Underdog (TV series) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Underdog |
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Underdog in opening credits
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| Genre | |
| Created by | W. Watts Biggers Joe Harris |
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| Narrated by | George S. Irving |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 62 (124 segments) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | W. Watts Biggers |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
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| Original release | October 3, 1964 – March 4, 1967 |
Underdog is a fun American cartoon TV show that aired from October 3, 1964, to March 4, 1967. It first showed on the NBC network and later moved to CBS. The show was sponsored by General Mills and had 62 episodes. You could still watch Underdog in reruns until 1973.
The main hero, Underdog, is the secret identity of a humble character named Shoeshine Boy. He always shows up when his friend, Sweet Polly Purebred, is in danger. Polly is often targeted by bad guys like Simon Bar Sinister or Riff Raff. Underdog is known for almost always speaking in rhyming lines, like his famous saying, "There's no need to fear, Underdog is here!" The voice for Underdog was done by Wally Cox.
Contents
Meet the Characters
Underdog is a dog superhero who acts like a human. His secret identity is Shoeshine Boy, a kind and lovable character. George S. Irving was the narrator for the show. The funny actor Wally Cox voiced both Underdog and Shoeshine Boy.
When trouble appeared, Shoeshine Boy would quickly find a telephone booth. Inside, he would change into the caped hero, Underdog. His superpowers were so strong that the telephone booth would often break apart during his transformation! Underdog almost always spoke in rhymes, like this:
- "When Polly's in trouble, I am not slow,
- It's hip-hip-hip and AWAY I GO!!!"
When Underdog arrived to save the day, he would often say:
- "There's no need to fear--
- Underdog is here!"
Many episodes ended with a funny scene. A crowd of people would look up at the sky and say, "Look in the sky!" "It's a plane!" "It's a bird!" Then, a woman with glasses would shout, "It's a frog!" Another person would ask, "A frog?" Underdog would then reply:
- "Not plane, nor bird, nor even frog,
- It's just little old me ... [Underdog would then crash into something, and sheepishly finish] "Heh-heh-heh. Underdog."
Underdog often caused some damage while saving the day. When someone complained about it, he would say:
- "I am a hero who never fails;
- I cannot be bothered with such details."
Friends and Foes
The villains usually tried to harm Sweet Polly Purebred, who was a dog TV reporter. She was often in trouble and would sing, "Oh, where, oh, where has my Underdog gone? Oh, where, oh, where can he be?" She sang this tune whenever she was in danger.
Some of the main villains included:
- Simon Bar Sinister: He is a mad scientist with a voice that sounds like a famous actor named Lionel Barrymore. Allen Swift voiced him.
- Riff Raff: Also voiced by Allen Swift, Riff Raff is a wolf gangster. He is based on the actor George Raft. His main helper is Mooch. Other gang members appeared in different episodes.
Other villains Underdog faced were The Electric Eel, Battyman, Tap Tap the Chisler, and Overcat. Underdog also fought enemies from other planets, like the Marbleheads from Granite, the Magnet Men, aliens from Zot, and the Flying Sorcerers.
How the Show Was Made
Most Underdog adventures were told in four parts, like a mini-series. Other cartoons, such as Go Go Gophers and The Hunter, were shown in between the Underdog parts. Later, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, NBC showed all four parts of an Underdog story in one half-hour episode.
The show was also shown in different cartoon packages. One was called Cartoon Cut-Ups, which had two Underdog parts along with Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales and The World of Commander McBragg. Later, the Underdog Show package included all 124 Underdog parts and featured Tennessee Tuxedo, Commander McBragg, Go Go Gophers, and Klondike Kat.
In these other cartoons, Tennessee Tuxedo, a penguin, had two friends: Chumley the walrus and Professor Phineas J. Whoopie, "the Man With All The Answers." Don Adams, famous for Get Smart and Inspector Gadget, voiced Tennessee Tuxedo. Larry Storch voiced Professor Phineas J. Whoopie. While these characters were fun, none became as popular as Underdog.
Underdog's Superpowers
When Underdog is not saving the day, he is secretly Shoeshine Boy. Just like Superman, when there's trouble, he quickly changes in a phone booth. Sometimes, to get his powers back, he would take an "Underdog Super Energy Pill." This special pill was kept inside a ring he always wore. Before taking it, he would often say: "The secret compartment of my ring I fill / With an Underdog Super Energy Pill."
In some episodes, Underdog would lose his ring and become powerless. He would then say, "Without my Super Energy Pill / I grow weaker and weaker and weaker still." He would become very weak, but since it's a kids' cartoon, he was always safe. When the show was rerun in the 1980s and 1990s, the parts where he took his energy pill were sometimes removed. In a newer release, the word "Energy" was changed to "Vitamin."
Underdog has amazing superhuman powers. His powers sometimes changed from episode to episode. For example, in one episode, he could easily move planets! In another, his Super Energy Pill, even when diluted in a city's water, gave normal people enough strength to bend thick steel bars.
Some of his many powers include:
- Super strength
- Super speed
- Supersonic flight (flying faster than sound)
- Physical invulnerability (nothing can hurt him)
- X-ray vision
- Super breath
- Cosmic vision
- Atomic breath
- Atomizing eyes
- Ultrasonic hearing (hearing very high-pitched sounds)
- A supersonic high-pitch hi-fi voice
- A great calculating brain (he's super smart!)
Underdog in Other Media
Books and Comics
Underdog has appeared in many books and comic books:
- He was in a Little Golden Book called Underdog and the Disappearing Ice Cream in 1975.
- Charlton Comics made 10 comic books about him from 1970 to 1972, mostly based on the cartoon stories.
- Gold Key Comics published 23 comic books with new stories from 1975 to 1979.
- Spotlight Comics released three issues in 1987.
- Harvey Comics had a one-shot comic in 1993 and a five-issue series from 1993 to 1994, reprinting old Charlton Comics stories.
- American Mythology Comics started a new comic series in 2017.
Theme Song
The show is also famous for its catchy theme song, "Underdog." The music was arranged by Robert Weitz, and the lyrics were written by Chester Stover, W. Watts Biggers, Treadwell Covington, and Joseph Harris. Robert Ragaini sang the original song.
Many artists have covered the theme song:
- The Butthole Surfers included a version on a 1995 tribute album called Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits.
- Ted Kooshian's Standard Orbit Quartet put the song on their 2009 CD Underdog, And Other Stories... .
- An extended a cappella version was performed by The Blanks on the TV show Scrubs. They later recorded it on their 2004 album Riding the Wave.
- The hip-hop music producer RZA and members of the Wu-Tang Clan used a sample of the "Underdog" theme in their 1993 song "Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuttin To F' Wit." This song was on their first album, Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).
- The Underdog theme was also used in a commercial for Reebok ZQuick shoes in 2014.
DVD Releases
You can find Underdog on DVD and VHS:
- In 1996, Sony Wonder released a four-volume VHS collection.
- In 2007, Classic Media released Underdog on DVD in three volumes. Each volume had six digitally restored episodes, including two Underdog parts and other cartoons.
- In 2012, Shout! Factory released a 9-disc "Complete Series" set. This set included new bonus features and tried to make the shows look like their original TV airings.
Movie Adaptation
In 2005, news came out that a live-action Underdog movie was being made. The story was about a small dog named Shoeshine who gets superpowers after a lab accident. When a 15-year-old boy adopts him, they share the secret that Shoeshine is really Underdog.
Actor Peter Dinklage played the villain Simon Bar Sinister. Alex Neuberger played Underdog's human friend, Jack Unger. Filming began in March 2006, and the movie was released on August 3, 2007. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributed the film. Shoeshine/Underdog was voiced by Jason Lee and played by a golden beagle named Leo, who wore a red sweater and a blue cape. The movie received mostly negative reviews but still earned $65.3 million worldwide.
Radio Show
In 1999, W. Watts Biggers, one of the creators, made a new Underdog episode as a half-hour radio show. It was narrated by newsman Tom Ellis and had new music by Biggers. In this adventure, the evil Simon Bar Sinister creates a special baseball to turn good people bad. He tries to become king of Boston, but Underdog (voiced by Biggers) and Sweet Polly Purebred (voiced by Nancy Purbeck) stop him.
Images for kids
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Underdog in opening credits
See also
In Spanish: Underdog (serie de televisión) para niños
