Spider!

Next up we a have a cartoon about a little spider and a boy who is his friend. Spider!

"I'm only scary 'cos I'm hairy"

This memorable musical series follows the exploits of a simple spider. All the chap wants is a quiet life, but alas, all sorts of interference and problems seem to come his way via a mischievous young boy and his friends and visitors...

Dark Season

This week for the Saturday Matinee Serial I give you Dark Season. Written by Russell T. Davies and starring Kate Winslet in her first starring role!

The first three episodes begin with third year secondary school girl Marcie and her two fifth year friends Tom and Reet becoming suspicious of the sinister Mr Eldritch, whose computer company arrives at the school and distributes free computers to all the pupils.
With the reluctant help of their teacher Miss Maitland they apparently defeat the threat of Eldritch, who disappears. However, the second three episodes tell of the actions of Miss Pendragon, who works for Eldritch and is attempting to revive the massive, secret Behemoth computer from its long-hidden location beneath the school.

Mighty Max

Ever wished an item of clothing could give you special powers? You should talk to Max, or should I say; Mighty Max!

The series follows Max, an adventurous preteen boy who receives in the mail a small statue of a fowl, inscribed with Egyptian hieroglyphs whereof the translation states: "You have been chosen to be the cap-bearer. Go to the mini-mart and wait for a sign, Mighty Max". Shocked by the message, Max drops the statue, shattering it and revealing a red baseball cap emblazoned with a yellow "M", which he dons.
Upon arriving at the mini-mart, he is chased by a lava-monster sent by antagonist 'Skullmaster'. As Max flees, the cap teleports him to the Mongolian desert, where he befriends Virgil, a nearly omniscient Lemurian whose appearance is that of an anthropomorphic "fowl" (a running gag in the series is that Max refers to Virgil as a "chicken" to which the Lemurian replies "Fowl, actually"), who explains that Max's reception of the cap was prophesied c. 3000 B.C. Thereafter Max, Virgil, and Norman, his Viking bodyguard, travel together around the world, defending Earth against the minions of Skullmaster, who is responsible for the downfall of the Lemurians and the people of Atlantis. Norman is supposedly immortal and identified as or with Sir Lancelot, Thor, Samson, and Hercules. Most plot-driving episodes involve Skullmaster or one of his monstrous followers; but in many episodes, Max is required to stop an independent villain.

Goof Troop

Today we have another Dinsey show for you featuring one of Disney's Classic characters. It's Goof Troop!

 Goofy, a single father, moves back to his hometown of Spoonerville with his 11-year-old son, Max. As it happens, Goofy and Max end up moving in next door to Goofy's high school friend: Pete, a used car salesman and owner of Honest Pete's Used Cars; Pete's wife Peg, a real estate agent; and their two children, 11-year-old son P.J. (Pete Jr.) and 4-year-old daughter Pistol with long red hair. Max and P.J. become best friends and do practically everything together. A large portion of humor comes from the relatively normal Max's personality sharply contrasting with his father.

Roger Rabbit Shorts

Today saw the actor Bob Hoskins pass away. One of his most iconic films was Who Framed Roger Rabbit? In honour of Bob, I give you the 3 short cartoons of Roger Rabbit.

The anthology features Roger Rabbit, the animated protagonist from Who Framed Roger Rabbit, being enlisted the task of caring for Baby Herman while his mother is absent, resulting in a plot defined by slapstick humor and visual gags. Each short concludes with a sequence involving live action and animation, where the characters interact with human beings, akin to the 1988 film.

The New Adventures of He-Man

Another He-Man related post for you now in celebration of Masters of the Universe Day, with the New Adventures of He-Man from 1990!

The new series is radically different to the original fantasy-oriented milieu, shifting to an almost purely science fiction setting which sees He-Man transported to the futuristic planet of Primus ruled by Master Sebrian. As He-Man leads the Galactic Guardians, Skeletor bases himself on the evil world of Denebria, where he forms an alliance with Flogg and the Mutants, who are hellbent on conquering Primus for themselves.
The series contains clear continuity links to the original Masters of the Universe, and was intended as a continuation of the existing mythology, although some fans see it as a separate canon from the original series due to the differences in style and character portrayal.

He-Man and She-Ra - Secret of the Sword

Hey Everyone!

Today I have something a little bit special in honour of Masters of the Universe Day that was held yesterday in America. It's the He-Man/She-Ra movie, Secret of the Sword!

The Sorceress sends Prince Adam to the world of Etheria. Adam is to give a very special sword to someone who lives there. But when Adam learns that Etheria is ruled by villains known as the Horde, he becomes He-Man to help a band of rebels fight the Horde. But during the battle, He-Man is captured by Force Captain Adora, a member of the Horde. Disturbed from her sleep, Adora is contacted by the Sorceress through the sword that He-Man was sent to give to her. The Sorceress tells her that she is meant for a special destiny and also reveals to her that He-Man is really her own brother. To save He-Man, Adora uses the sword to become She-Ra, Princess of Power. As She-Ra, she sets her brother, He-Man free and helps him escape from the Horde with the aid of her beloved companion, Swift Wind. Reunited at last, He-Man and She-Ra set out to reunite the royal family of Eternia and free Etheria from the Horde's tyranny.

Willy Fog - 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Continuing our day of all things Willy Fog, here is another rare treat for you all, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea!

The very British lion Willy Fog journeys to the depths of the ocean in this animated adventure for the whole family, based on the classic tale by Jules Verne. After a number of ships mysteriously disappear, Willy and his friends set out to investigate reports that a sea monster is at large. Thrown into an uneasy alliance with the eccentric Captain Nemo, Willy discovers a mysterious marine world populated by strange creatures which they explore using Nemo's underwater craft, the Nautilus.

This was originally part of the second Willy Fog series 'Willy Fog 2', but I couldn't manage to find all of the individual episodes unfortunately. Luckily I found this edited TV Movie version instead! Hoorays!!

Willy Fog - Journey to the Center of the Earth

Happy Willy Fog Day everyone! This is the first of two very special Willy Fog adventures I have been waiting to share with you all, Journey to the Center of the Earth!!

Willy Fog and his friends have a journey of non-stop excitement ahead of them as they traverse dinosaurs, volcanoes, and who knows what else as they journey to the center of the Earth. Again a bet was made with Sullivan - and he sent Transfer to cause havoc. This time, however, more people believed in Willy Fog, although all of them (apart from Lord Guinness) turned against him at times - when reports came back that the volcano they journeyed into was about to erupt.
 Romy, Tico and Rigadon went with Willy on the voyage again and were joined by Professor Lidenbrock - an expert in archeology and Hans - an Icelandic who acted as a general dogsbody.

This was originally part of the second Willy Fog series 'Willy Fog 2', but I couldn't manage to find all of the individual episodes unfortunately. Luckily I found this edited TV Movie version instead! Hoorays!!

ChuckleVision

Two dimwitted brothers now, getting into scrapes and slapstick adventures in ChuckleVision!

The basic plot to each show is the brothers undertaking a job, task or adventure. They are often employed by a character known as No Slacking, who is always played by one of their real life brothers, Jimmy or Brian Patton, who are also a comedy double act. No Slacking is meant to be a different character in every episode he appears in; however, he is always known by this name owing to the catchphrase he always says to get the bumbling brothers to work properly. No Slacking usually appears several times in each series, although in recent years this number has been reduced to once or twice a series. In each episode his life is either ruined or otherwise inconvenienced by Paul and Barry. A large amount of the comedy is based on slapstick.
On occasion, the jobs they carry out can be somewhat surreal or put them in surreal circumstances, this was very much enforced in the recent years of ChuckleVision. Once, they babysat for a boy who got out of his bed, leaving a football on his pillow, leading them to believe that his head had come off. Another episode involves Barry being able to see an invisible leprechaun which Paul cannot see.

Digimon - Digital Monsters

One of the more recent entries into the BCC now, with one of my favourite of the late 90's boom of anime for kids. It's Digimon!

Spanning six different series up to now, Digimon features series of children being transported to the digital world to save it and their own from evil forces and threats.
The premise of the first series is a group of seven kids who, while at summer camp, travel to the Digital World, inhabited by creatures known as Digital Monsters, or Digimon, learning they are chosen to be "DigiDestined" to save both the Digital and Real World from evil.

The group consisted of seven original characters: Taichi "Tai" Kamiya, Yamato "Matt" Ishida, Sora Takenouchi, Koushiro "Izzy" Izumi, Mimi Tachikawa, Joe Kido, and Takeru "T.K." Takaishi. Later on in the series, an eighth character was introduced: Hikari "Kari" Kamiya (who is Taichi's younger sister).
Each Kid was given a Digivice which selected them to be transported to the DigiWorld and was destined to be paired up with a Digimon Partner, such as Tai being paired up with Agumon and Matt with Gabumon. The children are helped by a mysterious man/digimon named Gennai, who helps them via hologram. The Digivices help their Digimon allies to Digivolve into stronger creatures in times of peril.
The Digimon usually reached higher forms when their human partners are placed in dangerous situations, such as fighting the evil forces of Devimon, Etemon and Myotismon in their Champion forms.