Speed Buggy (TV series)
- This article is about the TV series. For other uses, see Speed Buggy.
| Speed Buggy | |
|---|---|
 On-screen title card. | |
| Network | ABC |
| Production company | Hanna-Barbera |
| Original release | September 8-December 22, 1973 |
| Starring | Mel Blanc Michael Bell Arlene Golonka Phil Luther Jr. |
| Producer(s) | William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Music composed by | Hoyt Curtin |
| Writer(s) | George Atkins Haskell Barkin John Bates Larz Bourne Tom Dagenais Robert Fisher Ray Parker |
| Director(s) | Charles A. Nichols |
Speed Buggy is an American animated mystery comedy TV series produced by Hanna-Barbera (H-B) for ABC's Saturday morning children's programming. It ran in 1973, airing 16 episodes that spanned one season.
The entire series has also been released on DVD.
Production
Development
The series was originally developed under the working titles "Speed Bug" and "Speed Buggs", before settling on its final titling. The concept was partly inspired by the 1968 Disney film The Love Bug, and the television series Speed Racer; an English adaptation of the Japanese Mach GoGoGo anime.
Music
The music was composed by Hoyt Curtin.
Episodes
| Title | Number | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| "Speed Buggy Went That-a-Way" | 1x01 | September 8, 1973 |
| "Speed Buggy's Daring Escapade" | 1x02 | September 15, 1973 |
| "Taggert's Trophy" | 1x03 | September 22, 1973 |
| "Speed Buggy Falls in Love" | 1x04 | September 29, 1973 |
| "Kingzilla" | 1x05 | October 6, 1973 |
| "Professor Snow and Madame Ice" | 1x06 | October 13, 1973 |
| "Out of Sight" | 1x07 | October 20, 1973 |
| "Gold Fever" | 1x08 | October 27, 1973 |
| "Island of the Giant Plants" | 1x09 | November 3, 1973 |
| "Soundmaster" | 1x10 | November 10, 1973 |
| "The Ringmaster" | 1x11 | November 17, 1973 |
| "The Incredible Changing Man" | 1x12 | November 24, 1973 |
| "Secret Safari" | 1x13 | December 1, 1973 |
| "Oil's Well That Ends Well" | 1x14 | December 8, 1973 |
| "The Hidden Valley of Amazonia" | 1x15 | December 15, 1973 |
| "Captain Schemo and the Underwater City" | 1x16 | December 22, 1973 |
Cast
Crossovers
| Title | Number | Original air date |
|---|---|---|
| The New Scooby-Doo Movies: "The Weird Winds of Winona" | 1 | October 13, 1973 |
| Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law: "High Speed Buggy Chase" | 2 | May 2, 2004 |
| Scooby-Doo and Guess Who?: "A Mystery Solving Gang Divided" | 3 | July 2, 2019 |
Legacy
Although the series was short-lived, it was broadcast on the Big Three television networks years after its original run, as the channels had purchased syndication rights. It was speculated that the series acquired a following due to its frequent rotation on American television, often replacing new cartoons that have been quickly canceled.
From 1977 to 1978, Speed Buggy and Tinker represented the Scooby Doobies in Laff-a-Lympics, which is a crossover series itself.
A different version of the Speed Buggs crew had cameos in the Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated 2011 episode "Mystery Solvers Club State Finals."
Speed Buggy had a cameo in both "Bravo Dooby-Doo," a 1997 episode of Johnny Bravo, and as a stop motion toy in the live-action horror DTV movie Toys of Terror.
In 2021, Speed Buggy and Tinker appear as guest stars in the Jellystone! reboot.
Also in 2021, a scene from the first episode was used in The CW prime-time special, Scooby-Doo, Where Are You Now!
In popular culture
- In the Futurama episode "Law and Oracle," Fry excels in police law enforcement, with his bust ups making it possible for him to become a detective soon, which makes him happy because then he'll get to be Sherlock Holmes or Speed Buggy. Later, when catching Pickles, he sets up a charade based on an episode of Speed Buggy.
Merchandise
Reading material
In 1975, Charlton Comics published a short-lived ongoing series also called Speed Buggy, which lasted nine issues, ending in 1976.
They appeared as guests in Scooby-Doo #50, published by DC Comics in 2001.
In 2018, DC Comics published rebooted the series in a dramatized one-shot, The Flash/Speed Buggy Special.
Board game
In 1973, a board game was released by Milton Bradley Company based on the cartoon.
