S01E04 Saturday Supercade

In this premiere of SATURDAY SUPERCADE, your Saturday Morning historian, Christopher Jay, takes a look at the origin of the show. Included, is a look at the talent behind the scenes, a rundown of the pilot segments, “The Ms. Fortune Story”, “Mississippi Madness”, “Raiders of the Lost Shark” and “Trucknapper Caper”, and a look at the legacy of SATURDAY SUPERCADE after all these years.

Grab a joystick and a few power ups and come with us all the way back to September 17, 1983. 

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Transcript

THE SATURDAY MORNING PODCAST

                     “Saturday Supercade”

0. OPENING (PRE-RECORD)

                   MUSIC: 80s SYNTH

ME:           Wake up, it’s The Saturday Morning Podcast. Let Mom and Dad sleep in and come back with me to the 80’s. Let’s grab a bowl of Golden Puffs or Apple Cinnamon Cheerios and flip on the tube. I’ve got the TV Guide and hours of nothing to do. 

              My name is Chris and I love all the Saturday Morning shows. When I was a kid, I lived for Saturday mornings. Now that I’m an adult, I want to relive all those great shows and see how they came about. 

Let’s take a deep-dive back to the 80’s and see what’s waiting. Rewind!

                   FX: REWIND SOUND

1. INTRO

                   AMBIENT: ARCADE

ME:           In the early 1980s, the sensation that took every kid by storm was video games. Not just the one or two games you could play at the laundromat or movie theatre, but the games you played when you got to go to the arcade. Sure, some of the kids had an Atari, but it wasn’t the same as going to the arcade. There was no better weekend quarter-waster than playing Donkey Kong, Pac-Man or any of the others that suddenly appeared in pop culture. 

              What could have been better than going to the arcade? CBS had the answer. Bring the arcade to your living room every Saturday through the magic of television. So grab a joystick and sit back as we take a look back at the SATURDAY SUPERCADE!  

                   MUSIC: SATURDAY SUPERCADE THEME

2. THE CREATORS & SERIES ORIGIN

                   MUSIC: HAPPY MEMORIES

ME:           In Fall of 1983, CBS launched the SATURDAY SUPERCADE in the 8:30 time slot. It was part of the new CBS Superstar Saturday. The ad that ran in TV Guide had pictures of the new shows stacked with dots around them. Kids could connect the dots to make a rocket ship to blastoff to fun.

              The new shows included “The Biskitts”, “Dungeons & Dragons”, “The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show”, “Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince”, as well as “The Dukes”, which had premiered in the Spring of 1983.

              The show originated at Ruby-Spears, the production company who had previously produced “Thundarr the Barbarian” in 1980 and “Jackie Gold and Action Jack” in 81. 

              There is a surprising lack on information about where the show came from. If I had to guess, I would assume it came about to capitalize on the video game craze, and to rival ABC’s PAC-MAN. Packy and Friends premiered the year before and came back for a second and final season in 1983. 

              The timing of the show seems to confirm that. CBS set SUPERCADE in the 8:30 timeslot, which is where PAC-MAN was in 1982. The yellow pellet gobbler would now air in the 9:30 slot, directly after SUPERCADE had run its course.

              As a video game nerd in the 80s, this would be an ideal way to see all the shows based on the arcade. This would be especially true if you didn’t own a VCR. 

              SATURDAY SUPERCADE consisted of well-known arcade characters from Nintendo, Sega, Gottlieb and Activision. We were introduced to FROGGER and Friends, as the titular frog worked as a journalist. DONKEY KONG, escaped from the circus, followed an under-formed Mario and niece Pauline chasing after the rogue Kong. Adventurer PITFALL Harry took his niece Rhonda and the cowardly mountain lion Quick Claw on travels around the world. DONKEY KONG JR. found DK’s offspring on his own adventures, trying to live up to his dad’s reputation and, trying to find the old man.

              Alternating weeks saw Q-BERT joining the cast as a way to introduce even more gaming characters to the mix. 

              Having come from video games where the story might not have been that important, the creators at Ruby-Spears needed to flesh out the world of the properties they were tasked with. 

              The mythos and the characters we would later embrace with Donkey Kong and Mario, are far different here. Then again, they are true to the world of the Donkey Kong video game of 1981. Just two years after the release of the game, it’s almost a miracle that Mario isn’t still named Jumpman or Mr. Video. 

              In the Donkey Kong universe, the idea of Diddy Kong, Cranky and the rest was still a decade in the future. There was no swamp to call home. 

              What we got on Saturday morning CBS was a fleshed out world that was more glamorous than an 8-bit game could provide.

              Looking back, it’s a fascinating time capsule of how the networks tried to get their piece of the video game craze without producing a video game. If these characters caught on, there would be no end to the merchandise they could appear on. Having five segments meant there were five franchises that could flood into Kaybee Toys and Toys ‘R’ Us. 

              While the characters were there on an artistic level, Ruby-Spears needed the Perfect Cast to bring them to life. 

                        FX: STATIC

3. THE PERFECT CAST

                   MUSIC: HAPPY MEMORIES

ME:           The show relied on voice actors that were veterans of the Ruby-Spears studio, especially producing multiple segments every week. 

              Frank Welker was brought on to voice Donkey Kong Jr, but would go on to voice a total of 12 characters in the run of the series. At the time he was on SUPERCADE, Welker also voiced the dog Chomp-Chomp on rival show PAC-MAN.

              Bart Braverman played “Bones”, Donkey Kong Jr’s friend. The actor has a stream of credits going back to the early 1950’s as a child actor. In the years since, he intersected with all the major hits, such as “Rawhide”, “Wagon Train”, “M*A*S*H” and a slew of others.

              Mario, sans the outrageous Italian accent we would come to associate with the character, was voiced by actor Peter Cullen. Like Welker, Cullen was Pac-Man’s pet cat, Sour Puss, on the ABC video game based show.

*   *   *

              Judy Strangis, who played Mario’s niece Pauline, had worked with Ruby-Spears playing the title character in “Goldie Gold and Action Jack”. In live-action, she was known as Dyna Girl on the short-lived superhero series “Electra Woman and Dyna Girl”, co-starring with Diedre Hall. 

*   *   *

              Rounding out the cast of DONKEY KONG was Soupy Sales as the runaway ape. Sales may be best remembered as the host of “The Soupy Sales Show”, a long running children’s series, known for its use of pies to the face. The show, of course, is remembered for a 1965 stunt where Sales addressed the watching kids and told them to go to their parents rooms and find “funny green pieces of paper with pictures of U.S. Presidents” and send them to Sales. And the children obeyed. 

              Others in the cast of PITFALL and FROGGER, included:

              Bob Sarlatte from “Trollkins” as Frogger. BJ Ward, from “G. I. Joe” played Frogger’s girlfriend Fanny.

              The PITFALL cast included Robert Ridgley from “Thundarr the Barbarian”, Noelle North from the 1976 horror film “Carrie”, and Kenneth Mars, a semi-regular in Mel Brooks movies, played the cowardly mountain lion Quick Claw.

                   FX: STATIC

4. GUEST STARS

                   MUSIC: HAPPY MEMORIES

ME:           If that wasn’t enough voice talent, the Guest Stars providing additional voices were a big deal in their own right. 

              Behind the scenes, you could find Alan Young of “The Time Machine”, who would go on to play Scrooge McDuck in “DuckTales”; Don Messick, lead character from “Scooby-Doo Where Are You!”; and the legendary June Foray, famous for playing Rocky J. Squirrel on “Bullwinkle”, Magica de Spell on “DuckTales”, and the voice of Granny for Looney Tunes. 

              With this talent on board, CBS premiered an all-star cartoon based on the most beloved arcade hits of the day. 

Get your quarters ready, because after these messages, we’ll take a trip back to the premiere of SATURDAY SUPERCADE.

                   VINTAGE COMMERCIALS #1 (1:30)

5. THE PREMIERE

                   AMBIENT: ARCADE

ME:           If you watched the premiere of SATURDAY SUPERCADE, the date was September 17, 1983. Ronald Reagan was the president of the United States. America was listening to “Puttin on the Ritz” by Taco, the number one song in the land. Movie-goers went to the theatres to see Michael Keaton and Teri Garr in “Mr. Mom”, enjoying its second straight week at Number One. On the TV Guide was the presentation of Miss America 1982. The caption read: “Behind Out Love-Hate Affair With Miss America”.

              If you were a kid in 1983, maybe you got up early and got yourself breakfast. Maybe you had cereal, like a bowl of Donkey Kong Jr or Cracker Jack Cereal.

              If you were a CBS kid, you were blasting off for fun. If you got up at 7:00 o’clock, you were treated to an hour of “Captain Kangaroo” followed by “The Biskitts”. At 8:30, it was time to bring the arcade to your living room. 

              The opening couldn’t have been any more 80s if it had tried. There was a synth-driven theme song explaining how the SATURDAY SUPERCADE would get your favorite video game pals together. We see brief previews of all the shows, with neon pixel interstitials to separate them. And all of our friends are here: Frogger, Donkey Kong, Pitfall Harry, Q-Bert and Donkey Kong Junior. 

              Let’s join the Supercade fun fun fun. 

              Now for the show.

              No, wait. There’s a preview of what’s coming up on today’s episode with the earworm theme playing over it. Pitfall Harry’s plane is spiraling to the ground. Donkey Kong Junior is riding a motorcycle. Frogger gets run-over with a steam roller. Mario and Pauline don’t get Donkey Kong, who’s dressed as a 1940’s gangster.

              Got it, ready for the show. And there’s Space Invaders. No, false alarm. It’s a commercial bumper. A commercial?! This thing just started and they need to tell me to get a Happy Meal? 

              Sigh. 

              Okay, now we’re back. And FROGGER has his own theme song. It’s like pulling teeth just to get to the start of the show.

                   MUSIC: FROGGER THEME

              Here we go, for real. Frogger brings us “The Ms. Fortune Story”. And we find Frogger being chewed out by his editor at the newspaper. The Editor shows Frogger that a rival newspaper reported on a gold robbery, while their own paper covered a charity event. Pissed off, the Editor charges Frogger with solving the crime and getting the scoop for the Swamp Gazette. Guess the Editor doesn’t know the difference between a reporter and a police detective. 

              When a 1930’s-style phone rings, Frogger get a tip from a mouse buddy, named Mac, that there’s going to be a charity auction to auction off the Golden Tortoise. While this seems to be something that should have been printed in a paper to draw attention to the event, it is instead secret. A Fortune Teller and a Strong Man wearing a mask and Speedo are all listening. Mac leaks that a Fortune Teller and a Strong Man are at every party… giving Speedo man and his girlfriend an idea. I have a feeling that the Strong Man may have been a reject from the Village People.

              Frogger, Fanny and Shelly travel to their event in style - on the bus. Shelly isn’t a frog, by the way. He’s a turtle. With a shell. So the writers named him Shelly after thinking about it for three seconds. 

              Apparently the frogs live in a world inhabited by humans, as the humans gawk at Frogger and friends when they get on the bus. I wonder if the series ever fully explored why talking frogs were writing the newspapers?

              Getting off the bus, Frogger and crew come face to face with a mansion, but have one task to go: They have to cross the street. This is it, this is the game. They side-step cars and trucks and even jump into a man hole. Just when Frogger thinks the coast is clear, he’s hit with a steam roller. And he is flat. Like, every bone is in body has to be shattered. There is no way he’s going to be okay or get on with the show, this is game over -- No, wait, he’s fine. Shelly inflates Frogger with a bike tire pump and they cross the street. 

              At the fanciest of parties, the snooty hostess is surprised that amphibian life is at her party, but gives permission to interview her guests. Fanny uses an outrageous snooty accent to interview the even snootier guests about the Strong Man and the Fortune Teller.

              About to get answers, Frogger’s huge tongue lashes out for hors d’oeuvres, and knocks the rich people into the pool. 

              At the palm reading tent, the Fortune Teller knows why Frogger and Fanny are there. She predicts death for the frogs if they follow the story and then she vanishes. 

              At a warehouse, the gang find themselves running from barrels tossed out by the Strong Man. They run and jump for their lives, but get sealed into paint barrels by the Strong Man.

              The Strong Man ties Frogger and friends to a conveyor belt headed for a green acid vat. He’s so sure of the amphibian’s fate, he leaves to continue his job of being up to no-good. 

              Meanwhile, the frogs fall into acid, re-emerging with bone white skin, a hideous smile and vowing to take down Batman.

              Wait, wait. No, here’s what actually happened. Using some tongue action, they stop the conveyor belt and head back to the auction for the Golden Tortoise.

              Back at the auction, Frogger paints Shelly gold and he’s a stand-in for the statue. 

              While up on the auction block, there’s a blinding smoke screen and Shelly disappears! Frogger knows they’ll catch the thieves when Shelly reports in.

              Shelly calls in that the thieves will be at the dock and they plan to melt down the gold statue. 

              Arriving at the dock, Frogger and Fanny see Shelly is about to be melted down, or turned into turtle soup. The thieves melt down gold and smuggle it out of the country disguised as dumbells. 

              Frogger kicks the door open and the fight ensues. Shelly is saved and the thieves are foiled. The Strong Man is restrained by life preservers he can’t escape. The Fortune Teller is taken down and it’s revealed they are rich folk from High Society. The police show up to make the arrest and detective Frogger has solved the case and gotten the headline for the Swamp Gazette. Game Over.

*   *   *

                   MUSIC: DONKEY KONG THEME

On DONKEY KONG, we get “Mississippi Madness”, a story that opens with Mario and Pauline on a river boat, rollin’ on the river. Mario has drawn plans for a Donkey Kong trap that takes its cues from the board game “Mouse Trap”. 

              Colonel Culpepper, channeling Tom Wolfe’s white suit, and Foghorn Leghorn’s dialect, shows off pictures of the Emerald of the East to his girlfriend. They need a stooge to help steal it. 

              Enter Donkey Kong. And Mario and Pauline, who are trying to get DK back to the circus he fled from. Mario tries to chase down the ape, but gets barrels thrown at him. I have to wonder why Mario chases after an ape with a butterfly net that couldn’t hold his prey.  Why isn’t Mario packing a taser or something?

              Anyways… Mario chases DK, DK foils Mario, monkey business ensues. Yeah, I said it. I said Monkey business. 

              Donkey Kong runs into Colonel Culpepper, who introduces him to Belle, a blonde woman, the type DK likes to kidnap. Using Belle as enticement, Donkey Kong steals the emerald for her. The ape seems like a people-pleaser, so all this checks out. 

              While Mario and Pauline search for DK in the French Quarter, they duck into the museum to see the Emerald. And they find DK stealing it. Pauline demands that he put the stone back and the guards suddenly realize what’s happening. DK thwarts the guards and kidnaps Pauline, with everyone giving chase around the museum. Mario and Donkey Kong duke it out, despite the fact that Pauline is holding the emerald, but waiting for rescue. Too bad she can’t rescue herself, or this would be a short episode. Donkey Kong grabs Pauline and the emerald, and they hide in the swamp. 

              But Mario finds the ape, and springs his very elaborate trap from earlier on the simian. Before it captures DK, Colonel Culpepper rides up in his boat, ruining the trap. DK loses the emerald, but Culpepper gets it… and gets the trap meant for Donkey Kong. 

              They got the emerald, but Donkey Kong hops a bus to keep the series going. 

              And did I miss something? This was called “Mississippi Madness”, but I think it all takes place in New Orleans… in Louisiana. Maybe that was the madness. The emerald confused the holder about what Southern state they were in. Game Over.

*   *   *

                   MUSIC: PITFALL THEME

PITFALL! opens with a montage of adventures for Pitfall Harry, niece Rhonda and mountain lion Quick Claw. It’s obvious PITFALL! and DONKEY KONG take place in the same universe, because Harry has Mario’s butterfly net and actually catches a falling Quick Claw with it. Maybe it could catch an ape.

              Anyways… “Raiders of the Lost Shark” is an obvious reference to Indiana Jones and very much of the time. 

              On the beaches of Hawaii, we find Pitfall Harry, Rhonda and Quick Claw. Since they’re all on a tropical beach, all of them are fully dressed. Except Quick Claw, who is naked and wearing a mask. That sounds insane to say. The mountain lion also has a high tech gadget that expands into a private room on the beach, complete with recliner, TV and huge 80’s-style stereo speakers mounted on the walls.

              Harry gets a call on, get this, a cordless phone. The Admiral calls, he’s got a mission to the Coral Island, to stop Harry’s old nemesis The Shark. Quick Claw hears the mission and quickly claws a hole in the sand to hide. 

              A mysterious bearded figure in a trench coat reports that Pitfall Harry is a problem for him. And he’s talking -- get this -- on a public pay phone. Trench-coat sabotages an airplane and it’s revealed he works for The Shark as he drives away on his motorcycle. 

              The sabotaged plane is the one Pitfall Harry and his entourage are flying on. Back in the 80s, airport security was completely lax. 

              In mid-flight, Quick Claw digs into a picnic basket to keep up his strength. He manages to pull out a huge python, dresses it like a sandwich and freaks the F-out when he realizes what he’s done. And in the aftermath, he destroys the plane’s joystick, sending the plane twisting towards the ocean. Taking his time, Harry rubs the snake’s belly and, once calm, forms the snake into a new joystick, and the day is saved. 

              Quick Claw, by the way, sounds like he’s going his best Bert Lehr to drive home the point he’s a cowardly lion. 

              Landing on the water, the team gets into their wet suits. They need to beat The Shark to the sunken treasure off the coast of Coral Island. 

              It is underwater that Rhonda refers to Harry as Uncle Pitfall. Does that mean “Harry” is his last name?

              Swimming into a cave, the group trip an alarm that alerts the Shark they are there. 

              As the cave is about to cave in, Pitfall disconnects his air tube and uses it as an air jet to move out of the way. The team follow and they find safety, the shipwreck and, The Shark’s shark painted shark-marine submarine. 

              Pitfall and the gang try to stay cool as The Shark releases sharks from the sub to sick the scavengers.  Pitfall wrestles the sharks and feeds a shark to crocodiles waiting in a huge clam shell, because… the 80s.

              Pitfall rescues Quick Claw from being eaten, possibly an action the hero will later regret. The cowardly lion has no good skills, except to cower in fear. For Pitfall, I see this more as a liability and not a positive. 

              The gang realize they need to get to The Shark’s secret hideout on Coral Island. Landing on the island, it’s decided to split up to find The Shark. 

              Moments later, on a rope bridge, the gang are reunited as The Shark and his goons chase after Quick Claw. The Shark destroys the bridge and the trio of goodies swing into a waiting cave. 

              The Shark heads out with his treasure of gold, hoping to sell it on the black market. Launching a log from a make-shift slingshot Pitfall and Rhonda cobbled together in three seconds, they try to stop the shark submarine from leaving the island’s bay. This is the same sub that’s dragging Quick Claw, because comedy had to come from somewhere. It didn’t come from here. 

              When the Shark’s submarine hits the beach, he’s caught and facing twenty years in prison for stealing the treasure.

              Back on the beach in Hawaii, Rhonda recaps the adventures as Quick Claw tries to surf. A tsunami-sized wave throws the lion out of the ocean and hurtled into downtown Hawaii. Game Over.

*   *   *

                   MUSIC: DONKEY KONG JUNIOR THEME

DONKEY KONG JUNIOR flexs his monkey muscle in “Trucknapper Caper”. On motorcycle, Junior is driving him and Bones through the state of Texas looking for Junior’s father. A truck full of rednecks try to run them off the road, “Duel” style.

              Is it just me, or does Bones seem like Dave Seville trying to play The Fonz? 

              At a truck stop, ten-year old Jenny offers her mechanical skills to fix the motorcycle. Her dad is the best trucker in all of Texas and Junior shares his dad is the biggest ape in the world. This is some kind of weird dad-measuring contest, or something.

              Oh yeah, and the evil rednecks are in the middle of it all, lounging on their pick-up truck. The rednecks see that Jenny’s dad has a high-tech truck and they’re going to steal it. They tie up Jenny’s dad, toss him into his own truck, and split. 

              Junior vows to get him back, using, in his words, “Monkey Muscle”. The trio give chase on Junior’s motorcycle. I notice a theme on this show, they all have trios. Frogger, Shelly and Fanny. Pitfall Harry, Rhonda and Quick Claw. Even Mario and Pauline teamed up with Donkey Kong to defeat Colonel Culpepper. Three must have been the magic number for CBS.

              Junior and Bones find the trucknappers hideout in the bottom of a canyon. They’ve stolen several trucks and holding the driver’s hostage in trucker prison. 

              Junior and Bones rush into the camp and try to rescue the truckers. Bones finds himself in trouble with the biggest redneck, but runs straight into the others, and now it’s five against one.

              Junior uses pine needles to make a fake mustache and swings into action to rescue Bones. Junior says him and Bones are also trucknappers who want to join the gang. They’re told to steal Turnpike Tex’s truck. Turnpike Tex, of course, is the meanest trucker in all of Texas, meaner than a Texas tornado. 

              Junior’s plan is to play along until the police come. But, if Junior and Bones are stealing trucks with the trucknappers, aren’t they also trucknappers? Won’t the police just arrest them? This is the type of plan that only a young talking ape, who’s escaped for the circus and trying to find his dad, could have thought up.

              At Turnpike Tex’s Texas truck stop, we find Tex and he’s huge. He’s got a Bluto beard and is arm wrestling another trucker. All Junior and Bones have to do is get Tex’s keys and drive away in his truck, and they’ll be in the gang. 

              Junior challenges Tex to arm wrestling, no doubt to show off his Monkey Muscle. Junior uses monkey toes to snatch the keys and rips off Tex’s pants. They’ve got the key and steal the truck and head back to the trucknappers hideout.

              Back at the hideout, Junior has a plan: He’ll hide in the trailer and Bones will lure the gang over. Giving the signal, Junior will burst out of the trailer, slamming the door of the trailer into the rednecks’ faces.

Bones lures the gang to the back of the trailer with the promise of loot.  Giving the signal, Junior bursts out of the truck, accidentially knocks down Bones and ties him up. Bones hops over to another semi and bonks it, sending it down a hill and towards a cliff. This is the truck with all the driver’s in it. And it’s teetering on a cliff, cliffhanger-style. Are any of the truck drivers named Cliff? We’ll never know. Cheers.

              Junior climbs a tree monkey-style, throws a monkey lasso over the truck’s cab and uses monkey muscle to pull the semi away from the brink. No wonder he could beat Turnpike Tex at arm wrestling. Couldn’t he have beaten the trucknappers to a pulp to save the day, instead of going through all this trouble?

              Now that the drivers are safe, Junior focuses on the trucknappers. Picking up a boulder, he punches holes into it and lobs it like a bowling ball. He knocks over the trucknappers and also tears down trees from the forest, causing a tree-valance and destroying the trucknappers hideout. 

              Jenny is reunited with her dad. The trucknappers are in jail. The streets are safe again. Jenny offers a heart-felt thanks for saving her old man, and they drive away.

              Junior and Bones are now free to drive down the road to next weeks adventure.  Game Over.

                   FX: STATIC

6. CANCELLATION

MUSIC: I FEEL YOU 

ME:           Overall, SATURDAY SUPERCADE ran for two seasons, airing 26 episodes, spanning seven main characters and boasting 98 segments. In the second season, SUPERCADE found itself in PAC-MAN’s old time slot at 9:30. This time it was paired with “Pole Position”, another game-based show, directly after. In second season, the show expended to include segments based on the “Space Ace” and “Kangaroo” video games.

              As with most shows of the 80s Saturday Morning landscape, SUPERCADE was up against THE SMURFS. Is that was did it in? It’s possible that CBS was dissatisfied with the ratings against THE SMURFS and wanted to try a new direction. 

              It is also possible that, by the Spring of 1985 it was clear arcade games were living a very different life. They were starting to become more sophisticated. Many were released with game booklets explaining a game’s backstory and landscape. The video game companies were drafting their own cartoon art work to satisfy gamers, taking away from the Saturday Morning shows.

              Not to mention that in the wake of the video game fallout of 1983, gaming companies were rebuilding to keep their brand alive. By the time the 1985 Fall shows were premiering, Nintendo’s NES home console was about to arrive. Kids didn’t need to watch shows about their favorite video games. They just needed to convince their parents to buy a Nintendo Entertainment System or other popular console of the time. 

              In the arcades, games like Pac-Man, Frogger and Donkey Kong were dated. They looked archaic next to “Gauntlet” and “Hang On”. 

              When SATURDAY SUPERCADE didn’t return in 1985, it was replaced with “Little Muppet Monsters” and “Hulk Hogan’s Rock ‘n’ Wrestling”. Two shows that had nothing to do with video games and an indication that Saturday Morning was moving on.

                   VINTAGE COMMERCIALS #2 (1:30)

7. LEGACY

MUSIC: HORIZONS

ME:           After SATURDAY SUPERCADE went off the air, the actors continued to work for Ruby-Spears, Hanna-Barbera, and any other studio who needed solid voice talent. 

              The “Space Ace” segments of season two would appear sporadically on Boomerang and Toonami as filler. This segment itself boasted the talent of Nancy Cartwight, then known as Daphne Gillfin on “The Snorks”, and would go on to a career-defining role on “The Simpsons” playing perpetual 10 year Bart. 

              When Ruby-Spears was purchased by Warner in 1991, they acquired the rights to SATURDAY SUPERCADE. Or, at least part of it. MCA-TV owns the distribution rights to the DONKEY KONG and DONKEY KONG JUNIOR segments. It was announced several years ago that Warner wanted to release SUPERCADE to DVD as part of their manufacture-on-demand service, but it never materialized. 

              It looks like Columbia Studios owns Q-Bert, while Hanna-Barbera holds the rights to “Space Ace”. With all the jumble of copyrights and hurt feelings, it’s doubtful SUPERCADE will ever come home in a professional format. 

              YouTube hosts a variety of clips, including entire VHS-ripped episode with the original commercials still intact!

              The legacy SUPERCADE has is fairly minor. It was one of many shows in the 1980s to bring video games to life. It was the first time we heard Mario speak on TV, and certainly not the last. Peter Cullen voiced the ape chaser, but will perhaps be best remembered as voicing Optimus Prime in “The Transformers” soon after SUPERCADE was done.

              The Donkey Kong Family lives on in various Nintendo games and is part of their long-term brand. 

              Frogger has been revived for a whole new generation via a plug-and-play TV system that allows the user to experience the original game.

              Pitfall received several sequels and, if game creator David Crane can find the funds, may get a spiritual successor one day. 

              Mario of Super Mario fame is the signature character for Nintendo and has never left the gaming scene. Of all the characters on SUPERCADE, Mario is the most enduring and has had the most success on TV. Mario cartoon series have cropped up over the years as a tie-in when Nintendo was releasing a new game. The Mario Bros. have received the big screen treatment, but we don’t need to take about that. 

              Illumination Studios, creators of The Minions, are currently at work on a CGI big screen adaptation of Super Mario.

              SATURDAY SUPERCADE continues to live in the hearts and minds of the kids of the 80s. 

                   MUSIC: SATURDAY SUPERCADE END THEME

11. FOLLOW & END

ME:           Thank you for joining us at THE SATURDAY MORNING PODCAST. If you like what you hear, please subscribe. If you could do us a favor, leave a Five Star Review wherever you get your episodes from.

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              Thank you again for listening.

FADE OUT.

THE END