The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show

The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show
Genre	Variety Comedy
Based on	Tom and Jerry created by William Hanna Joseph Barbera and Droopy created by Tex Avery (original characters)
Creative director	Don Christensen
Voices of	Frank Welker Lou Scheimer Jay Scheimer Erika Scheimer Linda Gary
Theme music composer	Ray Ellis
Composers	Yvette Blais Jeff Michael
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	15 (list of episodes)
Production
Producers	Lou Scheimer Norm Prescott
Running time	12 minutes (whole) 3 minutes (segments)
Production company	Filmation
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 6, 1980 (1980-09-06) – September 4, 1982 (1982-09-04)

The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show (also known as The New Adventures of Tom and Jerry) is an American animated television program produced by Filmation for MGM Television. The show aired in 1980 on CBS. The show ran for two seasons (with the second consisting of reruns) and its episodes were eventually added to syndicated Tom and Jerry packages in 1983. Episodes of the show also occasionally appeared on Cartoon Network and Boomerang after MGM's pre-1986 library was acquired by Turner Entertainment.

Description

This was the fifth incarnation of the popular Tom and Jerry cartoon franchise, and the second made-for-television production. The series was notable in being the first attempt since the closing of the MGM studio in the 1950s to restore the original format of the cat and mouse team. After the original 114 theatrical shorts run of the William Hanna-Joseph Barbera directed series, the characters were leased to other animation studios who changed the designs, and eliminated all of the supporting characters. The previous made-for-TV Tom and Jerry Show for the ABC network in 1975 was produced by Hanna and Barbera under their own studio (with MGM), but had made the cat and mouse friends in most of the episodes, due to the reaction against violence in cartoons. The version by Filmation (Hanna-Barbera's leading competitor for TV animation at the time) was able to restore the familiar slapstick chase format, and reintroduced not only Tyke and Nibbles (here named "Tuffy"), but also some of the other MGM stars. Half hour shows would consist of two seven-minute Tom and Jerry episodes, plus one Droopy cartoon in the middle, featuring some other characters such as Barney Bear.

Spike from Tom and Jerry was used in many of these Droopy episodes as well, filling in for the other "Spike" bulldog created by Tex Avery for the old Droopy films, who was not used as a separate character here. The villainous wolf from the classic series was also included, and named "Slick Wolf". While still under the "Seal of Good Practice" code, the "Red Hot Riding Hood" character would not reappear until the following made for TV series, Tom & Jerry Kids, in 1990. Characters not seen in this series of Tom and Jerry shorts are Butch, Quacker, Topsy, Lightning and Toodles Galore. The show's opening begins with Tom chasing Jerry through a blank yellow screen. They continue chasing, as all of the other stars build a giant "Tom & Jerry" sign (similar to the second opening of Tom & Jerry Kids). The familiar rotating executive producer credit of Lou Scheimer and Norm Prescott briefly runs as Tom chases Jerry past the screen, knocking things over and running over others along the way. After the opening sequence, the wraparound segments, hosted by Droopy, would begin. He would start by painting the whole background with a single large brush stroke (making stylistic use of Filmation's characteristic "limited animation" technique), and he and the other speaking characters would engage in brief comedic sketches (like Droopy's opening poem in one of them "Roses are red, violets are blue, painting's my job, that's what I do; cute and somewhat wet").

In addition to the animation, the show was characterized by very limited music score; all of the episodes, both Tom & Jerry and Droopy, used the same stock, mostly created new for the series, but consisting of only a handful of largely synthesized tunes, either with minor variations or played at different speeds or pitches. This did match the chase scenes, but gave the episodes a very monotonous soundtrack, making these episodes "stand out" to many Tom & Jerry viewers when they aired. Where the original series and the third series by Chuck Jones would have favorable endings for Tom occasionally, this series followed the second series by Gene Deitch in never having definite "wins" for Tom. Also similar to the Deitch films is the character design, in them being drawn similar to the original, but still slightly different. The Droopy episodes would usually feature Slick and sometimes Spike being antagonists to Droopy. Barney had miscellaneous roles, such as being the boss of movie studio guard Droopy in "Star Crossed Wolf", and a frightful companion to Droopy in a haunted house in "Scared Bear".

Frank Welker and Filmation head Lou Scheimer provided the voices for the first six episodes. Welker voiced Spike, Tyke (in "The Puppy Sitter"; the character was silent in the wraparound segments), Slick, Tom's owner and other characters. Lou Scheimer voiced Tom, Jerry, Tuffy (erroneously giving him an adult voice, although his voice sounded appropriately higher and childlike in the wraparound segments before "Droopy's Restless Night", "Pest in the West" and "Old Mother Hubbard"), Droopy, Barney, Slick in the wraparound segments before "Droopy's Restless Night", "Invasion of the Mouse Snatchers", "The Incredible Droop", "Incredible Shrinking Cat", "When the Rooster Crows" and "School for Cats", Spike in the wraparound segments before "Invasion of the Mouse Snatchers", "Scared Bear" and "School for Cats", "The Plaid Baron Strikes Again" and "School for Cats", and other characters. When the 1980 Screen Actors Guild strike occurred, Welker was unable to continue, so Scheimer had to fill in as voice actor instead. Despite this, Welker's voice was heard in the eighth, twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth episodes as Tuffy, Slick and other characters. The female characters were voiced by Jay Scheimer, Erika Scheimer and Linda Gary, although Welker voiced one of them and Lou Scheimer voiced nine of them. The show itself was originally going to be called The Cat and Jam Comedy Show.

Voice cast

• Frank Welker – Spike and Tyke (episodes 1–6), Tuffy (episode 8), Slick Wolf (episodes 1–6, episode 12, episode 14), additional voices (episodes 1–5, episode 8, episodes 13–14)
• Lou Scheimer – Tom, Jerry, Spike (wraparound segments, episodes 4–15), Tuffy, Droopy, Slick Wolf (wraparound segments, episodes 7–15), Barney Bear, additional voices
• Jay Scheimer – Additional voices (episode 2, episode 6, episode 12)
• Erika Scheimer – Additional voices (episodes 1–2, episode 6)
• Linda Gary – Additional voices (episode 6, episode 10, episode 12, episode 14)

Episodes

No.	Title	Written by	Original air date
1a	"Farewell, Sweet Mouse"	Jack Hanrahan, Steve Clark	September 6, 1980 (1980-09-06)
On a rainy night, while being disrupted by Jerry, Tom throws him out. Believing him to be dead, Tom is tricked into thinking Jerry is a ghost.
1b	"Droopy's Restless Night"	Jack Hanrahan	September 6, 1980 (1980-09-06)
Slick Wolf is the construction foreman on a building. Droopy and Spike are his workers. Droopy keeps getting Spike in trouble with the boss all day. Droopy falls asleep, and as he sleeps, Spike has him finish the building. Slick comes in the next day and congratulates Droopy, while Spike is stuck behind a brick wall.
1c	"New Mouse in the House"	Jack Hanrahan	September 6, 1980 (1980-09-06)
Tom uses a remote control female mouse (voiced by Frank Welker) to lure and trap Jerry, but his plans backfire and his owner kicks him out.
2a	"Heavy Booking"	Mike Joens	September 13, 1980 (1980-09-13)
Tom chases Jerry in a library where Jerry tries to make noise to wake the enormous sleeping librarian named Hilda (voiced by Erika Scheimer) and a baby (voiced by Lou Scheimer), whom Hilda is babysitting.
2b	"Matterhorn Droopy"	Charlie Howell	September 13, 1980 (1980-09-13)
Droopy wants to be a rescue dog. Pretending to own the rescue dog school, Slick Wolf takes his money and tries to do him in without any success.
2c	"The Puppy Sitter"	Jack Hanrahan, Steve Clark	September 13, 1980 (1980-09-13)
While Tom is left with Spike's little son Tyke, trying to keep him amused, Jerry tries to make Tom's job difficult.
3a	"Most Wanted Cat"	Jack Hanrahan, Steve Clark	September 20, 1980 (1980-09-20)
Tired of Jerry toying with him, Tom leaves the house. Jerry tries hard to get Tom back before his owner calls pest control.
3b	"Pest in the West"	Coslough Johnson	September 20, 1980 (1980-09-20)
Droopy is a stagecoach driver. Slick Wolf and Spike make several attempts to rob the coach (with Spike frequently dressing in drag to stop the coach), but they are not successful, and they eventually land in jail.
3c	"Cat in the Fiddle"	Jack Hanrahan, Tom Minton	September 20, 1980 (1980-09-20)
Tom plays a violin, but Jerry tries to stop Tom due to his cacophonic tunes and they trash the orchestra.
4a	"Invasion of the Mouse Snatchers"	Eddie Fitzgerald	September 27, 1980 (1980-09-27)
Tom tricks Jerry into thinking he is an alien that is going to blow up Earth. Jerry gets revenge by activating his secret weapon.
4b	"The Incredible Droop"	Coslough Johnson	September 27, 1980 (1980-09-27)
An Oriental mad scientist (voiced by Frank Welker) has invented a mystery ray gun. He tells Droopy and Barney Bear to guard it from people. Droopy must protect it from falling into the wrong hands by using a rather unusual method: a Jekyll and Hyde formula. Slick Wolf tries to steal it, but Droopy keeps turning into a large monster, who then beats him up. Droopy frees himself and Barney from Slick's trap, and chases Slick away.
4c	"The Plaid Baron Strikes Again"	Coslough Johnson, Mike Joens	September 27, 1980 (1980-09-27)
Tom chases Jerry as he flies in a model airplane, destroying Spike's big model airplane in the process.
5a	"Incredible Shrinking Cat"	Coslough Johnson, Mike O'Connor	October 4, 1980 (1980-10-04)
Jerry gets hold of a mad scientist's (voiced by Frank Welker) size modifier in order to shrink Tom and enlarge himself.
5b	"Scared Bear"	Coslough Johnson	October 4, 1980 (1980-10-04)
Droopy and Barney Bear explore an old house looking for treasure. Slick Wolf decides to scare them off by disguising himself as a ghost.
5c	"When the Rooster Crows"	Coslough Johnson	October 4, 1980 (1980-10-04)
Jerry uses a stranded circus rooster (voiced by Lou Scheimer) to rudely awaken Tom, but it gives itself away with an intensified crowing.
6a	"School for Cats"	Jim Mueller, Jack Hanrahan, Wendell Washer	October 11, 1980 (1980-10-11)
Tom is sent to a military school for cats, coached by Spike. Jerry makes Tom's rigorous training a torment.
6b	"Disco Droopy"	Jack Hanrahan	October 11, 1980 (1980-10-11)
Droopy enters a disco contest at the Slipped Disco nightclub. His opponent is a conceited Slick Wolf, and the master of ceremonies is Spike. Despite Slick's many attempts to beat Droopy, he loses the contest and Droopy wins.
6c	"Pied Piper Puss"	Coslough Johnson	October 11, 1980 (1980-10-11)
Tom is sent to catch Jerry and Tuffy using a flute to lure them, until Tuffy gets a hold of it.
7a	"Under the Big Top"	Coslough Johnson	October 18, 1980 (1980-10-18)
Jerry gets Tom involved in a circus act and proceeds to make his act a dangerous and humiliating performance.
7b	"Lumber Jerks"	Coslough Johnson	October 18, 1980 (1980-10-18)
Droopy and Slick Wolf are competing against each other in a series of lumber-related games.
7c	"Gopher It, Tom"	Jack Hanrahan, Steve Clark	October 18, 1980 (1980-10-18)
Tom is sent by his master to catch a gopher (voiced by Lou Scheimer) eating the garden vegetables, but Jerry thwarts his efforts.
8a	"Snowbrawl"	Jack Hanrahan, Jim Mueller	October 25, 1980 (1980-10-25)
Tom and Jerry outsmart each other to get one of them locked outside the house.
8b	"Getting the Foot"	Jack Hanrahan	October 25, 1980 (1980-10-25)
Droopy and Slick Wolf are photographers for the Daily Bugle. They are assigned to get a picture of Bigfoot (kind of a purple Tasmanian Devil) (voiced by Lou Scheimer), and Slick tries various schemes to sabotage Droopy's pictures, including dressing in drag as a female Bigfoot. Droopy ends up getting his pictures, and Bigfoot throws Slick in the newspaper press.
8c	"Kitty Hawk Kitty"	Jack Hanrahan	October 25, 1980 (1980-10-25)
In 1908, Tom was chosen to be the test pilot of the Wright Brothers' (voiced by Lou Scheimer) airplane, but Jerry was credited for a successful flight.
9a	"Get Along, Little Jerry"	Coslough Johnson	November 1, 1980 (1980-11-01)
Tom chases Jerry on a Texas ranch, where he causes inconvenience for Spike and gets entangled in cowboy events.
9b	"Star-crossed Wolf"	Jack Hanrahan	November 1, 1980 (1980-11-01)
Slick Wolf tries to get in a Hollywood movie studio known as Behemoth Studio, only to be foiled by security guard Droopy.
9c	"Spike's Birthday"	Jack Hanrahan	November 1, 1980 (1980-11-01)
Jerry takes advantage of Tom, who is left to guard Spike's party food, and Tom barely escapes his predicament.
10a	"No Museum Peace"	Coslough Johnson	November 8, 1980 (1980-11-08)
Tom chases after Jerry and Tuffy around a museum to get his fish back, but Spike keeps kicking him out.
10b	"A Day at the Bakery"	Jack Hanrahan	November 8, 1980 (1980-11-08)
Droopy and Spike work in a bakery managed by Barney. When they are assigned to make a cake for a female movie celebrity named Farah Wolfhound (voiced by Lou Scheimer), they compete to design the best cake. Eventually, Spike delivers the cake to Farah, who is surprised by seeing Droopy inside the cake.
10c	"Mouse Over Miami"	Jack Hanrahan	November 8, 1980 (1980-11-08)
Spike restricts Tom from catching Jerry, but Tom tries to anyway and Spike sends Tom back to his house in the middle of winter.
11a	"The Trojan Dog"	Coslough Johnson	November 15, 1980 (1980-11-15)
Jerry uses a robot dog to scare off Tom and access the fridge. Tom tries to use a Trojan dog to get at Jerry, but the plan backfires.
11b	"Foreign Legion Droopy"	Coslough Johnson	November 15, 1980 (1980-11-15)
Droopy is sent out on a dangerous assignment-he must track down the wolf in sheik's clothing!
11c	"Pie in the Sky"	Jim Mueller	November 15, 1980 (1980-11-15)
A peckish Tom chases Jerry around a construction site, getting pinned down by Spike.
12a	"Save That Mouse"	Coslough Johnson	November 22, 1980 (1980-11-22)
Tom's owner's sister (voiced by Linda Gary) mistakes Jerry for a hamster and will not let Tom touch him.
12b	"Old Mother Hubbard"	Jack Hanrahan	November 22, 1980 (1980-11-22)
Droopy is in Storybook Land. Red Riding Hood (voiced by Linda Gary) is delivering food to Grandma's house, and Slick Wolf tries to steal the food. Droopy foils Slick, and he goes to visit Goldilocks (voiced by Linda Gary). She lives with three gorillas (subletted from the Three Bears) (voiced by Lou Scheimer), and while Slick looks for food to steal, the gorillas return and chase him away.
12c	"Say What?"	Jack Hanrahan	November 22, 1980 (1980-11-22)
Tom's owner has received a parrot named Bertram (voiced by Lou Scheimer). When Tom rounds on him, Bertram and Jerry work together to make Tom's chase into double trouble.
13a	"Superstocker"	Coslough Johnson	November 29, 1980 (1980-11-29)
Tom chases Jerry in a supermarket in order to protect the food products. They both end up trashing the place.
13b	"Droopy's Good Luck Charm"	Coslough Johnson	November 29, 1980 (1980-11-29)
Slick Wolf sells Droopy a good-luck charm for $5. Spike tells him that it was really a good-luck charm, and the two try various ways of getting it back, with their attempts backfiring each time. Spike offers to buy it back for $10, and Droopy sells it back to him. Slick and Spike see a sidewalk salesman (voiced by Lou Scheimer) selling about 30 of them, and Slick chases after Spike for wasting their money.
13c	"The Great Mousini"	Jack Hanrahan	November 29, 1980 (1980-11-29)
Jerry joins a circus as the escape artist Mousini with Tom as his co-star. They lose their jobs after their latest performance.
14a	"Jerry's Country Cousin"	Jack Hanrahan	December 6, 1980 (1980-12-06)
Jerry's identical, yet strong cousin (voiced by Lou Scheimer) comes to visit. Tom retreats after Jerry's cousin ruins his mistress' (voiced by Linda Gary) daughter's wedding buffet with a herd of pigs.
14b	"The Great Diamond Heist"	Coslough Johnson	December 6, 1980 (1980-12-06)
Inspector Droopy searches for a stolen diamond.
14c	"Mechanical Failure"	Coslough Johnson	December 6, 1980 (1980-12-06)
Tom's owner has brought a robot maid (voiced by Lou Scheimer), which Tom and Jerry use against each other until it goes out of control.
15a	"A Connecticut Mouse In King Arthur's Cork"	Coslough Johnson	December 13, 1980 (1980-12-13)
Tom dreams his chase with Jerry as a medieval quest scenario.
15b	"The Great Train Rubbery"	Jack Hanrahan	December 13, 1980 (1980-12-13)
Droopy is the mail clerk on a train out West, and receives a package to deliver to a bank. Slick Wolf hears this, and he proceeds to try and steal it, figuring that it must be money. After a number of attempts, he succeeds, but is arrested by the sheriff. The package contains not cash, but "Wanted" posters for Slick Wolf. Droopy receives the reward for his capture. Note: This is the last Droopy short.
15c	"Stage Struck"	Coslough Johnson	December 13, 1980 (1980-12-13)
Jealous of Spike's appreciation for Jerry's dance talent, Tom tries to interfere, but they go along with their performance. (This episode was followed by The Mansion Cat in 2001.)

Home media

Warner Bros. currently owns the rights to The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show via Turner Entertainment. Due to the show's negative reception and legal issues involving MGM outsourcing the animation to Filmation, Warner Bros. has no plans for a DVD box set of the show. However, one episode, "Jerry's Country Cousin", did surface on the 70th anniversary DVD collection in 2010. All 30 Tom and Jerry segments of this incarnation (along with 8 Droopy segments) are available on the Boomerang app.

External links

• The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show at IMDb
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