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Speed Buggy is a Saturday morning cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and broadcast on CBS from September 8, 1973 to August 30, 1975. Sixteen 30-minute installments of Speed Buggy were produced in 1973. The show was so successful that it aired on all three major networks.

It aired first run on CBS until 1975. Reruns aired on ABC in January 1976 replacing Uncle Croc's Block, then on NBC, replacing the canceled McDuff, The Talking Dog, from November 27, 1976 until September 3, 1977 (thus completing the cycle of being on all three networks).

The series was then picked up by the USA Network for their "Cartoon Express" shows from 1982 to about 1990. The series would next appear on Cartoon Network in 1992. As of 2012, Speed Buggy is in the library of Boomerang (Time Warner's archive cartoon channel) but does not air on a regular basis. When it does air, it is typically as part of the channel's block of mystery-solving cartoons, "Those Meddling Kids!" or pops up in the two-hour tribute block of "Boomeroyalty".

Overview[]

Although closely patterned after the meddling kids characters of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, some Speed Buggy episodes were actually reworkings of Josie and the Pussycats storylines, including "Out of Sight" ("X Marks the Spot") and "Island of the Giant Plants" ("A Greenthumb is not a Goldfinger"). "Hidden Valley" was similar to the Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space episode "Warrior Women of Amazonia".

This series followed the adventures of an anthropomorphic, fiberglass Dune Buggy, Speed Buggy, his driver Tinker, and Tinker's friends Mark and Debbie. The three young adults and their car traveled from race to race, often encountering spy capers and mysteries along the way. Speed Buggy's trademark quotes were always "Roger-Dodger!" and "Vroom-a-zoom-zoom!"

Though Speed Buggy—nicknamed Speedy by his friends—had a mind of his own, much like Disney's Herbie the Love Bug, he was vulnerable to commands given through a communicator/remote control device made by Tinker when he first built Speed Buggy. Speedy's friends rarely used the device to control his actions, using it mainly for its communication function, but criminals and other ne'er-do-wells would sometimes steal or duplicate the device and manipulate Speedy for their own purposes.

Unlike most cartoon series' produced by Hanna-Barbera in the 1970s, Speed Buggy did not contain a laugh track.

Cast[]

  • Michael Bell - Mark
  • Mel Blanc - Speed Buggy
  • Arlene Golonka - Debbie
  • Phil Luther, Jr. - Tinker

Episodes[]

  1. "Speed Buggy Went That-A-Way"
  2. "Speed Buggy's Daring Escapade"
  3. "Taggert's Trophy"
  4. "Speed Buggy Falls in Love"
  5. "Kingzilla"
  6. "Professor Snow and Madame Ice"
  7. "Out of Sight"
  8. "Gold Fever"
  9. "Island of the Giant Plants"
  10. "Soundmaster"
  11. "The Ringmaster"
  12. "The Incredible Changing Man"
  13. "Secret Safari"
  14. "Oil's Well That Ends Well"
  15. "The Hidden Valley of Amazonia"
  16. "Captain Schemo and the Underwater City"

Other Appearances[]

  • Speed Buggy and the gang guest starred in a October 13, 1973 episode of The New Scooby-Doo Movies, "The Weird Winds of Winona"; it was the only time that Mark, a Native American, was shown in a darker skin color.
  • In 1975, Charlton Comics published a 9-issue series Speed Buggy comic book.
  • In 1977, Speed Buggy and Tinker also competed in the "Laff-A-Lympics" as part of "The Scooby Doobies" team (where Tinker was voiced by Frank Welker) on Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics.
  • Speed Buggy appeared in a joke flashback in Stroker and Hoop, in which they think back to when they had caught a criminal named Beeffinger.
  • Speed Buggy appeared at the end of an Johnny Bravo episode, "Bravo Dooby Doo" voiced by Frank Welker. He finds Johnny Bravo tied to a tree near the road and asks Johnny to hop in.
  • Speed Buggy made a guest appearance in an episode of My Life as a Teenage Robot, in the episode Jenny accidentally knocks Sheldon into the street, at that point Speed Buggy who is coming down the road sees him and he makes a turn, but ends up crashing into a fire hydrant.
  • A statue of Speed Buggy is seen in a race car stadium in an episode of Invader Zim.
  • Speed Buggy also features in the Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law episode "High Speed Buggy Chase" with Speed Buggy voiced by Maurice LaMarche, Tinker voiced by Chris Edgerly, and Debbie voiced by Nika Futterman. Speed Buggy was arrested for speeding and Harvey Birdman had to represent him.
  • Speed Buggy makes a cameo as one of the combatants of the good imaginary characters in the South Park episode "ImaginationLand Part III using a mounted buzz saw as a weapon.
  • Speed Buggy appears in the Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated episode "Mystery Solvers Club State Finals" voiced by Frank Welker. He and his team appear alongside several other Hanna-Barbera mystery teams in a fever dream of Scooby-Doo's where all of the teen sleuths are kidnapped by Lord Infernacus, leaving Scooby-Doo Speed Buggy, Jabberjaw, Captain Caveman, and The Funky Phantom to solve the mystery.
  • Speed Buggy also appears in the basement of the mansion in the video game Scooby-Doo! Classic Creep Capers on the Game Boy Color.
  • Speed Buggy is mentioned in the Futurama episode "Law and Oracle" (series 6 episode 17) where Fry becomes a police officer and aspires to become a real investigator like Sherlock Holmes or Speed Buggy.
  • In the film Scooby-Doo! Mask of the Blue Falcon, there is someone that cosplays as Tinker with an attachable Speed Buggy piece in the Hanna-Barbera convention.

Home Release[]

Speed Buggy DVD

On January 11, 2011, Warner Archive released Speed Buggy: The Complete Series on DVD as part of their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com.







Hanna-Barbera Series

1970 Where's Huddles?Harlem GlobetrottersJosie and the Pussycats
1971 The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm ShowHelp!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!The Funky Phantom
1972 The Amazing Chan and the Chan ClanWait Till Your Father Gets HomeThe Flintstone Comedy HourThe Roman HolidaysSealab 2020The New Scooby-Doo Movies
Josie and the Pussycats in Outer Space
1973 Speed BuggyButch Cassidy and the Sundance KidsYogi's GangSuper Friends
Goober and the Ghost ChasersInch High, Private EyeJeannieThe Addams Family
1974 Hong Kong PhooeyDevlinPartridge Family 2200 A.D.These Are the Days
Valley of the DinosaursWheelie and the Chopper Bunch
1975 The Tom & Jerry ShowThe Great Grape Ape Show
1976 The Mumbly Cartoon ShowThe Scooby-Doo ShowDynomutt, Dog WonderClue ClubJabberjaw
1977 The Robonic StoogesFred Flintstone and FriendsCaptain Caveman and the Teen AngelsLaff-A-LympicsCB BearsThe Skatebirds
1978 The All-New Popeye HourYogi's Space RaceGodzillaJana of the Jungle
1979 The New Fred and Barney ShowFred and Barney Meet The ThingCasper and the AngelsThe New ShmooThe Super GlobetrottersScooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo
Fred and Barney Meet the ShmooAmigo and Friends

1980 Drak PackThe Flintstone Comedy ShowThe Fonz and the Happy Days Gang
The Richie Rich/Scooby-Doo Show
1981 Laverne & Shirley in the ArmySpace StarsTeen ForceThe Kwicky Koala ShowTrollkinsThe Smurfs
1982 The Flintstone FunniesMork and Mindy: The Animated SeriesThe Little RascalsPac-ManJokebookShirt TalesThe Gary Coleman Show
1983 The DukesMonchhichisThe New Scooby and Scrappy Doo ShowThe Biskitts
Lucky Luke
1984 SnorksChallenge of the GoBots
1985 Paw PawsYogi's Treasure HuntGaltar and the Golden LanceThe Berenstain Bears
The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-DooThe Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible
1986 The New Adventures of Jonny QuestPound PuppiesThe Flintstone KidsFoofurWildfire
1987 Sky CommandersPopeye and Son
1988 A Pup Named Scooby-DooThe Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley
The New Yogi Bear ShowFantastic Max
1989 The Further Adventures of SuperTedPaddington Bear

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