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Dynomutt Dog Wonder (1976)
Stronger Than A Train, With A So-So Brain!
Dynomutt originally began as a segment of the Scooby-Doo/Dynomutt Hour in 1976, then was featured a year later on Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics, before this solo series which ran in 1978 for only 3 months.
Despite it's short run, Dynomutt was still a Saturday morning favorite of mine. Most memorable from the show for me was the cool opening with Gary Owens' Blue Falcon narration. I still remember the shot of Dynomutt effortlessly stopping a train one-handed (or one-pawed) while Owens announced "stronger than a train with a so-so brain" to which Frank Welker's Dynomutt was heard replying "You talking about me, Blue Falcon?" I also remember the unique vocals of Ron Feinberg, who provided the show's narration in 60s Batman TV series fashion. The show did take a few cues from Batman: Blue Falcon's millionaire alter-ego, the Falcon Flash signal, etc. The Falconcar was smooth, almost smoother than the Batmobile because it flew. "Blue Falcon! And Dog Wonder! Away!" The villains were colorful and inspired, most notably my favorites Queen Hornet (loved the way she said Blue Falcon's name) and Super Thug.
Dynomutt himself was a bit conflicting. On the one hand he was powerful and inventive with the array of gadgets that he contained, and yet on the other hand he was often clumsy in the actual use and control of his gadgets to which Blue Falcon or B.F. (as Dynomutt called him) would dub the canine "Dog BLUNDER." It was usually when Dynomutt DIDN'T think too much was when he prevailed.
Another funtastic Hanna-Barbera show! Trivia: If it weren't for Dynomutt, shows like The Robonic Stooges and the immensely popular Inspector Gadget would not exist. Dynomutt originated the gadget formula used within those shows.
Inch High, Private Eye (1973)
The Real Inch High, Private Eye
First off, I don't know what version of Inch High the previous reviewer saw, but it wasn't the one I originally saw IN the 70s. Inch remained an inch high throughout the series and could NOT grow back, period. That was the whole gimmick of the show.
Despite his size, he always got the job done...with the help of his lovely and resourceful niece, Laurie, who called him "Uncle Inch" and Gator, Inch's muscled-bound golly gee-whiz bumkin assistant who referred to him as "Mr. Inch Sir." Gator also drove the team's vehicle, a sleek hovercraft similar in design to the Blue Falcon's Falconcar from "Dynomutt." The group also had a lumbering dog that occasionally aided Inch.
Inch was voiced by Lennie Weinrib, not Alan Oppenheimer. John Stephenson was hilarious as Inch's short-fused superior, Mr. Finkerton. The character was played like Cosmo Spacely from The Jetsons. Instead of firing Inch, Finkerton always told Inch to "Get out!" Most bosses would probably coddle Inch because of his size. Not Finkerton, which is why he was funny with that "about-to-sneeze" pitch in his voice when he spoke.
Despite it's comedic premise, this was a surprisingly straight and laid-back show compared to the other mystery toons. There weren't song-n-dance monster chases or unveilings. Laurie wasn't danger-prone, but was quite capable. If you tire of Scooby antics, then Inch High, Private Eye may provide an adequate diversion.
Young Samson & Goliath (1967)
Second only to Hanna-Barbera's other classic, Space Ghost!
Next to the original 60s Space Ghost series, Samson & Goliath was my all-time favorite Hanna-Barbera cartoon.
Most episodes began with Samson & Goliath riding around on Samson's motorscooter where the pair would be summoned by some kindly scientist or military official to oversee some sort of project which typically proved too great a temptation for the criminal element. Namely some evil terrorist controlling a syndicate or some type of super-monster.
That's when Samson & Goliath went into action. Samson would yell "I need Samson power," then smash his magic bracelets together "explosively transforming" himself into a more biblical (and far more powerful) version of himself. For added muscle, Samson would smash his bracelets together sending waves of energy toward Goliath's general direction explosively transforming the dog into a massive lion. In lion form, Goliath was really fearsome looking, could leap astounding distances and fire energy beams from his eyes.
I remember a rare instance where Samson yelled "I'll need SUPER Samson power!" He gave both bracelets a twist, then he literally blew up with even more bulging muscles. Tim Matheson (Space Ghost's Jayce and Jonny Quest), who voiced Samson, provided excellent vocals as his voice was appropriately amplified when Samson was in super-form. As was Goliath's lion roar which could be used to shatter objects or cause cave-ins. The show was pure escapism and I loved every second of it.
Highly recommended classic Hanna-Barbera series!
The Space Kidettes (1966)
Not as popular as the Jetsons, but still a fun Hanna-Barbera toon.
"The Space Kidettes: Scooter, Jenny, Countdown, Snoopy and Pupstar. And starring me, the evil Captain Skyhook and his evil pal Static!"
That's how the show opened, as the Captain himself did the opening announcement. While the Space Kidettes may not be as popular the Flintstones or say the Jetsons, it is still remembered fondly, though some may not recall the show's title name. While Space Ghost, the Herculoids and Samson & Goliath focused more on derring-do action, the Space Kidettes had a kiddie-fun quality to it. There was something for everybody - The "kids outwitting the dim-witted adults slapstick" and the slightly savvy dialogue between Captain Skyhook and Static, who really were the stars of the show. Static would always suggest some type of violent torture to get the kids to cough up their treasure map, to which the Captain would bonk him on the head and tell him "You can't do that, they're just LITTLE KIDS!"
Overall, it was a neat '60s cartoon series and like the Jetsons, it pulled you into it's space-themed environment.
Rubik, the Amazing Cube (1983)
He's colorful, magical, laughable!...
Rubik, the Amazing Cube was yet another well-remembered 80s cartoon based on 80s pop culture namely the best-selling game puzzle cube of the same name. Rubik was an alien with an amazing array of powers, but was rendered powerless (in every sense) when his colored sides were mis-aligned. Usually the slightest tumble caused this to occur. I remember how animals would nudge Rubik causing him to misalign. Some animals actually RE-aligned Rubik as well.
It was refreshing to see some ethnic diversity within the show as well as the family who cared for Rubik were of latin decent. The opening theme was performed by latin sensation group Menudo who were also featured as a part of ABC's Saturday morning programming schedule the season that Rubik ran.