By the time the 80's had rolled around, the trends of Saturday Morning animation had shifted from superheros, teen detectives, and slapstick chases, to pop culture fads such as toys, cute mini-critters, and in the case of "Pac-Man"...video games.
If you are not aware, the original Pac-Man video game consisted of a pie shaped being traveling around a maze eating as many dots as possible while avoiding a roaming group of ghost-monsters. It was (and still is) very popular. Hanna-Barbera's adaptation of the concept featured Pac-Man and his family (wife, toddler son, cat, and dog) and their adventures in "Pac-Land"...mainly their adventures against the Ghost-Monsters, hit-men employed by an overlord named Mezmeron who's goal was to obtain the town's source of power-pellets (lifeblood of the Pac-land residents). Sounds ominous, but the general feeling was one of humor and comedy.
The show is a typical HB product, regular catchphrases used by the characters and formula-tic plots. A lot of those story lines are carried over from older HB shows. The Ghost-Monsters being funny-villains along the lines of the Chopper Bunch and Dick Dastardly's gang...forever failing miserably in their chase for their "prey"..often in spectacular ways. And Pac-Man being very similar to Popeye the Sailor Man...though instead of a can of spinach, the yellow guy chows down on a power pellet in order to defeat the bad guys...in this case chomping them...sending them back for new ghost suits.
While some episodes are indeed dated, rehashed stories, and at times relying too much on a then-fad, there are moments of funny Saturday Morning craziness that many folks grew up on and loved. One such episode involving the Pac family going on a picnic is downright hilarious! You actually feel sorry for the Ghost-monsters as they fail from one scene to the next in an attempt to ruin the family's outing (of which they are simply unaware of the ghosts' activity)!!! And stealing the show..Sourpuss and Chomp Chomp...the family pets. Their back and fourth battles could have been made into a series of their own. Why they were not made into free-standing character is a mystery. Brilliant characters!
So is this show good? Depends on who you ask. You may love it...or not. But if anything, "Pac-Man" is a perfect example of what was hot at the time.
If you are not aware, the original Pac-Man video game consisted of a pie shaped being traveling around a maze eating as many dots as possible while avoiding a roaming group of ghost-monsters. It was (and still is) very popular. Hanna-Barbera's adaptation of the concept featured Pac-Man and his family (wife, toddler son, cat, and dog) and their adventures in "Pac-Land"...mainly their adventures against the Ghost-Monsters, hit-men employed by an overlord named Mezmeron who's goal was to obtain the town's source of power-pellets (lifeblood of the Pac-land residents). Sounds ominous, but the general feeling was one of humor and comedy.
The show is a typical HB product, regular catchphrases used by the characters and formula-tic plots. A lot of those story lines are carried over from older HB shows. The Ghost-Monsters being funny-villains along the lines of the Chopper Bunch and Dick Dastardly's gang...forever failing miserably in their chase for their "prey"..often in spectacular ways. And Pac-Man being very similar to Popeye the Sailor Man...though instead of a can of spinach, the yellow guy chows down on a power pellet in order to defeat the bad guys...in this case chomping them...sending them back for new ghost suits.
While some episodes are indeed dated, rehashed stories, and at times relying too much on a then-fad, there are moments of funny Saturday Morning craziness that many folks grew up on and loved. One such episode involving the Pac family going on a picnic is downright hilarious! You actually feel sorry for the Ghost-monsters as they fail from one scene to the next in an attempt to ruin the family's outing (of which they are simply unaware of the ghosts' activity)!!! And stealing the show..Sourpuss and Chomp Chomp...the family pets. Their back and fourth battles could have been made into a series of their own. Why they were not made into free-standing character is a mystery. Brilliant characters!
So is this show good? Depends on who you ask. You may love it...or not. But if anything, "Pac-Man" is a perfect example of what was hot at the time.