The New Shmoo
- ️Sat Sep 22 1979
The New Shmoo is an American animated television series based on the character from the Li'l Abner comic strip created by Al Capp, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on NBC from September 22 to December 15, 1979.[1]
The New Shmoo was broadcast as a stand-alone half-hour series from September 22 to December 1, 1979.[2] Beginning December 8, 1979, the remaining five episodes of The New Shmoo were now incorporated into the 90-minute package show Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo which also featured combined reruns of Fred and Barney Meet the Thing.[3] Despite the show's title, Fred, Barney, the Thing, and Shmoo only met each other in brief bumpers between their individual segments.
Similar to Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! on CBS and later ABC, the show follows a group of teenagers—Mickey, Nita, and Billy Joe—who solve mysteries and crimes with their friend, Shmoo, a friendly bulbous creature who can stretch and shape his body into any form he wants. The teens worked for Mighty Mysteries Comics.
During the original NBC run, the program included a short segment called "Sing Along With The Shmoo". In a manner reminiscent of Screen Songs, Shmoo became a bouncing ball, providing visual guidance to song lyrics so that viewers could sing along with the cartoon.
- Frank Welker as Shmoo
- Dolores Cantu-Primo as Nita
- Bill Idelson as Mickey
- Chuck McCann as Billy Joe
- Additional voices: Joe Baker, Daws Butler, Bob Hastings, Jim MacGeorge, Margaret McIntyre, Ginny McSwain, Don Messick, Hal Smith, John Stephenson, Janet Waldo, Bill Woodson
- 1 These episodes were incorporated into the 90-minute package show Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo.
The New Shmoo originally aired in these following formats on NBC:
- The New Shmoo (September 22, 1979 – December 15, 1979)
- Fred and Barney Meet the Shmoo (September 22, 1979 – November 15, 1980)
- ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 431–432. ISBN 978-1-5381-0373-9.
- ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 588–589. ISBN 978-1-4766-6599-3.
- ^ Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part 1: Animated Cartoon Series. Scarecrow Press. pp. 202-203. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.