Every time I turn around, I see the girl that turns my world around. But not, like, an adolescent in different colored sneakers. Because that would just be wrong. And illegal. Anyways, we go back once again to the time when theme songs meant something in this special celebrity edition.
Well, they were celebrities at the time.
If you remember the terror of last week and Hammerman (I promise not to do that again.. I think, then you'll also remember there were a few more cartoons over the years that involved celebrities or TV shows. And while I could dig out any number of bad ones, I decided instead to pull a few that were odd, but at least watchable.
First on the agenda, a live action show that became a cartoon. There were a few (some of which I have to save for a crappier edition of Retro), but this one at least was based on a show that almost every kid of the time watched. I dare you to say that you were a kid when this was on and you didn't watch it:
The live action Punky Brewster show then begat the animated series, a show that shared characters but almost none of the concept of its predecessor:
Punky Brewster gets credit for a few things. First, it kept all of Punky's friends from the live action show in the cast of the cartoon. When you decide to throw a magical creature from beyond the rainbow into the mix, it says something about you that you bother to maintain the stability of her normal friends. It may have helped that Punky's live action show was still airing at the time the cartoon aired, since I'm sure there was some exec somewhere saying they should be included.
Second, the show had an actual plot. I know what you're saying. "That doesn't count as plot," but believe me when I say that there are far stranger and pointless programs out there in this genre (Gary Coleman Show, I'm looking in your general direction...).
Third, it employed the greatest cut-in of all intros: a band scene. Fat Albert did this back in the day, but you have to understand that Fat Albert and his gang actually played their instruments in their show. At no point in time does Punky and her friends play any instruments with the exception of the 3 seconds worth of intro. That's chutzpah.
Next up, that show about a wisecracking puppet from outer space? Alf? Someone, somewhere decided that he should have his own cartoon. And that it should be based on his home planet Melmak and family that no one knew anything about. And it have lost, except that as I said in the beginning, theme songs meant everything back in the day. Feline quartets... for the win.
I don't remember much of this show, but I do remember being incredibly entertained by it. Maybe even moreso than Alf's earthbound show. Make of that what you will.
Finally, we come to one of the greatest concept shows ever made. And I say this because it literally had to be random ideas drawn from a hat. World Class Gymnasts + solving mysteries + Mr. T = Ratings!
This show was everything that was good and right cartoons. Let's ignore for a moment that the show is basically yet another retread of the tried and true Scooby Doo formula (a group of _____ with a talking/intelligent _____ travel around and solve mysteries.. and yes, I realize that makes Mr. T Scooby). The show wins for several reasons.
First, the show had actual mysteries to solve. Unlike Scooby-Doo AKA "Misdirection Theater", these kids actually stumbled across clues that led to an actual answer that made sense. It's like after the writers came up with this wacky concept, they actually applied themselves and stuff.
Also, despite never explaining how or why Mr. T was selected as overseer of the gymnast team, they create an environment in which you just don't care. The kids find pointless reasons to do rolls and flips to either attack or escape danger. Mr. T just randomly exerts his strength (or super strength as the case may be) to handle problems. Spike and his Mr. T idolization/mimicry makes him Scrappy-Doo-like. Throughout it all, they find a way to teach a valuable lesson to at least one of the kids. The dog has a mohawk. It's the most contrived thing you will ever see and you will not care. You love every minute of it. That very special episode where Spike gets kidnapped and that one tear runs down Mr. T's face... it just gets you right here... in the heart.
Okay, enough insanity for now.
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