Colonel Bleep

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 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!

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.

Yes, the incredible internet has reunited us with Colonel Bleep! Spent years looking for the 50's show which made an indelible mark on our minds and it has surfaced! Thought we were the only ones who remembered, but alas, there are others! This stuff is classic invaluable, priceless history! Its amazing how much time and energy was spent before internet to re-unite with this cartoon. Great to see that others have the same memories and impressions of the show. We have spoken to many folks who just don't remember the Colonel. I suppose that it was not aired in some states. Actually I never knew it was in color since we had black and white. Caw! Caw! Richard

I was another person thinking I was the only one to remember this program. I dutifully and eagerly awoke every Saturday morning to watch Colonel Bleep battle the forces of evil. I was beginning to think I was losing my mind whenever I attempted to discuss the early Saturday morning cartoon lineups of the mid 1960's with anyone of my generation as not a soul, save myself seemed to remember this show, including my brother with whom I watched every week, LOL. My feeling is that the show actually was somewhat ahead of its time and perhaps too cerebral compared to its contemporaries, Johnny Quest, Bugs Bunny Rocky and Bullwinkle. I have not seen or heard of its release to DVD but would love to see them again.