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.
A Matter of Love
It is interesting what happens when you turn Cosgrove (Ed Asner) from the goofy sidekick to the main character of a Freakazoid episode. One would assume it would be a blast of hearing him just go about his goofy ramblings and stopping bad guys with a simple "cut it out." However, in "A Matter of Love," it really feels like moving Cosgrove to the main character is not the greatest idea, especially since his plot revolves around a romance that is in many ways against the Cosgrove archetype that we have come to expect.
The episode begins with the Narrator (Joe Leahy) reading a few dedications. The notable ones include those that have ever fallen in love, and the people who are trying to clone the human race. However, none are effectively prominent to this episode as the final one, which features a dedication to Ashley Huggbees of Fullers Earth, Arizona. What did she do? Nothing. She just happened to have a great name. Huggbees. Try saying it a few times and see if it matches the cutaway clips shown in this episode.
In the story, Freakazoid (Paul Rugg) has just cornered a man and has had him arrested. In tradition, he walks over to Cosgrove and asks him to join him for a trip to see watermelon smasher Gulliver. Cosgrove turns the offer down, claiming that he has big boy stuff to do. Freakazoid ends up going with his butler Dr. Jones (Jonathan Harris), who is shocked when Freakazoid leaves to go to the bathroom halfway through the show with the protective sheet, thus leaving Jones to get sprayed by Gulliver (Frank Welker).
During this time, he notices that Cosgrove is leaving with a woman. He decides to stalk him as he ends up at a mambo party. This causes Freakazoid to act childish and sing "Cosgrove's got a girlfriend." However, when the girlfriend walks out of the room, she bumps into a waiter and becomes a monster, causing Freakazoid to panic. He tells Cosgrove the next time they see each other. Cosgrove also admits that he didn't tell him because he was sure that he would make fun of him.
He also talks to Professor Heiny (Ed Gilbert) at his mountain laboratory from "The Cloud" episode. He reveals that the only way to determine if she is a monster is to have her light a candle with her nose. He also decides to shoot a few monsters that have climbed up the mountain and are attacking the base. This makes his advice seem even more absurd, as he doesn't even want to study the ugly monsters that run up the mountain.
Cosgrove invites Freakazoid to dinner at his girlfriend's house. She is revealed to be Mary Beth (Tress MacNeille), who is a cosmetics marketing genius. Cosgrove is convinced that she is not a monster, and when Freakazoid asks her to light a candle, she flips out and turns into a monster, kidnaps them, and takes them to her lair where plans to destroy Freakazoid, who is locked up in a metal box.
Cosgrove has a dilemma. He doesn't know where to follow Mary Beth or help Freakazoid. This causes a song to play behind him that repeats "What will Cosgrove do?" only to have him say "cut it out." He decides that things are getting a little too creepy and will help Freakazoid. However, this results in him being locked away in another metal box.
Facing the camera, he talks to the audience. He demands that they clap and help Freakazoid get his esteem raised so that he can defeat Mary Beth, who is now planning to drink his juices. This results in many cutaway clips of people applauding and saying Huggbees. This works, which causes Mary Beth to crumble into dust.
The episode ends with the two walking across a hilly valley and a doo wop song about not dating a women if she is a monster plays in the background. It is a fairly somber note, especially with Cosgrove giving off the impression that he desperately wishes that he had someone to love.
Rating: 3 out of 5
I will admit, I love Cosgrove. I find him to be a very endearing character. However, this episode was really depressing when you think about it. While there was plenty of humor, this episode was pretty much about how crushing love is, and the Mary Beth character is sort of tragic in the big picture. By having Cosgrove end up alone, it ends the episode on a down note, and it doesn't have the assurance necessary to make this feel like one of Freakazoid's best.
It also doesn't hurt that Cosgrove really doesn't have many punchlines this week. He manages to get in phrases like "cut it out," but he is playing the straight man as he tries to convince Freakazoid that Mary Beth is a good character. He is the same strong willed character, but by taking out the absurd comedic element and making him more emotional, it creates narrative conflicts that feel kind of too mature for a kid's show.
Of course, this is where the brilliance also comes in when you think about it. Using Mary Beth as a monster as a metaphor, it manages to preach an opposing viewpoint to the longstanding beliefs that love is good. It isn't too aggressive about it, but the subtle undertones and turning Cosgrove into a sad sack really just makes this episode feel tragic. It just shows that Freakazoid is capable of cutting corners and dealing with heavier subjects, but I don't know if I want to live in that world. However, this is only small proof of how brilliant a third season would have been with the show quickly losing the kinks and finding a style.
It also was a lackluster episode because it wasn't about slapstick and punchlines. It was more about a straightforward mystery. Is Mary Beth a monster? We already knew this and it made the tension in the second act almost flat. Investigative Freakazoid is not the most interesting incarnations of the character, as he rarely has the loony persona cranked. At very least, we have Cosgrove flying with eagle's wings at one point in this episode. The image alone justifies this plot.
Another highlight is that Joe Leahy continues to be the most absurd narrator of all time. Just listen as he makes Huggbees an acceptable entry into this show's lexicon. The opening scene where he is impersonating a moose saying the word is too brilliant. Leahy really is a genius, if just because he is able to be more cartoony than Cosgrove while playing master of the show. He may be the best part of this show, if just because Huggbees is a fun word to say.
I also like the subtle continuity in this episode. I didn't touch on it in the recap, but if you pay close attention, there are a lot of callbacks. In the opening when Freakazoid captures the crook, there is a Mary Beth poster. Later on, Freakazoid talks about drinking too many juices. That is brought up later when Mary Beth claims that she wants to drink Freakazoid's juices. Maybe every episode (doubtfully) has been like this, but I like those small consistencies and really makes me conflicted by how little I enjoyed this episode.
Either way, it makes Cosgrove too sad to see him fall out of love, and really damages the perception that we have of him. He is a great guy with simple demands and the idea that love is one he cannot get just doesn't feel right. I get that Freakazoid and Steff are supposed to be a thing, but that's done to comedic high points satirizing the hero/girlfriend dynamic. Oh, how I wish Cosgrove never fell in love. It just felt wrong to tease him like this.
Also check out more of my work at http://nerdseyeviewpodcast.blogspot.com/ where I have a podcast called Nerd's Eye View.
The episode begins with the Narrator (Joe Leahy) reading a few dedications. The notable ones include those that have ever fallen in love, and the people who are trying to clone the human race. However, none are effectively prominent to this episode as the final one, which features a dedication to Ashley Huggbees of Fullers Earth, Arizona. What did she do? Nothing. She just happened to have a great name. Huggbees. Try saying it a few times and see if it matches the cutaway clips shown in this episode.
In the story, Freakazoid (Paul Rugg) has just cornered a man and has had him arrested. In tradition, he walks over to Cosgrove and asks him to join him for a trip to see watermelon smasher Gulliver. Cosgrove turns the offer down, claiming that he has big boy stuff to do. Freakazoid ends up going with his butler Dr. Jones (Jonathan Harris), who is shocked when Freakazoid leaves to go to the bathroom halfway through the show with the protective sheet, thus leaving Jones to get sprayed by Gulliver (Frank Welker).
During this time, he notices that Cosgrove is leaving with a woman. He decides to stalk him as he ends up at a mambo party. This causes Freakazoid to act childish and sing "Cosgrove's got a girlfriend." However, when the girlfriend walks out of the room, she bumps into a waiter and becomes a monster, causing Freakazoid to panic. He tells Cosgrove the next time they see each other. Cosgrove also admits that he didn't tell him because he was sure that he would make fun of him.
He also talks to Professor Heiny (Ed Gilbert) at his mountain laboratory from "The Cloud" episode. He reveals that the only way to determine if she is a monster is to have her light a candle with her nose. He also decides to shoot a few monsters that have climbed up the mountain and are attacking the base. This makes his advice seem even more absurd, as he doesn't even want to study the ugly monsters that run up the mountain.
Cosgrove invites Freakazoid to dinner at his girlfriend's house. She is revealed to be Mary Beth (Tress MacNeille), who is a cosmetics marketing genius. Cosgrove is convinced that she is not a monster, and when Freakazoid asks her to light a candle, she flips out and turns into a monster, kidnaps them, and takes them to her lair where plans to destroy Freakazoid, who is locked up in a metal box.
Cosgrove has a dilemma. He doesn't know where to follow Mary Beth or help Freakazoid. This causes a song to play behind him that repeats "What will Cosgrove do?" only to have him say "cut it out." He decides that things are getting a little too creepy and will help Freakazoid. However, this results in him being locked away in another metal box.
Facing the camera, he talks to the audience. He demands that they clap and help Freakazoid get his esteem raised so that he can defeat Mary Beth, who is now planning to drink his juices. This results in many cutaway clips of people applauding and saying Huggbees. This works, which causes Mary Beth to crumble into dust.
The episode ends with the two walking across a hilly valley and a doo wop song about not dating a women if she is a monster plays in the background. It is a fairly somber note, especially with Cosgrove giving off the impression that he desperately wishes that he had someone to love.
Rating: 3 out of 5
It also doesn't hurt that Cosgrove really doesn't have many punchlines this week. He manages to get in phrases like "cut it out," but he is playing the straight man as he tries to convince Freakazoid that Mary Beth is a good character. He is the same strong willed character, but by taking out the absurd comedic element and making him more emotional, it creates narrative conflicts that feel kind of too mature for a kid's show.
Of course, this is where the brilliance also comes in when you think about it. Using Mary Beth as a monster as a metaphor, it manages to preach an opposing viewpoint to the longstanding beliefs that love is good. It isn't too aggressive about it, but the subtle undertones and turning Cosgrove into a sad sack really just makes this episode feel tragic. It just shows that Freakazoid is capable of cutting corners and dealing with heavier subjects, but I don't know if I want to live in that world. However, this is only small proof of how brilliant a third season would have been with the show quickly losing the kinks and finding a style.
It also was a lackluster episode because it wasn't about slapstick and punchlines. It was more about a straightforward mystery. Is Mary Beth a monster? We already knew this and it made the tension in the second act almost flat. Investigative Freakazoid is not the most interesting incarnations of the character, as he rarely has the loony persona cranked. At very least, we have Cosgrove flying with eagle's wings at one point in this episode. The image alone justifies this plot.
Another highlight is that Joe Leahy continues to be the most absurd narrator of all time. Just listen as he makes Huggbees an acceptable entry into this show's lexicon. The opening scene where he is impersonating a moose saying the word is too brilliant. Leahy really is a genius, if just because he is able to be more cartoony than Cosgrove while playing master of the show. He may be the best part of this show, if just because Huggbees is a fun word to say.
I also like the subtle continuity in this episode. I didn't touch on it in the recap, but if you pay close attention, there are a lot of callbacks. In the opening when Freakazoid captures the crook, there is a Mary Beth poster. Later on, Freakazoid talks about drinking too many juices. That is brought up later when Mary Beth claims that she wants to drink Freakazoid's juices. Maybe every episode (doubtfully) has been like this, but I like those small consistencies and really makes me conflicted by how little I enjoyed this episode.
Either way, it makes Cosgrove too sad to see him fall out of love, and really damages the perception that we have of him. He is a great guy with simple demands and the idea that love is one he cannot get just doesn't feel right. I get that Freakazoid and Steff are supposed to be a thing, but that's done to comedic high points satirizing the hero/girlfriend dynamic. Oh, how I wish Cosgrove never fell in love. It just felt wrong to tease him like this.
Also check out more of my work at http://nerdseyeviewpodcast.blogspot.com/ where I have a podcast called Nerd's Eye View.
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