Yogi’s Space Race (NBC 1978-1979, Daws Butler, Frank Welker)

Hey There, It’s Yogi Bear

One of Hanna-Barbera’s more popular characters, Yogi Bear was already a cartoon veteran before Yogi’s Space Race premiered in the fall of 1978. Intended to cash in on the Star Wars craze, this ninety-minute show consisted of several animated segments starring Yogi and his friends.

A long way from Jellystone National Park, Space Race saw Yogi, Jabberjaw, the Phantom Phink, Sludge, Huckleberry Hound, and Rita and Wendy navigating their way through the solar system in an interplanetary race.

The Buford Files told the tale of Buford Bloodhound, a lethargic, dim-witted mutt with a flashing red nose. The low-key pooch lived in a swamp and solved crimes.

Galaxy Goof-Ups starred Yogi, Huck, Scarebear, and Quack-up as outer space patrolmen under the command of Captain Snerdley.

The final segment, The Galloping Ghost, followed the adventures of a horse named Nugget Nose who haunted a dude ranch and solved mysteries.

In November of 1978, Yogi’s Space Race was trimmed to sixty minutes as Galaxy Goof-Ups became a separate half-hour series. In early 1979, Buford and Nugget Nose got their own half-hour spinoff, Buford and the Galloping Ghost, and Yogi’s Space Race was cut down to a mere 30 minutes before ending its run a few months later. After a twelve year hiatus (during which he appeared only in syndication and on the occasional special), Yogi returned to Saturday morning in 1991’s Yo, Yogi!

production details
USA / NBC – Hanna-Barbera / Broadcast 9 September 1978 – 3 March 1979

voice cast
Daws Butler as Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound
Joe Besser as Scarebear
Mel Blanc as Quack-Up
John Stephenson as Captain Snerdly
Frank Welker as Jabberjaw, Captain Good, Clean Cat, Phantom Phink, Sinister Sludge, Buford Bloodhound, Nugget Nose
Dave Landsburg as Woody
Pat Parris as Cindy Mae
Marilyn Shreffler as Wendy
Henry Corden as Sheriff
Gary Owens as Narrator