Wonder Wheels

{{Short description|Television series}}

{{other uses|Wonder Wheel (disambiguation)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}

{{Infobox television

| image = WonderWheelsCountyFairTitleLogo.jpg

| genre = Superhero

| runtime = 5 minutes

| director = Charles A. Nichols
Chris Cuddington

| producer = Terry Morse Jr.

| executive_producer = William Hanna
Joseph Barbera

| theme_music_composer = Hoyt Curtin

| company = Hanna-Barbera Productions

| voices = Micky Dolenz
Don Messick
Susan Davis

| country = United States

| language = English

| network = CBS

| first_aired = {{start date|1977|9|10}}

| last_aired = {{end date|1978|1|21}}

| num_series = 1

| num_episodes = 16

| related = The Skatebirds

}}

Wonder Wheels is a Saturday morning animated series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that originally aired as a 5-minute segment on The Skatebirds from September 10, 1977, to January 21, 1978, on CBS.{{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=748–750}}

In the fall of 1979, Wonder Wheels continued to air on The Skatebirds when the show returned to CBS in a shortened half-hour version on Sunday mornings until January 25, 1981. In the late 1980s, it resurfaced in a different syndicated half-hour version of The Skatebirds on USA Cartoon Express and later on Cartoon Network, Boomerang and as an interstitial segment between shows.

Plot

A 17-year-old high school journalist named Willie Wheeler (voiced by Micky Dolenz of The Monkees) and his girlfriend Dooley Lawrence (voiced by Susan Davis) solve crimes with the help of his superhero motorcycle Wonder Wheels (vocal effects provided by Don Messick).{{cite book |last1=Sennett |first1=Ted |title=The Art of Hanna-Barbera: Fifty Years of Creativity |date=1989 |publisher=Studio |isbn=978-0670829781 |url=https://archive.org/details/artofhannabarber00teds/page/176/mode/2up |accessdate=2 June 2020 |page=176}} Whenever Willie goes into action, he utters his catchphrase: "This looks like a job for Won-won-won-won-won-won-won-won-won-won-won-won-wonder Wheels!" and at the press of a button, Willie's beat-up motorcycle transforms into a flashy version with a mind of its own.

Episodes

class=wikitable style="background:#FFFFFF"
style="color:#FFFFFF"

! style="background:#000070; width:20px"| Nº

! style="background:#000070"| Title

! style="background:#000070; width:130px"| Airdate

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 1

| Title = Wonder Wheels in The County Fair

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|9|10}}

| ShortSummary = Willie and Dooley witness two crooks stealing money from the county fair during a motocross race.

| LineColor = 000070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 2

| Title = Wonder Wheels and The Rustlers

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|9|17}}

| ShortSummary = A rancher reports 10,000 cattle were stolen; Willie and Dooley discover the cattle are being stolen by men in helicopters.

| LineColor = 000070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 3

| Title = Wonder Wheels and The Skyscraper

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|9|24}}

| ShortSummary = Wonder Wheels pursues two escaped convicts who have taken refuge in a skyscraper under construction.

| LineColor = 000070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 4

| Title = Wonder Wheels and The Gold Train Robbery

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|10|1}}

| ShortSummary = A train carrying a million dollars in gold is robbed by two crooks and Wonder Wheels is hot on their trail.

| LineColor = 000070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 5

| Title = Wonder Wheels and The Snowmen

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|10|8}}

| ShortSummary = A valuable crown for the Snow Queen Contest at a ski resort is stolen by crooks who try to escape in a snowmobile.

| LineColor = 000070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 6

| Title = Wonder Wheels and The Vanishing Prince

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|10|15}}

| ShortSummary = Prince Raji is kidnapped by criminals on a boat; Wonder Wheels saves the day and the Prince awards him with a medal.

| LineColor = 000070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 7

| Title = Wonder Wheels and The Ghost Town

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|10|22}}

| ShortSummary = Willie and Dooley visit a ghost town for a newspaper story and meet the old Pecos Kid ghost who tries to scare them away.

| LineColor = 000070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 8

| Title = Wonder Wheels and His Double Trouble

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|10|29}}

| ShortSummary = At a pie baking contest, Willie and Dooley witness a fake Wonder Wheels robbing a bank and a jewelry store.

| LineColor = 000070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 9

| Title = Wonder Wheels and The U.F.O.

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|11|5}}

| ShortSummary = Two aliens (Starnak and Orbito) pursue Willie in a plan to capture him as a typical human specimen for their investigation.

| LineColor = 000070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 10

| Title = Wonder Wheels and The Hermits' Horde

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|11|12}}

| ShortSummary = Wonder Wheels pursues the hermit of Haunted Mountain who has committed a bank robbery.

| LineColor = 000070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 11

| Title = Wonder Wheels and The Air Race

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|11|19}}

| ShortSummary = A plane loses a wheel during take-off at the Pleasantville to Harristown Air Race and it's up to Wonder Wheels to save the day.

| LineColor = 000070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 12

| Title = Wonder Wheels and The Animals

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|11|26}}

| ShortSummary = Willie and Wonder Wheels investigate a nearby zoo where a gorilla and other animals are escaping.

| LineColor = 000070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 13

| Title = Wonder Wheels and The Idol's Eye

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|12|3}}

| ShortSummary = A couple of crooks use a mummy disguise to scare off an archaeologist so they can steal the Emerald Eye.

| LineColor = 000070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 14

| Title = Wonder Wheels and The Race Horse

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|12|10}}

| ShortSummary = Wonder Wheels pursues a thief who has stolen Gray Ghost, the fastest race horse in the world.

| LineColor = 000070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 15

| Title = Wonder Wheels and The Studio Steal

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|12|17}}

| ShortSummary = While visiting a movie studio, two suspicious characters steal an armored car with Willie and Wonder Wheels in hot pursuit.

| LineColor = 000070

}}

{{Episode list

| EpisodeNumber = 16

| Title = Wonder Wheels and The Golden Globe

| OriginalAirDate = {{Start date|1977|12|24}}

| ShortSummary = Wonder Wheels chases two thieves who have stolen a million dollar solid gold model of the Solar System.

| LineColor = 000070

}}

Voices

References

{{Reflist}}