According to Complex, “ProStars” TV debut in 1991 came during a time when giving a seemingly random parade of celebrities their own Saturday morning children’s cartoons was the norm. Around the era of “ProStars,” there was “The Gary Coleman Show,” Louie Anderson‘s “Life with Louie,” and even the M.C. Hammer vehicle “Hammerman.” The inception of “ProStars” also came at a time when the four major North American sports leagues had talented athletes whose profiles rivaled those of the associations they played for. Among those included basketball legend Michael Jordan, the hockey icon Wayne Gretzky, and dual-sport star Bo Jackson. So, why not combine the two?
Each episode of “ProStars” opened with a montage of highlights accompanied by a theme song. (The song itself sounds like what an AI program would write after listening to Def Leppard‘s “Hysteria” for several hundred hours.) The plot formula consisted of Jordan, Gretzky, and Jackson teaming up and using their various abilities to solve problems and defeat villains. This was also done with the help of Mom, a woman who gives them all kinds of crime-fighting gadgetry.
The show, however, had one strange quirk. The three athletes didn’t actually voice their characters, but they did appear in live-action interstitials, according to Vice. Unfortunately, “ProStars” was a flop and only lasted for 13 episodes — though Complex did include it on their list of the 50 greatest Saturday morning cartoons in 2018.
