Word 6: Under

[CJHill]

Under. For such a simple word, it leads to many thoughts: underdone, under appreciated, under siege, Underdog...

Underdog. I see they've made a 'live action' version of one of my favorite childhood cartoons. Voiced by Wally Cox, Underdog was a Superman like hero who just happened to be a dog. His alter ego was that of a shoeshine boy and he was in love with Sweet Polly Purebred. And he always talked in rhyme while fighting the likes of Simon Baresinister.

Wow. Does that bring back the memories. Does anyone else remember the show as well as I do? It seems such a silly thing to remember, doesn't it? I even remember part of the theme song:

Underdog! Underdog! Underdog! Underdog!
Speed of lightning! Roar of Thunder!
Fighting all who rob and plunder!
Underdog! Underdog! Underdog!

I'll probably skip the new movie. I've had too many of my childhood treasures dented or damaged by recent Hollywood remakes. You might even say they've left me feeling a tad... underwhelmed.

[Boomstick]

Underdog Reminds me of Hong-Kong Fooie...

[CJHill]

Hong-Kong Fooie?

How are you even old enough to remember that? Wasn't that my era?

Good grief. That's funny.

[Boomstick]

Before Cartoon network started putting out stuff that was crappy stuff of their own (Dexter's Lab, Original PPG Era not included, that was actually decent) It was all old cartoons.

Scooby Doo (and it's half-dozen incarnations)
Flintstones
Jetsons
Smurfs
Snorks
Pirates of the Darkwater (I want the flying monkey!)
Tom And Jerry
Johnny Bravo and it's successor that cropped up in the late nineties.
Underdog
Hong-Kong Fooie
Josie and the Pussy Cats
Birdman
Top Cat
Thundercats
SWAT Cats <--awesome show
The potentially offensive Clue Clux Clan (All asian mystery solvers, didn't get that one until later)
Um whatever that show was with the Shark who acted like Rodney Dangerfield
Yogie the Bear (Ay Ay Ay booboo! Pick-in-ick baskets!)
Bugs Bunny --and all the looney toons--
Umm...Popeye marathons aplenty (Thank god for Popeye!)
Space Ghost
Droopy
The list...goes on...and on...

I was old enough to have been around for that era in the early- to mid-nineties. Basically everything they show on 'Boomerang' used to be aired on Cartoon network...Now it's all trash thereabouts. This goes back to when we had the cliche huge-ass black satellite dish in the back yard that moved when you changed channels and could pick up NASCAR feeds on occasion.

Galaxy 3, Channel 8. I even remember when they were airing episodes of Space Ghost Coast to Coast and then when the network started to change. I remember when they were airing Macross and 'Reboot' (which made cheeky references to Evil Dead I didn't catch until years later) Then Gundam Wing and Outlaw Star, but then it went down hill from there. Adult Swim's original lineup wasn't half bad either, but it's also taken a low brow turn and singlehandedly got Family Guy back on the air on fox (I was probably the only person on the planet that I knew of that remembered that show from when it was airing on Fox)...and I'm still hoping for futurama to come back with new eps.

Yes a walk down memory lane. Adult Swim had a few shows that brought back those memories, like "Harvey Birdman Attorney At Law" which made references to most of if not all the of the shows on the above list, and tickled my funny bone and I loved be amongst the few who got it. Sealab 2030 (or whatever it was called) was also pretty funny in a twisted sorta way, but one of the voice actors died and it got cancelled. The "Venture Bros." is the only other show I can think of out of the AS's Original Lineup that I like. Sad really, crappy shows aplenty.