The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!

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The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! was the first Mario television cartoon to be produced by DiC Entertainment, and the only one to be produced directly for syndication.

Each episode began with a live-action segment starring Mario (portrayed by WWF star Captain Lou Albano) and Luigi (Danny Wells) living in Brooklyn, where they would often be visited by a celebrity guest star at Mario Brothers Plumbing; a basement workshop which doubled as their home.

File:SMBSSIntro.jpg
Mario and Luigi, getting sucked down the warp drain in Brooklyn.

The live-action segment would be followed by a cartoon based on the Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2 video games, where Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach (although she used the name Princess Toadstool, or usually just "The Princess"), and Toad would battle against Bowser (although he used the name King Koopa, or usually just Koopa) throughout the many lands of Mushroom World, often in a movie or historical parody. Mouser, Tryclyde and a single, unnamed Koopa Troopa often worked closely with King Koopa, serving as his henchmen. Getting into the spirit of these parodies, King Koopa usually had a different outfit for each one, and would take on a different alias to along with it. For example, in a riverboat-themed episode, King Koopa was "Captain Koopa", while in one of the western-themed episodes, he went by "Billy the Koopa". In many episodes, King Koopa's minions would dress up in outfits as well, to go along with Koopa's themed costumes.

Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool, and Toad
Toad, Mario, Luigi and Princess Toadstool.
Koopa Pack
King Koopa and his Koopa Pack (Tryclyde, Koopa Troopa and Mouser).

Wart, the main antagonist of the second game, was never in any of the episodes, yet most of his minions managed to appear as members of the Koopa Pack. Like most 1980s cartoons, King Koopa would prolong the series' run by escaping from his adversaries (which he did through the use of Magic Potion), despite the fact that they could easily catch him.

The basis of the storyline (introduced at the beginning of every animated episode) was that Mario and Luigi were working on a bathtub drain which unknowingly was a warp zone to the Mushroom Kingdom, and Mario and Luigi had literally gone down the drain and ended up in the Mushroom Kingdom, by sheer coincidence causing problems for King Koopa and rescuing Toad and Princess Toadstool. Now that they were rescued, the focus for the Mario Brothers was to return to Brooklyn, while stopping King Koopa's tyranny whenever they could. Lou Albano and Danny Wells also voiced Mario and Luigi for the animated segment. It was never revealed if their live action sequences were a prequel to the animated series; or if they successfully returned to Brooklyn and resumed their duties in the plumbing business.

Mario (Lou Albano) and Luigi (Danny Wells)
The live-action segment.

Following the cartoon was the third portion of the episode, which continued the story that the live-action segment set up in the beginning. Towards the end, the second live-action segment was interrupted with scenes from that week's upcoming episode of The Legend of Zelda.

The Super Mario Bros. cartoon was shown on Mondays through Thursdays only. On Fridays, the show would air The Legend of Zelda cartoons based on the game of the same name, in which Link and Princess Zelda fought against the forces of Ganon. The Zelda episodes were also accompanied by live-action segments, sans the Zelda preview.

In 1990 the show changed its name to Club Mario, replacing the live-action Mario segment with two completely different characters known as Tommy Treehugger and Co-M.C., with occasional appearances by Tammy Treehugger (Tommy's twin sister) and Evil Eric (Co-M.C.'s evil twin brother).

This show lasted from 1989 to 1990, and was available to watch from Yahooligans! TV starting in March, 2004, with a new episode usually uploaded every week. However, on December 24, 2005 it was taken down along with all DiC Entertainment cartoons.

Broadcast History:

  • Pax Network
  • The Children's Channel (UK)
  • ITV (United Kingdom)


Cast

Regulars

Guest Stars

Episodes

Note: The first titles are the cartoon segments. The second titles are the live-action segments.

Super Mario Bros. Episodes

  1. The Bird! The Bird! / Neatness Counts
  2. King Mario of Cramalot / Day of the Orphan
  3. Butch Mario & the Luigi Kid / All Steamed Up
  4. Mario's Magic Carpet / Marianne and Luigeena
  5. Rolling Down the River / The Mario Monster Mash
  6. The Great Gladiator Gig / Bonkers from Yonkers
  7. Mario and the Beanstalk / Bats in the Basement
  8. Love 'Em and Leave 'Em / Will the Real Elvis Please Shut Up!
  9. The Great BMX Race / Mama Mia Mario
  10. Stars in Their Eyes / Alligator Dundee
  11. Jungle Fever / Dance
  12. Brooklyn Bound / Cher's Poochie
  13. Toad Warriors / E.C. The Extra Creepy
  14. The Fire of Hercufleas / The Marios Fight Back
  15. Count Koopula / Magician
  16. Pirates of Koopa / Do You Believe in Magic?
  17. Two Plumbers and a Baby / Lost Dog
  18. The Adventures of Sherlock Mario / Plumbers of the Year
  19. Do You Princess Toadstool Take This Koopa...? / Mario Hillbillies
  20. The Pied Koopa / Super Plant
  21. Koopenstein / Baby Mario Love
  22. On Her Majesty's Sewer Service / 9001: A Mario Odyssey
  23. Mario and Joliet / Fake Bro
  24. Too Hot to Handle / Time Out Luigi
  25. Hooded Robin and His Mario Men / Flower Power
  26. 20,000 Koopas Under the Sea / Vampire Until Ready
  27. Mighty McMario and the Pot of Gold / Heart Throb
  28. Mario Meets Koop-zilla / Fortune Teller
  29. Koopa Klaus / Little Marios
  30. Mario and the Red Baron Koopa / Gorilla My Dreams
  31. The Unzappables / George Washington Slept Here
  32. Bad Rap / Caught in a Draft
  33. The Mark of Zero / Toupee
  34. The Ten Koopmandments / The Artist
  35. The Koopas Are Coming! The Koopas Are Coming! / Zenned Out Mario
  36. The Trojan Koopa / Texas Tea
  37. Quest for Pizza / The Painting
  38. The Great Gold Coin Rush / Game Show Host
  39. Elvin Lives / Home Radio
  40. Plumbers Academy / Glasnuts
  41. Karate Koopa / Adee Don't
  42. Mario of the Apes / Chippie Chipmunks
  43. Princess, I Shrunk the Mario Brothers / A Basement Divided
  44. Little Red Riding Princess / No Way to Treat a Queenie
  45. The Provolone Ranger / Goodbye Mr. Fish
  46. Escape from Koopatraz / French
  47. Mario of the Deep / Two Bums from Brooklyn
  48. Flatbush Koopa / Opera
  49. Raiders of the Lost Mushroom / Cyrano de Mario
  50. Crocodile Mario / Rowdy Roddy's Rotten Pipes
  51. Star Koopa / Santa Claus Is Coming to Flatbush
  52. Robo Koopa / Captain Lou Is Missing

The Legend of Zelda Episodes

  1. The Ringer / Slime Busters
  2. Cold Spells / Magic's Magic
  3. The White Knight / Wild Thing
  4. Kiss 'N Tell / Mommies Curse
  5. Sing for the Unicorn / Fred Van Winkle
  6. That Sinking Feeling / Tutti Frutti, Oh Mario
  7. Doppelganger / The Magic Love
  8. Underworld Connections / Defective Gadgetry
  9. Stinging a Stinger / The Great Hereafter
  10. A Hitch in the Works / Treasure of the Sierra Brooklyn
  11. Fairies in the Spring / Pizza Crush
  12. The Missing Link / Tutti Frutti Mario
  13. The Moblins are Revolting / The Ghoul of My Dreams

Lyrics

Plumber Rap Part 1

Hey paisanos! It's the Super Mario Brothers Super Show!
 We're the Mario Brothers, and plumbing's our game
 We're not like the others who get all the fame
 If your sink is in trouble, you can call us on the double
 We're faster than the others, you'll be hooked on the Brothers Unh!
 H-hooked on the Brothers
 Gimme gimme, gimme gimme
 Yo, you're in for a treat, so hang on to your seat
 Get ready for adventure and remarkable feats
 You'll meet Koopas, the Troopas, the Princess, and the others
 Hangin' with the plumbers, you'll be hooked on the brothers, to the brink!
 Unh! Unh!
 I say a h-h-h-h-hooked on the brothers!
 The brothers!
 The brothers!

Plumber Rap Part 2

Yo, yo!
 It's the Mario Brothers and plumbin's their game
 Found the secret warp zone while working on the drain
 Lend the princess a hand in the Mushroom Land.
 Comin' atcha with the plumbers, you'll be hooked on the brothers!

Nooooooooow, Evil Koopa and his Troopas are up to misbehavin'
 They kidnapped the princess; Mushroom Land needs savin'
 Abusin' and confusin' everybody he discovers
 They can't help but be hooked on the brothers! Unh!

Do the Mario

Main article: Do the Mario

DVDs

  • 3 one-disk sets by Sterling Productions.
  • 1 one-disk set by Maximum Entertainment (U.K. only).
  • 1 one-disk set by Trimark.
  • 2 four-disk box-sets by Shout! Factory (released 2006).

Artistic licences

  • King Koopa's appearance (crown, green skin) may very well be an amalgamation of Bowser and Wart, even though he was clearly intended to represent Bowser. This was likely done because the producers didn't want the show to have two main antagonists that were both evil kings. It should also be noted that Koopa’s in-game sprites from the original Super Mario Bros. did not have hair.
  • In several episodes, Birdos were shown to fly, a trait not seen in any Mario game.
  • Rather than becoming Fire Mario, Mario (or Luigi) would become "Super Mario" upon touching either a Fire Flower, Starman, or some other source of excessive power. As Super Mario, Mario could hurl fireballs, had super-strength, and on a few rare occasions, could even fly. Although Mario could lose his powers by taking a hit, it was also possible for them to wear off after a while.
  • Luigi was given green eyes, despite the fact that game artwork and future appearances have always shown them to be blue. However, on the cover of the Volume 1 DVD set, Luigi's eyes are blue.
  • Princess Toadstool may have been modeled after her in-game sprites from Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2, possibly explaining why she has red hair instead of blonde.
  • In the first three episodes, Toad's color scheme was inverted. He sported a red cap with white spots, a white vest and red pants. This was fixed from the fourth episode onwards, although it was reused for Toad's "Super Toad" form in a later episode.
  • Trouters were portrayed as being far more vicious than they were in Super Mario Bros. 2, and would pursue anybody who came near them as if they were piranhas. Also, their appearance more closely resembles that of Cheep-Cheeps than the Trouters seen in the game.
  • Piranha Plants may have been amalgamated with Pansers (who never appeared), as they had the ability to spit fireballs. They later appeared in games as Venus Fire Traps, Piranha Plants that could spit fireballs. These first appeared in Super Mario Bros. 3.

Trivia

  • In another Mario related television series, King Koopa's Kool Kartoons, framed portraits of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! versions of Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Toadstool can be seen in various episodes of the show.
  • When shown in reruns after cancellation, DiC took out all the song covers played during the chase scenes, and replaced them with instrumentals of songs featured in The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3.
  • The show was sponsored by Domino's Pizza and Reebok.
  • From 1989 to 1991, Kid Klassics released NTSC VHS videos of the show. These videos contained two, one, or no live-action segments, and featured the cartoon segments as they originally aired (meaning they included the chase songs that were edited out in later airings). On these videos, the "Super Mario Bros." theme wasn't included before the cartoon segment.
  • There was a View-master three-reel set based on the show (but labeled as "Super Mario Bros. 2"). The A reel showed various scenes from the live-action segments, while the B and C reels were an adaptation of the episode "The Bird! The Bird!" Oddly, although the picture descriptions say "King Koopa", the villain featured in reels B and C is clearly Wart.
  • Luigi's personality of being scared and cautious was first used in The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! Later, this personality appeared in video games most notably in the Mario & Luigi Series.
  • Aside from Wart, other enemies from Super Mario Bros. 1 & 2 that didn't appear on the show include Buzzy Beetle (although one episode had the Brothers chased by "Beetles", who were more like actual beetles than Buzzy, and had hair in Beatle style), Bill Blaster (though Bullet Bills do appear), Cheep-Cheep, Podoboo and Panser.
  • Episode 13 ("Toad Warriors/E.C. The Extra Creepy) marked a change in the commercial break intro/outtro segments that remained for the rest of the regular live action segments.

Gallery

  • A trio of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! VHS tapes.
    A trio of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! VHS tapes.
  • Volume 1 DVD boxset, released March 28, 2006
    Volume 1 DVD boxset, released March 28, 2006
  • Vol. 2 DVD boxset, released October 31, 2006
    Vol. 2 DVD boxset, released October 31, 2006
  • Mario's Greatest Movie Moments DVD
    Mario's Greatest Movie Moments DVD
  • Mario Mania! DVD
    Mario Mania! DVD
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