Saturday Supercade
| Company type | Animated television series |
|---|---|
| Industry | Television animation |
| Founded | 1983 |
| Founder | Ruby-Spears Enterprises |
| Defunct | 1984 |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products | Animated television series based on video games |
Saturday Supercade is an American animated television series created specifically for Saturday morning viewing by Ruby-Spears Enterprises. It was broadcast on CBS over the course of two seasons, spanning 1983 to 1984.
This anthology program presents four 11-minute segments, each inspired by well-known video game titles from the golden age of arcade video games. During the initial season, the featured segments included Frogger, Donkey Kong, and Donkey Kong Jr., while the fourth segment alternated between Pitfall! and Q*bert. In the second season, the lineup was updated to showcase Q*bert, Donkey Kong, along with new additions Kangaroo and Space Ace.
Frogger
In the segment based on Frogger, voiced by Bob Sarlatte, the protagonist is a skilled reporter working for The Swamp Gazette. Accompanied by his companions Shellshock "Shelly" Turtle (voiced by Marvin Kaplan) and Fanny Frog (voiced by B.J. Ward), he investigates peculiar events often related to human conduct. Frogger regularly deals with his demanding editor Tex Toadwalker (voiced by Ted Field Sr.). Mirroring the original game’s hazards, Frogger frequently encounters threats such as alligators or traffic, and Shelly often revives him using an air pump.
Episodes
Donkey Kong
Donkey Kong (voiced by Soupy Sales) breaks free from the circus, with Mario (voiced by Peter Cullen) and Pauline (voiced by Judy Strangis) in pursuit. Reflecting the original game, Donkey Kong frequently abducts Pauline, leading Mario to attempt her rescue. The narratives often revolve around antagonists who manipulate Donkey Kong’s innocence to commit crimes, while Mario and Pauline work together to reveal these plots. Occasionally, the trio unites to defeat villains before Donkey Kong makes another escape.
Season 2 (1984)
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Pitfall!
Pitfall Harry (voiced by Robert Ridgely), accompanied by his niece Rhonda (Noelle North) and their timid pet mountain lion Quickclaw (Kenneth Mars), ventures through jungles in search of hidden treasures and thrilling exploits. Both Rhonda and Quickclaw later appear in Pitfall II: Lost Caverns and Super Pitfall.
Q*bert
Set in the 1950s-styled town of Q*Berg, the series features the teenage, fur-covered protagonist Q*bert (Billy Bowles), alongside his girlfriend Q*Tee (Robbie Lee), brother Q*Bit (Dick Beals), and friends Q*Ball (Frank Welker), Q*Val (Robbie Lee), and Q*Mongus (Frank Welker). They frequently confront bullies including Coily, Ugg, Wrongway (all voiced by Frank Welker), as well as Coily's girlfriend Viper (Julie McWhirter). The show draws from the Q*Bert arcade game, incorporating concepts like "block-hopping," "swearing" bubbles, and flying discs. A unique addition to the cartoon was Q*bert's "slippy-doos," black balls shot from his nose that create slippery oil patches. Characters Slick and Sam (both voiced by Frank Welker) also make appearances.
Season 1 (1983)
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Season 2 (1984)
Donkey Kong Junior
In this series, Donkey Kong Jr. (voiced by Frank Welker) embarks on a quest to locate his father, Donkey Kong, who has escaped from a circus where Mario serves as ringmaster. Alongside him is "Bones," a greaser character voiced by Bart Braverman, who rides a motorcycle and assists in the search. Donkey Kong Jr. frequently uses the rallying cry Monkey muscle! to encourage himself. Meanwhile, Bones often offers sensible advice when Junior attempts more than he can handle.
Episodes
| Nº | Episode Name | Air Date (Original)
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Kangaroo
Joey Kangaroo (voiced by David Mendenhall), together with his mother "K.O." Katy Kangaroo (Mea Martineau) and Sidney Squirrel (Marvin Kaplan), collaborate to thwart the disruptive antics of the Monkeybiz Gang—Bingo, Bango, Bongo, and Fred (voiced by Pat Fraley and Frank Welker)—at Mr. Friendly's zoo (Arthur Burghardt). Katy is instrumental in preventing the gang’s repeated escapes.
Space Ace
The series Space Ace centers on the self-assured hero of "Space Command," portrayed by Jim Piper. After exposure to the Infanto-Ray, he transforms into a weaker, more awkward persona named Dexter (voiced by Sparky Marcus). Alongside officer Kimberly (Nancy Cartwright), he operates under Space Marshall Vaughn (Peter Renaday) to protect Earth from the alien adversary Borf (Arthur Burghardt). To keep Dexter’s condition secret, Ace and Kim pretend Dexter is Kim’s younger sibling when interacting with Vaughn.
Ruby-Spears adapted the transformation dynamic from the original video game, where Dexter had opportunities to revert voluntarily to Ace. In contrast, the animated series depicted these changes as involuntary and often inconvenient.
During the late 1990s, reruns were broadcast on Cartoon Network and Boomerang, broadening the show's audience.
Episodes
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
- 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 — Quickclaw the Mountain Lion
- Mea Martineau — "K.O." 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, Legrin
- Robert Ridgely — Pitfall Harry
- Bob Sarlatte — Frogger
- 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
Additional voice talent
- Michael Bell
- Jack DeLeon
- Alan Dinehart
- Walker Edmiston
- Marshall Efron
- Al Fann
- Teddy S. Field III
- Takayo Fischer
- June Foray
- Linda Gary
- Kelly Glen
- Joe Higgins
- Bob Holt
- David Landsberg
- Lucy Lee
- Shawn Lieber
- Tress MacNeille
- Tysun McMullen
- Shepard Menken
- Nancy Merwan
- Don Messick
- Tim Rooney
- Marilyn Schreffler
- Avery Schreiber
- Hal Smith
- Steve J. Spears
- John Stephenson
- Russi Taylor
- Herb Vigran
- Janet Waldo
- Alan Young
- Cameron Young
Rebroadcasts and home media
Segments from Space Ace have sporadically been broadcast as interstitial content on channels such as Boomerang and Toonami. Due to infrequent reruns and limited distribution, the series is partially regarded as lost. In 2010, a DVD release of Saturday Supercade via Warner Archive's manufacture-on-demand service was announced; however, certain segments may be excluded because of licensing restrictions, and no further information has been released as of 2024.
In November 2015, The Best of Q*Bert was issued on DVD in Region 1 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. This two-disc Manufacture-on-Demand set contains 17 out of the 19 episodes and is available solely in the United States through Amazon.com and the CreateSpace MOD program.
External links
- Saturday Supercade podcast at The Retroist
- Articles with short description
- 1980s American animated comedy television series
- 1980s American anthology television series
- 1980s American children's comedy television series
- 1983 American animated television series debuts
- 1984 American television series endings
- American children's animated anthology television series
- American children's animated comedy television series
- Animated series based on Mario
- Animated series based on video games
- American English-language television shows
- Frogger
- Pitfall (series)
- Q*bert
- Television series by Ruby-Spears
- Television series by Sony Pictures Television
- Works based on Activision video games
- Works based on Konami video games
- CBS animated television series