No discussion of the slate of Spielberg Saturday morning cartoons would be complete without mentioning Freakazoid, the first internet generated superhero. In the early 1990s, personal computers and the internet were still in their infancy. In this story, a computer manufacturer discovers a minor flaw in its product: if exactly right combination of keys were pressed, the user would be sucked into the internet. Concluding that it would be impossible for this to ever happen, they keep the news under wraps. However, they didn't count on a cat walking across the keyboard. Computer nerd Dexter Douglass is sucked into the internet and takes on a second identity as the manic Freakazoid. All of this is explained in the opening theme.
Ricardo Montalban played the villain Guttierrez who developed the dangerous computer. This started a career in cartoon villainy for Montalban, who also played Senor Senior, Sr. in Kim Possible.
Despite his awesome powers, Freakazoid could be neutralized by poo gas.
Despite the show's cult appeal, it never really caught on. It lasted only 24 episodes over a season and a half. In the following clip, Freakazoid, Wakko and the Brain argue over who Steven Spielberg likes best only to face disappointment.
The show's finale predicted that they would return some day. This prediction has come true as Warner Brothers Video released the first season on DVD on July 28, 2008.
More information than you would ever want to know is contained in the comprehensive Wikipedia article.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Second Golden Age of Saturday Morning Cartoons Part 2: Pinky and the Brain
Gee Brain, what are we going to do tonight?
The same thing we do every night. Try to take over the world!
Those lines opened every episode of Pink & the Brain, a cartoon about a megalomaniac lab mouse and his goofy sidekick and their ill-fated plans to take over the world. This show started as a segment on the Animaniacs and was spun off into its own show. The hyper-intelligent Brain and the generally hyper Pinky engaged in all kinds of schemes, such as going back in time to replace the Declaration of Independence with the Declaration of Obedience. Despite the fact that their plans invariably failed, they were always ready to have another go at taking over the world.
Here is the Pink & the Brain opening theme in seven different languages.
English:
German:
Russian:
Spanish:
Japanese:
Arabic:
Multi-lingual:
The same thing we do every night. Try to take over the world!
Those lines opened every episode of Pink & the Brain, a cartoon about a megalomaniac lab mouse and his goofy sidekick and their ill-fated plans to take over the world. This show started as a segment on the Animaniacs and was spun off into its own show. The hyper-intelligent Brain and the generally hyper Pinky engaged in all kinds of schemes, such as going back in time to replace the Declaration of Independence with the Declaration of Obedience. Despite the fact that their plans invariably failed, they were always ready to have another go at taking over the world.
Here is the Pink & the Brain opening theme in seven different languages.
English:
German:
Russian:
Spanish:
Japanese:
Arabic:
Multi-lingual:
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The Second Golden Age of Saturday Morning Cartoons Part 1: Animaniacs
When I was a kid, Saturday morning cartoons were the high point of the week. I lived for shows like Scooby Doo, Speed Racer and Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner. For me, that was the golden age of Saturday morning cartoons. However, after I grew up, there was a second golden age of Saturday morning cartoons, thanks to Steven Spielberg. While Mr. Spielberg is better known for Jurassic Park, Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan, he also produced a slate of Saturday morning cartoons in the 1990s, including Animaniacs, Pinky & the Brain and Freakazoid. These cartoons featured clever theme songs and even more clever writing.
Part 1 of my tribute to the cartoons of Steven Spielberg features the Animaniacs. Here is the opening theme.
Although I was never a big Bill Clinton fan, I always chuckled at the shot of Bill Clinton playing the sax.
The Animaniacs could be educational as shown by this song featuring the capitals of the 50 states. I know some teachers still use this one.
The show also featured educational belching
as well as general zaniness.
They don't make them like this anymore!
Part 1 of my tribute to the cartoons of Steven Spielberg features the Animaniacs. Here is the opening theme.
Although I was never a big Bill Clinton fan, I always chuckled at the shot of Bill Clinton playing the sax.
The Animaniacs could be educational as shown by this song featuring the capitals of the 50 states. I know some teachers still use this one.
The show also featured educational belching
as well as general zaniness.
They don't make them like this anymore!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Grading an Obama Administration
The votes are in and Barack Obama will be the next president. However, which Barack Obama will we see? Will it be the cool, collected orator who inspired millions with his uplifting rhetoric and message of change or will it be the Chicago pol who blindly voted with the Democratic party 96% of the time? I am willing to give the new president a chance, even though I expect to disagree with him a lot. Here are eight areas in which he can impress me or not.
Budget and Economy. Does anyone have a clue on how to get the economy back on track? If the Democrats or Republicans have a plan, I don't think I've heard it. Similarly, anyone has a way to reduce the budget-busting defecits of the last eight years, I don't know about it. Because the hole is so deep here, any progress will look good.
Energy. The Obama campaign has promised to invest billions in alternative energy sources. If President Obama is able to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and make wind and solar power feasible for use, he will have done something that other presidents have only talked about. However, if he vetoes domestic oil production and nuclear power, while supporting wasteful progrms that actually hurt the environment, such as the current ethanol subsidies, we will look back fondly on $4 a gallon gas prices.
Foreign Policy. Sen. Obama has promised to consult with our allies and negotiate with rogue nations. As president, he will face challenges from al Qaeda, Hezbollah and a resurgent Russia. If our allies demand appeasement, will he have the courage to stand firm? If North Korea, Syria, Libya and Iran promise to play nice while ramping up their ability to harm our interests, will he accept their words at face value? It is a dangerous world and we will need the support of our allies. However, we will need to lead and inspire rather than passively follow European opinion. We will need to "trust but verify" as a great president once said.
Healthcare. I have read through the Obama campaigns promises on healthcare and they seem like a lot of blue smoke and mirrors to me. As I understand the proposals, everyone will have access to affordable healthcare coverage and it won't cost any more because the government will make the system more efficient. If President Obama can pull this off, his legacy will be secure. However, if the solution to healthcare is to create another government bureaucracy like social security, he will bankrupt the country.
Immigration. Our current immigration system violates the laws of supply and demand. While there is a massive demand for hard-working laborers seeking to make a better life for their families, our immigration laws artificially restrict the number of people who can have access to the American dream. The predictable result is that millions of people are here illegally. This in turn creates opportunity for drug runners and criminals to slip through a porous border. We will be able to better secure the border if we offer those who are willing to work hard and play by the rules an opportunity to come here legally. While this proposition makes sense to me, it will face strong opposition from both the left and the right. On the left, unions oppose increasing the supply of labor because it will result in more competition. On the right, there are nativists who fear an influx of Spanish-speaking workers from south of the border. It will take a political genius to navigate this issue.
Iraq. We know that the U.S. will reduce its presence in Iraq dramatically during an Obama administration. However, the big question is whether we will make an orderly transition to a sovereign Iraqi government or whether we will cut and run. Having made a bad decision to invade Iraq, we can still make things worse. If we pull out precipitously, we will embolden our enemies to turn up the pressure.
Judges. We know that President Obama will appoint liberal judges who will support Roe v. Wade. That is a given. However, will his appointees be more Breyer than Brennan? Stephen Breyer has proven to be a relatively cautious and thoughtful liberal. William Brennan viewed the Constitution as a malleable instrument used to reach a desired result.
Middle Class Tax Cuts. Sen. Obama campaigned on the promise to reduce taxes for 95%of working Americans. Bill Clinton promised a middle class tax cut also, but it never happened. Will President Obama deliver a middle class tax cut or will he use the current financial crisis as an excuse to back away from this promise?
Budget and Economy. Does anyone have a clue on how to get the economy back on track? If the Democrats or Republicans have a plan, I don't think I've heard it. Similarly, anyone has a way to reduce the budget-busting defecits of the last eight years, I don't know about it. Because the hole is so deep here, any progress will look good.
Energy. The Obama campaign has promised to invest billions in alternative energy sources. If President Obama is able to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and make wind and solar power feasible for use, he will have done something that other presidents have only talked about. However, if he vetoes domestic oil production and nuclear power, while supporting wasteful progrms that actually hurt the environment, such as the current ethanol subsidies, we will look back fondly on $4 a gallon gas prices.
Foreign Policy. Sen. Obama has promised to consult with our allies and negotiate with rogue nations. As president, he will face challenges from al Qaeda, Hezbollah and a resurgent Russia. If our allies demand appeasement, will he have the courage to stand firm? If North Korea, Syria, Libya and Iran promise to play nice while ramping up their ability to harm our interests, will he accept their words at face value? It is a dangerous world and we will need the support of our allies. However, we will need to lead and inspire rather than passively follow European opinion. We will need to "trust but verify" as a great president once said.
Healthcare. I have read through the Obama campaigns promises on healthcare and they seem like a lot of blue smoke and mirrors to me. As I understand the proposals, everyone will have access to affordable healthcare coverage and it won't cost any more because the government will make the system more efficient. If President Obama can pull this off, his legacy will be secure. However, if the solution to healthcare is to create another government bureaucracy like social security, he will bankrupt the country.
Immigration. Our current immigration system violates the laws of supply and demand. While there is a massive demand for hard-working laborers seeking to make a better life for their families, our immigration laws artificially restrict the number of people who can have access to the American dream. The predictable result is that millions of people are here illegally. This in turn creates opportunity for drug runners and criminals to slip through a porous border. We will be able to better secure the border if we offer those who are willing to work hard and play by the rules an opportunity to come here legally. While this proposition makes sense to me, it will face strong opposition from both the left and the right. On the left, unions oppose increasing the supply of labor because it will result in more competition. On the right, there are nativists who fear an influx of Spanish-speaking workers from south of the border. It will take a political genius to navigate this issue.
Iraq. We know that the U.S. will reduce its presence in Iraq dramatically during an Obama administration. However, the big question is whether we will make an orderly transition to a sovereign Iraqi government or whether we will cut and run. Having made a bad decision to invade Iraq, we can still make things worse. If we pull out precipitously, we will embolden our enemies to turn up the pressure.
Judges. We know that President Obama will appoint liberal judges who will support Roe v. Wade. That is a given. However, will his appointees be more Breyer than Brennan? Stephen Breyer has proven to be a relatively cautious and thoughtful liberal. William Brennan viewed the Constitution as a malleable instrument used to reach a desired result.
Middle Class Tax Cuts. Sen. Obama campaigned on the promise to reduce taxes for 95%of working Americans. Bill Clinton promised a middle class tax cut also, but it never happened. Will President Obama deliver a middle class tax cut or will he use the current financial crisis as an excuse to back away from this promise?
No More Gates
The election is over at long last. My fervent hope for the next four years is that we learn to banish the word gate from our vocabulary. I am not talking about actual gates, like the Sather Gate pictured below. I am talking about the unfortunate habit of adding -gate on to a word to define a scandal. I have two reasons for this, one stylistic and one substantive.
Every since Watergate, lazy journalists have used gate to name a scandal. We have had Troopergate I, II and II (involving Bill Clinton, Elliot Spitzer and Sarah Palin respectively), Filegate, Passportgate, Plamegate, Travelgate, etc. Merely adding the suffix gate onto a scandal is a poor substitute for thought and should be banned from the lexicon. Iran-Contra and Whitewater are examples of how an affair can stand on its own the necessity to remind people that it is a scandal by calling it a gate.
However, on a more serious level, I hope that we will give the scandals a rest for a while. When Bill Clinton became president, the right wing tried to negate the election results by launching a series of investigations into the Clintons and their associates. This ended with the sorry spectacle of the President lying under oath about his sexual pecadillos and facing an impeachment trial. While perjury is a serious matter, there was no need for the question to be asked in the first place.
The Democrats have learned to respond in kind with a never-ending string of so-called ethics scandals including the politically motivated prosecution of Tom Delay and the Valerie Plame affair.
Are we any better off for having spent the last sixteen years scandalizing each other? Careers have been destroyed, people have gone to jail and millions have been spent on special prosecutors. However, when it was all said and done, did any of it make our government better or improve us as a nation? I don't think so.
My fervent hope would be that we can lay off of the scandals for a while. If you disagree with President Obama (a position I may find myself in), debate his policies and discuss his priorities. However, we can do without the tabloid politics.
Every since Watergate, lazy journalists have used gate to name a scandal. We have had Troopergate I, II and II (involving Bill Clinton, Elliot Spitzer and Sarah Palin respectively), Filegate, Passportgate, Plamegate, Travelgate, etc. Merely adding the suffix gate onto a scandal is a poor substitute for thought and should be banned from the lexicon. Iran-Contra and Whitewater are examples of how an affair can stand on its own the necessity to remind people that it is a scandal by calling it a gate.
However, on a more serious level, I hope that we will give the scandals a rest for a while. When Bill Clinton became president, the right wing tried to negate the election results by launching a series of investigations into the Clintons and their associates. This ended with the sorry spectacle of the President lying under oath about his sexual pecadillos and facing an impeachment trial. While perjury is a serious matter, there was no need for the question to be asked in the first place.
The Democrats have learned to respond in kind with a never-ending string of so-called ethics scandals including the politically motivated prosecution of Tom Delay and the Valerie Plame affair.
Are we any better off for having spent the last sixteen years scandalizing each other? Careers have been destroyed, people have gone to jail and millions have been spent on special prosecutors. However, when it was all said and done, did any of it make our government better or improve us as a nation? I don't think so.
My fervent hope would be that we can lay off of the scandals for a while. If you disagree with President Obama (a position I may find myself in), debate his policies and discuss his priorities. However, we can do without the tabloid politics.
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