[FCRG 04/27/2001] Freakazoid Episode 2 References
HubCity
The next scheduled episode of "Steven Spielberg Presents Freakazoid!"
is Episode 2, featuring:
"Candle Jack",
"Toby Danger",
and "The Lobe".
"Steven Spielberg Presents Freakazoid!" airs on Cartoon Network
at 5:30am Eastern & Pacific time, weekdays.
Jaime Weinman is the editor of the Freakazoid Cultural Reference Guide, of
which this is an excerpt. You'll find the Freakazoid Cultural Reference
Guide in its entirety (along with attributions and disclaimers) at the
following URL:
http://members.attcanada.ca/~jacjud/freaka.html
Be sure to drop in and say hi!
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Episode: 2
"Candle Jack"
+ The "Scream-O-Vision" process is a takeoff on low-budget horror films
of the '50s and '60s, which frequently used such cheesy gimmicks to
lure people into buying tickets. In particular, this strategy was a
specialty of producer/director William Castle (the inspiration for
the John Goodman character in the movie "Matinee"), whose innovations
included Odorama (filling the theatre with the smell of whatever
happened to be onscreen at the moment) and Tinglevision (having the
seats wired with a mild electric current and basically electrocuting
the audience during the scary scenes). (JJW)
+ The story itself is a generic slam at modern-day horror flicks such
as the "Friday the 13th" movies. The "legend" of Candle Jack seems
related to the "Bloody Mary" ghost folktale that was the basis for
the movie "Candyman." (BM)
- DYN: The name of the camp is "Wenamigunnagohome." (BM)
+ I'm told that Buzz, the bespectacled kid who tells the story of Candle
Jack, resembles Steven Spielberg as a child. (CC)
+ Sinbad is not a sailor, but rather a comedian who used to have a
highly unfunny TV show on the Fox network.
+ Kenneth Mars, as Dr. Hunterhanker, has made a career of playing crazy
stereotypical Germans in such films as Mel Brooks' "The Producers" and
"Young Frankenstein" and such cartoons as the Animaniacs short "Roll
Over, Beethoven." (JJW)
+ On the bookcase behind Dr. Hunterhanker, there's a small replica of
the sculpture "The Thinker" by Auguste Rodin. (MB)
+ "F-Troop" was a show on ABC from 1965-1967 that starred Ken Berry
(Captain Wilton Parmenter), Forrest Tucker (Sergeant O'Rourke), and
Larry Storch (Corporal Agarn) in a military farce about incompetent
cavalry troops at Fourt Courage, somewhere west of the Missouri, in
post-Civil War Days. (EOC, MB)
+ When Candle Jack says "Believe it, or not!", he's imitating Jack
Palance, who hosted the TV show based on the long-running newspaper
comic, "Ripley's Believe It Or Not". (MB)
- Nit: When Freakazoid opens up the rope, the rope connecting him to the
other kids has disappeared. (DC)
+ Freakazoid's big monologue near the end is a parody of the end of the
annual Jerry Lewis Telethon, where Jerry walks around gushing about
how wonderful his guests are and what a great time they've all been
having. (JM)
+ The "rest of the episode" man is supposed to be Paul Harvey, who for
several millennia has had a daily radio spot where he tells inspiring
stories and ends by intoning: "And now you know...the rest of the
story!" Paul Rugg's imitation of Harvey's voice is rather more highly
pitched than the original but preserves the *other* Paul's portentous
pauses and the slightly singsongish rhythm of his speech. (JJW)
- The Paul Harvey caricature also delivers "The Rest of the Backstory"
in "Hot Rods From Heck!," "Sewer or Later," "The Wrath of Guitierrez,"
and "Dexter's Date."
"Toby Danger"
+ This short is a parody of "Jonny Quest," the 1960s Hanna-Barbera
adventure cartoon created by Doug Wildey. (many, many, many)
+ Characters on "Jonny Quest," besides Jonny himself, included Jonny's
scientist father Dr. Benton Quest (= Dr. Vernon Danger), Race Bannon
(= Dash O'Pepper), and Dr. Danger's adopted son Hadji (here replaced
by Sandra Danger). (EOC)
+ Sandra is a combination of Hadji and Race's daughter Jessie, who
was added to the canon in the 1993 TV movie "Jonny's Golden Quest."
(BM)
+ The artwork, animation, and general style are *very* close to the
original, even as to the logo, and the opening introducing the
characters as they are flying (in a plane in the original, that island
thingy in the spoof). The opening credits also spoof, scene for scene,
the monsters fought in the original credits. (EOC)
+ At one point in the "credits," there is a shot of three men crouched
behind a laser gun, the beam of which leaps to light. They are
caricatures of the three main contributors to this short: from left
to right, writer Tom Minton (holding a coffee cup), storyboard artist
Brian Chin (the shortest of the trio), and storyboard artist Butch
Lukic. (EOC)
+ The look of this short also recalls the 60's comic book work of legend
Jack Kirby ("The Fantastic Four," "The Incredible Hulk," and "X-Men").
Maybe a little like fellow comics artist Herb Trimpe's work, too. (TW)
+ The plot, sequence of events, gadgets, and dialogue all perfectly
match the style of the original. (BM)
+ Even the voice casting is authentic: Don Messick (Dr. Danger) was the
voice of the original Dr. Quest (along with John Stephenson), and also
voiced Dr. Quest in the 1987 revival of the series. Scott Menville
(Toby) and Granville Van Dusen (Dash) respectively voiced Jonny and
Race in the 1987 revival. (BM)
+ The sound effects are the same ones used on "Jonny Quest," and Richard
Stone's score spoofs Hoyt Curtin's jazz-influenced music for the
original. (BM, JJW)
+ The villain, Dr. Sin, is based on a "Quest" villain named Dr. Zyn.
(JJW)
+ The stylized screams ("Aieeee!") are a real twist of the knife, being
taken verbatim from the original show. (BM)
+ Dash's line "Heads up, you heathen monkeys!" is a pointed reference
to the more racist aspects of JQ, and may even be a direct quote. (BM)
- DYN: The PDA that Dr. Danger picks up at the semiconductor factory
looks strangely similar to an Apple Newton; in fact, there's a small
pineapple at the bottom of it. (MN)
+ The Las Vegas setting is appropriate, as Doug Wildey had a reputation
for being fond of gambling.
+ DYN: The "Dean live!" poster in the lobby. This refers, of course, to
singer/actor/comic Dean Martin, a Vegas fixture for most of his
career. (JJW)
+ Race Bannen did have a habit of throwing barrels or other objects,
hence Dash's fondness for barrels. (EOC)
- In the "One good turn deserves another..." catagory, a recent episode
of "The New Adventures of Johnny Quest" has Race Bannen uttering the
phrase "Let me throw a barrel at him!". Hmmmmmmmmmmm..... (MN)
+ That's Frank Sinatra calling for the diversion of all nonessential
power. Of course, Frankie is an appropriate icon for Vegas. (EOC)
+ The blind singer is Ray Charles (black, piano player, short hair,
growly voice). (EOC)
+ Siegfried and Roy are well-known Vegas entertainers who have a white
tiger act. (EOC)
"The Lobe"
- This is reminiscent in spots of the 1948 Bugs Bunny short "Hot Cross
Bunny," directed by Bob McKimson, which was also set in a crowded
operating theatre, and which also involved someone messing with our
hero's brain. (EOC)
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