Underdog
Encyclopedia
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
.
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).
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:
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.
. 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 villain
s 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
:
Underdog's most frequent saying when he appeared was:
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:
Underdog usually caused a lot of collateral damage
. Whenever someone complained about the damage, Underdog replied:
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:
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.
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:
.
A cover of the song, performed by Butthole Surfers
, is included on the 1995 tribute album
Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, 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.
In 1993 american hip-hop producer and members of the Wu-Tang Clan
the RZA
sampled "Underdog" theme in the song titled "Wu-Tang Clain Ain't Nuttin To F' Wit". This song was released in Wu-Tang debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
.
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. On February 21st, 2012, Shout! Factory
and Classic Media will release a 10-disc Complete Series set containing new bonus material including commentaries. According to Shout!, they're rebuilding the shows to their original television airing as best as they can.
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.
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
network under the primary sponsorship of General Mills
General Mills
General Mills, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 corporation, primarily concerned with food products, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The company markets many well-known brands, such as Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Colombo, Totinos, Jeno's, Pillsbury, Green...
, 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
Simon Bar Sinister
Dr. Simon Bar Sinister was the main antagonist in the Underdog cartoon show. Simon is the wickedest man in the world, and it was his ambition to rule the world, but each time, Underdog defeated him.-Character:...
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
Wally Cox
Wallace Maynard Cox was an American comedian and actor, particularly associated with the early years of television in the United States. He appeared in the U.S. TV series Mr. Peepers , plus several other popular shows, and as a character actor in over 20 films...
.
History
In 1959, handling the General MillsGeneral Mills
General Mills, Inc. is an American Fortune 500 corporation, primarily concerned with food products, which is headquartered in Golden Valley, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. The company markets many well-known brands, such as Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Colombo, Totinos, Jeno's, Pillsbury, Green...
account as an account executive with the Dancer Fitzgerald Sample
Dancer Fitzgerald Sample
Dancer Fitzgerald Sample was a top tier Madison Avenue advertising agency during the 20th century originally founded in Chicago in 1923. It was acquired and merged into the Saatchi & Saatchi network in the 1980s.-History:...
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
King Leonardo and his Short Subjects
King Leonardo and his Short Subjects was an animated cartoon series released in 1960 by Total Television , sponsored by General Mills.-Characters and story:...
, Tennessee Tuxedo
Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales
Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales is a popular, semi-educational animated cartoon TV series that originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1966. It was produced by Total Television, the same company that produced the earlier King Leonardo and the later Underdog, and primarily sponsored by General Mills...
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
Total Television
Total Television was an American animation studio responsible for many well known American Saturday Morning cartoon television animated series.-History:...
, with animation produced at Gamma Studios
Gamma Productions
Producciones Animadas Gamma S.A. was a Mexican animation studio that served as an animation house for cartoons produced by Jay Ward and Total Television. Founded in 1959 as Val-Mar Studios, it was set up to do animation production for Rocky and His Friends...
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
George S. Irving
George S. Irving is an American actor, known primarily for his character roles on Broadway. Born George Irving Shelasky in Springfield, Massachusetts, he made his debut in the original 1943 production of Oklahoma!, only to be drafted days later to serve in World War II...
, 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
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
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
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
producer Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels
Lorne Michaels, CM is a Canadian-American television producer, writer, and comedian best known for creating and producing Saturday Night Live and producing the various film and TV projects that spun off from it.-Early life:...
, who later sold the rights to Golden Books. When Classic Media
Classic Media
Classic Media, LLC, is an American production company and distributor of family programming. It was founded in 2000 by former Marvel Entertainment CEO Eric Ellenbogen and former Broadway Video executive John Engelman in hopes of acquiring mismanaged classic properties and giving exposure to...
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 superheroSuperhero
A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...
. The premise was that "humble and lovable" Shoeshine Boy, a cartoon dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
, was in truth the superhero Underdog. George S. Irving
George S. Irving
George S. Irving is an American actor, known primarily for his character roles on Broadway. Born George Irving Shelasky in Springfield, Massachusetts, he made his debut in the original 1943 production of Oklahoma!, only to be drafted days later to serve in World War II...
narrated, and comedy actor Wally Cox
Wally Cox
Wallace Maynard Cox was an American comedian and actor, particularly associated with the early years of television in the United States. He appeared in the U.S. TV series Mr. Peepers , plus several other popular shows, and as a character actor in over 20 films...
provided the voices of both Underdog and Shoeshine Boy. When villain
Villain
A villain is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist, the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters...
s threatened, Shoeshine Boy ducked into a telephone booth
Telephone booth
A telephone booth, telephone kiosk, telephone call box or telephone box is a small structure furnished with a payphone and designed for a telephone user's convenience. In the USA, Canada and Australia, "telephone booth" is used, while in the UK and the rest of the Commonwealth it is a "telephone...
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
Rhyme
A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds in two or more words and is most often used in poetry and songs. The word "rhyme" may also refer to a short poem, such as a rhyming couplet or other brief rhyming poem such as nursery rhymes.-Etymology:...
:
- 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
Collateral damage
Collateral damage is damage to people or property that is unintended or incidental to the intended outcome. The phrase is prevalently used as an euphemism for civilian casualties of a military action.-Etymology:...
. 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
Norma MacMillan
Norma MacMillan was a Canadian voice actor.Norma MacMillan was a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was there that she met, worked with and married her producer/manager husband Thor Arngrim. Arngrim had started the now-legendary, but short-lived Totem Theatre company in 1951...
), an anthropomorphic canine TV reporter, as part of their nefarious schemes; she was a helpless damsel in distress
Damsel in distress
The subject of the damsel in distress, or persecuted maiden, is a classic theme in world literature, art, and film. She is usually a beautiful young woman placed in a dire predicament by a villain or monster and who requires a hero to achieve her rescue. She has become a stock character of fiction,...
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
Septimus Winner
Septimus Winner is best known as a songwriter of the nineteenth century. He used his own name, and also the pseudonyms Alice Hawthorne, Percy Guyer, Mark Mason, Apsley Street, and Paul Stenton...
," whenever in jeopardy. Recurring villains included:
- Simon Bar SinisterSimon Bar SinisterDr. Simon Bar Sinister was the main antagonist in the Underdog cartoon show. Simon is the wickedest man in the world, and it was his ambition to rule the world, but each time, Underdog defeated him.-Character:...
, voiced by Allen SwiftAllen SwiftIra Stadlen , known professionally as Allen Swift, was an American voice actor, known for playing characters including Simon Bar Sinister and Riff-Raff on the Underdog cartoon show...
, is a mad scientistMad scientistA mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
with a voice reminiscent of Lionel BarrymoreLionel BarrymoreLionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul...
. 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 wolfGray WolfThe gray wolf , also known as the wolf, is the largest extant wild member of the Canidae family...
gangsterGangsterA gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are considered to be part of organized crime. Gangsters are also called mobsters, a term derived from mob and the suffix -ster....
based on noted actor George RaftGeorge RaftGeorge Raft was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s...
. 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
Serial (radio and television)
Serials are series of television programs and radio programs that rely on a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode by episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even the full run of the series, which distinguishes them from...
episodes. Other cartoons, including Go Go Gophers
Go Go Gophers
Go Go Gophers is a western/comedy animated series that originally appeared on the Underdog series from 1966 to 1968 before being briefly spun off as a separate series on CBS in 1968 and 1969. It was apparently created as a parody of F Troop, a western/comedy series that aired from...
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
Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales
Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales is a popular, semi-educational animated cartoon TV series that originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1966. It was produced by Total Television, the same company that produced the earlier King Leonardo and the later Underdog, and primarily sponsored by General Mills...
and The World of Commander McBragg
Commander McBragg
Commander McBragg is a cartoon character who appeared in short segments produced by Total Television Productions and animated by Gamma Productions...
. 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
Klondike Kat
Klondike Kat was a cartoon produced by Total Television and originally aired as part of The Beagles on CBS-TV, and later found in the U.S. syndicated Underdog and Tennessee Tuxedo cartoon series, in between episodes as an animated short.-Plot:...
in various episodes. A syndicated package prepared for distribution outside the United States (and also aired on the Boomerang cable network
Boomerang (TV channel)
Boomerang is a 24-hour American cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner. Boomerang specializes in reruns of animated programming from Time Warner's extensive archives, including pre-1986 MGM, Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
) 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
King Leonardo and his Short Subjects
King Leonardo and his Short Subjects was an animated cartoon series released in 1960 by Total Television , sponsored by General Mills.-Characters and story:...
, Klondike Kat, Tennessee Tuxedo, The Hunter, Tooter Turtle
Tooter Turtle
Tooter Turtle was a cartoon about a rather dopey-looking turtle who first appeared on TV in 1960, as a segment, along with The Hunter , as part of the King Leonardo and His Short Subjects program.Tooter debuted on NBC, on Saturday, October 15, 1960, and ran for 39 original episodes through July...
, 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
Don Adams
Don Adams was an American actor, comedian and director. In his five decades on television, he was best known as Maxwell Smart in the television situation comedy Get Smart , which he also sometimes directed and wrote. Adams won three consecutive Emmy Awards for his portrayal of Smart...
of Get Smart
Get Smart
Get Smart is an American comedy television series that satirizes the secret agent genre. Created by Mel Brooks with Buck Henry, the show starred Don Adams , Barbara Feldon , and Edward Platt...
(and later Inspector Gadget
Inspector Gadget
Inspector Gadget is an animated television series that revolves around the adventures of a clumsy, simple-witted cyborg detective named Inspector Gadget – a human being with various bionic gadgets built into his body. Gadget's arch-nemesis is Dr...
) fame; knowledgeable professor Phineas J. Whoopee was voiced by Larry Storch
Larry Storch
Lawrence Samuel "Larry" Storch is an American actor best known for his comic television roles, including voice-over work for top cartoon shows, including Mr...
of F Troop
F Troop
F Troop is a satirical American television sitcom that originally aired for two seasons on ABC-TV. It debuted in the United States on September 14, 1965 and concluded its run on April 6, 1967 with a total of 65 episodes. The first season of 34 episodes was filmed in black-and-white, but the show...
fame. With the possible exception of Tennessee Tuxedo, none of these characters ever reached Underdog's level of popularity.
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. In the recent release, "Underdog: The Ultimate Collection", the word "energy" was replaced with "vitamin."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 FlightFlightFlight is the process by which an object moves either through an atmosphere or beyond it by generating lift or propulsive thrust, or aerostatically using buoyancy, or by simple ballistic movement....
beyond supersonic speeds - Invulnerability to almost all forms of physical harm
- X-Ray VisionX-Ray VisionIn science fiction stories or superhero comics, X-ray vision is the ability to see through physical objects at the discretion of the holder of this superpower. The most famous possessor of this ability is DC Comics' iconic superhero character, Superman....
- Super Breath
- Cosmic RayCosmic rayCosmic rays are energetic charged subatomic particles, originating from outer space. They may produce secondary particles that penetrate the Earth's atmosphere and surface. The term ray is historical as cosmic rays were thought to be electromagnetic radiation...
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 HarrisJoseph Harris
Joseph Vikram "Joe" Harris is an Indian-born Canadian cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-hand off-break bowler....
.
A cover of the song, performed by Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers
Butthole Surfers is an American alternative rock band formed by Gibby Haynes and Paul Leary in San Antonio, Texas in 1981. The band has had numerous personnel changes, but its core lineup of Haynes, Leary, and drummer King Coffey has been consistent since 1983. Teresa Nervosa served as second...
, is included on the 1995 tribute album
Tribute album
A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits, produced by Ralph Sall
Ralph Sall
Ralph Sall is a record producer, music supervisor, composer, songwriter, and screenwriter. He is the president of Bulletproof Entertainment, a company involved in several facets of the entertainment industry, including film, television, comic books and graphic novels, music, internet and live...
for MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
.
The "Underdog" theme is covered by Ted Kooshian
Ted Kooshian
Ted Kooshian is a New York jazz pianist and keyboardist who has performed with artists that include Aretha Franklin, Chuck Berry, Toni Braxton, Marvin Hamlisch, Sarah Brightman, and Blood, Sweat, and Tears. Kooshian has played in many Broadway pit orchestras, and is a member of the Ed Palermo Big...
's Standard Orbit Quartet on their CD "Underdog, And Other Stories..." (2009).
An extended acapella version was done by The Blanks
The Blanks
The Blanks are an a cappella group. Most notably, they appeared in the TV series Scrubs in a recurring guest role, under various names such as Ted's Band and The Worthless Peons...
on the TV program Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
during the episode titled "My Hero". They later recorded it on their 2004 album Riding the Wave
Riding the Wave
Riding the Wave is a 2004 album by The Blanks. It features both original songs by the band and cover versions of other songs, most of which were performed on the TV series Scrubs. It also features candid recordings of the cast and production team of Scrubs . Sam Lloyd was written into the script...
.
In the Harry Dresden
Harry Dresden
Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden is a fictional detective and wizard. He was created by Jim Butcher and is the protagonist of the contemporary fantasy series The Dresden Files. The series blends magic and hardboiled detective fiction...
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.
In 1993 american hip-hop producer and members of the Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
The Wu-Tang Clan is a hip-hop group from Staten Island that consists of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. They are frequently joined by fellow childhood friend Cappadonna, a quasi member of the group...
the RZA
RZA
Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, better known by his stage name RZA , is an American Grammy-winning music producer, multi-instrumentalist, author, emcee, and occasional actor, director, and screenwriter. A prominent figure in Hip Hop, RZA is the de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has produced almost...
sampled "Underdog" theme in the song titled "Wu-Tang Clain Ain't Nuttin To F' Wit". This song was released in Wu-Tang debut album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Enter the Wu-Tang is the debut album of American hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, released November 9, 1993, on Loud Records and distributed through RCA Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during 1992 to 1993 at Firehouse Studio in New York City, and it was mastered at The Hit Factory...
.
Other media
- Underdog has also appeared in one Little Golden BookLittle Golden BooksLittle Golden Books is a popular series of children's books. The first 12 titles were published on October 1, 1942:#Three Little Kittens#Bedtime Stories#Mother Goose#Prayers for Children#The Little Red Hen#Nursery Songs...
, Underdog and the Disappearing Ice Cream. - Charlton ComicsCharlton ComicsCharlton Comics was an American comic book publishing company that existed from 1946 to 1985, having begun under a different name in 1944. It was based in Derby, Connecticut...
produced a comic bookComic bookA comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
that ran 10 issues from July 1970 – January 1972. - Gold Key ComicsGold Key ComicsGold Key Comics was an imprint of Western Publishing created for comic books distributed to newsstands. Also known as Whitman Comics, Gold Key operated from 1962 to 1984.-History:...
produced a comic book that ran 23 issues from March 1975 – February 1979. - Spotlight Comics did 3 issues in 1987
- Harvey ComicsHarvey ComicsHarvey Comics was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfred Harvey in 1941, after buying out the small publisher Brookwood Publications. His brothers Robert B...
did a one-shot in 1993, and a 5-issue series form November 1993 – July 1994. - In FriendsFriendsFriends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
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 MediaClassic Media
Classic Media, LLC, is an American production company and distributor of family programming. It was founded in 2000 by former Marvel Entertainment CEO Eric Ellenbogen and former Broadway Video executive John Engelman in hopes of acquiring mismanaged classic properties and giving exposure to...
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. On February 21st, 2012, Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
and Classic Media will release a 10-disc Complete Series set containing new bonus material including commentaries. According to Shout!, they're rebuilding the shows to their original television airing as best as they can.
Film adaptation
In 2005, VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
reported that a live-action Underdog motion picture was in development by Spyglass Entertainment
Spyglass Entertainment
Spyglass Entertainment is an American film production company, co-founded by Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum in 1998. The studio was founded with an investment from European media conglomerates Kirch Group and Mediaset, and a five-year distribution deal with The Walt Disney Company...
, 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
Peter Dinklage
Peter Dinklage is an American film, television and theater actor. Since his breakout role in the 2003 film The Station Agent, he has acted in Elf, Underdog, Find Me Guilty, the 2007 film Death at a Funeral and its 2010 remake, and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian...
was cast to play Simon Bar Sinister, while Alex Neuberger
Alex Neuberger
Alexander James Neuberger is an American actor.Alex Neuberger was born in Cottage Grove, Minnesota. His first role was in the 2006 film, Running Scared, a thriller starring Paul Walker. Neuberger plays "Nicky Gazelle", the son of Walker's character...
was cast to play Underdog's human companion Jack Unger. The movie started filming in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
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
Walt Disney Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Pictures and Television, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, based at the Walt Disney...
. Shoeshine/Underdog, voiced by Jason Lee, was played by a lemon Beagle
Beagle
The Beagle is a breed of small to medium-sized dog. A member of the Hound Group, it is similar in appearance to the Foxhound, but smaller, with shorter legs and longer, softer ears. Beagles are scent hounds, developed primarily for tracking hare, rabbit, and other game...
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 MuldowneySuzanne MuldowneySuzanne Muldowney is a performance artist best known for her appearances on The Howard Stern Show to discuss and perform her dance interpretation of the cartoon character Underdog.-History:...
- Underdog (film)Underdog (film)Underdog is a 2007 American live-action comedy film based on the cartoon series of the same name. The film was directed by Frederik Du Chau and stars Peter Dinklage as Dr. Simon Bar Sinister, Patrick Warburton as Cad Lackley, and Jason Lee as the voice of Underdog. The film also stars Jim Belushi,...
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