Family Toons: Pink Panther & Sons (1984)

After 6 years away from the network, the Pink Panther returned to NBC in 1984, but this time, things were a little different.

With DePatie-Freleng having been absorbed by Marvel Comics and rechristened Marvel Productions, the Panther was looking for a new home for his animated adventures. At the time, MGM held his rights, and, without an animation studio of their own, sought to find a partner for a new Panther series. Former MGM employees William Hanna & Joseph Barbera came to the rescue, and, with help from Panther co-creator Friz Freleng, created Pink Panther & Sons, which spent a year on NBC, overshadowed by the network's current-at-the-time hits (Smurfs, Mr. T, & Alvin & the Chipmunks). While the Panther himself didn't talk, he did raise two chatty boys. Here's the open, with a teaser for an episode.....



I've never seen the show, so I can't rate it, nor can I fairly speculate on whether or not the Panther was married for the purposes of this show. What we do know, though, is that when the Panther returned in a syndicated series nearly a decade later, he was definitely single, and with no kids, as if MGM wanted to ret-con Pinky & Panky and their friends out of existence. Today, that wouldn't happen.