The Alvin Show

Network: CBS
Episodes: 26 (half-hour)
Seasons: One

TV show dates: October 4, 1961 — 1962
Series status: Cancelled/ended

Performers include: Ross Bagdasarian, Shepard Menken, June Foray, and Lee Patrick.

TV show description:
The first animated television series to feature the singing group known as the Chipmunks.

Previously known only from popular music, this series features the adventures of three chipmunk brothers — mischievous Alvin, brainy Simon, and chubby Theodore. The group is managed by father-figure Dave Seville.

The series also features the adventures of self-important inventor Clyde Crashcup and his silent and level-headed assistant Leonardo.

Series Finale:
Episode 26
Episodes are made up of four segments; one Chipmunk story, two musical numbers and a Clyde Crashcup adventure.
The final segments are “Disc Jockey” (Chipmunks story), “The Alvin Twist” and “While Strollng Through the Park” (musical numbers) and Clyde Crashcup “Invents Crashcupland.”
First aired: 1962.

What happened next?
In 1981, 20 years after the original series, the characters returned in a holiday special called A Chipmunk Christmas. In the story, the chipmunks try to help a sick boy named Tommy get better before Christmas. Clyde Crashcup appears to Alvin in a dream sequence and Shepard Menken reprised his voice role.

The Chipmunks returned in 1983 for a long-running Saturday morning series, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and several movies and specials. In 2007, the brothers starred in their first live-action movie. Both later incarnations mildly resemble the original animated series.

In the “Back to Our Future” episode of Alvin and the Chipmunks, Clyde Crashcup brings a time machine to the present and temporarily switches the Alvin Show Chipmunks with their later counterparts. The six end up having a musical duel before becoming friends.