Only in the world of Saturday morning animation can a formidable but friendly whale pair up with a magical caveman with super powers. These unlikely bedfellows shared screen time in the 1967 Hanna-Barbera animated show, Moby Dick and Mighty Mightor, which ran on CBS for two seasons.

Moby Dick featured a kinder, gentler Moby that the one of literary fame – friend to two sea-loving tykes named Tom and Tub and their comical pet seal, Scooby. The boys’ affection for all things aquatic generally got them into treacherous situations at sea but Moby was always there to lend his formidable friendship and save the day. Whether being plagued by everyday tormentors such as giant squid or man-eating sharks, or the decidedly more complex dangers of Captain Squid or the Clam Creatures, Moby was never far behind to rescue the two from certain doom. And to show their everlasting gratitude, the two lads agreed not to hunt Moby down with harpoons. Now, that’s friendship.

Then it was off to prehistoric times for the second segment of the series, The Mighty Mightor, featuring Tor, a teenage caveman with magical powers. One day, Tor and his trusty pet Tog are on a hunting excursion when they come to the aid of an old hermit. The grateful geezer gives Tor a magical club that, when raised in the air and accompanied by a hearty exclamation of “Mightor!” transforms the teen into a mighty superhero and his pet into a fire-breathing dragon. With his newly acquired powers – impervious to fire, the ability to fly, superhuman strength (you know, the usual) - Mightor is ready and able to take on the various dangers that plague his village. Whether it be a treacherous volcano, or a menacing T-Rex, or human foes such as Korg and The Serpent Queen (a rock band name if there ever was one,) Tor was ready for battle. Most of the time, however, Tor was busy rescuing the offspring of the village chief, Pondo. - daughter Sheena, who had a certain knack for being repeatedly kidnapped, and her brother Lil’ Rock, whose efforts to mimick Tor often got him into trouble. It was all in day’s work for Tor.

Moby Dick and The Mighty Mightor would both make numerous comic book appearances in the years that followed the series and both Tubs and Scooby resurfaced decades later in the 2000 Cartoon Network animated series, Sealab 2021 which ran for five years.