Freakazoid!

"Freakazoid" is perhaps the most under-appreciated comedy series ever! Of course, aiming something like this to a Sunday morning audience of children will doom it from the start. Sadly, it lasted only 24 episodes before getting canned. On the upside, it did win an Emmy for its theme song! That's a good thing! Anyway, there are several types of humor. Slapstick (i.e. "The Three Stooges'), dry and sarcastic (i.e. "Daria"), that old Warner Brotherish humor that I'm still trying to put a name to.... and then there's "What?!?!?!? Why?!?!?" humor that comes out of no where and strikes us as funny because it doesn't make sense and yet it does make sense... does that make sense? Freakazoid is a delightful mixture of this kind of humor, the most obscure movie/historical/cultural references you could possibly imagine, and (lets face it) utter childishness. This is the only show you would be able to hear big-name actors like David Warner behave like a child throwing a tantrum, or hear deadpan Ed Asner say things like "Poo-gas", or even hear the world famous carpenter Norm Abram say something like, "You're and evil man!" All of this is brought to us by the comic genius of Paul Rugg (who not only writes but does the voice of Freakazoid himself because the part was too weird for anyone else to handle) and his partner in crime, John P. McCann. These guys wrote all the good, memorable episodes of the hit series "Animaniacs". I'm not sure if my rant is making much sense, so I'll stop. I cannot recommend "Freakazoid" to you enough. I'll put it this way: If you enjoy humor similar to "The Tick" comic book (the show is much tamer than what I'm talking about), the "Earthworm Jim" video game, or "Space Ghost: Coast to Coast", this is for you! ENJOY!!!

"Freakazoid!" was a blast from Richard Stone's demented theme music ("Super teen extraordinaire/Freakazoid, Freakazoid/Runs around in underwear/Freakazoid, Freakazoid...") to the credits; probably Steven Spielberg's best TV show not to involve Pinky and the Brain, this was too good to last long. And probably too skewed at serious fans for wide acceptance - but you could hardly call it run-of-the-mill. (The way Dexter Douglas became Freakazoid is better seen than described.)

Freakazoid's adventures, blended with a plethora of supporting cartoons (like "The Huntsman," whose cartoons were an intentional buildup to nothing; and the very British "Lord Bravery" - who in one episode tried to have his name registered but ended up becoming "Lord Smoked Meats And Fishes"... no, I wouldn't want to be rescued by someone with a name like that either!) and a very healthy dose of self-reverence and in-jokes for the fans - you won't find many supposedly kids' cartoons with gags about William Shatner ("They usually disappear AFTER I perform 'Rocket Man'") - were packed with invention, never predictable and filled with more jokes per show than most live-action sitcoms. Though as I said, not the most accessible show in the world... but those who get the gag will love it. I got it, and I do.

"FREAK-OUT!"

Freakazoid! is not as well known as Tiny Toons or Animaniacs, but was at least their equal in laughs and creativity. It was a great show with hilarious characters, a mix of sly, self-referential humor and utter absurdity. The quality of the animation varied wildly from episode to episode, possibly the latter shows were created more cheaply to stretch the budget when they found out they were not being renewed. Whereas the animation did fluctuate, the writing was never less than inspired. Highlights include the Johnny Quest parody, the running "poo gas" joke, and any episode with the Lobe. My favorite is a short piece featuring Freakazoid's new sidekick, a sock puppet. This episode is laugh out loud funny with innuendo I'm amazed got past the censor. Try and catch any episodes if Cartoon Network again reruns them, or if, miraculously, a DVD is released. They are well worth it.

I can't believe that this show is off the air. I certainly hope that the writers are gainfully employed, because they deserve it. Both the physical and the verbal comedy are hilarious. The show's main drawback is that some of the humor may be beyond the attention span of some younger viewers.

Freakazoid is one of the most original characters I have ever seen. Not his powers or anything, but his dialogue. Cosgrove also tends to steal the show a lot, with his dry wit and unlaughing manner. He sort of reminds me of David Duchovny. Honorable mention also to Freakazoid's cat.

Freakazoid! is one of Spielberg's best executive-produced cartoons in the history of animation. It puts cartoons in a perspective of many different kinds of mishaps and spoofs galore. Think of it bad if you must, but I think it's a good stead of cartoons that should go on and on.