| The Houndcats | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Joe Ruby & Ken Spears[1] |
| Voices of | Michael Bell |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Producers | Friz Freleng David H. DePatie |
| Running time | 22 minutes (per episode) |
| Production company | DePatie–Freleng Enterprises |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | September 9 – December 2, 1972 |
The Houndcats is an American Saturday morning cartoon series produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises. The series was broadcast by NBC from September 9 to December 2, 1972, with reruns continuing until September 1, 1973. Thirteen episodes were produced.[2]
Loosely based on the CBS adventure series Mission: Impossible and the short-lived 1971 series Bearcats!,[3] it was headed by a combined team of (three) dogs and (two) cats, hence the name, as they go on spy missions in 1914 America.
Each episode begins with the Houndcats receiving orders from their unseen "Chief", whose message is played on an old-fashioned gramophone, player-piano or other devices, parodying the tape recorder scene at the start of most episodes of Mission: Impossible. However, the words "this message will self-destruct in five seconds", always takes the Houndcats by surprise, causing them to run away from the explosion.[4]
13 half-hour episodes of the series were produced. An adult laugh track was added, as was common practice for cartoon series at the time.[citation needed]
| No. | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Misbehavin' Raven Mission" | September 9, 1972 |
| 2 | "The Double Dealing Diamond Mission" | September 16, 1972 |
| 3 | "The Great Gold Train Mission" | September 23, 1972 |
| 4 | "The Over the Waves Mission" | September 30, 1972 |
| 5 | "There's No Biz Like Snow Biz Mission" | October 7, 1972 |
| 6 | "The Strangeless Than Fiction Mission" | October 14, 1972 |
| 7 | "The Ruckus on the Rails Mission" | October 21, 1972 |
| 8 | "The Who's Who That's Who Mission" | October 28, 1972 |
| 9 | "The Perilous, Possibly, Pilfered Plans Mission" | November 4, 1972 |
| 10 | "The French Collection Mission" | November 11, 1972 |
| 11 | "The Outta Sight Blight Mission" | November 18, 1972 |
| 12 | "Is There a Doctor in the Greenhouse Mission" | November 25, 1972 |
| 13 | "The Call Me Madame X Mission" | December 2, 1972 |
In October 2015, Film Chest Media Group released The Barkleys and The Houndcats - 2 DVD Classic Animation Set on DVD in Region 1.[6] This collection features all 13 episodes of the series on DVD.
The show was previously syndicated by Viacom International, which is now CBS Television Distribution.[7]
