Colonel Bleep

This was probably the first sci-fi show I ever saw at age 6. I remember the characters were strange looking, and the animation somewhat limited compared to what the major studios were producing. Glad to see other people remember the Colonel, and there are a few websites devoted to him too. Thanks to Colonel Bleep for giving me a life-long interest in science fiction.

3.... 2.... 1!

Yes. I'll admit that these Colonel Bleep cartoons from 1956 are far from being great, but, all the same, their sometimes-educational stories of interplanetary adventure did have a cute charm all of their own.

These decidedly low-budget, limited-animation cartoons contained almost no dialogue at all between its characters. With the aid of sound effects, most of the stories were told through voice-over narration from actor Noah Tyler.

Colonel Bleep is a futuristic E.T. life-form from the planet Futura. Bleep has set up headquarters here on Earth on Zero-Zero Island, which is positioned on this planet's equator.

Bleep's 2 sidekicks in the show are his loyal space deputies, Squeek, the mute puppet-boy, and Scratch, a caveman recently awakened after several thousand years of deep sleep.

Together this brave trio battle intergalactic villains who pose a serious and immediate threat to the peace & safety of the universe.

It's quite clear that these full-colour cartoons are definitely geared to children, but I still liked them enough to give them a 6-star rating for their nostalgic value.

The first color cartoon made exclusively for television in an era dominated by black-and-white sets! Finding the treasure that is 'Colonel Bleep,' was a decade-long trek. In an animation magazine, I read an interview with the animation director Jack Schleh, in celebration of the VHS release. The stills from the show, with their sharp line-work, really caught my eye. With advent of the Internet, I got the chance to see even more stills...and even hear the theme song. In 2005, I purchased a public-domain DVD of what episodes existed (twelve). I wasn't impressed with the plots so much as I was impressed with the sophistication of the show through simplicity. 'Colonel Bleep' works as a cartoon for the majority of black-and-white televisions that it was first broadcast to, but it works in color as well. The episodes are short enough to catch the attention span of small children and not long enough to both fans of animation. The official release came recently, with a DVD of 24 episodes...these contained episodes of an educational nature, which are fascinating, however dated (I get the same feeling looking at 50s-era issues of 'National Geographic'). No, Bleep isn't as slick as today's computer-assisted animation, but quite impressive for its time. A must-look for fans of animation and pop culture history!

I remember Colonel Bleep and have mentioned it to many other baby-boomers for many years, but nobody else seems to remember it. My most vivid memory is when he was trapped in some sort of tube or cylinder and continued to change or shrink in order to escape. He had some sort of ray gun, if I remember it correctly. Sound familiar to anybody? I grew up in the New York City area and remember it on television somewhere in the late 1950's. Back then I did not pay attention to which channel any of my favorite TV shows were on...I just watched them. I think that most of us were like that. We just whined to our parents to watch something that was our favorite. I would like to see the Colonel Bleep that I remember once again

I too thought I was the only one who remembered Colonel Bleep (although I had forgotten his name momentarily when I was in my early twenties, but my twin brother set me straight soon thereafter), as many in even my high school knew not whereof I spoke when I uttered the name, Colonel Bleep. I saw some episodes on YouTube last year, which made me recall with much fondness my childhood recollections of making sure I caught every episode on the weekday cartoon show, most particularly that opening countdown prior to the rocket launch.

As I look at the episodes on YouTube nowadays, several features of the cartoon seem rather peculiar, to wit: Col. Bleep needs to wear a helmet even on his home planet, whereas his associates Squeak and Scratch never needed to wear helmets, no matter where they were in outer space or which planet they were on. Interesting too, that Col. Bleep never walked, but pedaled that strange unicycle no matter where he went - even on his home planet! But to compare this cartoon, the first color one made for TV, with the likes of the successors, viz., Clutch Cargo, Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bullwinkle, and Bugs Bunny, is like comparing the Model T Ford to the Motorama models. I do appreciate, however, that there are a select few that still recall with much joy and enthusiasm the erstwhile escapades of Colonel Bleep!