The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
This cartoon series was produced by DIC Enterprises and Saban Entertainment and originally aired from September 4 to December 1, 1989. It was also accompanied by The Legend of Zelda cartoons, though this section will focus only on the Mario cartoons.
The show is as fun as I remember it. It is probably fair to divide up this entire series into two main eras with each part distinguished by their live action segments. The first era had live action segments that starred the Mario brothers, with Mario played by Lou Albano, and Luigi played by Danny Wells, who consequently, also did the voices for their respective characters in the cartoon segments.
The second era of the series had live action segments that starred Tommy Treehugger and Co-MC, played by Chris Coombs and Michael Anthony Rawlins, respectively. These segments were called Club Mario.
Each episode consists of a frame story and the actual cartoon. The frame story is the live action segment which is an episode in and of itself. Being a frame story, the live action segment begins with some problem coming up, and the problem gets resolved during short clips that are inserted within the cartoon segment. The resolution is then showed in the end after the cartoon, followed by the credits.
The cartoon segment is where the meat lies. Here, the main characters, Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Toadstool, have some grand adventure or misadventure. Usually, something bad happens to one of them and King Koopa is either behind it or finds out about it and tries to make things worse for them. Also, many familiar characters and enemies from Super Mario Bros. 1 and 2 make appearances.
One great and memorable element is that the actual sound effects from the video games were played during the show, both in the live action segments and in the cartoon segments. For example, whenever a character jumped, the Super Mario Bros. jump sound played. Running, climbing, and fireball-shooting are examples of other common sound effects taken from the games and used in the cartoon. One new sound effect that this show added though, was a dog-toy-like squeak sound that Toad made whenever he landed on the ground or was squeezed for some reason.
Episode Synopses
I will be painstakingly undergoing the daunting task of watching every episode and providing you the nitty-gritty details of each episode on the following pages. Each page follows a simple format, as outlined below:
- Episode title and number
- Non-Main Character Appearances- a list of characters other than the usual 5 (Mario, Luigi, Toad, Princess Toadstool, and King Koopa) who make appearances in the episode. The rule that I apply here is to only name the character by their general name in the video games. These cartoons seem to treat each enemy as a whole species, with Birdo as a name for a species rather than a single character. For example, the very first episode has two Birdos, but they each have their own unique name.
- Summary- this is where I attempt to explain what happens in the episode as best as I can with enough detail to convey a coherent storyline but not too much or I may just prevent you from going and seeing it yourself. I will also have a couple of screenshots taken from each episode for your viewing pleasure.
- Review- this is where I make personal comments and give my opinions on the episode.
- Errata, bloopers, and other inaccuracies- a list of anything odd that I find in the episode. These include aesthetic mistakes, such as miscoloring, or portrayals of characters/places/plot elements that are inconsistent with the video games.
- Quotes- memorable or noteworthy quotes spoken or read by any character.
Episodes
Episode 1: The Bird! The Bird!Episode 2: Butch Mario and The Koopa Kid
Episode 3: King Mario of Cramalot
Episode 4: Mario's Magic Carpet