Snorks
Snorks is an animated television series produced by Hanna-Barbera & SEPP International in collaboration with 3M France and ran for a total of 4 seasons, consisting of 65 episodes (108 segments) + pilot episode, on NBC from September 15, 1984, to March 15, 1989. The program continued to be available in syndication from 1987 to 1989 as part of The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barberas third season. Origins Early years (1977–1981) In 1977, Freddy Monnickendam, a Belgian businessman and artist, first made contact with the comics industry when he negotiated the rights for the Smurfs comics to Father Abraham. He later became the head of SEPP, a branch of Dupuis, as an editor responsible for the merchandising of the Smurfs' comic series. Then he negotiated the contract between Peyo, NBC and Hanna-Barbera for the creation of a new Smurfs cartoon series; Peyo wanted the show to be as faithful as possible to his original comics, but Monnickendam wanted it to be more mainstream and accessible. These negotiations would later result in a legal dispute between the two men due to the division of the rights and the money involved. As a final result, Monnickendam decided to compete with the Smurfs' success, starting a new series of cartoons. Development, concept and first comic book (1981–1984) In June 1981, Nic Broca created the earlier character designs that were made for "Diskies", a very early iteration, made for the comic series Spirou et Fantasio. Soon, the debut Snorks comic book was published in January 1982 by Broca himself. Freddy Monnickendam, after battling with fellow Belgian cartoonist Peyo in court, searched for a series that could rival the success of The Smurfs, as he tried and failed to buy its rights since 1977. He acquired the Snorks' rights from Nic Broca, and both started a partnership with Hanna-Barbera for the production of this new cartoon series. After that, a three-minute Snorks pilot episode was then made for NBC, although it has not been seen by the public. Premiere as cartoon series (1984–1989) Snorks premiered on September 15, 1984, and ended on May 13, 1989. It aired for five years. Unlike Freddy Monnickendam had hoped, he was not able to take the Snorks' success to the same heights as The Smurfs, which resulted on the end of his partnership with Broca, and finally, the disbanding of SEPP. Although the Snorks' success was limited, the cartoon show gained fans worldwide, making appearances in popular culture and gaining various product lines. Synopsis The Snorks are a race of small, colorful anthropomorphic sea creatures that live happily in the undersea world of Snorkland. They have snorkels on their heads, which are used to propel them swiftly through the water. When a Snork becomes excited, their tube makes a "snork" sound. They have much of the same technology as contemporary humans, adapted to their own aquatic environment. The Snorks use clams as currency ("clams" is also a slang term for money). According to the Snorks backstory, which was described in