Dick Tracy Cartoon Series

[Duster76]

Here is a question that I have carried a lfetime, why on the Dick Tracy cartoon series in 1960's did the star of the series, the character the series was named after, have virtually nothing to do? Tracy received his job assgnment from the chief over an intercom, immediately he contactied a subordinate over a two way wrist radio (Joe Jitsu, Hemlock Holmes, Officer Heap O'Calorie, or Go Go Gomez) to whom he delegated the job. He then appeared about two thirds of the way into the cartoon, again sitting on his rear end at his desk or in route to the crime scene, he gets a brief update on the progress of the investigation and appears at the end of the cartoon to congradulate the arresting officer. That's it! What in the world were they thinking when the put this show together. It made no sense then, it makes no sense now.

[Marvo301]

I have often wondered the same thing. It seems like Dick Tracey had been promoted to a mainly administrative position in the police department. And it seems like they were trying to make this show ethnically diverse as each of the officers that Dick Tracy passed on assignments to represented different ethnic groups.

[TMC]

I vaguely remember the Dick Tracy cartoon being put back on TV around the same time that the live-action Warren Beatty movie came out. The cartoon looking back, is cringe inducing because of the obvious ethnic stereotypes. I would like to see a Dick Tracy cartoon done in the manner of Batman: The Animated Series. The 1960s cartoon made the mistake of playing it too much for slapstick and gags.

[tv star collector]

The Dick Tracy Show (1960) was produced by Henry G. Saperstein for
UPA and featured Everett Sloane as the voice of Tracy. (Dick Tracy also
appeared on a segment of NBC's Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo, in
prime-time, which is several notches better than the rather silly Tracy cartoons.) The accent was on humor in those adventuires, with Tracy using
his two-way wrist radio to turn assignments over to his inept subordinates.
Surprisingly, creator Chester Gould himself served as technical advisor for the
series and seemed happy with the light approach. He is quoted as saying,
"A serious approach for kids is ridiculous." But you have to remember, that
was before Hanna-Barbera's ground-breaking prime-time ABC show Jonny
Quest debuted in prime-time, in 1964, and paved the way for the many
serious adventure cartoons that have come since. Despite its flaws, The Dick Tracy Show was a success for its time and was released later on home video by Paramount. But, if you can locate a copy, the "Dick Tracy"
episode of The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo is more faithful to
Gould's classic comic strip. Like all the episodes of that series, Magoo plays
his role straight. He is hired by Tracy because of his resemblance to a
gangster (also voiced by Jim Backus). Pretty good entry.

[howilu]

I remember watching the Dick Tracy cartoons when they were rerun on WOR-TV around 1971. Each cartoon opened the same way with Dick Tracy saying "Okay chief, I'll get on it right away." They he would call Joe Jitsu, Hemlock Holmes or Go Go Gomez to get on the case. Tracy would later appear in the cartoon to give instructions to his detectives. I felt the show became rather repetitive and I will sign off the same way he did in many episodes "Six, two and even, over and out."

[Duster76]

The Chester Gould information is very interesting. It seems that he intended the show to be a Dick Tracy presents type program rather than one that featured Dick Tracy.

I thought at that time that there were already several cartoons that played it serious. Weren't Space Angel and Clutch Cargo out around the same time as Dick Tracy? I seem to recall both were played serious.

[tv star collector]

Originally Posted by Duster76

The Chester Gould information is very interesting. It seems that he intended the show to be a Dick Tracy presents type program rather than one that featured Dick Tracy.

I thought at that time that there were already several cartoons that played it serious. Weren't Space Angel and Clutch Cargo out around the same time as Dick Tracy? I seem to recall both were played serious.

I never had an opportunity to see either of those shows. All three began in
first-run syndication, but The Dick Tracy Show may have been carried
on more stations (at least in my area, upstate New York). For the record,
Clutch Cargo actually began two years before (1959). Tracy
debuted in 1961, and Space Angel came along in 1962. Both Clutch
Cargo and Space Angel, by the way, were produced by Cambria,
using their "Synchro-Vox" process that superimposed human lips speaking
over the mouths of the characters. Sounds very odd.

[steevo]

Somehow I don't think Joe Jitsu and Go Go Gomez would make it past the drawing boards today. I remember when these aired in syndication in the 1990's there was a mild uproar over these characters portraying a racial stereotype.

Anyhow, I also found it odd that Tracy was not the central character in these stories.

[Marvo301]

Originally Posted by steevo

Somehow I don't think Joe Jitsu and Go Go Gomez would make it past the drawing boards today. I remember when these aired in syndication in the 1990's there was a mild uproar over these characters portraying a racial stereotype.

Anyhow, I also found it odd that Tracy was not the central character in these stories.

Joe Jitsu and Go Go Gomez aren't exactly politically correct are they?