Pac-Man (TV series)

Pac-Man (also known as Pac-Man: The Animated Series) is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera based on the video game Pac-Man by Namco, which premiered on ABC and ran from 1982 to 1983. During the first airing of the show, the large number of advertisers sponsoring it caused commercial breaks to be double their normal length. Later episodes featured normal commercial break times.

The arcade game Pac-Land was based entirely on the cartoon, and Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures drew significant influence from it as well. Also, the Tengen release of the original Pac-Man arcade game for the Nintendo Entertainment System features box art based on the cartoon. This series along with The Smurfs, Foofur and other Hanna-Barbera adaptations of other properties were completely different from the studio's trademark signature shows.

The show's initial success inspired ABC's rival CBS to create Saturday Supercade, which featured other video game characters from the Golden age of video arcade games. This show also marked a first in H-B's twenty-five year history in that the studio produced an animated series based entirely on a video game (Hanna-Barbera was formed in 1957, and video games would not exist until 1971, and would not become popular until later in the decade).

Plot

The show follows the adventures of the title character, Pac-Man (voiced by Marty Ingels), his wife Pepper (voiced by Barbara Minkus), their child Pac-Baby (voiced by Russi Taylor), their dog Chomp-Chomp (voiced by Frank Welker) and their cat Sour Puss (voiced by Peter Cullen). The family lives in Pac-Land, a place in which the geography and architecture seem to revolve primarily around spheres and sphere-like shapes.

Most episodes of the series center around the ongoing battle between the Pac family and their only known enemies, the Ghost Monsters: Blinky (voiced by Chuck McCann), Inky (voiced by Barry Gordon), Pinky (voiced by Chuck McCann), Clyde (voiced by Neil Ross), and Sue (voiced by Susan Silo). They work for Mezmaron (voiced by Allan Lurie), a mysterious figure who resembles Darth Vader and acts similarly to Gargamel from The Smurfs. Mezmaron's sole mission is to locate and control the source of "Power Pellets", which serve as the primary food and power source for the city, and also as the deus ex machina in virtually every episode.

The second season later introduces Super-Pac (voiced by Lorenzo Music) and Pac-Man's nephew P.J. (voiced by Darryl Hickman)

Broadcast history

Pac-Man aired on ABC Saturday Morning in the following formats:

• The Pac-Man/Little Rascals/Richie Rich Show (September 25, 1982-September 3, 1983)
• The Pac-Man/Rubik, the Amazing Cube Hour (September 10, 1983-September 1, 1984)

Since the original run, reruns have turned up on the USA Cartoon Express on USA in the 1980s and Boomerang in 2005. The Christmas-themed episode currently airs each year as part of the Boomerang Christmas Party, an annual marathon of Christmas cartoons, but otherwise is not included in the channel's rotation. The series is also available for purchase on the Xbox Live Marketplace for 160 Microsoft Points per episode.

Episodes

Season 1 (1982)

1. Presidential Pac-Nappers (1982·Sep·25) - Mezmaron orders the Ghost Monsters to kidnap the Pac-President in order to get Pac-Man to lead them to the Power Pellet Forest.
2. Picnic in Pacland (1982·Sep·25) - Pac-Man and his family go for a picnic. The Ghosts are also on a picnic and plot to chomp Pac-Man with each plan going horribly awry.
3. The Great Pac-Quake (1982·Oct·02) - The ghost monsters get a Earthquake-making machine by Mezmaron.
4. Hocus-Pocus Pac-Man (1982·Oct·02) - Pac-Man put Pac-Baby in a magic hat and made him disappear!
5. Southpaw Packy (1982·Oct·09) - When the ghost monsters ruin the Pacland world series, Pac-Man challenges them to a baseball game to decide who leaves town.
6. Pac-Baby Panic (1982·Oct·09) - The ghost monsters steal a sack of Power Pellets, and Pac-Man and Pepper go searching for Pac-Baby, not realizing he's in the sack of Power Pellets.
7. Pacula (1982·Oct·16) - Mezmaron transforms a bat into the vampiric Count Pacula in a plot to get the citizens of Pac-Land to hand over the map to the Power Pellet Forest.
8. Trick or Chomp (1982·Oct·16) - The Pac family goes trick or treating on Halloween night until the ghosts comes along and spice things up.
9. Super Ghosts (1982·Oct·23) - The ghost monsters try to take over the world when they are given super powers.
10. The Pac-Man in the Moon (1982·Oct·23) - After the ghost monsters steal the space shuttle, Pac-Man and Pepper must retrieve it.
11. Journey to the Center of Pacland (1982·Oct·30) - Mezmaron decides to dig underground to get the Power Pellet Forest.
12. Invasion of the Pac-Pups (1982·Oct·30) - A litter of Pac-Pups come to the Pac-Family's house, and Pac-Man is trying to get rid of them.
13. Sir Chomp-A-Lot (1982·Nov·06) - Mezmaron sends the ghost monsters 50 years back into the past but Inky's goofiness causes them to meet Pac-Man's ancestor, Sir Chomp-A-Lot.
14. The Day the Forest Disappeared (1982·Nov·06) - When Mezmaron successfly gets the Power Pellet Forest, it's up to Pac-Man to get it back.
15. Neander-Pac-Man (1982·Nov·13) - Pac-Man reads Pac-Baby a story about their prehistoric ancestor and his discovery of power pellets.
16. Backpackin' Packy (1982·Nov·13) - Pac-Man is premited to lead the Pac-Baby scouts after their original leader stubs his toe.
17. The Abominable Pac-Man (1982·Nov·20) - A legendary creature is lurking the snowy hills.
18. The Bionic Pac-Woman (1982·Nov·20) - Mezmaron makes a robotic clone of Pepper to fool Pac-Man.
19. Chomp-Out at the O.K. Corral (1982·Nov·27) - While taking a vacation out west, the ghost monsters along with their bratty cousin, Dinky, try to ruin the Pac-family vacation.
20. Once Upon a Chomp (1982·Nov·27) - The ghost monsters fairy ghost monster comes and gives them a magic fairytale book to trap Pac-Man and Pepper.
21. The Pac-Love-Boat (1982·Dec·04) - The ghost monsters try to ruin Pac-Man and Pepper's anniversary while on the Love Boat.
22. The Great Power Pellet Robbery (1982·Dec·04) - Mezmaron gives the ghost monsters a truck in order to retrieve the Power Pellet Forest.
23. A Bad Case of the Chomps (1982·Dec·11) - Pac-Man is rushed to the hospital after believing he has chompitis, after chomping the ghost monsters.
24. Goo-Goo at the Zoo (1982·Dec·11) - The Pac-Family goes to the zoo but Pac-Baby frees all the animals.
25. Nighty Nightmares (1982·Dec·18) - The Ghosts are having nightmares about Pac-Man.
26. The Pac-Mummy (1982·Dec·18) - Mezmaron discovers a mummy, so he uses it to kidnap Pepper and Pac-Baby.

Season 2 (1983)

1. Here's Super-Pac! (1983·Sep·17) - Super-Pac arrives in Pac-Land and saves Pac-Man and Pepper from a Ghost Monster attack. Pepper then invites Super-Pac to lunch as Mezmaron creates a giant robotic Ghost Monster.
2. Hey, Hey, Hey... It's P.J. (1983·Sep·17) - Pac-Man must convince cousin P.J. to stay in school.
3. The Super-Pac-Bowl (1983·Sep·24) - After the ghost monsters chomp the football team, Pac-Man and his team must face them off with the help of Super-Pac.
4. Journey into the Pac-Past (1983·Sep·24) - P.J. fixes Ms. Pac's washing machine, accidentally turning it into a time machine which sends him and Pac-Man into several different eras in Pacland's history.
5. The Old Pac-Man and the Sea (1983·Oct·01) - The ghosts sink Pac-Man and a large oceanic shipment of power pellets. They end up in the aquatic city of Paclantis, where they must chomp chase in the arena.
6. Public Pac-Enemy No. 1 (1983·Oct·01) - Pac-Man gets sent to prison after he is mistaken for a criminal named Pretty Boy Pac.
7. The Genii of Pacdad (1983·Oct·08) - Pac-Man and Super-Pac square off against the ghost monsters for ownership of a bottle that houses a wish-granting genii.
8. Computer Packy (1983·Oct·08) - P.J. tinkers with Pac-Man's computer, causing it to zap Pac-Baby a la TRON. Pac-Man and P.J. head inside the computer to save him.
9. The Greatest Show in Pacland (1983·Oct·15) - The ghost monsters take their cousin Dinky to the circus for his birthday, where they encounter the Pac-family.
10. The Pac-A-Lympics (1983·Oct·15) - Legal technicalities permit the ghost monsters to participate in the olympics, and it's up to the Pac-family to try to defeat them in various athletic events.
11. Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Pac-Man (1983·Oct·22) - Pac-Man turns into a werewolf after the Ghost-Monsters trick him into eating Power Pellets specially created by Mezmaron.
12. Around the World in 80 Chomps (1983·Oct·22) - Mezmaron and the ghost monsters travel around the world to find another power forest, and Pac-Man must thwart this.
13. Super-Pac vs. Pac-Ape (1983·Oct·29) - An organ grinder's Pac-Monkey eats super-powered Power Pellets and grows to giant size. Now Pac-Man and Super-Pac must stop the giant Pac-Monkey before it wrecks Pac-Land
14. P.J. Goes Pac-Hollywood (1983·Oct·29) - P.J. is starring in an action movie, and when the Pac-family visits the set, Pac-Man is goaded into taking the dangerous job of stunt double.
15. Pac Van Winkle (1983·Nov·05) - Pac-Man drinks a potion that causes him to fall asleep for twenty years. When he awakes, he finds a nightmarish future in which the power forest has been captured and ghosts have infested Pacland.
16. Happy Pacs-Giving (1983·Nov·05) - The Pac-family hear a story about the first Pacs-Giving.

Specials

Christmas Comes to Pac-Land

In this Christmas special, Pac-Man and family help Santa Claus (voiced by Peter Cullen) after crash-landing on Pac-Land (after the reindeer were startled by floating eyes of the Ghost Monsters after Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and Pac-Baby munched them). Mezmaron was the only character from the cartoon that is not in the special (although his castle which is covered in snow appears). Most fans say he was away for Christmas (but this can't be confirmed nor denied). It is shown every December on the Boomerang Christmas party.

Pac-Man Halloween Special

The Halloween special consisted of two segments from the show, "Pacula" and "Trick or Chomp". The special aired in primetime on ABC on October 30, 1982. It has been replayed on channels like Cartoon Network and Boomerang during Halloween in recent years.^[1]

Cast

• Jodi Carlisle -
• Peter Cullen - Sour Puss
• Barry Gordon - Inky
• Darryl Hickman - P.J. (second season)
• Marty Ingels - Pac-Man
• Paul Kirby -
• Allan Lurie - Mezmaron
• Chuck McCann - Blinky, Pinky
• Julie McWhirter - Dinky (two episodes from the first and second seasons)
• Barbara Minkus - Pepper (Ms. Pac-Man)
• Lorenzo Music - Super-Pac (second season)
• Neil Ross - Clyde
• Susan Silo - Sue
• Russi Taylor - Pac-Baby
• Lennie Weinrib -
• Frank Welker - Chomp-Chomp, Morris, adult Pac-Baby

Home media releases

Warner Bros. has no plans yet into releasing the series on DVD. The special Christmas Comes to Pac-Land was released on VHS by Kids Classics.

In 1982, WorldVison Home Video Inc. under Rainbow Products Ltd distributed a Hanna-Barbera Productions Inc. Pacman and Family VHS in Australia. Catalogue #: RCV 9019

Episodes included:

• Pacula
• Trick or Chomp
• Super Ghosts
• The Pac-Man In The Moon
• Invasion of The Pac-Pups
• Journey to the Centre of Pacland

See also

• Pac-Man
• Ms. Pac-Man
• Baby Pac-Man
• Pac-Land
• Saturday Supercade
• List of television shows based on video games

References

1. ^ http://www.toonarific.com/show.php?show_id=2727

External links

• Pac-Man at the Internet Movie Database
• Pac-Man at TV.com
• The Caroon Scrapbook – Profile on Pac-Man.