Top Cat

- Season 1

(1961)

Benny the Ball wins a trip to Hawaii, bringing the gang along with him. However, mayhem ensues when they cross paths with a suitcase of money, its criminal owner, and Officer Dibble.

Top Cat impersonates the Maharajah of Pookajee and lives the good life at a swank hotel with his cronies until a pair of gangsters show up.

Jazz, the new cat in town (known as "A.T."), takes over the pool hall, steals Top Cat's girlfriend, sways the gang, and even cleans up the alley. This sparks an ongoing contest of one-oneupmanship, so when both Jazz and Top Cat are offered a part in a Hollywood film, they naturally assume that it is another trick. The offer turns out to be legit, and Benny the Ball is cast in the starring role in "The Thing From the Alley." He leaves for Hollywood in a limo, accompanied by Top Cat and the gang in the guise of Benny's manager, valet, vocal coach, tailor and chauffeur.

Benny gets a new pet: a devoted camera-loving nag. Top Cat tries everything to get rid of the horse, but changes his mind when he sees the horse's shock-induced superior racing abilities.

Mr. Gutenberg, the musical director of Carnegie Hall, mistakes a recording of violin virtuoso Laszlo Laszlo for the playing of Benny the Ball, who has just taken up the instrument. He approaches Benny with an offer to perform and Top Cat negotiates a deal for $50,000 for a Saturday night performance at the Hall-an offer that is withdrawn when Carnegie's Board of Directors really hear Benny play. When Gutenberg offers a $10,000 reward to find the true violinist, the gang discovers that it's their neighborhood street cleaner, Laszlo Laszlo.

Benny is a double for the missing heir to a millionaire's fortune. Top Cat and the gang get Benny to the mansion in time to claim the money. But this is not good news to the scheming butler and dog who hoped to claim the fortune themselves.

While visiting tonsillectomy patient Benny in the hospital, Top Cat falls for the pretty cat nurse, Miss LaRue. T.C. decides to attract her attention by pretending to come down with a rare illness -- which will need a lot of nursing care.

Benny has written to his mother that he is the Mayor of New York. Now Benny's mother is coming for a visit, and Top Cat and the gang must do everything they can to convince Mrs. Ball that her son really is the Mayor.

"Naked Town", a TV crime show, will be shooting a warehouse robbery scene in Top Cat's alley. Officer Dibble offers his cooperation, but is unaware that some crooks will be using the TV filming as a cover for a real robbery.

When the police captain comes for inspection, not only is the alley clean, but Top Cat also offers such good suggestions for improving the police force that he is made honorary sergeant.

Choo-Choo has fallen in love with a beautiful French cat, Goldie. Top Cat and the gang help Choo-Choo to court her. But they have reckoned without Goldie's jealous boyfriend, Pierre.

Benny swallows a stolen diamond, which gets him kidnapped by the thieves. Now Top Cat and his gang must masquerade as gangsters to save Benny.

After spending a night sleeping in a museum, Benny comes home with a scarab pin accidentally caught on the back of his coat. Now Top Cat and the gang have to return the gem to the museum, little realizing they are about to encounter a jewel thief.

Inspired by "The Wacky Tycoon" TV show, a kindly billionaire gives Benny a check for one million dollars to give Top Cat. T.C. refuses to even look at the check, believing that it's only for twenty-five cents, as payment for a raffle T.C. is running. But when the local merchants learn of Top Cat's good fortune, they begin to shower him with expensive merchandise.

Refusing to spend a freezing winter in the alley, Top Cat comes up with a plan for him and the gang to move into Officer Dibble's apartment as house guests for the entire winter.

Benny has an interesting new pet: an hungry anteater that has followed him to the alley. Top Cat wants to send the creature away, until he finds out that the anteater has escaped from the zoo, and a large reward is being offered for its return.

The gang finds an abandoned baby and decide to care for it, but they find parenthood a lot harder than they thought it would be...

When Officer Dibble is replaced with the Sergeant's nephew, the paranoid overenthusiastic Ernest Prowler, the gang sets in motion a plan to get rid of Prowler and get their friend back.

Top Cat's latest get-rich-quick scheme is offering a fake "historical" tour of New York City. But he and the gang have yet to realize that the "phony" treasure map Choo-Choo is selling will lead him to an actual treasure in a dilapidated house.

Benny has unexpectedly received a $2000 insurance settlement, and Top Cat has some big ideas on how to spend it. The gang's first splurge is on a visit to the local nightclub to see the pretty chanteuse, Honeydew Mellon. Little do they know that Honeydew is also part of a gang of poker-playing con artists -- who will stop at nothing to separate Benny from his money.

The gang hears about the luxurious treatment given to a chimpanzee in a space program, and join up. However, they're in a hurry to get out when they hear about going into space.

When Top Cat suffers an accident, a misunderstanding leads Officer Dibble to think T.C. has only a week left to live. This leads to a goldmine of privileges for the very healthy Top Cat.

Officer Dibble is facing another birthday, and feels he is getting old. His attitude is not helped by overhearing the Police Commissioner talking about getting rid of the "old wrecks" at the police station, (meaning old police cars). Top Cat and the gang decide to throw Dibble a surprise party, with gifts from everyone in the neighborhood.

Choo Choo threatens to kill himself unless he gets a date with a famous Hollywood actress. Top Cat was never one to resist a challenge.

After seeing the wonderful prizes awarded to the contestants on the "King for a Day" TV program, Top Cat writes a pathetic letter to the producers so that he and the gang (his "poor family") will be invited to appear on the show.

Tony, a friendly hot dog vendor, has been swindled out of $1000 by two con men pretending to have an oil well in Nova Scotia. Top Cat masquerades as a wealthy Texan to get Tony's money back (for a scheme of T.C.'s own) by pretending to the con men that the oil well is real.

Dibble attempts to break the record for being the longest-serving police officer on the beat. If he wins, he goes on holiday... and leaves the gang free from him. With this in mind, Top Cat does everything he can to help Dibble win.

Top Cat owes money to a loan shark. After hearing Officer Dibble sing, Top Cat decides to become Dibble's manager in a show business career, as a way of earning T.C.'s money back.

Officer Dibble's new partner is a tough police dog, Griswald. Top Cat and the gang try their best to outwit him, but Griswald always seems to be one step ahead of them.

A master of disguise impersonates Officer Dibble to steal valuable paintings. But he hasn't reckoned with Dibble's friends.