The Perils of Penelope Pitstop

The Perils of Penelope Pitstop
Genre	Comedy-drama
Written by	Joe Ruby Ken Spears Michael Maltese
Directed by	William Hanna Joseph Barbera
Starring	Mel Blanc Paul Lynde (uncredited) Don Messick Janet Waldo Paul Winchell
Narrated by	Gary Owens
Composer(s)	Ted Nichols
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	17 (list of episodes)
Production
Producer(s)	Alex Lovy
Running time	21 Minutes
Production company(s)	Hanna-Barbera Productions
Distributor	Warner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network	CBS
Picture format	Color (NTSC)
Audio format	Monaural
Original release	September 13, 1969 – January 17, 1970
Chronology
Preceded by	Wacky Races (1968)
Related shows	Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines (1969)

The Perils of Penelope Pitstop is an American animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that premiered on CBS on September 13, 1969. The show ran for one season with a total of 17 half-hour episodes, the last first-run episode airing on January 17, 1970. Repeats aired on CBS until September 4, 1971.^[1] It is a spin-off of the Wacky Races cartoon,^[2] reprising the characters of Penelope Pitstop and the Anthill Mob. Rebroadcasts of the show air on the Cartoon Network-owned channel Boomerang.

Production

The series was patterned on the silent movie era melodrama cliffhanger movie serial The Perils of Pauline. It originally was to star also the characters of Dick Dastardly and Muttley though Dastardly and Muttley were later dropped in pre-production. Those characters would be later reused in their own series, Dastardly and Muttley in Their Flying Machines.

Joe Ruby and Ken Spears were the head writers for the series, and Ruby, Spears, and Warner Bros. Cartoons veteran Michael Maltese wrote the stories for the individual episodes.^[3] Deciding to feature the characters in a different setting, studio heads decided to set the characters into an active adventure format strongly reminiscent of the 1910s.

Plot

The show features the most successful characters of Wacky Races, namely Penelope Pitstop and the members of Ant Hill Mob, who take on the role of heroes.

In each episode, Penelope's guardian, Sylvester Sneekly, attempts to take Penelope's inheritance for himself by attacking her in the guise of the masked villain, The Hooded Claw. Aided by his pair of near identical henchmen who always speak in unison, the Bully Brothers, he concocted needlessly Goldbergian plots to kill Penelope. Even though the Ant Hill Mob rescued Penelope, she often needed to save the Mob from the unintended effects of their attempts to rescue her. While Penelope was curiously helpless whenever The Hooded Claw grabbed her, once he left her tied up for his fiendish plans to take effect, she usually became resourceful and ingenious, sometimes coming up with spontaneous and creative methodologies to escape her peril.

Characters

• Penelope Pitstop- is the titular character and the main protagonist of the spin-off. She is the heiress who inherits the Pitstop's vast fortune as she is unaware of her guardian, Sylvester Sneekly who disguised himself as the Hooded Claw has plans to kill her because of her fortune and takes it for himself. She is often rescued by the Ant Hill Mob from her perils and she also rescues them when they failed to attempt to rescue her.

• Ant Hill Mob- is a group of small mobs led by Clyde rides their black car named Chugga Boom to rescue Penelope from the Hooded Claw's frequent perils and his traps in order to kill her.

• Sylvester Sneekly/The Hooded Claw- is the guardian of Penelope Pitstop and the main antagonist of the spin-off who has motives to kill Penelope because of her vast fortune. Under disguise as the Hooded Claw, he manages to capture or kidnaps Penelope who is unaware of her guardian's disguise and he has two henchmen in his side which is the Bully Brothers. In most episodes, he usually make deadly traps towards Penelope in order to get her killed and gets her inheritance. However he usually fails or backfires to kill Penelope when the Ant Hill Mob rescues her or Penelope outsmarts him when she manages to free herself from his traps. His catchphrase when his plans are foiled he angrily yells "Blast!" In the series finale, after his last attempt to kill Penelope by falling into the edge of the London Tower then she trips it with an explosive planted to destroy the London Bridge, it fails when the Ant Hill Mob manage to rescue her to foil his plans. After Penelope returns the painting, Sylvester is last seen being exploded from the explosive that he put up to kill Penelope to sestroy the London bridge after his plan backfires as he mumbles that has more motives to kill Penelope as he made a last laugh while evilly raises his brow.

Sylvester is also the master of disguise when he disguises his alter-ego The Hooded Claw and anyone else in two occasions such as a chicken after the Ant Hill Mob poses as police officers to take him in jail but he eventually escapes in jail to continue his perilious plans and an official in London to trick Penelope and turning the Ant Hill Mob into small Hydes to capture her.

Voice actors

• Janet Waldo - Penelope Pitstop
• Mel Blanc - Yak Yak, Chug-a-Boom, Bully Brothers
• Don Messick -Dum Dum, Snoozy, Pockets, Zippy
• Paul Winchell - Clyde, Softy
• Gary Owens - Narrator
• Paul Lynde - Sylvester Sneekly/The Hooded Claw

Episodes

No.	Title	Original air date	Production code
1	"Jungle Jeopardy"	September 13, 1969	46-1
Penelope is about to complete the last leg of an around-the-world flight as a surprise for her guardian, Sylvester Sneekly. The Hooded Claw and the Bully Brothers have sabotaged her plane and are watching her as the engines cut out. The Ant Hill Mob makes an attempt to rescue her as she jumps from the plane and into an empty eagle's nest. After that, she takes her chances in the jungle, fighting against all sorts of dangers. Will The Hooded Claw get to her first and send her to her doom or will the Ant Hill Mob get there first and rescue her?
2	"The Terrible Trolley Trap"	September 20, 1969	46-2
The Hooded Claw and the Bully Brothers tie Penelope to some trolley tracks hoping to get rid of her once and for all. After that, she's taken into the ocean, on a ship that belongs to the Hooded Claw, where he plans to get rid of her, permanently. Will the Ant Hill Mob be able to find Penelope before its too late?
3	"The Boardwalk Booby Trap"	September 27, 1969	46-4
Penelope is spending a relaxing day at the beach being buried in the sand by the Ant Hill Mob. The Hooded Claw has mixed in cement with the sand so she can't get out. Along comes a bulldozer driven by the Bully Brothers. The Ant Hill Mob can't pull her up so they dig a tunnel to pull her down. They save her in the nick of time. Later Penelope is kidnapped by the Bully Brothers during a scavenger hunt and taken to an abandoned fishing village where the Hooded Claw awaits her. Will the Ant Hill Mob come crashing in to save her in time?
4	"Wild West Peril"	October 4, 1969	46-5
Penelope is driving in her car when she crashes through a false front trap set by the Hooded Claw. The Ant Hill Mob races to the rescue with a mattress strapped to the top of their car to save her. Then a trap is set on the edge of a cliff, designed to lure the Mob in and fall off the edge, hitting a board that will catapult Penelope in a barrel, and the Ant Hill Mob into the near-bottomless canyon. She is then finally placed in a miner's car filled with explosives which is set to rocket down to the bottom of a steep and deep mine shaft. Will she be saved in time?
5	"Carnival Calamity"	October 11, 1969	46-8
Penelope is on her way to the carnival. Unknown to her the Hooded Claw has set a trap for her. The Bully Brothers have set a trap of their own for The Ant Hill Mob so they can't save her. Penelope gets out of trouble on her own and continues on to the carnival where she gets in more sticky situations.
6	"The Treacherous Movie Lot Plot"	October 18, 1969	46-6
Penelope has gone to Hollywood to star in a movie. The Hooded Claw adds a scene to the movie that involves Penelope being taken off by a giant King Kong like ape, which wasn't written in the script. After The Ant Hill Mob saves her from her doom, she continues to role the movie, but the Hooded Claw still has a few tricks upon his sleeve. Will The Ant Hill Mob be fast enough to save her?
7	"Arabian Desert Danger"	October 25, 1969	46-7
Penelope is trying to escort a rare white baby camel out of Egypt so she can donate it to the Children's Zoo. The Hooded Claw traps her in a giant tent that he and the Bully Brothers fill with hot air to make a balloon. The Ant Hill Mob see this and move in to help. After that rescue, Penelope is taken into a pyramid, where she'll be mummified alive. It's up to The Ant Hill Mob to save her from this tight situation.
8	"The Diabolical Department Store Danger"	November 1, 1969	46-9
Penelope is at Pitstop's Department Store to help introduce the new Paris fashions. Little did she know that the Hooded Claw and Bully Brothers were inside setting a few traps for her.
9	"Hair Raising Harness Race"	November 8, 1969	46-3
Penelope is at the County Fair and determined to win the Pitstop Gold Cup for the main event, the harness race. The Hooded Claw attempts to sabotage Penelope's efforts of winning the race. The Ant Hill Mob sees her in danger and tries to save her. This was the only episode where Penelope gets to rescue herself with her Intelligence throughout the episode where all attempts of the Ant Hill Mob gets failed, as well as the only episode where she does not get tied up by the Hooded Claw.
10	"North Pole Peril"	November 15, 1969	46-11
Penelope is paddling up the Nanook River in a kayak seeking to become the first woman to reach the North Pole. Unfortunately, The Hooded Claw is following her in a paddle-wheeler and attempting to chop her up in the blades. The Ant Hill Mob is on their way to save her. Will they be in time to save her, so she can finish her journey?
11	"Tall Timber Treachery"	November 22, 1969	46-10
Penelope is on her way to the Pitstop Lumber Camp where she has been elected Queen of the Indian Summer Festival. The Hooded Claw and the Bully Brothers unhook her rail car and she went sailing back down the railroad track. The Ant Hill Mob gets her out of the jam and offers her a ride to the festival. But unfortunately, the Hooded Claw doesn't give up that easily, and he'll do everything to kill Penelope, even if he has to chop down all trees in the forest to do it.
12	"Cross Country Double Cross"	November 29, 1969	46-12
Penelope is making a daring parachute jump to publicize a statue unveiling. The Hooded Claw cuts the parachute lines in an attempt to stop her once and for all. Unfortunately for Penelope the Bully Brothers are helping The Hooded Claw and they capture her and place her in a pit. After she's rescued, The Ant Hill Mob tell her that the unveiling is supposed to be on the other side of the country, and Penelope has to travel through the country, as quickly as possible to get there. Will Penelope be able to get there on time?
13	"Big Baghdad Danger"	December 6, 1969	46-13
Penelope is on the way to the Shah's Palace to get the secret map to Ali Baba's cave, but The Hooded Claw has a few plans of his own. Will the Ant Hill Mob be able to save her before she meets her doom, and will Penelope find the treasure so she can give it to the poor children of Baghdad?
14	"Bad Fortune in a Chinese Fortune Cookie"	December 13, 1969	46-14
Penelope is in Chinatown in San Francisco, California to watch the Chinese New Year Parade. The Hooded Claw captures her in the mouth of a fire-breathing dragon float from the parade. He sends her down a hill towards a warehouse full of fireworks. Clyde and the gang follow after Penelope to try and save her. Will the guys save her in time?
15	"Big Top Trap"	December 20, 1969	46-15
Penelope is performing in a circus. When her life is threatened the Ant Hill Mob take jobs as clowns so the can act as her bodyguards. The Hooded Claw takes the form of Clyde and throws her from the trapeze to the awaiting Bully Brothers who whisk her off to the jungle where she is about to be fed to a man-eating plant. Will the Ant Hill Mob be able to find her in time, and get her back to the circus on time? In the end, Sylvester Sneekly reveals to Penelope he's the Hooded Claw, but Penelope is still unaware they're the one person.
16	"Game of Peril"	January 10, 1970	46-17
Penelope is on a scavenger hunt. After finding her first item, a unicycle, she gets on and is heading towards a cliff. The Ant Hill Mob arrives just in time to save her. The Hooded Claw sees her rescue and comes up with a plan to do her in.
17	"London Town Treachery"	January 17, 1970	46-16
Penelope is visiting London to deliver a painting to the Earl of Crumpet. The Hooded Claw had a different plan in mind. He grabs Penelope and the painting. Then, the Claw ties Penelope underneath a razor sharp pendulum as he makes off with the painting. After Penelope is rescued, the Ant Hill Mob takes her to a spooky-looking home where the Hooded Claw leads Penelope and the Ant Hill Mob to believe that the Claw is the Earl Of Crumpet. After the Hooded Claw instructs the Bully Brothers to grab Penelope while the Claw serves tea, the Hooded Claw realizes that no tea is available. So, the Claw utilizes Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde fluid a "tea substitute." After the Ant Hill Mob drinks the "tea", they are transformed into evil Mr. Hyde creatures. Soon after, they capture Penelope and force Chug-a-Boom to drive, but Chug-A-boom initially refuses simply because he knows that the Ant Hill Mob Hyde creatures want to harm Penelope. Then, the "evil" Clyde pours the Jekyll and Hyde tea into the radiator of Chug-A-Boom, and Chug-A-Boom becomes an evil Jekyll and Hyde character. Shortly thereafter, Chug-A-Boom drives to the edge of a cliff where the Ant Hill Mob incarcerates her in a cage. When the "evil" Clyde states that the cage will speed down a flume into the water where a hungry sea monster will eat Penelope, the "evil" Dum-Dum lights the rocket fuse and states "Farewell Pitstop!" Shortly afterward, the Ant Hill mob changes back to their healthy selves and their evil Jekyll-and-Hyde selves two different times. Shortly thereafter, the rocket ignited slides down the flume into the water, and Penelope uses a sawfish to free herself from the cage that the sea monster ate. As she swims to safety, the Ant Hill mob eternally changes back to their healthy selves, and they rescue Penelope by standing on individual rocks that are in the water and by passing her back to each individual mob member, so that she may safely be placed back on land. Sadly, Dum-Dum, who is the last mob man to catch Penelope, unknowingly passes Penelope back to the Hooded Claw, who takes her to the top of a clock tower and ties her up to the minute hand. When this hand reaches the 6 of the clock, Penelope will fall and be bounced by a mattress that will catapult her to hit a pump which will blow up the London Bridge that will crash on top of Penelope. Will the Ant Hill Mob be in time to save her? Will they get the painting back and deliver it to the Earl of Crumpet? Series Finale

Home releases

On May 10, 2005, Warner Home Video released the complete series on DVD in Region 1 territories. The series is also available at iTunes Store for Apple mobile device owners to download their favorite episodes or the complete series after purchases.

DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date	Additional Information
Perils of Penelope Pitstop- The Complete Series	17	May 10, 2005	Commentary on various episodes Featurette : The Players in "Perils" featurette on the great escapes of Penelope and other characters Penelope Pitstop's Spin Outs retrospective

Cultural references

• The 2008 series Headcases featured segments parodying The Perils of Penelope Pitstop.
• The 1984 song "The Power of Love" by British dance-pop band Frankie Goes to Hollywood makes reference to the show's main villain, The Hooded Claw.

References

1. "The Perils of Penelope Pitstop - The Complete Series". DVD Talk. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
2. "The Perils of Penelope Pitstop". BCDB. 2014-02-14.
3. Shostak, Stu (05-02-2012). "Interview with Joe Ruby and Ken Spears". Stu's Show. Retrieved 03-18-2013.

External links

• The Perils of Penelope Pitstop site
• The Perils of Penelope Pitstop at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. Archived from the original on September 4, 2015.
• The Perils of Penelope Pitstop at the Internet Movie Database
• The Perils of Penelope Pitstop at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• The Perils of Penelope Pitstop at TV.com