The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!

In 1989 the two most famous plumbers from Brooklyn burst out of the Nintendo game world and onto television screens across America. The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! aired weekday afternoons and brought Mario, Luigi, Princess Toadstool and King Koopa more thrilling adventures as cartoon characters. And if that weren't enough, each episode also contained live-action segments featuring Mario and Luigi running their Brooklyn plumbing shop - all before they were flushed down a drainpipe into the Mushroom World.

Directed by Bob Forward, Reed Shelly, Phil Harnage, Bruce Shelly, The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! leans on a strong ensemble — Louis Albano, Danny Wells, Harvey Atkin — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The series landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about animation titles of 1989.