September 18, 1982 (1982-09-18) – November 19, 1983 (1983-11-19)
Shirt Tales are characters that were created in 1980 by greeting card designer Janet Elizabeth Manco and were featured on Hallmark Cards greeting cards. The characters were adapted into a 1982-1985 animated series for television, by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which aired on NBC.[1]
Cards
Hallmark Cards released the homonymous line of greeting cards with animal characters wearing T-shirts upon which was a message. Those cards were among Hallmark's best sellers at that time, which led the company to team with Hanna-Barbera Productions to adapt the Shirt Tales into a Saturday morning cartoon, which premiered on NBC on September 18, 1982.[2] The card line remained, but it faded shortly after the show left broadcast television in 1985.[3]
TV series
The animated Shirt Tales cartoon featured Tyg Tiger (in orange), Pammy Panda (in pink), Digger Mole (in light blue), Rick Raccoon (in red), and Bogey Orangutan (in green) (so-called because he spoke using a Humphrey Bogart-style voice). They lived in Oak Tree Park and wore shirts that flashed various brightly lit messages which reflected the characters' thoughts. They spent their time teasing the park custodian, Mr. Dinkel, and battling crime in and out of their hometown of Mid City. They zipped around the world in a vehicle known as the STSST (Shirt Tales' SuperSonic Transport) which could operate as a car, jet, boat, submarine, and other forms of transportation. Though most law enforcement agencies like the unnamed Commissioner knew of the Shirt Tales as crime fighters by reputation, few people seemed aware that they were talking animals—including Mr. Dinkel, whom the group often had to trick to keep their secret safe.
Each episode was divided into two 11–minute segments. After the success of the thirteen episodes in Season 1, ten episodes were created for Season 2. However, the show was semi-rebooted and Kip Kangaroo (in light yellow) was added to the cast of characters without context for her joining the Shirt Tales. There is also a difference in leadership among the Shirt Tales, in which for the first season Rick appeared to be the de facto leader, but in the second season is instead Tyg. Several stories in Season 2 either omit Rick altogether or give him a minor role in the story. The second season also added some superhero elements to the dynamic of the group as well, most notably the color of all their T-shirts changing to a bright red color when "Shirt Tale Time" is called for.
Buck Beaver (in whitish-blue) helped the Shirt Tales use a tree as a bridge in "The Big Foot Incident" and helped them build an ark in "Dinkel's Ark". In "Moving Time", four cousins from out west were introduced for this episode only: Prairie Dog Pete (in red, with a black vest), Filmore Coyote (in light green), Violette Skunk (in yellow) and Hoozit Owl (in lavender). In "Back to Nature", Cubby Bear (in red) helped the Shirt Tales when a wild bear had Mr. Dinkel chased up a tree.
Following the initial run on NBC, Shirt Tales aired on CBS during the 1984–1985 Saturday morning season, replacing The Biskitts in their time slot. CBS aired selected episodes from its two-season NBC run until March 23, 1985, when The Biskitts were returned to the time slot for the rest of the 1984–1985 season.
On March 23, 1985, Shirt Tales was pulled from broadcast television for good, and the Hallmark franchise faded not long after as well. The show continued for a number of years as part of USA Network's Cartoon Express block and on Cartoon Network, but also continues to be broadcast in selected countries around the world on various networks, including Boomerang.
John Stephenson (Season 1) – Game Master (in "The Game Masters"), Museum Tour Guide (in "The Humboldt Ghost"), The Humboldt Ghost (in "The Humboldt Ghost"), Ebenezer Creepling (in "The Humboldt Ghost")
Kip's Dragon: David Detiege
Double Exposure:Jim Ryan
October 1, 1983 (1983-10-01)
17
4
"Taj Mahal Tyg / Brass Bogey"
Taj Mahal Tyg: Glenn Leopold, Cliff Roberts
Brass Bogey: Bob Ogle
October 8, 1983 (1983-10-08)
18
5
"The Outer Space Connection / The Forbidden Island"
The Outer Space Connection: Janis Diamond
The Forbidden Island: John Bates
October 15, 1983 (1983-10-15)
19
6
"Saturday Night Shirt Tales / Dinkel's Buddy"
Saturday Night Shirt Tales: Cynthia Friedlob, John SemperDinkel's Buddy:Alan Burnett, Jeff Segal
October 22, 1983 (1983-10-22)
20
7
"Pleasure Valley / The Ghost Out West"
Pleasure Valley: Dan DiStefano
The Ghost Out West: David Detiege
October 29, 1983 (1983-10-29)
21
8
"T.J.'s Visit / The Big Set-up"
T.J.'s Visit: David Detiege
The Big Set-up: Jim Ryan
November 5, 1983 (1983-11-05)
22
9
"Kip's Toy Caper / Dinkel's Gift"
Kip's Toy Caper: Cynthia Friedlob, Glenn Leopold, Cliff Roberts, John Semper
Dinkel's Gift: Alan Burnett, Jeff Segal
November 12, 1983 (1983-11-12)
23
10
"Mayhem on the Orient Express / The Cuckoo Count Caper"
Cynthia Friedlob, John Semper
November 19, 1983 (1983-11-19)
Other media
There were also two musical book-and-record sets released by K-tel International under the "Castle Rock" imprint: A Song Saves the Park, and Sunrise Surprise. However, both sets use sound-alikes for the voices, and are presented differently from typical read-alongs.
Home media
In 1986, a VHS release of the series was issued by Worldvision Home Video and Kids Klassics, it contained the first full-length episode from Season 2 and the first segment of another episode from that season.
^Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 737–738. ISBN978-1476665993.
