TMC
04-12-2026, 03:32 AM
https://www.saturdaymorningsforever.com/2026/01/the-tom-and-jerry-comedy-show.html
The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show, also known as The New Adventures of Tom and Jerry, debuted on CBS on September 6, 1980. As well as starring in his own segments, Droopy would also introduce wraparound segments by using a comically-large paintbrush to paint a scene into view in which a short routine would follow with the series’ speaking characters. Frank Welker was tapped to provide all of the voices on the show. He completed recording six episodes’ worth of material when a Screen Actors Guild strike occurred, forcing him to stop work. Producer Lou Schimer ended up assuming the voices for the remainder. Additional voices were provided by an uncredited Linda Gary, Jay Scheimer, Alan Oppenheimer, Erika Scheimer and Diane Pershing. A very limited score was composed by Norm Prescott (as Jeff Michael) and Ray Ellis (as Yvette Blais) modeled after ragtime to give the shorts a vintage feel (although theatrical shorts generally used swing and big band music).
While Coslough Johnson and Jack Hanrahan were the series’ primary writers, with additional scripts by Charlie Howell and Eddie Fitzgerald, a number of the animation staff ended up getting writing credits as well; including Mike Joens, Steve Clark, Tom Minton, Mike O’Connor, Jim Mueller and Wendell Washer. During the show’s production, a rivalry had developed between the writing and animation staff. The writers wanted their scripts to be followed to the letter. The animators, many of them new additions to the Filmation crew, wanted to make Tom and Jerry as comparable to their classic shorts as possible. They attempted to make them livelier than the usual Filmation output every chance they could, which was not well-received by others at the studio. Unscripted sight gags were added to the storyboards, as were classic animation techniques inspired by theatrical shorts. Layout artist John Kricfalusi was heavily inspired by Chuck Jones’ The Dover Boys at Pimento University and tried to incorporate abstract elements into a zip-pan shot, which angered background department head Erv Kaplan. In the unreleased book The Art of Spümcø and John K, Kricfalusi alleged that animator Lynne Naylor was almost fired by Scheimer for incorporating “smear frames”—a method of simulating a motion blur to convey fast movements without requiring multiple drawings—in a Droopy segment. Additionally, many of their attempts at subversion would end up sterilized as the art went through the process before making it to their episodes. Scheimer would state in his own book, Creating the Filmation Generation, that they tried to encourage the staff to go “as wild as possible” despite budget restrictions.
The production also encountered two more hurdles. Lead character designer Alberto De Mello was introduced to classic model sheets and Preston Blair’s animation instruction books. The old techniques excited De Mello and he attempted to design the show’s characters using them—completely misunderstanding how to use them in the process. Following the classic breakdown of characters into geometric shapes resulted in De Mello’s models looking like sausage-fingered horror balloons. The crew chose to follow older model sheets instead. The other hurdle was CBS executive Faith Heckman. She felt that characters balling up their hands into fists just before they started running—a classic cartoon action—was too violent and potentially threatening to their kid audience. Every instance of fists had to be redrawn to show the hands as being open.
Despite their intentions to outdo Hanna-Barbera’s effort, Filmation’s rendition of the show didn’t fare much better. While arguably the most lively and dynamic out of Filmation’s offerings, it still didn’t compare with the theatrical versions of Tom and Jerry fans had come to know and love. No further episodes were ordered, but the show did remain on the network schedule until the new 1982 season began. The following year, it was absorbed into the syndicated Tom and Jerry packages from Turner Television.
The poor reception of the series during its initial broadcast has left no urgency in current rights-holder Warner Bros. to release it on home media. “Jerry’s Country Cousin”, however, was included on Tom and Jerry: The Deluxe Anniversary Collection in 2010, and “Snowbrawl” was a bonus cartoon on the DVD Tom and Jerry: Snowman’s Land in 2022. All of the Tom and Jerry segments and 8 of the Droopy segments were available to stream on the Boomerang app until it was closed in 2024. Reruns had also aired on Cartoon Network and Boomerang, as well as Pop in the United Kingdom.
The Tom and Jerry Comedy Show, also known as The New Adventures of Tom and Jerry, debuted on CBS on September 6, 1980. As well as starring in his own segments, Droopy would also introduce wraparound segments by using a comically-large paintbrush to paint a scene into view in which a short routine would follow with the series’ speaking characters. Frank Welker was tapped to provide all of the voices on the show. He completed recording six episodes’ worth of material when a Screen Actors Guild strike occurred, forcing him to stop work. Producer Lou Schimer ended up assuming the voices for the remainder. Additional voices were provided by an uncredited Linda Gary, Jay Scheimer, Alan Oppenheimer, Erika Scheimer and Diane Pershing. A very limited score was composed by Norm Prescott (as Jeff Michael) and Ray Ellis (as Yvette Blais) modeled after ragtime to give the shorts a vintage feel (although theatrical shorts generally used swing and big band music).
While Coslough Johnson and Jack Hanrahan were the series’ primary writers, with additional scripts by Charlie Howell and Eddie Fitzgerald, a number of the animation staff ended up getting writing credits as well; including Mike Joens, Steve Clark, Tom Minton, Mike O’Connor, Jim Mueller and Wendell Washer. During the show’s production, a rivalry had developed between the writing and animation staff. The writers wanted their scripts to be followed to the letter. The animators, many of them new additions to the Filmation crew, wanted to make Tom and Jerry as comparable to their classic shorts as possible. They attempted to make them livelier than the usual Filmation output every chance they could, which was not well-received by others at the studio. Unscripted sight gags were added to the storyboards, as were classic animation techniques inspired by theatrical shorts. Layout artist John Kricfalusi was heavily inspired by Chuck Jones’ The Dover Boys at Pimento University and tried to incorporate abstract elements into a zip-pan shot, which angered background department head Erv Kaplan. In the unreleased book The Art of Spümcø and John K, Kricfalusi alleged that animator Lynne Naylor was almost fired by Scheimer for incorporating “smear frames”—a method of simulating a motion blur to convey fast movements without requiring multiple drawings—in a Droopy segment. Additionally, many of their attempts at subversion would end up sterilized as the art went through the process before making it to their episodes. Scheimer would state in his own book, Creating the Filmation Generation, that they tried to encourage the staff to go “as wild as possible” despite budget restrictions.
The production also encountered two more hurdles. Lead character designer Alberto De Mello was introduced to classic model sheets and Preston Blair’s animation instruction books. The old techniques excited De Mello and he attempted to design the show’s characters using them—completely misunderstanding how to use them in the process. Following the classic breakdown of characters into geometric shapes resulted in De Mello’s models looking like sausage-fingered horror balloons. The crew chose to follow older model sheets instead. The other hurdle was CBS executive Faith Heckman. She felt that characters balling up their hands into fists just before they started running—a classic cartoon action—was too violent and potentially threatening to their kid audience. Every instance of fists had to be redrawn to show the hands as being open.
Despite their intentions to outdo Hanna-Barbera’s effort, Filmation’s rendition of the show didn’t fare much better. While arguably the most lively and dynamic out of Filmation’s offerings, it still didn’t compare with the theatrical versions of Tom and Jerry fans had come to know and love. No further episodes were ordered, but the show did remain on the network schedule until the new 1982 season began. The following year, it was absorbed into the syndicated Tom and Jerry packages from Turner Television.
The poor reception of the series during its initial broadcast has left no urgency in current rights-holder Warner Bros. to release it on home media. “Jerry’s Country Cousin”, however, was included on Tom and Jerry: The Deluxe Anniversary Collection in 2010, and “Snowbrawl” was a bonus cartoon on the DVD Tom and Jerry: Snowman’s Land in 2022. All of the Tom and Jerry segments and 8 of the Droopy segments were available to stream on the Boomerang app until it was closed in 2024. Reruns had also aired on Cartoon Network and Boomerang, as well as Pop in the United Kingdom.