:Shirt Tales

{{Infobox television

| image = Shirt Tales.png

| caption = Season 1 title card

| genre = {{Plainlist|

}}

| creator = Janet Elizabeth Manco {{small|(original characters)}}

| director = {{Plainlist|

George Gordon
Carl Urbano
Rudy Zamora
Bob Hathcock {{small|(season 1)}}
Oscar Dufau {{small|(season 2)}}
John Walker {{small|(season 2)}}

}}

| voices = {{Plainlist|

}}

| theme_music_composer = Hoyt Curtin

| opentheme = "Shirt Tales"

| endtheme = "Shirt Tales" {{small|(Instrumental)}}

| composer = Hoyt Curtin

| country = United States

| language = English

| network = NBC

| executive_producer = {{Plainlist|

}}

| producer = {{Plainlist|

Kay Wright
Iwao Takamoto {{small|(creative producer)}}

}}

| editor = Gil Iverson

| company = Hanna-Barbera Productions

| num_seasons = 2

| num_episodes = 23 (46 segments)

| list_episodes =

| runtime = 22 minutes (11 minutes per segment)

| first_aired = {{Start date|1982|9|18}}

| last_aired = {{End date|1983|11|19}}

}}

Shirt Tales are characters that were created in 1980 by greeting card designer Janet Elizabeth Manco and were featured on Hallmark Cards greeting cards. The characters were adapted into a 1982–1983 animated series for television, by Hanna-Barbera Productions, which aired on NBC.{{cite book |last1=Perlmutter |first1=David |title=The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows |date=2018 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1538103739 |page=549}}

Cards

Hallmark Cards released the homonymous line of greeting cards with animal characters wearing T-shirts upon which was a message. Those cards were among Hallmark's best sellers at that time, which led the company to team with Hanna-Barbera Productions to adapt the Shirt Tales into a Saturday morning cartoon, which premiered on NBC on September 18, 1982.{{cite book |last1=Rovin |first1=Jeff |title=The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals |date=1991 |publisher=Prentice Hall Press |isbn=0-13-275561-0 |access-date=8 April 2020 |url=https://archive.org/details/illustratedencyc00rovi/page/274/mode/2up/ |page=274}} The card line remained, but it faded shortly after the show left broadcast television in 1985.{{cite book |last1=Erickson |first1=Hal |title=Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 |date=2005 |edition=2nd |publisher=McFarland & Co |isbn=978-1476665993 |pages=737–738}}

TV series

The animated Shirt Tales cartoon featured Tyg Tiger (in orange), Pammy Panda (in pink), Digger Mole (in light blue), Rick Raccoon (in red), and Bogey Orangutan (in green) (so-called because he spoke using a Humphrey Bogart-style voice). They lived in Oak Tree Park and wore shirts that flashed various brightly lit messages which reflected the characters' thoughts. They spent their time teasing the park custodian, Mr. Dinkel, and battling crime in and out of their hometown of Mid City. They zipped around the world in a vehicle known as the STSST (Shirt Tales' SuperSonic Transport) which could operate as a car, jet, boat, submarine, and other forms of transportation. Though most law enforcement agencies like the unnamed Commissioner knew of the Shirt Tales as crime fighters by reputation, few people seemed aware that they were talking animals—including Mr. Dinkel, whom the group often had to trick to keep their secret safe.

Each episode was divided into two 11–minute segments. After the success of the thirteen episodes in Season 1, ten episodes were created for Season 2. However, the show was semi-rebooted and Kip Kangaroo (in light yellow) was added to the cast of characters without context for her joining the Shirt Tales. There is also a difference in leadership among the Shirt Tales, in which for the first season Rick appeared to be the de facto leader, but in the second season is instead Tyg. Several stories in Season 2 either omit Rick altogether or give him a minor role in the story. The second season also added some superhero elements to the dynamic of the group as well, most notably the color of all their T-shirts changing to a bright red color when "Shirt Tale Time" is called for.

Following the initial run on NBC, Shirt Tales aired on CBS during the 1984–1985 Saturday morning season, replacing The Biskitts in their time slot. CBS aired selected episodes from its two-season NBC run until March 23, 1985, when The Biskitts were returned to the time slot for the rest of the 1984–1985 season.

On March 23, 1985, Shirt Tales was pulled from broadcast television for good, and the Hallmark franchise faded not long after as well. The show continued for a number of years as part of USA Network's Cartoon Express block and on Cartoon Network, but also continues to be broadcast in selected countries around the world on various networks, including Boomerang.

Voice cast

=Main=

Nancy Cartwright – Kip Kangaroo (Season 2 only)
Robert Allen Ogle – Digger Mole
Patricia Parris – Pammy Panda
Steve Schatzberg – Tyg Tiger, Rick Raccoon (Episode 4 only)
Ronnie Schell – Rick Raccoon
Fred Travalena – Bogey Orangutan
Herb Vigran – Mr. Dinkel
William Woodson – Commissioner (Season 1 only)

=Additional Voices=

Richard Balin (Season 1)
Joe Besser (Season 1) – Elmo the Elephant (in "Elephant on the Loose")
Joey Camen (Season 2) - Sparky the Dragon (in "Kip's Dragon")
Victoria Carroll (Season 2)
Brian Cummings
Walker Edmiston (Season 1)
Marshall Efron (Season 1)
Bernard Erhard (Season 2)
Ernest Harada (Season 2)
Bob Holt (Season 2)
Buster Jones (Season 2)
Stanley Jones (Season 1)
Sherry Lynn (Season 1)
Tress MacNeille (Season 1)
Kenneth Mars (Season 1)
Joseph Medalis (Season 1)
Howard Morris (Season 2) – Shutter McBugg (in "Double Exposure")
Henry Polic II (Season 1)
Tony Pope
Robert Ridgely (Season 1)
Michael Rye (Season 1)
Marilyn Schreffler - T.J. Tiger (in "T.J.'s Visit")
Rick Segall (Season 1)
Michael Sheehan (Season 1)
Hal Smith
John Stephenson (Season 1) – Game Master (in "The Game Masters"), Museum Tour Guide (in "The Humboldt Ghost"), The Humboldt Ghost (in "The Humboldt Ghost"), Ebenezer Creepling (in "The Humboldt Ghost")
Andre Stojka (Season 1)
Jimmy Weldon (Season 2)
Frank Welker (Season 1) – Figby the Cat (in "Figby, the Spoiled Brat Cat")
Ted Zeigler (Season 1)

Episodes

=Season 1 (1982)=

{{Episode table |background=#FF9900 |overall= |season= |title= |writer= |airdate= |episodes=

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=1

| EpisodeNumber2=1

| Title_1=The Case of the Golden Armor

| Title_2=Crumbling's Circus Caper

| WrittenBy_1=Bob Ogle

| WrittenBy_2=Tom Dagenais

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1982|09|18}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=FF9900

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=2

| EpisodeNumber2=2

| Title_1=The Game Masters

| Title_2=Shirt Napped

| WrittenBy_1=Jim Ryan

| WrittenBy_2=Tom Dagenais

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1982|09|25}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=FF9900

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=3

| EpisodeNumber2=3

| Title_1=The Big Foot Incident

| Title_2=Elephant on the Loose

| WrittenBy_1=Bob Ogle

| WrittenBy_2=Tom Dagenais

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1982|10|02}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=FF9900

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=4

| EpisodeNumber2=4

| Title_1=Horsin' Around

| Title_2=Mission Mutt

| WrittenBy_1=Bob Ogle

| WrittenBy_2=Jim Ryan

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1982|10|09}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=FF9900

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=5

| EpisodeNumber2=5

| Title_1=Vacation for Dinkel

| Title_2=Wingman

| WrittenBy_1=Jim Ryan

| WrittenBy_2=Tedd Anasti

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1982|10|16}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=FF9900

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=6

| EpisodeNumber2=6

| Title_1=The Humboldt Ghost

| Title_2=Figby, the Spoiled Brat Cat

| WrittenBy_1=Bob Ogle

| WrittenBy_2=Hank Saroyan

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1982|10|23}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=FF9900

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=7

| EpisodeNumber2=7

| Title_1=Digger Runs Away

| Title_2=The Commissioner Is Missing

| WrittenBy_1=Tedd Anasti

| WrittenBy_2=Misty Stewart

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1982|10|30}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=FF9900

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=8

| EpisodeNumber2=8

| Title_1=Raiders of the Lost Shark

| Title_2=The Terrible Termites

| WrittenBy_1=Jim Ryan

| WrittenBy_2=Tedd Anasti

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1982|11|06}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=FF9900

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=9

| EpisodeNumber2=9

| Title_1=Moving Time

| Title_2=Back to Nature

| WrittenBy_1=Tom Ruegger

| WrittenBy_2=Gary Stamm

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1982|11|13}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=FF9900

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=10

| EpisodeNumber2=10

| Title_1=Save the Park

| Title_2=Pam-dora's Box

| WrittenBy_1=Tom Dagenais

| WrittenBy_2=William Hasley

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1982|11|20}}

| LineColor=FF9900

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=11

| EpisodeNumber2=11

| Title_1=Hapless Hound

| Title_2=The Very Buried Treasure

| WrittenBy_1=John Graham

| WrittenBy_2=Janis Diamond, Allan Heldfond

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1982|11|27}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=FF9900

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=12

| EpisodeNumber2=12

| Title_1=Nearsighted Bear

| Title_2=The Magical Musical Caper

| WrittenBy_1=Janis Diamond, Allan Heldfond

| WrittenBy_2=Jim Ryan

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1982|12|04}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=FF9900

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=13

| EpisodeNumber2=13

| Title_1=Dinkel's Ark

| Title_2=The Duke of Dinkel

| WrittenBy_1=Tom Dagenais

| WrittenBy_2=Tom Ruegger

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1982|12|11}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=FF9900

}}

=Season 2 (1983)=

{{Episode table |background=#834079 |overall= |season= |title= |writer= |airdate= |episodes=

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=14

| EpisodeNumber2=1

| Title_1=Bogey Goes Ape

| Title_2=The Rain, the Park and the Robot

| WrittenBy_1=Glenn Leopold

| WrittenBy_2=Glenn Leopold, Cliff Roberts

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1983|9|17}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=834079

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=15

| EpisodeNumber2=2

| Title_1=Digger's Three Wishes

| Title_2=Digger's Double

| WrittenBy=Bob Ogle

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1983|9|24}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=834079

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=16

| EpisodeNumber2=3

| Title_1=Kip's Dragon

| Title_2=Double Exposure

| WrittenBy_1=David Detiege

| WrittenBy_2=Jim Ryan

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1983|10|1}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=834079

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=17

| EpisodeNumber2=4

| Title_1=Taj Mahal Tyg

| Title_2=Brass Bogey

| WrittenBy_1=Glenn Leopold, Cliff Roberts

| WrittenBy_2=Bob Ogle

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1983|10|8}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=834079

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=18

| EpisodeNumber2=5

| Title_1=The Outer Space Connection

| Title_2=The Forbidden Island

| WrittenBy_1=Janis Diamond

| WrittenBy_2=John Bates

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1983|10|15}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=834079

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=19

| EpisodeNumber2=6

| Title_1=Saturday Night Shirt Tales

| Title_2=Dinkel's Buddy

| WrittenBy_1=Cynthia Friedlob, John Semper

| WrittenBy_2=Alan Burnett, Jeff Segal

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1983|10|22}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=834079

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=20

| EpisodeNumber2=7

| Title_1=Pleasure Valley

| Title_2=The Ghost Out West

| WrittenBy_1=Dan DiStefano

| WrittenBy_2=David Detiege

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1983|10|29}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=834079

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber2=8

| Title_1=T.J.'s Visit

| Title_2=The Big Set-up

| WrittenBy_1=David Detiege

| WrittenBy_2=Jim Ryan

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1983|11|5}}

| EpisodeNumber=21

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=834079

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=22

| EpisodeNumber2=9

| Title_1=Kip's Toy Caper

| Title_2=Dinkel's Gift

| WrittenBy_1=Cynthia Friedlob, Glenn Leopold, Cliff Roberts, John Semper

| WrittenBy_2=Alan Burnett, Jeff Segal

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1983|11|12}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=834079

}}

{{Episode list

| NumParts=2

| EpisodeNumber=23

| EpisodeNumber2=10

| Title_1=Mayhem on the Orient Express

| Title_2=The Cuckoo Count Caper

| WrittenBy=Cynthia Friedlob, John Semper

| OriginalAirDate={{Start date|1983|11|19}}

| ShortSummary=

| LineColor=834079

}}

Other media

There were also two musical book-and-record sets released by K-tel International under the "Castle Rock" imprint: A Song Saves the Park, and Sunrise Surprise. However, both sets use sound-alikes for the voices, and are presented differently from typical read-alongs.

Home media

In 1986, a VHS release of the series was issued by Worldvision Home Video and Kids Klassics, it contained the first full-length episode from Season 2 and the first segment of another episode from that season.

On September 16, 2014, Warner Archive released Shirt Tales: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1 as part of their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection.{{cite web| url= http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Shirt-Tales-The-Complete-Series/20290| title= The Shirt Tales - 'The Complete Series' of the '80s Cartoon is Now on DVD!| website= tvshowsondvd.com| date= | publisher= | access-date= | archive-date= 2014-09-17| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140917160725/http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Shirt-Tales-The-Complete-Series/20290| url-status= live}}