Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Forgotten Toons: Time Squad

This is a show that I doubt a lot of you really saw, but should have. It was created in 2001, making it apparently the first Cartoon Network original series of the 21st Century. That's mildly-historic, which is a bit ironic given the show. So, here is what you need to know...

In the year 100,000,000 A.D. (I think Dr. Who visited there once), the present is great, but the past is in jeopardy. The past seems to be in flux, requiring Time Cops to make sure things stay straight. Well, it would be easier if that damn Sam Beckett would stop interfering in things! Anyhow, there are three agents:

*"Buck" Tudrussel is a big, greasy cop who likes to work out and to cause violence. Due to him being the Senior Officer, he gets to do that, proving that even Utopia has its faults. He means well, but is dumber than that brick who rides the short bus.

*Larry 3000 is witty, sophisticated robot who is the polar opposite of "Buck." Basically, picture C-3PO as a more layered character, throw in Mark Hamill's voice and you're good to go.

*Otto is a young boy who is the smartest kid in his time period. He's also an orphan, which allows him to go off and time-travel...apparently. He is the common sense side of the group, which means that nobody listens to him.

What kind of hijinks do you get on the show? Well, for starters...

*Eli Whitney creates flesh-eating robots *Blackbeard is an environmentalist.
*Sigmund Freud is making his patients think that they are animals.
*Abe Lincoln is a prankster *Edgar Allen Poe is writing children's books.
*Beethoven becomes a pro-wrestler *Churchill starts a naked revolution.

That's Time Squad in a nutshell. It's a very underrated show that did not always go for the obvious jokes. On the plus side, it got 26 episodes, which is still high for this segment. If you can find it, watch it and enjoy.

Up next, another kid's show that tackles history in a wacky manner. It was made by the people behind Animaniacs, although almost nobody remembers it! Stay tuned...

2 comments:

  1. I dearly loved this show. The humour was incredibly witty, and I loved Mark Hammill as Larry and the obvious inspiration from Sherman and Peabody of the old Rocky and Bullwinkle show. Boomerang should start playing this!

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  2. He he, I just recently stumbled across some episodes on VHS and I remembered how I loved that show! It was one of the first to be completely dubbed since cartoon network was becoming local.

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