Pac-Man (TV series)

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This article is about the TV series. For the character, see Pac-Man.
Pac-Man
PM S1 title card.png
First season title card.
Created by Jeffrey Scott
Network ABC
Production company Hanna-Barbera
Original release September 25, 1982November 5, 1983
Starring Marty Ingels
Barbara Minkus
Russi Taylor
Frank Welker
Peter Cullen
Allan Lurie
Neil Ross
Susan Silo
Barry Gordon
Chuck McCann
Darryl Hickman
Lorenzo Music
Executive producer(s) William Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Producer(s) Kay Wright
Iwao Takamoto
Music composed by Hoyt Curtin
Writer(s) Jeffrey Scott
Donald Dougherty
Director(s) George Gordon
Bill Hutten
Bob Hathcock
Carl Urbano
Rudy Zamora
Oscar Dufau
John Walker
Ray Patterson (supervising)
Gordon Hunt (voices)
Second title card
PM S2 title card.png
Second season title card.

Pac-Man is an American animated action-comedy television series produced Hanna-Barbera for ABC's Saturday morning children's programming. It ran from 1982 to 1983, airing 42 episodes that spanned two seasons. The TV series is an adaptation of the Namco video game Pac-Man, which debuted in arcades two years before the cartoon's debut.

Pac-Man protects his family and all of Pacland against the evil Mezmaron and his lackeys, the Ghost Monsters.

The entire series has been released on DVD.

Production

Development

Casting

By 1982, Marty Ingels had switched careers from acting to casting other talents, such as Robert Culp. This incidentally led him into contact with voice director Gordon Hunt, who thought he was perfect for the role.[1] According to the memoir of Ingels's wife, Shirley Jones, Hanna-Barbera had auditioned 173,000 people, but only Ingels had the right voice, winning the role "with his evocative Brooklyn accent, his comedian's perfect sense of timing," making him "Pac-Man incarnate" described to Ingels by Hunt. Ingels would come to the studio in his pajamas and do three week's worth of episodes in one afternoon. He also made more money than he made in his entire career as a comedian.[2]

At one point when discussing a catchphrase he wanted for the character ("PacapacaWowie!"), which became a major problem with executives who for some reason came up with a dozen other alternatives, leading to Ingles having a panic attack.[3]

Music

The music was composed by Hoyt Curtin, credited as musical director, with musical supervision from Paul DeKorte.

Episodes

Title Number Original air date
"Presidential Pac-Nappers" / "Picnic in Pacland" 1x01 September 25, 1982
"The Great Pac-Quake" / "Hocus-Pocus Pac-Man" 1x02 October 2, 1982
"Southpaw Packy" / "Pac-Baby Panic" 1x03 October 9, 1982
"Pacula" / "Trick or Chomp" 1x04 October 16, 1982
"Super Ghosts" / "The Pac-Man in the Moon" 1x05 October 23, 1982
"Journey to the Center of Pacland" / "Invasion of the Pac-Pups" 1x06 October 30, 1982
"Sir Chomp-A-Lot" / "The Day the Forest Disappeared" 1x07 November 6, 1982
"Neander-Pac-Man" / "Backpackin' Packy" 1x08 November 13, 1982
"The Abominable Pac-Man" / "The Bionic Pac-Woman" 1x09 November 20, 1982
"Chomp-Out at the O.K. Corral" / "Once Upon a Chomp" 1x10 November 27, 1982
"The Pac-Love-Boat" / "The Great Power-Pellet Robbery" 1x11 December 4, 1982
"A Bad Case of the Chomps" / "Goo-Goo at the Zoo" 1x12 December 11, 1982
"Nighty Nightmares" / "The Pac-Mummy" 1x13 December 18, 1982
"Here's Super-Pac" / "Hey, Hey, Hey... It's P.J." 2x01 September 17, 1983
"The Super-Pac-Bowl" / "Journey into the Pac-Past" 2x02 September 24, 1983
"Public Pac-Enemy No. 1" / "The Old Pac-Man and the Sea" 2x03 October 1, 1983
"The Greatest Show in Pacland" / "Pac-A-Thon" 2x04 October 8, 1983
"The Genii of Pacdad" / "P.J. Goes Pac-Hollywood" 2x05 October 15, 1983
"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Pac-Man" / "Around the World in 80 Chomps" 2x06 October 22, 1983
"Super-Pac vs. Pac-Ape" / "Computer Packy" 2x07 October 29, 1983
"Pac Van Wrinkle" / "Happy Pacs-Giving" 2x08 November 5, 1983

Special

Title Original air date
Christmas Comes to Pacland December 16, 1982

Cast

References

  1. ^ Marble, Steve (December 20, 2016). "Gordon Hunt, director, voice actor and father of Helen Hunt, dies at 87". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  2. ^ Jones, Shirley, Leigh, Wendy (July 25, 2013). Shirley Jones: A Memoir, page 260. Gallery Books. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  3. ^ Korkis, Jim (March 29, 2013). "Animation Anecdotes 103". Cartoon Research. Retrieved July 21, 2022.