| Channel Umptee-3 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Also known as | Umptee-3 |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Created by | Jim George |
| Developed by | Jim George Norman Lear John Baskin |
| Directed by | Chris Hedrick Don Jurwich Mike Peraza David Schwartz Bob Seeley |
| Voices of | Gregg Berger Greg Burson Alice Ghostley Jonathan Harris Rob Paulsen David Paymer Neil Ross Susan Silo |
| Theme music composer | Jim George |
| Opening theme | "Channel Umptee-3 Theme" performed by Rob Paulsen, David Paymer, and Jonathan Harris |
| Ending theme | "Channel Umptee-3 Theme" (instrumental) |
| Composer | Walter Murphy |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Jim George Norman Lear John Baskin Richard Raynis Everett Peck |
| Producers | Jeff Kline Peggy George Bob Seeley |
| Running time | 21 minutes |
| Production companies | Adelaide Productions Act III Productions Enchanté George Columbia TriStar Television |
| Original release | |
| Network | The WB (Kids' WB) |
| Release | October 25, 1997 (1997-10-25) – February 20, 1998 (1998-02-20) |
Channel Umptee-3 (also known simply asUmptee-3) is aSaturday morninganimated television series created by Jim George and produced byNorman Lear.[1] It aired onThe WB as part of theKids' WB programming block from October 25, 1997 to February 20, 1998.[2][3] The one-season cartoon was designed to teach children to appreciate the wonders of everyday things, such as sleep and water. The title is derived from the fictitonal number "umpteen". It was also the last television series that Lear was involved in as an executive producer (and the last to feature an original story) until the 2017 revival ofOne Day at a Time.
Ogden Ostrich, Holey Moley (amole), and Sheldon S. Cargo (asnail) drive around the world in a van with their own undergroundpirate television station.[4] Channel Umptee-3, which exists between other channels and is broadcast from a mobile station, tries to focus on a specific topic in each episode, but is normally diverted from it and shifted onto another topic; e.g., one episode started out discussing cats, but quickly segued into the subject of ownership (which was the real topic of that show). Meanwhile, "The Frumps" (i.e., Stickley Rickets and his henchmen) would try to shut the station down or increase their own power, but whatever plan they came up with would fail.
The show made great use ofstock footage, as did the earlier WB showFreakazoid! Also, the show sometimes made references to well-known films and TV shows; e.g., the episode "Yours, Mine, and Ours" included references toCats,Harvey,Star Wars,Dragnet, andThe People's Court, and the title was that ofa classic film.
Other voice actors who appeared on the show included:
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| No. | Title | Topic(s) | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Music Show" | Music | October 25, 1997 (1997-10-25) | |
| 2 | "Umptee Sunrise" | Thesun | November 1, 1997 (1997-11-01) | |
| 3 | "The U.F.O. Show" | UFOs andextraterrestrial life | November 8, 1997 (1997-11-08) | |
| 4 | "What's So Funny" | Laughter andhumor | November 15, 1997 (1997-11-15) | |
| 5 | "The Now Voyagers" | Time | November 22, 1997 (1997-11-22) | |
| 6 | "Just Add Water" | Water | December 6, 1997 (1997-12-06) | |
| 7 | "Perchance to Dream" | Sleep anddreams | December 19, 1997 (1997-12-19) | |
Ogden is determined never to sleep again because of a nightmare he'd had, and his friends try to explain to him that everyone needs to sleep. | ||||
| 8 | "Sale of the Century" | Money | January 2, 1998 (1998-01-02) | |
| 9 | "The Fear Show" | Fear | January 9, 1998 (1998-01-09) | |
| 10 | "The Weather Show" | Weather | January 16, 1998 (1998-01-16) | |
| 11 | "Yours, Mine, and Ours" | Ownership | February 6, 1998 (1998-02-06) | |
The Umptees win an award in the form of a huge chocolate bunny, and Ogden and Sheldon argue over whether to eat it or display it; this leads to some information about ownership from Professor Relevant. Meanwhile, Stickley's men steal Holey Moley's portable hole, because Stickley believes that there's a fortune inside of it. | ||||
| 12 | "The Lying Show" | Truth andlies | February 13, 1998 (1998-02-13) | |
| 13 | "Words Are Weird" | Words | February 20, 1998 (1998-02-20) | |
Due to the short run and general obscurity ofChannel Umptee-3, only four episodes and the intro music were initially preserved after its initial airing.[5] Originally, the second, third, tenth and twelfth episodes were posted toYouTube, but they were blocked worldwide bySony Pictures, leading them to be posted elsewhere, ultimately on theInternet Archive.
Currently, Sony Pictures Television has the full rights toChannel Umptee-3, and has the option to provide the series for streaming content providers. As of 2025[update], the full series (with the exception of one episode, "The Fear Show" [presumably due to licensing issues with some of the stock footage libraries used in it]) is now available to watch on-demand for free via the streaming platformRoku Channel, marking the first timeChannel Umptee-3 has been available to watch after its initial network run.