The series is 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 Barberaunder their own studio, 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 was able to restore the familiar slapstick chase format, and reintroduced not only Tyke and Nibbles, but also some of the other MGM stars. Half-hour shows would consist of two seven-minute Tom and Jerry episodes, plus oneDroopy 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. 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, and he and the other speaking characters would engage in brief comedic sketches. In addition to the animation, the show was characterized by a very limited music score; all of the episodes, both Tom & Jerry and Droopy, used the same stock music, 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 and 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, Slick, Tom's owner and other characters. Lou Scheimer voiced Tom, Jerry, Tuffy, 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, 12th, 13th and 14th 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, Tuffy, Slick, additional voices
Like its predecessor, this incranation received negative reviews from fans for its animation, lack of returning characters like Mammy Two Shoes, Butch, Joan, Quacker, and a few others from the old 1940s and 1950s cartoons, terrible voice acting, music, and sound effects, the poor usage of slapstick and violence, the overall slow and awkward pacing that killed any comedic timing, low budget animation, William Hanna and Joseph Barbera's involvement not being anywhere, MGM outsourcing the animation to Filmation, the one-sidedness of Tom and Jerry's battling rivalry and the second season being reruns of the first season.
Home media
currently owns the rights to The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show via Turner Entertainment. However, 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 in 2010. All 30 Tom and Jerry segments of this incarnation are available on the Boomerang app.
