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
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
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