Saturday Supercade

Saturday Supercade was an animated television series produced for Saturday mornings by Ruby-Spears Productions. It ran for two seasons on CBS beginning in 1983. Each episode was composed of several shorter segments featuring video game characters from the Golden Age of Arcade Games.

Ownership/Licensing issues

Saturday Supercade is presumably under the ownership of Warner Bros. Entertainment (through Turner Entertainment Co., who acquired the Ruby-Spears library in 1991). However, in the 1980s, MCA TV held the international distribution rights to the Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Junior segments (possibly as part of the settlement with Nintendo over the King Kong plagiarism issue), and it is unknown if those rights have reverted to WB/Turner. Also, a Minisode version of the Q*bert episode "Thanksgiving for the Memories" has appeared on the Minisode Network, suggesting that the Q*bert segments might be owned by Sony Pictures Television (whose corporate predecessor, Columbia Pictures Industries, owned Gottlieb/Mylstar at the time).

Presumably due to this possible divided ownership and/or licensing issues with the various companies that licensed their games for the show, Saturday Supercade has never been officially released on DVD or Blu-Ray. However, the Space Ace segments from the show occasionally appear as filler in between shows on Boomerang, and Saturday Supercade episodes can be found on YouTube.

Featured characters

The debut characters included:

• Frogger (from the Frogger arcade game)
• Donkey Kong with Mario and Pauline (from the Donkey Kong arcade game)
• Q*bert with Coily, Ugg, Wrongway, Slick and Sam (from the Q*Bert arcade game)
• Donkey Kong, Jr. (from the Donkey Kong Jr. arcade game).
• Pitfall Harry with his pet mountain lion Quickclaw and his niece Rhonda (from the Pitfall! and Pitfall II: Lost Caverns console games) The cartoon was simply called Pitfall!.

Pitfall and Q-Bert rotated weekly while the other three were weekly.

During the second season, Q-Bert (now weekly) & Donkey Kong remained while the Frogger, Donkey Kong Jr. and Pitfall Harry segments were replaced by shorts featuring:

• Space Ace with Space Ace/Dexter (depending on his form), Kimberly, and Borf (from the Space Ace arcade game).
• Kangaroo with friends and the "Monkey Business Gang" (from the Kangaroo arcade).

Segments

Frogger

Frogger (voiced by Bob Sarlatte) is an ace reporter of the swamp who works at the Swamp Gazette. He and his friends Shellshock "Shelly" Turtle (voiced by Marvin Kaplan) and Fanny Frog (voiced by B.J. Ward) go out in search of crazy stories (sometimes about human behavior) to publish in the swamp's newspapers. Frogger also has to deal with his gruff boss Tex (voiced by Ted Field Sr.). As in the game, he often gets flattened or has an encounter with an alligator.

Episodes

1. The Ms. Fortune Story -
2. Spaced Out Frogs -
3. The Who-Took-Toadwalker Story -
4. Hydrofoil & Seek -
5. The Great Scuba Scoop -
6. The Headline Hunters -
7. The Legs Croaker Story -
8. The Blackboard Bungle -
9. Good Knight, Frogger -
10. Fake Me Out to the Ball Game -
11. I Remember Mummy -
12. Here Today, Pawned Tomorrow -
13. Hop-Along Frogger -

Donkey Kong

Donkey Kong (voiced by Soupy Sales) has escaped from the circus. He is on the lam, and Mario (voiced by Peter Cullen) and Pauline (voiced by Judy Strangis) are chasing the ape. As with the original game, Donkey Kong will often grab Pauline and Mario has to save her. It must be noted that Pauline's portrayal as Mario's "niece" is an original Ruby-Spears concept. It is not a part of Nintendo's official canon.

Episodes

1. Mississippi Madness -
2. Gorilla Gangster -
3. Banana Bikers -
4. The Incredible Shrinking Ape -
5. Movie Mania -
6. Gorilla My Dreams -
7. Little Orphan Apey -
8. Circus Daze -
9. The Great Ape Escape -
10. Apey and the Snowbeast -
11. How Much is That Gorilla in the Window? - Donkey Kong is bought from a pet store by a rich kid whose butler and chauffeur have a sinister agenda.
12. Private Donkey Kong -
13. Get Along Little Apey -
14. Sir Donkey Kong -
15. The Pale Whale -
16. El Donkey Kong -
17. New Wave Ape -
18. Greenhouse Gorilla - Donkey Kong is duped by a criminal to steal an experimental man-eating plant to help with his crime spree. Stanley the Bugman from Donkey Kong 3 appears.
19. Hairy Parent -

Q*Bert

In a 1950s inspired world set in the town of Q*Berg, a teenage fur-covered creature named Q*Bert (voiced by Billy Bowles), his girlfriend Q*Tee (voiced by Robbie Lee), and his friends Q*Ball (voiced by Frank Welker), Q*Val (voiced by Robbie Lee), and Q*Mongus (voiced by Frank Welker) must deal with the resident bullies Coily, Ugg, Wrong Way (all three voiced by Frank Welker), and Viper (voiced by Julie McWhirter). Features both "block-hopping" scenes, "swearing" bubbles and occasional flying disc, all from the original game. New to the cartoon was Q*Bert's use of "slippy-doos", a black ball projectile which he loaded and fired through his nose, producing an oil slick wherever the balls splattered. Slick and Sam (both voiced by Frank Welker) are also featured.

Episodes

1. Disc Derby Fiasco -
2. The Great Q*Tee Contest -
3. Q*Ball Rigamarole -
4. Crazy Camp Creature -
5. Thanksgiving for the Memories -
6. Dog Day Dilemma -
7. Take Me Out to the Q*Game -
8. Noser P.I. -
9. Hook, Line, and Mermaid -
10. Q*Historic Days -
11. Q*Bert's Monster Mix-Up -
12. Game Shoe Woe -
13. The Wacky Q*Bot -
14. Q*Beat It -
15. Q*Urf's Up -
16. Little Green Noser -
17. Rebel Without a Q*Ause -
18. Looking For Miss Q*Right -
19. The Goofy Ghostgetters -

Donkey Kong Jr.

Donkey Kong Jr. (voiced by Frank Welker) is sad to find that his father is running from the circus and Mario, and that he can never see him. He befriends a greaser nicknamed "Bones" (voiced by Bart Braverman) who has a motorcycle and offers to help Junior by finding his dad together. Donkey Kong Jr's usual saying is "Monkey muscle!", which he tells to himself and Bones to inspire self-confidence. Bones often serves as the voice of reason when Donkey Kong Jr. bit off more than he could chew.

Episodes

1. Trucknapper Caper -
2. Sheep Rustle Hustle -
3. Rocky Mountain Business -
4. Magnificent 7-Year-Olds -
5. The Ventriloquist Capers -
6. The Great Seal Steal -
7. The Jungle Boy Ploy -
8. Junior Meets Kid Dynamo -
9. Amazing Rollerskate Race -
10. A Christmas Story -
11. Gorilla Ghost -
12. Teddy Bear Scare -
13. Double or Nothing -

Pitfall Harry

Pitfall Harry (voiced by Robert Ridgely), his niece Rhonda (voiced by Noelle North), and their cowardly pet Quick Claw the Mountain Lion (voiced by Kenneth Mars) explore jungles for hidden treasures, having many different adventures along the way.

Episodes

1. Amazon Jungle Bungle -
2. Raiders of the Lost Shark -
3. Tibetan Treasure Trouble -
4. Mass Menace Mess -
5. The Sabretooth Goof -
6. The Pyramid Panic -
7. Pitfall's Puzzle Panda -

Space Ace

Space Ace/Dexter (voiced by Sparky Marcus as Dexter and by Jim Piper as Space Ace) and his sister Kimberly (voiced by Nancy Cartwright) work for Space Marshall Vaugh (voiced by Peter Renaday) to keep the peace in the universe. They fight the evil alien commander Borf (voiced by Arthur Burghardt) and keep him from invading Earth. Again, as with Donkey Kong, Ruby Spears took artistic license with the relationship with Kimberly and Dexter. In the Don Bluth film canon, Kimberly is Ace's girlfriend, not sister. Also, in the video game, Dexter had certain chances to revert to Ace, his full-grown self, whereas in the cartoon the Ace/Dexter phases seemed to happen on their own and at often incovenient times for the hero.

Episodes

1. Cute Groots -
2. Cosmo Space Catastrophe -
3. Dangerous Decoy -
4. Moon Missile Madness -
5. Perilous Partners -
6. Frozen in Fear -
7. Age Ray Riot -
8. Wanted: Dexter -
9. Phantom Shuttle -
10. Spoiled Sports -
11. Calamity Kimmie -
12. Three-Ring Rampage -
13. Infanto Ray -

Kangaroo

Joey Kangaroo (voiced by David Mendenhall), his mother Katy (voiced by Mea Martineau) and Sidney Squirrel (voiced by Marvin Kaplan) must stop the four meddlesome monkeys called the Monkeybiz Gang (voiced by both Pat Fraley and Frank Welker) from making trouble at the local zoo. An interesting note is that the monkeys' names (Bingo, Bango, Bongo, and Fred) are based on the names of the ghosts from Pac-Man.

Episodes

1. Trunkfull of Trouble -
2. Zoo for Hire -
3. Bat's Incredible -
4. The White Squirrel of Dover -
5. The Birthday Party -
6. Having a Ball -
7. The Tail of the Cowardly Lion -
8. It's Carnival Time -
9. Lost and Found -
10. Joey and the Beanstalk -
11. Zoo's Who -
12. The Egg and Us -
13. The Runaway Panda -

Cast

• Soupy Sales - Donkey Kong
• Dick Beals - Q*Bit
• Billy Bowles - Q*Bert
• Bart Braverman - Bones
• Arthur Burghardt - Borf, Mr. Friendly
• Nancy Cartwright - Kimberly
• Peter Cullen - Mario
• Alan Dinehart - Mac
• Ted Field Sr. - Tex
• Pat Fraley - Bingo
• Marvin Kaplan - Shellshock "Shelly" Turtle, Sidney Squirrel
• Robbie Lee - Q*Tee, Q*Val
• Sparky Marcus - Dexter
• Kenneth Mars - Quick Claw the Mountain Lion
• Mea Martineau - Katy Kangaroo
• Julie McWhirter - Q*Bertha, Q*Mom, Viper
• David Mendenhall - Joey Kangaroo
• Noelle North - Rhonda
• Jim Piper - Space Ace
• Peter Renaday - Space Marshall Vaughn
• Robert Ridgely - Pitfall Harry
• Judy Strangis - Pauline
• B.J. Ward - Fanny Frog
• Frank Welker - Bango, Bongo, Donkey Kong Jr., Coily, Fred, Q*Ball, Q*Dad, Q*Mongus, Sam, Slick, Ugg, Wrongway

Production Credits

Season 1 (1983-1984)

• Executive Producers: Joe Ruby and Ken Spears
• Directors: Charles A. Nichols, John Kimball
• Story Editors: Jack Enyart, Gary Greenfield, Gordon Kent, Michael Maurer
• Story Consultant: Norman Maurer
• Story Direction Supervision: Cullen B. Houghtaling
• Assistant Supervision: Kathy V. Carr, Barry Caldwell
• Story Direction: Barry Caldwell, Karl Fischer, Cullen B. Houghtaling, Gary Goldstein, Budd Lewis, Tom Minton, Sharon Rolnick, Frank Ridgeway, Glenn Schmitz, Byran Vaughn, Roy Wilson
• Starring the Voice of: Soupy Sales as Donkey Kong
• Featuring the Voices of: Peter Cullen, Billy Bowles, Bart Braverman, Dick Beals, Julie Dees, Ted Field, Sr., Marvin Kaplan, Robbie Lee, Kenneth Mars, Noelle North, Bob Ridgely, B.J. Ward, Frank Welker, Judy Strangis
• Recording Director: Alan Dinehart
• Additional Voices: Alan Dinehart, Walker Edmiston, Marshall Efron, Jack DeLeon, Al Fann, Teddy S. Field III, Takayo Fischer, June Foray, Linda Gary, Kelly Glen, Joe Higgins, Bob Holt, Tysun McMullen, Tress MacNeille, Shep Menken, Lucy Lee, Don Messick, David Landsberg, Nancy Merwan, Tim Rooney, Marilyn Schreffler, Avery Schreiber, John Stephenson, Hal Smith, Russi Taylor, Janet Waldo, Herbert Vigran, Alan Young
• Director of Production Design: Ric Gonzalez
• Models Supervision: Alan B. Huck
• Models: Ken Boyer, Patrick A. Ventura
• Layout Supervision: Larry Huber, Cosmo Anzilotti
• Unit Supervisors: Walt Kubiak, Bob Givens
• Layout Artists: P. J. Alvarado, Jr., Wayne Becker, Larry Eikleberry, Hak Ficq, Fred Irvin, Chrystal Russell, Jack Manning, Mike Oliva, Wallace Sides, Bruce Zick
• Background Supervision: Eric Semones
• Backgrounds Painted by: Dennis Durrell, Paro Hozumi, Eric Semones
• Background Layout Supervision: David High
• Background Layout Artists: Lisa Souza, Bruce Zick
• Color Key: Bunny Munns
• Animation Supervisors: Geoff Collins, Mike Longdon, John Conning
• Animation Checking Supervision: Marlene Robinson May, Debbie Smith
• Titles: Bill Perez
• Graphics: Iraj Paran, Tom Wogatzke
• Production Coordinator: Loretta High
• Coordinating Assistants: Allyn Conley, Mark Crookston, Paul Gorniak, Tim Terusa
• Studio Manager: Jeffrey M. Cooke
• Assistants to the Executive Producers: Erika Grossbart, Stacy A. McLaughlin
• Production Assistants: Deanna Ruby Crookston, Donna Daves, Megeen McLaughlin, Bryna Melnick, Kathleen Capps-Richman, Debby Ruby, Sheryl Scarborough, Betty Sullivan
• The trademark "FROGGER" and all copyrights in "FROGGER" and related characters are the property of Sega Enterprises, Inc. All rights reserved.
• "DONKEY KONG" and "DONKEY KONG JUNIOR" are based upon the video games "DONKEY KONG" and "DONKEY KONG JUNIOR" made by Nintendo.
• "PITFALL HARRY" is based upon the video game entitled "PITFALL" designed by David Crane for Activision.
• "Q*BERT" is based upon the video game entitled "Q*BERT", owned by Mylstar Electronics, Inc.
• Musical Director: Dean Elliott
• Music Supervision: Paul DeKorte
• "SUPERCADE" Theme: Shuki Levy and Haim Saban
• "Frogger" and "Q*bert" Themes Written by: Rick Segall and John Bahler
• Music Editors: Denise O'Hara, Catharine Rose
• Effects Editors: Tom Syslo, Mark Orfanos, Karla McGregor
• Executive in Charge of Post Production: Chip Yaras
• Associate Producer: Larry Huber
• Show Editors: P. J. Webb, Larry Whelan
• Negative Consultant: Mary Nelson
• Laboratory: C. F. I.
• Re-Recording: Warner-Hollywood Studios
• (c) 1983 RUBY-SPEARS ENTERPRISES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Season 2 (1984-1985)

• Executive Producers: Joe Ruby and Ken Spears
• Directors: Charles A. Nichols, Russ Mooney, John Kimball
• Story Editors: Gary Greenfield, Rick Merwin, Cliff Roberts, David Villaire
• Story Direction Supervision: Sharon Rolnik
• Assistant Supervision: Barry Caldwell
• Story Direction: Robert Alvarez, Kurt Anderson, Barry Caldwell, Ron Campbell, Kathy Carr, Larry Eikleberry, Eddie Fitzgerald, Jan Green, Steve Hickner, Cullen Houghtaling, Larry Houston, Boyd Kirkland, Floyd Norman, Kevin Petrilak, Tom Sito, Mike Swanigan
• Starring the Voice of: Soupy Sales as Donkey Kong
• Featuring the Voices of: Dick Beals, Arthur Berghardt, Billy Bowles, Nancy Cartwright, Peter Cullen, Julie Dees, Pat Fraley, Robbie Lee, Sparky Marcus, Mea Martineau, David Mendenhall, Jim Piper, Peter Reneday, Judy Strangis, Frank Welker
• Recording Director: Alan Dinehart
• Additional Voices: Michael Bell, Alan Dinehart, Shawn Lieber, Tress MacNeille, Marilyn Schreffler, Steve Spears, Russie Taylor, Herbert Vigran, Janet Waldo, Cameron Young
• Director of Production Design: Ric Gonzalez
• Models Supervision: Alan B. Huck
• Models: Patrick A. Ventura, Russell Hicks, Tom Hickson
• Layout Supervision: Cosmo Anzilotti
• Unit Supervisors: Gordon Bellamy, Jaime Diaz, Robert Givens
• Layout Artists: Peter Alvarado, Wayne Becker, Fred Irvin, Jack Manning, Michael Oliva, Wallace Sides, Bruce Zick
• Background Supervision: Eric Semones
• Backgrounds Painted by: Paro Hozumi, Dennis Durrell, Paul Julian, James Hegedus, Ron Dias, Winfield Hull, Eric Semones
• Background Layout Supervision: David High
• Background Layout Artists: Alex Mann, Lisa Souza, Bruce Zick
• Color Key: Bunny Munns
• Animation Supervision: John Conning, Mike Longden, Milton Gray, Willard Kitchen, Colin Baker
• Animation Checking Supervision: Marlene Robinson May
• Titles: Bill Perez
• Graphics: Iraj Paran, Tom Wogatzke
• Production Coordinator: Loretta High
• Coordinating Assistants: Paul Gorniak, Natalie Holt, Scott Smith, Tim Terusa, Tom Allen
• Studio Manager: Jeffrey M. Cooke
• Assistants to the Executive Producers: Melinda Diner, Stacy McLaughlin
• Production Assistants: Allyn Conley, Laura Rubenstein, Hildy Mesnick, Megeen McLaughlin, Debby Ruby, Susan Feldstein, Maria Elena Guereca, Tracy Gillette, Lynne Pedegana, Lianne Woolley
• "DONKEY KONG" is based upon the video game "DONKEY KONG" made by Nintendo.
• "Q*BERT" is based upon the video game entitled "Q*BERT", owned by Mylstar Electronics, Inc.
• "KANGAROO" is based on the Atari video game produced under license from Sun Electronics. (c) 1983 Atari, Inc. All rights reserved.
• "SPACE ACE" is based upon the video game made by Magicom, Inc.; concept and engineering by RDI Video Systems; design and animation by Don Bluth; manufactured and marketed by Cinematronics, Inc.
• Music: Dean Elliott
• Music Supervision: Paul DeKorte
• "SUPERCADE" Theme: Shuki Levy and Haim Saban
• "Q*bert" Theme: Rick Segall and John Bahler
• Effects Editors: Tom Syslo, Pete Grives, Steve Caldwell
• Music Editors: Peter Collier, Rick Gleitsman
• Executive in Charge of Post Production: Chip Yaras
• Associate Producers: Larry Huber, Michael Hack
• Show Editor: Edilberto A. Cruz
• Negative Consultant: Mary Nelson
• Laboratory: C. F. I.
• Re-Recording: Warner-Hollywood Studios
• Re-Recording Mixer: James L. Aicholtz, C.A.R.
• (c) 1984 RUBY-SPEARS ENTERPRISES, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

External links

• Saturday Supercade appreciation at X-Entertainment
• Saturday Supercade at The Big Cartoon DataBase
• Saturday Supercade at IMDb
• Q*Bert Cartoon Info Page at The Freakshow
• Saturday Supercade Podcast at The Retroist