Hot Wheels @ The Cartoon Scrapbook

Prod. Notes:

September 1969 - September 1971, ABC

Pantomime Productions, Ken Snyder Production

Cast:

Jack Wheeler ....................................................................... Bob Arbogast

Doc Warren ........................................................................... Bob Arbogast

Janet Martin ....................................................................... Melinda Casey

Mickey Barnes ..................................................................... Albert Brooks

Kip Chogi ................................................................................ Albert Brooks

Tank Mallory ........................................................................... Casey Kasem

Dexter Carter ......................................................................... Casey Kasem

Ardeth Pratt ............................................................................. Susan Davis

Mother O'Hare ................................................................... Nora Marlowe

Mike Wheeler .......................................................................... Michael Rye

Synopsis:

The best driver at Metro City High, Jack "Rabbit" Wheeler was the son of former racing champ Mike Wheeler. Mike, who had retired after an auto accident, was worried about his son’s enthusiasm for the hobby. But Jack was unstoppable, a hot wheelin’ hot dog whose love of cars was matched only by his love for his girlfriend, Janet Martin.

Joining Jack and Janet in the "Hot Wheels" club were apprentice mechanic Mickey Barnes, Mickey's tomboy love interest Ardeth, Mike Wheeler's Motors mechanic Tank Mallory, and Kip, the son of an African ambassador. The older Doc Warren was an honorary member, a veteran mechanic who acted as mentor and made sure the kids were always conscientious drivers. When not racing, the kids hung out at Mother’s soda shop, owned by Mother O’Hara.

The Hot Wheels club was defined by their concern for safety in their driving, which is why the renegade Dexter Carter had been kicked out of the club for recklessness. Together with the equally careless Stuff Haley, Dexter formed a rival club, Dexter’s Devils, which served as a contrast for the good Hot Wheels kids.

But the real story of the show took place behind the scenes. The FCC came down hard on the toy-inspired series, demanding that the 57-second opening and other references to the car line be counted as commercial time. Such a condemnation of a cartoon as a thirty-minute commercial foreshadowed the wave of cartoon-commercial tie-ins that would dominate the 1980's, when FCC regulations became a bit more lenient.

Episodes:

Sky Sailor

The Funny Money Caper

Surf's Up

The Winner

The Hot Head

Big Race

The Family Car

Fire Fighters

The Jewel

Fake Out - Stake Out

The Buggy Ride

Four Wheel Time Bomb

Hit and Run

It Takes a Team

Ardeth the Demon (Ardeth the Highwayman)

Like Father, Like Son

Avalanche Country

Danger Around the Clock

Tough Cop

Hotter Than the Devils

Underground

Rough Ride (The Test)

Race to Space

Monkey a-Okay

Diamonds Are a Girls Worst Friend

Big Heart, Little Hearts

Get Back on That Horse

Hitchhike to Danger

Dragon's Tooth Peak

The Doc Warren Trophy Race

Show-Off

Drag Strip

Mata Hari Ardeth

Slicker-Slicks