My Favorite Animated Television Series

Wade’s Ranking	Animated Series	Wade’s Ranking	Animated Series	Wade’s Ranking	Animated Series	Wade’s Ranking	Animated Series
#1	Justice League	#14	Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?	#27	The Flintstones	#40	South Park
#2	The Family Guy	#15	Hong Kong Phooey	#28	Courage the Cowardly Dog	#41	The Godzilla Power Hour
#3	Thundarr the Barbarian	#16	The Simpsons	#29	ThunderCats	#42	The Yogi Bear Show
#4	Batman: The Animated Series (1992)	#17	The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour	#30	The Incredible Hulk (1982)	#43	The Pebbles & Bam Bam Show
#5	The Tick (1994)	#18	Spider-Man & His Amazing Friends	#31	Jeannie (1973-1975)	#44	My Favorite Martians (1973)
#6	Mighty Mouse the New Adventures (1987)	#19	Battle of the Planets	#32	The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show	#45	Speed Buggy
#7	Superman (1996)	#20	Spider-Man (1994)	#33	The Jetsons	#46	Captain Caveman & the Teen Angels
#8	Super Friends (1973-1986)	#21	Samurai Jack	#34	King of the Hill	#47	Dexter’s Laboratory
#9	Tarzan Lord of the Jungle	#22	The New Adventures of Batman (1977)	#35	He-Man & the Masters of the Universe (1983)	#48	The Brady Kids
#10	Underdog	#23	Legion of Super Heroes	#36	The Powerpuff Girls	#49	The Real Ghostbusters
#11	Star Trek (The Animated Series)	#24	The New Adventures of Superman (1966)	#37	Johnny Bravo	#50	Johnny Quest (1964)
#12	Popeye the Sailor (1960-1962)	#25	Space Ghost	#38	Batman Beyond
#13	Speed Racer (1966-1968)	#26	Teen Titans	#39	Josie & the Pussycats

#1

Justice League

Justice League, like Batman: The Animated Series before it, technically consists of two separate series, Justice League, which ran from 2001 to 2004 & consisted of 52 episodes, & Justice League Unlimited, which ran for two seasons, from 2004 to 2006 & a total of 39 episodes. The first two seasons of Justice League consist almost entirely of two-part episodes, which focus on the seven founding members of the JLA (in DCAU continuity)—Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern (John Stewart), the Flash, Martian Manhunter, & Hawkgirl. However, Aquaman, the Demon, Metamorpho, Lobo, Doctor Fate, & a few of the New Gods all make one or more guest appearances in the first two seasons. Created by Bruce Timm & Paul Dini, Justice League is a sequel to the pair’s previous Batman: The Animated Series & Superman. Kevin Conroy reprises the voice role of the Batman, while George Newbern assumes to Man of Steel’s part from Tim Daly (who was unavailable at the time); rounding out the cast are Susan Eisenberg as Wonder Woman, Michael Rosenbaum as the Flash (Wally West), Phil LaMarr as Green Lantern, Carl Lumbly as Martian Manhunter, & Maria Canals as Hawkgirl. Justice League is significant both for its high quality & its position as the swan song for the DCAU, which ended after a 14-year-run with the final episode of Justice League in May, 2006.

My Justice League Episode Rankings

Wade’s Ranking	Justice League episode
#1	“A Better World” (2x06)
#2	“The Savage Time” (1x21)
#3	“Legends” (1x13 & 1x14)
#4	“For the Man Who Has Everything” (3x02)
#5	“The Greatest Story Never Told” (3x07)
#6	“Maid of Honor” (2x04)
#7	“In Blackest Night” (1x01 & 1x02)
#8	“Starcrossed” (2x13)
#9	“Hereafter” (2x10)
#10	“The Brave & the Bold” (1x09 & 1x10)

Notes on favorite episodes

Justice League

#1

“A Better World” (2x06)

“A Better World,” which first aired on November 1, 2003, was written by Stan Berkowitz & directed by Dan Riba.

Dan Riba directed 26 episodes of Justice League, 13 episodes of Batman Beyond, 15 episodes of Superman (1996), & 17 episodes of Batman: The Animated Series.

Stan Berkowitz wrote 10 episodes of Justice League, 40 episodes of Batman Beyond, 19 episodes of Superman (1996), 15 episodes of Batman: The Animated Series, seven episodes of the Spider-Man animated series (1994), as well as the direct-to-video films Superman/Batman: Public Enemies & Justice League: The New Frontier.

The Justice Lords of “A Better World” are a re-imagined version of the villainous Earth-3 alternate JLA, the Crime Syndicate of America from DC comics. The members of the Crime Syndicate, however, are slightly different from their Justice League counterparts in terms of powers, abilities, & personalities. For example, Ultraman, the Earth-3 Superman, is strengthened by kryptonite & not as intelligent as Superman. The approach taken in “A Better World”—that virtually identical Justice Leaguers might, under certain circumstances, become not so much evil as Machiavellian dictators—is far more chilling.

#6

“Maid of Honor” (2x04)

“Maid of Honor,” which first aired on October 18, 2003, was written by Dwayne McDuffie (who also wrote 34 episodes of Justice League as well as the direct-to-video films All-Star Superman, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, & Justice League: Doom) & directed by Dan Riba (who directed 26 episodes of Justice League, 13 episodes of Batman Beyond, 15 episodes of Superman (1996), & 17 episodes of Batman: The Animated Series).
“Maid of Honor” features the second appearance of Vandal Savage on Justice League as well as a revelation of Savage’s nature & origin.
“Maid of Honor” is especially compelling because the first installment features only Batman & Wonder Woman & is, therefore, a furthering of the obvious romantic attraction between them.

“Maid of Honor” establishes Savage as the most important villain on Justice League to this point. Subsequent episodes place Luthor, Brainiac, Darkseid, & even Grodd & Mongul in contention for this distinction.
Toward the end of “Maid of Honor,” Savage uses the word “appellation” (not Appalachian). I used this word in a sophomore-level, college creative writing class & was met with confusion & blank stares.

#2

The Family Guy

#3

Thundarr the Barbarian

Thundarr the Barbarian is a Saturday morning cartoon, which ran two seasons from 1980 to 1982. Ruby-Spears, a less well-known animation production company, produced 21 30-minute episodes of Thundarr the Barbarian, which was created by Steve Gerber, a comic book writer known primarily for his work at Marvel. Alex Toth designed the main characters—Thundarr, Ariel, & Ookla; Toth is a well-known comic book artist who designed Space Ghost among others. The legendary Jack Kirby created the character designs of many of the villains & other secondary characters in Thundarr the Barbarian. Kirby is perhaps most famous as the co-creator of such iconic characters as Captain America, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, Iron Man, Silver Surfer, & Thor & as the sole creator of Darkseid & the New Gods.

Thundarr was voiced by Robert Ridgely, who also voiced Tarzan in Filmation’s animated TV series Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle & additionally played the small role of Boris the hangman in the Mel Brooks films Blazing Saddles & Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

The influence of Star Wars is clear in Thundarr the Barbarian. Thundarr’s Sunsword strongly resembles a light saber, while Ookla the Mok has many similarities with the Wookie Chewbacca.

Wizards & Witches

By far the most prevalent villains of Thundarr the Barbarian are the evil, power-hungry, bizarre-looking wizards, which seem ubiquitous in the post-apocalyptic Earth of 3994 AD. Now & then, the team faces the odd witch rather than a wizard. Following is a list of the named wizards & witches in Thundarr the Barbarian:

Gemini, Mindok, Stryia (witch), Infernus, Sholow, Crom, Kublai, Skullus, Octagon, Sarott, Circe (witch), Vashtarr, Argoth, Yando, & Artemus.

Locations

Another interesting aspect of Thundarr the Barbarian is the locales in which the trio have their adventures. Nearly every episode takes place in a recognizable area with one or more famous landmarks which show signs of their great age & the effects of the cataclysm, which occurred 2,000 years ago... Following is a list of the locations in Thundarr the Barbarian:

Manhattan, Mexico (Chichen Itza), Cape Canaveral, Seattle, Norfolk, Mt Rushmore, Washington, DC, Las Vegas, San Fernando Valley, Alaska, San Antonio, San Francisco, Grand Canyon, St Louis, Boston, London, Central America, Los Angeles, Hollywood, & Atlanta.

My Thundarr the Barbarian Episode Rankings

Wade’s Ranking	Thundarr the Barbarian episode
#1	“Prophecy of Peril” (2x08)
#2	“Den of the Sleeping Demon” (1x13)
#3	“Battle of the Barbarians” (1x12)
#4	“Mindok the Mind Menace” (1x03)
#5	“Portal into Time” (1x11)

Notes on favorite episodes

Thundarr the Barbarian

#1

“Prophecy of Peril” (2x08)

“Prophecy of Peril,” which first aired on October 31, 1981, is an unusual episode. It is the only episode of Thundarr the Barbarian that does not take place in a discernible location. “Prophecy of Peril” is also unusual, because it is one of two episodes in which Thundarr, Ookla, & Ariel ally themselves with another trio with supernatural powers & strange origins.

#2

“Den of the Sleeping Demon” (1x13)

“Den of the Sleeping Demon,” which first aired on December 27, 1980, is the other episode of Thundarr the Barbarian in which Thundarr, Ookla, & Ariel ally themselves with another trio with supernatural powers & strange origins. However, the trio Thundarr & company meet is their reverse—the barbarian is a young woman & the man is the sorceror, while their Mok-equivalent is a two-tailed bird that looks much like a pterodactyl.

#3

“Battle of the Barbarians” (1x12)

“Battle of the Barbarians,” which originally aired on December 20, 1980, is interesting because it pits Thundarr against Zogar, another barbarian just as ferocious & confident as Thundarr. After Thundarr defeats Zogar, the wizard Kublai gives him a weapon equal or nearly so to the Sunsword, after which the battle between Thundarr & Zogar becomes more evenly matched.

#4

“Mindok the Mind Menace” (1x03)

“Mindok the Mind Menace,” which originally aired on October 18, 1980, was just the third episode of Thundarr the Barbarian & was the first one I ever watched. It is interesting because, although the narrative which opens every show claims that Thundarr’s world is one of “super science,” a fact born out by the sophisticated robots & ray-guns which abound, Mindok seems to think that the three cryogenically preserved scientists from the 20th Century can build him a better robot body than the prevailing technology—and they do!

#5

“Portal into Time” (1x11)

“Portal into Time,” which first aired on December 13, 1980, plunges Thundarr, Ariel, & Ookla into the distant past of the 1980s. As does “Mindok the Mind Menace,” “Portal into Time” also implies that 20th Century technology is equal to or better than that of 3994, which is chock full of advanced robots and ray-guns!

#4

Batman: The Animated Series (1992)

#5

The Tick (1994)

The Tick is a Saturday morning cartoon, which ran three seasons from 1994 to 1996 on the Fox Network. Sunbow Entertainment, along with Tick creator Ben Edlund produced 36 episodes of the animated series. The Tick first appeared in 1988 in an independent comic book written & drawn by Edlund.

The Tick is not the first super-hero parody, but it is arguably the best. Underdog, Mr Terrific, & Captain Nice all appeared on television in the 60s & featured incompetent super-heroes. Hong Kong Phooey & Dynomutt were Saturday morning animated series revolving around the same premise. However, none of these series has the sublime absurdity or satire of The Tick. The Greatest American Hero, Sky High, & The Incredibles all lampoon the super-hero genre as well, but each of these satires a different aspect, &, while all three are funny & very well-done, their tone is much different from that of The Tick, & none is remotely as hilariously ridiculous.

The Tick’s supporting cast consists of Arthur, the Tick’s nerdy sidekick who can fly thanks to his moth suit & who usually figures out how to defeat the villain, American Maid, possibly the City’s only competent super-hero, Die Fledermaus, an egotistical, womanizing, coward, & Sewer Urchin, something of a hybrid of Aquaman & Rain Man. The irony is the Tick is the only super-hero with powers—that is, useful powers—but he generally does not employ them effectively. The Tick, of course, is super-strong & “nigh-invulnerable.”

Townsend Coleman voiced the Tick, Mickey Dolenz (of the Monkees) & Rob Paulsen (Pinky & the Brain) voiced Arthur, & Cam Clarke voiced Die Fledermaus. Coleman, Paulsen, & Clarke also voiced Michaelangelo, Raphael, & Leonardo on the 1987 series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Kay Lenz (Rich Man, Poor Man, White Line Fever, Breezy) voiced American Maid & was, in fact, David Cassidy’s first wife from 1977 to 1982.

My The Tick Episode Rankings

Wade’s Ranking	The Tick episode
#1	“The Tick vs the Uncommon Cold” (1x08)
#2	“Leonardo da Vinci and His Fightin’ Genius Time Commandos” (2x04)
#3	“Coach Fussell’s Lament” (2x05)
#4	“Grandpa Wore Tights” (2x13)
#5	“The Tick vs Arthur’s Bank Account” (1x13)

Notes on favorite episodes

The Tick

#1

“The Tick vs the Uncommon Cold” (1x08)

“The Tick vs the Uncommon Cold,” which first aired on October 29, 1994, pits Arthur & the Tick against Thrakkorzog, the evil alien ruler of Dimension 14B, who is bent on conquering Earth with an army of Tick clones.

#2

“Leonardo da Vinci and His Fightin’ Genius Time Commandos” (2x04)

“Leonardo da Vinci and His Fightin’ Genius Time Commandos,” which first aired on October 7, 1995, features the villainous Mother of Innvention (voiced by Paul Williams, who also voiced the Penguin on Batman: The Animated Series) whose evil scheme involves kidnapping the most famous inventors throughout history (including George Washington Carver who is a formidible opponent when he has peanuts) & literally bombing the Rennaissance out of existence.

#3

“Coach Fussell’s Lament” (2x05)

“Coach Fussell’s Lament,” which originally aired on September 30, 1995, features the second appearance of the evil & creepy Brainchild (Charles) who seeks to auction off the Tick to the highest super-villain bidder to exact revenge on the Tick for humiliations suffered due to his first-season defeat (which included dancing lessons).

#4

“Grandpa Wore Tights” (2x13)

“Grandpa Wore Tights,” which originally aired on February 17, 1996, features the second extended appearance of the elderly super-villain, the Terror. (The Terror makes cameo appearances in “Coach Fussell’s Lament” & “Armless but Not Harmless.”) The Terror is one of the few Tick characters to appear in all three Tick media—comics, animated series, & live-action series. In “Grandpa Wore Tights,” the Terror & his Legion of Terror (Man-Eating Cow, Joseph Stalin, the Human Ton & his little friend Handy, & Tuun-La, Not of This Earth) use the Terror’s not-so-evil son, Terry, to secure the Desire-O-Vac.

#5

“The Tick vs Arthur’s Bank Account” (1x13)

“The Tick vs Arthur’s Bank Account,” which first aired on February 11, 1995, features the first appearance of the Terror & his Legion of Terror.

#6

Mighty Mouse the New Adventures (1987)

#7

Superman (1996)

#8

Super Friends (1973-1986)

Super Friends is the Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning animation version of the DC comic book super-hero team the Justice League of America (and sometimes they are referred to as such on the program). Super Friends was a long-running series from 1973 to 1986, which existed in no less than seven different formats/titles & ran for a total of eight seasons & 87 episodes (95 counting the eight so-called “lost” episodes, which actually aired in Australia before ever appearing on the US airwaves).

Super Friends Formats, Years Aired, & My Favorite Episodes of Each

Title	Years Originally Aired	Wade’s favorite episode
Super Friends	1973	“Gulliver’s Gigantic Goof” (1x14)
The All-New Super Friends Hour	1977	“The Coming of the Arthropods/The Invisible Menace/Initiation/River of Doom” (1x10)
Challenge of the Super Friends	1978	“The Beasts are Coming/Secret Origins of the Superfriends” (1x08)
The World’s Greatest Super Friends	1979	“” (2x13)
Super Friends	1980-1981	“” (1x13)
Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show	1984	“The Royal Ruse/The Wrath of Braniac” (1x05)
The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians	1985	“The Fear” (1x05)

Notes on favorite episodes

Super Friends

1973

“Gulliver’s Gigantic Goof” (1x14)

The first incarnation of Super Friends first aired on ABC on September 8, 1973. The first season of Super Friends consists of 16 60-minute single stories, usually involving some sort of human-created ecological disaster. The super-hero lineup is Superman, Batman (and Robin), Wonder Woman, & Aquaman with three one-time appearances each by the Flash, Green Arrow, & Plastic Man. The Super Friends also have two teenage sidekicks named Wendy & Marvin who assist them in every episode but are never seen again in subsequent incarnations of the show. Marvin (often called “Super-Marv”) has a gray dog who wears a green cape (as does Marv). This dog, named Wonderdog, behaves much like that other Hanna-Barbera canine, Scooby-Doo, &, indeed, Wendy is much like an amalgam of Velma & Daphne, while Marv resembles a Fred-Shaggy hybrid. No villains from the comics make any appearances in the first season, although the use of kryptonite to incapacitate Superman is common. The presence of Wendy, Marv, & Wonderdog, while making the show more kid-friendly, actually cheapens the iconic DC “Big Three” (Superman, Batman, & Wonder Woman), because the teenage duo (plus the dog) frequently solve the mystery first. Come on now—these kids are smarter than Superman & Batman???
“Gulliver’s Gigantic Goof” first aired on December 8, 1973 & features the aforementioned guest appearance of Green Arrow & a villain who plans to miniaturize everyone in the world except himself.

The All-New Super Friends Hour

1977

“The Coming of the Arthropods/The Invisible Menace/Initiation/River of Doom” (1x10)

The All-New Super Friends Hour features the introduction of the shapeshifting, alien, teenage heroes, Zan & Jayna (AKA: the Wonder Twins) & their alien pet monkey, Gleek. In addition, The All-New Super Friends Hour is the first version of the Super Friends to consist of several short cartoons rather than one continuous storyline. The All-New Super Friends Hour, in fact, always consists of four parts—a main short featuring all of the team battling a major threat, a solo Wonder Twins cartoon, & two shorts each featuring two heroes. The central cast is unchanged from the first season (except for the replacement of Wendy, Marvin, & Wonder Dog with the Wonder Twins & Gleek). The first segment always features two varying heroes from the main lineup (with the Dynamic Duo counting as one), the second segment is the Wonder Twins short, the third is the primary story, & the fourth segment features one hero from the main lineup & one guest star hero. In the second season of the Super Friends, these guest heroes are Hawkman & Hawkgirl, the Atom, Green Lantern, & the Flash, along with four ethnically diverse super-heroes—Black Vulcan, Apache Chief, Rima the Jungle Girl, & Samurai. Hanna-Barbera created Black Vulcan, Apache Chief, & Samurai for the Super Friends. DC comics subsequently incorporated these three into continuity. Rima the Jungle Girl had appeared in DC comics prior to her appearance on the Super Friends. However, she was a minor character & not associated with the JLA.
The All-New Super Friends Hour first aired on September 10, 1977. 15 60-minute episodes were produced.

Challenge of the Super Friends

1978

“The Beasts are Coming/Secret Origins of the Super Friends” (1x08)

In its third season incarnation, the Super Friends transformed into arguably its best & certainly most fondly remembered format. Challenge of the Super Friends is a two-part, 60-minute program. The first segment is essentially of the same formula, albeit longer, as the third segment of the previous season—The All-New Super Friends Hour—featuring the same super-hero lineup of Superman, Batman & Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, & the Wonder Twins. A notable difference between this segment & previous incarnations of the Super Friends is the occasional appearance of comic book super-villains, such as Mr Mxyzptlk & the Phantom Zone villains. The second segment of Challenge of the Super Friends, however, is radically different from any of the previous versions of the show & features the Legion of Doom versus the Super Friends. The Super Friends in this part are Superman, Batman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Hawkman, Apache Chief, Black Vulcan, & Samurai. The Legion of Doom are Lex Luthor, Brainiac, Sinestro, Riddler, Gorilla Grodd, Solomon Grundy, Bizarro, Captain Cold, Cheetah, the Scarecrow, Black Manta, Giganta, & Toyman—many of these in their first appearance in any medium outside comics. This marked the first appearance in the five years of the Super Friends of any of the heroes’ actual comic book nemeses.
Challenge of the Super Friends first aired on September 9, 1978 on ABC. 16 episodes were produced.
In “Secret Origins of the Super Friends,” which originally aired on October 28, 1978, Luthor concocts a plot whereby, through the use of time travel, he becomes Green Lantern instead of Hal Jordan, Cheetah becomes Wonder Woman in place of Princess Diana, & Kal-el’s ship is knocked off course never landing on Earth. One of the interesting aspects of this episode is the rationale given by Luthor in his selection of which super-heroes to eliminate or supplant, to wit, that Superman, Wonder Woman, & Green Lantern are the three most powerful of the Super Friends. This is essentially in line with the Bronze Age DC comics of the time. (One might argue that, of the JLA, Phantom Stranger may exceed Green Lantern in power, but the Stranger was not part of the Super Friends lineup.)

The World’s Greatest Super Friends

1979

“” (1x10)

The World’s Greatest Super Friends marks the first incarnation of the Super Friends with a total running time of 30, rather than 60 minutes. Each episode is of the same format & features the same cast of characters as the first segment of Challenge of the Super Friends & the third segment of The All-New Super Friends Hour, ie Superman, Batman & Robin, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, & the Wonder Twins. Just eight new episodes of the Super Friends were produced in this, its fourth season.

Super Friends

1980-1981

“” (1x10)

The fifth season incarnation returns to the show’s original title, simply Super Friends. This version also returns to more-or-less the same format as The All-New Super Friends Hour, ie three short cartoons with rotating casts of characters & guest stars. Super Friends aired for two seasons (the only version of Super Friends to do so), & a total of 22 episodes were produced. However, as mentioned above, the last eight of these episodes are the so-called lost episodes & did not air in the US until the mid-90s when they were released as part of a syndication package.

Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show

1984

“The Wrath of Brainiac” (1x05)

Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show is a two-segment 30-minute program, which features the introduction of Darkseid & Firestorm to the Super Friends cast. Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show is also noteworthy, because Adam West assumed the role of Batman from Olan Soule & because the show features the mid-80s new looks for Luthor, Brainiac, & Wonder Woman. Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show aired for one season & eight episodes.
“The Wrath of Brainiac” originally aired on September 15, 1984.

The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians

1985

“The Fear” (1x05)

The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians is the seventh & final incarnation of the Super Friends & the only version not to bear the words “Super Friends” in the title. The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians is also the first version of the Super Friends since 1977 which does not feature the Wonder Twins & features the first animated appearance of Cyborg in addition to the only Hanna-Barbera Super Friends appearances of the Joker or the Penguin. (The super-villains did make an appearance on The New Scooby-Doo Movies but were otherwise licensed to Filmation precluding their use by Hanna-Barbera.) The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians is slightly less consistent in format than previous Super Friends incarnations. Eight 30-minute episodes were produced & aired over the course of one season. Of these, six consist of a single, continuous storyline, but two episodes consist of two short segments featuring different plots & characters.
“The Fear” first aired on October 2, 1985 & was the first time Batman’s origin was told in any medium apart from comics.

#10

Underdog

Underdog is a Saturday morning (and in the 1967 season, a Sunday morning) TV cartoon, which originally aired from 1964 to 1969 first on NBC, then on CBS. W Watts Biggers produced & co-created Underdog, & his animation studio, Total Television, animated 32 episodes of the series. The first three episodes of Underdog were stand-alones & another rarely seen episode was actually an epilogue to the previous multi-part episode. The remaining 28 episodes (or 112, depending on how you look at it) were all four-parters. Underdog, when it originally aired, was a 30-minute show, which featured two Underdog episodes & a third short cartoon—either The Go-Go Gophers, The Hunter, or Klondike Kat.

In syndication, however Underdog was packaged with Tennessee Tuxedo & His Tales & The World of Commander McBragg, both of which first appeared on other cartoon series, actually pre-date Underdog by a year, & never appeared as part of a first-run Underdog show. They were, however, produced by the same animation studio, Total Television.

Actor/comedian/author Wally Cox voiced Underdog/Shoeshine Boy, while Norma MacMillan (perhaps best known as the voice of Casper the Friendly Ghost & Gumby) voiced Sweet Polly Purebred. Allen Swift voiced the only two recurring villains on Underdog, Simon Bar Sinister & Riff Raff.
Sweet Polly Purebred’s name is a take-off on Pearl Pureheart—Mighty Mouse’s romantic interest.

A surreal aspect of Underdog is that Underdog, Shoeshine Boy, Sweet Polly Purebred, & Riff Raff are all anthropomorphic dogs in a setting otherwise peopled with normal humans. The 1970s cartoon Hong Kong Phooey shares a similar situation.
Underdog nearly always speaks in rhyme.

Underdog, if not the first, was certainly among the earliest super-hero parodies on television, & among the first powerful heroes who is also strangely inept.
In 2007, a live-action version of Underdog was released theatrically in the US. It received generally bad reviews but was not altogether unsuccessful at the box office.

#11

Star Trek (The Animated Series)

#15

Hong Kong Phooey

Hong Kong Phooey is a Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon, which originally aired for a single season & 16 episodes in late 1974 on ABC. Hong Kong Phooey concerns a masked super-hero who uses his “kung fu powers” to fight crime. However, despite the great esteem in which the public holds the hero, Hong Kong Phooey is inept, & his sidekick, a cat named Spot, always thwarts the villain. This is a very similar premise to that on which The Tick was later based.

Hong Kong Phooey was a 30-minute program, which featured two unrelated Hong Kong Phooey shorts.

The well-known actor Scatman Crothers voiced Hong Kong Phooey.
A surreal aspect of Hong Kong Phooey similar to that of the 1960s animated series Underdog is that Hong Kong Phooey/Penry is the only anthropomorphic dog in a setting otherwise peopled with normal humans. Why would people not instantly suspect that Penry is the super-hero?
Hong Kong Phooey made regular appearances on the later Hanna-Barbera cartoon Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics, which aired from 1977 to 1979.

#17

The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour

The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour is a Saturday morning cartoon, which originally aired in 1976 on ABC & was produced by Hanna-Barbera. As the title suggests, The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour was a 60-minute show, which featured one episode of The Scooby-Doo Show & one episode of Dynomutt, Dog Wonder. The Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour ran for a single season & 16 episodes & was the third incarnation of Scooby-Doo.

Four new episodes of Dynomutt, Dog Wonder (retitled as The Blue Falcon & Dynomutt) were produced for the second season, which was retitled Scooby’s All-Star Laff-A-Lympics.

The new thing here is the super-hero team of the Blue Falcon & Dog Wonder. BF is much like Batman, while his sidekick, the robotic Dynomutt is yet another version of the inept super-hero. Dog Wonder frequently fouls up, whether due to malfunction or general clumsiness, Blue Falcon just as he is about to nab the bad guy. However, Dynomutt also frequently thwarts the crook later on by accident.
From time to time, Scooby & the gang appear on Dynomutt, Dog Wonder to aid BF & his stalwart sidekick. This is a bit ironic, because Batman & Robin (along with the Joker & Penguin) appear in two episodes of the previous incarnation of Scooby-Doo, The New Scooby-Doo Movies (1972-1974).
Blue Falcon was voiced by Gary Owens, perhaps best known as the announcer on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In in addition to providing the voice for Space Ghost & numerous other animated characters. Owens also voiced the Cylon Starbuck dubs Cy (and who later identifies himself as Group Leader Cyrus) in the Galactica 1980 episode “The Return of Starbuck.”
Blue Falcon’s secret identity is Radley Crown, a wealthy art dealer.