A Special Presentation, or Alf Will Not Be Seen Tonight

Morrie Turner's Wee Pals imagines "what if Peanuts was integrated?" Featuring a rainbow coalition of kids from all races, religions, and abilities, Wee Pals is a piece of aspirational art imagining a better future. And Rankin-Bass's animated adaption "Kid Power" certainly shares that ethos. Join us for a discussion of the mildly didactic Kid Power TV series. (WARNING!!! There's some discussion about racism in this one)

After the failure of the Dick Tracy movie, Warren Beatty was so mad at the studio that he decided to make sure the studio never regained the rights to make another Dick Tracy movie. To that end, every 12 years or so he makes a weird avant garde art piece dick tracy zoom interview intended to be seen by no one... but which allows him to retain copyright! Artist, author and adventurer Ryan Estrada joins us to talk about these delightful exercises in spite.

Jules Feiffer's comics in the Village Voice were THE THING back in the swingin' 60s or maybe the 50s, but we still remember them best as the thing that the last liberal wanted to read before he got got by Milo and Cutter John in Bloom County. Well, Feiffer wrote a movie script based on his comics back in the 80s and it got lost for 30 years, but now they found it and they made it. Bernard and Huey... get old!

Everyone knows Prince Valiant, the comic strip that's NO FUN. You look at that wall of text and those serious illustrations and you just know this is a scam -- it's no whimsical fun comic strip, it's probably trying to teach you something! In 1997, Prince Valiant was adapted into a theatrical film with Katherine Heigl, Ron Pearlman, Warwick Davis, and Joanna Lumley, which, in a different world, might have filled the Krull-shaped hole in our hearts... If only!

Everyone knows Prince Valiant, the comic strip that's NO FUN. You look at that wall of text and those serious illustrations and you just know this is a scam -- it's no whimsical fun comic strip, it's probably trying to teach you something! In 1997, Prince Valiant was adapted into a theatrical film with Katherine Heigl, Ron Pearlman, Warwick Davis, and Joanna Lumley, which, in a different world, might have filled the Krull-shaped hole in our hearts... If only!

This week, we're going back... back... back in time to look at the very FIRST ever comic strip, Mutt and Jeff. America couldn't get enough of the adventures of a short guy and a tall guy who hung out together. Come for the weird Mutt and Jeff stitched-together Frankencartoon, stay for a long digression about Ghostbusters, Beetlejuice, and a brand new anti-woke movement just for Travel Lodge bear cosplayers.

Marmaduuuuuke! He's a big dog.

Once again, we're spending some time with Canada's favorite sons: The Foobs! Lynn Johnston's For Better or For Worse has an animated special all about the birth of April! What's the deal with April? Let's investigate!

Jane was a saucy 1940s British comic strip about a sweet young thing names Jane, famous for fighting nazis and losing her clothes through various contrived and saucy means. Jane was credited with helping the British drive back the axis in Burma, but does this late 80s big screen adaptation capture the sauciness of the original strips? We investigate!

Did you know that there are folks behind the Funnies? It's true! This 2018 documentary talks to all the big names: Lynn Johnston, Mell Lazarus, Mort Walker, Scott Adams, Etc, to learn all about what it takes to be a folk behind a funny. But you gotta listen to the notes that they're NOT playing!

Did you know that there are folks behind the Funnies? It's true! This 2018 documentary talks to all the big names: Lynn Johnston, Mell Lazarus, Mort Walker, Scott Adams, Etc, to learn all about what it takes to be a folk behind a funny. But you gotta listen to the notes that they're NOT playing!

Did you know that there are folks behind the Funnies? It's true! This 2018 documentary talks to all the big names: Lynn Johnston, Mell Lazarus, Mort Walker, Scott Adams, Etc, to learn all about what it takes to be a folk behind a funny. But you gotta listen to the notes that they're NOT playing!

In 1971, Michael Eisner decided he was going to make a commercial competitor for PBS's then ascendant Sesame Street. The result was Curiosity Shop, a show about four kids going to a curiosity shop run by the absent Mr. Jones. It featured music, puppets, and animation -- including appearances by the cast of Miss Peach, Dennis the Menace, BC, and Wizard of Id. Only two episodes remain, so we take a look.

In 1971, Michael Eisner decided he was going to make a commercial competitor for PBS's then ascendant Sesame Street. The result was Curiosity Shop, a show about four kids going to a curiosity shop run by the absent Mr. Jones. It featured music, puppets, and animation -- including appearances by the cast of Miss Peach, Dennis the Menace, BC, and Wizard of Id. Only two episodes remain, so we take a look.

In 1993, everyone's favorite menace, Dennis, made the jump to the big screen -- in a film that could almost be good if John Hughes wasn't so dedicated to recreating the success of Home Alone. Walter Matthau is forced to carry an entire film by himself, but, damn, does he do it!

In the early 80s, Hanna Barbera decided to take a little risk and tell the entire history of post-war America through the medium of rock and roll music and also put Scatman Crothers in it as a talking jukebox. It's like if Fantasia kind of sucked but was also about the most obvious boomer pleasing aspects of rock music. Morbiose joins us to talk about this weird rock oddity!

It's Ethan's birthday, so we're taking a little detour from our usual wheelhouse to look at another 80s cartoon robot franchise... The GoBots! You may remember them as the poor man's transformers... and you'd probably be right! Are the GoBots going places or should they be going home? Ha ha, get it? Please yourself then.

Happy birthday, Mickey Mouse!!! To celebrate Steamboat Willie finally, FINALLY falling into the public domain, we look at the 1988 television event Mickey's 60th Birthday, when a wizard makes Mickey lose his mojo and then he meets the cast of Cheers and Family Ties (big sit coms at the time, ask your parents). We ended up talking for two hours because we get distracted by talking about the bizarre history of Roger Rabbit, Jim Hensen's traveling puppet medicine show, the bullshit of Time's Man of the Year, Disney racism, and the black hole of Michael Eisner's charisma.

Happy birthday, Mickey Mouse!!! To celebrate Steamboat Willie finally, FINALLY falling into the public domain, we look at the 1988 television event Mickey's 60th Birthday, when a wizard makes Mickey lose his mojo and then he meets the cast of Cheers and Family Ties (big sit coms at the time, ask your parents). We ended up talking for two hours because we get distracted by talking about the bizarre history of Roger Rabbit, Jim Hensen's traveling puppet medicine show, the bullshit of Time's Man of the Year, Disney racism, and the black hole of Michael Eisner's charisma.

We're leaving our wheelhouse to discuss everyone's favorite Rankin Bass new year's special "Rudolph's Shiny New Year." Rudolph has to go to the archipelago of last years to save the baby new year and the important thing is that there's dinosaurs. A lot of questions are raised about how this worlds works, however.