The Mario TV Show that made Parents Angry

[@ThomasGameDocs]

*HOW TO HELP PRESERVE THE SHOW!* - You can join the Discord server: discord.gg/HRz8uwA79M - Or email with any information you have: [e-mail] *Please only join if you have information about the show or footage!* To be clear, I am not affiliated with the server or the email, other than being very grateful for members of the server helping with this video!

[@LimeLoaf]

Why does this cartoon even exist

[@thedraftingax5963]

@@LimeLoaf Idk, but I know the fact that it traumatized me as a kid, which scared me for life ever since. I’m glad that it doesn’t anymore, though.

[@EnBitStudios]

3rd hi Thomas!

[@A.P.P.L.E7]

Idk

[@Terminated632]

I found a lot of the videos in europe

[@lukaspatrickson4776]

You gotta admit that leaping into the audience to help his son is 100% a Bowser move.

[@henke37]

He is one of the greatest dads in gaming after all.

[@pap64]

I can imagine Bowser Jr crying trying to get candy and Bowser would Down-B the crap out of those kids!

[@Joosher56]

Absolute chad behaviour

[@axeltroysugiarto5473]

@@henke37 He's up there with cartoon's best dad, Doofenshmirtz

[@smashbrosguyt915]

He’d do it for all his kids. Except for Iggy. Screw you iggy.

[@WareWulff]

I was actually one of the kids in the audience for one episode. I do remember wearing one of the Koopa Troopa hats, too. I don't think every kid got to wear one. if the story is to be believed, my dad actually slipped someone on the crew a $20 to make sure I had one of the hats during taping. I also remember my dad having a chat with Koopa for a good few minutes after the show. They might've loosely known of each other, both making a living as comedians. It was an interesting experience, for sure. Sadly, I have no recordings of any of this, which is a bummer. I find it funny to think that something I actually got to do in person was considered a hoax at one point, though. I hope some of the episodes turn up!

[@Super-Mario-Evan1227]

How was the experience

[@WareWulff]

@@Super-Mario-Evan1227 I remember being super hyped and loving being there. Got to visit the stage after tapping and my dad and Bowser were goading me to look in Ratso's house. Being about 7 or 8, I wasn't eager. Didn't want to get scared. Lol I got a Fox Kids or Fox 11 t-shirt of some sort that I loved and wore out long before I outgrew it.

[@ellisp276]

Ok

[@apurpledragon]

There are gonna be people saying "we don't believe you if you didn't record it" and I'm going to stop everybody before they make that comment. This was the late 80's where technology wasn't as advanced as it is today and they were in a studio that was probably pretty strict on who could bring cameras in there. Nowadays it's as simple as taking out our phones, taking a video or picture and just putting it online for the world to see but cameras were still somewhat bulky even the small ones making it almost impossible to sneak a few recordings out of the studio.

[@GalekC]

That's awesome !

[@jeffreydotson4842]

I once heard a children's literature professor say that adults are more afraid of monsters than children are and at first I didn't know what she meant. She was clearly referring to incidents like these when parents, teachers, and so on underestimate the wisdom and bravery of children and then overreact to a disturbing looking and/or rude character.. It wouldn't surprise me if the woman who wrote the letter to fox just assumed that it was frightening to children.

[@bluebaron6858]

Nah, I'm looking at the footage and his costume freaks me out lol

[@09goatboy36]

That’s not why it scares me. It’s just a frick’en demon.

[@fgfhjfhjfbhfghf5771]

100% this is what happened

[@KasumiKenshirou]

And the mother likely didn't understand the concept of the show, that Koopa was supposed to be a villain, not a role model for kids.

[@NurioMarayana]

As an adult, I can confirm I am more afraid of monsters than I am afraid of children

[@SemiHypercube]

Man Nintendo's history was weird. Really interesting to see a video on something mostly lost to time

[@INFERNO95]

No wonder Nintendo stop Leashing off mario characters in the 90s.

[@MrDmoney156]

@@INFERNO95 it makes sense as to why nintendo is the way they are

[@amygarcia9838]

Thanks to defunctland (and other cool disney historians) ive come to dread the words "Michael Eisner" and every time i hear them i just let out a big "SIGH"

[@ThomasGameDocs]

I had the same reaction! I was shocked when I learned that he was involved in this TV show's cancellation, haha!

[@thatonerotom8999]

Moron ruins everything he touches. Even death he will ruin somehow lmao

[@yeahman20]

I know! I mentally said "EISNER!" in a "DINKLEBURG" kinda way when he brought Michael Eisner up

[@haleyhersh3850]

Lol 😂

[@knightsmudge]

Oh big ol handshake, also nice FR Fae icon!

[@OhNoBohNo]

Michael Eisner getting involved in all this is so so on-brand for him for some reason, despite being absolutely unexpected and out-of-left field.

[@spacedog12345]

We need a Defunctland episode on this!

[@michaeleisner4758]

Thank you

[@michaeleisner4758]

@@spacedog12345 I agree

[@vizzzyy190]

If there's one thing I've learned from Defunctland, everything comes back to Eisner

[@sk8terboi2005]

Yup defunctland would probably have a field day with this one

[@BBWahoo]

"My children will be watching Nickelodeon" I know it's the 90's, but that aged teerrrrrribly.

[@MeleeFox2004]

Nick wasn’t even any better than King Koopa’s Kool Kartoons back then?

[@erugurara8235]

@@MeleeFox2004 ren a stimpy was a very famous show at the time, full of gross out and adult jokes and sexual references, some other shows start copy the style at the time form that show- meianing that Nikelodeon was party fill whit gross comedy.

[@MeleeFox2004]

@@erugurara8235 so does SpongeBob, but he isn’t infamous

[@erugurara8235]

@@MeleeFox2004 that point time Spongebob rarely did that kind of joke and the adult jokes were more hidden as opose to Ren and Stimpy.

[@SpiralPoli]

Ren & Stimpy was great family friendly clean entertainment.

[@rattyeely]

It's interesting that one of the guys who worked on SpongeBob was involved in this, considering SpongeBob had it's own parody of these kind of wraparound shows with the Patchy the Pirate segments

[@mariajimenafigueroa233]

Especially The Sponge Who Could Fly and the 16-minute version of Shanghaied

[@poweroffriendship2.0]

The live-action Bowser in this show looks like a rejected supervillain from the 1966 Batman TV series. The costume design actually fits the category of the uncanny valley.

[@rookie6480]

Yet it's still a more accurate Bowser than Dennis Hopper in the big-budget Super Mario Bros film. Take that how u will

[@TrekDelta]

@@rookie6480 I am still struggling to understand why producers never take the actual source material from anything in those days. Nintendo established bowser's design clearly in artworks, games and instruction booklet illustrations. But the showrunners decided to make up a whiney, jester green joker instead.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

@@TrekDelta The King Koopa costume in this show seems to be based on the version that appears in the DiC Super Mario Bros. Super Show. (Apparently the costume, except for the mask, came from some Ice Capades show.) Super Mario Bros. 2 (USA version) was the most current game when Super Show was released. DiC seems to have combined the designs of those two games' villains, Bowser and Wart, into some weird hybrid. (And its also weird they call him King Koopa in these shows, when the localized games in the US changed Koopa's name to Bowser.)

[@awesomesauce94]

@@KasumiKenshirou I always thought that bowser's name change from "king koopa" to "bowser" in the west happnened later on, around in the 90s. kinda like how peach for the early years was still called "princess toadstool" before eventually being changed to peach.

[@staretimecomics]

Want to see the Uncanny Valley? You looked up "live action Wallace and Grommit?" You're welcome.

[@dcbandit]

Honestly, I'd love watching a show staring King Bowser and his minions, maybe with appearances of the Koopalings and Bowser Jr. at points in the show, and having special "guest" star of Princess Peach, with Mario and Luigi busting in to save her at the end of the show weekly. In fact, I think it would be a lot of fun if all of Mario's big bad enemies, including Wario and Waluigi had their own, similar shows. It would be hilarious!

[@princesspeachfan100]

I honestly find it strange they didn’t have something like that in the show, as Bowser’s main trait is liking Peach and kidnapping her, it would of made sense if she and the Mario Bros appeared. XD

[@haleyhersh3850]

Dang! I want this kinda show too now

[@dcbandit]

@@haleyhersh3850 maybe someone could make it into a KZbin channel? Bowser's New Show, or something.

[@haleyhersh3850]

@@dcbandit Sure

[@JacobFiveash]

@@haleyhersh3850 Same here. Maybe if Nintendo was involved in this show, the segments would be based off other Nintendo IPs like Donkey Kong, Kirby, Metroid, Star Fox etc. Most episodes would include three seven minute segments, but in extended episodes, there would be six cartoons. Bowser, Bowser Jr. and the Kooplings would also appear in bridging segments. It would also be fully animated.

[@Takumi_Did_Nothing_Wrong]

Sad that a show that was supposedly popular during its time has practically become lost media. Makes me wonder what popular shows now will become lost media in a few decades.

[@rojin866]

I mean people post everything on the internet now days so i don't think a show is gonna get lost anytime soon,especially not a popular one

[@rockthrower1847]

@@rojin866 Sadly, many shows do get lost to time. Lost media is when something like that can’t be found, I would recommend checking out blameitonjorge if you want to know more about it

[@johnclark926]

Fortunately, with how the internet works I think that any show made in the modern era will be safe from being lost to time. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for video game preservation, where online-only and mobile games are callously lost and rendered irretrievable.

[@pegasusactua2985]

Things are different now with the internet. Anything made after like 2010 or so is going to be retrievable in some way, shape or form. Only roadblock would be legality.

[@connorbeith3232]

The streaming-dominated world of now could result in some lost media if we're not careful, like if any of the big platforms right now get shut down sometime in the future the more obscure shows and films could be neglected and/or forgotten by the company (though of course the big hitters would probably be re-released elsewhere). I mean, there are recent examples like Quibi (whose catalogue has fortunately been officially re-released) and CNN + (not sure if there was any original content made specifically for it).

[@King_Cisco]

"Parents were writing in that King Koopa was scaring kids." That's normally a good thing for Bowser.

[@mariajimenafigueroa233]

Well, Bowser is supposted to be scary. In fact, I used to be scared of him when I was a kid.

[@Crimson-Hat]

I love the intro to this show. Bowser just charges into a TV studio doing a live show, kicks the star out then takes it over like some kind of funny green terrorist.

[@Enigma75614]

How do we know Disney didn’t just want to get rid of their competition?

[@ShwompleDonker]

Yea competition lol

[@ExtremeWreck]

That sounds A LOT more plausible considering local TV used to be a thing back in the 90s, but Disney & other big companies are just taking it all away.

[@Sketch-Motion]

Disney was (and still is) corrupting morals as well so they probably were trying to get rid of the competition.

[@hansgonk7122]

Oh yeah, no. He didn't give a fuck about the morals. Dude made a ride based on song of the south and wanted a ride based on the "Alien" films only to be changed to something original but still horror themed (yeah the latter is no where near as bad, but it's clear the dude is willing to be a provocateur). It's a thinly veiled threat, it's likely if the show got bigger, Michael Eisner would made the same statements in the letter through press events or in interviews.

[@ragankelly9571]

@@ExtremeWreck so at the Time, Disney was getting into after school syndicated shows. This is when they had just had success with Duck Tales, right when they were launching Rescue Rangers, and LA was a big market I think. Fox was also a new network getting a foothold. This was Disney's sue-everybody era, and they would have seen a successful after-school kids show getting good ratings in LA as a big threat. Typical Eisner.

[@TeamBlueToad]

Another reason for the cancellation of the show was that at one point, Koopa threatened an angry child by yelling "Say what you want about me, kid! But i know where you live!".

[@howlingpig]

Yeah that's what I was thinking when I got the notification

[@ThomasGameDocs]

I've seen this story mentioned a number of times, but I didn't include it in the video because some members of the show's production staff say they don't believe it's true. Others say it definitely did happen though, so it definitely could be real!

[@-awezomexd-]

Although not appropriate for a kids show, that’s quite funny

[@Joosher56]

Yeah this seems like the kind of non canon bowser that would doxx a kid lmao

[@thedraftingax5963]

@@Joosher56 yep 🤣

[@rockthrower1847]

Great working with you Thomas! Super eager to help the search find more clips/episodes :)

[@ThomasGameDocs]

Absolutely! Thanks for your help!

[@frankiem2402]

wait help with what who are you

[@AwdryFan1997]

I remember reading a rumour that the show was canceled after Koopa told a kid "I know where you live" after being heckled. After watching this, I totally believe that Christopher Collins still did this, regardless of whether Eisner was responsible for its cancellation.

[@supermarioplushboi85]

Chris Collins also voiced Starscream in G1 Transformers as well and Cobra Commander in G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero

[@KasumiKenshirou]

I was surprised this wasn't mentioned in the video. Thomas probably didn't realize this because he used the name Chris Latta for those cartoons. And keep in mind Thomas wasn't even born yet when these cartoons were airing. From his point of view there have now been dozens or hundreds of actors that have played these roles, so its not as iconic as for people that grew up in the 80s.

[@floatingf8783]

3:12 That is hilariously in-character for Bowser.

[@mettaton1669]

I recognized the first actor immediately as the one who was the voice actor for Starscream in the original Transformers cartoon. But I don't remember hearing anything about that team having a problem with him. If I remember correctly most of the comments and stuff about him from that team were about being impressed with his work on the show.

[@GreenChillZone]

I recall there being one story of how they had to bail him out of jail for a recording session.

[@michaeleisner4758]

Thomas Game Docs: It was cancelled despite hit ratings due in part to a letter written by the President of Disney Defunctland fans: Say the line, Kevin! Kevin: *Michael Eisner* Defunctland fans: YAY!!! Cancelling the show so I could be featured on a Thomas Game Docs episode was my plan all along

[@humanbeing3551]

oh no he has pulled out his master plan. What do we do?!

[@yareyare9605]

It's Michael Eisner Oh no! What do we do!?

[@kieronireikets7884]

EISNERRRRRRR!

[@fn-pug5447]

Didn’t expect to see a Defunctland Reference in The Tomas Games Docs Comments section.

[@jasonwalton9553]

Your machinations lay undetected for years, for you are a master of deception!

[@Tettypat]

I 100% remember this show when it first aired. It came on right after the Super Mario Bros Super show and I believe began airing the same day that show came out, so I always felt that it was a strange revenge or "talk back" at the Marios, even though mario never directly appeared as far as I can imagine. My memory escapes me, but i beleive he had two sets, the one you see here, and one that seemed to be outside. The narrator would also sometimes passive-aggressively mock him when things wernt going to plan. For example, King Koopa was insulting birds without any of them around, but the narrator then said "uh oh, king koopa! Theres a large bird outside, and he doesnt seem happyyyy!" to which King Koopa changes tune and tries to quickly end the show. The "bird" was a silhouette of a puppet of what would have been a large bird, but that was enough to turn King Koopa into a coward. I do vaguely remember the actor changing, but by then i had lost interest in watching. It was a pretty crappy show especcially since it would air RIGHT AFTER the super mario bros super show...which everyone loved! But living in Los Angeles, i did legit wanted to be a member of the Koopa Troop. Videogame based media was a rare treat, and if my parents would have let me, i would have been excited about that

[@diosoth]

It's strange you glossed over Christopher Collins. A lot of people know him under the name Chris Latta- he famously voiced Starscream & Cobra Commander. As for his behavior, he was a notorious drug addict. According to interviews with Transformers producers, he was constantly being arrested for drug possession & bailed out of jail so he could do his job. It's considered to be the cause of his death as well.

[@queazy03]

Holy freaking cow, that's heart breaking. Starscream & Cobra Commander are a big part of people's childhoods

[@eglol]

How sad.

[@dylan8435]

Yea... The cancelation of the show sounds like a assassination by Disney i mean "undermining the moral of it's live, youthful audience" is that sounds suspicious?

[@bluebaron6858]

Wasn't Disney inserting those naughty cartoon bits into their movies around that time?

[@dylan8435]

@@bluebaron6858 first this was a tv show i was not in a movie. Second think. A tv show having a incredible success in a few weeks and he was made by fox is that weird that was cancelled because a letter between the CEOs?

[@cabbusses]

If modern Disney tried to do something like that, I'd just remind them of where Mulan 2020 was filmed and tell them they have no moral authority.

[@alchemistofsteel8099]

I mean I feel like the show had just run it's course. 65 episodes was just the average for childrens programming

[@dappercrow1454]

@@alchemistofsteel8099 vary likely, at that time with Kids shows once you had 65 episodes you can could basically run them on repeat for years. the Disney thing was probably a lie an executive at the single TV station this was made for told them because the truth would be "congratulations you made 65 episodes, we can now re-run this forever so we are firing you."

[@TBoneTony]

King Koopa was the antagonist of the Mario Super Show. Perhaps the actor was getting too into the villain character.

[@phineas81707]

Collins wasn't the actor for Bowser in the cartoon. All three of the DiC cartoons used Harvey Atkin as their King Koopa. Collins *was*, however, the voice of Moe and Mr. Burns in Season 1 of the Simpsons before Harry Shearer swallowed those roles.

[@vegetafan9922]

​@@phineas81707Here's the thing! Collins was fired for being an ass to the crew of The Simpsons. The same reason he was fired as Koopa.

[@vanagandrlink]

Honestly, the most surprising thing about this is that it wasn't a new version of a package show for Mario cartoons. Instead they just... Made the classic Mario baddie into Captain Kangaroo...?

[@ragankelly9571]

The Mario cartoon premiered at the same time. There was a show right after with a Live action Mario played by Lou Albano introducing a cartoon.

[@bostonmeadhorn4897]

I vaguely remember watching this as a kid. Oddly I can't remember anything about it beyond King koopas look

[@antilopezmexicanos]

At least, the show was not named King Koopa Kartoons, imagine how the acronym will backfire.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

I wonder if there was some point during the development of the show where someone said, "Um...I think we should add the word 'Kool' in there." (And "Kool" with a "K" was a brand of cigarettes, so that wasn't too good either.)

[@bobbyray5011]

*King Koopa:* "KKK? That's not good....hahah..... ooohh....." **Gets pelted with tomatoes by audience**

[@steventalvinzvestal420]

Lol! Krusty's Komedy Klassics reference!

[@foursidekm]

There was a dvd for the supershow called King koopa katasrophe. very unfortunate title

[@antilopezmexicanos]

@Claxington Really? what kind of company? I am not a Snowflake, I jus point put an ironic what if.

[@Solesteam]

That King Koopa costume, while not the prettiest of things, isn't frightening in the slightest, it's kinda goofy, and more just bland yet ugly rather than scary.

[@ragankelly9571]

It wasn't scary, it just looked dumb (even to kids). I do remember that nobody seemed to actually like the show, despite my friends and I being obsessed with Mario. Loved the Super Show though.

[@snoxeri]

I think it's pretty frightening and would have scared the shit out of me as a kid. And I could handle a lot of stuff, but there's something just uncanny-valley-esque about his look.

[@dakrook9741]

A full body costume would have been better than the weird tacky outfit and makeup

[@yellohammer8571]

DPadGamer, a KZbinr who covers easter eggs in games, once said that KK's "rubbery design comes off as cursed", or something like that. Believe me, it's true, he said it all right.

[@mariajimenafigueroa233]

That Bow-uhh King Koopa costume is the same one used for Mario Ice Capades, but with a rubber mask. So it actually looks like a reptile and not a human wearing a crappy jester outfit with green makeup

[@knghtbrd]

I'm relatively sure the show traumatized ZERO children and ALL the adults.

[@eglol]

Yeah, but still not a good show for children's morals, unless they're too young for their morals to really be formed just yet.

[@dansmith1661]

@@eglol This is a Democracy. We don't care about morality unless it is against the bogeymen we pay to exist.

[@dabblerdeluxe775]

I remember it even now, but mostly i found it boring do to all the pointless old cartoons

[@johnvodopija7486]

I was OBSESSED with this show as a kid. I dressed as Mario for Halloween in 1989 and begged my dad to dress as Koopa. No dice. In retrospect, that was a great decision on his part. I’m surprised to hear it only ran for 13 weeks. In my mind it ran for years.

[@dylanzlol7293]

What did you see in the show?

[@GravityGrid]

Can you remember anything about the show

[@johnvodopija7486]

@@GravityGrid I don’t remember much. I was pretty little. I do remember a lot of really old cartoons from the 1930s with characters that I hadn’t ever heard of before. I remember Koopa being obnoxious, almost like a kid-friendly version of Beetlejuice.

[@ragankelly9571]

13 weeks sounds right. I just know at some point it stopped airing before Mario, and nobody really noticed.

[@TJ1380]

13 weeks equals 65 episodes, which is enough for a show to go into syndication. It was common practice in the 80s and early 90s. If you were a kid back then, most of the shows you remember probably lasted that long. But yeah, it always felt like they lasted longer, probably because they could show those 65 episodes in reruns for at least a few years and still make some advertising money from them.

[@tlp2123]

I remember reading about this show as a kid in the late 2000s, on the super Mario wiki. Don't think it mentioned how there's barely any footage of it out there, though. It had plenty of pictures from the show, I had no idea it was lost media.

[@birdie8006]

whoa. wonder if its on the wayback machine

[@justatoaster3140]

I did the same thing growing up, back then only the intro and a small clip existed of it

[@MattHunterSays]

It made sense at the time. The "Super Mario Bros. Super Show" had live action "hosted" segments, with wrestler Lou Albano as Mario and actor Danny Wells as Luigi (who also voiced them in the cartoons.) I'm pretty sure the "Koopa" thing was designed as a companion show to it, either as a lead-in or followup. Not many markets picked it up, most likely because they had local kiddie hosts of their own. I first heard of its existence when I was in college...a guy who grew up in LA remembered it, and so did someone from St Louis.

[@queazy03]

Very certain one show was right after the other. Fridays were the best because on the SMBSS they'd show the cool Legend Of Zelda cartoons with Link who was very cool by comparison

[@duckyworthIV]

That comedian who played King koopa is the real life krusty the clown

[@Smithkakarot]

He also voiced Starscream in Transformers G1 and Cobra Commander in GI Joe.

[@dudestep]

He even has the same hair line.

[@zacdeboard8239]

I imagine it's already been said, but Christophet Collins was also known as Chris Latta, and was a voice actor in a number of 80s cartoons, most notably the voices of Starscream in Transformers, and Cobra Commander in G.I.Joe(he also voiced the Commander using the alias "Old Snake" in a Season 3 episode of Transformers. In addition, he also guest starred in a number of Star Trek series'.

[@Glasshouse828]

I’m certain there were some people watching this video who knew who Chris Latta was but didn’t know that was who Thomas was referring to when talking about Chris Collins, and I say “certain” instead of “sure” because I’m one of those people

[@rodrigomarcondes5857]

The first actor of King Koopa was basically Krusty the Clown but irl

[@awesomeferret]

How? He was way more successful than Krusty ever was.

[@jaydensvhsarchive3.095]

Thank you!!! I watch local tv a lot and even archived some local news segments on vhs

[@SobbleWobble13]

anyway you might be able to dump the files online? there might even be some undiscovered media on there too

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

Thomas Games Docs: The show was cancelled because of a complaint from the head of Disney Defunctland, already knowing it's Michael Eisner: *I am 4 parallel universes ahead of you* The irony of Disney complaining to 20th Century Fox is that the Walt Disney Company would go on to acquire 20th Century Fox as part of the agreement of the 21st Century Fox corporation to sell the majority of its assets for $71.3 billion

[@ska4dragons]

Honestly, if you smudge some details... *He was openly racist to **_Italian_** kids.* *He often **_kidnapped_** female staff members.* It just sounds like he was actually Bowser.

[@commandernemex3478]

They had to get an authentic actor

[@ShwompleDonker]

@@commandernemex3478 lmao

[@ToastersBagOfDankMemes]

Yeah, I guess that makes sense.

[@IcyDiamond]

He was racist to African American kids, not Italian kids

[@joltganda]

@@IcyDiamond He knows, that’s why it’s in italics.

[@mattmarrillia4907]

I read somewhere that in the last episode, King Koopa was reading fan mail. One of the letters was actually hate mail and his reaction was looking straight at the camera and saying “you can say whatever you want about me… but I know… where you live.” I have no way of confirming that story, but I like to think that that was a Koopa thing to do.

[@CyanicCore]

I thought I'd seen some of the weirder concepts, but merchandising going this far? ...Well, nice! While the costume is a little creepy up close, the set as a hole is at once faithful, creative, and decently well made. To top it off, the voice and acting seemed good as well, though there's not much to judge on. Perhaps the Koopa King just needed some context to back his character? It's worth wondering whether this venture contributed to the Super Show. Both are wraparound features with the Mario brand, but SMBSS's scenes instead had the friendlier characters of Mario and Luigi to make it more appealing - not to mention original Mario cartoons.

[@jamesonshekmeister]

To think Bowser/King Koopa was always a caring father, even before Mario Sunshine became a thing.

[@queazy03]

I remember thinking it was a modern day equivalent of Howdy Doody, in that it had a studio audience and an obvious puppet show. I remember never really liking the cartoons, thinking they were lame. Koopa certainly had an attitude, it's like he was always half taunting the live studio audience and would get them to cheer or boo him. It wasn't uncommon for him to fail at something and the studio kids would laugh at him. The only really clear memory I have of it was this one time he was trying to sell something on his tv show, like he was some obvious snake oil salesman you shouldn't trust. It was called "King Koopa's Soopa Gloopa" and it was a version of his super glue. I do remember that at one point the actor got changed, and even tiny children can tell it wasn't the same person but you just roll with it because everybody else is doing so. I think it was on right before, or right after, the Super Mario Super Show with Lou Albano. I also think there were several live action segments, not just one at the beginning and one at the end (2), but like 3-5 segments because they would air like 2 or 3 seven minute cartoons and the live action sections were between each one. They were also not shy about getting that costume dirty, as often Koopa would fail at something and get stuff on his costume. I remember when he was trying to sell glue, it was because something (a wall? a pot?) was broken and he needed to fix it. But while he fixed it something bad happened, like a prop fell on him, the glue got applied badly, something blew up in his face. Anyway I distinctly remember he had white goop over his costume, but especially this big (golf ball/potato) sized piece of good on his forehead that was rolling down into his right eye. Like a soldier, the actor maintained character and kept on pursuing the skit where he's trying to sell the glue to the tv audience, and of course the live tv audience of kids are laughing at him. He would fail a lot at stuff, and the kids would laugh at him, it felt like it was part of the script and that's what was meant to happen. Another weird thing is that the endings always happened abruptly, like they never knew when the show was going to end so he would be talking fast and never able to say a proper goodbye. Its not like the beginning of the show when there was a more reasonable pace, he doesn't sound rushed, and he's able to do his skits like it's a normal tv show. The endings always felt like "only 15 seconds left, say goodbye right now!" and then Koopa would say his farewell and just as he's finished a word or begins to wave goodbye the commercial comes on.

[@cabbusses]

I recall someone claiming to have found episodes to put up on the internet to archive. I hope to be able to finally watch this soon.

[@piranhalettuce]

I remember hearing about this show a few years ago, the costume for Bowser (or King Koopa) looks so awful and uncanny.

[@Astinsan]

I watched every episode. It wasn’t just public domain cartoons. It had super mario brothers cartoon too. They would pad the show with pd cartoons sometimes. Was on after school around 3:30pm. Was like what krusty the clown does in his fictional show in the Simpsons

[@theantgre]

That looks like more King K. Rool actually, lol

[@ajrfan6035]

But he also looks like that toad thing from the American super Mario bros. 2

[@TheDuckyDino]

He even replaced Cs With Ks

[@NitroIndigo]

Maybe this is where Rare got the idea from.

[@frankiem2402]

in modern day sure but back in the old day bowser(king koopa back then)did look like that

[@saulitix]

"REMOVE THIS HORRIBLE CREATURE IMMEDIATELY" And they made 65 episodes. That's a chad move.

[@evagarcia865]

Should’ve made 4 more episodes, then it could truly be *nice.*

[@MeleeFox2004]

@@evagarcia865 I was gonna say that lol

[@ababble393]

@@evagarcia865 this joke is soo old and dead jesus christ let it die already its not even funny anymore

[@CruellaDaDalmatian]

I really loved the show cartoon shows but I do agree that the live action King Koopa segments were a bit weird

[@SobbleWobble13]

really?

[@REDFRLegend]

Live action King Koopa doesn't seem to exist in the DVDs for my native language. I only know he exists because I saw a picture of him somewhere

[@therecognitionscene3771]

Thanks for covering this! I'm glad your friend is working to preserve it, too. I first learned about this show on the Hard Drive Super Mario Bros. Super Show Show podcast a year or two ago, where Jeremy Kaplowitz described it (if I recall correctly) as a live action show where King Koopa insulted his child audience. I'm pretty sure he references King Koopa threatening to beat up or kill a kid or something (i'm sure this memory is embellished but i can see this koopa actor trying to be 'scary' to the kids in the audience). I really hope more footage is able to be found because it does sound really wild.

[@therecognitionscene3771]

Update: another comment jogged my memory, it's that King Koopa reads a letter from a child that's supposed to be insulting to him and supposedly replies by saying that thanks to the return address on the envelope, now he knows where the kid lives. But as Thomas says in reply to that comment, there are production staff members who say this was likely apocryphal and that they'd remember this joke if it had been made.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Los Angelinos and Disney fans alike, complaining about Eisner cancelling the show and cool Disney park projects respectively: You took everything from me! Michael Eisner: *I don't even know who you are* Even more specific than just California, the only California channel that aired it was KTTV, so only those who were children within the Los Angeles area in that time period could've seen it. And it turns out, it DID air in the UK on a now defunct channel called The Children's Channel that ceased broadcasting in 1998. The only channel outside Los Angeles to air it.

[@StevenVillman]

No, it *_also_* aired in Canada (at least in southwestern B.C.) and possibly in Washington State.

[@JoeContext]

Michael Eisner can pull the plug on projects on companies his wouldn't own until he left... without a copyright infringement suit. It's like one of those old Chuck Norris jokes. Also, is nobody going to talk about how powerful Luigi's moustache is in that picture in the background?

[@GayLPer]

I think it was supposed to be defaced by King Koopa, but in a funny way. Thanks to the power of the internet, we associate it with power now XD

[@LethalBubbles]

The parental letters and the weird Disney thing and conservative nature of the complaints makes me suspect it might've been cancelled due to complaints from the Parents Television and Media Council lobbist group who do mass complaining and letters to financiers when they don't like something about the "family values" of a show. They're the ones behind the Janet Jackson Super Bowl incident, and getting Tim Burton removed from Batman 3 for example. In other words, I'm not sure what was in the "dirty underwear" segment was but apparently it was over the line for what was considered "acceptable children's tv" by conservative watch groups at the time and they caught it.

[@GayLPer]

It was probably just comically oversized boxers on the set at one point.

[@benitosierrajr3958]

6:55 yeah I knew that this Mario video was going to have a SpongeBob reference, especially if the guy became the next King Koopa, was the guy who sung SpongeBob’s theme. Video game franchises are no stranger to have major connections to SpongeBob in any form whatsoever, like some of the voice actors.

[@sinistararies2975]

The biggest crime of that show is the plaid pants. WTF were they even thinking? >_>

[@matthewjones6786]

Plaid: truly the most threatening of textile patterns.

[@shinkenger2011]

This is my favourite comment

[@dacidthorn]

Lol That was the weirdest part for me at 13. I remember thinking ‘ok so he’s like a Rodney dangerfield character’

[@Speed-TV]

0:19 "My children will be watching nickelodeon until king koopa is removed" Dang they loved him so much they will stop watching the whole channel once he is gone... 😔

[@alchemistofsteel8099]

It's funny because Nickelodean had Ren and Stimpy

[@mariajimenafigueroa233]

"My childern will be watching Nickelodeon because it dosen't have disgusting things" Nickelodeon: *Greenlits Ren & Stimpy*

[@Potaogirl-qm3ys]

This seems like a show described in a creepypasta.

[@zombies4evadude24]

Candle Cove especially

[@mariajimenafigueroa233]

I know, people offen use creepy background music, making lost media kinda creepy at times

[@cripnite]

Christopher Collins was also known as Chris Latta, and was well known as the voice of Cobra Commander, Starscream and the original voice of Moe the Bartender

[@thedraftingax5963]

I’ve never heard of or seen this show before, but glad I know about it now.

[@vincenthall5908]

Dang, I would have been the target audience. I’m an american from california in a nintendo obsessed family. But I was born 1992 and i doubt my brother watched it as a baby since he was born 1989 😅

[@ragankelly9571]

I was the target audience, a Mario obsessed kid who was living near LA in the late 80s. I'd like to say that the show did not disappoint, but really it did. Not good. Old cartoons that were boring to watch. Like old stuff from the 30s. Koopa was like if Bozo the Clown hated everybody with a passion.

[@8headeddragon]

It aired at 4:30 on weekday afternoons after Super Mario Super Show, and it used to be less of a wrapper in earlier episodes (with more live action content), where in later episodes there was only a couple of minutes of the King Koopa show in between a rerun of Real Ghostbusters. Eventually, it just completely became Real Ghostbusters in that time slot.

[@ragankelly9571]

Was it after? Might have been. I thought it was before, but it's been so long. You might be right come to think of it.

[@pinglefaz]

This is really interesting, didn't think a show like this existed and I saw weird things on television back in the 90's

[@CrazyHomelessWeirdo]

It's weird I grew up in St Louis Missouri and I remember the show as a kid. As soon as I saw the little clips you played throughout the video I became instantly nostalgic. And I haven't thought of this show in forever because wasn't it out the same time it's like the super Mario Bros super show or one of the super Mario Brothers cartoon shows were out as well? I really wish I could help with this because I would love to see a full episode of this and they were doing so well and getting good ratings then why the hell does Disney need to come in and kill it. You can say that about all kids shows that they're undermining their viewers because kids shows really talk and kiddish ways to children maybe we should get some Harvard professors to get in and do kid shows.

[@KLGB76]

I’m really curious to know what is the dirty underwear segment mentioned in the letter because that does sound pretty strange.

[@bluebaron6858]

What about something like the SpongeBob panty raid episode?

[@cecwaterbury]

I had no fricken idea that Chris Latta/Christopher Collins played King Koopa here! He is mainly well known for voicing Starscream and Cobra Commander. Back then in his voice acting career, he would offen get drunk and had to get bailed out of jail to record his lines. So it makes sense why he was acting like this on the set.

[@Armytoast]

The first Koopa guy was the voice of Cobra Commander/Starscream.

[@whatdoievencallthischannel4670]

I never thought a man with an (kinda) terrifying costume cut a vegetable with scissors made me feel bad..

[@Zarkonem]

I was born in '87. When I was 2 years old, my parents got an original Nintendo Entertainment System and I played the ever loving crap out of Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 3. I would watch the Super Mario Super Show and thought it was the greatest thing I had ever seen. The idea that kids were frightened of King Koopa (as he was called back then, he wasn't called Bowser in the states till Super Mario World to the best of my knowledge) is absolutely absurd sounding to me. He was less scary to me than No Heart from the Care Bears and I never heard anyone complained about him.

[@jasonblalock4429]

What I want to know is how/why Nintendo allowed this to happen. I mean, the SMB Super Show wasn't exactly high art, but it's a masterpiece compared to this.

[@dinoblacklane1640]

Nintendo were way more fast and loose with their IP back in the day The super mario bro movie, the cartoon, the Zelda CD thing

[@aidanhammans9337]

@@dinoblacklane1640 and after that, they went to the opposite extreme, preventing any show starring a Nintendo property from being made. (Besides Kirby)

[@birdie8006]

had to sell and be familiar in the US first, now everyone knows who mario is

[@ragankelly9571]

Back then Nintendo was marketing everything. Mario cereal, Mario board games, Mario stickers, Mario comics (I miss those). They weren't as protective. They had just approved a series that was a cartoon/live action hybrid based on Mario, and an LA station wanted to cash in on it. Not sure how it was approved, but they made it happen.

[@NitroIndigo]

@@aidanhammans9337 Kirby is second-party, and HAL probably aren't as restrictive. Same with Pokémon.

[@inoahthatguy3447]

I heard about this show. King Koopa looks horrifying!

[@WumpaClock]

Fun fact: This show was broadcast in the UK in late 1990 on TCC, so it is possible for someone from the UK to have recorded the series on a wayward cassette somewhere...

[@TheBester7]

I like the way king koopa is moving his hand when you say the date.

[@masterseal0418]

Remember this: Parents are more sensitive to things than children.

[@StreamFamily]

Yeah, I remember that the Joker from the Lego Batman movie got hate from parents lol.

[@mariajimenafigueroa233]

​@@StreamFamily What?

[@eglol]

Yeah, because most kids are so beautiful and pure. I wish to become like a younger child again, life is so much more bright and you don't know that people are actually being completely dumb and acting like idiots, you're just pure and having fun, and parents want to make sure their kids are safe so they forget that their kids don't know what's going on. It's good to protect your kids from bad things even if they don't understand it, still though.

[@eglol]

From lego, lol, I never saw that. Wonder that that's about lol The joker is MAD, I thought about how crazy that character is yesterday.

[@castlevaniaskeletor5598]

I sure hope that people can get more episodes out there!! I’ve been a Mario fanatic since I was young and I’ve never even known this existed!!! I’m so glad I do, this is soopa doopa kool LOL 😂😂😂

[@optimusprime-i5h]

at 4:44 i was taken off guard by seeing the this man because i recognized him because that's the actor who played Starscream & Wheeljack in the Transformers 1984 Cartoon.

[@azuredusk991]

I think isn’t that the original voice of the burns Simpsons guy

[@LupinticDream]

So much of Nintendo's licensed media has been preserved on the Internet, it's weird to think that there'd be any lost media still left. But that's sort of exciting, in a sense, 'cause it makes you wonder what other unseen obscure stuff might still be out there.

[@GigsTaggart]

fox was barely a network in 89. Around here it was weekend prime time only. Rest of the time the channel showed old movies and syndicated shows.

[@bluebaron6858]

@@GigsTaggart and it aired in a very small market

[@TheOffenderBlog]

I remember watching this as a child. You can tell the guy playing Koopa didn't want to be there, and neither did the kids.

[@doileo8947]

It's like the real version of Krusty the Clown from Simpson

[@KasumiKenshirou]

The first King Koopa actor was actually the original voice of Moe on The Simpsons. kzbin.info/www/bejne/haW0anWXm9N1n80&lc=UgwiIDk-0aZTk4-8qpp4AaABAg

[@carn9507]

Oddly enough Christopher Collins was the very first voice of Mr Burns and Moe in several episodes of the first season of The Simpsons before being quickly replaced after being a jerk

[@MeleeFox2004]

5:13 He was racist towards Italians and down bad for women? Sounds this guy was the perfect actor for Bowser!

[@mariajimenafigueroa233]

He was being racist to African American kids

[@anonymoustroll2432]

Useless fact: This King Koopa costume was used for Mario on Ice. For this show they gave him a mask that ressemble King Koopa from the Super Mario Bros Super Show.

[@mariajimenafigueroa233]

It looks better then the one used the Ice show, but he looks scary

[@Emmaniak]

Normies: Krusty the Klown isn't real! It's just a show in a cartoon! Me:

[@simonashtear2739]

I remember this show and your reconstruction is pretty accurate. I think there were a few cartoons shown, with skits in-between, but, yes, they were mostly all public domain cartoons. Being a boy child of the '80s, I was also a real big fan of The Real Ghostbusters, and there was a cross-over episode. I think it was actually near the end of the show, or possibly its final one. "I think I remember" (I'm trying to be very careful with that phrase) King Koopa complaining that he was being canceled in favor of TRGB taking his time slot. There was slime all over the set, spooky ghost noises that matched the same level of camp that The Super Mario Bros. Super Show live-action segments had, and did I mention the green slime? There was lots of green slime on-set. Maybe you can find some old TV Guides that can verify or confirm what took its place the week after cancellation. Or it could have just been a very special Halloween episodes. Lots of TV sitcoms loved to make special Halloween episodes.

[@gabrielchee8470]

Wait, the first guy was starscream! So this show was offlined by a cosmically powered ghost of starscream

[@Zrorro]

I had no idea the show even existed and I was born in 1985. The oldest shows with Mario characters I knew was the original Donkey Kong show and Super Mario Bros super show. Those were the only ones I ever saw. Hell to watch Super Show I had to usually catch a wild feed on satellite. Kids today don't know but wild feed satellite channels could be awesome. I remember finding one that played adventures of Sonic the hedgehog on it and The real Ghostbusters.

[@knyght27]

for anyone who doesn't know, Biafra is a region in Nigeria that got a lot of international attention in the late 60s and early 70s due to a civil war. The guy probably remembered hearing about it on the news

[@Vulnresati]

The opening song sounds like it would fit in "Mario might be super but I'm super duper"

[@BagelNosed3DSuser]

Dang, a (around) 32 year old show and no full episodes found yet.

[@JT-mn8ne]

That's actually Chris Latta, the voice actor for Cobra Commander and G1 Starscream.

[@Dystnine]

Funfact. Chris Latta who voiced Starscream and Cobra Commder did King Koopa in costume.

[@deathsceane]

It wasn't just in California. I saw it on TV as a little kid in Arizona. Usually the segments were used to host the Super Mario Bros Super Show. I think they showed the Patrick Pinney run in syndication outside of California. I mostly remember it since it was always on when I usally watched SMBSS. My initial thought was "who's this weird monster man, and where's my cartoon" then he puts on the cartoon and I didn't think much of it. I honestly didn't care who was hosting as long as I still got my cartoon. Though I did think it was weird they had the Villian host the cartoons. I think what happened was DiC had repackaged the show as a hosted syndicated package with Super Mario and Captain N as their main cartoons.

[@4DF2007Official]

The reason why Thomas hasn’t uploaded in a month because he spent (probably) so long find little clips of the show. You spent time for us Thomas.

[@Wince_Media]

As soon as I saw the thumbnail, I knew this was about king koopa's kool kartoons

[@MrBallerinakaka]

I Actually Never Heard Of The Show Until Now...

[@adamprogramming2926]

What if the show was called King Koopa Kartoons 😨

[@ragankelly9571]

Then it wouldn't have been Kool.

[@johnbillings5260]

Fox probably tossed the idea around.

[@rockamuse617]

Just as bad as Krusty Komedy Klassic.

[@Marioplushboyos]

Fun fact: Christopher Collins was well known for voicing Cobra Commander and Starscream in the original G.I. Joe and Transformers cartoons

[@braschlosan]

I remember this show clearly, and especially thinking how weird it was to have a dog in costume pretending to be a Mario enemy

[@atavious2491]

I think I prefer Dennis Hopper as the role of Bowser. Jack Black I think will knock out the role too. It's not very pleasing to find out that outside the 1993 film, these other two actors were also the live portrayel of Mario's sworn foe. One of these actors having a controversial description.

[@BenZinnar]

Ok, Collin’s voice wasn’t so pleasant, But Painty’s voice not only was more protagonistic for the kids, but was still faithful to Koopa’s character

[@gremlinviper6633]

I remember someone on Twitter saying that the reason behind its cancellation was because Koopa read an unpleasant fan letter on live tv and replied to it by saying something along the lines of "well I have your address"