Casper and the Angels | |
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Genre | Adventure Mystery Comedy horror Sci-fi |
Based on | Casper the Friendly Ghost by |
Written by | Bob Ogle Jack Bonestell Patsy Cameron Gary Greenfield Dick Robbins |
Directed by | Oscar Dufau George Gordon Ray Patterson Carl Urbano |
Voices of | Julie McWhirter Diana McCannon Laurel Page John Stephenson Hal Smith Paul Winchell |
Composer | Hoyt Curtin |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of episodes | 13 (26 segments) |
Production | |
Executive producers | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
Producers | Alex Lovy Art Scott |
Running time | 30 minutes |
Production companies | Hanna-Barbera Productions Harvey Films |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | September 22 (1979-09-22) – December 15, 1979 (1979-12-15) |
Casper and the Angels is an American animated television series based on the Harvey Comics cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on NBC from September 22 to December 15, 1979.
Plot
Casper the Friendly Ghost is a "guardian ghost" to two female Space Police officers named Mini (who is a rather ditzy redhead) and Maxi (who is a much more intelligent African-American woman with a very short temper) who patrol the Jetsons-style Space City on their flying motorcycles in the year 2179.
They are joined by the rambunctious but good-hearted Hairy Scary, a large, shaggy, thousand year old ghost with a red nose and big bow tie who enjoys scaring people, especially villains and other troublemakers, but because he has a great deal of affection for his little pal Casper he, unlike most of their ghostly kind, tries to accept the fact that the gentle ghost does not like to scare people.
Less accepting, especially toward Mini and Maxi, are their fellow officers Nerdley and Fungo, a pair of bumbling, flying patrol car-driving male chauvinists who are always trying to prove that they are superior to their female counterparts, only to have their efforts undone by their own stupidity and cowardice.
Production
The show was Hanna-Barbera's second attempt to cash in on the popularity of Charlie's Angels as well as the popularity of the motorcycle police drama CHiPs, the first being Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels on ABC.
Twenty-six 15-minute segments shown as thirteen 30-minute episodes were produced, as well as two television specials Casper's Halloween Special and Casper's First Christmas.
The series was shown on Cartoon Network and Boomerang for a few years and rarely found on television since 2003 or even earlier. Some of the episodes can be found on YouTube.
Like many animated series created by Hanna-Barbera in the 1970s, the show contained a laugh track.
Cast
- Julie McWhirter as Casper the Friendly Ghost
- John Stephenson as Hairy Scary the Ghost / Commander
- Diana McCannon as Space Patrol Officer Maxi
- Laurel Page as Space Patrol Officer Mini
- Hal Smith as Nerdley
- Paul Winchell as Fungo
Additional voices
Episodes
No. | Title | Original air date | |
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1 | "Casper's Golden Chance" "Space Circus" | September 22, 1979 (1979-09-22) | |
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2 | "Casper Ghosts West" "Casper's Camp-Out" | September 29, 1979 (1979-09-29) | |
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3 | "Strike Four" "The Space Pirate" | October 6, 1979 (1979-10-06) | |
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4 | "Shipwrecked" "The Cat Burglar" | October 13, 1979 (1979-10-13) | |
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5 | "Something Fishy" "The Smiling Lisa" | October 20, 1979 (1979-10-20) | |
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6 | "A Pocket Full O' Schemes" "A Tale of Two Trashmen" | October 27, 1979 (1979-10-27) | |
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7 | "Fatula" "T.V. or Not T.V." | November 3, 1979 (1979-11-03) | |
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8 | "Gone to the Dogs" "Private Eyeball to Eyeball" | November 10, 1979 (1979-11-10) | |
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9 | "Champ for a Day" "The Ghost Robbers" | November 17, 1979 (1979-11-17) | |
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10 | "Aunt Mary Scary" "The Ice Heist" | November 24, 1979 (1979-11-24) | |
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11 | "A Shoplifting Experience" "The Impossible Scream" | December 1, 1979 (1979-12-01) | |
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12 | "Prehistoric Hi-Jinx" "The Commander Is Missing" | December 8, 1979 (1979-12-08) | |
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13 | "Love at First Fright" "Savin' Grace in Outer Space" | December 15, 1979 (1979-12-15) | |
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Home media
On September 5, 1995, Turner Home Entertainment released two volumes The Boo Zoo and Stars & Frights on VHS. This release contained five episodes from the series. In addition, on August 22, 2000, Warner Home Video released Casper Saves Halloween on VHS, which contained the Halloween special as well as six 15-minute episodes of Casper and the Angels.
See also
References
- Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. pp. 65-67. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
- Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 114–116. ISBN 978-1538103739.
- Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 188–191. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- "Casper and the Angels:Stars & Frights VHS". Amazon. 25 April 1995.
External links
Casper the Friendly Ghost | |||||
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Television |
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- Harvey Comics series and characters
- 1979 American television series debuts
- 1979 American television series endings
- 1970s American animated television series
- 1970s American horror comedy television series
- Television series by Hanna-Barbera
- American animated television spin-offs
- Animated television series set in the future
- Animated television series set in the 22nd century
- Animated television series about ghosts
- American English-language television shows
- American children's animated space adventure television series
- American children's animated comic science fiction television series
- American children's animated science fantasy television series
- American children's animated horror television series
- American children's animated mystery television series
- NBC animated television series
- Charlie's Angels (franchise)
- Casper the Friendly Ghost