The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
Genre
Created by
Starring
Voices of
Narrated byLou Albano
Opening theme"Plumber Rap", performed by Lou Albano and Danny Wells
Ending theme"Do the Mario", performed by Lou Albano
Composers
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes52 (65 live action segments) (list of episodes)
Production
Running time22 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkFirst-run syndication
ReleaseSeptember 4 (1989-09-04) –
December 1, 1989 (1989-12-01)
Related
The Legend of Zelda (1989)

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! is an American television series, conceived by Andy Heyward, produced by DiC Animation City, and distributed by Viacom Enterprises in association with Nintendo, airing during 1989 from 4 September to 1 December. The series was based upon Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2, and was the first of three programmes to be based upon the Mario video game series. Each episode consisted of live-action segments starring Lou Albano as Mario and Danny Wells as Luigi alongside a special guest, either as themselves or a character for the segments. The remainder of the programme was dedicated to animated stories of Super Mario Bros., starring the voices of Albano and Wells in their respective roles alongside Jeannie Elias, John Stocker, Harvey Atkin, every weekday until 16 November; for every Friday of the week and the remaining episodes The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, it was accompanied by animated serials of The Legend of Zelda, based on the video game of the same name and starring the voices of Jonathan Potts, Cynthia Preston and Len Carlson, until the conclusion of the programme.

After the programme's original run via first-run syndication, the series received re-runs until 6 September 1991, before The Family Channel picked up the series a few weeks later and continued airing it until it 26 August 1994.[1][2] The show was later followed by The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World. As of 31 August 2024, the rights to The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! are currently owned by DHX Media, through its Cookie Jar Entertainment in-name-only unit, while international distribution rights are currently owned by DiC following their decision to re-acquire these rights to their pre-1990 shows from Fox Kids Europe and BVS International.

History

Before the series was conceived, Andy Heyward, the then-CEO of DIC Entertainment, spent about a year trying to convince Nintendo to license the characters.[3] In an interview with USA Today, Heyward said "The Mario Bros. is such a unique property we had to do it in a different way...We wanted to do a cartoon but also do a show that extended beyond the cartoon."[4] In February 1989, it was announced that the show would premiere in September 1989.[5] To promote the series, Lou Albano appeared on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee in May 1989 with his beard shaven.[6] When the series first aired, it was distributed by Viacom Enterprises and was marketed by MTV.[7]

In David Sheff's book Game Over, Bill White, the then-director of advertising and public relations for Nintendo,[8] said that the purpose of the television series was to "boost awareness of the characters."[9]

Format

Each episode of the programme consisted of two live action segments, one at the start and the other towards the end, dubbed Mario Bros. Plumbing, in which Lou Albano (a professional wrestler and manager at the time) and Danny Wells portrayed the roles of Mario and Luigi respectively in comedic story accompanied by a laughter track. These segments involved a celebrity guest star joining the pair, either as themselves or as a character connected to the segment's plot, who were often a popular television star of professional athlete (including WWE (then WWF) stars of the time) - such guests included Nedra Volz, Norman Fell, Donna Douglas, Eve Plumb, Vanna White, Lyle Alzado and Magic Johnson.

Alongside guest stars, both Albano and Wells portrayed additional characters in a number of episodes related to Mario and Luigi -[10][11][12] in one episode, Albano played as himself, but had to make the character of Mario absent for this to work -[13] while in a number of episodes the pair were joined by Maurice LaMarche in the live-action role of the animated character Inspector Gadget, before his eventual role in voicing the character in Inspector Gadget's Last Case and Gadget & the Gadgetinis. In an interview for Shout! Factory's first DVD release of the show in 2006 - which did not include some episodes that involved Cassandra Peterson as Elvira, alongside Gadget's second appearance and a few other episodes - Albano stated that filming of the live-action segments involved mainly himself and Well receiving a central plot and mostly improvising the dialogue as they went along.[14]

The rest of the episode in-between these live-action segments were dedicated to animated serials. For the majority of episodes, between Monday and Thursday, each episode The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! featured an animated serial of the Super Mario Bros.,[15][16] which both Albano and Wells voiced their respective characters. A total of 52 serials were aired under this schedule until 16 November 1989. For every subsequent Friday the animated segments consisted of serials of the The Legend of Zelda,[15] with scenes featuring during the live-action segments on the preceding Super Mario Bros. Super Show! episodes during the week, and then broadcast as sneak peeks. A total of 13 serials were aired under this schedule, and following 16 November, were repeated for the remaining episodes of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! until its eventual conclusion.

Songs

Each episode featured two main theme songs used during its broadcast:

During the remainder of the episodes, during the animated segments, a song taken from one of the notable singles from famous singers, songwriters, and musical artists of the era, would be used to accompany a scene of the serial.[3] When the programme was re-released onto DVD in North America, these songs were replaced instrumentals of songs from The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 and one song from Super Mario World.

Premise

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!

The premise of the The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! focused upon Mario and Luigi being two Italian-American plumbers from Brooklyn. In the animated serials of Super Mario Bros., per the series' opening titles, the pair accidentally warped into the Mushroom Kingdom while working on a bathtub drain for a customer (as was re-iterated in the episode "Toddler Terrors of Time Travel" in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3). Upon their arrival, each episode begins with Mario reciting an entry into his "Plumber's Log" (a parody of the Captain's Log from Star Trek [citation needed]) prior to both himself and Luigi helping out Princess Toadstool (Jeannie Elias) and Toad (John Stocker) in defeating King Koopa (Harvey Atkin) from taking over the Kingdom with a sinister plot.

Each episode's plot featured characters and situations based upon the NES games Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2, as well as several sound effects and musical cues from both games. Some plots often involved parodies of movies or pop-culture of the time. Despite making use of the games, some episodes featured inconsistencies between the serials and the video games - one example was that the animated serials saw Mario receive his fire-powers from a Star power-up, when in the game the power-up grants temporary invincibility.

Stories for the live-action segments of Mario Bros. Plumbing take place mainly before those of the animated serials.[13]

The Legend of Zelda

The premise of the Legend of Zelda focused on on the hero Link (Jonathan Potts) helping Princess Zelda (Cynthia Preston) to defend the kingdom of Hyrule from the evil wizard Ganon (Len Carlson), by preventing him from acquiring the Triforce through thwarting his schemes or those of his minions. Many elements of the serials were based upon the NES game The Legend of Zelda. It is one of few Zelda productions to feature the character of Link being able to fully talk - the others in the Zelda franchise being the CD-i games, the manga series, the comic series, and episodes of Captain N: The Game Master (the latter following the conclusion of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, and based upon the NES game Zelda II: The Adventure of Link) - with episodes often featuring the character using the sarcastic catchphrase "Well, excuse me, Princess!" (which later went on to become a popular meme) and a running gag involving Link failing to get Zelda to kiss him for his heroic deeds.

Voice Cast

Super Mario Bros. cast

Additional voices

The Legend of Zelda Voice cast

Additional voices

Guest stars

Reception

Upon the series premiere on September 1989, Mike Hughes of USA Today described the series as a "surprising disappointment", opening that the series has "little of the wit and spark" and relies too heavily on slapstick.[19] In a retrospective review for the series' DVD, Mark Bozon of IGN referred the series as "the biggest offender among Nintendo's many embarrassing moments" but thought that the animated shorts were "interesting to look back on". Bozon gave the overall series a 7 out of 10 (while giving the DVD itself a 5 out of 10).[20] However, Common Sense Media rated the show 1 out of 5 stars, stating that the "frenetic '80s cult fave with stereotypes hasn't aged well."[21]

Ratings

Upon the first week of its premiere, the series had a cumulative 4.1/12 rating/share, making the series the highest rated first-run syndicated series at the time.[22] However, within the next two weeks, the series (3.8/11) was beat out by Buena Vista Television's Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (4.5/11) and faced competition with Claster Television's Muppet Babies reruns.[23]

Home video releases

From 1989 to 1990, Kids Klassics (with the sponsorship of Nesquik) released episodes of the series on VHS.[24] Starting in 1991, Kids Klassics' parent company GoodTimes Entertainment continued releasing episodes on VHS up through 1993.

1989 Releases (Each volume begins and ends with a complete live-action segment, with the featured complete animated segment in the middle)

There were also 3 VHS tapes only available through a mail-in offer with Nestlé Quik. They follow the same format as the volumes listed above.

1990 Releases (Each volume has 1 complete live action segment and 3 complete animated segments)

1991 Releases (The Kids Klassics logo is retained although these volumes were released by GoodTimes) (Each volume has 4 complete animated segments and no live-action segments)

1993 Release (Released in a clamshell packaging, contains 6 complete animated sgements and no live-action segments)

In 1996, the animated segment "Koopa Klaus" and the live-action segment "Santa Claus is Coming to Flatbush" were included on the VHS release Super Mario Bros. Super Christmas Adventures, alongside the Super Mario World episode "The Night Before Cave Christmas".

In 2006, Shout! Factory and Sony BMG Music Entertainment released the series on two 4-disc DVD sets.

DVD Name Ep # Release Date Additional Information
Volume 1 24 March 28, 2006
  • New interviews with Captain Lou Albano (Mario)
  • Original art gallery
  • Storyboard-to-Screen: The Super Mario Bros. Super Show Opening Title Sequence
Volume 2 24 October 31, 2006
  • 4 Bonus Animated Episodes
  • "Meeting Mario: A Fan's Tale" Featurette
  • Super Mario Bros. Fan Costume Gallery
  • The Worlds of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Concept Art Galleries
  • Interactive Tour Of The Mario Bros. Plumbing

These two sets were discontinued in 2012 after Shout!'s deal with Cookie Jar Entertainment expired.

Notably, a bare bones "Best of" DVD was released by DiC and Lions Gate Entertainment. In 2012 NCircle Entertainment released the complete series to DVD across two sets with the same extras as the Shout! Factory sets, but with the live-action segments omitted and "On Her Majesty's Sewer Service" excluded.[25][26] These releases have the DiC logo plastered with the Cooke Jar logo.

In 2012, the show was added to Netflix as a part of their instant streaming library.

UK VHS history

From 1991 to 1993, Abbey Home Entertainment Distribution released six videos of the "Super Mario Bros. Super Show" with the only animated segmented episodes, the animated segmented intro and the live-action segment of "Do the Mario" in the closing credits.

VHS video title Year of release Episodes
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show (94792) 15 April 1991 The Great Gladiator Gig, Mario of the Apes, The Bird! The Bird!
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show: Special Edition (95112) 15 July 1991 The Fire Of Herculfleas, King Mario of Cramalot, Rollin' Down the River, Mario and the Beanstalk

DVD Releases

Re-Runs

Club Mario

In the 1990–91 season after the original animated series had ended, the Albano/Wells live-action sequences were replaced on September 10, 1990 with new continuity under the title Club Mario.[27][28] Reruns of the Super Mario Bros. cartoons (as well as The Legend of Zelda on Fridays) remained intact, but the live-action format now featured Mario-obsessed teenagers Tommy and Tammy Treehugger, along with Cool MC "commandeering" the "satellite signal" of the Super Show using a satellite dish atop their apartment building (despite the reality of the show going out on tapes to stations well in advance), goofing around, and in at least one episode, running around the studio and harassing DiC executive and executive producer Andy Heyward.

Cool MC also had to deal with his evil twin Eric (played by the same actor), who attempted fruitlessly to take over the show. An additional added segment was a one-to-two-minute viewing of Space Scout Theater/Spaced Out Theater, hosted by Princess Centauri, a green alien woman, which was sourced and edited from the science fiction children television series Photon.

The segments had an unpopular reception and further distribution of the series after the 1990–91 season featured the original cut of the show with the Albano/Wells live-action sequences.

Cast

Mario All Stars

In 1993, The Family Channel aired the show in a package named Mario All Stars, consisting of time compressed versions of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! cartoon segments and the Super Mario World cartoons. It ran for 39 episodes in double episode format, and was promoted as "the Super Mario Bros. in 40 brand new adventures". Although clips from the Super Mario Bros. 3 cartoons were used in promos for the show, none of the show's episodes were featured. All Stars was later seen on the USA Network from January 6 to June 6, 1997, when it was replaced by Sonic the Hedgehog reruns. Before being re-edited for All Stars in 1993, Family Channel played the episodes slower than their normal speed and included the live action segments. The package's title is most likely inspired by the title of the video game compilation Super Mario All-Stars that was released the previous year.

References

  1. ^ The Intelligencer – September 23, 1991
  2. ^ The Intelligencer – August 26, 1994
  3. ^ a b "Game Playing". USA Today. July 31, 1989. p. 3D. The Nintendo craze comes to TV this fall with NBC's "Captain N: The Game Master" and a syndicated show, "The Super Mario Bros. Super Show," both from the DIC animation factory. DIC president Andrew Hayward says he spent a year convincing the toy company to license rights to the addictive characters. Capt. Lou Albano plays super-plumber Mario in the syndicated show, which wraps live action around cartoon adventures. Steve Binder ("Pee-wee's Playhouse") directed the live bits, including camp cameos by Vanna White, Elvira and Magic Johnson. Rock 'n' roll songs have been licensed and will be woven into each episode. Hayward says a music video of the "Mario dance" will premiere within the next few weeks.
  4. ^ "For kids: A 'Chip' off the Disney block". USA Today. September 11, 1989. p. 3D.
  5. ^ Healy, Michelle (February 1, 1989). "Nintendo hungry? Try the cereal". USA Today. p. 1D. The Super Mario Brothers Super Show, a syndicated TV program for kids, airs in September. It will feature live action and animation.
  6. ^ "'Super' Man". USA Today. May 17, 1989. p. 3D. Capt. Lou Albano, the bizarre wrestling manager, has been cast to play Mario, one of the two Brooklyn plumber brothers. Thursday, in anticipation of a big announcement bash, Albano will appear on "Live With Regis & Kathie Lee" to shed his beard.
  7. ^ "Syndication Marketplace" (PDF). Broadcasting. 117 (9): 42. August 28, 1989. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  8. ^ Groves, Martha (April 30, 1990). "Taking On Nintendo : Games: Atari may be crazy to confront the Japanese giant. But it plans to slug it out anyway". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  9. ^ Sheff, David (November 2, 2011). Game Over: How Nintendo Conquered The World. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  10. ^ "Marianne & Luigeena/Mario's Magic Carpet". The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. Season 1. Episode 4. September 7, 1989. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  11. ^ "Mama Mia Mario/The Great BMX Race". The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. Season 1. Episode 11. September 18, 1989. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  12. ^ "Mario Hillbillies / Do You Princess Toadstool Take This Koopa...?". The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!. Season 1. Episode 23. October 4, 1989. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  13. ^ a b Angelle, Denny (September 1989). "What's New on TV". Boys' Life. 79 (9): 16. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  14. ^ Albano, Lou (2006). The Super Mario Bros. Super Show Vol. 1 (DVD). Shout! Factory. ((cite AV media)): |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  15. ^ a b Hughes, Mike (September 14, 1989). "This is the time for NBC to grab a slice of TV history: It should become the first force to abandon the Saturday-morning cartoon business". USA Today. The show runs five days a week, however, and there is a saving grace: Each Friday has a "Legend of Zelda" episode that's quite a bit better than the rest of the week.
  16. ^ "Super Mario Bros. - Cartoon Resource Website entry #76". Web.archive.org. Archived from the original on 2009-10-27. Retrieved 2016-12-27. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ McDonald, Marlon (July 10, 2015). "This Man Is Responsible for (Nearly) All of Your 80s/90s Kid's Show Memories, and You've Probably Never Even Heard of Him..." Movie Pilot. Retrieved June 24, 2017.
  18. ^ Damian Inwood. "The Baroness and the Pig". Pi Theatre. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2011. That's what Vancouver actresses Diane Brown and Tabitha St. Germain do with the delightful black comedy, The Baroness and the Pig. (...) St. Germain – better known to Vancouver audiences as Paulina Gillis – plays the Baroness as a naïve gentlewoman, full of prissy mannerisms and twittering, bird-like movements. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ Hughes, Mike (September 14, 1989). "This is the time for NBC to grab a slice of TV history: It should become the first force to abandon the Saturday-morning cartoon business". USA Today. 'The Super Mario Brothers Super Show' emerges as a surprising disappointment. This has the same producers as "Captain N" and the same basis - Nintendo video games. Yet it has little of the wit and spark; there are live-action bits surrounding the cartoons, but they merely remind us of why slapstick comedy is no longer an American artform.
  20. ^ Bozon, Mark (January 25, 2006). "Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Volume 1". IGN. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  21. ^ "Super Mario Bros. Super Show TV Review". Commonsensemedia.org. Retrieved 2016-12-27.
  22. ^ "Doubling Up" (PDF). Broadcasting. 117 (13): 6. September 25, 1989. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  23. ^ "Metering Syndication Progress" (PDF). Broadcasting. 117 (14): 41–42. October 2, 1989. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  24. ^ "GoodTimes/KK Tapes Roll With Nestle Ads" (PDF). Billboard. 101 (39): 51. September 30, 1989. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  25. ^ Super Mario Bros Super Show! (2 DVDs). Vol. Vol. 1 (Collectors' ed.). Los Angeles, CA: NCircle Entertainment. 2006. OCLC 795409356. Retrieved June 14, 2014. ((cite AV media)): |volume= has extra text (help)
  26. ^ Super Mario Bros Super Show! (2 DVDs). Vol. Vol. 2 (Collectors' ed.). DIC Entertainment. 2012. OCLC 812542271. Retrieved June 14, 2014. ((cite AV media)): |volume= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  27. ^ "DIC Enterprises gets animated over a new tour" (PDF). Broadcasting. 118 (20): 35, 38. May 14, 1990. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  28. ^ "Join the club" (PDF). Broadcasting. 118 (22): 53. May 28, 1990. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
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