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Overview

"Stay Awake or Else..." is the third episode of The Tom and Jerry Show (1975).

Synopsis[]

After partying all night, circus roustabout Tom can't stay awake on the job; Jerry tries to keep him from being fired by the ringmaster.

Plot[]

On the circus grounds, the ringmaster searches for circus roustabout Tom, who at the same time is being driven by milk truck from an all-night party which has left him exhausted so the milkman tell Tom to wake up as soon Tom get out from the milkvan and he blow the noise maker to the milkman and the milkvan drive away so Tom goes under the tent however Jerry shushes him to keep quiet so Tom is about to sleep but the bucket is stuck on his left foot causing making loud noise so Jerry shushes him again. Tom shakes his left foot but the bucket is free causing the bucket lands onto Jerry. Tom is sleeping on the hay stack until The ringmaster appears but Jerry hides inside the bucket and The ringmaster goes to Tom and catches him asleep and shouts for him to wake up, sending him bouncing off the roof of the circus tent! The ringmaster warns Tom he will lose his job if he falls asleep on the job and the ringmaster tell him to clean up the tent. So, it's up to co-roustabout Jerry to wake him up. When applying loud alarm clock headsets to his ears, filling him up with piping hot coffee until it comes out of his ears, and jacking him up and tickling him with his party streamer all bomb out. So the ringmaster tell everyone the show goes on about 10 minutes. Jerry decides the best he can do is make his sleepy pal seem awake with a pair of eyeglasses painted white. First Jerry put on the eyeglasses on him and he ties strings to Tom's arms and legs and manipulates him in the manner of a marionette, making him appear to dust the carnie wagons. When the ringmaster arrives and orders Tom not to sleep however Jerry is too tired but the ringmaster arrives and he orders him to sweep the ring, Jerry puts him on roller skates with a broom in his paws and pushes him to the center ring to help him do his job...and loses control of him! The Strongman lift the piano up but Tom accidentally knocks the strongman causing the piano to drop so Jerry runs and grab Tom's legs but he crashes into some Elephants causing them to sit, crocodile open it mouth until Tom passes by and the crocodile snaps. The somnolent Tom unwittingly goes on to delight the crowd and the ringmaster with his stunts. The show is an instant success, and the ringmaster then presents Tom (still asleep!) with a contract stipulating he repeat his "act" every night, and he "signs" it...courtesy of Jerry, who manipulates his paw with a pen tied to his finger.

Characters[]

Main Characters[]

Minor Characters[]

  • Circus Performers
  • Milkman
  • Circus Seals
  • Elephants

Availability[]

Trivia[]

  • "Stay Awake Or Else..." was the first New Tom & Jerry cartoon to be produced, as well as the first Tom & Jerry cartoon produced by Hanna-Barbera in 17 years.
  • The basis for this cartoon was Sleepy-Time Tom (1951), except that unlike Sleepy-Time Tom where Jerry foils Tom's attempts to stay awake, here Jerry helps Tom to keep him awake which is the exact opposite action from the one he did in the previous cartoon.
  • The circus seal and elephants which appear during Tom's sleepskating act reference those in Little Runaway (1952) and Jerry and Jumbo (1953), respectively.
  • The scenes in this episode of Tom streaking through the air and continuously bouncing off the roof of the circus tent and bouncing off a trampoline can be seen in the show's syndicated opening credit sequence. The opening credits also boast a scene of Jerry stopping in front of fast-asleep Tom and opens his left eye to read a "Do Not Disturb" sign, also from "Stay Awake Or Else...". (The only difference is that Tom roller skates up a teeter-totter in the cartoon, whereas in the opening titles, he merely runs up one.)
  • A deleted scene finds Tom gliding out of the tent and down the freeway with a policeman in pursuit, then back to the circus, where he inadvertently performs a series of tricks. The cartoon originally ended with the same policeman arriving with a speeding ticket and T&J skate out of the circus as fast as they can!
  • The scene of Jerry manipulating Tom with strings making him appear to dust the carnie wagons was incorporated into the original New Tom & Jerry/Grape Ape Show main titles.
  • Tom wearing glasses that make him look awake is similar to when Tom paints his eyes yellow to fool Mammy Two Shoes that he is awake.

Gallery[]

The Tom and Jerry Show (1975) Episodes
No Way, Stowaways / The Ski Bunny / Stay Awake or Else...No Bones About It / An Ill Wind / Beach BullyMammoth Manhunt / The Wacky World of Sports / Robin Ho HoSafe But Not Sorry / Gopher Broke / The Super BowlerTricky McTrout / The Tennis Menace / Cosmic Cat and Meteor Mouse/ Castle Wiz/ Grim and Bear It/ The Flying SorceressThe Kitten Sitters / Termites Plus Two / Planet PestThe Hypochondriac Lion / Give 'Em the Air / The Egg and Tom and JerryWatch Out, Watch Dog / The Super Cyclists / The Police KittenThe Outfoxed Fox / Towering Fiasco / The Lost DucklingBeanstalk Buddies / Two Stars Are Born / Son of Gopher BrokeThe Sorcerer's Apprentices / Hold That Pose / The Supercape CaperChickenrella / Double Trouble Crow / Jerry's NephewSee Dr. Jackal and Hide / Planet of the Dogs / The Campout CutupTriple Trouble / The Bull Fighters / Cruise KittyIt's No Picnic / Big Feet / The Great Motorboat Race
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