Saturday Morning Cartoon Shows from Another Earth: The Adventures of Dr. Phibes!

In this special Cereal Creatures series, we imagine a Saturday Morning Cartoon Show from Another Earth and this time it's The Adventures of Dr. Phibes!

Have you ever wondered why a TV or movie never had a companion cartoon series? Sure, there were countless examples of ones that did, often bringing in fans who weren't the right audience for the movie. We were fans of Real Ghostbusters before seeing the first movie, for example!

In our new series, we've conjured up artwork and show guides for these animated series that never made it to Saturday morning--at least on our Earth. On some other world out there, maybe they did--and maybe they would look something like this!

An outright horror series like The Abominable Dr. Phibes! doesn't easily translate to a kid's animated cartoon series. Like many of the 70s, 80s and early 90s cartoons that were adapted from live action projects strayed or twisted their origin stories. That's the way we see a potential adaptation of Phibes happening here. In many ways, it's a combination of the misadventures of Pinky and Brain and the hijinks of the Flintstones. Phibes has numerous schemes to goals that are a little vague--certainly not murdering his enemies. Vulnavia, his mute assistant, is always at his side and helping him out--even though he doesn't always realize it. And, as an antagonist, Inspector Trout is always one...or two steps behind them. Of course, in the spirit of those 60s and 70s cartoons, often from Filmation, we had to include a quirky sidekick like character. From Orko to Scrappy-Doo to Batmite to Mop Top (yes, even the animated Brady kids had one, although it wasn't their live action dog Tiger) everyone needs a little comic relief. Here, taking inspiration from the airplane seen in the first Phibes flick (yeah, that one) we created Smokey the rat, though we don't imagine he would actually speak. Also, we doubt he would appear in too many episodes. Although, it would be fitting to do so since neither Phibes nor Vulnavia speaks either. We'd hear Phibes, but Vulnavia wouldn't even need a voice actor. That would've saved on animation and actor costs! Here's our episode line up...

• The Great Museum Mix‑Up Dr. Phibes' plan to borrow a mystical wand from a museum turns into hijinks when the wand causes Phibes and Trout swap bodies!

• The Not Quite Final Frontier Phibes' plan to develop a space laser inadvertantly attracts the attention of both men in black and men from the Mars!

• The Haunted House That Wasn’t Phibes uses an old mansion for testing holograms, accidentally convincing the whole neighborhood it’s haunted and luring the attention of two bumbling ghost busters.

• Clockwork Caper Phibes’ clockwork entertainers roam the city as a distraction for Phibes latest scheme, while Trout tries—and fails—to keep up with their perfectly timed distractions.

• Rats! Foiled Again! Smokey the rat runs off with an important blueprint, leading to a slapstick chase through alleys, vents, and pipes.

• The Silent Scheme After Smokey misplaces the doctor's voice device, Phibes must rely entirely on Vulnavia to carry out a simple plan to steal the voices of every person on Earth—without a single spoken word.

• The Invention Convention Phibes, distraught that a supervillain like himself can't enter a prestigious inventors show, creates a false identity and disguise so that he can get the recognition he thinks he deserves--but will he really be able to return to his old life?

• Midnight at the Clock Tower A late‑night break-in at the old clock tower creates spooky shadows, booming sounds, and Trout insists it is supernatural. Will he turn to Phibes for help?

• When Plans Go Public A newspaper reporter mistakenly reports Phibes’ secret experiment as a city event, turning a quiet operation into a crowded spectacle.

• The Case of the Restless Statues Vulnavia's sculptor sister Marsha visits, but her secret plan is to turn Dr. Phibes into a mind-controlled statue.

• Smokey Steals the Show Smokey briefly becomes a local hero after accidentally disrupting Phibes’ plan—and enjoys the applause a little too much. Will Phibes put him in a trap for a final time?

• Inspector Trout Catches a Big One Phibes is captured by Trout, but has the doctor cooked up his greatest scheme yet--to frame the Inspector! When both men disappear, will Trout's partner Ben team up with Vulnavia to find them?

• Back to the Beginning, part one Phibes new time machine does the unthinkable--taking him back in time to a younger, happier version of himself, his beautiful wife and their friend Trout. Will Phibes follow through with his time-travelling scheme or preserve the last time he knew happiness?

• Back to the Beginning, part two Vulnavia comes back in time in search of Phibes, but discovers the doctor's time-travelling misadventure somehow removed her from the timeline! Will Phibes choose happiness with his wife or his future adventures with Vulnavia?

Would you watch this Saturday morning cartoon show? Which episode sounds like your favorite?