The Skatebirds facts for kids

The Skatebirds was a fun TV show from Hanna-Barbera Productions. It mixed live-action scenes with animated cartoons. The show first aired on CBS on September 10, 1977. It was a popular Saturday morning program for kids.

Meet The Skatebirds

The main characters of The Skatebirds were three large birds. They wore costumes and rode on roller skates!

• Knock-Knock was a woodpecker, voiced by Lennie Weinrib.
• Satchel was a pelican, voiced by Bob Holt.
• Scooter was a penguin, voiced by Don Messick.

Their main enemy was a sneaky cat named Scat Cat. He was voiced by Scatman Crothers. In the live-action parts of the show, Scat Cat was always chasing the roller-skating birds. He tried to trick them or get the best of them. These scenes were filmed in different theme parks. This made the show feel like a big adventure.

What Was The Show Like?

The Skatebirds was made up of four shorter parts. The Skatebirds characters would introduce each part in live-action scenes. The show included three animated cartoons and one live-action adventure.

• The Robonic Stooges
• Wonder Wheels
• Woofer & Wimper, Dog Detectives
• Mystery Island (a live-action segment)

The show's style was similar to another famous Hanna-Barbera show, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour. However, The Skatebirds did not use a laugh track. This was different from many kids' shows in the 1970s.

How Long Did It Air?

The original Skatebirds show had 16 episodes. It ran from September 10, 1977, to January 21, 1978. Later, in 1979, the show returned to CBS. It was a shorter, 30-minute version. This new version aired on Sunday mornings. It included the Wonder Wheels and Mystery Island segments. The other cartoons, The Robonic Stooges and Woofer & Whimper, got their own separate show.

In the late 1980s and 1990s, different versions of The Skatebirds were shown. You could watch it on channels like USA Cartoon Express, Cartoon Network, and Boomerang.

Show's Theme Songs

The show had different opening songs depending on the version.

Original Opening Song

The first, hour-long version had a voice-over by Wally Burr. He would say:

It's Skatebird time and here come The Skatebirds – Knock-Knock, Scooter, Satchel and Scat Cat. Then, The Robonic Stooges, plus the spine-tingling suspense-filled excitement of Mystery Island, and the doggone it daffy doings of those dog detectives, Woofer & Whimper, and more...the unbelievable adventures of an unbelievable motorcycle, Wonder Wheels. For all-out fun, it's Satch, Knock-Knock, Scooter and Scat Cat...and for suspense, mystery and adventure, it's The Skatebirds Show!

Later Opening Song

The shorter, syndicated version had a voice-over by Ronnie Schell. He would say:

It's Skatebird time starring Knock-Knock, Satchel and Scooter, those featheared clowns of fantasy. Along with Willie the Wheeler and the superhero cycle known as Wonder Wheels, as well as those three mechanical marbles, The Robonic Stooges. One big collection of wild, wacky and wonderful characters...The Skatebirds!

The music at the end of the show was the same as the theme for CB Bears. This music was also used for Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels.

The Cartoon Segments

Let's take a closer look at the cartoons and live-action adventure that were part of The Skatebirds show.

The Robonic Stooges

This cartoon featured the famous characters The Three Stooges. They were Moe (voiced by Paul Winchell), Larry (voiced by Joe Baker), and Curly (voiced by Frank Welker). In this show, they were clumsy, crime-fighting superheroes with bionic powers! Their boss, Agent 000 (voiced by Ross Martin), gave them missions from his Superhero Employment Agency.

Wonder Wheels

This segment followed a high school journalist named Willie Wheeler (voiced by Micky Dolenz). He and his friend Dooley (voiced by Susan Davis) solved mysteries. They had help from Willie's amazing motorcycle, Wonder Wheels. This motorcycle could change its shape and had a mind of its own! When Willie needed to act, his old motorcycle would transform into a super cool, souped-up version.

Woofer & Wimper, Dog Detectives

This was a shorter version of another cartoon called Clue Club. It focused on two talking bloodhounds, Woofer and Wimper. They were voiced by Paul Winchell and Jim MacGeorge. These dog detectives helped a group of teenagers solve mysteries. The teens were Larry (voiced by David Jolliffe), Pepper (voiced by Patricia Stitch), D.D. (voiced by Bob Hastings), and Dottie (voiced by Tara Talboy). The mysteries usually ended with Sheriff Bagley (voiced by John Stephenson) arresting the bad guys.

Mystery Island

This was the live-action adventure part of the show. It was about a plane crew who got stuck on a faraway island. The crew included pilot Chuck Kelly (played by Stephen Parr), computer expert Sue Corwin (played by Lynn Marie Johnston), her younger brother Sandy (played by Larry Volk), and their robot, P.O.P.S. (voiced by Frank Welker). An evil scientist named Dr. Strange (played by Michael Kermoyan) used a special beam to pull their plane down onto Mystery Island. Dr. Strange wanted to capture P.O.P.S. to help him take over the world.

Who Played The Skatebirds?

Here's a list of the characters and the actors who played them:

Other Appearances

The Skatebirds characters also appeared in a TV special. They were special guests at a celebrity roast for Fred Flintstone. This was in the show Hanna-Barbera's All-Star Comedy Ice Revue in 1978.

Skatebirds Merchandise

You could find some cool items based on The Skatebirds show!

• A board game was released by Milton Bradley in 1978. It was for 2-3 players, aged 7-12. In the game, The Skatebirds tried to put on their TV show. Scat Cat tried to mess up their plans! The first player to reach the Skatebirds' Treehouse Studio won. The game board also featured characters from Woofer and Wimper and The Robonic Stooges.
• A coloring book called Skatebirds Present The Robonic Stooges came out in 1978. It was published by Rand McNally.