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.

Top Secret!

I've been wanting to create a blog where I pay tribute to creativity in all its forms: movies, TV shows, music, art, video games, websites, performance, etc. The focus for now will be on those things that I hold particularly near and dear to my heart, especially (but not exclusively) if they are not widely known.

For this inaugural entry, I will discuss one of the movies that helped me develop my comic sensibilities.

Many people are familiar with the movie, "Airplane!" Directed by the comedy team of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker and released in 1980, it is largely regarded as one of the best comedies ever.

Fewer people have heard of the ZAZ team's follow-up: "Top Secret!"


This poster is slightly misleading. I do not recall a scene with cows falling from the sky. The cow did wear boots, though. And Val Kilmer did shake it.

It amazes me that "Top Secret!" is not more well known. In my opinion, it is just as funny as "Airplane!" and even more original. I was surprised to find out recently that "Airplane!" is basically a comedic remake of a prior film, "Zero Hour!" "Top Secret!" on the other hand, is an unlikely combination of an Elvis-style musical and a Cold War spy film.

It is actually Val Kilmer's very first role. Kilmer plays Nick Rivers, an Elvis-like rock musician who is invited to East Germany to perform in an arts festival. Little does he know that the festival is really a front for a nefarious conspiracy, which he soon gets entangled in. But really, the plot is just a vehicle for the gags, and boy are there a lot of them. "Top Secret!" is the kind of comedy that reveals more and more upon repeat viewings. The movie has it all: cheesy puns, sight gags, parody, satire, and also some very inventive scenes.

Two scenes stand out. In the first, Nick and his love interest, Hillary, visit a Swedish book shop. The shop owner, played by Peter Cushing, speaks in Swedish, which sounds peculiarly like backwards English. The "backwards" theme continues through the scene, until it becomes apparent to the audience that the scene is actually being played backwards. This allows for some very clever sight gags as Nick and the shop owner put books away. At first it may seem that the decision to shoot the scene and play it in reverse is a very random choice. As it turns out, however, it was deliberately done to reference the fact that some English speakers think Swedish sounds like backwards English. In this way, the scene becomes even funnier when you learn the back story. I can't think of very many movie scenes that I can say that about!


Peter Cushing as the Swedish shop keeper

Another memorable scene in the movie parodies Western movies and the classic scenario of a brawl in a tavern. The "Top Secret!" twist? The tavern is at the bottom of a lake and the entire fight scene is filmed underwater.

There's something special about "Top Secret!" and other classic spoof movies that many recent entries in the genre fail to capture. The spoof has lost its luster with the glut of "Blank" Movies: "Date Movie", "Epic Movie", and the rest of their ilk. It seems the writers of modern day spoofs think that referencing pop culture and celebrities is what constitutes parody.

Anyone who is a fan of ZAZ's other work such as "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun!", as well as the movies of Mel Brooks, owes it to themselves to check out "Top Secret!"