TV Rewind: Freakazoid - "And Fan Boy Is His Name/Lawn Gnomes Chapter IV: Fun in the Sun/Freak's French Lesson"

Hello and welcome to TV Rewind, a series that will explore the shows of yesteryear and dissect them one episode at a time. My goal is to explore lesser known programs that you may not be aware existed. For my first series, I have chosen Freakazoid!, a beloved cartoon that ran on the WB from 1995-1997 and made for some weird, Animaniacs-style parodies of the superhero genre. I will attempt to give you the goods every weekend, just like the actual show. While I may not do it every week, make sure to look out for double headers in which I review episodes on Saturday and Sunday.

Opening

Aboard the S.S. Poseidon on New Year's Eve, a captain (Jeff Bennett) is getting a signal that there is something big on the radar. After looking through a periscope, they discover that there is something black and white and red all over peeking back at them. After pulling back a few feet, it is discovered that it is Freakazoid (Paul Rugg), who is encouraging those aboard the ship to check out his show. To this, the captain says "I guess we have no choice."

It's simple, off beat and to the point. Freakazoid has gotten off to a great start this week with a bizarre tangent that works as a movie parody without going too deep.

Rating: 5 out of 5

And Fan Boy is His Name

Expanding the Freakazoid universe is pretty key in the first batch of episodes. Even characters as minor as Mo-Ron and Lord Bravery are being established now if for no purpose other than to be comical bits later on. This week, we begin our introduction to Fan Boy (Stephen Furst), who is the prototype fan boy. He is obsessed with anything that qualifies as nerd culture and has even memorized Freakazoid's history of villains (most of which we'll never see).

We first see him at Collector's Bookstore, where he is perusing books. As he is walking through the bookstore, he spots George Takei (Rob Paulsen) of Star Trek. He goes wild and immediately tries to befriend him with big hugs and citing that he is his fifth favorite Star Trek character. Takei is not taking this and tries to lose him by running into oncoming traffic. Relax, he isn't killed, but it leaves Fan Boy really depressed that he cannot keep friends.

Meanwhile, Freakazoid is seen on a TV in a news segment hosted by Christina (Tress MacNeille). He is currently fighting Milkman, whose weapon is a big bottle of milk. He is fighting Freakazoid and his new sidekick Expendable Man. Freakazoid manages to make it out okay, but Expendable Man gets injured, leaving Freakazoid a depressed lone hero.

Fan Boy takes this opportunity to befriend Freakazoid at a nearby juice shack. He is downing glasses of papaya and talking to the bartender Mike (Jeff Bennett). Mike tries to convince him that Expendable Man is only in the hospital and things will be all right, but Freakazoid isn't buying it. When he sees Fan Boy approach him, he spits out his drink in an overly comical fashion predating the extended take humor of Family Guy. 

Soon Fan Boy is pitching the idea that he could be Freakazoid's new sidekick. He doesn't want that, though the kid is eager. As Freakazoid decides to leave in the first ever appearance of the Freakmobile, Fan Boy follows him, only to get literally booted out of the car. This leads Freakazoid to enthusiastically ask the Narrator (Joe Leahy) to do a commercial for a toy version of the Freakmobile, which includes a disclaimed that the car with an extendable boot and fat guy toy is not real and no one should buy it.

Freakazoid tries to escape Fan Boy, but it is no use. He even lures him into his Freakalair, which is overly complicated and reminiscent of the 1960's Batman Batcave. With a mute buttler named Ingram, he puts a bag over Fan Boy's head and runs to the top of a building. He thinks he's free, but there is Fan Boy on the other side. He tackles Freakazoid and suddenly they are flying into a building where an event similar to Comic Con is taking place.

Freakazoid is scared, and offering numerous props to appease Fan Boy's desires. This includes a script for the movie titled "Batman IV" (which dates it, but is pretty funny still) and a picture of a guy that Freakazoid claims is Stan Lee, though Fan Boy is confused. It is not clear as to if this is an insult to Lee, or if the picture was someone else (this series has taken a very pro-DC Comics agenda so far). In a last ditch effort, he notices Mark Hamill (voicing himself) signing autographs. He bum rushes him quoting Star Wars only to chase him out of the building. 

Freakazoid ends the episode by stating that his mother was right. Comic books do make you go insane. This is followed by a parody of Daffy Duck's lunatic bouncing around as Freakazoid jumps down the street.

This is a solid segment, though it is questionable how useful Fan Boy will be. So far, the supporting characters in the series feels one note. While Fan Boy is not as bad as Mo-Ron, it feels like the show needs to do a better job of establishing more than jokes insulting their obsessions. I am proud that a show geared at children has taken such a strong stance of introducing nerd culture (such as Comic Con), but I cannot help but feel like the Fan Boy character hasn't aged well and may seem like a crass representation by today's standards. However, his use in this episode feels like a children's version of Misery with more driving, so bravo!

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Lawn Gnomes Chapter IV: Fun in the Sun

And now the introduction of probably another good idea on paper poorly executed on screen. With an introduction and occasional cutaways to Freakazoid, the idea of the gnomes (Carl Ballantine, Rose Marie, Roscoe Lee Brown) is simple. They are underwear stealing jerks who also want to eat birds (Frank Welker) and vikings. They live to cause mischief. In any other cartoon world, this would be suitable. However, when you have to cut to Freakazoid for a joke about their wacky antics, there is problems.

This episode deals with their origin (which makes me wonder why it needed to be "Chapter IV") in which they are in the woods. They admit that they are annoying as they attack a pile of vikings (Larry Gelman, Clive Revill,) by stealing their garments and forcing one to be in their underwear. This one is named Eric the Large (Maurice LaMarche), who threatens the gnomes about his older and powerful brother, a wizard named Rathgar (LaMarche). This doesn't stop the gnomes from wreaking havoc.

One day, they trip a wizard. It is only after the incident that they discover that it is Rathgar. They try to grovel at his feet for mercy, but it ends up annoying him more. He decides to turn them all into stone. Only during the night do they come back to life and wreak their havoc some more. The episode ends with them in current day getting ready to cause mischief.

It is a simple segment, but one that goes on way too long. Like I said, in any other context, this could have worked. However, there isn't really any attainable joke here to justify it being used in a Freakazoid episode. This feels like filler that the show has been using for most of the episodes so far. It isn't terrible, but it is boring in comparison to the rest as it lacks the slapstick or off beat appeal that the rest of the show has. It isn't as terrible as Mo-Ron, but it is almost as useless.

Rating: 1.5 out of 5

Freak's French Lesson

The show closes with a very brief segment in which Freakazoid hosts a show called "Frenching with Freakazoid." Dressed in what can only be described as casual French: pencil mustache and big floppy hat, he points a stick at a chalkboard and begins to speak French. The lesson is quick, but the phrase of the day is: "Quia coupe le fromage" or "Who cut the cheese?" 

It is another piece of filler, but one that has a ridiculous educational value that makes it one of the more tolerable throwaway gags today. Of course, it is also just fun listening to Freakazoid talk in a French accent. I really hope that there are more pointless gags like this in the future.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5

As Freakazoid said during "And Fan Boy is His Name," the show is trying out new things this week. We get some nice gags, including a really neat introduction to the Freakmobile and the Freakalair. Both are ridiculous and over the top in just the right amount of ways. Add in the commercial for the toy, and it feels almost like the best of the 90's toy commercial segments. These may be primitive things in comparison to the narrative that is being developed about Freakazoid: cannot keep a sidekick, girlfriend, and drinks papaya when he's depressed. However, I am beginning to feel like Freakazoid's real sidekick is the Narrator Joe Leahy. Together, they make some great set-ups that make no sense.

I really do miss Cosgrove (Ed Asner) for the second week in a row. What was established as a lazy cop is sadly being underused in favor of bogus stories. I will admit that Fan Boy is unfortunately a dated depiction of what the average nerd looks like, but his Misery style desire to be a sidekick was kind of delicious in the over the top way. I tend to not like the characters who are driven by ridiculous obsessions, and I am sure that maybe Fan Boy will get more annoying in later episodes, but here, he is fine, though not all that hysterical as he is pretty much doing trope after trope.

However, it was nice to see the gag with the rotating sidekicks continue as Freakazoid fought his least threatening bad guy to date, the Milkman. The costume is ridiculous and the fact that there is an elaborate fight in general only adds to the fun. However, I can finally cross off which episode this Very Demotivational picture came from:

Trust me, it is less dirty in the episode. This is just an unfortunate screen cap.

I like the representation of nerd culture on this show and it almost makes me feel like giving the trope a pass. This show knows who it is appealing to, and by making fun of George Takei and having Mark Hamill on the show is just genius. However, I am sure that this show is going to be making a strong stance for DC properties. As it stands, they already have referenced Superman and Batman in a positive light. I'm going to try and see if we can get the whole Justice League by the end of the series' run. Also, I am still trying to figure out if that jab at Stan Lee was intentional or not.

The next one involving the lawn gnomes was excruciating. The show doesn't do well when it takes characters from a somewhat serious property and parody them without making them slapstick. Here, they have a small sense of humor, but it is buried under the show's desire to tell a solid narrative. It works, but overall feels pointless. Also, the cutaways to Freakazoid cracking jokes just makes me feel like the writers of the show didn't have faith in the segment to begin with.

However, I did like the "Frenching with Freakazoid." I hope that he teaches me more in weeks to come.

In closing, this show is still in need of finding its voice. Freakazoid is a fascinatingly fun character in a world of caricatures. Sure, we have villains such as Cave Guy and the Lobe who are just fun, but we are entering a dull period where Fan Boy and Mo-Ron are filling out the run time. I don't like them and would love for the show just to get back to Freakazoid. Even though it acknowledges that it is Animaniacs with a superhero spoof angle, it doesn't do the variety nearly as well as the originators. 

Here's hoping that the show gets better and that we see more of Cosgrove in the near future.

Check out more of my work at www.nevpodcast.com where I post every Wednesday and have a podcast called Nerd's Eye View.