Jabberjaw

Jabberjaw is a Saturday morning animated series created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears and produced by Hanna-Barbera and aired from September 11, 1976, to September 3, 1978, on ABC.

Premise
Per a great deal of Hanna-Barbera's output in the 1970s, the format and writing for Jabberjaw was similar to that for Scooby-Doo, Josie and the Pussycats and Speed Buggy. The show also drew inspiration (in the use of a shark as a character) from the overall shark mania of the 1970s and the then-recent film Jaws. It also shared The Flintstones' penchant for making use of puns as the names of locations, people, etc., in this case, ocean-themed puns (such as "Aqualaska" instead of Alaska).

Sixteen 30-minute episodes of Jabberjaw were produced, which aired on ABC Saturday Morning from September 11, 1976, to September 3, 1977, and rebroadcast for a second season of reruns on Sunday Morning from September 11, 1977, to September 3, 1978. In the 1980s, repeats resurfaced on USA network's Cartoon Express and in the 1990s on Cartoon Network and Boomerang. This is one of a number of shows made before the mid-1980s seen on the Cartoon Network and Boomerang to have been taken from PAL prints.

Like many animated series created by Hanna-Barbera in the 1970s, the show contained a laugh track created by the studio.

Plot
Jabberjaw is a 15-foot great white shark and a drummer for The Neptunes, a rock group made up of four teenagers — Biff, Shelly, Bubbles and Clamhead — who live in an underwater civilization in 2076. Jabberjaw and The Neptunes travel to various underwater cities where they encounter and deal with diabolical villains who want to conquer the undersea world.

Characters



 * Jabberjaw (voiced by Frank Welker) – Jabberjaw is an air-breathing, anthropomorphic great white shark whose voice and mannerisms were similar to Curly Howard of the Three Stooges. Jabberjaw found it hard to get respect in a society where "shark ejectors" (robots that would guard various buildings or cities against sharks being allowed to enter) were commonplace, prompting him to frequently utter his catchphrase (borrowed from the late comedian Rodney Dangerfield): "No respect! I get no respect!"


 * Biff (voiced by Tommy Cook) – Biff is an athletic, handsome, brown-haired young man who is the band's guitar player and level-headed leader who books all the gigs, similar to Scooby-Doo's Fred and Josie and the Pussycats' Alan.


 * Shelly (voiced by Patricia Parris) – Shelly is a dark-haired young woman who plays tambourine for The Neptunes. Shelly is attractive, intelligent, haughty, vain, a spoiled brat, and abrasive (like Josie and the Pussycats' Alexandra) and considers herself to be the star of the band. And while she holds a great deal of disdain for Jabberjaw (or "Blubberhead" as she calls him), she does have some fondness for him deep down and occasionally shows it. Also, she's sometimes irritated by Bubbles' idiocy.


 * Bubbles (voiced by Julie McWhirter) – Bubbles is a girl with blonde, curly hair who plays keyboard for The Neptunes. She is extremely ditzy and dimwitted, has a cute giggle, similar to Josie and the Pussycats' Melody. Shelly sometimes nicknames her "Ding-a-Ling" or "Bubblehead". Her annoying voice and mannerisms are similar to Gracie Allen, wife of George Burns. Whenever she volunteers to help, she usually ends up messing it up.


 * Clamhead (voiced by Barry Gordon) – Clamhead is a young man who plays bass for The Neptunes. His catchphrases are crying out "Abba-abba-abba!" and "Wowee-wow-wow!" whenever he gets excited. Clamhead is Jabberjaw's best friend, and bears a strong resemblance to Scooby-Doo 's Shaggy, Speed Buggy's Tinker and to Josie and the Pussycats' Alexander.

Broadcast history
Original ABC broadcast:
 * Telecast: ABC Saturday Morning September 11, 1976 – September 3, 1977
 * Retelecast: ABC Sunday Morning September 11, 1977 – September 3, 1978

Broadcast schedules (all EDT):
 * September 1976 – November 1976, ABC Saturday 9:00–9:30 am
 * December 1976 – September 1977, ABC Saturday 8:30–9:00 am
 * September 1977 – September 1978, ABC Sunday 10:30–11:00 am

Yogi's Space Race (1978–79)
In 1978, Jabberjaw was featured in a new NBC Saturday morning program called Yogi's Space Race, in which he participated in intergalactic racing competitions with Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound and several new characters. Jabber's racing partner was a lazy bloodhound named Buford (from The Buford Files of Buford and the Galloping Ghost).

Other appearances



 * Jabberjaw made a special guest appearance at a celebrity roast honoring Fred Flintstone on the CBS TV-special Hanna-Barbera's All-Star Comedy Ice Revue (1978).


 * Jabberjaw made special appearances as a guest announcer and referee on Scooby's All-Star Laff-A-Lympics (1977) and Scooby's All-Stars (1978).


 * Jabberjaw made some comic book appearances. Such as Laff-A-Lympics issues No. 10 and No. 12 in 1978 and 1979. Hanna Barbera Presents No. 6 in 1995, and Cartoon Network Presents No. 23 in 1999.


 * Jabberjaw appeared in Yogi's Treasure Hunt in the episode, "Goodbye Mr. Chump".


 * Jabberjaw made a guest appearance in the Adult Swim animated television series Sealab 2021 in the episode, "Return of Marco" (2004), where he was one of the many sharks impaled with spears by the underwater cave tribe called The Snarkells.


 * Jabberjaw appeared later still in sporadic appearances on Cartoon Network's Harvey Birdman (2002) where the Neptunes were accused of stealing Shouyu Weanie's (portrayed by the Chan Clan) song. It is also referenced that in the late 1990s, Jabberjaw was briefly engaged to budding filmmaker Madeline Austin-Kulat. In this show, Frank Welker reprises his role of Jabberjaw and also voices Biff. Clamhead made another appearance in the episode "Identity Theft" where he was voiced by Steven Blum.


 * Jabberjaw also appeared on Cartoon Network and Boomerang in a music video set to Pain's "Jabberjaw (Running Underwater)" with Jabberjaw and The Neptunes portrayed as a ska band, with the group dressed in modern clothing. In this version, Biff is the lead guitar and singer wearing a bowling shirt and jeans, Shelly is now dressed in a tank top and jeans and plays bass guitar & assists on vocals, Bubbles is dressed in a black top with a Catholic schoolgirl-style skirt and Mary Jane shoes and still plays the keyboard, and Clamhead is dressed in an updated version of what he wore in the original series and plays the trumpet & also assists on vocals. Jabberjaw still plays the drums and has a goatee and a nose ring. The Neptunes are animated in 3D escaping a lunch box decal and waging battle with an evil eel and his lobster robots who kidnap Shelly from one of the Neptunes' concerts.


 * Jabberjaw appears in the Scooby Doo special Night of the Living Doo, trying to take out the gang in order to get his respect.


 * Jabberjaw makes a cameo in the Johnny Bravo episode "Johnny Goes Hollywood".


 * Jabberjaw and his team appear in the Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated episode The Mystery Solvers State Finals alongside other Hanna-Barbera mystery teams in a fever dream of Scooby-Doo's. This time, Jabberjaw was unable to breathe on land without being moisturized. Frank Welker reprised the role of Jabberjaw.


 * Jabberjaw appears in the MetLife commercial, "Everyone," which aired during the Super Bowl XLVI commercial breaks.

Merchandising
In 1977–1979, merchandising for Jabberjaw included:


 * A lunch box and thermos
 * Two coloring books: Jabberjaw and the Neptunes / Jabberjaw Does It Again
 * Iron-on transfers
 * A story book: Jabberjaw Out West
 * A read & color book: Jabberjaw and the Rustlers
 * Jigsaw puzzles
 * Presto Magix Dry transfer game
 * Bubble maker set by Imperial Toy
 * A school tablet
 * Hanna-Barbera Marineland Jabberjaw picture viewer (source-eBay, http://www.ebay.com/itm/HANNA-BARBERA-MARINELAND-JABBERJAW-PICTURE-VIEWER-C-1980-SCARCE-/160976993738?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item257af9fdca#ht_505wt_916)
 * Avon pendant

In 1977, a comic book series was originally scheduled by Charlton Comics but was later cancelled; however, in France, Jabberjaw was featured in comic books under his French language name Mantalo (1978).

On July 28, 1988, a Jabberjaw videocassette was released by Worldvision Home Video:
 * Hanna-Barbera Presents Jabberjaw (1988) contains 4 episodes:
 * 1. Dr. Lo Has Got to Go
 * 2. There's No Place Like Outer Space
 * 3. The Sourpuss Octopuss
 * 4. The Great Shark Switch

In April 2005, a Jabberjaw wacky wobbler bobblehead doll was released by Funko.

DVD release
On February 15, 2011, Warner Archive released Jabberjaw: The Complete Series on DVD in region 1 as part of their Hanna–Barbera Classics Collection. This is a Manufacture-on-Demand (MOD) release, available exclusively through Warner's online store and Amazon.com