The Skatebirds was a 60-minute show on CBS Saturday mornings from 1977-78, produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions. The show featured four short segments hosted by live-action wraparounds featuring "The Skatebirds", three large birds played by actors in costumes.
The Skatebirds, so-called because they roller skated, were named Satchel (a pelican), Knock-Knock (a woodpecker) and Scooter (a penguin). Their nemesis was Scat-Cat, voiced by Scatman Crothers who had previously played Hanna-Barbera's Hong Kong Phooey and a character also named Scat Cat from the Disney movie The Aristocats. The appearance of the characters and the format of the show was similar to Hanna-Barbera's The Banana Splits.
The Skatebirds lasted only a half-season in its original run from September 10, 1977 to January 28, 1978. In the fall of 1979, the show was cut down to a half-hour by removing The Robonic Stooges and Woofer And Whimper, Dog Detectives (which had been spun off into a separate half-hour) and broadcast on CBS Sunday mornings on and off until January 1981. In the late 1980s, a different shortened version of The Skatebirds (now featuring The Robonic Stooges and Wonder Wheels) was shown on USA Cartoon Express and later resurfaced on Cartoon Network and Boomerang.
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