Butch, who wants to eat Jerry while Tom wants to eat him.

BAGGY PANTS AND THE NITWITS

 

BAGGY PANTS AND THE NITWITS

(NBC, September 10-December 3, 1977)

 

DePatie-Freleng Enterprises

 
 
MAIN CAST:
Ruth Buzzi – Gladys
Arte Johnson – Tyrone/Agony Nine
 
 
            Baggy Pants and the Nitwits was the blend of two generations of comedy coming together in a single package. The titular Baggy Pants was an anthropomorphic cat heavily influenced by Charlie Chaplin’s most well-known character, The Tramp (early concept art even had him named “The Little Hobo”). Like his inspiration, Baggy Pants was a good-natured and dapper vagrant that wore an ill-fitting suit, carried a cane, and possessed a small mustache. His primary adversary was an anthropomorphic pig that circumstances either put him at odds with or whom Baggy Pants would work for in some capacity. Harkening back to The Tramp’s silent film origins, Baggy Pants’ adventures were all done in pantomime (something DePatie-Freleng had experience with due to their Pink Panther character) with an accompanying old-timey score.

Baggy Pants spying something interesting in the trash.

            The Nitwits portion of the show reunited the characters of Gladys Ormphby (Ruth Buzzi) and Tyrone Horneigh (Arte Johnson) from Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In. Tyrone was a lecherous old man who would always try to woo spinster Gladys in a number of inappropriate ways; typically, as she sat on a park bench. Gladys, for all her protesting, sometimes seemed to be into all the attention Tyrone gave her (in fact, they almost ended up married), but he would ultimately do something to prompt her to knock him out with her purse. Naturally, for the animated version developed by Johnson, that aspect of the routine was eliminated; instead, Gladys and Tyrone were a married couple who fought crime together with Tyrone constantly lavishing praise on Gladys and Gladys constantly bashing Tyrone for his incompetence. Tyrone was a retired superhero with the handle Agony Nine that was goaded back into part-time selective action by the populace to battle a host of absurd super villains and criminals. Tyrone’s power of flight came from his semi-sentient dog-like cane named Elmo, which also served as a two-way radio to communicate with Gladys back in their base above the police station (where a hole in the floor sometimes provided them leads on some crimes). Despite being the superhero of the story, Tyrone’s bumbling usually meant that the day was saved by the threat of Gladys’ purse. Originally, The Nitwits was going to be its own show under the title Tyrone until it was decided to combine it with Baggy Pants.

Gladys looking on after Tyrone crash-lands into their base. Again.

            Baggy Pants and the Nitwits debuted on NBC on September 10, 1977. Although they interacted in the show’s intro, neither set of characters actually did so in the episodes themselves. Each segment had its own miniature intro, with The Nitwits’ doing a parody of The Adventures of Superman radio/television intro. The series was written by Tony Benedict, David Detiege, Bob Ogle and Cliff Roberts, with Ogle serving as story editor. Steve DePatie and Doug Goodwin composed the music, with The Nitwits theme conducted by Eric Rogers.

Baggy Pants' porcine nemesis disrupts the bench the titular heroes sit on.

            Despite the show reportedly doing well in the ratings and being well-recieved, it ended after a single season of 13 episodes. Animator John Celestri stated in Think Pink: The Story of DePatie-Freleng by Mark Arnold that despite Baggy Pants being a parody, it was far too close to The Tramp and the Chaplin estate got litigious. And because of the way they constructed the show, there was no easy way to repackage The Nitwits segments without Baggy Pants, and bringing back the Tyrone concept wasn’t explored. The series remained on the network until October of 1978 when it was finally removed from the schedule. To date, no part of the show has been released to home video or streaming, although some bootleg copies exist online.
 
 
EPISODE GUIDE:
“Construction Caper / Earthquake McBash” (9/10/77) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“Lost Dog / The Dynamic Energy Robber” (9/17/77) – Baggy Pants tries to keep a lost dog out of the net of the dog catcher. / An alien is sent to Earth to steal all of their energy for his plant.
 
“Baggy Pants and Forgetful Freddy / Splish Splash” (9/24/77) – Baggy Pants gets taken in by a wealthy man that turns violently mean whenever he hears a bell. / A scientist’s apprentice steals a formula that allows him to commit crimes in a watery form.
 
“The Moving Man / The Hopeless Diamond Caper” (10/1/77) – Baggy Pants is pulled into service helping a moving man unload his truck into a house atop a tall hill. / A pair of diamond thieves gives Tyrone a bit of trouble.
 
“Circus Circus / The Evil Father Nature” (10/8/77) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“The Painter’s Helper / Mercury Mike and His Jet Bike” (10/15/77) – Baggy Pants takes a job as a painter’s helper and ends up causing a series of messes. / NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“Electric Girlfriend / Rustle Hustle” (10/22/77) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE. / Tyrone and Gladys head to the desert to track down an elusive cattle rustler.
 
“A Pressing Job / False Face Filbert” (10/29/77) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“A Haunting Experience / Genie Meanie” (11/5/77) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“Horse Laff / Chicken Lady” (11/12/77) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“The Magician’s Assistant / Simple Simon and the Mad Pieman” (11/19/77) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“The Frog / The Hole Thing!” (11/26/77) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“Beach Fun / Ratman!” (12/3/77) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.

EMILIO DELGADO DEAD AT 81

 

You can read the full story here.

Best known for his tenure as Luis Rodriguez on Sesame Street from 1971-2017, he also appeared as White Bull in the "Tales of Nunundaga" episode of ABC Weekend Specials.

JOHNNY BROWN DEAD AT 84

 

You can read the full story here.

He played Fat Man in an episode of The Ghost Busters and Dandy Andy in an episode of Monster Squad, and provided voices for The Plastic Man Comedy/Adventure Show and Alvin & the Chipmunks (1983).

THE SECRET LIVES OF WALDO KITTY

 
THE SECRET LIVES OF WALDO KITTY / THE NEW ADVENTURES OF WALDO KITTY
(NBC, September 6-November 29, 1975)
 
Filmation Associates
 
 

MAIN CAST:

Howard Morris – Waldo Kitty/Cat Man/Robin Cat/The Lone Kitty/Catzan/Captain Hercm various
Jane Webb – Felicia
Allan Melvin – Tyrone, various

 

 

            While most might be more familiar with the 2013 film version starring Ben Stiller, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was originally a short story written by James Thurber. First published in The New Yorker on March 18, 1939, the story dealt with the mild-mannered titular character living out heroic fantasies in his head inspired by some mundane aspect of his life in the moment. Those adventures saw him as the pilot of a U.S. Navy flying boat in a storm, a surgeon performing a rare surgery, a deadly assassin testifying in court, a Royal Air Force pilot volunteering for a secret suicide mission, and finally facing down a firing squad. The story has been adapted countless times on stage and screen.

The live-action Waldo, Tyrone and Felicia.

            Filmation, finally “getting over [their] aversion to satire” as co-founder Lou Scheimer would put it in his book, Creating the Filmation Generation, decided to take inspiration from the story for their next project. The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty followed a shy and timid cat named Waldo (Howard Morris) who often imagined himself in heroic roles when dealing with the menacing English bulldog, Tyrone (Allan Melvin), which would help him come up with a real solution. These fantasies would alternate between five pop culture parodies: Batman, Tarzan, The Lone Ranger, Robin Hood and Star Trek (four of which were properties Filmation had or would come to work on). Always present and in need of rescue was Waldo’s girlfriend, Felicia (Jane Webb). Occasionally, Tyrone would be joined by three other dogs to comprise his gang, while Waldo would have either a sparrow or rabbit as a sidekick. What made the show unique was that while the fantasy sequences were traditionally animated, the real-life Waldo and his companions were portrayed by real-life animals in wraparound segments produced by Filmart with animals from Frank Inn, Inc.

The alter-egos of Waldo Kitty.

            The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty debuted on NBC on September 6, 1975. The series was written by Lorna Cook, Bill Danch and Jim Ryan, with music by Ray Ellis (as Yvette Blas) and Norm Prescott (as Jeff Michael) and additional music and sound effects by Horta-Mahana Corp. The theme was written by Jackie Mills and Joyce Taylor and performed in-character by Morris. However, it was a hassle to even get the show made. Filmation’s first headache came with the conception of the show. Layout artist Lorna Smith came up with the concept, fought for it to even be considered for production by the studio, and then for her credit on the series when her role in the equation was seemingly forgotten. NBC had reduced their episode order from 16 to 13, which made the show very unattractive to certain markets for airing. Then, Filmation learned why the adage “never work with children or animals” was coined with the tremendous difficulty they had in wrangling their dog actor for filming, as he was always chasing after the cat actors on set. Finally, Thurber’s widow Helen and Samuel Goldwyn Productions filed suit against Filmation for infringing on her husband’s idea and unfair competition.  The series ultimately proved different enough for the suit to go nowhere, but NBC cancelled it anyway and didn’t even give it a second season of reruns.

One of the VHS covers depicting Waldo rescuing Felicia from Tyrone and his thugs.

            Filmation would later include an edited version of the show in a syndication package with their Groovie Goolies. To remove all comparisons to Walter Mitty, they got rid of the live-action segments and changed the show’s name to The New Adventures of Waldo Kitty. Only three episodes made it to home video between United American Video’s 1989 VHS release and various international releases.

 

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

“Cat Man” (9/6/75) – Waldo—as Cat Man—attempts to get past Tyrone’s friends to rescue Felicia from his clutches.

 

“Catzan of the Apes” (9/13/75) – Waldo—as Catzan—must keep Tyrone from tearing down the jungle in order to make room for a construction project.

 

“The Lone Kitty” (9/20/75) – Waldo—as The Lone Kitty—rises up to rescue a small desert town from bandit Tyrone and his cronies.

 

“Robin Cat” (9/27/75) – Tyrone is sent out after Waldo—as Robin Cat—to stop his stealing of food to give to the poor.

 

“Cat Trek” (10/4/75) – Tyrone chases down Waldo—as Captain Herc—and demands he give up his ship, the Second Prize.

 

“Cat Man Meets the Poochquin” (10/11/75) – Cat Man and Sparrow must rescue Felicia and her uncle from the prison Tyrone—as the Poochquin—locked them up in.

 

“Catzan or Not Catzan” (10/18/75) – Tyrone returns to the jungle to hunt all the animals that lived there, and Catzan must figure out how to get rid of him.

 

“The Lone Kitty Rides Again” (10/25/75) – Tyrone kidnaps Felicia in the desert, prompting The Lone Kitty to ride to her rescue.

 

“Sheriff of Sherwood” (11/1/75) – Tyrone intends to spoil Robin Cat’s day as “sheriff of the day”.

 

“Cat Man Meets the Puzzler” (11/8/75) – Tyrone—as the Puzzler—kidnaps Felicia prompting Cat Man to come rescue her.

 

“Dr. Livingstone, I Perfume?” (11/15/75) – Catzan vows to stop Tyrone before he gets his hands on Dr. Livingstone’s secret expensive perfume-producing oil.

 

“Ping or Pongo” (11/22/75) – Tyrone attempts to scare Captain Herc off of his ship utilizing a hologram of himself.

 

“Chaw the Bullet” (11/29/75) – The Lone Kitty and Pronto must keep a land settlement safe from Tyron and his gang.

FARRAH FORKE DEAD AT 54

 

You can read the full story here.

She played Big Barda in the DC Animated Universe beginning with two episodes of Batman Beyond.

THE RIPPING FRIENDS

THE RIPPING FRIENDS

(FOX, September 22, 2001-January 26, 2002)

 

Spümcø, Cambium Entertainment

 
 
MAIN CAST:
Harvey Atkin & Mark Dailey – Crag, Indigestible Wad various
Merwin Mondesir – Slab
Michael Kerr – Chuck Nuggett
Mike MacDonald – Rip
John Kricfalusi – Jimmy the Idiot Boy, Citracett/Stinky Butt the Foul
 

The Ripping Friends was about four massively muscular and manly men who were dedicated to protecting their city from scum and villainy with as much destruction as possible. While they wore costumes reminiscent of traditional superheroes, they didn’t actually have any superpowers as they viewed that as cheating. No, they did battle through sheer strength and manly forces of will, as they felt victory could only be achieved through pain. Some of that pain was self-inflicted as they spent an hour a day on torture machinery and diving on live grenades. The more it hurt, the more they loved it. The Really Impressive Prototype City of (Next) Tuesday, or RIPCOT (a spoof on Disney’s EPCOT), served as their base (it was said they came from the really futuristic time of, well, next Tuesday).

Crac, Slab and Rip face off against the Indigestible Wad.

The brothers consisted of their leader, Crag (Harvey Atkin at first, then Mark Dailey), his right-hand man, Slab (Merwin Mondesir), hotheaded Rip (modeled after Kirk Douglas in Detective Story, voiced by Mike MacDonald), and the childlike Chunk Nuggett (Michael Kerr, who was also a storyboard artist). They lived with their foster mother, the masculine He-Mom, and were assisted by Spümcø’s mascot Jimmy the Idiot Boy (John Kricfalusi), a mentally-challenged drooling kid created by combining the brothers’ DNA (Jimmy was actually the subject of his own show pitch, but Kricfalusi didn’t want to lose the rights to the character). Chunk was often the butt of his brothers’ jokes because he was the youngest at 35 ½, compared to the others being 36. The brothers’ only weakness was a lack of meat consumption, which would cause their muscles to shrink and leave them as frail wimps. Among the foes they faced were Citrocett (Kricfalusi), a Euroslavian dictator who once gained flatulence-based powers; Flathead (Marvin Goldhar), a worm whose acquisition of a spine allowed him to wreak havoc; the Indigestible Wad (Atkin), a sentient wad of gum that sucked moisture out of people and zombified them; and even their own underpants. The characters were designed by Kricfalusi and Jim Smith.

Chunk gets no respect.

 Before selling Ren & Stimpy, Kricfalusi was pitching a number of ideas to various studios and networks. While they claimed to like the ideas, they ultimately turned them down because they couldn’t see a way to get a toy company to finance the show’s production as they were only interested in action characters. Kricfalusi decided to give them what they wanted and came up with The Ripping Friends—which still didn’t sell. Even with the success of Ren & Stimpy, Kricfalusi didn’t abandon the idea and tried to get the concept turned into a film project with James Cameron attached, but that ultimately fell through. Finally, it was his partner Kevin Kolde who managed to put a deal together to get The Ripping Friends onto Fox Kids.

Citracett holds Jimmy hostage.

 Kricfalusi wasn’t heavily involved with the production of the show early on, as he was busy working on the Flash-animated Weekend Pussy Hunt (which also featured Jimmy). However, halfway through production on the season Kricfalusi saw that supervisors were eliminating the Spümcø style (such as cleaning up intentionally “off-model” poses, with John Shaw of Funbag Animation famously leaving Kricfalusi’s style guide unopened for weeks), and got more actively involved. Not only did he serve as one of the writers along with Richard Pursel, Robyn Byrd and Ben Jones, but also as the design supervisory, storyboard supervisor, storyboard artist, key animator, director and voice director. On that last role, Kricfalusi stated in an interview that he worked his actors so hard he was afraid Atkin was going to have a heart attack, resulting in his being replaced with Dailey for half of the episodes. Kricfalusi was also at constant odds with the network, which forced him to tone down the more adult aspects of the show and some of the violence after he felt he already “watered down” the concept enough just so it would sell (he had hopes of a more prime-time timeslot for future seasons).

Taking the pain.

 The Ripping Friends was originally supposed to debut in September of 2000 and then in May of 2001, but ended up coming to FOX on September 22, 2001. The series’ theme and music were composed by Steve London, with additional music by Ernest Lee and Zoran Borisavljevic. Along with Funbag, animation duties were handled by Animagic Studio, PIP Animation Services Inc., Q-West Studios and Red Rover Studios (now part of House of Cool). Kricfalusi made special point to give a shoutout to Sound of One Hand, a small audio studio that allowed him to go full experimental with the sound design of the episodes. Along with the main story, each episode featured a short segment called “Rip Along with the Ripping Friends”, where viewers were asked to send in letters about problems they were having (such as why toys no longer came in cereal boxes) and the Ripping Friends “ripping” the offenders to shreds. Viewers were encouraged to participate by ripping pieces of paper in front of the TV screen when told to. These satirical segments were intended to be an homage to classic cartoons and make use of previously produced footage so greater focus could be placed on the actual episode; however, the intent was lost on the animation studios who re-animated the footage anyway.

Too hot for TV? A hot dog and a bun get a little too...intimate for the censors.

 Because of when the show debuted, the episodes “The Infernal Wedding” and “Jimmy’s Kidnapped” never aired during its original run because the material was deemed offensive following the September 11 attacks. Additionally, a portion of one of the “Rip Along” segments was removed for its implied sexual nature. The segment dealt with the disparity between the number of hot dogs per package versus the number of buns, and featured a male hot dog slipping inside of a female bun (a possible inspiration for one of the gags in Sausage Party?).

Ad for The Ripping Friends' debut on Cartoon Network.

With a $400,000 per episode price tag and a toy deal with Playmates never materializing beyond a prototype stage, the series was cancelled with only 13 episodes produced. In September of 2002, Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim picked up the series and aired it completely uncut. The series also aired occasionally on Teletoon in Canada, where it was produced, and briefly on the CNX channel in the United Kingdom and ABC in Australia. Creations Group Limited developed a video game for the Game Boy Advance with consultation from Kricfalusi that was published by THQ. Two VHS tapes containing two episodes each were released, and later combined into a single DVD. Madman Entertainment released the complete series to DVD in Australia.

 
 

EPISODE GUIDE:

“The Indigestible Wad” (9/15/01) – A wad of chewing gum gains sentience and wanders the town sucking the moisture out of people, turning them into zombies.
 
“The Infernal Wedding” (10/13/02) – Citracett decides to seduce He-Mom in order to get close enough to get rid of the Ripping Brothers.
 
“Flathead’s Revenge” (9/29/01) – A flatworm takes one of the brothers’ backbones and wreaks havoc on the town.
 
“Frictor” (10/6/01) – Crag tries to help get some friction in Jimmy’s smooth fingers, but when the brothers’ callouses are exposed to radiation they create Frictor, the master of friction.
 
“Rip’s Shorts” (10/13/01) – After being thrown into space, Rip’s shorts become evil and gain the ability to take control of anyone.
 
“The Ovulator” (10/27/01) – The only one not suffering from the beef shortage, Slag is sent out to solve the mystery of the missing beef and finds a chicken holding cows hostage.
 
“ManMan and BoyBoy” (11/10/01) – Crag decides to save BoyBoy from his “crimefighting” partner when it’s discovered their exploits are merely putting BoyBoy in danger.
 
“Stinky Butt” (11/17/01) – After being banished by the brothers to the nether regions of Earth, mystical energy gives Citracett the ability to control his flatulence.
 
“The Muscle Magician” (11/24/01) – Being made fun of for being younger, Chunk runs away to join a circus that ends up having a magician that can control muscles.
 
“Jimmy’s Kidnapped” (12/15/02) – When Rip causes Jimmy to run away, Citracett and his gorilla friend capture him.
 
“Dr. Jean Poole” (1/12/02) – He-Mom gives the brothers a lesson on girls and sets them all up on a date with Dr. Jean Poole.
 
“The Man from Next Thursday, Part One” (1/19/02) – A time traveler breaks into RIPCOT’s vault to steal the brothers’ “perfect” DNA to make a weapon to use against them.
 
“The Man from Next Thursday, Part Two” (1/26/02) – The time traveler’s plot revealed: he seeks revenge for the brothers ripping the nail off his giant thumb and putting it back on the wrong side.

IVAN REITMAN DEAD AT 75

 

You can read the full story here.

A prolific comedic director and producer who will probably be best remembered for the original two Ghostbusters films. Along with filmmaking, he served as a creative consultant on The Real Ghostbusters and an executive producer on both Alienators: Evolution Continues, which was spun-off of his film Evolution, and Beethoven: The Animated Series, which stemmed from the first two entries in the Beethoven franchise that he produced. 

THE KIDS FROM C.A.P.E.R.

 

THE KIDS FROM C.A.P.E.R.

(NBC, September 11, 1976-August 8, 1977)

 

Alan Landsburg-Don Kirshner Production

 

 

MAIN CAST:

Steve Bonino – P.T.

Cosie Costa – Bugs

Biff Warren – Doomsday

John Lansing – Doc

Robert Emhardt – Sergeant Vinton

Robert Lussier – Kurt Klinsinger

 

 

            Noticing the success of various live-action Saturday morning programs on other networks, NBC decided to get in on the action for the 1976 season by commissioning five new shows that would air together with the final season of The Land of the Lost. Among those shows was music producer Don Kirshner’s latest attempt at recapturing the success he once experienced with The Monkees.

Publicity shot of (clockwise from top): Doomsday, Doc, Bugs and P.T.

            The Kids from C.A.P.E.R. (a play on The Man from U.N.C.L.E.) were four apparently duly-deputized teenagers that operated in the back room of the 927^th police precinct in the town of Northeast Southweston that dealt with unusual cases. The founder and leader was P.T. (Steve Bonino), described as “cool and clever” by the show’s theme, who was the youngest member, provided fourth wall-breaking narration during a case, and possessed a superhuman sense of smell (he named his nose “Seymour”). Bugs (Cosie Costa) was the “tough and feisty” one possessing superhuman strength and speed (so long as he could see his hands), who tended to devolved into a brief insane rage whenever anyone said “bananas”. Doomsday (Biff Warren) was a childlike ray of sunshine who believed he brought bad luck to others (hence the name and dark wardrobe), was always hungry and could communicate with animals. Doc (John Lansing) was the oldest, smartest and best-looking member of the team who was generally always serious (and when he did show his humorous side, often caught others unaware). The Kids all wore “C” belt buckles and communicated via “Caperband” radios (Mego’s Star Trek communicators with some minor alterations). They travelled around in a former hot dog vendor truck dubbed the “Big Bologna” (as it still had a giant hot dog on its roof). Inside the truck dwelled Mr. Featherstone; a shark in a fish tank (portrayed by a puppet) that provided navigational assistance and who spoke in gibberish only the Kids understood. Their mentor and adviser was Sergeant Vinton (Robert Emhardt), who fully supported them but didn’t shy away from trying to ward them off of troubling cases.

A girl arrives to turn C.A.P.E.R. on...to a case.

            Episodes would begin with a silent comedy vignette and a member of the cast telling the audience via voiceover a “secret word” that would prove key to the plot. That would be followed by P.T. narrating what was about to happen before a girl came in looking for their help. In most episodes, that girl would also become attracted to a different member of the team. They would proceed to investigate the case with the occasional interjections by P.T. Similar to The Monkees, the cases and actions of the characters were over-the-top and silly; played for laughs rather than any kind of narrative seriousness. Reporter Kurt Klinsinger (Robert Lussier) would tag along looking for an exclusive. He fancied himself an intrepid journalist, but quickly turned coward when trouble arose. At some point, one of the Kids would break out into song; however, none of them were said to be in a band (unlike other Kirshner-involved projects) or able to play an instrument. Another silent vignette ended the episodes with a voiceover providing a “C.A.P.E.R. Code” that, when broken, would indicate the next week’s secret word. A running gag featured the group standing at attention and proudly explaining their acronym as meaning “The Civilian Authority for the Production of Everybody, Regardless!”, followed by a four-part harmonization of “Ta-da!”

Vinton and Klinsinger.

            The Kids from C.A.P.E.R. debuted on NBC on September 11, 1976; however, the cast would actually be seen the night before on The Great NBC Smilin’ Saturday Mornin’ Parade preview special (produced by series producers Kirshner and Alan Landsburg), co-hosting with Freddie Prinze. It was created by Romeo Muller and developed by Merrill Grant, with Kirshner serving as executive producer and music supervisor. Muller was the primary writer, with series director and producer Stanley Z. Cherry making uncredited contributions and Mae Wale Brown serving as script supervisor. A relatively inexperienced Joseph Roveto was tasked with coming up with the costumes for the main characters after being recommended to the producers. The theme song, which introduced the concept and characters, was written by Ron Dante and Jake Holmes and performed by Dante with interjections from the cast during their introductions. Other songs were written by Rob Hegel, Amanda George (as Carol George), Neil Sedaka, Howard Greenfield, Gene Allan, Gary Knight, Mitch Margo and Phil Margo, as well as Dante and Holmes. Each one was performed by a member of the cast. Wally Gold and Jay Siegel served as the music producers.

Bugs conversing with Mr. Featherstone.

            Everyone was banking on the notion that C.A.P.E.R. would prove a huge success. Ads were taken out for the show touting it up, as well as the promise of a massive merchandising campaign including toys, dolls, foods, accessories, and a decoder pin to transcribe the secret code. They were featured prominently in NBC’s Smilin’ Saturday Morning promo bumpers, advertising theirs and other shows. The teen magazines that covered the show extensively began a little friendly “rivalry” between C.A.P.E.R. and ABC’s Kaptain Kool and the Kongs, as well as passed along the possibility of their networks considering giving both a prime-time version. However, all of that seemed unlikely as C.A.P.E.R. suddenly disappeared from the NBC airwaves in November as the network did a massive schedule shake-up.

Shot from the very first scene filmed which showcases the Kids' different attire.

            Tiger Beat Star did some digging into the disappearance of the show, which left two episodes unaired. As they reported in their March 1977 issue, the last two episodes were actually the first two episodes filmed for the series and executives felt they didn’t quite live up to the standard of quality the rest of the show set. It turned out that between the wrapping of those episodes and production on the third episode of the season, some changes were made to the costuming, set design and the Big Bologna (originally colored blue, as was pointed out in the flashback song cue). It was decided to film all-new scenes to establish those episodes as flashbacks. The series returned in early 1977 with a new intro that included clips from episodes that allowed it to flow better with the theme, and all episodes aired. However, come the 1977 fall schedule, it was once again gone; officially cancelled by the network along with all of their live-action offerings from the previous season.

The album cover.

            As for the merchandising blitz? Very little was actually released for the show—especially not the decoder rings. What did get released was an album of the show’s songs (minus two episode songs and the theme) by Don Kirshner Music through Columbia/CBS Records, as well on 8-track and a single containing “When It Hit Me” and “Ridin’ a Rainbow”. Despite promoting more toys, Ideal only released the Big Bologna as part of their Micro Mighty Mo line. To date, none of the episodes have been made available on official home video. Two episodes and various clips do exist online from fan recordings, as does the preview special.

 

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

“Too Much Time on Their Hands” (9/11/76) – C.A.P.E.R. is tasked with stopping a malfunctioning time machine before criminals catch up to them in the past.

 

“Kids from H.Y.D.E.” (9/18/76) – A mad scientists slips C.A.P.E.R. a box of fudge laced with a formula that turns them into naughty tap-dancing monsters.

 

“Ghost from C.A.P.E.R.” (9/25/76) – A magician haunting the police station asks C.A.P.E.R. to find his lost love, unfortunately they end up producing three different women!

 

“The Uncanny Nanny” (10/2/76) – C.A.P.E.R. must find an obnoxious boy who disappeared after being handed over to Nanny Noony, who is on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

 

“Invasion of the Frankfurter Snatchers” (10/9/76) – A warning about aliens hiding in hot dogs taking over people’s minds is ignored until everyone but P.T. becomes a hot dog zombie.

 

“The Pieman’s Pool” (10/16/76) – A famous pastry chef’s daughter asks C.A.P.E.R. to figure out why his latest delicacies are exploding and causing earthquakes.

 

“King Cone” (10/23/76) – C.A.P.E.R. must solve a rash of ice cream thefts while figuring out why a new gorilla arrived at the circus without the acrobat who was accompanying him.

 

“The Post Monster General” (10/30/76) – C.A.P.E.R. must retrieve the rare stamp collection Bugs accidentally used to mail out invitations before someone else can snatch them.

 

“The Terrible Tollman” (11/6/76) – Only Doomsday knows a bridge isn’t gone when the Terrible Tollman hypnotizes the entire town.

 

“Dunga Gin” (11/13/76) – C.A.P.E.R. investigates the rise of a new cola drink just as the city’s water supply is stolen.

 

“Phantom of the Drive-In” (11/20/76) – C.A.P.E.R. goes undercover to put a stop to the phantom haunting the drive-in.

 

“Mummy’s the Word” (5/21/77) – C.A.P.E.R. recalls a past case where they stopped thieves from making off with valuable Egyptian treasures.

 

“The Goodfather” (8/13/77) – C.A.P.E.R. investigates an “un-crime” wave where money and jewels are being forced onto people rather than being taken away.