Look! Up in the Sky!
It's a plane! It's a bird! It's a frog!
Not plane, nor bird nor even frog, it's just little o'le me:

 

 

 


Main

Episode Guide

Underdog's Powers

Supporting Characters

Villains

Vocal Talent

Media and Merchandise

Other Cartoons

Links

Episode Guide

First Season

Safe Waif
(1 Part) first broadcast October 3, 1964

The pilot episode. Underdog wrecks havoc trying to save a lost boy. No villain in this single episode story.

March of the Monsters
(1 Part) first broadcast October 3, 1964

10 story high mechanical monsters of no particular origin (outerspace?), are defeated thanks to Underdog’s hi-fi voice breaking their glass-tube brains.

End – flies into a water tower.

Simon Says
(1 Part) first broadcast October 10, 1964

Simon Barsinister invents a device that turns any living thing into a picture. He kidnaps Sweet Polly Purebread to lure Underdog into a trap.

Simon Barsinister is introduced in this single episode cartoon. 6 minutes.

Yes I am a true hero
So it’s hip, hip, hip
And away I go!

End – Flies into a billboard, framing into a television.

Go Snow
(4 Parts) first broadcast October 10-24, 1964

Simon Barsinister invents a snow gun and turns things into snow. Introduces Cad who is almost as sinister as Simon.

The Laboratory is down below
So it’s hip, hip, hip
And away I go!

End – Flies into a closed window.

Zot
(4 Parts) first broadcast October 24 - November 7, 1964

King Klobber searches for the strongest person in the universe for a husband for his daughter, Glizandro (sp?). Goggle the Prime Minister, identifies Underdog as the best pick.

Underdog resists all attempts to be taken to Zot. Finally The Zot’s kidnap Sweet Polly and threaten to crush her unless Underdog marries Glizando.

The terrible two-headed dragon of Zot (Irving and Ralph) interrupts the wedding.

The plane, bird, frog and flying into a statute appears in the middle of part 2.

End – Underdog flies through an airplane.

The Great Gold Robbery
(4 Parts) first broadcast November 7-21, 1964

Riff Raff has been embarrassed once too many times by Riff Raff. Riff Raff plots to rob a train shipment of gold guarded by Underdog. Decoy calls for help from Sweet Polly Purebread in hundreds of balloons create a dilemma for Underdog. Save Sweet Polly Purebread or protect the train from Riff Raff?

End – Flies into a mountain as the train he is following enters a tunnel.

Fearo
(4 Parts) first broadcast November 21- December 5, 1964

In this spoof of King Kong, Sweet Polly Purebread is sent by O.J. Skweez, ower of Station WTTV to capture Fearo the Ferocious, the world’s mightiest monster in order to boost ratings. Polly and Shoeshine Boy set off on the good ship Friday the 13th with the brave Captain Coward and his crew. Lacking a phonebooth in which to change, Shoeshine Boy fights off a sea monster as Polly covers her eyes. The crew, spooked by the sea monster, demands to return without capturing Fearo and mutiny. Polly, Shoeshine and Captain Coward must walk the plank.

Transforming into Underdog underwater, he save the captain and Polly, but puts a whole in the bottom of the ship.

"Sir, I am a hero who never fails,
I can’t be bothered with such details."

Plugging the hole in the sinking ship:

"Now forward to the Island we must go,
To find Fearo the ferocious for Polly’s show"

The island of course has other monsters which weaken Underdog.

"Secret compartment of my ring
I fill with an Underdog Energy Vitamin Pill"

First use of the pill? Taking the red pill with a white "U" creates a change in his eyes showing: An American flag being raised, cannon blasts, jets flying in formation, the letter "U" which curl into pupils.

Show is named "Beauty and the Beast". Naturally, Fearo terrorizes the city.

Cameo by Riff Raff and Mooch.

End – No crash! Underdog just takes Fearo home.

The Big Shrink
(4 Parts) first broadcast December 5-19, 1964

Simon Barsinister invents shrinking water and plans to shrink everyone in the world to the size of his thumb. Predictably, he shrinks Sweet Polly Purebread as bait to trap and shrink Underdog.

A tiny Underdog with shrunken powers tries to stop Simon Barsinister, but is chased down a rat hole. Underdog is weakened, but regains strength from an Underdog Energy Vitamin Pill.

A miniature Polly is swept up by a bird and Underdog must save her. Meanwhile, Simon Barsinister works to put the shrinking water in his cloud machine to shrink the population wholesale.

In his attempt to become the biggest man in world, henchman Cad is also shrunk. Not very sporting to shrink your own henchman!

A captured and shrunk Simon is forced to tell how to unshrink people.

End – Underdog flies into a clock tower.

The Bubble Heads
(4 Parts) first broadcast December 19, 1964 - January 2, 1965

An underwater empire ruled by the Emperor who is in turn ruled by his wife. Intent on conquering the surface world, a series of inventions cause volcanoes, earthquakes, and tidal waves. The first two are summarily dealt with, but the tidal wave machine portends doom. Numerous fights with large sea creatures.

End – Flies into a buoy.

From Hopeless to Helpless
(4 Parts) first broadcast January 2-16, 1965

The criminal kingpin Riff Raff, schemes to steal the Hopeless diamond, the world’s largest diamond, at a society party. Riff Raff, Mooch and Sweet Polly Purebread attend the party as waiters for different reasons. Discovering each other, Sweet Polly is tied to her own car and sent over a cliff.

Riff Raff hires Tap Tap the chisler to cut up the Hopeless diamond, but sends him out on a crime spree to destroy the hero’s reputation.

Underdog is arrested, as even Sweet Polly doesn’t believe him to be innocent.

"Perhaps I was sleep walking when I turned to Crime,

Then now I must pay by serving my time."

Tap Tap finds the Hopeless diamond unbreakable. Riff Raff plots to get Underdog to join his gang to cut up the diamond. Underdog is not easily turned to crime.

End – flies into a tower at the airport.

Tricky Trap by Tap Tap
(1 Part) first broadcast January 16, 1965

One episode sequel to Hopeless to Helpless. This show allowed the rest of the show to put two parts of each story into each half-hour show.

Tap Tap schemes to break out of prison disguised as Underdog. Predictably kidnapping Sweet Polly.

End - None.

The Wicked Witch of Pickyoon

(4 Parts) first broadcast January 23, 1965 and September 4, 1965
This was a cliff hanger not just to next week, but next season.

A mixed-up fairy tale. Polly’s plane crashes in the land of Pickyoon. Controlled by the evil Wicked Witch. The magic mirror advises her that Underdog’s only weakness is Sweet Polly. Naturally, the witch kidnaps Polly.

The witch puts Polly to sleep for 1000 years by forcing her to drink a potion. Underdog attempts to save her, but is forced to fight dragons and do three tasks in order to get the Witch to reveal how to wake Sweet Polly.

Underdog eventually fights the witch, but Polly remains asleep. How do you wake a sleeping princess? The usual way.

End – None. Flies off with Sweet Polly into the sunset.

Second Season

(The Wicked Witch of Pickyoon was concluded on the start of the second season)

Weathering the Storm
(4 Parts) first broadcast September 11-18, 1965

Simon builds a weather machine and hijacks a rocket to the moon with Polly to create horrible weather and not be caught in the destruction. Odd new power, Underdog turns himself invisible.

End – None. 

The Gold Bricks
(4 Parts) first broadcast September 25 - October 2, 1965

Underdog is asked to drive a huge shipment of gold bricks worth $1 billion between banks. Riff Raff switches trucks on a careless and gullible Underdog and steals the gold. Underdog is arrested, and sent to jail for 30 years. Sweet Polly goes on the trail of the real crooks. Riff Raff hides out in a haunted house (which coincidentally looks exactly like Simon Barsinister’s house.) Polly runs into a series of scares, near misses and traps. Meanwhile Riff Raff and Mooch have painted all of the gold bricks red. Underdog breaks out of jail to save Polly, and generally save the day.

End – flies into a brick smoke stack.

Pain Strikes Underdog
(4 Parts) first broadcast October 9-16, 1965

After a train wreck caused by Riff Raff in order to steal the Excalibur Sword collection, Underdog can’t sit down without experiencing mysterious shooting pains in his back.

"When I stay straight, I’m right as rain,
But when I bend over, there’s a stabbing pain"

Riff Raff continues to his attempt to steal the swords, without interference from Underdog.

Through his front business, "Wix and Wack’s Candle Factory," Riff hides the swords inside candles.

Sweet Polly is unable to shut up about Underdog’s impending birthday. However, she inevitably is captured by Riff Raff and turned into a candle.

End – no crash. Underdog blows his birthday cake all over his guests.

The Magnet Men
(4 Parts) first broadcast October 23-30, 1965

A mysterious force snatches athletes from the Earth. Scientists discover a new planet, Planet X and send Underdog to investigate. Polly stows away. The Magnet Men soon begin eating Underdog’s equipment and overcome Underdog. They demand that the Earth surrender all metal or will use their gravity gun to pull the Earth out of orbit. Underdog and Polly are unable to convince the people of Earth to agree. Underdog must of course save the Earth.

End – Underdog flies into high voltage wires.

The Flying Sorcerers
(4 Parts)
first broadcast November 6-13, 1965

The King Cup of the planet of the flying sorcerers sends his sons, Brik and Brak to kidnap bakers from other worlds. (Planet of the Magnetmen; Zot; and Earth). Naturally, Sweet Polly is kidnapped to become the new baking slave.

Underdog, in attempting to rescue Sweet Polly, is changed into a ball. Underdog bounces around, though a girl’s volleyball game and a men’s basketball game, each time turning almost back to himself:

"I’m myself, but I’m not right at all
I feel myself turning back into a ball"

Sweet Polly, falls into a giant mixing bowl where she was preparing 500 cakes, calls out to Underdog to save her. Using his ultra-sonic hearing (across 100 million miles of space) he summons all to overcome the spell and save Sweet Polly.

Underdog defeats the flying sorcerer army and Sweet Polly gives the King of Cup her cake recipe.

End – Flies into a cement mixer.

The Forget-Me-Net
(4 Parts) first broadcast November 20-27, 1965

Simon Barsinister creates amnesia inducing nets and attempts to drop the Forget-Me-Net on Washington, DC. Underdog is caught in a forget-me-net and wanders the streets in drag selling apples.

End – Underdog flies into a volleyball net.

Guerrilla Warfare (Also broadcast as Whistlers Father)
(4 Parts) first broadcast December 4-11, 1965

Underdog agrees to protect the world’s most valuable painting, Whistler’s Father, at the Mid-Town Art Museum. Riff Raff gethers his gang together at his underground hideout in the woods.

Riff’s gang:

  • Sandy the Safe Cracker
  • Mooch, the top gunman of all time
  • Spinny Wheels, the best get-away driver of all time
  • Dina Mite, the best bomb thrower of all time.

Riff Raff trains his gang in the tactics of Guerilla Warfare in order to steal Whistler’s Father. Various attempts have only limited success.

For the first time, a villain discovers Underdog’s secret identity by following him home.

End – Underdog flies through the museum wall and right through Whistler’s Father.

Simon Says "No Thanksgiving"
(4 Parts) first broadcast December 18, 1965 – January 1, 1966

Simon Barsinister tries to take over the City with an army of 3 planes, 3 tanks and 12 soldiers by setting up a scheme to lock everyone inside. Cut off from their door locking device by the Thanksgiving Day parade, Simon decides to go back in time to disrupt the first Thanksgiving and eliminate the holiday completely. One of the dumbest of Underdog plots. It has the appearance of existing solely for the promotion of the Underdog balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.

End – Underdog points out that he isn’t a frog, but rather a balloon.

The Silver Thieves
(4 Parts) first broadcast January 8–15, 1966

Ghost-like Cloudmen steal all of Earth’s silver, including Underdog’s ring. The Cloudmen zap Underdog and others with lightning jolts. All the silver is taken to the Cloudmen’s distant planet which is ruled by King Cumulous Regulous. Underdog flies with Polly to the planet to retrieve the silver.

End – flies into a high-voltage-line tower.

Raffraffville
(4 Parts) first broadcast January 22–29, 1966

Riff Raff is frustrated by Underdog’s constant interference with his plans, and gathers all the crooks in "The City" to go across the country and take over a small town in Texas, renaming it Riffraffville. Underdog was inadvertantly incapacitated by Sweet Polly who took his ring to be repaired.

Without my Underdog super energy pill
I get weaker and weaker and weaker still.

No explanation of where he gets pills to put into his ring, or why he doesn’t go get another one from that source.

This is an unusual episode in that Underdog actually uses a gun to shot at bad guys and a western style song is sung for incidental music.

End – None.

The Tickle Feather Machine
(4 Parts) first broadcast February 5-12, 1966

Simon Barsinister decides that the best way to take over the world is to get elected dictator. His door-to-door campaign demonstrates his lack of popularity. He schemes to keep everyone but he and Cad from voting with another diabolical machine.

If you ever felt sorry for Cad, it is in this story. All manner of diabolical machines are tested on him.

In the ultimate in voter apathy, the mass-produced magic tickle-feathers make everyone too happy to vote. Underdog, meanwhile is busy straightening the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

As legally elected dictator, Simon Barsinister starts ordering everyone about. Simon, of course, has his invention turned against him.

End – Underdog flies into a building, and is left hanging from a window.

Third Season

Underdog vs. Overcat
(4 Parts) first broadcast September 17-24, 1966

Overcat, he super-powered feline ruler from the planet Felina, makes off with Earth’s milk supply and kidnaps Sweet Polly to milk all of the cows. Underdog flies to Felina to save Sweet Polly and the cows but is immediately caught in a rubber ball trap. Underdog escapes with the Polly and the cows. Overcat challenges Underdog to a fight. Winner takes the cows.

End – None. Overcat vows to return and Underdog looks over the Earth from atop a mountain.

The Big Dipper
(4 Parts) first broadcast October 1 – 8, 1966

Simon Barsinister builds a machine to dry up all of the water on Earth, gaining control over the population who had to pay outrageous amounts to get water.

End –

Just In Case
(4 Parts) first broadcast October 15 – 22, 1966

Riff Raff puts together a new gang in prison to break out and build a ghost ship. As pirates, Riff and his mob take over the seas. Underdog is at a loss to find them until Sweet Polly concocts a plan to be kidnapped so that her cries for help would attract Underdog.

All along, Riff Raff had a mysterious member of his gang waiting, just in case Underdog came along.

End – Flies into a crow’s nest.

The Marbleheads
(4 Parts) first broadcast October 29 – November 5, 1966

 

Simon Says "Be My Valentine"
(4 Parts) first broadcast November 12 – 19, 1966

Simon Barsinister builds a machine to turn everyone into valentines. Simon tells the city "You will be my valentine." Sweet Polly is of course kidnapped, bait to trap Underdog. The machine is inside a building with a large words on the side "Secret Lab. No. 3". Another lab was destroyed by Underdog in the beginning of part 1. Underdog blocked Simon’s escape from the collapsing building.

Shoeshine Boy takes "a tremendous beating" by Simon’s thugs so as not to expose his true identity. Interestingly, Simon doesn’t employ thugs in any other episode, except for Cad, and in story "The Vacuum Gun" in which Simon forced the other villains to work for him.

Underdog has to wait in line to use the phone booth to change into Underdog. Pity the people in line after him. When Underdog finally gets to the Secret Laboratory, he is turned into a paper valentine. Sweet Polly remains chained up. A nice little bondage tale for Valentine’s Day.

Despite being 2 dimensional, which perhaps is no great stretch considering that he is a cartoon, he can still mumble to Sweet Polly

End – Underdog flies into a billboard for valentine’s day candy.

Round And Round
(4 Parts) first broadcast November 26 – December 3, 1966

A rocket ship is knocked off course by Zorb, evil ruler of a strange planet. Underdog is sent to rescue the ship and meets an alien who gives him an amulet. Underdog brings the alien to Earth where he takes a pill and grows to enormous size. Underdog is helpless as he becomes too dizzy to stand. The giant alien defeats the army, navy and air force as Underdog stays in bed.

End – flies into a dome.

A New Villain
(4 Parts) first broadcast December 10 – 17, 1966

The Slippery Eel, a small time crook captured by Underdog escapes jail by climbing an electric fence which electrifies him. Now the Electric Eel, he plans a trap for Underdog and "kills" him in an electric trap. After dumping Underdog’s body in the lake, the Electric Eel and his gang terrorize the city and plan to attack Washington, DC. Underdog, revived under water, Underdog captures the Eel.

End – flies into a telephone pole.

Batty Man
(4 Parts) first broadcast December 31 – January 7, 1966

A mysterious crime wave affects the whole country. No one sees the criminals. Batty Man lives in Belfry Castle.

Includes a cute spoof of Car 54, Where are You?

End – Flies into a bell tower.

Vacuum Gun
(4 Parts) first broadcast January 14 – 21, 1966

Last show!

Underdog faces his arch nemesis Simon Barsinister, who has created to title device to help assemble his own criminal army composed of Riff Raff, the Electric Eel and Batty Man.

End – 

The Phoney Booths
(4 Parts) No information on original broadcast dates.

Simon Barsinister builds fake phone booths that take over people’s minds so that Simon can control them. Not surprisingly, Underdog falls victim to Simon’s fiendish plan.

End – 

 
Please send your corrections, questions, threats and snide comments to: bob@summersgill.net

Underdog and related characters are © 1997-2002 GBPC, a subsidiary of Golden Books Family Entertainment. This site is not endorsed by any of the respective copyright owners. They are presented solely for historical reference and educational purposes. The creator and maintainer of this web site take no responsibility for the information provided herein. All products and brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. All characters and all related slogans and indica are trademarks of the respective copyright owners. The use of such material falls under Fair use provisions.