Series synopsis
Tom Terrific is an American animation kids television series that premiered on CBS on June 10, 1957. It ended on December 15, 1958. It was created by Gene Deitch. It stars Lionel G. Wilson.
Drawn in a simple style, it features a gee-whiz boy hero, Tom Terrific, who lives in a treehouse and can transform himself into anything he wants thanks to his magic, funnel-shaped "thinking cap," which also enhances his intelligence. He has a comic lazybones of a sidekick, Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog, and an arch-foe named Crabby Appleton, whose motto is, "I'm rotten to the core!" Other foes include Mr. Instant, the Instant Thing King, Captain Kidney Bean, Sweet Tooth Sam, the Candy Bandit an ...
Premise
Drawn in a simple style, it features a gee-whiz boy hero, Tom Terrific, who lives in a treehouse and can transform himself into anything he wants thanks to his magic, funnel-shaped "thinking cap," which also enhances his intelligence. He has a comic lazybones of a sidekick, Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog, and an arch-foe named Crabby Appleton, whose motto is, "I'm rotten to the core!" Other foes include Mr. Instant, the Instant Thing King, Captain Kidney Bean, Sweet Tooth Sam, the Candy Bandit and Isotope Feaney, The Meany.
Cast and characters
Leading cast
Episodes
This series spans 2 seasons with 26 episodes.
| Season | Episodes | First aired | Last aired |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 13 | June 10, 1957 | September 3, 1957 |
| Season 2 | 13 | September 22, 1958 | December 15, 1958 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Nasty Knight Tom and Manfred go back to medieval days to help a frail, timid knight--Sir Feeble Fred--win the hand of a princess by defeating a hulking bully of a knight in a jousting match. |
June 10, 1957 |
| 2 |
The Pill of Smartness Tom and Manfred must race Crabby Appleton (the show's primary villain--he's "Rotten To The Core") to retrieve the Pill of Smartness, an artifact sitting on the hand of Cleopatra that makes whoever swallows it the smartest person in the world. |
June 17, 1957 |
| 3 |
Sweet Tooth Sam Sweet Tooth Sam the candy bandit has stolen all the candy in town, making the children miserable. Tom and Manfred are on the hunt to retrieve the candy. |
June 24, 1957 |
| Episode | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
The Missing Mail Mystery When Tom finds that mail from his pen pals haven't been arriving, he discovers that Crabby Appleton has been confiscating it. |
September 22, 1958 |
| 2 |
The Prince Frog Tom and Manfred visit Fairyland where they meet a handsome prince who was changed from being a frog and wants to be a frog again. The witch that made the spell sends Tom and Manfred on a quest for three... more objects in exchange for turning the prince back into a frog. |
September 29, 1958 |
| 3 |
Isotope Feeny's Foolish Fog Isotope Feeny creates a cloud that turns whoever it engulfs into an idiot. |
October 6, 1958 |
Production
Release
| Original network/platform | CBS |
|---|---|
| First aired | June 10, 1957 |
| Last aired | December 15, 1958 |
| Runtime | 5 minutes |
| Status | ended |