Saturday Morning Cartoons!

Underdog (1964 - 73)
Underdog ran for almost ten years on Saturday mornings. It featured the voice of comedian Wally Cox, who also resembles our hero, a bit.



Okay, maybe he looks more like Underdog's alter-ego, Shoe Shine Boy.



With that other same-named crapola film out, I wanted to show the source material. The film screwed up on the first part by making Underdog a real dog. In the cartoon, Underdog co-exists with humans, but as their equal. His girlfriend, Sweet Polly Purebread, also a dog, was an ace TV news anchor and reporter. For some reason, Underdog always spoke in verse, which seemed to have the effect of elevating his status as a hero. Underdog would have his adventures broken up into four parts in a half-hour show. They would intersperse it with a variety of other cartoons, such as Tennessee Tuxedo, Klondike Kat and, my favorite, Commander McBragg. I'll try to get the Commander in here next week.

It has run in syndication for a long time, but went on hiatus for awhile in the 80's and 90's because parents were up in arms about Underdog's source of strength - an energy pill. Mistaken as condoning drugs, it was actually made a part of his character to get kids to take their vitamins, much like Popeye and his spinach.

This is part three of an episode called Simon Says 'Be My Valentine' from 1966 featuring Underdog's arch-nemesis Simon Bar Sinister and his henchman, Cad Lackey. Why am I showing part three? The third chapter always started off with what I thought was the coolest version of the classic theme song. Simon says, "Enjoy!"





THE BS NEWS QUIZ OF THE DAY

Yesterday, I asked...

"Much to the dismay of Chinese officials, a Beijing couple is in the process of trying to name their newborn what?"

"$" - No. I think that's the symbol Prince went by for awhile in order to try to make more "$."

"!" - No, that's where the baby was conceived. His parents were making out over at Exclamation Point.

": b" - No, that's a native American name. "Guy With Tongue Sticking Out."

The correct answer is "@."

According to the Associated Press, a couple trying to find a distinctive name for their baby in the world's most populated country has come up with the "at" symbol. Translated into Chinese, the word means "love him." But this is no mistake, they know it's a widely used symbol on the Internet. No news, yet, on if the name has been accepted. The police, who issue identity cards, have to approve the name. And then they have to make sure the babies toys have the right amount of lead in them.