I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali
| I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Animation |
| Created by | John Paxton |
| Voices of | Muhammad Ali |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company | |
| Distributor | 20th Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 10 – December 3, 1977 |
I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali is an animated series featuring boxer Muhammad Ali, who performed his own voice.[1] The series was broadcast Saturday mornings on NBC and produced by Fred Calvert's independent production company, Farmhouse Films, in the fall of 1977, but was cancelled after 13 episodes due to its low ratings.[2]
In the show, Muhammad Ali went on adventures with his niece Nicky and nephew Damon.[3]
Crew[]
- Directed by Fred Calvert
- Written by John Bates, Carole Beers, Booker Bradshaw, Ellen and David Christianson, Joseph R. Henderson, Bryan Joseph, Gene Moss
Episodes[]
| Nº | Title | Air date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Great Alligator" | September 10, 1977 |
| 2 | "The Air Fair Affair" | September 17, 1977 |
| 3 | "The Littlest Runner" | September 24, 1977 |
| 4 | "Ali's African Adventure" | October 1, 1977 |
| 5 | "Superstar" | October 8, 1977 |
| 6 | "The Haunted Park" | October 15, 1977 |
| 7 | "Caught in the Wild" | October 22, 1977 |
| 8 | "Volcano Island" | October 29, 1977 |
| 9 | "Oasis of the Moon" | November 5, 1977 |
| 10 | "The Great Bluegrass Mountain Race" | November 12, 1977 |
| 11 | "The Werewolf of Devil's Creek" | November 19, 1977 |
| 12 | "Sissy's Climb" | November 26, 1977 |
| 13 | "Terror in the Deep" | December 3, 1977 |
Reception[]
The series received generally negative reviews. In The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows, David Perlmutter writes, "Ali did attempt acting himself, starring in The Greatest and other film and TV projects, but he proved not to be as good at it as he was at throwing punches. That should have been a sign to the producers of this series that a project featuring him wasn't a good idea, but they ignored it, banking on Ali's popularity with children to make the series work. It did not. This was, instead, perhaps the most clumsily animated, written, and acted series in television animation history, with little of value presented."[4]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Woolery, George W. (1983). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981. Scarecrow Press. pp. 146–147. ISBN 0-8108-1557-5. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
- ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 424. ISBN 978-1476665993.
- ^ Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 225. ISBN 978-0823083152. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
- ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 295. ISBN 978-1538103739.
External links[]
- I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali at IMDb
- I Am the Greatest: The Adventures of Muhammad Ali at the Big Cartoon DataBase
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- 1970s American animated television series
- 1970s American black cartoons
- Cultural depictions of Muhammad Ali
- American children's animated adventure television series
- NBC original programming
- Boxing animation
- 1977 American television series debuts
- 1977 American television series endings
- Television series by 20th Century Fox Television
- Animation based on real people
- Boxing stubs
- United States television show stubs
- Animated television series stubs