For decades, young and old movie fans have been captivated by the work of professional stuntmen, who risk life and limb to bring realism to the big screen with their daring car chases, fight scenes and leaps from the nearest tall building. Actor Burt Reynolds gave audiences a glimpse into the life of these Hollywood daredevils in the 1978 film, Hooper, which was based on the life of prolific stuntman, Hal Needham. And then, in 1992, the profession finally made its way to the Saturday morning lineup, in the cartoon Stunt Dawgs, which tipped its hat to the famed stuntman by naming the lead character “Needham.”

Contrary to what you might be thinking, Stunt Dawgs didn’t present canine versions of these cinematic daredevils; “dawgs” was simply a slang term popular in the 90s. The group of rowdy stuntmen included Needham, Splat, Sizzle, Skid, Crash and the decidedly unlucky Lucky. Their mascot, the only actual dog in the show was named Human. Besides bringing their talents to the movie business, the Dawgs also spent considerable time battling a group of sinister stuntmen counterparts called The Stunt Scabs, which included Badyear and the not-so-intelligently-gifted Half-a-Mind. They were led by a sleazy producer named Richard P. Fungus, who also had some contractual control over the Stunt Dawgs and used it to try and put them in the most dangerous (and hopefully life-threatening) stunts possible.

Stunt Dawgs was produced by DIC Entertainment and aired for a single season, producing some 40 episodes. Unfortunately, the show just didn’t catch on in syndication. One can only wonder if it might have been more successful had they actually used canine characters.