THE
BUGS BUNNY SHOW /
THE
BUGS BUNNY/ROAD RUNNER HOUR /
THE
BUGS BUNNY/ROAD RUNNER SHOW /
THE
BUGS BUNNY/SPEEDY GONZAES/PORKY PIG SHOW /
THE
BUGS BUNNY/LOONEY TUNES COMEDY HOUR /
THE
BUGS BUNNY & TWEETY SHOW
(ABC, CBS, October 11, 1960-September 2, 2000)
Warner Bros. Animation
MAIN CAST:
Mel Blanc
– Bugs Bunny, Daffy
Duck, Rocky, Mugsy,
Yosemite Sam,
Tweety
Bird, Sylvester Cat, Pepe Le Pew,
Porky
Pig, Charlie Dog, George
P. Dog, Foghorn Leghorn,
Henry Hawk, Sylvester Jr.,
Elmer Fudd, Mama Bear,
Miss Prissy, Speedy
Gonzales, Jose, Manuel,
Mac, Tosh,
Tasmanian Devil,
announcer
Tom Holland
– Slowpoke
Rodriguez (season 2)
In the earliest days of television,
movie studios sought to make use of the large library of shorts they had
already created for the theaters by packaging them for broadcast on the
networks. Not only would this provide a second return on their initial
investment, but it also meant that studios could avoid the costs of producing
anything new. Warner
Bros. made their entry into the television animation market with
1960’s The Bugs Bunny Show.
 |
| Bugs and friends ready to broadcast on television. |
The Bugs Bunny Show made its debut on
October 11, 1960 on ABC.
It was a prime-time half-hour anthology series that aired on Tuesdays. Each
episode was comprised of three Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical shorts from 1948-on
(everything before then was sold to Associated
Artists Productions). As the name implied, “hosting” the show was
Bugs Bunny (Mel Blanc) in a series of all-new linking segments that ran with
each episode.
 |
| The Goofy Gophers politely insisting the other host first. |
The premise of the segments was that Bugs
and his friends were putting on a variety show before a live audience. Bugs
would typically serve as emcee, but other characters could have their turn as
well. These segments were written, produced, directed, and storyboarded by Chuck Jones
and Friz
Freleng, with Robert McKimson later
taking over directorial duties. Because of the pedigree of the creators
involved, the new segments often matched the quality of the shorts they
accompanied. These segments were rendered in color like the shorts, despite the
initial broadcasts of the show being in black and white (color television
didn’t become the standard until the mid-1960s).
 |
| Bugs plugging his sponsor. |
For the second season, the bridging
sequences were made more elaborate. Each one directly correlated to the shorts
shown in a particular episode, and sometimes was used to expand upon their
plots or connect them into one long story. These new episodes were also given
their own distinctive titles. A total of 52 episodes were made between both
seasons, keeping the Warner Bros.
animation studio open in spite of the decreased demand for
theatrical shorts.
 |
| Production art of Daffy fleeing from Taz. |
Mack
David and Jerry Livingston wrote
and composed the series’ opening theme, “This Is It.” The intro featured Bugs
and Daffy Duck (also Blanc) singing the song on stage in a duet before being
joined by a chorus of other Looney Tunes characters: Tweety Bird, Speedy
Gonzales, Hippety Hopper,
Yosemite Sam, Sylvester Cat, Elmer Fudd, Pepe Le Pew, Wile E. Coyote and
Foghorn Leghorn. Immediately following the intro, the sponsor of that
particular episode would get a mention from the cast. The end sequence showed
the curtain dropping on the stage and the copyright information of the aired
cartoons highlighted within a spotlight beam. The final episode of the original
run aired on August 7, 1962, and the studio closed the following year.
 |
| CBS Saturday morning ad featuring The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show. |
When ABC acquired The Road Runner Show in 1971, The Bugs Bunny Show returned to its
original half-hour format on September 6 featuring additional edits to the
bridging sequences and a new selection of shorts. The Bugs Bunny Show returned to ABC on September 8, 1973 for two
seasons until moving back to CBS for an all-new The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour on September 6, 1975. When
Sylvester and Tweety were given their own show in 1976, their shorts were
removed from the Hour rotation. Hour also received a spin-off, The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show, which
aired Tuesday nights from April through June.
On November 19, 1977, CBS added
another half-hour, renaming it The Bugs
Bunny/Road Runner Show. It was joined by two companion programs: The Bugs Bunny/Speedy Gonzales/Porky Pig
Show and The Sylvester & Tweety,
Daffy and Speedy Show. Following Sylvester
& Tweety’s cancellation in 1983, those shorts were incorporated into Bugs Bunny/Road Runner. As a result, it
was expanded it by an additional half-hour that aired as two separate hour-long
programs. That same year, the show was reduced back to 90-minutes, given a new
opening sequence, and its bridging sequences were dropped entirely. In 1984, a
new intro was created utilizing clips from the various cartoons in order to
accompany the new theme song, “It’s Cartoon Gold”,
written by John Klawitter and
composed by Steve
Zuckerman.
CBS gave up the broadcast rights to
the Warner Bros. cartoons in 1985, resulting in the show returning to ABC as The Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes Comedy Hour. For
the first season, cartoons featuring Tweety weren’t shown. Neither were
cartoons featuring Speedy; likely due to complaints of racial stereotyping. The
following season, the show was cut to a half-hour with Tweety shorts added back
into the mix, and it was renamed The Bugs
Bunny & Tweety Show on September 13, 1986. In the third season, the show was restored to an hour and “This Is
It” was reinstated as the opening theme with a newly animated intro reminiscent
of the original Bugs Bunny Show.
Another new intro sequence would follow in 1992.
The
Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show remained on ABC until the end of the century.
It was one of the few non “educational and informative” cartoons to survive the
new FCC
regulations for children’s programming. It was also the last non-Disney program to
remain on the network following Disney’s purchase of it in 1996 as their
contract to run it had not yet expired. It was integrated into Disney’s
One Saturday Morning programming
block when it debuted in 1997; however, the “Disney” name was omitted from
commercial bumpers aired during the show. In 1999, the show was once again
reduced to a half-hour for the final time before it was cancelled due to the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies libraries being made exclusive to Cartoon Network.
The last episode aired on September 2, 2000.
With 40 years on the air, The Bugs Bunny Show in all its formats is credited with keeping the Golden Age
Warner Bros. cartoons in the American consciousness and inspiring legions of
creative people who grew up watching them. The title sequences and some of the
linking segments were included as bonus features on the first five volumes of
the Looney
Tunes Golden Collection. Because of the damage to the negatives
caused by CBS and ABC’s edits for later broadcasts, a combination of color
footage from what’s left of the negatives and the black and white broadcast
prints from the 1960s were used for their presentation. Golden Collection: Volume 2 also features the opening to The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show and the
1988 and 1992 intros of The Bugs Bunny
& Tweety Show. An episode of The
Bugs Bunny Show was included on the 2009 DVD compilation set Saturday
Morning Cartoons: 1960s Volume 2 and an episode of The Bugs
Bunny/Road Runner Show was included on the follow-up set, 1970s
Volume 2.
EPISODE GUIDE (“rev”
dates are when re-edited versions of an episode aired):
Season 1:
#1
(10/11/60) – Bugs introduces all of his co-stars, excluding Daffy despite his
best efforts.
Shorts: “Rabbit
Every Monday”, “A Mouse Divided”, “Tree For
Two”
#2
(10/18/60, rev 11/27/71) – When Rocky and Mugsy watch the show, they realize
they can get rich from sponsors by going into the television business.
Shorts: “Putty
Tat Trouble”, “Wise Quackers”, “Speedy
Gonzales”
Shorts (’71): “Transylvania
6-5000”, “Each Dawn I Crow”, “One Froggy Evening”
#3
(10/25/60, rev 11/20/71) – Pepe Le Pew hosts the show from his apartment in
Paris, showcasing all the romance-filled parts of the city.
Shorts: “Wild
Over You”, “Go Fly a Kit”, “Mouse
Warming”
Shorts (’71): “Scent-imental
Romeo”, “The Cat’s Bah”, “Frigid Hare”
#4
(11/1/60) – Bugs’ attempt to host the show keeps being interrupted by Wile E.’s
attempts to nab the Road Runner.
Shorts: “To Itch
His Own”, “Gee Whiz-z-z-z!”, “Whoa
Be-Gone!”
#5
(11/8/60, rev 1/1/72) – Daffy tries different outfits in order to be able to
host the show, but Bugs informs him none are appropriate for the upcoming
cartoons.
Shorts: “Canary
Row”, “Knights Must Fall”,
“For
Scent-imental Reasons”
Shorts (’71): “Double
or Mutton”, “Knighty Knight Bugs”, “For Scent-imental Reasons”
#6
(11/15/60, rev 1/22/72) – Bugs and Daffy’s musical interlude disturbs neighbor
Yosemite Sam’s slumber, prompting him to charge into the studio and destroy
their instruments.
Shorts: “Long-Haired
Hare”, “Sandy Claws”, “Mouse
Wreckers”
Shorts (’71): “14
Carrot Rabbit”, “Long-Haired Hare”, “Claws for Alarm”
#7
(11/22/60, rev 9/25/71) – Daffy disguises himself as Bugs in order to host the
show, but unfortunately that happens to be the night a sheepdog decides to
visit and catch the bunny-rabbit.
Shorts: “Bully
for Bugs”, “Tweety’s
S.O.S.”, “One Froggy Evening”
Shorts (’71): “Barbary
Coast Bunny”, “Hen House Henery”, “Canned Feud”
#8
(11/29/60) – In Daffy’s latest attempt to host, he kicks all the others off the
stage.
Shorts: “My Bunny
Lies Over the Sea”, “Scaredy Cat”, “Scent-imental
Romeo”
#9
(12/6/60) – When it’s Tweety’s turn to host, Bugs hangs his cage high above the
stage to keep him safe from Sylvester.
Shorts: “Bunker
Hill Bunny”, “Each Dawn I
Crow”, “Golden Yeggs”
#10
(12/13/60) – Yosemite Sam attends the show in order to get Bugs.
Shorts: “Which is
Witch?”, “Mouse Mazurka”, “Kit for
Cat”
#11
(12/20/60, rev 9/11/71) – It’s Porky’s turn to host, but he keeps being
interrupted by Charlie Dog who wants a new master.
Shorts: “Two’s a
Crowd”, “All Abir-r-rd”, “The
Hasty Hare”
Shorts (’71): “Terrier
Stricken”, “Dog Gone South”, “Devil May Hare”
#12
(12/27/60, rev 12/25/71) – Foghorn Leghorn thinks he’ll be a better host than
George P. Dog, once he deals with Henry Hawk’s pestering hunt for chicken.
Shorts: “What’s
Up, Doc?”, “Early to Bet”, “Pop ‘im
Pop!”
Shorts (’71): “To
Hare is Human”, “Cheese Chasers”, “What’s Up, Doc?”
#13
(1/3/61) – Sylvester’s hosting duties are interrupted by his and his son’s
quest to capture the giant “mouse”, Hippety Hopper.
Shorts: “A-Lad-in
His Lamp”, “Dog Gone South”, “A
Fractured Leghorn”
#14
(1/10/61, rev 12/4/71) – Elmer Fudd decides to use his hosting duties as an
opportunity to show off his singing voice, but the notes run away from his
sheet music.
Shorts: “Ant Pasted”,
“The
Fair-Haired Hare”, “I Gopher You”
Shorts (’71): “The
Rabbit of Seville”, “Ant Pasted”, “I Gopher You”
#15
(1/17/61) – Bugs finally gives Daffy some recognition by hosting an all-Daffy
tribute episode.
Shorts: “Rocket
Squad”, “Daffy Dilly”, “Drip-Along
Daffy”
#16
(1/24/61, rev 2/12/72) – Foghorn Leghorn introduces old-time actress Miss
Prissy and proceeds to reenact some of her more famous roles while she
introduces the cartoons via crystal ball.
Shorts: “The
Leghorn Blows at Midnight”, “His Bitter Half”, “Hot
Cross Bunny”
Shorts (’71): “A
Fractured Leghorn”, “High Note”, “Hot Cross Bunny”
#17
(1/31/61, rev 1/29/72) – Daffy plays the part of an unseen animator who messes
with Foghorn Leghorn when he tries to host.
Shorts: “Lovelorn
Leghorn”, “Who’s Kitten Who?”,
“The
Windblown Hare”
Shorts (’71): “Sahara
Hare”, “The Turn-Tale Wolf”, “The Foghorn Leghorn”
#18
(2/7/61) – Mexicali cats Jose and Manuel host the show only to be heckled into
a chase by Speedy Gonzales.
Shorts: “High
Diving Hare”, “Don’t Give Up the Sheep”,
“Stooge
for a Mouse”
#19
(2/14/61, rev 10/2/71) – Bugs demonstrates how to draw a cartoon character by
using Daffy as an example.
Shorts: “Mutiny
on the Bunny”, “Punch Trunk”, “Fast and
Furry-ous”
Shorts (’71): “Hare
We Go”, “A Waggily Tale”, “Just Plane Beep”
#20
(2/21/61) – When Elmer Fudd sees Bugs receives top billing for the night’s
opera performances, he decides to let his shotgun explain his displeasure at
that.
Shorts: “The
Rabbit of Seville”, “The Scarlet Pumpernickel”,
“Stop,
Look, and Hasten”
#21
(2/28/61) – Mac and Tosh, the Goofy Gophers, serve as the host for the night’s
festivities.
Shorts: “Hillbilly
Hare”, “Hippety
Hopper”, “You Were Never Duckier”
#22
(3/7/61) – Sylvester regales his son with fairy tales, Looney Tunes style.
Shorts: “The
Turn-Tale Wolf”, “Paying the Piper”,
“Beanstalk
Bunny”
#23
(3/14/61, rev 11/6/71) – The Goofy Gophers host again and spend their time
politely arguing over who should introduce the next cartoon, prompting Bugs to
step in and get the show rolling.
Shorts: “Big
House Bunny”, “Canned Feud”, “Home
Tweet Home”
Shorts (’71): “Bully
For Bugs”, “Two’s a Crowd”, “Big House Bunny”
#24
(3/21/61, rev. 10/23/71) – When Pepe Le Pew is selected as host over Yosemite
Sam, Sam tries to get rid of Pepe in any way possible.
Shorts: “Mississippi
Hare”, “Terrier
Stricken”, “Cheese Chasers”
Shorts (’71): “No
Parking Hare”, “Mississippi Hare”, “Little Beau Pepe”
#25
(3/28/61) – Daffy misses his chance to host as Taz hungrily pursues him
backstage.
Shorts: “Hen
House Henery”, “Curtain Razor”, “Devil
May Hare”
#26
(4/4/61) – Rocky and Mugsy hijack the show and Rocky serves as the host.
Shorts: “Hare We Go”, “The
Foghorn Leghorn”, “Little Red Rodent Hood”
Season 2:
“Bad-Time
Story” (10/10/61, rev 2/19/72) – Bugs selects a book for “Reading Out Loud
Night” and walks into a series of fairy tale-inspired shorts.
Shorts: “Bewitched Bunny”, “Robin Hood Daffy”, “Tweety and the Beanstalk”
Shorts (’71): “Bewitched
Bunny”, “Robin Hood Daffy”, “Tweety and the Beanstalk”
“Satan’s
Waitin’” (10/17/61, rev 12/18/71) – When Yosemite Sam is sent to Hell, Satan
gives him a second chance provided Sam wrangles Bugs for him.
Shorts: “Hare Trimmed”, “Roman Legion-hare”, “Sahara Hare”
Shorts (’71): “Hare
Trimmed”, “Roman Legion-hare”, “The Fair-Haired Hare”
“Daffy
Doodling” (10/24/61) – Daffy manages to outwit Bugs in order to host the
night’s show.
Shorts: “Hoppy Go Lucky”, “Lumber Jerks”, “Weasel While You Work”
“Omni-Puss”
(10/31/61, rev 10/9/71) – Bugs gives a lecture about different types of cats.
Shorts: “Mouse-taken Identity”, “Kiss Me Cat”, “Heaven Scent”
Shorts (’71): “Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare”, “Who’s
Kitten Who?”, “Heaven Scent”
“Tired
and Feathered” (11/7/61, rev. 10/16/71) – Bugs gives a lecture about different
types of birds.
Shorts: “Snow Business”, “Two Crows from Tacos”, “Ready,
Set, Zoom!”
Shorts (’71): “Mad as a Mars Hare”, “Tweety’s
S.O.S.”, “Chaser on the
Rocks”
“Man’s
Best Friend” (11/14/61, rev 9/18/71) – Bugs gives a lecture about dogs, after
dealing with some issues with his projectionist.
Shorts: “Sheep Ahoy”, “Chow
Hound”, “Pappy’s
Puppy”
Shorts (’71): “The
Windblown Hare”, “Don’t Give Up the Sheep”, “Stooge for a Mouse”
“Ball
Point Puns” (11/21/61) – Red and black dancing pens perform a figure skating
routine on a piece of paper supplied by Bugs.
Shorts: “Duck! Rabbit! Duck!”, “Claws for Alarm”, “Cranked Quack”
“The
Unfinished Symphony” (11/28/61) – An annoying fly continually interrupts the
show.
Shorts: “Pizzicato Pussycat”, “Baton Bunny”, “The Three Little Bops”
“Prison
to Prison” (12/5/61, rev 12/11/71) – Bugs pulls out his best Alfred Hitchcock
impression to talk about crime.
Shorts: “Deduce You Say”, “The Hole Idea”, “Bugsy and Mugsy”
Shorts (’71): “My
Bunny Lies Over the Sea”, “The Hole Idea”, “Bugsy and Mugsy”
“Go,
Man, Go” (12/12/61, rev 3/4/72) – Bugs delivers a lecture about humankind.
Shorts: “There Auto Be a Law”, “Wild Wife”, “No Parking Hare”
Shorts (’71): “Mutiny
on the Bunny”, “There Auto be a Law”, “Bear Feet”
“I’m
Just Wild About Hare” (12/19/61, rev 1/15/72) – When Bugs oversleeps it’s up to
the show’s announcer to introduce that night’s cartoons.
Shorts: “Stork Naked”, “Going! Going! Gosh!”, “Touche and Go”
Shorts (’71): “Knights
Must Fall”, “Kit For Cat”, “The Leghorn Blows at Midnight”
“Stage
Couch” (12/26/91) – His inability to capture Tweety has Sylvester on the verge
of a mental breakdown and in need of therapy.
Shorts: “Gift Wrapped”, “Tweety’s Circus”, “A Street Cat Named Sylvester”
“Do
or Diet” (1/16/62, rev 2/5/72) – Bugs hosts with Taz and tries to talk him into
adopting a carrot diet.
Shorts: “Bedevilled Rabbit”, “Stupor Duck”, “Little Boy Boo”
Shorts (’71): “Rabbit
Every Monday”, “Bedevilled Rabbit”, “Duck Amuck”
“Hare
Brush” (1/23/62) – Harry the Brush explains his role in animating cartoons.
Shorts: “Feline Frame-Up”, “Much Ado About Nutting”, “Duck Amuck”
“Is
This a Life?” (2/13/62) – Bugs’ friends and foes visit the stage to offer a
retrospective of Bugs’ life.
Shorts: “14 Carrot Rabbit”, “Robot Rabbit”, “High Diving Hare”
“De-duck-tive
Story” (2/20/62) – A look back at Daffy’s attempts to be a super sleuth.
Shorts: “Boston Quackie”, “The Super Snooper”, “Dime to Retire”
“The
Astro-Nuts” (3/13/62, rev 10/30/71) – Bugs dons his Super-Rabbit costume in
order to introduce the science-fiction themed cartoons of the night.
Shorts: “Duck Dodgers in the 24 ½th
Century”, “Jumpin’
Jupiter”, “Hare-Way to
the Stars”
Shorts (’71): “A-Lad-in
His Lamp”, “The Hasty Hare”, “Hare-Way to the Stars”
“Vera’s
Cruise” (3/20/62) – Sylvester relays his globe-trotting adventures in the
pursuit of Tweety.
Shorts: “Dr. Jerkyl’s Hide”, “Tweety’s
S.O.S.”, “A Pizza Tweety
Pie”, “All Abir-r-rd”
“Foreign
Legion Leghorn” (4/19/62, rev 11/13/71) – Women and kid troubles have driven
Foghorn Leghorn from America to join the French military.
Shorts: “The Egg-Cited Rooster”, “Of Rice and Hen”, “Feather Dusted”
Shorts (’71): “High
Diving Hare”, “Lovelorn Leghorn”, “Little Boy Boo”
“Watch
My Line” (4/26/62) – Bugs and an animator show all the things a simple line can
become in a cartoon.
Shorts: “A Waggily Tale”, “Scrambled Aches”, “Rabbit Rampage”
“What’s
Up, Dog?” (7/3/62) – It’s a dog-eat-dog world with a collection of canine
shorts.
Shorts: “The Awful Orphan”, “Don’t Axe Me”, “Mixed Master”
“The
Cat’s Bah” (7/10/62) – Pepe le Pew recounts some of his failed attempts at
romance.
Shorts: “The Cat’s Bah”, “Frigid Hare”, “Little Beau Pepe”
“No
Business Like Slow Business” (7/17/62) – Speedy and his cousin Slowpoke
Rodriguez host the night’s show.
Shorts: “Red Riding Hoodwinked”, “Barbary Coast Bunny”, “Double or Mutton”
“The
Honey-Mousers” (7/24/62, rev 2/26/72) – Finding the viewers in his dressing
room, Bugs invites them to watch television with him.
Shorts: “Cheese It- the Cat!”, “Lighthouse Mouse”, “The Honey-Mousers”
Shorts (’71): “Bunker
Hill Bunny”, “Hillbilly Hare”, “Cheese It- the Cat!”
“A
Star is Bored” (7/31/62, rev 1/8/72) – Daffy crashes Bugs’ latest lecture on
animation, claiming to be a clean-up artist.
Shorts: “Catty Cornered”, “There They Go-Go-Go!”, “A Star is Bored”
Shorts (’71): “Curtain
Razor”, “Mouse Wreckers”, “Bewitched Bunny”
“A
Tale of Two Kitties” (8/7/62) – Sylvester and his son give a lecture on mice.
Shorts: “The Slap-Hoppy Mouse”, “Gonzales’ Tamales”, “Cats A-Weigh”
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