The Dick Tracy Show

This cartoon is about the only animated cartoon series that MIGHT have been as bad as the animated Hercules cartoons of the 60s (from Trans Lux TV). The show was astoundingly bad. So bad that Hanna and Barbera at their lowest point would have refused to put their names on it bad! So bad that children suddenly remember they have some homework to do when it comes on bad! The worst aspect of the show was the crappy animation. A slide show would have seemed less wooden and static! And the stories themselves bore only a superficial resemblance to the cartoon strip. And the dialog,...I've read better dialog on ads for zit creams! If you have Bright House cable, you may be able to see this monstrosity for yourself to see if I am right. It's been listed on their cartoon on demand channel, so if you do have the chance, watch it--unless you aren't a masochist.

Oh, and by the way. Despite what others may have said, the show was NOT faithful in any way to the cartoon strip. It wasn't even close!

Okay, not quite the worst. Next to the 1960's Felix the Cat series, this is the single worst cartoon ever devised. Dick Tracy isn't even in the cartoons except to assign the case to someone else. There is no humor, there are no jokes, the animation is ugly. You just sit and wait for it to end so maybe a better cartoon will be on afterwards. An exercise in torture. Truly awful. Where is Dick in his flying trash can? Nowhere. They made over 120 of these disasters. I cannot fathom why. Watching this deplorable excuse for animation skitter across the screen is like having to fold laundry, scour burned cookware, or file numerical documents in a large insurance company. Tedious, unrewarding, mind-destroying, soul-sucking stuff.

Way back in 1990, when I was still a kid, and when the live-action Dick Tracy was hitting theaters, one of my local TV stations decided to get into the act by re-running The Dick Tracy Show. I thought "Oh cool! Now I can see Dick Tracy animated!" I started watching an episode, and sure enough, there ol' Dick was there, but he was delegating all of the crime-fighting to his deputies, a badly-drawn rabble of ethnic stereotypes. It would seem the people at UPA had pulled "bait & switch" trick on the kids since this show first aired in 1961. I don't know for sure, but I suspect that the animators found that Dick Tracy himself too difficult (or too expensive) to animate using their particular limited-animation style. So, Tracy's relegated to the show's opening, which can be reused for each episode, the remainder of the show is devoted to Tracy's staff, all with far more simplified character designs.

And to top it off, I don't even remember seeing any of the original Chester Gould villains in any of the episodes I saw.

And what does this series have to do with the classic detective comic strip? Other than a couple of cameo appearances by the title character and watered-down versions of the strip's famous villains... absolutely nothing.

The "Dick Tracy" comic has been around since 1931, and if you have ever read any of the strips, you would soon realize it was aimed at an adult audience. It was filled with grotesque criminals who often met their end in a gruesome manner such as a bullet through the head, impalement, or being burned alive. The creator, Chester Gould, had no qualms about visually depicting the grisly demise of these villains. It was definitely not for young children.

So who thought Dick Tracy would make a great concept for a kids' show? Or what drugs were available in 1960 when this series was being developed? And why would Chester Gould allow his characters to be so trivialized? He is actually credited in the opening title sequence; if I were him I would have been embarrassed to have my name attached this horrible program.

Yes, it is horrible. Minus the opening and closing credits, each episode runs less than four minutes, and Dick Tracy only appears for a total of about 30 to 50 seconds. We see him in the opening scene at his desk finishing up a phone call from his superior. "Okay, Chief, I'll get on it right away. Dick Tracy calling ________." This same footage and dialogue is recycled in every single episode. Yes, EVERY SINGLE EPISODE. Tracy assigns the case to one of four assistant detectives, then is not seen again until the wrap-up at the end. So, why is this called "The Dick Tracy Show"?

"The Lame Assistant Detective Show" would be a better description. Other reviewers have commented on these pathetic characters, so I won't recap what they have already described. However, I will re-emphasize the fact that two of the detectives are racist stereotypes. That alone should be enough to make viewers want to avoid this series, but there is more.

The animation is atrocious. There is a lot of reused footage, flopped (reversed) images and other cost-cutting measures that make it obvious this was made on an extremely limited budget. A handful of classic villains from the comic strip have been transformed into overly- cartoonish children's characters, and these same villains are used over and over. The dialogue is filled with groan-inducing puns that first- or second-grade schoolkids might find funny. Sight gags consist of tired overdone rehashes from other cartoons. The "Hold Everything!" joke (where a character in a predicament freezes the surrounding action) gets really old when it appears in every, yes EVERY, episode, although we do get to see an extra ten seconds of Dick Tracy on screen when the assistant detective calls for help.

This series is available on DVD. Unbelievable. I can't see anyone actually spending money on such mind-numbing material.

We saw DICK TRACY creator,Chester Gould, as a guest on our CBS TV Affiliate's AT RANDOM Saturday's Late Night talk fest. The Show's host, Chicago Sun-Times Columnist Irv Kupcinet hosted and provided us with interesting, stimulating excursions into "The Lively Art of Conversation." At this time, either late 1960 or early '61, Mr. Gould announced that there had been a deal cut between his syndicator,The Chicago Tribune-N.Y.News Syndicate and United Productions of America (UPA for short)an Animation Studio, to produce a series of DICK TRACY animated cartoons for Television. He thought that they'd be on TV shortly, but ventured no further opinion.

Well, that sure sounded good to this 14 year old's family. It's not that TRACY was a favourite, but we did get the Chicago Sunday Tribune and were familiar and could get much more closely acquainted.

There had been Dick Tracy adaptations before. He sold a lot of Comic Books and Big Little Books. He was the starring in 4 1930's-40's Republic Pictures' Serials, 4 RKO Series "B" Movies and a short lived 1950's DICK TRACY live action Television Series. So, great, he would be welcomed with open arms!

Well, to our surprise the Dick Tracy UPA Cartoons were just about an equivalent to their MR.MAGOO TV Cartoons(not the Theatrical releases). Of course there is nothing intrinsically evil or even dis likable about The MAGOO TV productions; but we never expected such similarities.

Chester Gould's DICK TRACY(1931-Present)had long been called "the best written and worst drawn strip in the Newspapers." He made use of the bizarre, the crude, the evil in creating colorful foes for Tracy to battle. Bad Guy Characters had Names that were indicative of physical attributes and habitual behaviour. Hence we saw Prune Face, Flat Top, The Mole, Mumbles, The Brow, etc.* Most of these villainous foes were used in the cartoons, but in twosomes. The greatest divergence from the Strip was an army of Tracy Deputies such as Jaspanese Detective-"Joe Jitsu", Mexican Sleuth-"Go-Go Gomez", "Heap O'Calorie"-a human caricature obviously inspired by Actor/Funnyman Andy Divine and "Shemlock Sholmes"(a talking, cockney accented English Bulldog and his "Retouchables" an animated Keystone Kop Knockoff.

There was surely no skimping on the acting talents assembled. The voices were provided by the cream of the Voice Actor Fraternity. Names like Mel Blanc, Paul Frees, Jerry Hausner and Johnny Coons** were numbered among the creative talents featured. They were joined by veteran screen Comedian and Dialectician Supreme, Benny Rubin. And the voice of Dick Tracy was provided by distinguished Actor, former member of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre of the Air, Everett Sloane!(Honest, you can look it up yourself!)

* Not only did the bad guys get such descriptive monikers. After Tracy's 1st partner, Pat Patton was promoted to Chief of Police, his 2nd partner was introduced, Sam Ketcham! 2 regular supporting characters, a man & woman Hobo pair were aptly named "B.O.Plenty & Gravel Gertie"and later after marriage, they had a daughter, "Sparkle Plenty." Others included Tracy's Girlfriend & later Wife, "Tess Trueheart" and Shakespearian Actor and Health Fanatic, the John Barrymoreesque, "Vitamin Flintheart".

** "Uncle"Johnny Coons had long been a top Kiddie TV Host/Performer in the Chicago Market. He had won the local Emmy and maybe even a Peabody(?) for Children's Television. It was he of the famous on air flub when, thinking he was off said the immortal words, "There, that out to hold the little bastards for another day!" He made a quick exit to the L.A area, working in TV, Commercials and in voice acting for people like UPA.