Tom Slick (TV series)
Tom Slick is the cartoon star of a series of shorts that aired within the half-hour animated television series George of the Jungle. It was the work of Jay Ward Productions, the creators of Rocky & Bullwinkle and other satiric animated characters. Seventeen six-minute episodes were made.
The premise
Freckled, grinning, all-American racecar driver Tom Slick competes in various races with his trusty vehicle, the Thunderbolt Grease-Slapper. He is accompanied by his girlfriend Marigold and his elderly mechanic Gertie Growler. The two women do not always get along well. A recurring antagonist is the evil Baron Otto Matic, and the Baron's stupid lackey Clutcher, whom the Baron has a penchant for hitting across the head with a monkey wrench. All episodes are narrated by a pastiche of then voice of the Indianapolis 500, Sid Collins.A running gag throughout the series is that the Thunderbolt Grease-Slapper can be converted into virtually any type of racing vehicle, often looking nothing like the original vehicle itself. Various episodes show the Grease-Slapper as a train, stock car racer, drag racer, racing balloon, swamp buggy, submarine, even a miniaturized skateboard. Most of the races took place between Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Gary, Indiana.
As the theme song is sung, Tom's Thunderbolt Grease-Slapper suddenly "hops" out of control off a road and into a barnyard occupied by farm animals. Tom is knocked momentarily unconscious with a chicken sitting on top of his head as he drives straight into a brick wall. But he miraculously gets out of the sudden pandemonium as his car falls apart in mid-air and suddenly falls back together again. The car then jumps onto a stone monument bearing Tom Slick's name and gets back on the road as Tom waves his hand and smiles.