Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, September 23, 1994 TAG: 9411040006
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: C15 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SCOTT WILLIAMS ASSOCIATED PRES|
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Long
You don't have to be young enough to qualify for a Happy Meal to enjoy these shows - suddenly, Saturday morning is full of offerings that are as appealing to adults as they are to kids.
1. ``Mighty Morphin Power Rangers'' (Fox) - OK, so it's an exception. The appeal of this top-rated live-action show eludes most adults - especially if we've shopped in vain for Power Ranger action figures.
Nonetheless, the Power Rangers have been a TV hit (and a retailing mega-hit) since their rollout as a syndicated weekday strip.
Using footage from a Japanese kids' show, the U.S. version features six teens of various genders and ethnicities who ``morph'' - er, metamorphose - into monochrome armor of red, blue, pink, green, etc., to battle evil.
Six-year-olds enjoy the Rangers' city-smashing martial-arts combat with dinosaurs and alien monsters, while older kids revel in shockingly bad dubbing and the cheesiest Japanese monsters since Mothra met Godzilla.
Verdict: Pass on this one.
2. ``Animaniacs'' (Fox) - Imprisoned in a studio water tower since the '40s, these three red-nosed, black-on-white zanies are Warner brothers Yakko, Wakko and their sister Dot. They periodically escape for some of Saturday's most sophisticated silliness.
This high-octane half-hour combines classic cartoon gags with the hip irreverence of the '90s. Where else can a cartoon critter get mashed by a toppling statue of filmmaker Martin Scorsese? Quelle homage!
Other segment stars include Slappy Squirrel, a dour, opinionated gal star from the '30s; two would-be world-conquering lab mice, Pinky and the Brain; and the tot Mindy, rescued from constant peril by the faithful dog Buttons.
Verdict: A delight. Now, pay attention!
3. ``X-Men'' (Fox) - Emotionally complex mutant superheroes (who actually inspired the Ninja Turtles!), the X-Men survived their transition from Marvel's popular comic book into the simpler world of children's television.
It's a teen-age wish-fulfillment fantasy, with emotionally immature adults (i.e., teens) coping with relationships and responsibilities - while saving the world from nifty explosions and evil, alien peril.
Verdict: ``Evil mutants! Duck!!!''
4. ``Batman & Robin'' (Fox) - The Fox network brought the moody, atmospheric ``Batman: The Animated Series'' to TV last year as a daily, afternoon strip. It was the most distinctive, stylish cartoon on TV.
Critics loved the series' well-written, character-driven stories, its somber-hued palette and the expressionist cityscapes that evoked the Batman comic's original style. Surprisingly, kids loved it, too.
The Saturday show adds the Teen Wonder, Robin, as a regular player to offset some of the series' darkness and broaden its appeal.
Verdict: The dark side of the hero, still magnificent.
5. ``Eek!stravaganza'' (Fox) - Starring Eek! the Cat, one of Saturday morning's more abused 'toon critters, who absorbs an horrific amount of abuse from an arbitrarily hostile universe, yet never loses his optimism, his sweet nature or his bilateral emission lisp.
Verdict: The sweetest victim since Mr. Bill.
6. ``The Tick'' (Fox) - Our title character is a seven-foot, 400-pound, V-shaped mass of manly muscle, a crime-fighter in pale-blue skin-tights whose jutting jaw is three times wider than his brow.
What The Tick lacks in brains, he makes up for with straight-arrow virtue, enthusiasm and, well, enthusiasm. His sidekick is Arthur, a plump, timorous former accountant in a moth costume (voiced by ex-Monkee Mickey Dolenz).
The Tick's fellow heroes include the acerbic wonder-woman American Maid, the operatic bat-man Die Fledermaus, and the extremely smelly Sewer Urchin. You want villains? How about the Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight?
Verdict: Superb.
7. ``Reboot'' (ABC) - TV's first wholly computer-animated series is the most original concept for kids' TV since 1953's ``Winky Dink and You'' let us crayon critical plot devices onto a plastic sheet over the TV screen.
``Reboot,'' set in the cyberspace computer city of Mainframe, stars Bob, a ``guardian program''; Dot Matrix, a smart young businesswoman, and her kid brother, Enzo, who idolizes Bob.
Villains include the demonic ``viruses'' Megabyte and his arch-rival, the witchy femme fatale Hexadecimal.
``Trouble in Mainframe comes in the form of computer games downloaded by The User,'' ABC notes. ``Akin to natural disasters, the intense games appear unexpectedly ... with invasions by aliens, ninjas and dragons.''
There's a lush hyperrealism and spaciousness to ``Reboot,'' along with breathtaking action sequences, appealing characters and witty, computer-literate humor.
Verdict: To heck with the kids: This one's a must-see for grownups.
8. ``Bump in the Night'' (ABC) - This nonstop, stop-action animation is led by the frenzied Mr. Bumpy, a lumpy, green mouth on legs with eyestalks but no head. He's pure id, loves to eat dirty sweat socks and is totally charming.
His best pals are Squishington, a polymorphous blob of blue goo who lives in the commode, and a sweet, bedraggled ``comfort doll'' named Molly Coddle. His foes are the robot Destructo and the fantastic Closet Monster.
The animation is superb. Shapes whirl, melt and reform in astonishing plasticity. Bumpy's voice (Jim Cummings, a great blues-shouter) fires the bright, funny musical segment, ``Mr. Bumpy's Karaoke Cafe.''
The stories are about friendship, commitment, having a good time without hurting others and - YUM!!! - dining on dirty sweatsocks.
Verdict: Delightful. And he'd eat Gumby ... ALIVE!
9. ``Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego?'' (Fox) - The computer game spinoff is a painless geography lesson, in which teen sleuths Zack and Ivy perennially pursue Carmen to foil her dastardly thefts of world treasures.
Verdict: Tune in ``Beakman's World'' on CBS.
10. ``Tales of the Cryptkeeper'' (ABC) - This is an animated spinoff of HBO's live-action series, which was itself spun off E.C. Comics' gory, classic comic book of the '50s. The cartoon is a toned-down collection of morality plays. Short on goo and gore, it suffers most from not being very scary.
Verdict: Yawning graves? No, just yawns.
by CNB