Underdog (TV series)

Show name	Underdog
Caption	Underdog
Genre	animation / adventure
Runtime	10 minutes
Starring	Wally Cox (voice of Underdog)Norma MacMillan (voice of Sweet Polly PureBred)Allen Swift (voice of Simon Bar Sinister)
Writer	W. Watts BiggersChet Stover
Narrated	George S. Irving
Producer	W. Watts Biggers
Theme music composer	W. Watts Biggers , Chet Stover, Joe Harris, Treadwell Covington
Network	NBC, CBS
Num episodes	124
First aired	October 3, 1964
Last aired	1973
Country	United States

Underdog is an American animated television series that debuted October 3, 1964, on the NBC network under the primary sponsorship of General Mills, and continued in syndication until 1973, for a run of 124 episodes.

Underdog, Shoeshine Boy’s heroic alter-ego, appeared whenever love interest Sweet Polly Purebred was being victimized by such villains as Simon Bar Sinister or Riff Raff. Underdog always speaks in rhymes, such as, “There’s no need to fear, Underdog is here!” His voice was supplied by Wally Cox.

History

In 1959, handling the General Mills account as an account executive with the Dancer Fitzgerald Sample advertising agency in New York, W. Watts Biggers teamed with Chet Stover, Treadwell D. Covington and artist Joe Harris in the creation of television cartoon shows to sell breakfast cereals for General Mills. The shows introduced such characters as King Leonardo, Tennessee Tuxedo and Underdog. Biggers and Stover contributed both scripts and songs to the series. When Underdog became a success, Biggers and his partners left Dancer Fitzgerald Sample to form their own company, Total Television, with animation produced at Gamma Studios in Mexico. At the end of the decade, Total Television folded when General Mills dropped out as the primary sponsor in 1969 (but continued to retain the rights to the series until the mid-'90s).

Abroad and in syndication

The syndicated version of The Underdog Show consists of 62 half-hour episodes. The supporting segments differ from the show's original network run. The first 26 syndicated episodes feature Tennessee Tuxedo as a supporting segment (Tennessee Tuxedo originally aired as a separate show, and also has its own syndicated adaptation). Thereafter, for most of the balance of the package, the middle segments include Go Go Gophers and Klondike Kat for three consecutive, half-hours, and Tennessee Tuxedo in the fourth. Commander McBragg is featured in the majority of episodes, replaced by three segments of The Sing-A-Long Family (in shows #1-2-3, #28-29-30, and #55-56-57). The final two syndicated Underdog half-hours feature one-shot cartoons originally part of an unsold pilot for a projected 1966 series, The Champion (Cauliflower Cabbie and Gene Hattree), with Commander McBragg appearing in show #61 and Go Go Gophers in show #62.

The syndicated series, as shown in the United States, is a potpourri of segments from previously aired versions of the show. Prior to a 1994 remaster, each episode included a "teaser" at the top of the show, asking viewers to stay tuned for a clip from "today's four-part story." (This originates from a 1969–1973 NBC Saturday morning rerun version of the show.) However, there were never more than two parts of the Underdog stories shown in any half-hour program. Prints of such would either be followed by a closing outro and credits or no credits at all. The closing outro (which showed the first portion of a variation of the Underdog theme showing a big ape terrorizing the city with George S. Irving, the series narrator, saying, "Looks like this is the end!" in place of the theme music) followed by the end credits (re-edited from the cast credits for Underdog and Tennessee Tuxedo), originated from a 1965 repackaged syndicated series, Cartoon Cut-Ups, which originally featured Underdog, Tennessee Tuxedo and Commander McBragg.

For many years starting with NBC's last run in the mid-1970s, all references to Underdog swallowing his super energy pill were censored, most likely out of fear that kids would see real medication that looked like the Underdog pills (red with a white "U") and swallow them. Two instances that did not actually show Underdog swallowing the pills remained in the show. In one, he drops pills into water supplies; in the other, his ring is damaged and he explains that it is where he keeps the pill – but the part where he actually swallows it was still deleted.

Most stories were multi-parters, but the first four were stand-alones:

"Safe Waif," the pilot, which featured a rescue, but no villain.

"March of the Monsters," the first appearance of Sweet Polly Purebred.

"Simon Says," the first appearance of Simon Bar Sinister. "Simon says, HOLD IT!" is the maniacal refrain, as Bar Sinister uses a weird camera to turn his victims into full-size, two-dimensional photographs.

"Tricky Trap by Tap Tap," an epilogue to the multi-part story "From Hopeless to Helpless," featuring Riff Raff.

Underdog also aired on ABC in Australia on February 18, 1966. In 1995, Biggers, Stover, Covington and Harris (with General Mills) negotiated a sale of their creations to Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels, who later sold the rights to Golden Books. When Classic Media took over Golden Books, it acquired the underlying rights to Underdog. As of early August 2010, it retained ownership of the same.

Characters

Underdog was an anthropomorphic superhero. The premise was that "humble and lovable" Shoeshine Boy, a cartoon dog, was in truth the superhero Underdog. George S. Irving narrated, and comedy actor Wally Cox provided the voices of both Underdog and Shoeshine Boy. When villains threatened, Shoeshine Boy ducked into a telephone booth where he transformed into the caped and costumed hero, destroying the booth in the process when his super powers were activated. Underdog almost always spoke in rhyme:

:When Polly's in trouble (or When help is needed), I am not slow, :For it's hip-hip-hip and AWAY I GO!!!

Underdog's most frequent saying when he appeared was:

:There's no need to fear-- :Underdog is here!

The majority of episodes used a common template as the final scene. A crowd of people look up in the sky would say, "Look in the sky!" "It's a bird!" "It's a plane!" After this, an old woman wearing glasses would exclaim, "It's a frog!" Another onlooker would respond, "A frog?!?" To this, Underdog replied with these words:

:Not bird, nor plane, nor even frog, :It's just little old me... (at this point, Underdog would crash into something, then sheepishly finish) Underdog.

Underdog usually caused a lot of collateral damage. Whenever someone complained about the damage, Underdog replied:

:I am a hero who never fails; :I cannot be bothered with such details.

The villains almost always managed to menace Sweet Polly Purebred (voiced by Norma MacMillan), an anthropomorphic canine TV reporter, as part of their nefarious schemes; she was a helpless damsel in distress most of the time, and had a habit of singing in a somewhat whining tone of voice, "Oh where, oh where has my Underdog gone?" This she would sing, to the music of the song "Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone," whenever in jeopardy. Recurring villains included:

Simon Bar Sinister, voiced by Allen Swift, is a mad scientist with a voice reminiscent of Lionel Barrymore. He has an assistant named Cad Lackey. A "Barre Sinister" is a diagonal line, running from top right to bottom left on medieval family crests, indicating the person is a bastard by birth; this was a clever inside joke typical of animation writing at the time.

Riff Raff, also voiced by Allen Swift, is an anthropomorphic wolf gangster based on noted actor George Raft. His gang consists of Sandy the Safecracker, Mooch (the underworld syndicate's top gunman), Spinny Wheels (who drives the gang's getaway car), Dinah Myte (the underworld syndicate's greatest bomb tosser), the new members, Nails the Carpenter, Needles the Tailor, Smitty the Blacksmith, the Witch Doctor and other unnamed members.

Other villains include The Electric (Slippery) Eel, Battyman, Tap-Tap the Chisler, and Overcat. Underdog also regularly faced enemies from alien worlds, such as the Marbleheads from Planet Granite, the Magnet Planet, home to the Magnet Men, the Planet of Zot, and the Saucer Planet, home to the Flying Sorcerers.

The majority of the Underdog adventures were presented in the form of four-part serial episodes. Other cartoons, including Go Go Gophers and The Hunter, filled the middle segments. A 1969–1973 NBC run featured all four parts of an Underdog storyline in one half-hour show. The series was first syndicated in the U.S. in the mid-1960s under the title Cartoon Cut-Ups, which presented two Underdog segments along with Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales and The World of Commander McBragg. This package was revised in the 1970s under the Underdog Show title, now including all 124 Underdog segments and featuring Tennessee Tuxedo, Commander McBragg, Go Go Gophers, and Klondike Kat in various episodes. A syndicated package prepared for distribution outside the United States (and also aired on the Boomerang cable network) usually featured two brief Underdog episodes in a single show along with a wider variety of other Total TV cartoon shorts which appeared in between such segments: Go Go Gophers, King Leonardo and His Short Subjects, Klondike Kat, Tennessee Tuxedo, The Hunter, Tooter Turtle, and Commander McBragg.

Tennessee Tuxedo, a penguin, was accompanied by two friends, slow-witted walrus Chumley and Phineas J. Whoopie. Tennessee Tuxedo was voiced by Don Adams of Get Smart (and later Inspector Gadget) fame; knowledgeable professor Phineas J. Whoopee was voiced by Larry Storch of F Troop fame. With the possible exception of Tennessee Tuxedo, none of these characters ever reached Underdog's level of popularity.

Episodes

Super powers

When he is not Underdog, he is incognito as a shoeshine boy. Like Superman, when trouble calls, he hurriedly dresses in a phone booth (which would inexplicably explode upon his conversion). On occasion, in order to replenish his powers, he would take an "Underdog Super Energy Pill". The "Underdog Super Energy Pill" was first introduced in Episode 10. He keeps one of these pills inside a special ring he wears at all times. (Before taking one, he would often utter the words: "The secret compartment of my ring I fill / With an Underdog super energy pill".) Several episodes show Underdog losing the ring and being powerless, since he must take another pill as his super powers begin to fail ("Without my Super Energy Pill / I grow weaker and weaker and weaker still"). When the series was syndicated in the 1980s and 1990s, the scenes of him taking his energy pill were edited out.

Underdog is shown to have incredible superhuman powers. However, the number and scope of his superpowers are inconsistent from episode to episode, being subject not only to the conventions of superhero comics, but also to the conventions of humorous cartoons. In one episode he easily moved planets, safely butting against them with his rear end. In another episode his super energy pill, diluted billions of times when added to a city's water system, was capable of giving normal humans who drank the water enough strength easily to bend thick steel bars.

His powers shown include:

Almost unlimited Superhuman strength

Self Propelled Flight beyond supersonic speeds

Invulnerability to almost all forms of physical harm

X-Ray Vision

Super Breath

Cosmic Ray Vision

Atomic Breath

Atomizing Eyes (?)

Ultrasonic hearing

Great Calculating Brain

Theme song

The show is also remembered for its title song, "Underdog", which was written by Chester Stover, W. Watts Biggers, Treadwell Covington and Joseph Harris.

A cover of the song, performed by Butthole Surfers, is included on the 1995 tribute album , produced by Ralph Sall for MCA Records.

The "Underdog" theme is covered by Ted Kooshian's Standard Orbit Quartet on their CD "Underdog, And Other Stories..." (2009).

An extended acapella version was done by The Blanks on the TV program Scrubs during the episode titled "My Hero". They later recorded it on their 2004 album Riding the Wave.

In the Harry Dresden novel Death Masks, Harry is captured by the Denarians and as Shiro Yoshimo bursts in to the rescue, Harry starts belting out the Underdog song, offering the Mighty Mouse theme song as an alternative.

Other media

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Underdog has also appeared in one Little Golden Book, Underdog and the Disappearing Ice Cream.

Charlton Comics produced a comic book that ran 10 issues from July 1970 – January 1972.

Gold Key Comics produced a comic book that ran 23 issues from March 1975 – February 1979.

Spotlight Comics did 3 issues in 1987

Harvey Comics did a one-shot in 1993, and a 5-issue series form November 1993 – July 1994.

In Friends first Thanksgiving-themed episode, the (unseen) Underdog balloon escapes its parade handlers and wreaks havoc over New York City.

DVD releases

On July 24, 2007, Classic Media released Underdog on DVD in Region 1 in a 3 volume collection, following a previous three-volume set released in the late 1990s. Each volume features 6 digitally-remastered episodes, each featuring two Underdog segments along with additional cartoons from the Total TV library. It is unknown if future volumes will be released.

Film adaptation

In 2005, Variety reported that a live-action Underdog motion picture was in development by Spyglass Entertainment, scripted by Joe Piscatella and Craig A. Williams. As announced, the story introduces "a diminutive hound named Shoeshine [who] gets superpowers after a lab accident. When he's adopted by a 12-year-old boy, the two form a bond around the shared knowledge that Shoeshine is really Underdog." Actor Peter Dinklage was cast to play Simon Bar Sinister, while Alex Neuberger was cast to play Underdog's human companion Jack Unger. The movie started filming in Providence, Rhode Island in March 2006, and was released on August 3, 2007, and rated by the MPAA Film Board at PG. The film was distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. Shoeshine/Underdog, voiced by Jason Lee, was played by a lemon Beagle named Leo, sporting a red sweater and a blue cape.

Radio

In 1999, Biggers created a new episode of Underdog as a half-hour radio show, narrated by veteran Boston newsman Tom Ellis with new original music composed by Biggers. Radio stations were asked to participate in Biggers' Victory Over Violence organization by airing the adventure in which the evil Simon Barsinister develops a Switchpitch baseball to turn positive people negative. His attempt to become king of Boston is foiled by Underdog (played by Biggers) and Sweet Polly Purebred (portrayed by Nancy Purbeck).

See also

List of anthropomorphic animal superheroes

List of Underdog characters

Suzanne Muldowney

Underdog (film)

References

Further reading

Biggers, Buck & Stover, Chet (2005). How Underdog Was Born. Albany: BearManor Media ISBN 1-59393-025-9

Arnold, Mark (2009). Created and Produced by Total TeleVision productions: The Story of Underdog, Tennessee Tuxedo and the Rest. BearManor Media ISBN 1-59393-345-2

External links

Toonopedia entry

Category:Animal superheroes Category:Underdog Category:Fictional dogs Category:1960s American animated television series Category:1970s American animated television series Category:1964 television series debuts Category:1973 television series endings Category:NBC network shows Category:CBS network shows Category:Gold Key Comics titles Category:Charlton Comics titles Category:Harvey Comics titles Category:Fictional characters with superhuman strength Category:Fictional characters who can move at superhuman speeds Category:American science fiction television series Category:Superhero comedy television series Category:Television programs featuring anthropomorphic characters Category:Parody superheroes