Product Description

Voiced by the late-great Don Addams (who portrayed Maxwell Smart on Get Smart, and later voiced Inspector Gadget), educated as well as entertained youngsters.

Tennessee, a wisecracking penguin, and his dim-witted pal, Chumley, resided in the Megalopolis Zoo. They were constantly scheming against zookeeper Stanley Livingston and his assistant Flunky, in an attempt to raise the quality of zoo-life. Their projects required the assistance of their educated friend, Phineas J. Wheepee (voiced by Larry Storch), and his 3-D BB (a three dimensional blackboard). The 3-D BB helped demonstrate basic scientific principles through the use of instructional film clips (a technique also used that year by Ken Snyder's syndicated Funny Company cartoons).

15 of the greatest episodes are here for all to enjoy the Penguin paranoia!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10947 in DVD
• Brand: SONY GROUP/DVD
• Released on: 2006-03-07
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 30 minutes

Customer Reviews

See see see! Sort of...
I'm in my mid 40's and I watched Tennessee Tuxedo in its original form on a thirteen inch black and white Zenith TV back in the mid 1960's. I am thrilled just to see Tennessee and his friends in color (I didn't know they were in color) and in a high quality reproduction on a modern TV.

That said, there's something very sterile about this approach to packaging these old cartoons. It's really not like watching those great old shows I remember over again because what you have here is fifteen or so Tennessee segments (many more episodes were produced) cut out of their original context and presented pure, alone, and rather clinically at that. (And with a weird and totally out-of-context promo for a Casper the Ghost show that you have to view every time you put in the DVD.)

There's a certain fun factor that's been removed. It's like an exhibit in a futuristic museum of 1960's kids TV. You can see, but you can't really experience the subject matter.

I just wish more of these cartoons would be released like the Bullwinkle and Rocky cartoons have been: seasonal box sets with the original stuff all there.

I'm Glad It's Out, But It Could Have Been Better
"Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales" arguably was one of the best series to come out of Total Television (now owned by Classic Media who also owns the rights to Casper, hence the promo), next to "The Underdog Show". Unfortunately, Classic's treatment of the TTV material pales in comparison to their treatment of the Jay Ward material (which they also now own). They should offer complete seasons instead of "best of's" as there were 70 "Tennessee Tuxedo" episodes in total. Also, the theme song has been changed to a 'demo' version instead of the actual one sung by Don Adams and Bradley Bolke (Tennessee and Chumley, respectively). The prints are good, and the cartoons are still entertaining, despite my misgivings on the packaging.

FYI, Total Television produced the following series (in no particular order) from 1959-1969:

King Leonardo
The Hunter
Tooter the Turtle
Tennessee Tuxedo
Klondike Kat
Commander McBragg
Underdog
Go-Go Gophers
The Beagles

According to Wikipedia, the rug was pulled from TTV and Gamma Productions (the animation house that also animated much of Jay Ward's stuff) when General Mills (the show's sponsor) pulled out in 1969. The last show to be produced was going to be called "The Colossal Show" which was never completed, although there is a comic book out there. The rights reverted back to the creators who sold it to Lorne Michaels (of "Saturday Night Live") who in turn sold it to Golden Books, and then was acquired by Classic Media, the current owners.

Still fun, but I wish they had kept the original Underdog format...
I am going to be 35 years old this sunday which means I was watching Tennessee and Chumley on the Underdog show back in the '70s. I remember I actually enjoyed the Tennessee Tuxedo shorts more than the Underdog and Go-Go Gophers etc most of the time. The 'education' that is part of each plot was fascinating to me as I child. I loved to read and learn and I loved cartoons!

Very great times and very good memories.
I think most other people my age, if they are interested at all, would like to see/relive these shorts in their original, Underdog cliff-hanger style - but I will take what I can get.

Technical:
Overall, I would say the picture and sound quality are quite good, but I did note a couple of details:
1.) There is an UNSKIPPABLE Casper commercial on the DVD
2.) When using 'Play All', there are no credits or breaks to Underdog etc. so the shorts sort of run together if you aren't paying close attention.
3.) The package says, '15 of the greatest episodes' - what are we missing??

I do not have kids, but this is really great (and slightly educational) stuff and I highly recommend it. I have no doubt that Tennessee, Chumley, and Phineas all had a hand in my great love of knowledge and humor.

Episode List:
1.) The Rainmakers (Learn to seed a cloud)
2.) The Lamplighters (Learn to make a lightbulb)
3.) Telephone Terrors (Learn about telephones)
4.) The Giant Clam Caper (Learn about deep sea diving)
5.) Tic-Tock (Learn how a clock works)
6.) Scuttled Sculpture (Learn about sculpture)
7.) The Bridge Builders (Learn to build a bridge)
8.) Howl, Howl, The Gang's All Here (Learn how to build a log cabin)
9.) Sail On, Sail On (Learn about sailing)
10.) Tell-Tale Telegraph (Learn about the telegraph)
11.) Rocket Ruckus (Learn about rockets)
12.) Tale Of A Tiger (Learn about battle armor)
13.) Wreck Of A Record (Learn how a record player works)
14.) Parachuting Pickle (Learn about parachutes)
15.) Wish-Wash (Learn about windmills)