The Super Globetrotters

infobox television
show_name = The Super Globetrotters


caption = "The Super Globetrotters" (l to r; Multi Man, Sphere Man, Gizmo Man, Spaghetti Man, and Liquid Man)
rating =
format = Animated
runtime = approx. 30 mins (per episode)
creator = William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
starring = Scatman Crothers (Liquid Man) , Stu Gilliam (Sphere Man), Buster Jones (Spaghetti Man), Adam Wade (Gizmo Man), Johnny Williams (Multi Man), Michael Rye (Announcer), Nancy Wible (Granny)
country = USA
network = NBC
first_aired = September 22, 1979
last_aired = December 15, 1979
num_episodes = 13
imdb_id = 0194625
tv_com_id = 3745|

"The Super Globetrotters" was an American Saturday morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions for NBC in 1979. It premiered on September 22, 1979, and ran for 13 episodes.

It is a spin-off series from Hanna-Barbera's "Harlem Globetrotters"; this show featured the basketball team Harlem Globetrotters as undercover superheroes, who would transform from their regular forms by entering magic portable lockers carried in Globetrotter. Each member of the group had individual super powers and overall, all members of the group could fly.

The Globetrotters received their missions from a basketball-styled talking satellite called the Crimeglobe (voice by Frank Welker). Most episodes culminate in the Super Globetrotters challenging the villain and his henchmen to a basketball game for whatever treasure or device they sought, the civilian Globetrotters being trounced by the villains' super-powers in the first half, and then using their own super-powers (often at the admonition of the Crimeglobe) to save the day in the second half. Meadowlark Lemon, J.C. "Gip" Gipson, Bobby Joe Mason and Pablo Robertson are not in the group (all of which having left the team by this point); Hubert "Geese" Ausbie and Freddie "Curly" Neal are the only remaining members from the 1970 team/cast in the show, with new crew members: Nate Branch, James "Twiggy" Sanders and Louis "Sweet Lou" Dunbar.

Characters

The Super Globetrotters

* Nate Branch as Liquid Man (voiced by Scatman Crothers). Turned himself into water. Also called Fluid Man and even Aquaman.
* Freddie "Curly" Neal as Sphere Man (voiced by Stu Gilliam) - would retract his limbs into his head to bounce, smash, even grow. Naturally, his head looked like a basketball.
* James "Twiggy" Sanders as Spaghetti Man (voiced by Buster Jones) - can use his body like a ladder or a rope.
* Louis "Sweet Lou" Dunbar as Gizmo Man (voiced by Adam Wade) - Lou's giant afro holds an unlimited supply of gadgets.
* Hubert "Geese" Ausbie as Multi Man (voiced by Johnny Williams) - cloning powers.

The Villains

* Museum Man - a disgruntled history museum janitor who can bring fossils and statues to life.
* Bwana Bob - A hunter who captures and hunts the Globetrotters.
* The Facelift
* Whaleman
* Robo and the Globots - A mad scientist who creates evil robot copies of the Globetrotters.
* Tattoo Man - an alien who can animate the tattoos on his body (similar to an enemy of Green Lantern).
* Movie Man
* The Phantom Cowboy
* The Time Lord - Has a special crystal that can alter time, including summoning anyone out of history to do his bidding.
* Count Bragula and his Transylvania Terrors
* Bullmoose - an extremely bizarre villain who wore fake antlers and was assisted by a gang of livestock-themed henchmen (Ham, Wool Woman, Ponytail, etc.). Had a raygun that turned things to gold.
* Merlo the Magician - not so much a villain, but a wizard who would not help just anyone. He made the Globetrotters play a game against his knights on horseback to earn his trust. After the Globetrotters won, Merlo placed on a spell on the Globetrotters to enable them to return home.
* Attila the Hun

Episode Listing

Production Credits

*Executive Producers: Joseph Barbera and William Hanna
*Producers: Art Scott and Alex Lovy
*Directors: Ray Patterson, Carl Urbano, Oscar Dufau, George Gordon
*Story Supervisor: Jim Ryan
*Story Editor: Andy Heyward
*Story: Tom Dagenais, Rowby Goren, Andy Heyward, Robert M. London, Larry Parr
*Story Direction: Howard Swift
*Recording Director: Art Scott
*Voices: Marlene Aragon, Joe Baker, Michael Bell, Scatman Crothers, Chris Elie, Stu Gilliam, Buster Jones, Jackie Joseph, Margaret McIntyre, Don Messick, Michael Rye, John Stephenson, Herb Vigran, Adam Wade, Janet Waldo, Lennie Weinrib, Frank Welker, Nancy Wible, John Williams, Helen Wilson, Paul Winchell
*Graphics: Iraj Paran, Tom Wogatzke
*Title Design: Don Sheppard
*Musical Director: Hoyt Curtin
*Musical Supervisor: Paul DeKorte
*Creative Producer: Iwao Takamoto
*Design Supervisor: Bob Singer
*Character Design: Curtis Cim, Jim Franzen, Ron Maidenberg, Fred Lucky
*Layout Supervision: Bill Hutten, Tony Love, Maurice Pooley
*Layout: Robert Alvarez, Tom Bailey, David Elvin, Les Gibbard, Manuel Gonzalez, Rafael Hernandez, Francisca Moreno, Enrique Perez, David Thwaytes
*Animation Supervision: Bill Hutten, Tony Love
*Animation: Robert Alvarez, Alberto Conejo, Julio Diez, Manuel G. Galiano, Angel Izquierdo, Roberto Marcano, Ezequiel Martin, Pedro Mohedano, Mariano Rueda
*Animation Coordination: Carlos Alfonso, Juan Pina
*Background Supervisor: Al Gmuer
*Backgrounds: Lorraine Andrina, Fernando Arce, Greg Battes, Dario Campanile, Gil DiCicco, Dennis Durrell, Martin Forte, Fla Ferreira, Bob Gentle, Bonnie Goodknight, Al Gmuer, Ann Guenther, Tom Hames, James Hegedus, Eric Heschong, Jim Hickey, Michael Humphries, Bill Proctor, Vivien Rhyan, Jeff Richards, Jeff Riche, Andy Phillipson, Cal Titus, Dennis Venizelos
*Checking and Scene Planning: Cindy Smith
*Xerography: Star Wirth
*Ink and Paint Supervision: Alison Victory
*Sound Direction: Richard Olson, Bill Getty
*Camera: Jerry Mills, Ross Avery, Bob Berry, Allen Childs, Marc Debbaudt, Candy Edwards, Curt Hall, Mike Kane, Neil Viker, Roy Wade, Brandy Whittington, Jerry Whittington
*Supervising Film Editor: Larry C. Cowan
*Dubbing Supervisor: Pat Foley
*Music Editor: Mark Green
*Effects Editor: Joe Reitano
*Show Editor: Gil Iverson
*Negative Consultant: William E. DeBoer
*Production Manager: Jayne Barbera
*Post Production Supervisor: Joed Eaton
*A Hanna-Barbera Production:© 1979 Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc.

Notes

* Three of the team's super-heroic identities and powers were taken from the characters of the 1966 Hanna-Barbera cartoon "The Impossibles". Liquid Man was based on Fluid Man, even retaining the letter "F" insignia of Fluid Man's costume instead of a letter "L"; Spaghetti Man was based on Coil Man; and Multi Man's name was the same in both series. The transformation sequences and many of the Super Globetrotters' moves were also the same as their Impossibles counterparts.

External links

*imdb title|0194625
* [http://www.bcdb.com/cartoons/Hanna-Barbera_Studios/S/The_Super_Globetrotters/index.html "The Super Globetrotters" episode guide] at the Big Cartoon DataBase
* [http://www.toonopedia.com/sglobtro.htm The Super Globetrotters at Don Markstein's Toonopedia]