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Jabberjaw is an American animated television series created by Joe Ruby and Ken Spears and produced by Hanna-Barbera which aired 16 original episodes on ABC from September 11 to December 18, 1976. Reruns continued on ABC until September 3, 1978.

premise[]

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

Like a great deal of Hanna-Barbera's 1970s output, 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 mid-1970s caused by 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). Every episode ended with a musical chase sequence where Jabberjaw and the gang would run from the villains, performing zany cartoon antics in order to escape while a song by The Neptunes played in the background.

characters[]

  • Jabberjaw (voiced by Frank Welker impersonating Curly Howard) – An air-breathing, Brooklyn-accented anthropomorphic great white shark. Jabberjaw found it hard to get respect in a society where "shark ejectors" (robots that would guard various buildings or cities from sharks entering) were commonplace. These robots, as well as unpleasant treatment from others, frequently prompt him to utter some variation of his catchphrase (borrowed from the comedian Rodney Dangerfield): "I don't get no respect!" He has the unique ability to change his shape or adapt himself to act like various objects such as a trampoline, parachute, jack, throw rug, etc., either to get himself and the gang out of a jam, or just to hide.
  • Biff (voiced by Tommy Cook) – An athletic, handsome, brown-haired young man who is the band's guitar player and level-headed leader who books all the gigs. In many episodes, his hair is drawn black. His main catchphrase is "Jumpin' jellyfish!" (occasionally, "Hoppin' halibut!")
  • Shelly' (voiced by Patricia Parris) – A dark-haired young woman who plays tambourine and sings backup vocals for The Neptunes. She is attractive and intelligent, but haughty, vain and abrasive (like Josie and the Pussycats Alexandra) and considers herself to be the star of the band. While she holds a great deal of disdain for Jabberjaw (or "Blubberhead" as she calls him), she does have some grudging fondness for him deep down and occasionally shows it.
  • Bubbles' (voiced by Julie McWhirter) – A young woman 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". Whenever she volunteers to help, she usually ends up messing it up.
  • Clamhead (voiced by Barry Gordon) – A tall and slim, red-haired young man who plays bass for The Neptunes and is Jabberjaw's best friend. His catchphrases are crying out "Abba-abba-abba!" and "Wowee-wow-wow-wow!" (or some variation, commonly featuring the word "zowie") whenever he gets excited.

broadcast history[]

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 as part of USA Cartoon Express on USA Network, in the 1990s on Cartoon Network and in the 2000s on 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.

Broadcast schedules (all EDT):

  • September 11, 1976 – November 27, 1976, ABC Saturday 9:00-9:30 AM
  • December 4, 1976 – September 3, 1977, ABC Saturday 8:30-9:00 AM
  • September 11, 1977 – September 3, 1978, ABC Sunday 10:30-11:00 AM

episodes[]

No. Title Original air date Prod.code
1 "Dr. Lo Has Got to Go" September 11, 1976 84-1
Jabber and the gang have to stop the evil Dr. Lo from unleashing his Gorgon on the city of Aquahama.
2 "There's No Place Like Outer Space" September 18, 1976 84-2
After Biff gets them kicked out for a publicity stunt, aliens land in the undersea city of Hydrostan. It's up to Jabber and the gang to stop their invasion.
3 "Atlantis, Get Lost" September 25, 1976 84-4
Jabber and the gang get mixed-up in Dorsal's plan to overthrow the queen of Atlantis and become king himself.
4 "Run, Jabber, Run" October 2, 1976 84-3
Jabber competes in the 2076 Undersea Olympics against a robot in order to unmask Z, the leader of a worldwide criminal organization.
5 "The Sourpuss Octopus" October 9, 1976 84-5
Jabber and the gang accidentally join Professor Acosta's expedition to find the treasure of Panaqua, and have to protect him from the villainous Octopus.
6 "Hang On to Your Hat, Jabber" October 16, 1976 84-6
The Brotherhood of Evil threatens the undersea world when it learns that the Power Helmet, invented by Professor Ortega, grants its bearer's every wish.
7 "The Great Shark Switch" October 23, 1976 84-7
The Ambassador of Aquatania suspects that the Neptunes have kidnapped Commander Shark, so Jabberjaw must prove their innocence.
8 "Claim-Jumped Jabber" October 30, 1976 84-8
The evil Coldfinger is after all the richest mines in Aqualaska. When Jabberjaw gets in the way, Coldfinger puts our favorite shark on ice!
9 "Ali Jabber and the Secret Thieves" November 6, 1976 84-9
Jabber and The Neptunes, touring the undersea kingdom of Hydrabia, meet Volton, an evil mass of energy who lives inside the magic Electrolamp.
10 "Help, Help, It's the Phantom of the Kelp" November 13, 1976 84-10
The Phantom, with the aid of a powerful growth ray, plans to raise an army of ferocious prehistoric plants to make the Aqua International Corporation bow to his demands.
11 "No Helpin' the Sculpin" November 20, 1976 84-11
Jabber and The Neptunes encounter the sinister Sculpin, who has stolen an unfinished time machine from the brilliant Professor Thorstein.
12 "The Bermuda Triangle Tangle" November 25, 1976 84-12
Jabberjaw and The Neptunes accidentally go through the Bermuda Triangle and are taken prisoner by Sorceress Madame Sargasso.

Note: Telecast at noon (ET) on a Thursday, as part of ABC's Thanksgiving Funshine Festival.

13 "Malice in Aqualand" November 27, 1976 84-13
While participating in a rodeo at Aqualand's theme land Westernland, Jabberjaw sees Dr. Cybron's henchmen kidnap the Rajah and replace him with a robot duplicate. He tells The Neptunes and Dr. Cybron tries to silence them by sending a runaway stagecoach over a cliff. When that plot fails, his henchmen capture Bubbles and send a duplicate of her to capture the others. The group rescues Bubbles and the Rajah and discovers that Dr. Cybron himself is a robot.
14 "The Fast Paced Chase Race" December 4, 1976 84-14
The Neptunes try to win the top spot in the Petrolaqua Trans-Marine Race while attempting to foil the evil plans of Dr. Robek.
15 "The Piranha Plot" December 11, 1976 84-16
Biff books the group on a tanker to Amsteraqua after another gig falls through, this being the cheapest way to go straight there. The Piranha has designs on ruling the Underwater States of America and captures the tanker for its load of special rocket fuel. The Neptunes scuttle the Piranha's rocket, practically dismantling the control center and messing with the rocket's fuel delivery system. Jabber manages to accidentally launch the rocket to a different destination with its cargo of sleep dust.
16 "There's No Heel Like El Eel" December 18, 1976 84-15
The eerie El Eel threatens to turn the entire undersea world to stone, and there's only one guy who can stop him: the great El Jabbo!

other appearances[]

merchandising[]

home media[]

references[]

external links[]

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