Gli inseparabili rivali con Tom & Jerry

I know that "Tom and Jerry" was maybe at it's classic best back in the days of the 50's and 60's of the MGM Oscar award winning days. Still I wasn't born till 1978 and my early years of exposure to cartoons and morning and evening viewing after school and before I started school was of these episodes from the mid 70's as in the early 80's I was catching the reruns. The team and art work of Hanna-Barbera made the cartoons a pleasure to view the color was bright and a treat to view as a kid. And really nothing changed as after I watched the MGM episodes too, these new episodes still had the fun chases and adventures of the cat and mouse rival. And many episodes the duo might become best of friends and memorable too was "Spike" the big bulldog and his little son puppy. Such a wonderful cartoon that I sometimes view again in today's world it brings back memories of my childhood as "Tom and Jerry" is the best cartoon ever!

Having heard people calling it an abomination, I was hesitant. But when I watched The New Tom and Jerry Show it was better than I expected. It is not as good as the classic MGM cartoons, but it is much better than the Gene Dietch cartoons(now there's the meaning of abomination), and I prefer this show over Tom and Jerry Tales and Tom and Jerry Kids. I admit I did miss the violence and chases, which at its best were amusing and lively while never feeling sadistic. However, this is a beautifully drawn show and the theme tune is wonderful as is the background music. The stories are sweet and funny, and Tom and Jerry, whether they are friends or against one another are still likable. All in all, I think while inferior this show is more than decent. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Tom and Jerry is one of those mild violent, super cool, chilled, relaxed shows.

There was nothing like chilling after a long day or week to Some Tom and Jerry.

While Scooby-Doo is still the crown jewel of the properties of Hanna-Barbera, the one creation that they're probably most proud of is Tom & Jerry. This influential and revolutionary cartoon about the classic "cat chasing the mouse" won several Oscars for Hanna-Barbera and MGM. Without them, there might not be a "Sylvester vs. Tweety", "Wile E. Coyote vs. The Road Runner or Bugs Bunny" and yes, no "Itchy And Scratchy". Yes, all these cartoons are pretty violent, with the use of anvils, rocks, TNT, guns, and even Iron Maidens, but they weren't overblown gory like Matt Groening's twisted parody of Tom And Jerry.

When Teletoon in Canada started showing Tom & Jerry, I thought we'd see the theatrical cartoons, but instead we got this made-for-T.V. series. This time, Tom & Jerry are friends, and they are the ones who have to face a common enemy or do a chore for someone. If they have to go head-to-head, it's in sports competitions. Most of the "slapstick violence" is gone, leaving a sterile version of the duo.

Still, it's not bad, and I watch it on occasion, but I'd rather see the theatrical versions of this cartoon first. It's better than Tiny Toons at least.

Regardless of how many negative posts, criticisms, rants and insults of it that come out of the woodwork, Hanna-Barbera's 1975 version of Tom & Jerry shall always hold dear to me! To each his own...

I've been a fan of it ever since 1979, when they first aired locally in my hometown, N'Awlins, every Monday-Friday afternoon @ 3:30 on ABC (now Fox) affiliate WVUE-TV Channel 8, on The Tom & Jerry Hour. It was a mixed bag of T&J cartoons, theatrical (1940 to 1967) and TV (1975 to 1977). This was how I first learned of these made-for-TV T&Js from H-B. The theatricals were great, but I (being a child of the 1970s and a connoisseur of Hanna-Barbera's mid-to-late 1970s work) somehow grew more attached to the 1970s version. Sometimes WVUE aired the main title sequence from The Tom & Jerry Show separately from the 48 7-minute T&J stories, sometimes they aired the end credits.

I later read in Stuart Fischer's book Kids' TV: The First 25 Years that they originally aired in 1975 on The (New) Tom & Jerry/Grape Ape Show. I remember thinking, "Ah! So that's where they came from!" This is also how I learned of The New T&J's originally pairing with The Great Grape Ape, which I only discovered via repeats on ABC Sunday Mornings! (Yep, I missed out on the original run on ABC, and I had just come into it.)

I decided that the 1970s T&J was my sole favorite, and faithfully followed its exploits from its first local airing on WVUE to its re-airing in the 1980s on WNOL-TV Channel 38 (now a WB affiliate) and Superstation WTBS, which, on Tom & Jerry And Friends, showed 7-minute 1975 T&J cartoons framed in-between main and end title sequences! I also realize that a huge number of serious animation fans have and continue to liken New Tom & Jerry to New Coke, calling it a cheap imitation of the originals, and thus giving them a bad rep over the years. I don't think it's all the 1975 version of T&J so much; I think a great many 'toon fans have prided themselves on being hooked on the originals and declaring any version out of that scope as inferior.

Hence my web presence, The New Tom & Jerry Info Site @ http://www.1975tomjerry.50megs.com/ , which I launched in March 1997, to show all and sundry that there was someone out there who took interest in them and, to a degree at least, put an end to all the bad press they've been getting. Until January 2004 (so far), Boomerang from Catoon Network has done the 1975 T&J's justice by showing them periodically on Boomerang Saturdays (1976, 1977 and 1978). They neglected to show them in April 2004 during the weekly Friday T&J marathons; they seem to be limited to the 1940-67 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer theatricals, Filmation's 1980-82 version (The Tom & Jerry Comedy Show) and that 1990-93 Fox revival Tom & Jerry Kids (that gray stripe between Tom's eyes was not his best feature, IMHO!). But CN more than made up for this with the addition of the 1975 T&Js to their rotation in May 2005.

Like I said, to each his own. Everyone here has his/her favorite version of Tom & Jerry; mine is and shall forever remain H-B's "black sheep" 1975 made-for-TV version. Just because a Tom & Jerry cartoon, be it old or new, is nonviolent does not mean it cannot be watched and enjoyed. (I mean, check out the sports-themed New T&Js! And Spike! And Hoyt Curtin's jazzy underscore!)

So, if you will, sing along!!!

Set your dial for a while! Have a laugh, wear a smile! It's The Tom & Jerry Show! You'll begin with a grin When you first tune us in On The Tom & Jerry Show!

Introducing that world-famous cat...Tom! And that magnificent mouse...Jerry!

(instrumental solo)

Lots of zing, lots to sing! Everything's gonna swing! So, get ready - here we go! Big or small, short or tall, You will all have a ball On The Tom & Jerry Show!