SuperTed returns with a PC twist — the baddies aren’t camp or fat
AFTER more than three decades away, cartoon superhero SuperTed is poised to swoop back onto TV screens.
But no amount of the cosmic dust first used to bring the crimefighting bear to life in the early eighties can equip him to defeat the new foe of political correctness.
In keeping with modern sensibilities, there are due to be major changes to the show’s three original villains: Texas Pete the gunslinging cowboy and his henchmen, a camp skeleton and a chubby dimwit called Bulk.
The original ran from 1983-85 with Derek Griffiths voicing SuperTed, a bear that was discarded in the toy factory but transformed into a superhero by ‘cosmic dust’ bestowed on him by Mother Nature and the help of his alien friend Spotty.
Creator Mike Young last week confirmed the return of SuperTed, saying: ‘We hope it will be back in production this year.’
But he has already warned nostalgic parents watching with their children not to expect Texas Pete, Bulk and Skeleton to appear in the same way in the new series.
Previously speaking to Radio Times, he said: ‘In SuperTed, we had a gun-slinging cowboy, a flamboyantly gay skeleton and a fat guy who had jokes made about his weight.
‘All these things you just wouldn’t do today. But you can still write the show in a funny, entertaining way.’
Mr Young added he hoped Derek Griffiths and Melvyn Hayes – who originally played Skeleton – will be available for the new run.
But Roy Kinnear, who voiced Bulk, died in 1988, while Doctor Who star Jon Pertwee, who was SuperTed’s sidekick Spotty, died in 1996.