The Tom and Jerry Show (1975 TV series)


The Tom and Jerry Show, also known as The New Tom and Jerry Show, is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions in association with MGM Television in 1975 for ABC based on the Tom and Jerry theatrical cartoon series. This series marked the first time that Tom and Jerry appeared in animated installments produced specifically for television.

Plot

In this show, Tom and Jerry spend various episodes roaming the world competing in sports, enduring on-the-job misadventures, running afoul of dastardly villains, solving mysteries and helping others. While the show doesn't use the slapstick chases and the violence central to the theatrical shorts, the two do compete against each other in some episodes. This series was confirmed to be non-canon to Tom and Jerry.

Voice cast

Broadcast history

A total of 48 seven-minute Tom & Jerry shorts were produced in 1975 and originally aired in these following formats on ABC Saturday morning:
Immediately following the end of the original ABC run, these cartoons were edited within the main and end title credits and added to run with theatrical-era MGM Tom and Jerry cartoons from 1940 to 1967 for syndication by MGM until 1986.
Since 1986, it has been rebroadcast on TBS, Cartoon Network, Boomerang and Canada's Teletoon and Teletoon Retro.
The cartoons have been shown with the main and end title credits intact on TBS, Boomerang streaming service and Cartoon Network.
Back in the 80s, Seven Network aired the show in Australia.

Reception

Critical reception

The show was given mixed to negative reviews due to the lack of slapstick, violence, having Tom and Jerry as friends, the lack of quality and perfectly written episodes, the poor grasp on the source material, low budget animation, and the fact this cartoon was made in the time where cartoons have to follow all television regulations in the past.

Home media

The premiere episode of The New Tom and Jerry/Grape Ape Show was released as part of Warner Home Video's Saturday Morning Cartoons – 1970s Volume 2 on ; it marked the first home video release of the 1975 made-for-TV version of Tom and Jerry. Another cartoon, episode #80-15, "Cosmic Cat and Meteor Mouse", is included as part of the , which was released by Warner Home Video on. The episode of The New Tom and Jerry/Grape Ape Show was released as the digital version of Tom and Jerry: School's Out. 2 episodes was released as the digital version of Tom and Jerry: House Pests. Most episodes of this incarnation, with exceptions of "Gopher Broke", "Grim and Bear It", "The Flying Sorceress", "The Egg and Tom and Jerry", and "The Lost Duckling", are available on the Boomerang app. A complete series DVD set has not yet been announced.

Legacy

When Joseph Barbera was asked if public pressure had resulted in Tom and Jerry being less violent in this show, he said that the same arguments were going on 50 years ago.