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{{Short description|American animated television series}}
{{for|the Canadian soccer team|ProStars FC}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox television
| image                = Prostars title.jpg
| caption              = "''ProStars'', it's all about helping kids".
| genre                = [[Animation]]
| camera               =
| based_on             = 
| creator              = [[Andy Heyward]]<br>[[Douglas Allen Booth|Douglas Booth]]
| developer            = Rob Humphrey<br>Jim Peterson
| writer               = Douglas Booth
| director             = 
| executive_producer   = Andy Heyward
| producer             = Kevin O'Donnell
| starring             = [[Michael Jordan]]<br>[[Bo Jackson]]<br>[[Wayne Gretzky]]
| voices               = [[Dorian Harewood]]<br>[[Dave Fennoy]]<br>[[Townsend Coleman]]<br>[[Diana Barrows]]<br>[[Susan Silo]]
| narrated             = 
| theme_music_composer = 
| opentheme            = 
| endtheme             = 
| country              = United States<br>Italy
| location             = 
| language             = English
| runtime              = 22 minutes
| company              = [[DIC Entertainment|DIC Animation City]]<br>[[Mediaset|Reteitalia S.p.A.]]
| network              = [[NBC]] (U.S.)<br>[[Telecinco]] (Spain)
| first_aired          = {{start date|1991|9|14}}
| last_aired           = {{end date|1991|12|7}}
| num_seasons          = 1
| num_episodes         = 13
| list_episodes        = 
| related              = 
| composer             = [[Eric Allaman]] 
}}
'''''ProStars''''' is a cartoon television show featured on [[Saturday morning cartoon]] that aired on [[NBC]] from September 14 to December 7, 1991.<ref name=Perlmutter>{{cite book |last1=Perlmutter |first1=David |title=The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows |date=2018 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1538103739 |pages=481–482}}</ref> Three professional athletes from that era appear in the show in live action and as fictional super hero characters: [[Michael Jordan]], [[Wayne Gretzky]], and [[Bo Jackson]].<ref name=Daytime>{{cite book |last1=Hyatt |first1=Wesley |title=The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television |date=1997 |publisher=Watson-Guptill Publications |isbn=978-0823083152 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofda00hyat/page/350/mode/2up|access-date=19 March 2020|page=351}}</ref>

The series was produced by [[DIC Entertainment|DIC Animation City]] and [[Mediaset|Reteitalia, S.p.A.]], in association with [[Spain|Spanish]] network [[Telecinco]].

==Overview==
===Synopsis===
Originally intended to air on [[ESPN]], the show centers on [[Michael Jordan]], [[Bo Jackson]] and [[Wayne Gretzky]] fighting crime, helping children, and often protecting the environment as well.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Erickson |first1=Hal |title=Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 |date=2005 |edition=2nd |publisher=McFarland & Co |isbn=978-1476665993 |pages=644–645}}</ref> These three were chosen to represent the pinnacle of [[Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada#"Big Four" leagues|all four major American professional sports]] in the early 1990s. While Jordan and Gretzky are broadly associated with their respective sports, Jackson was included since he could represent both [[American football|football]] and [[baseball]] and was a high-profile celebrity off the field as well. A reference to his "[[Bo Knows]]" [[Nike, Inc.|Nike]] ad-campaign was worked into almost every episode.

===Live-action sequences===
The stars appear in live-action sequences before the show, in which they would tell kids about the upcoming episode, and often answer questions from kids at the conclusion. Normally this is done solely by Gretzky and Jackson—often in separate sound stages and edited to appear as if talking to each other. Jordan's filmed bits were almost always one line or two, and not part of the skits before the episode. Most of the live-action parts by the athletes dealt with things such as morality. In one episode they explained ghosts stating that even they get scared sometimes, and that fear is a normal human emotion. In an episode with robot athletes, they explained how such an idea will never come to reality, as it goes against the dedication men put into their sport. However, during the animated segments of ''ProStars'', their animated counterparts were voiced by [[voice actor]]s instead of their actual selves.

===Theme music===
When the show first came out, the original theme song, "We Are ProStars", was an homage to the song "[[We Will Rock You]]", by the rock group, [[Queen (band)|Queen]]. In later episodes, the song was slowed down, and the chorus was reduced to "ProStars! Show staaaars!" The lyrics also reference the "[[Bo Knows]]" ad campaign, including the line "Bo knows everything".

==Characters==
Each character on ''ProStars'' has one stand-out character trait, especially the ProStars themselves:
*[[Michael Jordan]] (voiced by [[Dorian Harewood]]) - He is the leader of the troupe. He is exceptionally smart and talented with complicated contraptions, and he encourages children to study [[mathematics]] and the sciences.
*[[Wayne Gretzky]] (voiced by [[Townsend Coleman]]) - He is often focused on food, and is often the comic relief. However, at certain times he shows a serious side, such as when the [[Stanley Cup]] was stolen, as it was something he had earned.
*[[Bo Jackson]] (voiced by [[Dave Fennoy]]) - He provides the proverbial "muscle" for the heroes. He is immensely strong, and has a bit of a mean streak. His strength often approaches [[superhuman]] levels, such as in the series opening, when he uses a gigantic tree trunk like a club against a logging robot.
* Mom (voiced by [[Susan Silo]]) - A quasi-[[Yiddish]] and [[Jewish mother]] stereotype, she is the [[Q (James Bond)|Q]] to the ProStars' [[James Bond]]. She constantly invents wacky gadgets loosely based on sports equipment for the heroes to use. The ProStars spend all their free time in ''Mom's Gym'', and possibly live there as well. It also serves as the ProStars' "headquarters".
* Denise (voiced by [[Diana Barrows]]) - She is an attractive young apprentice to Mom. She wants to "help" the ProStars, yet she rarely makes an impact.  She is kind of a groupie.
* The Neighbor - He is a hapless African-American man who wears glasses and happens to live in the same neighborhood as the ProStars' headquarters. By sheer misfortune, he happens to fall victim to the malfunctions of the ProStars' machines, such as when he is buried in snow after their climate machine goes awry. In another episode, he takes a vacation to the [[Himalayas]], and he enjoys the isolation and confidence that he is far away from any mishaps the ProStars could unleash, only to find the ProStars are also in the area stopping a villain there.

===Villains===
In nearly every episode the ProStars would get a message by [[teleconference]] from a child explaining the situation such as a little boy from an island in the [[South Sea Islands|South Seas]] who said his village's treasures were being stolen by Short John Silver.

Most of the villains were standard cartoon fare and had often done villainous acts akin to cartoons of the early 1990s (such as ''[[Captain Planet and the Planeteers|Captain Planet]]'' and ''[[Free Willy (TV series)|Free Willy]]''), namely environmental irresponsibility such as [[strip mining]], coastal pollution, or deforestation of the [[rainforest]].

Other times, a villain might hold a child for ransom, such as a [[mad scientist]] named Dr. Lobe who demanded the ProStars play his line of robot athletes in order to release a little girl he kidnapped. Episodes also touched upon kids in gangs, where an Australian village is being held captive by Gargantus' motorcycle gang and a little girl's brother joins the gang thinking they are macho to which Michael Jordan tells the little girl she cannot stop loving or having faith in her brother. One episode dealt with the larceny of the [[Stanley Cup]] committed by Clockwork Delaronge (which is a personal issue for Wayne Gretzky as his name is carved on it four times) and he tells kids of the history and prestige of the award.

==Episodes==
# "The Slugger Returns" - The ProStars come to the aid of Jimmy Hanks when his father "Slugger" Hanks is captured by a [[mad scientist]] named Clockwork Delaronge who is using remote-controlled [[robot]]s including one of dead baseball star Cleets Robinson as part of a plot to capture the Commissioner of Baseball.
# "Short John's Revenge" - A [[Piracy|pirate]] supervillain named Short John Sliver sails into an idyllic Caribbean Island, imprisons the inhabitants, and steals the ancient pirate treasure they had discovered.
# "The Perbots of Dr. Lobe" - A [[mad scientist]] named Dr. Lobe proposes a competition to the ProStars to compete against his Perbots for the fate of a girl named Jill.
# "Knightmare Riders" - The ProStars travel to Scotland to save a community from the Ghost Riders of Sir Vitus. This is a cover-up by the evil Carlotta to drive away the golfers so that she can excavate the Golden Throne of Sir Vitus.
# "Valley of the Snow Falcon" - Ice Mancuso, an unscrupulous [[real estate developer]], intends to excavate diamonds at a sacred kingdom in the Himalayas. With the help of a young princess and a mysterious Snow Falcon, the ProStars jump into action to save the kingdom.
# "Brazil Nuts" - Captain Nemo Ipanema is destroying the Brazilian rainforest as a side to his mining operation designed to secure the world's supply of Amazonite for his own egomaniacal use.
# "Block Busters" - Paulie Sludger, a corrupt businessman, frightens a block center population with the intent of purchasing the neighborhood for his toxic waste dumping operation.
# "Gargantus and the Highway of Doom" - A girl named Sheila calls the ProStars to Australia when Gargantus and his motorcycle gang are terrorizing an Australian village and forcing the inhabitants to build his castle. The worst part of it is that her brother Keith has joined up with Gargantus.
# "Rustler's Rodeo" - Dusty Boots intends to win the prize money for a rodeo contest and pay off the debt owed by his family so that he can buy back the family ranch. But a gangster named Rattlesnake Rick, who intends to buy out the ranch for himself for its oil adjacent reserves has complicated matters by kidnapping Dusty's horse.
# "Roll to Victory" - When a local basketball charity is at risk of being closed down due to cheap shot tactics by the Pontiac Hoods led by Doug, it's up to the ProStars to stop them.
# "A Bite of the Big Apple" - Rob's stepsister Jenny has run away to New York City. The Prostars find her easily, but convincing her to come back home is the hard part. Things go particularly awry when Jenny and her friend Tracy get mixed up with a gang of pickpockets led by The King.
# "Clockwork Catastrophe" - Clockwork Delaronge has returned. This time, he has stolen the famous Stanley Cup. To make matters even worse, Delaronge has also kidnapped Mom. It is up to the ProStars to skate into action and get them both back.
# "The Final Cut" - In this clip episode, Mom challenges the ProStars on their efficiency, prompting them to prove her wrong by showing her their past adventures.

==Principal cast==
* [[Diana Barrows]] - Denise
* [[Townsend Coleman]] - Wayne Gretzky
* [[Dave Fennoy]] - Bo Jackson
* [[Dorian Harewood]] - Michael Jordan
* [[Susan Silo]] - Mom

===Additional voices===
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
* [[Charlie Adler]] - Froggy (ep. 8)
* [[Marv Albert]] - Himself (eps. 1, 9, and 12)
* [[Jack Angel]] - 
* [[William Callaway|Bill Callaway]] - 
* [[Brian Cummings]] - Doug (ep. 10)
* [[Jim Cummings]] - Short John Sliver (ep. 2)
* [[Debi Derryberry]] - 
* [[Pat Fraley]] - Buster (ep. 5)
* [[Mike Fratello]] - Himself (Ep. 12)
* Ben Ryan Ganger - 
* [[Ellen Gerstell]] - 
* [[Dan Gilvezan]] - 
* [[Edan Gross]] - 
* [[Whitby Hertford]] - 
* [[Dana Hill]] - Keith (ep. 8)
* [[Jerry Houser]] -
{{col-2}} 
* [[Robert Ito]] - Emperor (ep. 8)
* [[Richard Karron]] - 
* Art Kimbro - 
* [[David Lander]] - 
* [[Katie Leigh]] - 
* [[Sherry Lynn]] - 
* [[Tress MacNeille]] - Carlotta (ep. 4), Ice Mancuso (ep. 5)
* [[Candi Milo]] - 
* [[Robert Morse]] - 
* [[Rob Paulsen]] - Captain Nemo Ipanema (Ep. 6)
* [[Hal Rayle]] - 
* [[Neil Ross]] - 
* [[Ron Rubin (voice actor)|Ron Rubin]] - Clockwork Delorange (ep. 1)
* [[Justin Shenkarow]] - Tommy (Ep. 10)
* [[R. J. Williams|R.J. Williams]] - Jimmy Hanks (Ep. 1), Concession Salesperson (Ep. 3)
{{col-end}}

==Crew==
* Marsha Goodman - Casting Director
* [[Ginny McSwain]] - Voice Director
* Cary Silver - Talent Coordinator

==Home media==
DIC Video originally released three single VHS tapes of the series in 1991 containing the episodes "Knightmare Riders", "Short John's Revenge" and "The Slugger's Return". In the same year, BMG Kidz, through the DIC Toon-Time Video series, released three single VHS tapes with the episodes "Roll to Victory", "The Perbots of Dr. Lobe" and "The Valley of the Snow Falcon".

In October 2003, [[Sterling Entertainment]] released a DVD called "Slam Dunkin' with the Airman", containing the episodes "Gargantus and the Highway of Doom", "Knightmare Riders" and "Roll to Victory". This DVD was reissued by NCircle Entertainment in 2007. These sets went [[out-of-print]] in 2012.

As of today, NCircle has yet to release the complete series or even release the episodes separate on DVD or digital for reasons beyond [[WildBrain]]'s control.{{efn|[[Michael Jordan]], [[Bo Jackson]], and [[Wayne Gretzky]] are trademarked by themselves. Sports footage is owned by the [[National Basketball Association]], [[Major League Baseball]], and [[National Hockey League]].}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite news |first=Mark |last=Polshuk |work=[[UWO Gazette]] |title=Gretzky funny? Pro Stars not an accurate TV show |url=http://www.gazette.uwo.ca/2003/March/28/sports3.htm |date=March 28, 2003 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051226045645/http://www.gazette.uwo.ca/2003/March/28/sports3.htm |archive-date=December 26, 2005}}
* {{cite web |publisher=Boycott the Caf |title=Pro Stars Review |url=http://dumbbaby.net/a/259.shtml |date=July 28, 2007}}
* {{cite web |publisher=Planète-Jeunesse |title=ProStars |url=http://www.planete-jeunesse.com/sources/series.php3?cle=1182&sec=1 |date=February 13, 2007 |language=fr}}

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* {{IMDb title | title=ProStars | id=0149510}}

{{Michael Jordan}}
{{Children's programming on NBC in the 1990s}}

[[Category:1990s American animated television series]]
[[Category:1990s American black cartoons]]
[[Category:1990s American children's television series]]
[[Category:1990s American sports television series]]
[[Category:American children's animated adventure television series]]
[[Category:American children's animated sports television series]]
[[Category:1990s Italian animated television series]]
[[Category:Italian children's animated adventure television series]]
[[Category:NBC television dramas]]
[[Category:1991 American animated television series debuts]]
[[Category:1991 American television series endings]]
[[Category:1991 Italian television series debuts]]
[[Category:1991 Italian television series endings]]
[[Category:Television series by DIC Entertainment]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Wayne Gretzky]]
[[Category:Bo Jackson]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Michael Jordan]]
[[Category:American English-language television shows]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of players of American football]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of baseball players]]
[[Category:Animation based on real people]]
[[Category:American television series with live action and animation]]
[[Category:Italian television series with live action and animation]]
[[Category:NBC animated television series]]