The Master Zapper
- Studio
- DiC Entertainment, Saban Entertainment, Inc.
- Distributor
- Saban Entertainment
Characters
Kidd Video, Whiz, Carla, Ash, Glitter, Master Blaster, She-Lion, Cool Kitty, Fat Cat
Credits
Voices
- Voice
- Bryan Scott (Kidd Video), Gabriele Bennett (Carla), Robbie Rist (Whiz), Steve Alterman (Ash), Cathy Cavadini (Glitter), Pete Renaday (Master Blaster), Susan Silo (She Lion), Marshall Efron (Fat Cat), Robert Towers (Cool Kitty)
Music
- Music
- Shuki Levy, Haim Saban
Production notes
From my video, to my radio...
One of the earliest Saturday morning shows to catch the swelling MTV wave, Kidd Video mixed pop music with comic adventure and live action with animation, concocting a rocking hit for NBC.
The opening credits explained the peculiar predicament of Kidd Video. Heading up a rock and roll band with pals Whiz, Ash and Carla, Kidd ("KV" to his friends) was sucked over to the cartoon "Flipside" by the power-hungry record producer Master Blaster. But the Blaster was no Wicked Witch; he was a businessman. Master Blaster had his eye on Kidd Video's hitmaking sound, and the crooked man had dispatched his own band, the Copy Cats?composed of real cats Fat Cat, She Cat and Cool Kitty?to steal KV's groove.
Luckily for Kidd and the gang, the Flipside also had a few helpful faces, including the magical Glitter, who volunteered to help KV and friends return to the human world. Thus, the elements were in place for a weekly adventure series. But this was only half the draw of Kidd Video.
The rest of the show's power came from weekly MTV-influenced segments wherein Top 40 hits were set to animated music videos. Sometimes the montages were worked into the plot (e.g. - the teens were instructed to "rock down to Electric Avenue" and then take it higher, to the top floor of a high-rise building); other videos needed no excuse to showcase the works of Duran Duran, Madonna and other 80's superstars.
Kidd Video ran for three seasons on NBC before bouncing over to CBS in reruns. In 1989, the show was revived as half of the syndicated Wolf Rock Power Hour, with fellow rock-and-roll cartoon Wolf Rock TV. The episodes were again repeats, but new music videos were added.
One of the earliest Saturday morning shows to catch the swelling MTV wave, Kidd Video mixed pop music with comic adventure and live action with animation, concocting a rocking hit for NBC.
The opening credits explained the peculiar predicament of Kidd Video. Heading up a rock and roll band with pals Whiz, Ash and Carla, Kidd ("KV" to his friends) was sucked over to the cartoon "Flipside" by the power-hungry record producer Master Blaster. But the Blaster was no Wicked Witch; he was a businessman. Master Blaster had his eye on Kidd Video's hitmaking sound, and the crooked man had dispatched his own band, the Copy Cats?composed of real cats Fat Cat, She Cat and Cool Kitty?to steal KV's groove.
Luckily for Kidd and the gang, the Flipside also had a few helpful faces, including the magical Glitter, who volunteered to help KV and friends return to the human world. Thus, the elements were in place for a weekly adventure series. But this was only half the draw of Kidd Video.
The rest of the show's power came from weekly MTV-influenced segments wherein Top 40 hits were set to animated music videos. Sometimes the montages were worked into the plot (e.g. - the teens were instructed to "rock down to Electric Avenue" and then take it higher, to the top floor of a high-rise building); other videos needed no excuse to showcase the works of Duran Duran, Madonna and other 80's superstars.
Kidd Video ran for three seasons on NBC before bouncing over to CBS in reruns. In 1989, the show was revived as half of the syndicated Wolf Rock Power Hour, with fellow rock-and-roll cartoon Wolf Rock TV. The episodes were again repeats, but new music videos were added.
Reviews
The Master Zapper
This was good in parts, and not so good in others. Again you have really wierd characters that aren't very likeable.
That lady in the bubble suit looks too wierd. Where are her legs? How come you don't see them when she bounces?
But I liked the psychedelic imagery. All those wierd bubble shaped forms and stuff.
The actual best part of the cartoon is the zapper device that changes people's personalities. It breathed new life into Kidd video and his friends, and showed personality traits in the copy cats you don't normally see.
I liked it that they started talking back to Master Blaster and getting him angry. I also liked seeing Whiz Kid(why is it always Whiz Kid?) talking about how much he hates playing music and being in the band.
Sure, it's been done before in different cartoons, but it's fun to see their personalities change.