Show #194: Clone High

Martin Schneider of Breaking Mayberry goes back to school with us on a very special episode of SOTSM, where we all learn a valuable lesson about this early work from animation auteurs Phil Lord and Chris Miller. Now well-renowned as curators of comedy both cartoon and corporeal, Clone High featured a decidedly unique premise that deftly married their love of historical humour and angsty teen drama. With a revival of the series imminent on Comedy Central is there anything present in the past worth carrying on into the future? Hunger strikes, deep Conquistador cuts and our best(?) John F. Kennedy impressions make the grade, earning us a well deserved Post-Podcast Repaste from the school canteen!

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Show #192: The Critic

Libby Cudmore of The OST Party continues her streak on SOTSM with something very near & dear to her, that being Al Jean & Mike Reiss's effort at producing primetime animation outside of their work on The Simpsons, which The Critic got lumped in with anyway! Besides mocking the vacuousoness of the entertainment industry then & now it's also a paean to a slightly more innocent (and probably partially imagined) era of cultural criticism, which inspires quite the thoughtful discussion of the same alongside a childhood spent in 1990s New York City and studying up on film references at the video rental shop. Please try some of these complimentary edible Porgs left over from the press junket for Star Wars 8, or whatever else you're craving for your Post-Podcast Repaste!

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Show #190: Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist

Brian Smith of Dynamite In The Brain is on the couch to make sense of this melange of stand-up comedy and rudimentary animation, conceived of a meeting between educational software developer Tom Snyder and the comedian's comedian Jonathan Katz. Assembled in a charmingly rough & ready manner it gave an auspicious start to such comedy & cartoon greats as H. Jon Benjamin and Loren Bouchard, but are we still crazy about its unique style 25 years later? Recording studio secrets, the wonders of Squigglevision and the elegant parallels with modern comedy podcasting get the full diagnosis, for which we prescribe a hearty Post-Podcast Repaste!

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Show #167: Summertime Series Catch-Up

We got so distracted cavorting in the seemingly neverending sunshine that we missed quite a couple of TV animation premieres, so it's time for a catch-up!

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We enjoy Summer as much as the next person here at SOTSM but even we could use a break from the relentless heat, so what better way to do that than by taking a look at the promising properties that managed to escape our notice for literal months. There's the brutal & bombastic Ballmastrz 9009, the futuristic foolery of Final Space and the resurrection of not one but two beloved comedies with the cartoon continuation of Corner Gas and the raucous return of Rocky & Bullwinkle. It's the hottest stuff from twelve weeks ago!

Show #163: Family Dog (1987/1993)

The Brad Bird bombardment continues as we check the pedigree of animated short and TV spinoff Family Dog!

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After a lot of hard graft in the 80s Brad Bird finally broke through and landed a life-changing job working on The Simpsons. Everybody wanted something from television's new golden boy, such that even his past projects were dusted off and ill-advisedly moulded into unwieldy forms with little to no input from their original creator! But does Family Dog the series deserve it's place in the boneyard of prime-time cartoon pretenders? Careers are catalogued, points are missed and yet more pondering is done on our podcast prospects!

THE SHORT VERSION

Good dog

Bad dog

That pencil test for The Spirit really is somethin'.

Show #158: Extreme Ghostbusters

Greg Driver of Ace Comicals is the new kid on the block, making a frightful ruckus this Halloween about Extreme Ghostbusters!

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Eager to escape the trappings of their allegedly less cool forebears, the 90s were rife with retools and reboots of older properties hoping to capitalise on a new generation of impressionable kids. He-Man and GI Joe got theirs so it was only a matter of time before everybody's favourite tech start-up got the treatment. Does it keep the spirit of the original or is it yet another lost soul? Political poltergeists, comic counterparts and slime scarcity to come!

THE SHORT VERSION

Creepy ghosts

Positive representation

'Ey, woah, fuck yoo pal.

Show #152: The Road To El Dorado

Martin Schneider arrives by divine providence to share in our judgement of the godly grifters of The Road To El Dorado!

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Dreamworks' next animated feature after The Prince of Egypt had a lot of expectation riding on it and what emerged was not exactly the second coming, but does it deserve such a bad reputation? We delve into it and much like the film our discussion skews all over the map from old ass jokes that kids won't get to matters of church vs state to equal opportunity fan service. It's a wild ride!

THE SHORT VERSION

A pair of chancers

NSFW

Obligatory GIF

Show #146: Mission Hill

We just about found the time to prise ourselves off the couch and reappraise our misspent youth on a little trip to Mission Hill!

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Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein were some of the hottest TV comedy writers going in the 90s. Fresh off what are widely viewed as the best seasons of The Simpsons, surely their own original show about folks their age with all the material they weren't allowed to use on their other gigs would be a huge success right? I'm gonna bet you are unlikely to have heard of Mission Hill until this very podcast so naturally there's a bit of a story behind why that is, not to mention how similarly styled programmes met a similar fate and just what ARE the 18 to 25 age bracket watching these days?

THE SHORT VERSION

Bright lights, big city

Cutting wit

Great representations

Show #132: Space Ghost Coast To Coast

It's a star studded spectacular as we are joined by special guests Joseph Wade and Libby Cudmore for a special late night talk show on Space Ghost Coast to Coast!

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While we are saddened by the recent passing of an intregal creative talent to this cult classic, we also take this opportunity to celebrate and appreciate how this cobbled together Frankenstein of a TV show made for the spare change in your back pocket somehow went on to touch the hearts & minds of millions of insomniacs around the globe, not to mention opening the floodgates for Adult Swim and a whole host of other surreally humourous late night cartoons and providing a surprising shared cultural touchstone for our weird adolescences.

Joseph's Twitter

Libby's Twitter

Watch Space Ghost Coast To Coast here!

THE SHORT VERSION

Special guests

Format pioneers

The sublimely ridiculous

Show #131: Capitol Critters

This election year be sure to exercise your civic duty and be an informed voter on the dangerous policies of Capitol Critters.

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Another Simpsons wannabe that misses what made that show appealing, Capitol Critters is a pungent mess of clumsy political hot takes interspersed with cartoon animal slapstick capering, and if you think that sounds like two elements that'd mix about as well fire & gasoline you would be entirely correct. As subtle as a sledgehammer and somehow even less graceful, it's amazing it lasted as long as it did.

THE SHORT VERSION

PTSD

Even, nuanced discussion of social issues

You're alright VP Cat

Show #117: MTV's Downtown

If you can have a podcast about a podcast, why not a conversation about a show about people having conversations? Kristina helps us navigate the lackadaisical labyrinth of MTV's Downtown!

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We're no strangers to the more unique animated fare offered by MTV in the 90s, but Downtown is a lesser known work that deserves a lot more notice. Emotionally and socially resonant even now it is extraordinary how much effort has gone into expressing and capturing mere mundanity so perfectly. We talk about mistakes of youth, wayward life direction, pop culture attitudes then & now and the giddy thrill of Dinosaur Dentist.

Kristina's Twitter

THE SHORT VERSION

Mature, responsible adults

Everyday weirdness

NERDS

Show #109: Black Dynamite Season 2

You best shut the fuck up when grown folks is talking, especially about Black Dynamite Season 2!

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Based on the film of the same name and continuing on from it's last season we follow the ongoing adventures of Black Dynamite and his crew taking down threats to the Black Community and skewering prominent figures alike in their relentlessly irreverent fashion. A much more patchy affair than their last outing, the series occasionally loses focus of where its best humour lies and strays into overly crude territory or often over-recycles some of the best known gags from the film. At it's best though the show offers great if bizarre insight into the pressing societal issues of past and present, because even in our modern age of civil discourse sometimes you just gotta stand up and give your problems a figurative or perhaps literal ass kicking.

THE SHORT VERSION

Social commentary

Prescient parodies

Bad ass mo'fos

Show #104: Teen Titans GO!

Renowned insane villain Brian Smith from Dynamite In The Brain graces us with the Most Offensive Cartoon Ever, the one and only Teen Titans Go!

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The Teen Titans, five of Earth's mightiest heroes, face the challenges of everyday life! A proven sitcom idea that pays off in spades thanks to this irreverent superhero portrayal courtesy of Aaron Horvath, Micheal Jelenic and company. The comedy only gets better as the Titans are put in ever more bizarre situations yet this only serves to stoke the inferno of internet ire, a host of people who would do well to maybe not continually expect straightforward comic book action from an obvious gag show week after week.

THE SHORT VERSION

 Jokes

 DIRTY jokes

Serious characters

Show #91: You Can Kill GOD With A Big Enough Mousetrap

Brian Smith descends from the surface world to regale us with the heart-warming tale of Ernest and Celestine!

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A film from 2012 that was so good they put it in last year's Oscars, Ernest and Celestine spins a wonderful of a bear and a mouse forming an unlikely partnership and hiding out from the law, two kindred spirits crossing a social divide enforced by THE MAN. The simple narrative provides ample space for touching character moments, comic interludes and time to appreciate the lavish watercolour-style visuals.

THE SHORT VERSION

Partners in crime

Dental scams

Social divides

Show #83: Put A Hockey Jersey On That Dracula

Our bags are packed for our annual Halloween break, and we have some reservations with Hotel Transylvania!

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Genndy Tartakovsky's directorial debut! Four words that should excite any animation aficionado, however there are a couple of strings attached to that statement. Brought in to revitalise an already lengthy production Tartakovsky brings his distinct visual style and penchant for physical comedy to the CG feature realm, easily the best thing about this film. For what it's worth Adam Sandler and his cohorts aren't nearly as exasperating as they could have been but with such a wealth of characters and setting it's a shame something more fulfilling didn't emerge.

THE SHORT VERSION

Daffy Dracula

Daddy Dracula

DANCIN' DRACULA

Show #80: Mahwty! Mahwty Wake Up!

Martin Schneider comes by to pack us into his beat-up station wagon for a long emotional road trip through A Goofy Movie!

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One of the lesser appreciated works of Disney's filmography and all the more impressive for the depth and heart on display for a film spun off from a TV sitcom. A Goofy Movie shows an unforeseen complexity to the character of Goofy and his relationship with his son Max. Over the course of their cross country journey they learn how to truly communicate, whether it be with each other or with other significant figures in their life, and gain a better understanding of each other and themselves, all through the intervention of Bigfoot and the music of pop star from the future Powerline.

THE SHORT VERSION

Goofy the nuanced character

Family bonding time

Be excellent to each other