6.4 /10 1 Votes
5.9/10 TV Composer(s) Doug Goodwin First episode date 9 September 1972 Number of episodes 13 | 6.7/10 IMDb Country of origin United States Final episode date 1 September 1973 Number of seasons 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Created by David H. DePatieFriz FrelengJoe Ruby Written by Heywood KlingDennis MarksDavid Evans Voices of Henry CordenJoan GerberJulie McWhirterSteve Lewis Cast Similar The Houndcats, Baggy Pants and the Nitwits, Bailey's Comets, Doctor Dolittle, The Oddball Couple | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Barkleys is an American animated television series that ran from 1972 to 1973 on NBC and was produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises.
Contents
Premise
The cartoon - inspired by the CBS sitcom All in the Family - featured an anthropomorphic dog family consisting of Arnie, a bus driver (voiced by Henry Corden) and his wife Agnes (voiced by Joan Gerber). They had two teenagers, Terry and Roger (voiced by Julie McWhirter and Steve Lewis respectively) and one younger child, Chester (voiced by Gene Andrusco).
The theme song's lyrics ended with the advice "Just remember Arnie Barkley's bark is worse than his bite." This meant that Arnie's grouchy, unsociable front concealed a softer heart which he rarely allowed to show. Doug Goodwin's theme song used part of "(Be It Ever So Humble) There's No Place Like Home".
Airings
The series was broadcast by NBC from September 9 to December 2, 1972. NBC continued to air reruns until September 1, 1973. Only 13 episodes were produced.
The series resurfaced in 2016, airing on the classic TV network Retro TV on Saturday mornings.
(The Barkleys is presumably in the public domain because production company DePatie-Freleng Enterprises folded into Marvel Productions in 1981, and the Marvel empire was purchased by The Walt Disney Company in 2009. Most likely, Marvel failed to renew the copyrights on The Barkleys when they expired in 2000, and Disney - very likely unaware this show was now a part of their vast library - failed to take any further action to renew the copyrights.)
Voices
Episode list
- Match Breaker / 9.Sep.1972
- Finders Weepers / 16.Sep.1972
- Lib And Let Lib / 23.Sep.1972
- Half-Pint Hero / 30.Sep.1972
- No Place for a Lady / 7.Oct.1972
- For the Love of Money / 14.Oct.1972
- Keeping Up with the Beagles / 21.Oct.1972
- Play No Favorites / 28.Oct.1972
- Law and Missorder / 4.Nov.1972
- The Great Disc Jockey / 11.Nov.1972
- Barkley Beware / 18.Nov.1972
- Arnie Come Clean / 25.Nov.1972
- The Talent Agency Caper / 2.Dec.1972
DVD release
On October 20, 2015, Film Chest Media Group released The Barkleys and The Houndcats - 2 DVD Classic Animation Set on DVD in Region 1. This collection features all 13 episodes of the series on DVD for the very first time.