TVSquad

Recently I decided to see what all this Battlestar Galactica noise was about and Netflixed the first couple seasons. As of this writing I'm about midway through the second season and I have to say that yes, it is as good as people say. I don't mean it's good by the sometimes lower standards of other sci-fi fare, I mean it's just a good television program period. Consider me frakking converted.

I've lamented on this blog numerous times the absence of "classic" cartoons on television. I would even love to see Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies, Terrytoons, and selections from the Tex Avery library as part of Adult Swim. Heck, bury them at one o'clock in the morning away from the newer offerings, that'd be just fine with me as long as they were there and accessible. These days, however, the only "Looney Tunes" one can usually see are Baby Looney Tunes or Loonatics Unleashed, modified and updated versions that are just dandy for younger kids who might not know the history behind those characters, but not so great for older folk with a greater appreciation for animation history.

In the late 90s, Cartoon Network did offer something to those of us who like to delve a bit deeper into animation. The show was called Toonheads, and each episode would focus on a specific director, animator, voiceover artists, era, or whatever. One episode might be dedicated to voice actor Daws Butler while another would plot the evolution of Tom and Jerry as different directors took over the cat and mouse duo. Every cartoon would be separated by brief snippets about the work and the people behind it. The episodes weren't exactly rife with information, but it was nice to know there was a series that actually took these old cartoons seriously, rather than just slapping them into various timeslots as a means to fill up airtime.