Underdog

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For other uses, see Underdog (disambiguation).

Underdog was an American animated television series that debuted on October 3, 1964, on the NBC network and continued in sydnication until 1973 for a run of approximately 120 episodes over NBC, and occasionally, CBS.

Contents 1 History 2 Super Powers 3 Comic books 4 Radio 5 Film adaptation 6 Trivia 7 See also 8 External links

[edit] History

In 1960, 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, Tread 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 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 sponsor in 1969.

Underdog was an anthropomorphic superhero parody of Superman and similar heroes with secret identities. The premise was that "humble and lovable" Shoeshine Boy, a cartoon dog, was in truth the superhero Underdog. George 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, I am not slow,

So 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 when Underdog first reveals himself. A crowd of people look up in the sky would say: "Look in the sky. It's a bird! It's a plane!" After which one woman exclaims, "It's a frog!" Another onlooker responds "a frog?" To this, Underdog replies with these words:

Not bird, not plane, not even frog, it's just little old me, (at this point, Underdog crashes into something) 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 these details.

The villains almost always managed to menace Sweet Polly Purebred (voiced by Norma McMillan), 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?", which she sings to the tune of the song "Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone" when in jeopardy. Recurring villains included Simon Bar Sinister, a mad scientist with a voice reminiscent of Lionel Barrymore, his assistant Cad and Riff Raff, an anthropomorphic wolf gangster based on the noted actor George Raft. Other villains include The Electric (Slippery) Eel, Battyman, and Overcat.

Unlike Superman, Underdog's super powers are not a natural part of his physical makeup. When he is not Underdog, he is incognito as a shoeshine boy and hurriedly dresses in a phone booth like Superman when trouble calls; he must take an "Underdog Super Energy Vitamin Pill" to ignite his powers (like Mister Terrific). He keeps one of these pills inside a special ring he wears at all times. Several episodes show Underdog losing the ring and being powerless, since he must take another pill as his super powers begin to fail. When the series was syndicated in the 1980s and 1990s, the scenes of him taking his energy pill were edited out. Animation fans lambast this as a form of political correctness, as they believe the scenes were removed in order to prevent any glorification of drug use.

The show ran in two-part and four-part serial episodes. Usually two brief episodes were shown in a single show along with other cartoon shorts: Go Go Gophers, King Leonardo and his Short Subjects, Klondike Kat, Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales, The Hunter, Tooter Turtle and The World of Commander McBragg. Tennessee Tuxedo was voiced by Don Adams of Get Smart (and later Inspector Gadget) fame. With the possible exception of Tennessee Tuxedo, none of these characters ever reached Underdog's plateau of popularity. Only, when it was shown on a major network like NBC, were all four episodes shown on the same half hour, without the extra cartoons. The show is also remembered for its clever and dramatic theme song.

Underdog was also on ABC in Australia in February 18, 1966, and he appeared in some comic books and one Little Golden Book, Underdog and the Disappearing Ice Cream.

In 1995, Biggers, Stover, Covington and Harris negotiated a sale of their creations to Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels, who later sold the rights to Golden Books. Classic Media currently owns the underlying rights to Underdog.

The character's appeal has survived into the 21st Century. A balloon of Underdog has been an annual attraction in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and Underdog also starred in a credit card commercial for the Visa Check Card in 2005.

The Butthole Surfers covered the theme song for the Saturday Morning Cartoon's Greatest Hits album.

[edit] Super Powers

Underdog gets his powers from a special "super energy pill" concealed in a special ring. Before taking one, he would utter the words, "The secret compartment of my ring I fill with an Underdog Super Energy Pill". He appears to be a normal, powerless being without it and must take one in order to use his powers. There have been times where he has overworked himself, and must take another pill in order to sustain his powers. Underdog is shown to have powers similar to Superman, including those of flight, super strength, and invulnerability to conventional weapons. 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. However, these strengths are not consistent; e.g., in another episode a simple metal sword stuck down the back of his outfit gave him disabling fits of pain.

[edit] Comic books

Charlton Comics produced a comic book that ran 10 issues in 1970-72. Gold Key Comics produced a comic book that ran 23 issues from 1975-79. Spotlight Comics did 3 issues in 1987, and Harvey Comics did a one-shot in 1993.

[edit] 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).

[edit] Film adaptation

Main article: Underdog (film)

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 has been cast to play Simon Bar Sinister, while Alex Neuberger will play Underdog's human companion. The movie has started filming in Providence, Rhode Island in March of 2006 with plans for a 2007 release. The film will be distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. Shoeshine/Underdog, to be voiced by Jason Lee, is being played by a lemon Beagle named Leo, sporting red tights and a blue cape.

[edit] Trivia

Underdog is a playable character on the M.U.G.E.N. game engine.

An episode of Robot Chicken once parodied Underdog. He came to the rescue of a woman having her purse stolen in an alleyway, only to have everyone in a state of awe over the fact that he was a talking dog.

In an ad for American Express, a woman's credit card is stolen, prompting the appearance of Marvel Comics superheroes. Dismissing the threat, the heroes leave, just as Underdog arrives.

[edit] See also

• List of anthropomorphic animal superheroes
• Suzanne Muldowney, a visionary artist who does dance interpretations of Underdog. Howard Stern incorrectly refers to her as "Underdog Lady", a name she has never used.

[edit] External links

• Toonopedia entry
• Lyrics to the Underdog theme song
• "Underdog" (1964) at the Internet Movie Database
• Underdog (2007) at the Internet Movie Database
• Underdog at TV.com