TVSquad

I've mentioned Frederator's very awesome animation podcast a couple of times, but hold onto your socks, animation lovers, because the company recently launched another animation podcast, this one dedicated entirely to "old timey" cartoons. This week the podcast will focus on cartoons based on comic strips, kicking off with Ub Iwerks interpretation of "Reg'lar Fellas," a comic strip from the twenties and thirties. Later this week you'll also be able to catch animated shorts with Popeye and Little Lulu. Check the archives for some great Warner Bros. shorts, as well as an old Mighty Mouse cartoon. I've already got this podcast queued up in iTunes, so I'm guaranteed never to get any actual work done.

Another great podcast for old cartoons is Vintage Tooncast, which shows many cartoons from the same era, including a lot of the "Superman" shorts from Fleischer Studios, which, by the way, are also coming out on DVD.

The Family Guy fans out there probably know that creator Seth MacFarlane used to work on somewhat more innocent fare like Johnny Bravo and Cow and Chicken. When I first started hearing about Family Guy I immediately thought, 'is that the same guy who worked on Johnny Bravo?' Indeed, it was. Anyway, the other night while checking Frederator's podcast archive, I found an animated short called "Zoomates." It was created by MacFarlane and Butch Hartman (The Fairly OddParents). You can tell Hartman had his hand in it based on the design of the characters alone. So, if you're bored on this lazy Saturday and want a few minutes of entertainment, click here, then scroll down to "Episode 19" to download it. Keep in mind this is the first of four animated shorts, and I make no claims about what comes after it. Although, there is a very awesome Lifesavers commercial from several years ago that follows. Here's a direct link.

Note: Apparently this aired as a segment on Oh Yeah! Cartoons earlier this year.

So I recently got into this whole "podcast" thing, and I've found a couple free TV-related gems I think you guys might also enjoy. Of course, you should also check out all the cool podcasts my fellow Squadders do, but I found these two video podcasts to be quite entertaining:

Lynchland: This podcast is a half-hour trip into the mind of comedian, musician, performer, and director Liam Lynch, co-creator and voice of Olly on one of the greatest television shows ever, Sifl and Olly. Fans of Sifl and Olly will also be treated to occasional apperances from the show's characters, including Chester. If you loved the surreal humor of Sifl and Olly, Lynchland will be right up your alley. Like, so far up your alley you'll need a miner's helmet. That's how freakin' far up your alley it'll be. You'll need forceps and Google Maps to extract it. Seriously, you have no idea.

In addition to the podcast being utterly hysterical, viewers are also treated to the more serious side of Liam during the "viewer mail" segments when he talks about his influences and what drives him creatively. It's both a funny show and a nice look at the creative process.

Frederator: If you're a lover of animation, this is one podcast you should defintely check out. Frederator is the animation studio responsible for Nickelodeon's Oh Yeah! Cartoons, The Fairly OddParents, My Life As A Teenage Robot, and Chalk Zone, among other things. Each episode contains a handful of cartoons, all created by different artists (not all are from Frederator) and utilizing a number of different styles. Not everything is for kids, however.

Share some of your own favorite TV podcasts in the comments.