Freakazoid!

Carrying on the topic of comedy from the previous entry, I thought I would look at the cartoon from my childhood that I thought was most hilarioius: Freakazoid.



Freakazoid was part of the Kids WB block and aired from 1995-1997. It was from Steven Spielberg's production company, much like other classics such as Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, and Pinky and the Brain. Freakazoid isn't as widely known as those other shows; perhaps it's this underdog status that makes it one of my favorites. The other reason is its subject matter: it's a parody of superhero cartoons. In fact, since we are the midst of a superhero craze in pop culture, I'd say it's prime time that Freakazoid's cult classic status was given a boost!

The show focuses on an unlikely protagonist: Dexter Douglas, an ultra-geeky computer nerd whose extreme wimpiness is often played for laughs. Due to a random accident involving a cat and a computer chip, he is given a superpowered alter ego by the name of Freakazoid: a blue skinned, pop culture-referencing, pun-loving nutcase that is basically Dexter's id come to life. The theme song says it all: "He turned into the Freakazoid, whose strong and super quick. He drives the villains crazy, 'cuz he's a lunatic!"

Speaking of villains, the show has them in spades, and they are quite memorable. Much of the humor in the characters comes from skewing the audience's expectations. For instance, there's a muscle bound ruffian named Cave Guy. However, he's very articulate and speaks like a snooty British intellectual. Or Freakazoid's arch nemesis, The Lobe. On the one hand he's an evil super-genius. On the other he is deeply insecure and in one episode stars in his own parody of "Hello, Dolly!" Then there's Candle Jack, a villain that has transcended his limited appearance on the show to become a bonafide internet meme. The joke goes, say his name and at some point he'll come and abduct you, leaving your sentence incom



Freakazoid's allies are memorable too. Whether it's his girlfriend Steph, who manages to make a catchphrase out of "That was quite a jolt, Freak!," Cosgrove, the easily distracted police officer, or the always put-upon Professor Jones, who very well may be Dr. Smith from Lost in Space.

The show's humor is very zany and wacky, with countless pop culture references that probably went over 90% of the target audience's heads. Heck, I only caught the "Hello, Dolly!" reference fairly recently, when I finally heard the actual song. It isn't all about Freakazoid either. The creators throw in other recurring shorts as well, such as a parody of Johnny Quest and a very Monty Pythonesque hero named Lord Bravery.

The show is one of my all-time favorites. Yes, at times it could be a little too silly or weird. But that was part of its charm. You could feel the creativity of the writers at work. And on what other 90's cartoon could you get a great villainous performance from Tim Curry? Uhh . . . okay pretty much all of them. But what about the great Ricardo Montalban? I will always remember him shouting maniacally, "Laugh with me!!"

Yes, Ricardo, I will.