Synopsis of Saturday Morning Show

The Atom Ant Show made up a half-hour of the popular Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show. These cartoons spoofed the then-popular superhero and spy genres, respectively, and enjoyed immense success themselves.

The star of the show was a very able arthropod who could not only fly, but also lift more than ten times his own body weight. Atom Ant communicated with his superiors via the antennae on his helmet, awaiting their orders to go capture an array of enemies, whose names were conveniently listed in Atom's "Crook Book." Even though Atom was not so easy to see, he could always be heard, shouting his battle cry of “Up and at ’em, Atom Ant!”

Though he packed a mean punch alone, Atom Ant shared his half-hour with other HB cartoon characters. Precious Pupp, a conniving dog with a very raspy laugh, lived with Granny Sweet, who was always speeding off on her motorcycle, leaving Precious to play man of the house.

Also on the bill were The Hillbilly Bears, a clan who lived in the mountains and lazed around to the sound of the banjo. Paw Rugg, the muttering head of the family, spent most of his time asleep, awaking only to blast someone off his property with a shotgun. Maw Rugg smoked a pipe and ran the house, while daughter Floral and son Shagg were constantly wreaking havoc and avoiding responsibility.

Atom Ant split off from its parent show to become The Atom Ant Show for several months, but at the start of the 1967 fall season, ant and squirrel were reunited for another year of The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show.

Release History

10/2/65 - 9/2/67 NBC

TV Sub Categories

animated

TV Studio

Hanna-Barbera

Television Cast

Atom Ant Howard Morris/Don Messick
Paw Rugg Henry Corden
Ma Rugg Jean VanderPyl
Floral Rugg Jean VanderPyl
Shag Rugg Don Messick
Precious Pupp Don Messick
Granny Sweet Janet Waldo

 

Other Saturday Morning Links