The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! is an American live-action/animated television series that aired from September 4 to December 1, 1989, in syndication. The series is based on the video games Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2 by Japanese multinational video game company Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto, and is the first of three television series to be based upon the Mario video game series. The animation was provided by South Korean company Sei Young Animation.
Each episode consists of a live-action "Mario Bros. Plumbing" segment and an animated segment. The live-action segments feature WWE Hall of Fame wrestler/manager "Captain" Lou Albano as Mario and Danny Wells as Luigi alongside a special guest, either as themselves or a character for the segment. The animated segment in Monday through Thursday episodes is a Super Mario Bros. segment, starring the voices of Albano and Wells in their respective roles, and the segment in Friday episodes is a The Legend of Zelda segment.
A sequel series based on Super Mario Bros. 3 aired the following year, followed by another show based on Super Mario World the year after that.
Premise
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! revolves around Mario and Luigi, two Italian American plumbers from Brooklyn. The live-action "Mario Bros. Plumbing" segments, set in Mario and Luigi's apartment in Brooklyn, parody contemporary sitcom episodes.
The Super Mario Bros. animated segments feature Mario and Luigi after they accidentally warp into the Mushroom Kingdom while fixing a bathtub drain. Each episode begins with Mario reciting an entry into his "Plumber's Log", then teaming up with Luigi to assist Princess Toadstool and Toad in preventing King Koopa from taking over the Kingdom with a sinister plot, generally one parodying a book, film, or historical event. Each episode's plot features characters and situations based upon the NES games Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2, as well as several sound effects and musical cues from both games. Despite being based on the games, some episodes feature inconsistencies between the series and the video games. For example, in the animated series, Mario receives fire powers from a Super Star, whereas the star grants temporary invincibility in the game, with the Fire Flower granting pyrokinesis.
The Legend of Zelda animated segments follow the adventures of the hero Link and Princess Zelda as they defend the kingdom of Hyrule from Ganon, who has somehow come into possession of the Triforce of Power. Most episodes consist of Ganon (or his minions) either attempting to capture the Triforce of Wisdom from Zelda, kidnap Zelda, or conquer Hyrule. In some episodes, Link and Zelda are assisted and accompanied by a fairy-princess named Spryte, who dislikes Zelda as she considers her to be a competitor for Link's affections. Throughout the series, Link is a moaning, self-centered teenager who repeatedly fails to convince Zelda that he deserves a kiss for his heroic deeds. Although Zelda is sometimes the damsel in distress, she is a headstrong, self-sufficient princess who is Link's equal. Link frequently meets Zelda's angry remarks with his sarcastic catchphrase, "Well, excuse me, Princess!"
Cast Lou Albano as Mario (both live-action and animated) Danny Wells as Luigi (both live-action and animated)
Super Mario Bros. Jeannie Elias as Princess Toadstool John Stocker as Toad Harvey Atkin as King Koopa
The Legend of Zelda Jonathan Potts as Link Cyndy Preston as Princess Zelda Len Carlson as Ganon Paulina Gillis as Spryte Colin Fox as King Harkinian Elizabeth Hanna as the Triforce of Wisdom Allen Stewart Coates as the Triforce of Power
Live-action guest stars
Marty Allen as Imperial Poobah Lyle Alzado Craig Armstrong as Frankenstein's Monster, Gorilla Vicki Bakken as Liz/"Queen of England" Kaye Ballard as Madam AGoGo Joe Bellan as Tummy Lasagna Harry Blackstone Jr. as the Magician Brian Bonsall Clare Carey as E.C. Melanie Chartoff as Tawny Tyler Philip L. Clarke as HAL 9001 Patrick Dempsey as the Super Plant Shabba Doo Donna Douglas as Ellie Mae Vic Dunlop as Pietro Cassandra Peterson as Elvira Nicole Eggert Paul Elder as Alligator Dundee Kort Falkenberg as Santa Claus Norman Fell as Ted Bull, Fred Van Winkle Martin Garner as Mikhail S. Gorbachev Larry Gelman as Sigmund Fruitcake, Vincent van Gook Courtney Gibbs as Luigi's girlfriend Joseph S. Griffo as Mini Mario Karen Hartman as Patty's mother, voice of Mrs. Gammliss Andy Heyward as Howard Stevens David Horowitz as himself Ernie Hudson Paula Irvine as Mad Donna Magic Johnson Elaine Kagan as the Old Psychic Lady Jim Lange Cyndi Lauper Maurice LaMarche as Edison, Inspector Gadget Eugene Liebowitz as Dr. Frankenstein Pam Matteson as Cher Danica McKellar as Patty Ed Metzger as Albert Einstein, George Washington, Ralph Washington Scott Nemes as Young MacDonald Gary Owens as Willy White "Rowdy" Roddy Piper Eve Plumb as Jodie Willard Pugh as Little Robert Gary Schwartz as Dr. Toby, Inspector Klean, Doc Freud Sgt. Slaughter Rob Stone Fred Travalena as Elvis Presley, Mr. Gibbel Arsenio Trinidad as Obi-Wan Cannoli Nedra Volz as Angelica, Fox Hunter James Ward as Patty's father, Count Zoltan Dracula, Exterminator Regina Williams as Susanna Ross Vanna White as Roxanne Moon Zappa as Marilyn
Albano also appears as himself in "Captain Lou Is Missing".
Production
History and development Before the series was conceived, Andy Heyward, the then-CEO of DIC Enterprises, spent about a year trying to convince Nintendo to license the characters. In an interview with USA Today, Heyward said: "The Mario Bros. is such a unique property we had to do it in a different way...We wanted to do a cartoon but also do a show that extended beyond the cartoon". The project originated as Super Mario Bros. Power Hour, a one hour long animation block that would have featured series based on a number of intellectual properties. Concept art was produced for adaptations of Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Castlevania, Double Dragon, and California Games. With the exception of Mario and Zelda, none of these additional adaptations were ultimately produced, though elements of Metroid and Castlevania would appear in the series Captain N: The Game Master. Double Dragon would receive a later adaptation from DIC which aired from 1993 to 1994, but this did not make use of the 1980s concepts and was instead based on the SNES titles released in the interim.
The show premiered in September 1989. To promote the series, Lou Albano appeared on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee in May 1989 with his beard shaven. When the series first aired, it was distributed by Viacom Enterprises and was marketed by MTV. In addition, DiC planned to produce an animated film based on the series, to be released in the summer of 1990. The film was never produced, and a live-action adaptation was instead released in 1993.
In David Sheff's book Game Over, Bill White, the then-director of advertising and public relations for Nintendo, said that the purpose of the television series was to boost awareness of the characters.
The Legend of Zelda animation was only produced for one season. Writer Phil Harnage said that the reason it was cancelled was partly because it was tied to The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! rather than being its own show. He also said that the show received some letters from children asking for it to not be cancelled but this positive feedback was not enough to keep the show in production.
Format
Each episode of the program consists of a live-action "Mario Bros. Plumbing" segment, the first half of which is shown before the animated segment; the second half is shown afterwards. These live-action segments feature Lou Albano and Danny Wells as Mario and Luigi, respectively, in a comedic story accompanied by a laugh track. These segments involve a celebrity guest star joining the pair, either as themselves or as a character connected to the segment's plot, often a popular television star or professional athlete (including WWE (then WWF) stars of the time). Guests include Nedra Volz, Norman Fell, Donna Douglas, Eve Plumb, Vanna White, Lyle Alzado and Magic Johnson.
Alongside guest stars, both Albano and Wells portray additional characters in a number of episodes related to Mario and Luigi. In one episode, Albano appears as himself, but Mario is absent, while in a number of episodes the pair are joined by Maurice LaMarche in the live-action role of the animated character Inspector Gadget (making it the first appearance of the character in live-action, predating the live-action film by ten years), before his eventual role in voicing the character in Inspector Gadget's Last Case and Gadget & the Gadgetinis. In an interview for Shout! Factory's first DVD release of the show in 2006 – which exclude some episodes that involved Cassandra Peterson as Elvira, alongside Gadget's second appearance and a few other episodes – Albano stated that filming of the live-action segments involved mainly he and Wells receiving a central plot and mostly improvising their dialogue. The live-action segments were directed by Steve Binder and were filmed before a studio audience.
The rest of the episode in-between the live-action segment is dedicated to animated serials. For the majority of episodes, originally aired between Monday and Thursday, each episode of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! features an animated serial of the Super Mario Bros., in which both Albano and Wells voice their respective characters. A total of 52 serials aired under this schedule until November 16, 1989. For every episode that originally aired on a Friday, the animated segments consist of serials of The Legend of Zelda. A total of 13 serials were produced.
Writing According to screenwriter Bob Forward, the writing team on the Legend of Zelda segments was given significant freedom to develop the series as they wished, particularly with regards to the script and character design. Nintendo offered little advice or guidance to the writers except for providing a franchise "bible", character designs, and the first two video games in the series. As a result, the writers, who were not gamers, conducted their own research and decided to focus on story instead of gameplay. The episodes featured a combination of action, drama and comedy, with much emphasis placed on the relationship between Zelda and Link.
The fairy character named Spryte was inspired by Forward's childhood obsession with the character Tinker Bell from Walt Disney's animated film Peter Pan. Forward also explained that Link's catchphrase "Excuse me, Princess" was based on a popular Steve Martin comedy routine. He decided to include it in every episode of the series as a way to poke fun at DIC's VP of Creative Affairs, Robbie London, who had forced him to use the phrase. Forward also stated that the relationship between Link and Zelda was influenced by the dynamic between the characters of David Addison and Maddie Hayes from the American television series Moonlighting, which were portrayed by Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd respectively.
The writers revealed that, in addition to having a "show bible" as a reference for the main characters, they were influenced by their own interests when creating episodes in the series. Eve Forward said that although the monsters and weapons were based on the game, "a lot of the various swashbuckling stuff I liked to put in was based on things that had happened in our D&D games".