TVSquad

The creation of Foofur, a Saturday morning cartoon that ran on NBC for two seasons starting in 1986, is typically credited to Freddy Monnickendam, the man who helped bring The Smurfs to American television and who later created The Snorks. However, Don Markstein of Toonopedia writes that the cartoon is more precisely attributed to Phil Mendez, who created Kissyfur one year earlier. Whoever created it, Foofur was a staple of my Saturday mornings, and I was glad to find a few episodes on YouTube.

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. 

If you coated a Care Bear in honey and sugar you might end up with something as sickeningly sweet as Kissyfur, a cartoon which aired Saturday mornings on NBC during the 1986-87 season. Somewhat (but not really) like Walt Kelly's Pogo comic strip, the show focused on a group of animals living in a swamp and having crazy adventures while trying to protect themselves from danger, including a group of crocodiles who were always trying to eat the young cubs. "Kissyfur" was a young bear cub who escaped from the circus to live in the swamp. This is all explained in the opening credit sequence, which you can view here.

Despite my somewhat sarcastic first sentence, I actually loved this show as a kid, even if it did sometimes pile on the sentimentality a little thick. I suppose that's unavoidable when your main character is named "Kissyfur" for crying out loud. Still, it's probably that name which caused this cartoon to stick in so many people's heads. Also, save for early morning preschool programming, I don't know if cartoons like this still exist that so openly embrace concepts like love, trust, and family. I guess being cheesy isn't always so bad.

They say you should never meet your idols, that it will always, inevitably, be a disappointment. Or, in the case of comedy writer Adam De La Pena, a danger to your emotional, psychological, and physical well-being.

Let's Bowl! was the creation of Tim Scott, a Minneapolis native who earlier worked as a sound mixer on Mystery Science Theater 3000. Michael J. Nelson, who played "Mike" on MST3K, also worked on the show as a writer for one season.

The basic premise of the show, which began airing in Minneapolis and other local markets in 1998 before being brought to Comedy Central in 2001, was to invite real people with trivial grievances onto the show to settle their dispute on the lanes. The show was a mix of bowling footage, hilarious interviews, and bizarre skits. It featured two commentators, a husky all-American type named Steve "Chopper" Sedahl (Steve Sedahl), and a whiny manchild named Wally Hotvedt (Rich Kronfeld) who would often lament his place in this cruel world and reveal embarrassing things about himself when he was supposed to be providing color commentary. It was an odd mix of irreverent comedy and bowling, and it really shouldn't have worked, but somehow it did.