The Pink Panther (1993 TV series)

The Pink Panther
Genre Comedy
Created by Friz Freleng (characters: The Pink Panther and The Ant and the Aardvark)
David H. DePatie
Blake Edwards
Directed by Charles Grosvenor
Byron Vaughns
Starring Matt Frewer as The Pink Panther
Voices of Sheryl Bernstein
John Byner
Dan Castellaneta
Brian George
Jess Harnell
Joe Piscopo
Charles Nelson Reilly
Wallace Shawn
Kath Soucie
Jo Anne Worley
Theme music composer Henry Mancini (arranged by Eddie Arkin)
Composer(s) Albert Olson and James Stemple
Mark Watters (supervising composer)
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 3
No. of episodes 60 (121 segments)
Production
Executive producer(s) Walter Mirisch
Marvin Mirisch
Paul Sabella
Mark Young
Producer(s) Kelly Ward
Charles Grosvenor
Byron Vaughns
Ronald A. Levinson
Running time 22 minutes
Production company(s) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation
Distributor Claster Television
Camelot Entertainment Sales
MGM Television
Broadcast
Original channel Syndication (USA)
Channel 4, TCC, and Boomerang (UK)
Canal J (France)
TV Tokyo (Japan)
SpaceToon (Syria)
Cartoon Network (Australia)
Original run September 11, 1993 – March 29, 1996
Chronology
Preceded by Pink Panther and Sons
Followed by Pink Panther and Pals

The Pink Panther is a 1993 animated television series. It was credited as a co-production of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Animation, Mirisch-Geoffrey DePatie-Freleng and United Artists (though only done by the former, as the other properties ceased to exist or were transferred to MGM a decade earlier) and distributed by Claster Television (from Hasbro properties). This is the only Pink Panther TV series not to be distributed by MGM Television, though MGM still owns The Pink Panther and the only series to have the panther talking.

Premise

Unlike the other television series, the panther talks. Provided by Matt Frewer (best known as 1980s icon Max Headroom), the panther was given a humorous American accent in order to appeal to younger children. This characterization was in sharp contrast to the sophisticated British accent supplied by impressionist Rich Little (impersonating English actor David Niven who starred in 1963 film Pink Panther) who voiced the panther briefly in two 1965 cartoon shorts, Sink Pink and Pink Ice.[1][2] The Little Man also gained a speaking voice for the first time, provided by Wallace Shawn. John Byner also reprised his roles as both The Ant and the Aardvark.[1]

Plot

The 1993 incarnation of The Pink Panther starred the legendary hip feline in new adventures with several co-stars from the original theatrical shorts, including The Inspector, The Ant and the Aardvark and The Dogfather (who was redesigned for this series). Other former co-stars included the panther's regular foil, "The Little Man", as well as the Muscle Man from the 1968 cartoon Come On In! The Water's Pink. New characters included a mask-wearing tribal witch doctor named Voodoo Man, little red-headed girl Thelma, a sweet old lady Mrs. Chubalingo, and her pet parrot Jules.

Each episode featured the Pink Panther dealing with different situations in a manner similar to the original Looney Tunes shorts, ranging from modern day situations such as working as a delivery boy to outlandish situations like living in caveman days. Beginning with Season 2, the Inspector took a central role in the show as a detective assisted by the Pink Panther, who often played an American police officer.

The show was nominated for a daytime Emmy award in 1994 for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition.[3]

Episode list

Season 1: 1993-1994

# Title Air Date
1"Pink Pink, and Away/Down on the Ant Farm"September 11, 1993
2"Pink and Quiet/The Pinky 500"September 14, 1993
3"The Ghost and Mr Panther/Cleopanthra"September 18, 1993
4"Big Top Pinky/Yeti Nother Bigfoot Story"September 21, 1993
5"Pink in Paradise/Department Store Pinkerton"September 28, 1993
6"Moby Pink/The Pink Stuff"October 15, 1993
7"Pink Pizza/Pink Painter"October 23, 1993
8"Pink Paparazzi/Werewolf in Panther's Clothing"November 17, 1993
9"Rock Me Pink/Pinkus Pantherus"November 25, 1993
10"Pilgrim Panther/That Old Pink Magic"December 16, 1993
11"Pink-anderthal Man/Pink Kong"December 17, 1993
12"The Magnificent Pink One/Downhill Panther"March 16, 1994
13"14 Karat Pink/Robot Pink"March 18, 1994
14"Pink Encounters/Junkyard Pink Blues"March 19, 1994
15"Pantherobics/Pinkenstein"April 19, 1994
16"Pink Rider/Midnight Ride of Pink Revere"May 6, 1994
17"Pinky...He Delivers/Super-Pink's Egg-cellent Adventure"May 11, 1994
18"Cowboy Pinky/Stealth Panther"June 15, 1994

Season 2: 1994-1995

# Title Air Date
1"Pinkazuma's Revenge/Pink Down Under"September 5, 1994
2"Pinkadoon/A Camp Pink We Will Go"September 19, 1994
3"Icy Pink/The End of Superpink?"October 17, 1994
4"All for Pink and Pink for All/Service with a Pink Smile"October 19, 1994
"All for Pink and Pink for All" features The Ant and the Aardvark[4]
5"Trains, Pains, and Panthers/Wet and Wild Pinky"October 26, 1994
6"From Hair to Eternity/Strike Flea, You're Out!"October 17, 1994
7"Cinderpink/It's a Bird! It's a Pain! It's Superfan!"November 6, 1994
8"Who's Smiling Now? (The Inspector)/Robin Hoodwinked"December 11, 1994
9"Hook Line and Pinker/Valentine Pink"January 7, 1995
10"Dino Sour Head/The Luck of the Pinkish"February 6, 1995
11"The Inspector...Not (The Inspector)/Pink Links"March 5, 1995
12"Stool Parrot (The Inspector)/Pinky and Slusho"April 19, 1995

Season 3: 1995-1996

# Title Air Date
1"Panthergeist/Pink Pending's Pink Slip"October 6, 1995
2"The Three Pink Porker/The Heart of Pinkness" features The Ant and the Aardvark"October 6, 1995
3"The Inspector's Most Wanted (The Inspector)/Pinky Appleseed"October 13, 1995
4"Calling Dr Panther/For Those Who Pink Young"October 13, 1995
5"Lights, Camera, Voodoo/I'm Dreaming of a Pink Christmas"October 20, 1995
6"Wiener Takes All/The Easter Panther"October 20, 1995
7"The Inspector's Club (The Inspector)/A Royal Pain"October 27, 1995
8"Black and White and Pink All Over/Beach Blanket Pinky"October 27, 1995
9"Digging for Dollars (The Inspector)/Pinknocchio"November 3, 1995
10"Pink Up the River/Long John Pinky"November 3, 1995
11"Muff the Magic Dragon/Pink Thumb"November 10, 1995
12"Pink Dilemma/Oh, Varkula"November 10, 1995
13"Ice Blue Pink/Pink Trek"November 17, 1995
14"Legend of El Pinko/Pinky Big"November 24, 1995
15"Eric the Pink/Pretty and Pink"December 1, 1995
16"Built for Speed/Pooch the Panther"December 8, 1995
17"Pinky in Toyland/The Detective of Oz"June 5, 1996
18"Royal Canadian Mounted Panther/Power of Pink"June 12, 1996
19"Lifestyles of the Pink and Famous/Happy Trails Pinky"October 16, 1996
20"A Hard Day's Pink/You Only Pink Twice"November 13, 1996
21"It's Just a Gypsy in My Soup/Aliens and a Footstool"November 14, 1996
22"Mummy Dearest/Feast of Famine"November 16, 1996
23"No Pink is an Island/Pinky and the Golden Fleece"November 15, 1996
"No Pink is an Island" features The Ant and The Aardvark[5]
24"Home Stretch Pinky/Pink Pucks"November 24, 1996
25"The Reluctant Ninja/Pantherella"December 16, 1996
26"Pink's Ark/Rain or Snow or Pink of Night"September 16, 1996
27"Pink in the Middle/Pink in the Poke"January 18, 1996
28"A Nut at the Opeta/Hamm-n-Eggz"August 5, 1996
29"Voodoo Man/7 Manly Men"July 17, 1996
30"Driving Mr. Pink/The Texas Toads/The Ant And The Aardvark"March 29, 1996
The only three cartoon entry to the series.

Principal cast

Additional cast

DVD release

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Beck, Jerry. (2006) Pink Panther: The Ultimate Guide to the Coolest Cat in Town!; DK ADULT, ISBN 0-7566-1033-8
  2. DePatie-Freleng website
  3. The Pink Panther at the Internet Movie Database
  4. All for Pink and Pink for All
  5. No Pink is an Island (Spanish dubbed version)

External links