TV Rewind: Freakazoid - "House of Freakazoid/Sewer or Later"

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.

House of Freakazoid

I have to admit that I am surprised by how long it took Freakazoid to finally do a send-up of old school horror. We have seen almost every genre parodied, but not one as straightforward as making fun of Universal Horror Classics. That changes this week with a segment that goes darker and weirder than any of the times that Animaniacs ever went. However, that doesn't mean it isn't kid friendly. It just means that the stakes are higher. Even Mr. Chubbikins agrees.
It was a dark and stormy night. Dexter Douglas (David Kaufman) was up in his room on the computer. In a scene reminiscent from the Exorcist, a man in an overcoat walks up to the Douglases' house. His name is Lonnie Tallbutt (Mitch Schauer), and he wants to see Dexter. When Douglas (John P. McCann) asks who he is, he simply states that he is Dexter's student guidance counselor, since driving instructor was already taken by Roddy MacsStew.
Once in Dexter's room, Tallbutt begins to explain his situation. After freaking out Mr. Chubbikins (Frank Welker), he reveals that animals dislike him because he turns into a werewolf during a full moon. This gets Dexter worked up, but not before a gypsy (Tress MacNeille) arrives to share how to break the wolf's curse, which is oddly similar to how Freakazoid was created. They are too late, however, as Tallbutt begins to turn into the Wolfman (Jim Cummings) and wreak havoc on Dexter's room. Douglas and the family are downstairs playing Stratego, and just think that Dexter is playing Twister again. 
In a slow motion homage to the Wolfman (1941), Dexter turns into Freakazoid (Paul Rugg) in a very thick painted absurdist style. They begin fighting, but eventually the gypsy and Freakazoid join forces to take down the Wolfman. This is done by first having Freakazoid capture the Wolfman and take him down to his Freakalair and shave him. This makes him look cuter, but doesn't solve the problem. They eventually type in a code and send the Wolfman into the computer and has him reemerge as a normal person. A delicious touch is Freakazoid saying "They're he-ere" as this is happening (in homage to Poltergeist).
Tallbutt is enthused that Dexter has solved his problem. Before he leaves, the episode ends on Tallbutt introducing his friends: the Mummy, Frankenstein, and Dracula, who he would like turned back into normal people.
This segment may be simply a play on horror tropes, but it is done in a very Freakazoid way that makes it work. The slapdash humor and the multiple references (I barely scratched the surface here) make this one of the show's more meta episodes, but equally a nice throwback. The plot is original enough and the very concept that the internet can change you is a message ahead of its time, and one that will be constantly referenced in this show. It may seem a little too simple, but as far as segments go, this is a nice touch that almost made me wish "House of Freakazoid" was a series unto itself.


Rating: 4 out of 5

Sewer or Later

Before I begin, I would love some feedback from you. When I saw the Amazing Spiderman this past summer, I noticed a lot of similarities to this episode, notably in both being reptilian based villains who live in the sewer. In fact, I am thinking that the movie is in some way ripping off this segment. Of course, that could be just a coincidence. I am sure "Sewer or Later" was not the first piece of media to tackle reptilian villains in the sewer.

This show make a big deal out of two things: Newt Gingrich and sewers. Along with "Sewer Rescue," this is the second time that we've seen our hero not want to go into the sewer. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. The episode begins with our Narrator (Joe Leahy) discussing the plot. As it pans over a dark city, it focuses on a woman making wind noises (MacNeille). The Narrator asks her to be quiet and go away, but she doesn't. She is eventually in the middle of a cobra attack on a local jewelry store that leaves the two cops on duty (Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche) a little baffled. When Freakazoid points out clues that lead to the sewer, they encourage him to go down, but not before he argues that it smells too much like poo-gas.

We meet the Cobra Queen (MacNeille), who has a throne in the sewer and a batch of snakes. Meanwhile, Freakazoid is reluctant to attend to his duties. Suddenly, Cosgrove (Ed Asner) stops by and invites him on a trip to the National Museum of Spackle. The two marvel over a flawless production by the Egyptians. This causes Freakazoid to state that they are his favorite ancient race. Cosgrove tries to talk Freakazoid into going into the sewer and fighting Cobra Queen, but he is too reluctant. Cosgrove throws the guilt trip on him that he is a superhero and it is his duty. Still, he says no. 

In fact, he doesn't do it until he's forced to. Once down there, he complains the whole time and there are a few poop jokes thrown in (look for a "I hope that was a candy bar" reference, which may also be a slight nod to Caddyshack). He eventually runs into the giant snakes and gets into fighting mode. He claims that he knows how to take them down. Do a Conan the Barbarian war cry, grad the snake, and improvise. This goes well at first, as he trick a snake into headbutting the ceiling.

Round two, he finally sees Cobra Queen, but not without fighting another snake. He eventually tricks the snake into following him through a tunnel. He gives it the runaround and eventually ties the tail of the snake on one end so that it cannot get out. His final opponent is almost easier. He tries to get Cobra Queen to talk like Sylvester the Cat, which involves a lot of 's' sounds. Upon a really long tongue twist, Cobra Queen faints and leaves Freakazoid the hero.

Upon reaching the surface, Freakazoid hypnotizes the snakes into a police van. Afterwards, he talks to Cosgrove, who is not pleased with Freakazoid's smell. He tells him to wash up because he smells of poo-gas. In fact, the final line of dialogue involves Freakazoid analyzing that they used the word poo-gas to a gratuitous length in the episode.

This is one of the better ones, if just because it takes the Lord Bravery plot and expands upon it. We also finally get the Cobra Queen in a lead villain role. She has been on screen before, but never one on one with Freakazoid. It also helps that I find her an infectious parody of Eartha Kitt's Batman character. It also sees the show tackling sewers for what they are and almost letting it derail the story entirely. However, this is not without Freakazoid giving asides, which really make this a solid segment.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

This honestly feels like the first episode that I have given an overall rating of more than 3.5. This could largely be due to the show finding its footing (though I've said that before, and then the Huntsman came along). This is another example of the show that I loved as a kid and it almost seems to find a perfect balance of satire and original comedy in the premise. As usual, Joe Leahy is the underrated anchor to this episode, as he gets in a fight with the wind sound lady is brilliant. Also, I enjoy the Paul Harvey (Rugg) "And now you know the rest of the back story," gags. It is probably over the target audience's head, but it is so great. Not Jack Valance great, but close enough. The Cobra Queen story involving beauty cosmetics gone wrong is pretty great.
Starting with "House of Freakazoid," I almost immediately loved it on subject matter alone. I really like Universal Horror Classics, and the Wolfman is up there. I especially enjoyed the twist on the story involving the computer and a barber joke played to its extremity. I also cannot help but think that Lonnie Tallbutt is an homage to Lon Chaney Jr. somehow (who actually did play the Wolfman for many movies), if just because Chaney's real name is Lon Talbot.
The second segment gets even more points because we see the return of Cosgrove, and the growing fascination with asides that make no sense. It is also a nice touch that Cosgrove knows so much about spackle but cannot convince Freakazoid to go into the sewer. I also just like Cobra Queen because she is clearly an Eartha Kitt parody of Catwoman without the cat puns. This segment really lacks any cohesive plot, but the jokes pile up so well that it doesn't matter.
However, it is interesting how much they say poo-gas. They really do make the sewer the enemy of the Freakazoid universe, and it looks scary here. With mice and candy bars floating around, it just grosses you out watching it. In fact, it makes you wonder why Freakazoid just didn't walk on the sidewalk where the mice are. Still, this can all be brushed aside for Freakazoid's great plan to defeat Cobra Queen. She may not be as interesting as the Lobe or Longhorn, but she definitely deserves to be up there.

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