Aired: 1981-92
DAD: Papa Smurf/Single
DAD’S JOB: Be the smurfiest
KIDS: 9,999 Smurfs and 1 Smurfette
WHERE’S MOM?:There IS no Mom – they’re SMURFS!
STAND-IN "MOM": Smurfette?
Belgian cartoonist Peyo Culiford invented these blue creatures in the late 1970’s, and licensed Smurf toys for sale in America. NBC president Fred Silverman, noticing how much his own daughter loved her Smurf doll, quickly cranked out a cartoon series.
This show, which was the smash hit of NBC’s 1981 cartoon lineup, stayed on TV in one form or another for more than a decade and a half, including reruns on cable networks.