Widget (TV series)
| Widget | |
|---|---|
 Widget | |
| Genre | Animated comedy |
| Created by | Peter Keefe[1] |
| Directed by | Tom Burton |
| Presented by |
Calico Creations Zodiac Entertainment |
| Voices of |
Russi Taylor Jim Cummings Kath Soucie Dana Hill |
| Theme music composer | Dale Schacker |
| Country of origin | United States, South Korea |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 65 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Peter Keefe |
| Producer(s) | Tom Burton |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Syndication, USA Network |
| Picture format | Color |
| First shown in | 1990 |
| Original release | 29 September 1990 – 19 December 1992 |
Widget also known as Widget, the World Watcher is an animated television series which debuted in syndication on September 29, 1990. The series ran for three seasons; in the first season (1990), it aired once a week (usually on Saturday or Sunday), and in the second season (1991), the series expanded to 5 days a week (Monday-Friday). The show featured environmentalist themes and was recognized by the National Education Association as recommended viewing for children.[2]
Overview
The show focused on a 4-foot-tall (1.2 m), purple extraterrestrial from a planet within the Horsehead Nebula named Widget who could shapeshift (usually by spinning like a top into different forms, in early episodes he seems to still be getting used to his power). He and a group of young, human friends; brothers, Kevin, Brian and their teenage sister Kristine, would go through a number of adventures to protect the natural environment from those who wish to plunder or harm it. Later on they were joined by (fellow shapeshifter) Half-Pint, Widget's mischievous, overly-curious, hyperactive cousin. Widget is frequently accompanied by the Mega Brain, an extremely intelligent but somewhat clumsy being who appears as a floating head (with a transparent cranium) and floating hands.
The show was produced by Calico Creations to teach children about the dangers of pollution. Each episode would have Widget contending with a villain from either Earth or outer space wishing to exploit Earth's environment or natural resources, like Dr. Dante, Mega Slank, and his evil twin, Ratchet. In this respect, Widget, the World Watcher is very similar to Captain Planet and the Planeteers and Toxic Crusaders, as all those heroes attempt to save the Earth from ecological disaster. Even occasionally, combatting an entity/being created/mutated from copious pollution. For example, in one episode Widget battled a fellow shapeshifter; a sentient but hostile life form, disguised as a toxic ooze/slick, who was contaminating Earth's beaches and oceans.
The TV series ran for 65 episodes, 13 in the first season, 40 in the second season, and 12 in the third season.
It also aired on TVO in Canada, ITV and later Channel 4 in the UK and the ABC in Australia (6 July 1992 - 1 December 1995).
Characters
- Widget (voiced by Russi Taylor): The courageous and heroic shapeshifting coral alien and main character.
- Mega Brain (played by Jim Cummings): Mega Brain is a floating creature with a pink head and only hands. He is Widget's assistant.
- Half-Pint: Widget's mischievous, overly-curious, hyperactive cousin, fellow shapeshifter and is the sky-blue alien.
- Kevin (voiced by Dana Hill): Brian's older brother and friend of Widget.
- Brian (voiced by Kath Soucie): A boy who is a friend of Widget.
- Kristine (voiced by Kath Soucie): Brian and Kevin's big sister.
- Ratchet (voiced by Tress MacNeille): Widget's evil twin, he's exit by the little clock.
- Dr. Dante (voiced by Jim Cummings): The natural (from earth) villain, a confidence trickster scientist.
- Mega Slank (voiced by Pat Fraley): The other natural (from outer space) villain (who seems to have a grudge against Widget's kind).
Episodes
Season 1 (1990)
| # | Title | Air Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Widget's Great Whale Adventure" | 29 September 1990 |
| Widget reluctantly travels to Earth and he saves a whale caught by some poachers. | ||
| 2 | "Gorilla My Dreams" | 6 October 1990 |
| TBA | ||
| 3 | "Kona, the Captive Whale" | 13 October 1990 |
| TBA | ||
| 4 | "Widget of the Jungle" | 20 October 1990 |
| Widget travels to the jungles of Africa where evil poachers, Bob and Betty try to capture an elephant for his tusks. | ||
| 5 | "Widget's Walkabout" | 27 October 1990 |
| Widget travels to Australia to ensure its red kangaroos enjoy their new habitat. | ||
| 6 | "Amazon Adventure" | 3 November 1990 |
| TBA | ||
| 7 | "Mediterranean Adventure" | 10 November 1990 |
| TBA | ||
| 8 | "Slime Sleuths" | 17 November 1990 |
| Dr. Dante presumably has invented a machine to solve the issue of toxic waste disposal. Widget wonders about that when problems arise when the barrels containing the waste are reused. | ||
| 9 | "Rock 'n' Roll Widget" | 24 November 1990 |
| TBA | ||
| 10 | "Teacher's Pets" | 1 December 1990 |
| Widget gets to be the children's substitute teacher of biology and zoology after their regular teacher keeps having car trouble. | ||
| 11 | "The Carnival Kids" | 8 December 1990 |
| TBA | ||
| 12 | "Mega-Slank from Titanium" | 15 December 1990 |
| TBA | ||
| 13 | "That's the Spirit" | 22 December 1990 |
| TBA | ||
Season 2 (1991)
| # | Title | Air Date |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | "Two Times Widget Equals Trouble" | 30 September 1991 |
| 15 | "You Talkin' to Me?" | 1 October 1991 |
| 16 | "Sort It Out" | 2 October 1991 |
| 17 | "Watcher's Warning" | 3 October 1991 |
| Widget, Megabrain, Kevin and Brian travel to Planet Scraboolie which is completely polluted and used to be beautiful and Widget wants to ensure the same thing does not happen to Earth. | ||
| 18 | "The Great Brain Robbery" | 4 October 1991 |
| Widget's evil twin brother Ratchet captures MegaBrain and turns him into an evil brain. | ||
| 19 | "The Greatest Show in the Galaxy" | 7 October 1991 |
| 20 | "Bonkrz" | 8 October 1991 |
| 21 | "Glacier Grabber" | 9 October 1991 |
| 22 | "Where's the Beef?" | 10 October 1991 |
| 23 | "Micronauts" | 11 October 1991 |
| 24 | "Watcher from Wayback" | 28 October 1991 |
| Widget travels to Tibet and unexpectedly meets an old World Watcher. | ||
| 25 | "Betty and the Beasts" | 29 October 1991 |
| 26 | "Maller Crawlers" | 30 October 1991 |
| 27 | "Never Cry Wolf" | 31 October 1991 |
| 28 | "All Day Suckers" | 1 November 1991 |
| 29 | "Fifty Foot Ants" | 4 November 1991 |
| 30 | "Half-Pint" | 5 November 1991 |
| 31 | "Air For Sale" | 6 November 1991 |
| 32 | "Intergalactic Garage Sale" | 7 November 1991 |
| Evil Mega Slank steals many of Earth's most magnificent landmarks for his Intergalactic Garage Sale. | ||
| 33 | "The Great Brain Drain" | 8 November 1991 |
| 34 | "Dr. Mega-Slank's Pet Palace" | 11 November 1991 |
| 35 | "Murtle & Zurtle" | 12 November 1991 |
| 36 | "Ratchet Hood" | 13 November 1991 |
| Ratchet and his minions steal money intended for the Help the Earth foundation and Ratchet keeps the money to himself. | ||
| 37 | "Crazy 8" | 14 November 1991 |
| 38 | "Half-Pint's Ransom" | 15 November 1991 |
| 39 | "Whatsit to You?" | 2 December 1991 |
| 40 | "Widget and the Sqizzlebonk" | 3 December 1991 |
| 41 | "Chaos in Kali-Ko" | 4 December 1991 |
| 42 | "Head Games" | 5 December 1991 |
| 43 | "Mac Bluff" | 6 December 1991 |
| 44 | "Great Barrier Thief" | 9 December 1991 |
| 45 | "The Brain Who Would Be King" | 10 December 1991 |
| 46 | "The Uncontrollable Urg" | 11 December 1991 |
| 47 | "Intergalactic Grudge Match" | 12 December 1991 |
| Ratchet has started an intergalactic grudge match and has pitted Widget against a giant orange alien. | ||
| 48 | "Teeny, Weeny, Widget" | 13 December 1991 |
| 49 | "Scraboolee Jubilee" | 16 December 1991 |
| 50 | "Culture Crooks" | 17 December 1991 |
| Ratchet and his troops have stolen an ancient artifact from the museum and it's up to Widget, Megabrain and Half Pint to get it back. | ||
| 51 | "The Library Card" | 18 December 1991 |
| 52 | "Bonkula" | 19 December 1991 |
| 53 | "Ratchetland" | 20 December 1991 |
| Ratchet has stolen everybody's garbage bins and waste to make his own amusement park in the waste dump. | ||
Season 3 (1992)
| # | Title | Air Date |
|---|---|---|
| 54 | "Rose Colored Glasses" | 3 October 1992 |
| Widget, Megabrain and Half Pint travel to a faraway planet to discover a pair of rose-pink goggles that make the wearer see bad things. | ||
| 55 | "Crashing Planets" | 10 October 1992 |
| 56 | "Robo-Zonk" | 17 October 1992 |
| 57 | "Ghost of a Chance" | 24 October 1992 |
| 58 | "Rock Around the Cosmos" | 31 October 1992 |
| 59 | "The Wishing Stone" | 7 November 1992 |
| 60 | "Time Trippers" | 14 November 1992 |
| Widget and Megabrain travel through time after seeing a news report on how Ratchet made his mutants. | ||
| 61 | "Bungle of the Jungle" | 21 November 1992 |
| 62 | "Visit to a Machine Planet" | 28 November 1992 |
| 63 | "Awesome African Adventure" | 5 November 1992 |
| 64 | "Beast Side Story" | 12 December 1992 |
| 65 | "Mother Slank's Intergalactic Vacation Paradise" | 19 December 1992 |
Principal cast
- Jim Cummings - Mega Brain, Dr. Dante, Elder #1
- Dana Hill - Kevin
- Kath Soucie - Brian, Kristine
- Russi Taylor - Widget
Additional voices
- Cam Clarke
- Townsend Coleman
- Peter Cullen - Bob the Poacher, Rooney Kangaroo, Gdunu
- Brian Cummings
- Pat Fraley - Mega Slank
- Tress MacNeille - Ratchet, Elder #2
- Cree Summer
Production and distribution
Widget was produced by Zodiac Entertainment, a Studio City, California-based firm backed by British media company Central Independent Television. Zodiac President Kevin Morrison stated that in 1990, Widget was being broadcast on 80% of independent U. S. television stations and that in 1991, the show started being shown five times a week.[2]
Video games
The series spawned two video games. Widget was released by Atlus on the NES in 1992 and Super Widget also by Atlus on the SNES in 1993.
References
- ↑ Barnes, Mike. "'Voltron' producer Peter Keefe dies", The Hollywood Reporter, May 28, 2010. Accessed August 26, 2010.
- 1 2 Heller, Matthew. "Animation Company No Longer in 'Toons It will continue as a distributor". Los Angeles Times.