Pac-Man (TV series)

Pac-Man
From the left: Pac-Man, Pepper, and Baby Pac-Man.
Genre Adventure
Comedy
Based on Pac-Man, by Toru Iwatani for Namco Ltd.
Developed by Jeffrey Scott
Written by Jeffrey Scott
Directed by
Voices of
Composer(s) Hoyt Curtin
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 44 (42 episodes, 2 specials) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Producer(s)
Editor(s) Gil Iverson
Running time 22–26 minutes approx.
Production company(s) Hanna-Barbera Productions
Distributor Worldvision Enterprises (1982-1989)
Great American Broadcasting (1989-1991)
Turner Program Services (1991-1996)
Warner Bros. Television Distribution (1996-present)
Release
Original network ABC
Original release September 25, 1982 (1982-09-25) – November 5, 1983 (1983-11-05)

Pac-Man (also known as Pac-Man: The Animated Series) is a 30-minute Saturday morning American animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions based on the video game Pac-Man, made by Namco (now known as Bandai Namco Entertainment) and published by Bally-Midway, which premiered on ABC and ran for 44 episodes over two seasons from 1982 to 1983. It was also the first cartoon based on a video game.

Plot

The show follows the adventures of the title character, Pac-Man, his wife Pepper Pac-Man, their child Pac-Baby, their dog Chomp-Chomp and their cat Sour Puss. The family lives in Pac-Land, a place in which the geography and architecture seem to revolve primarily around spheres and sphere-like shapes. Most episodes of the series center around the ongoing battle between the Pac family and their only known enemies, the Ghost Monsters: Blinky, Inky, Pinky, Clyde, and Sue. They work for Mezmaron, a mysterious figure who resembles Darth Vader and acts similarly to Gargamel (from another Hanna-Barbera show The Smurfs). His sole mission is to locate and control the source of "Power Pellets", which serve as the primary food and power source for the city, and also as the deus ex machina in virtually every episode. The second (and final) season later introduces Super-Pac and Pac-Man's teenage cousin P.J.

Influence

The show's initial success inspired ABC's rival CBS to create Saturday Supercade, which featured other video game characters from the golden age of video arcade games. The arcade game Pac-Land was based entirely on the cartoon, and Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures drew significant influence from it as well. Also, the Tengen release of the original Pac-Man arcade game for the Nintendo Entertainment System features box art based on the cartoon.

Voice cast

Main

Additionals

Episodes

Season 1 (1982)

Aired as part of The Pac-Man/Little Rascals/Richie Rich Show

No.TitleOriginal air date
1"Presidential Pac-Nappers"September 25, 1982 (1982-09-25)
Mezmaron orders the Ghost Monsters to kidnap the Pac-President in order to get Pac-Man to lead them to the Power Pellet Forest.
2"Picnic in Pacland"September 25, 1982 (1982-09-25)
Pac-Man and his family go for a picnic. The Ghost Monsters are also on a picnic, and plot to chomp Pac-Man.
3"The Great Pac-Quake"October 2, 1982 (1982-10-02)
The Ghost Monsters get an Earthquake-making machine from Mezmaron.
4"Hocus-Pocus Pac-Man"October 2, 1982 (1982-10-02)
Pac-Man puts Pac-Baby in a magic hat and makes him disappear.
5"Southpaw Packy"October 9, 1982 (1982-10-09)
When the Ghost Monsters ruin the Pac-Land world series, Pac-Man challenges them to a baseball game to decide who leaves town.
6"Pac-Baby Panic"October 9, 1982 (1982-10-09)
The Ghost Monsters steal a sack of Power Pellets, accidentally kidnapping Pac-Baby.
7"Pacula"October 16, 1982 (1982-10-16)
Mezmaron transforms a bat into the vampiric Count Pacula in a plot to get the citizens of Pac-Land to hand over the map to the Power Pellet Forest.
8"Trick or Chomp"October 16, 1982 (1982-10-16)
The Pac-Family goes trick or treating on Halloween night until the ghosts come along and spice things up.
9"Super Ghosts"October 23, 1982 (1982-10-23)
The Ghost Monsters get super powers and try to take over the world.
10"The Pac-Man in the Moon"October 23, 1982 (1982-10-23)
After the Ghost Monsters steal the Space Shuttle, Pac-Man and Pepper must retrieve it.
11"Journey to the Center of Pacland"October 30, 1982 (1982-10-30)
Mezmaron and the Ghost Monsters try to tunnel into the Power Pellet Forest.
12"Invasion of the Pac-Pups"October 30, 1982 (1982-10-30)
A litter of Pac-Pups come to the Pac-Family's house, and Pac-Man tries to get rid of them.
13"Sir Chomp-A-Lot"November 6, 1982 (1982-11-06)
Mezmaron sends the Ghost Monsters 50 years back into the past, but Inky's goofiness causes them to meet Pac-Man's ancestor, Sir Chomp-A-Lot.
14"The Day the Forest Disappeared"November 6, 1982 (1982-11-06)
When Mezmaron successfully steals the Power Pellet Forest, it's up to Pac-Man to get it back.
15"Neander-Pac-Man"November 13, 1982 (1982-11-13)
Pac-Man reads Pac-Baby a story about their prehistoric ancestor and his discovery of power pellets.
16"Backpackin' Packy"November 13, 1982 (1982-11-13)
Pac-Man is permitted to lead the Pac-Baby scouts after their original leader stubs his toe.
17"The Abominable Pac-Man"November 20, 1982 (1982-11-20)
Pac-Man and Pepper are racing to beat Mezmaron and the Ghost Monsters to an area where Power Pellets are located, while a legendary monster lurks in the hills.
18"The Bionic Pac-Woman"November 20, 1982 (1982-11-20)
Mezmaron makes a robotic clone of Pepper to fool Pac-Man.
19"Chomp-Out at the O.K. Corral"November 27, 1982 (1982-11-27)
The Ghost Monsters (and their bratty cousin, Dinky) run into the Pac-Family while both are vacationing out West.
20"Once Upon a Chomp"November 27, 1982 (1982-11-27)
The Ghost Monsters' Fairy Ghost Monster comes and gives them a magic book of fairy tales to trap Pac-Man and Pepper.
21"The Pac-Love-Boat"December 4, 1982 (1982-12-04)
Pac-Man and Pepper take an anniversary cruise on the Love Boat while the Ghost Monsters try to ruin their trip.
22"The Great Power-Pellet Robbery"December 4, 1982 (1982-12-04)
Mezmaron gives the Ghost Monsters a truck in order to retrieve the Power Pellets from the Power Pellet Forest.
23"A Bad Case of the Chomps"December 11, 1982 (1982-12-11)
Pac-Man is rushed to the hospital, believing he has chompitis after chomping the Ghost Monsters.
24"Goo-Goo at the Zoo"December 11, 1982 (1982-12-11)
The Pac-Family goes to the zoo, but Pac-Baby frees all the animals.
25"Nighty Nightmares"December 18, 1982 (1982-12-18)
The Ghost Monsters are having nightmares about Pac-Man.
26"The Pac-Mummy"December 18, 1982 (1982-12-18)
Mezmaron discovers a mummy and uses it to kidnap Pepper and Pac-Baby.

Season 2 (1983)

Aired as part of The Pac-Man/Rubik, the Amazing Cube Hour.

No.TitleOriginal air date
27"Here's Super-Pac"September 17, 1983 (1983-09-17)
Mezmaron creates a giant robotic Ghost Monster to battle Super-Pac.
28"Hey, Hey, Hey... It's P.J."September 17, 1983 (1983-09-17)
Pac-Man must convince cousin P.J. to stay in school.
29"The Super-Pac-Bowl"September 24, 1983 (1983-09-24)
After the Ghost Monsters chomp the football team, Pac-Man, Super-Pac, and their team must face off against them.
30"Journey Into the Pac-Past"September 24, 1983 (1983-09-24)
P.J. fixes Ms. Pac's washing machine, accidentally turning it into a time machine.
31"The Old Pac-Man and the Sea"October 1, 1983 (1983-10-01)
The Ghost Monsters sink a ship full of Power Pellets with Pac-Man on board, trapping them all in Paclantis at the mercy of the tyrannical Pac-Queen.
32"Public Pac-Enemy No. 1"October 1, 1983 (1983-10-01)
Pac-Man is mistaken for the criminal Pretty Boy Pac and sent to prison.
33"The Genii [sic] of Pacdad"October 8, 1983 (1983-10-08)
Pac-Man and Super-Pac square off against the Ghost Monsters for ownership of a genie's bottle.
34"Computer Packy"October 8, 1983 (1983-10-08)
P.J. tinkers with Pac-Man's computer, causing it to pull Pac-Baby inside (à la Tron).
35"The Greatest Show in Pacland"October 15, 1983 (1983-10-15)
The Ghost Monsters celebrate Dinky's birthday at the same circus where the Pac-Family is celebrating Pac-Baby's birthday.
36"Pac-A-Thon"
"Pac-A-Lympics"		October 15, 1983 (1983-10-15)
Legal technicalities permit the Ghost Monsters to participate in the Olympics, and it's up to the Pac-Family to try to defeat them in various athletic events.
37"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Pac-Man"October 22, 1983 (1983-10-22)
Pac-Man turns into a werewolf after the Ghost Monsters trick him into eating Power Pellets specially created by Mezmaron.
38"Around the World in 80 Chomps"October 22, 1983 (1983-10-22)
Pac-Man must stop Mezmaron and the Ghost Monsters from finding their own Power Pellet Forest abroad.
39"Super-Pac vs. Pac-Ape"October 29, 1983 (1983-10-29)
An organ grinder's Pac-Monkey eats super-powered Power Pellets and grows to giant size. Now Pac-Man and Super-Pac must stop the giant Pac-Monkey before it wrecks Pac-Land.
40"P.J. Goes Pac-Hollywood"October 29, 1983 (1983-10-29)
P.J. is starring in an action movie, and Pac-Man is goaded into becoming his stunt double.
41"Pac Van Winkle"November 5, 1983 (1983-11-05)
Pac-Man drinks a potion that causes him to fall asleep for twenty years. When he awakes, he finds a nightmarish future in which the Power Pellet Forest has been captured and the Ghost Monsters have infested Pac-Land.
42"Happy Pacs-Giving"November 5, 1983 (1983-11-05)
The Pac-Family hear a story about the first Pacs-Giving.

Specials

Pac-Man Halloween Special

The Halloween special consisted of two segments from the show, "Pacula" and "Trick or Chomp". The special aired in primetime on ABC on October 30, 1982. It has been replayed on channels like Cartoon Network and Boomerang during Halloween in recent years.[1]

Christmas Comes to Pac-Land

Christmas Comes to Pac-Land In this Christmas special, Pac-Man and his family help Santa Claus (voiced by Peter Cullen) after he crash lands in Pac-Land (after the reindeer were startled by the floating eyes of the Ghost Monsters after Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man and Pac-Baby chomped them). Mezmeron was the only character from the cartoon that is not in the special (although his lair, which is covered in snow, appears). It has been speculated that he was away for the holiday, but this has not been confirmed by the show's writers. It is shown every December on the Boomerang Christmas Party.[2][3]

Broadcast history

Pac-Man aired on ABC Saturday Morning in the following formats:

During the first airing of the show, the large number of advertisers sponsoring it caused commercial breaks to be double their normal length. Later episodes featured normal commercial break times. Since the original run, reruns have turned up on the USA Cartoon Express on USA in the 1980s, Cartoon Network from 1995 to 2003, and Boomerang from 2000 to 2013. The Christmas-themed episode currently airs each year as part of The Boomerang Christmas Party, an annual marathon of classic Christmas cartoons, but otherwise is not included in the channel's rotation. The show has also been aired a few times on Toonami. The series is also available for purchase on the Xbox Live Marketplace. In the United Kingdom it was first Broadcast on TVAM as a part of the Roland Rat show.

Home Media releases

In 1982, Worldvision Home Video Inc. (under Rainbow Products Ltd.) distributed a Pac-Man and Family VHS in Australia (catalogue number RCV 9019) and featured the episodes, Pacula, Trick or Chomp, Super Ghosts, The Pac-Man in the Moon, Invasion of the Pac-Pups, Journey to the Center of Pacland and the special Christmas Comes to Pacland. In 2012, Warner Archive released both seasons of Pac-Man on DVD in region 1 as part of their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection. These are Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) releases, available exclusively through Warner's online store or Amazon.com. The first season was released on January 31, 2012, followed by the release of the second season on September 11, 2012.[4][5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Pac-Man Halloween Special, The @ Toonarific cartoons". Toonarific.com. Toonarific.com. 1998. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  2. ↑ http://classicgames.about.com/od/popculture/p/Christmas-Comes-To-Pac-Land.htm
  3. ↑ http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/TV/12/10/geekiest.holiday.movies.go/
  4. ↑ "Pac-Man - Warner Archive Announces 'The Complete 1st Season' on DVD!". Archived from the original on 2012-01-25.
  5. ↑ "Pac-Man - Warner Archive is Now Selling the Second and Final Season...Santa Included!". Archived from the original on 2014-10-24.
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