Mission: Magic!

Eight years before he began stealing hearts on "General Hospital", Rick Springfield made his national television debut (albeit it was animated) on this rather forgettable animated series. Like so many shows that came out in this era, it tried to be both entertaining and educational at the same time. Unfortunately, it didn't leave much of an impression on me. No wonder there was an eight year gap between Springfield's first hit ("Speak to the Sky") and the song that begun in earnest his career as a major teen idol ("Jesse's Girl"). To me this show was a bump in his career and it took him eight years to recover. As for the show itself, it was neither entertaining or educational. If the only character you can remember from this show is a cat statue that becomes alive at the beginning of each episode, then you know something is wrong. This had to be one of the most forgettable shows of the 1970's.

I liked the fact that Rick Springfield (who I hadn't heard of before this series!) lived in another universe beyond the blackboard of the classroom. Rick used the gramaphone to communicate with the class before the portal was opened. I remember two episodes: one where Rick was in a "backwards" universe, and he was shouting "Cylinder the Reverse!" until the class figured out how to understand what he was saying. Another involved some people who stole the door from Rick's side of the doorway, but the door in the classroom was still there. The children had to replace the other door before someone closed the doorway, or there would be no way for them to get back. Interesting take on inter-dimensional travel!

This Saturday morning ABC cartoon showcased Rick Springfield's pop songs accompanying "groovy" montages ala "the Brady Kids" cartoon series. Rick was at the time being positioned as a sort of Aussie David Cassidy. The show was cute, harmless and, unfortunately, short-lived. (I still remember the catchy theme song over thirty years later: "Do you believe you believe in magic? Cause I believe I believe that I do. If you believe you believe in magic and your mission is magic your love will shine through. If there's one thing that the world needs it's a magic singing song. And I'll teach it to the whole world and make them sing along. Do you believe I believe in magic? Cause I believe I believe that I do. Yes, I can see you believe in magic. If your mission is magic your love will shine through. If your mission is magic your love'll shine through..." Rick Springfield not only provided the vocals for the musical interludes but played a character named "Rick." Animated "Rick" was drawn to look like a then-long haired Rick Springfield and in providing the voice for "Rick" Rick Springfield spoke with his native Australian accent.

I remember being 12 and having my first real crush on a star and it was Rick Springfield in the "Mission Magic" animated series. The tunes heard every week were short but catchy. I have collected all of his earlier works and this Saturday morning series was a bright spot in my pre-teen day. Thanx Rick

With these words, the teacher's seemingly ceramic cat statue, Tut-tut, would come to life and the sparkling doorway would appear on the chalkboard. I never knew the performer who later appeared on 'General Hospital' and sang 'Jessie's Girl' was the animated character here, namely Rick Springfield. I could never tell those teenie-bopper singing guys apart.

Can't recall any of the other characters' names, but the students all seemed very cartoon cliches of adolescents.

The only adventure I do recall was when they were all put in jail and they escaped by teacher's spell which made the bars grow very big so they were able to just walk out from between them. Now this wouldn't have worked the way it was depicted in the cartoon, but read that last word: "cartoon." It was all fun.

"Do You believe I believe in magic? Yes I believe that you believe it is true. Do you believe I believe in magic, Mission: Magic is right here for you." or something like that. Not sure about the last line. This was the theme song for the show.

Beleive it or not, I do recall the Friday night preview for this show as well. Some jokers were trying to be quiet so the child could get to sleep and get up Saturday morning to watch the new shows. One by one, the new shows would enter the home in some capacity. Rick Springfield appeared with a stiff dog leash and only a collar on the end, signifying Goober, the dog who when he got scared turned invisible, of "Goober and the Ghost-chasers", another HB offering like Scooby Doo.