Pole Position - The 1984 animated series

November 30, 2020

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Pole Position is a Japanese-American animated series produced by DIC Enterprises and MK Company. The series is loosely based on the Pole Position arcade racing video game series, the name of which has been licensed by Namco to capitalize on its popularity. The game and the show have very little in common, other than the fact that Wheels is red like in Pole Position and Roadie is blue like in Pole Position II.

History

The show features the Darretts, a family of acrobatic crime fighters, who investigated and foiled wrongdoing while operating under the front of a traveling show known as the "Pole Position Stunt Show," which was sponsored by the United States government in order to to provide coverage for their investigative work and to maintain the most in-demand vehicles.

The Darretts had two adult children and a third child who was much younger in age. A car accident ended the life of the parents and the father's younger brother, known as Uncle Zack, took charge of the acrobatic show. He said that now that the patriarch and his wife were dead, it was up to the two adult children, Tess and Dan, to continue the dangerous and proud work of their parents.

The vehicles are equipped with numerous hidden gadgets such as water skis and jet hover. The computers in the vehicles themselves are portable and can be removed from the dashboards and carried around using the handles, so they are often referred to as “the modules”. Modules are characters that appear as computer-drawn talking faces displayed on video screens.

Characters

Tess Darrett - Tess is Dan and Daisy's older sister and the de facto leader of the group that drives Wheels. Tess is voiced by Lisa Lindgren.

Dan Darrett - Tess's hot-headed younger brother who drives Roadie. Dan is voiced by David Coburn.

- Dan and Tess's preteen younger sister. Daisy is voiced by Kaleena Kiff.

Dr. Zachary Darrett - A wheelchair engineer and uncle of the Darrett boys. He directs the Pole Position operation and vehicle development. He is voiced by Jack Angel.

Kuma - Daisy's pet Kuma is a strange genetic hybrid between a raccoon and a monkey. Kuma is voiced by Marilyn Schreffler.

Wheels: A red and black 1965 Ford Mustang driven by Tess. The Wheels AI computer is more attentive than the Roadie. Wheels is voiced by Melvin Franklin, who was a member of The Temptations.

Roadie: A more futuristic looking blue coupe driven by Dan. Roadie's AI computer is very smart and keeps Dan out of trouble. Roadie is voiced by Darryl Hickman.

Episodes

1 "The Code" 15 September 1984
A Pole Position agent named Greg Dumont, a love interest of Tess, is hired by a criminal mastermind named Alex Vance to steal control codes from Roadie and Wheels in an attempt to get their hands on high-tech cars and use the AIs to destroy the Pole Position.

2 "The dog disappears " 22 September 1984
The team travels to the Florida Everglades in search of Pandora, a lost dog who carries an important vaccine. They must find the dog before the enemy agents get their hands on her.

3 "The chicken that tasted too much"September 29, 1984
The team protects a chicken, given to them as a gift by an archaeologist. But when a villain shows up to kidnap the bird, the team must figure out the bird's connection in search of hidden treasure.

4 "Strangers on the ice"October 6, 1984
The team is tasked with delivering satellite equipment to a mountain research station, but the equipment is stolen and a snowstorm hinders the boys' attempts to retrieve it.

5 "The race"October 13, 1984
The team participates in a race suspected of being used to smuggle a computer chip out of the country.

6 "The thirty-nine strips"October 20, 1984
The team is tasked with protecting the museum's paintings that are mysteriously vandalized; the cut pieces secretly contain a diagram for an advanced computer chip.

7 "The Thirty-One Cent Mystery"October 27, 1984
Kuma uncovers a plot to steal an Indian totem pole hidden somewhere on Mount Rushmore. Try to warn others with a quarter, nickel, and penny (31 cents) that they all have the same monument presidents: Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln.

8 "Dial M for Magic"November 3, 1984
The team gets stuck in a strange city controlled by a strange illusionist.

9 "The Bear Deal"November 10, 1984
Daisy receives a talking teddy bear who points out mysterious clues to a factory. Tess and Dan investigate the factory hoping to uncover clues.

10 "Grab a thief"November 17, 1984
Dan and Tess are invited to their hometown to celebrate a queen show where Tess is named the queen of the carnival, but the queen's amulet she wears is a fake made out of candy as the real one disappears. The clues lead to a jealous woman who creates the candy amulets and holds a grudge for not being chosen as queen each year and discovers that her son has stolen the actual amulet from her.

11 "The secret"November 24, 1984
The team is stranded in a hostile city and harassed by the local sheriff. The unwelcoming treatment leads the team to suspect criminal activity in the city's gold mine and that the sheriff may be involved, only to be beaten on time when Tess is arrested with a gold nugget on her.

12 "The shadow of a trout"December 1, 1984
Uncle Zach is missing and the boys discover they are suspected of his disappearance.

13 "The problem with Kuma"December 8, 1984
The boys go to an island threatened by a tsunami to save Dr. Lungo (the creator of Kuma). They discover that Lungo's shady assistants are trying to kill him and steal his genetic research.

Technical data

animated TV series

Original language English
Country United States, Japan
Author Jean Chalopin
Studio DiC Entertainment, MK Company
Network CBS
1st TV 15 September - 8 December 1984
Episodes 13 (complete)
Relationship 4:3
Episode duration 24 min
Italian network Local televisions
Episodes it. 13 (complete)
Duration ep. it. 24 min
Gender action