101 Dalmatians: The Series

This article is about the television series. For other uses, see 101 Dalmatians (disambiguation).

101 Dalmatians: The Series is a 1997 animated television series produced by The Walt Disney Company, and based on the classic 1961 Disney animated feature of the same name and its 1996 live-action remake.

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Contents
[hide]*1 Premise
 * 2 Production
 * 3 Characters
 * 4 Episodes
 * 4.1 Season 1: 1997
 * 4.2 Season 2: 1997-1998
 * 5 Merchandise
 * 6 Continuity issues
 * 7 References
 * 8 External links
 * }

[edit] Premise
The show focuses primarily on three particular puppies: Lucky, TV expert and leader and canine Tom Sawyer; loyal, scholarly, and always-hungry brother Rolly; and their outspoken New Age guru sister, the runt Cadpig. They're joined by colorful friends like Spot, the chicken who wants to be a dog and a member of the "Bark Brigade." Early promotional material listed "dictatorial Penny and mischievous Patch" as two other puppy cast members, but the highlighted puppies were whittled down to three.

Other puppies appearing in the show have included the brave three-legged Tripod, Dipstick, the constantly-urinating Wizzer, and their sister Two-Tone. The show seems to be a blending of both the original animated film and the live action feature, so the potential exists for other puppies from the films to appear, especially Freckles, and Pepper (animated), and Jewel and Fidget (live action).

[edit] Production
Originally intended to be titled Dalmatians 101, it was changed to 101 Dalmatians: The Series just before its premiere.

101 Dalmatians: The Series debuted in syndication on September 13, 1997, running new episodes five days a week, as a part of the Disney Afternoon block which was no longer used after the previous season. Less than two weeks later, the show came to ABC's One Saturday Morning lineup, airing original episodes that could only be seen on the network. 65 episodes were produced; 12 on ABC, and 53 in syndication. In August 1998, the show played its last episode in syndication.

Reruns continued to play on ABC until 1999, when the show was moved to The Disney Channel, and then later to Toon Disney. On January 30, 2006, Toon Disney aired the show for the final time regularly, while one episode was shown in May 2007 for the final time. As of that day, 101 Dalmatians: The Series is off the air in most countries with a Disney Channel franchise. It is currently being syndicated on the United Kingdom channel Disney Cinemagic and was also aired on the Latin American version of Disney Channel during 2008, then in 2010 January 2, the Season 2 moved to RTE Two in Ireland.

[edit] Characters
The main characters in the series are Lucky, Cadpig, Rolly, and Spot. Lucky is the most adventurous of the 99 puppies. He is unique in having his only spots in the shape of a horseshoe on his back. Cadpig is the runt of the litter. She is the smallest of the 99 puppies but quite possibly the most intelligent. She is unique in having long floppy ears and a big head. Rolly is the greedy one. Almost all his decisions are based on food and this, at times, gets him and the pups into trouble. He is, however, a loyal and helpful sibling. Spot is a chicken who wants to become a dalmatian. She is the voice of commonsense for the foursome but, more often than not, is ignored. She is easily frightened and is prone to literally bounce off the walls. She is, however, a good dancer (which has to count for something according to her) and appears to be good at math.

The main villains, as described above, are Cruella de Vil and her henchmen, Horace and Jasper. As said above, she is now a corporate criminal and most of her plans revolve around getting richer, tormenting the Dalmatians and stealing the Dearly Farm. Horace and Jasper are usually hired to perform her plans, usually failing. Other characters are Roger Dearly, Anita Dearly, Nanny, Pongo and Perdita, Scorch, Vindella de Vil and the entire de Vil family.