Mister T is a cartoon based on Mr. T, a popular actor and tough guy who at the time of this cartoon's premiere, was rising to fame after his first major role in Rocky III as well as his appearance on The A-Team. This cartoon can also be put on the long list of cartoons copying the Scooby-Doo formula, as it feels like one, only without the monsters.
In this cartoon, Mr. T would start each episode in a live action segment to explain the episode's plot. These live action segments are neat because they are actually there to not only introduce the episode, but also reveal there is actually a moral attached to said episode, which is revealed at the end of each episode. Then we cut to the animated segments, where Mr. T is portrayed as the coach for a youth gymnastics team, composed of teenagers Jeff, Woody, Robin, and Kim. Joined by Robin's little brother Spike, bus driver Ms. Bisby, and Bulldozer, a bulldog with a mohawk haircut owned by Mr. T (as the animal is to fill the role of obligatory animal mascot popular in Scooby clones), Mr. T and the teens get involved in various mysteries each episode, which is set in different locations in the world.
Okay, while this cartoon has a mixed reception, I, for one, am one of those people who actually like this cartoon after seeing this rerun on Adult Swim. Basically, the show is your typical Scooby-Doo clone. The main difference is Mr. T is the star and there are only few episodes with supernatural elements, with most of the villains being terrorists, street gangs, spies from other countries, or other troublemakers. The cartoon is set in the world, however, it does have some fantasy moments, one of them being Mr. T is gifted with superhuman strength, allowing him to do things the real Mr. T would never do (like in the intro where he swings an alligator with ease holding onto only its tail, or in one episode where he rips an iron lock off with his bare hands) as well as a running gag where people who deny the team entry are actually afraid to say no to Mr. T, as they are scared by him. This is a neat cartoon worth checking out.
