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"Here he comes, here comes Speed Racer. He's a demon on wheels." -- The beginning lyrics to the theme song of Speed Racer.

In this week's installment of 'Saturday Morning' we take a break from our regularly scheduled coverage to talk about a cartoon near and dear to many readers' hearts. A cartoon that, while not the first anime to reach the shores of America of the 60s, it was certainly the most influential.

Even though it was never part on any official network schedule, Speed Racer was on somewhere at sometime during the era of Saturday morning cartoons. And, why wouldn't it be? It had everything that a child hopped up on sugar-coated, chocolate-filled cereal could want: action, drama, comedy, mysterious heroes, villains, gadgets, cars, and a boy and his chimp. It also featured animated characters with more natural characteristics than those previously seen on American television. Plus, it had a kick-ass theme song that dug into your brain.

Much has been written on the history of Speed Racer since it premiered over four decades ago. However, with the new Speed Racer live-action film now in theaters, it's a good time to revisit the origins of Speed, Trixie, Pops, Racer X, and the rest of the players. So, if you have your Mach 5 model kit in front of you, let's Go, Go, Go!

"On November 13, Felix Unger was asked to remove himself from his place of residence. That request came from his wife."

Happy Odd Couple Day! Today's the day Odd Couple fans can celebrate the 70s ABC sitcom. How to celebrate? Maybe if you're a really messy guy you can clean the entire apartment today. Vacuum all the rugs, scrub the shower, clean out the fridge and throw away all the old food. And if you're a really neat guy, maybe you can walk around in an old shirt, go one day without sweeping the kitchen floor, or drink beer and leave the cans on the coffee table.

The Odd Couple is one of the best sitcoms of all-time. Smart, well-written, great cast. Except for that odd first season where they had that different apartment and used more cameras and didn't have a studio audience. But after that it took off. Hey, is it even being shown anywhere nowadays? I'd love to watch it again.

[via TV Tattle]