Baggy Pants and the Nitwits
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{Infobox television
| image =
| caption =
| genre = Cartoon series
| creator = Arte Johnson
| director = Brad Case
Gerry Chiniquy
Sid Marcus
Robert McKimson
Spencer Peel
| developer =
| presenter =
| starring =
| voices = Ruth Buzzi
Arte Johnson
| narrated =
| theme_music_composer =
| opentheme =
| endtheme =
| composer = Steve DePatie
Doug Goodwin
| country = United States
| language = English
| num_seasons = 1
| num_episodes = 13
| list_episodes =
| executive_producer =
| producer = David H. DePatie
Friz Freleng
| editor = Rick Steward
| location =
| camera =
| runtime = 30 minutes
| company = DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
| network = NBC
| first_aired = {{Start date|1977|09|10}}
| last_aired = {{End date|1977|12|03}}
| related =
}}
Baggy Pants and the Nitwits is a 1977 American animated series produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises and broadcast 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=58}}
Overview
Though the characters appeared together in the show's introduction, they each appeared separately in their own episodes. Each 30-minute episode of Baggy Pants and the Nitwits contained two segments: one for Baggy Pants and the other for the Nitwits.{{cite book |last1=Woolery |first1=George W. |title=Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981 |date=1983 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=0-8108-1557-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/childrenstelevis0000wool/page/28/mode/2up |accessdate=14 March 2020 |pages=29–30}}
Baggy Pants is an anthropomorphic cat mimicking Charlie Chaplin's "Little Tramp" character, right down to Chaplin's signature toothbrush mustache and walking cane. Similar to Chaplin and the Pink Panther, Baggy Pants performed all of his misadventures silently, without a spoken dialogue by any of the characters in his segments.{{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 |page=108}}
The Nitwits is about an elderly superhero named Tyrone (voiced by Arte Johnson) who, by public demand, re-emerged from retirement to again fight crime, taking cases at his own discretion with help from his wife Gladys (Ruth Buzzi) and his hopping cane which he called "Elmo" which, among other things, helped Tyrone and Gladys to fly.
Johnson and Buzzi adapted and reprised the roles they had originated in Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, with much of the adult innuendo (including Tyrone's original last name Horneigh) being removed to keep the cartoon family-friendly. In the opening titles of The Nitwits segment, Johnson himself was credited with having "created The Nitwits for television".
The series ran for 13 episodes; as of 2019, it has yet to be released on home video.
Episodes
{{No plot|section|date=May 2022}}
{{Episode table |background=#FFC0CB |overall=6 |title=30 |airdate=20 |episodes=
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 1
| Title = Construction Caper"
"Earthquake McBash
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|09|10}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = FFC0CB
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 2
| Title = Lost Dog"
"The Dynamic Energy Robber
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|09|17}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = FFC0CB
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 3
| Title = Baggy Pants and Forgetful Freddy"
"Splish Splash
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|09|24}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = FFC0CB
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 4
| Title = The Moving Man"
"The Hopeless Diamond Caper
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|10|01}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = FFC0CB
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 5
| Title = Circus Circus"
"The Evil Father Nature
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|10|08}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = FFC0CB
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 6
| Title = The Painter's Helper"
"Mercury Mike and His Jet Bike
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|10|15}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = FFC0CB
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 7
| Title = Electric Girlfriend"
"Rustle Hustle
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|10|22}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = FFC0CB
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 8
| Title = A Pressing Job"
"False Face Filbert
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|10|29}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = FFC0CB
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 9
| Title = A Haunting Experience"
"Genie Meanie
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|11|05}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = FFC0CB
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 10
| Title = Horse Laff"
"Chicken Lady
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|11|12}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = FFC0CB
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 11
| Title = The Magician's Assistant"
"Simple Simon and the Mad Pieman
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|11|19}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = FFC0CB
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 12
| Title = The Frog"
"The Hole Thing!
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|11|26}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = FFC0CB
}}
{{Episode list
| EpisodeNumber = 13
| Title = Beach Fun"
"Ratman!
| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|12|03}}
| ShortSummary =
| LineColor = FFC0CB
}}
}}
Cast
- Ruth Buzzi - Gladys
- Arte Johnson - Tyrone
References
External links
- {{IMDb title|0075480}}
- [http://www.saturdaymorning.pop-cult.com/baggy-pants.html Baggy Pants and the Nitwits] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110307030950/http://www.saturdaymorning.pop-cult.com/baggy-pants.html |date=2011-03-07 }} at SaturdayMorning.Pop-Cult.com
- [http://www.toonarific.com/show.php?show_id=363 Baggy Pants and the Nitwits] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203051800/http://www.toonarific.com/show.php?show_id=363 |date=2010-12-03 }} at Toonarific.com
{{DePatie-Freleng Enterprises}}
{{Children's programming on NBC in the 1970s}}
Category:1977 American animated television series debuts
Category:1977 American television series endings
Category:1970s American animated comedy television series
Category:1970s American children's comedy television series
Category:American children's animated action television series
Category:American children's animated adventure television series
Category:American children's animated comedy television series
Category:American children's animated superhero television series
Category:Animated television series about cats
Category:American English-language television shows
Category:Television series by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises
Category:NBC animated television series
Category:Cultural depictions of Charlie Chaplin
Category:Children's television series about talking animals
{{animation-tv-prog-stub}}