The Biskitts

The Biskitts is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions from 1983 to 1984 and aired on CBS.[1] The series lasted for only one season; only 13 episodes were produced.[2] Shirt Tales replaced the show in its time slot the following year. The Biskitts returned to that same time slot in March 1985 but only aired reruns in the remainder of that season.[3] Following the series' retirement from CBS, like many other cartoons, it was acquired by the Armed Forces Network and shown throughout much of the 1980s, mainly as entertainment for children of deployed American servicemen in Asia and Europe.

The Biskitts
Title screen
Genre
Directed by
Voices of
ComposerHoyt Curtin
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes13 (26 segments)
Production
Executive producersWilliam Hanna
Joseph Barbera
Producers
EditorGil Iverson
Running time20 minutes (whole)
10 minutes (separate)
Production companyHanna-Barbera Productions
DistributorTaft Broadcasting
Release
Original networkCBS
Original releaseSeptember 17, 1983 (1983-09-17) –
September 8, 1984 (1984-09-08)

Plot

The Biskitts are a group of tiny anthropomorphic dogs who live on Biskitt Island and are committed to guarding the crown jewels of Biskitt Castle.[4] Modeled after Robin Hood, the Biskitts still serve their recently deceased king while performing good deeds for the underprivileged inhabitants of their tiny island.[5] It is explained in the opening narration that due to their good reputation for responsibility and security, other kings have entrusted their treasures to be safeguarded by the Biskitts.

The villain of the series is the king's mean-spirited, wasteful, younger brother King Max who rules the neighboring Lower Suburbia. In lieu of a proper coronation, Max constantly schemes to steal the royal treasure with the help of his hench-hounds Fang and Snarl and his jester Shecky. The Biskitts are also in danger of being captured and eaten by a large wildcat named Scratch.

Characters

Biskitts
  • Waggs (voiced by Darryl Hickman) – The protagonist of the series who leads the Biskitts on every mission and is always there if his friends are in trouble. He is Sweets' boyfriend.
  • Sweets (voiced by Kathleen Helppie) – A kind and gentle Biskitt that is friendly to other animals as well as the Biskitts and very helpful. She is Waggs's girlfriend.
  • Shiner (voiced by Jerry Houser) – Very lazy and selfish and jealous of Waggs' leadership. Sometimes when the Biskitts fall into a trap, Shiner blames Waggs for nothing. He makes Downer do all his work. However, he does have a hidden kindly side.
  • Lady (voiced by B.J. Ward) – The posh Biskitt who likes to stay clean and pretty. Lady also likes decorating the castle.
  • Bump (voiced by Bob Holt) – A strong Biskitt who is a bit dim and clumsy but is also helpful and friendly with Scat. In one episode, Bump found Shecky's jokes funny and became friends with him.
  • Downer (voiced by Henry Gibson) – Downer is an unhappy and cowardly Biskitt, pessimistic that something bad will happen. He is the unlikely friend of Shiner, who makes him do work for him while Shiner lies about.
  • Wiggle (voiced by Jennifer Darling) – Wiggle is another girl Biskitt who helps out with events. She likes Shiner but in one episode she had a crush on Waggs.
  • Spinner (voiced by Bob Holt) – Spinner is the oldest and a wiser Biskitt. He helps the Biskitts when they stumble into something he knows about; in fact Spinner knows a lot about the swamp.
  • Scat (voiced by Dick Beals) – Scat is a young Biskitt. He is industrious and brave, but sometimes his bravery can land him into trouble. Scat is friends with Bump who saves him sometimes from trouble.
  • Mooch (voiced by Marshall Efron) – Mooch is the fat and gluttonous Biskitt who always thinks about food.

Minor Biskitts
  • Rover (voiced by Peter Cullen) – Rover is a pirate-like Biskitt who has been away from Biskitt island for a long time.
  • Flip – A laid-back Biskitt.
  • Fetch (voiced by Kenneth Mars) – A silly-looking Biskitt.
  • Princess Biskitt – The Princess Biskitt gets kidnapped by King Max to capture the Biskitts. The male Biskitts fall into the trap and was about to boiled alive with her. Sweets, Wiggle and Lady thought she was not real at first but found out that she is and saved the male Biskitts and Princess Biskitt from their hot watery doom.

Villains
  • King Max (voiced by Kenneth Mars) – The evil, mean-spirited, and wasteful King who rules the neighboring Lower Suburbia and serves as the antagonist. He is the younger brother of the previous King. Why Max is not crowned as the new ruler of the Biskitts is never explained. He tries hard to go to Biskitts Castle to steal the royal treasure. King Max bosses Shecky around the castle most of the time and threatens the Biskitts to talk sometimes by trying to kill them, using methods that range from an eagle who does not like Biskitts attacking them to boiling them alive. Despite being the King, Max wears tatty, ripped clothes with the toe part of his left shoe missing.
    • Shecky (voiced by Kip King) – Shecky is King Max's sidekick and court jester. However, Shecky is rather dimwitted and not always loyal to Max; he even made friends with Bump who shared his love of practical jokes. He is not just a jester, he also cleans, cooks, and does other jobs for King Max.
    • Fang and Snarl (vocal effects provided by Kenneth Mars and Peter Cullen) – Fang and Snarl are King Max's hounds. They help Max and Shecky in sniffing the Biskitts out.
    • Moat Monster (vocal effects provided by Frank Welker) – A serpentine monster that lives in the moat surrounding King Max's castle.
  • Scratch (voiced by Peter Cullen) – Scratch is a wildcat who is always trying to catch the Biskitts and eat them. He lives in a cave somewhere in the swamp. When the Biskitts are near Scratch's cave, they need to be on the lookout for him. He has a cousin named Itch who caused the Biskitts confusion.

Other characters
  • The Whiskers – A group of cats who only appear in the episode "Raiders of The Lost Bark".
    • Mouser – Leader of the Whiskers. He befriends Sweets and showed her his home.
    • Pendora – A female cat who has a crystal ball to see what's going on (Sweets notes that this is similar to the extensive knowledge in Spinner's book).
    • Boots – A fat lazy cat who always sleeps so he could go to bed at night.
    • Scaredy Cat – A cat who is afraid of everything.
    • Mink – A pretty French-accented cat who has a crush on Scat after he saved her from Scratch. She seems to be a feline version of Lady.
    • Jinks – A cat with constant bad luck.
    • Tiger – A tough cat with an eye patch, he seems to be the Whiskers' equivalent of Bump.
  • Talon the Rat – A large rat who tries to eat the Whiskers, just like how Scratch hunts the Biskitts. When they crossed each other's paths, Talon was scared of Scratch and ran away, causing Scratch to chase him, thus ensuring that both of them weren't seen for a while.
  • Itch (voiced by Frank Welker) - The cousin of Scratch who caused the Biskitts confusion. He only appeared in "Belling the Wild Cat."
  • King Otto – A king who arrived with his army of knights to steal King Max's treasure. He only appeared in "King Max's War".
  • The Witch – She tries to kidnap Sweets and Waggs and feed them to her mirror. But Spinner knows a lot about her and stops just in time, resulting in her castle getting destroyed along with her. She has a pet bat and a pet rat.
  • Pyronce – The Dragon who menaced the Biskitts until he was defeated.

List of episodes
# Title Written by Original air date
1"As the Worm Turns / Trouble in the Tunnel"As the Worm Turns: Len Janson, Chuck Menville, and Gene Ayres
Trouble in the Tunnel: Duane Poole and Tom Swale		September 17, 1983 (1983-09-17)

As the Worm Turns: Sweets befriends a worm.

Trouble in the Tunnel: Shiner gives Scat a job for cleaning treasure and a mole comes on Biskitt Island. The ring gets stuck on the mole's nose, causing Scat to follow the mole. Can Scat save the day and stop King Max?
2"The Moonpond / Fly Me to the Goon"The Moonpond: Michael Reaves
Fly Me to the Goon: David Wise		September 24, 1983 (1983-09-24)

The Moonpond: Shiner want to be brave and legendary like The Moonpond, so he decides to battle Scratch. This results in the Biskitts helping him.

Fly Me to the Goon: Bump lands on King Max's castle. Waggs, Sweets, Scat and Shiner must save him.
3"Spinner's Surprise / Two Leagues Under the Pond"Spinner's Surprise: Michael Reaves and Marc Scott Zicree
Two Leagues Under the Pond: Dan DiStefano		October 1, 1983 (1983-10-01)

Spinner's Surprise: It's Spinner's birthday.

Two Leagues Under the Pond: King Max and Shecky use a submarine in the shape of a crocodile to get King John's treasure on Biskitts Island.
4"Dogfoot / Up to His Old Tricks"Dogfoot: Michael Reaves
Up to His Old Tricks: Tom Swale and Duane Poole		October 8, 1983 (1983-10-08)

Dogfoot: Downer is sick and Biskitts meets Dogfoot.

Up to His Old Tricks: King Max is using the Trick Book and he finally gets treasure. Unfortunately, Sweets and Downer are in the treasure box. So Wags and the other Biskitts must get the treasure back and save Sweets and Downer.
5"Turnaround Hound / A Dark and Stormy Knight"Turnaround Hound: Diane Duane
A Dark and Stormy Knight: Michael Reaves and Marc Scott Zicree		October 15, 1983 (1983-10-15)

Turnaround Hound: Snarl get hurt and Biskitts take care of him. Shiner help him to get better.

A Dark and Stormy Knight: A Black Knight appears and he wants the Biskitts treasure as he kidnaps Scat. Now the Biskitts and King Max have to work together to thwart the Black Knight.
6"Belling the Wild Cat / King Max's War"Belling the Wild Cat & King Max's War
Michael Reaves		October 22, 1983 (1983-10-22)

Belling the Wild Cat: The Biskitts plot to bell Scratch to keep him from sneaking up on them. Meanwhile, Scratch is visited by his cousin Itch.

King Max's War: King Otto and his knights arrive in Biskitt Swamp in order to claim King Max's treasure even though he doesn't have any. To keep their swamp from being burned down, the Biskitts end up arranging a duel between King Max and King Otto while befriending King Otto's daughter.
7"Moving Day / A Biskitt Halloween"Moving Day: Jeff Segal and Alan Burnett
A Biskitt Halloween: Michael Reaves		October 29, 1983 (1983-10-29)

Moving Day: Using the rainy weather to their advantage, King Max and Shecky search for the Biskitts and do a sneak attack on them.

A Biskitt Halloween: On Halloween, a witch that the Biskitts have outsmarted years ago returns to obtain two Biskitts in order to stay in Biskitt Swamp. Her spell ends up draining the life out of the swamp which also turns Scratch, King Max, and Shecky to stone. The witch then kidnaps Waggs and Sweets. Now the other Biskitts must save them before the witch's spell is complete.
8"Around the Swamp in a Daze / Rogue Biskitt"Around the Swamp in a Daze: Marc Scott Zicree and Don Glut
Rogue Biskitt: Michael Reaves and Marc Scott Zicree		November 5, 1983 (1983-11-05)

Around the Swamp in a Daze: King Max and Shecky use a balloon to find the Biskitts' Island.

Rogue Biskitt: A Biskitt named Rover arrives on Biskitt Island. Scat wants to join him on his journey.
9"The Golden Biskitt / The Bone in the Stone"The Golden Biskitt & The Bone in the Stone
Michael Reaves		November 12, 1983 (1983-11-12)

The Golden Biskitt: Lady is turned into gold by a wizard's apprentice.

The Bone in the Stone: When Waggs' leg is hurt, Sweets takes over as leader for the other Biskitts and tries to get the treasure back from the dragon.
10"The Trojan Biskitt / Snatched from Scratch"The Trojan Biskitt: Michael Reaves
Snatched from Scratch: Gene Ayres		November 19, 1983 (1983-11-19)

The Trojan Biskitt: King Max plot to give the Biskitts a statue of the Biskitts so he can get their treasures.

Snatched from Scratch: Shiner gets kidnapped by both Scratch and King Max. Can the Biskitts save their selfish friend?
11"The Biskitt Who Cried Woof / Shecky's Last Laugh"The Biskitt Who Cried Woof: Michael Reaves and Marc Scott Zicree
Shecky's Last Laugh: Michael Reaves		November 26, 1983 (1983-11-26)

The Biskitt Who Cried Woof: Wiggle tries to impress Waggs (who has a crush on him). But when King Max uses an eagle to capture the Biskitts, can Wiggle save them?

Shecky's Last Laugh: Bump befriends Shecky.
12"Raiders of the Lost Bark / The Princess and the Plea"Raiders of the Lost Bark: Michael Reaves
The Princess and the Plea: Dianne Dixon		December 3, 1983 (1983-12-03)

Raiders of the Lost Bark: Sweets meets the Whiskers, a group of cats.

The Princess and the Plea: Princess Biskitt is kidnapped by King Max. Waggs, Bump, Shiner, Scat, Mooch and Downer go out to save her. Sweets, Wiggle and Lady must show the boys that the girls are better.
13"The Swamp Monster / May the Best Biskitt Win"The Swamp Monster: David Gerrold
May the Best Biskitt Win: Cynthia Friedlob and John Semper		December 10, 1983 (1983-12-10)

The Swamp Monster: Scat tries to be brave.

May the Best Biskitt Win: Shiner challenge Waggs with a Vote. Who will win the Vote and who will be the leader for the Biskitts: Waggs or Shiner?

Music

Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 is used in theme and in parts in some of episodes. William Hanna and Joseph Barbera used the tune in their 1946 Academy Award winning Tom and Jerry cartoon The Cat Concerto.

Cast

Children's book

A children's book was created based on The Biskitts. In the book, it is discovered that King Max's jester Shecky bears a striking resemblance to King John, one of the kings who has entrusted his treasure to be safeguarded by the Biskitts. When King Max learns of this, he plots to use it to his advantage telling Shecky that they will attempt to steal King John's treasure by having Shecky impersonate King John to come and withdraw his treasure, and Max will pretend to be his slave. While Max and Shecky fool the Biskitts at first into thinking the real King John has come; Shecky seems to enjoy goofing off more and allowing Max to have to do all sorts of chores, much as King Max made him do plenty of demeaning labor.

White Castle promotion

White Castle Castle Meals featured different Biskitts-related games that could be assembled out of their boxes, such as being tossed into King Max's mouth.

Home media

An episode of the show, as part of the DVD collection, Saturday Mornings Cartoons: 1980s, was released on May 4, 2010.

On February 20, 2018, Warner Archive released The Biskitts – The Complete Series on DVD in region 1 as part of their Hanna-Barbera Classics Collection.[6]

References
  1. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 83–84. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  2. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 144–145. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  3. TV Guide Guide to TV. Barnes and Noble. 2004. pp. 73. ISBN 978-0-7607-5634-8.
  4. Rovin, Jeff (1991). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals. Prentice Hall Press. pp. 29–30. ISBN 0-13-275561-0. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  5. Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 61. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
  6. "The Biskitts - HB's Classic 1983 Cartoon Comes 'Complete' to DVD Next Month!". Archived from the original on 2018-01-23.
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