Hong Kong Phooey is without a doubt one of the most underrated superhero shows of all time. It was created in 1974 by Hanna Barbera, in an attempt to capitalize on the martial arts trend that had become popular at the time, and starred Scatman Crothers (a famous jazz vocalist who you may also recognize as Dick Hallorann from The Shining or the voice of Scat Cat in The Aristocats) as Penrod "Penry" Pooch. He was a clumsy, mild-mannered janitor at a police station, but at the first sign of trouble, he would dive into his filing cabinet and transform as Hong Kong Phooey. Despite his superhero identity, he frequently relied on his friend Spot the cat, who would get him out of the scrapes he would inevitably find himself mixed up in. Sure, the show only aired for one year, and yeah, there's something vaguely racist about the whole thing, but it remains a wonderful little vintage show that a lot of people have completely forgotten about.
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
