Underdog Boxed Set (1964-1973)
Film:
DVD:

Created by W.W. Biggers, Joe Harris & Chet Stover
Starring the voices of Wally Cox, Norma MacMillan, Allen Swift, Kenny Delmar, Ben Stone

Features:

• Eight episodes from the series, digitally remastered
  
• Screen savers
  
• Audio clips
  
• Episode previews for additional episodes
  
• Eighteen bonus shorts starring the back up characters, such as Tennessee Tuxedo and Go-Go Gophers
  
• Interview with co-creator Harris, who narrates a never-before seen storyboard
  
• Trivia game
  
• Archival show introductions
  
• Original introductions to the back up characters
  
• Four bonus Underdog shorts including the original pilot
  

Released by Classic Media/Sony Wonder
Rating: NR
Region: 1
Anamorphic: N/A; content appears in its original 1.33:1 format.

My Advice: Own it if you're a fan.

Shoeshine Boy (boiced by Cox) is a mild-mannered...well, shoeshine boy, who has a powerful secret. When the love of his life, Polly Purebred (MacMillan), is in danger, he transforms into the powerhouse canine superhero, Underdog. Rhyming his head off, he may stumble a bit, but eventually he'll overcome and save the day.

This box set contains three separate volumes of Underdog--and contains eight complete episodes, uninterrupted by the normal shorts that would break them up originally (although some of those are included as bonus features). It's a pretty good example of the stories involved, taking our hero up against some of his archfoes like Simon Barsinister and Riff Raff, amongst others. The show is a perfect one for little kids.

And therein lies the problem: when you're a kid--Underdog is very cool. He flies around, saving the day and his girlfriend, and all is well. But unlike some cartoons, it doesn't translate well once you reach adulthood--nor was it supposed to, I believe. Some shows are just like that--check out my recent review of Bullwinkle for an example. This one isn't. The repetitive storylines, the way Underdog speaks incessantly in rhyme--like I said, it's great for kids, but unless you're a tremendous fan in adulthood, it probably won't work for you.

Now, for anyone who is a fan or has kids, then the set is nicely stacked, so you have plenty to entertain you. The high point of the set is the interview with co-creator Harris, who talks about the influence of Underdog and how the character came about. Going from that, he performs for you the storyboard he created for two young friends of his when business called him away from a get-together they were going to have on the beach one day--and the story is probably the best Underdog tale I've ever heard. Brought to life with some video effects--how cool is it that this untold Underdog story is not only captured on DVD but read for you by one of the creators? Sweet.

Among the other bonus bits, you've got the aforementioned backup stories that used to split up the serial tales of Underdog--eighteen of them in all. You also get the pilot episode for the series, which is nice to have for posterity. What's also nice is that the shorts presented here have all been digitally remastered and look extremely clean. As long as you're going to have these things for archival purposes, you might as well spruce them up, right?

Like I said, I'm not the biggest fan of Underdog, but perhaps that's just my loss. If you're a fan, though, then this is a nice set. It's not a complete season one by any stretch of the imagination, but it will do to tide you over until such a thing becomes available.