ProStars 1-Disc Box Set DVD

ProStars is the early-1990s NBC animated series that paired three real-life sports superstars (Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, and Bo Jackson) into a fictional crime-fighting trio that took on global threats during their off-time from professional sports. The show ran on NBC Saturday mornings in 1991 with a 9-episode run that captures the format in its complete broadcast life. The premise has the three athletes working as a team through cartoon-action plots that draw on each star's actual athletic specialty for the resolutions.

What makes the series distinct is its specific celebrity-tie-in framing. Where most animated action series of the era invented their casts wholesale, ProStars built its lead trio around three of the most prominent active athletes of the period, each represented by an animated version that mirrored their public persona. The format gives the writers a built-in audience hook and lets the cartoon plots resolve in ways that incorporate basketball, hockey, and baseball moves as part of the action.

For its era, the show represents the wave of early-1990s NBC Saturday morning animation that experimented with celebrity tie-ins. The series ran a brief 9-episode run before its conclusion, with the compressed catalog capturing the format in its full development. The show belongs to the broader history of late-1980s and early-1990s animated celebrity vehicles that came and went across the networks.

The nine episodes work through a varied catalog of adventure premises. "The Sluggers Return" launches the series with the establishing format. "Short John S Revenge" runs a pirate-themed plot. "The Perbots Of Dr.Lobe" delivers a science-fiction antagonist. "Knightmare Riders" goes medieval-fantasy. "The Valley Of The Snow Falcon" runs an exploration premise. "Brazil Nuts" handles an international-setting entry. "Block Busters" plays in city-based action. "Roll To Victory" runs a competition plot. "Gargantus And The Highway Of Doom" closes the run with the show's biggest scale. All 9 episodes on 1 DVD collect the complete NBC run, every athlete-team-up, every cartoon mission, in one box.