Take a Smurf, stick a snorkel on his head, put him underwater and force him to replace the word "Smurf" with the word "Snork" when he speaks, and you've got the basis for The Snorks.

The premise for the show was quite elaborate: In 1643, the captain of a ship under pirate attack discovered a tiny race of beings that lived underwater. After reaching the surface, the rescued captain shared his story of Snorks with a disbelieving world, while underneath the waves, an excited Snork by the name of Uncle Galeo was spreading the word about the surface dwellers.

Cut to modern day, where the Snorks have evolved much like humans, living in similar houses and eating similar foods. The main characters of the series were teenager Allstar, his girlfriend Casey, and their pals Dimmy, Daffney and Tooter (so named because he only spoke in whistles).

As one would expect, Allstar also had a wacky pet and a rival. The pet was an octopus, logically named Occy, while the rival was Junior Wetworth, the spoiled son of the mayor of Snorkland.

While The Snorks were an obvious attempt to cash in on the success of The Smurfs, the series was not without its own charm. Specifically, the relationship between the Snorks and the surface dwellers was very well designed, with the humans being drawn in a more traditional style to play up their "otherworldly" differences. Also, The Snorks succeeded in concentrating more on humor than on cuteness, taking the show beyond the level of mere Smurf-imitator.