Synopsis of Saturday Morning Show

"There's no need to fear,
Underdog is here!"

Leonardo Productions, the creators of Tennesee Tuxedo, had their biggest success with the adventures of a super-powered pooch named Underdog. In the guise of the "humble and lovable" Shoe Shine Boy, Underdog would only need to hear the faintest cry for help before transforming himself into a superhero.

The plea usually came from his girlfriend, TV Reporter Polly Purebred, the show's most frequent canine-in-distress. A colorful array of villains, from Simon Bar Sinister to Riff Raff to Overcat (get it?), seemed to follow the hapless Polly wherever she went.

Whenever she needed her hero’s assistance, Polly would break out into song: “Oh where, oh where has my Underdog gone? Oh where, oh where can he be?” Upon hearing this, Shoe Shine Boy would immediately duck into the nearest telephone booth and emerge ready to fight evil.

For some reason, Underdog only spoke in rhymed couplets, but luckily, this need to recite a verse of poetry before every battle didn’t seem to slow him down.

Two other cartoons shared the Underdog show: The Hunter and The World of Commander McBragg. These segments had been seen before, in King Leonardo and His Short Subjects.

In its second season, Underdog switched networks and replaced The Hunter with Go Go Gophers, a show about two Native American gophers who were being driven off their land by the local cavalry. Every week, Col. Kit Coyote would have a different plan to eliminate the gophers, and every week, he would be outsmarted by the clever duo. The Colonel’s second in command, Sergeant Oky Homa, often tried to warn him, but to no avail.

For whatever reason, the only remaining tribe members were the two gophers: Running Board, the leader, and Ruffled Feathers, who spoke in such a hyperactive manner that he could only be understood by his partner. It was never explained why the four characters couldn’t simply co-exist, since there was plenty of land for everyone, but such is the tale of history.

The other new segment, replacing Commander McBragg, was Klondike Kat, a feline Mountie who was perpetually on the trail of the thieving mouse Savoir Faire ("Savoir Faire is everywhere"). Every episode would feature Klondike hatching an elaborate plan to capture his foe, shouting his familiar threat, “I’ll make mincemeat out of that mouse!”

Maybe it was the poetry, maybe it was the villains, or maybe it was the fact that Underdog had his own balloon in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, but whatever the reason, kids loved the marvelous mutt and remember him fondly.

Release History

10/3/64 - 9/3/66 NBC
9/10/66 - 9/1/68 CBS
9/7/68 - 9/5/70 NBC
9/9/72 - 9/1/73 NBC

TV Sub Categories

animated
comedy

TV Studio

Leonardo

Television Cast

Underdog / Shoe Shine Boy Wally Cox
Sweet Polly Purebred Norma McMillan
Narrator George Irving
Simon Bar Sinister Allen Swift
Ruffled Feathers George Irving
Sergeant Oky Homa Sandy Becker
The Hunter Kenny Delmar
Col. Kit Coyote Kenny Delmar
Commander McBragg Kenny Delmar
Stanley Livingston Delo States
Running Board George Irving

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