Just got my copy of “UNDERDOG THE COMPLETE COLLECTOR’S
EDITION” on DVD, from Shout! Factory on Friday, February 27.
I’ve only scratched the surface of Set One (of THREE
multi-disc sets contained therein), so it will be a long time (if ever) until I
get around to doing one of my “Loooong DVD Reviews” of the entire package. But, I will offer some early observations…
The FIRST EPISODE (presumably the pilot for the series) is
unlike any other episode of UNDERDOG that I recall seeing over the
decades.
There are FIVE separate segments – 3 Underdog, 1 Go-Go
Gophers, and 1 featuring perhaps my favorite character to emerge from the Total
TeleVision animation studio … the stuffy, tall tale-telling Commander McBragg –
and, unlike that which is to come, none of the Underdog segments are part of a
longer, continued story. The three Underdog segments are:
- “Safe
Waif”: Underdog rescues a “child” (quotes
mine) locked in a bank vault.
- “March
of the Monsters”: Underdog finds the almost literal “glass jaw” (well, not
exactly a “jaw”) of an army of invading giant robots.
- “Simon
Says”: In which we meet evil genius Simon Bar Sinister, whose fiendish
device can turn people into flat, 1-dimensional, life-size, black and
white photographs. (…Um, what’s a
“black and white photograph”?)
The odd thing is that these three Underdog segments have a
much higher “humor quotient” than does the typical Underdog segment.
The recurring theme in these early entries is that, while
Underdog always saves the day, he leaves a great deal of gratuitous property
destruction in his wake! Much like this very early SUPER GOOF entry! Unlike
Super Goof, however, Underdog is not completely oblivious to the damage he
causes – but flies off, dismissing it as “details”. In an odd way, this MIGHT actually make the
casual carnage all the more humorous.
In fact, in “Simon Says”, you can actually SEE the upcoming destruction
telegraphed – and your advance cringing only adds to the fun. Fun, the type of which, I must emphasize
again, that one does not ordinarily associate with UNDERDOG.
Once we move beyond the “pilot” (?), things settle into
their familiar pattern.
The next show offers Parts One and Two of “Go Snow”, in
which Underdog faces Simon and his “Snow Gun”.
Surely, you remember this: “Simon
Says… Goooo Snooow!” This is followed by
Parts Three and Four of “Go Snow” in Show Number 3.
Each show also features a Go-Go Gophers segment – and the
expected adventurous whopper from Commander McBragg!
Shows 4 and 5 follow suit with the Underdog serial “Zot”,
where a spoiled, whiny, plus-sized, three-eyed alien princess desires a strong
champion for a husband – and sets her sights on Underdog. Go-Go Gophers and Commander McBragg follow
along as before.
Odd thing is the Underdog “Pilot” runs for 22:07 (somewhat
the norm for a show of this type), while the first four “regular” shows I’ve
seen so far clock in at an average of just over 17:00.
This cannot be… and something must be missing. Perhaps it’s because the Commander McBragg
segments average less than two minutes each, and other “standard cartoons” run
anywhere from 5 to 7 minutes.
According to the liner notes, the third set of the package,
comprising the last 14 episodes (and described as “Season Three”), dispense
with the short McBragg segments in favor of other TTV “stable characters” such
as Klondike Kat, Tooter Turtle, and The Hunter.
As these cartoons were more of a standard length, than was McBragg, I’ll
presume these shows to have longer running times. It’ll be a long while before I get there,
though – because I wanna see ‘em in order… assuming they *are* presented in
anything resembling Original Broadcast Order.
I’m not familiar enough with UNDERDOG to know that for certain.
One the plus side, these shows are chock full of
interstitial segments that you just don’t see on TV anymore, even on the rare
occasions that you might find UNDERDOG on Cartoon Network or Boomerang. Even WITH these, they still come up short in
length!
I have one “bootleg” UNDERDOG SHOW broadcast from the
sixties – and it is comprised of the two expected Underdog segments… and one
each of “Aesop and Son” (from Jay Ward’s BULLWINKLE SHOW) and “The Hunter” from
Total TeleVision’s KING LEONARDO AND HIS SHORT SUBJECTS.
As the Ward properties are already licensed for DVD, one
would figure that they could not be included here – and this may account for
the shortfall in running time.
At this point in time, I’m not sure it is at all possible to
properly reconstruct multi-segment shows like this – that were “sliced and
diced” in countless ways for various syndication packages. And, I’m certain that Shout! Factory did the
best they could in reconstructing the original “Underdog Experience”. So, I’m willing to concede this, and give ‘em
points for trying.
Longtime friend Mark Arnold and others supply commentary and
other Extra Features, including a 20 page (!) booklet in which Mark details the
history of Underdog, making this package a worthy addition to anyone’s
animation DVD collection.
But, leaving off Part Two of a series KNOWN to always have been
shown in two parts, is more than I’m willing to overlook! 
