Drawn in a simple style, it features a gee-whiz boy hero, Tom Terrific, who lives in a treehouse and can transform himself into anything he wants thanks to his magic, funnel-shaped "thinking cap," which also enhances his intelligence. He has a comic lazybones of a sidekick, Mighty Manfred the Wonder Dog, and an arch-foe named Crabby Appleton, whose motto is, "I'm rotten to the core!" Other foes include Mr. Instant, the Instant Thing King, Captain Kidney Bean, Sweet Tooth Sam, the Candy Bandit and Isotope Feaney, The Meany.
CreatorGene Deitch
The Nasty Knight
Jun 10, 1957
Tom and Manfred go back to medieval days to help a frail, timid knight--Sir Feeble Fred--win the hand of a princess by defeating a hulking bully of a knight in a jousting match.
The Pill of Smartness
Jun 17, 1957
Tom and Manfred must race Crabby Appleton (the show's primary villain--he's "Rotten To The Core") to retrieve the Pill of Smartness, an artifact sitting on the hand of Cleopatra that makes whoever swallows it the smartest person in the world.
Sweet Tooth Sam
Jun 24, 1957
Sweet Tooth Sam the candy bandit has stolen all the candy in town, making the children miserable. Tom and Manfred are on the hunt to retrieve the candy.
Snowy Picture
Jul 1, 1957
Tom gets mail from viewers of his cartoon show at the North Pole, who can get their local stations but not the network telecast from New York. Tom and Manfred go to the Empire State Building and rectify the transmitter's position.
Crabby Appleton's Dragon
Jul 8, 1957
Tom and Manfred find a pearl while fishing and plan to donate it to a shelter for homeless dogs. Crabby Appleton creates a dragon in order to retrieve a pearl from Tom's possession.
Captain Kidney Bean
Jul 15, 1957
The pirate Captain Kidney Bean and his crew plan on pillaging a nearby village. As Tom and Manfred infiltrate the pirate camp, Kidney Bean throws Tom off his ship and makes Tom think that Manfred is siding with the pirates.
The Gravity Maker
Jul 22, 1957
Isotope Feeny creates an anti-gravity device and tests it out in Manfred.
Scrambled Dinosaur Eggs
Jul 29, 1957
Tom and Manfred go back to prehistoric days so they can bring a dinosaur egg back to the museum.
Who Stole The North Pole?
Aug 6, 1957
Crabby Appleton causes directional chaos by stealing the North Pole, chopping it into segments and selling them as souvenirs.
Instant Tantrums
Aug 13, 1957
Evil scientist Mr. Instant creates a powder that sends kids into fits of tantrums.
Track Meet, Well Done
Aug 20, 1957
Tom teaches a bunch of small kids about confidence by staging a track meet for them. But bully Musclehead has other ideas.
The Great Calendar Mystery
Aug 27, 1957
Crabby Appleton has stolen all the weekends and holidays from the Nathaniel Annual Calendar factory, forcing continuous school for the kids and allowing Crabby unlimited rides at the fair.
Elephant Stew
Sep 3, 1957
In Africa, a lion has trouble making his presence known in the jungle because of an angry elephant scaring all the animals.
