ToonTalk

Marvel Comics were all the rage in the 1960s and Hanna Barbera got in on the excitement with a Fantastic Four series. So does this iteration of Marvel’s First Family hold up? The guys look at it all, from some impeccable voice acting to whatever it is they were doing with Doctor Doom.

It’s time go back to the Stone Age for more Christmas hijinks. In this episode, the guys one again contemplate a pre-Jesus Christmas with A Flintstones Family Christmas, where an older Fred Flintstone must navigate a young scofflaw in preparation for the arrival of his grandchildren. As one would expect of a holiday special, there is theft, grifting, and a stint in jail. And the gratuitous “Fred is fat” jokes. Merry Christmas!

Hey hey hey, it’s time for some holiday flair with Yogi Bear! In the Christmas special the guys watch Yogi’s First Christmas and learn about important things like hardtack biscuits, the significance of mistletoe, and whether the park is named Jellystone or Yellystone….or both.

In the mid-90s, Warner Bros thought a Superman movie was heading to theaters so they rushed a cartoon onto television. The movie never happened but the cartoon series sure did! The guys sift through the Timm-verse version of the Big Blue Boy Scout and…let’s just say it was well received.

Who’s ready for super feats with a minuscule side of heroics? It’s time for SPACE GHOST! In this episode, we dig into the first go-round for the future late-night talk show host as he battles aliens with his teen sidekicks and their monkey. We also talk about Dino Boy (kind of) because, well, it also happened. So settle in for discussions about power bands, whatever the Ghost Planet is, and whether Jan and Jace really go everywhere that Space Ghost goes.

It’s time for the most daredevil group of daffy drivers to ever whirl their wheels in the Wacky Races! Join the guys as they dig into Hanna Barbara’s attempt at creating a show that more could be spun from. From the antics of Dick Dastardly to the ancestors of Captain Caveman, relive the crazy capers of one of HB’s more unique efforts from the 1960s.

It’s time for Spider Woman - Marvel’s first female character to get her own cartoon series. The guys look at this rather unique series which leaned heavily into interesting supernatural elements (to its benefit) but ignored basic character development (not so much). At least it gave us multiple Star Wars rip-offs and Magini, the David Bowie-esqe villain unconcerned with failure.

Christmas time is here! And so is a staple of the holiday - A Charlie Brown Christmas. Join the guys as they look at the backstory of this animated classic that launched decades of Peanuts specials.

Breakout the pretzels and jellybeans - it’s Thanksgiving! In this Beyond Saturday Morning episode, we dig into A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and discuss important matters like: What kid turn up their nose at popcorn for dinner? Is Linus a force for good or a chaos agent? And is there a dark undercurrent to Woodstock to which we have been blind?

Casper is the friendliest ghost you know. In the Halloween special, we watched the original theatrical shorts of the little spook to find out his appeal. Turns out, it’s a pleasant series of shorts…as long you don’t think too much about the character origins.