“Space Ghost Coast to Coast” premiered in 1994, using characters from “Cartoon Planet,” the show’s sillier, more kid-oriented ancestor. Space Ghost (of the ultra-low-budget ’60s Hanna-Barbera cartoon of the same name) and his foes, the evil villains Zorak and Moltar (a giant mantis and molten rock man, respectively) are placed in a talk show setting. The egotistical but idiotic Space Ghost parodies late night talk show hosts well with his buffoonish air and booming voice; Zorak, stuck in a “prison pod” that also serves as a keyboard, plays Paul Schaffer to Space Ghost’s David Letterman. Moltar comments from behind the scenes as producer and preps the live-action guests for their interviews.
- TV/New Media Reviews
- “Nobody sleeps with my grandmother.” (Courtesy of Warner Bros.)
The animation (or reanimation, perhaps, since much of the show is recycled from the original “Space Ghost” series) is built around live action interviews conducted with mostly B- and C-list (or less) celebrities in a studio; the interview segments are edited with humor — not necessarily accurate representation in mind.
The third volume of the “SGC2C” DVD set features episodes with interviews and performances by Bob Odenkirk and David Cross (of “Mr. Show” fame), Beck, Mark Hamill, Jon Stewart, Ice-T, Mike Judge, Pavement and Charlton Heston. Macho Man Randy Savage even guest stars as Space Ghost’s grandfather. In terms of visual and audio clarity, the show looks just like it did during its Cartoon Network heyday – poorly animated and haphazardly recorded, but that’s the way fans like it. Included in the special features are commentaries for five of the DVD set’s 24 episodes, as well as an alternate ending and an extended interview with Cross and Odenkirk. The gem of the extras, however, is entitled “A Moment with Jon Stewart.” This consists of interview footage of Stewart relating his passion and reverence for his supposedly favorite band, The Banana Splits (of ’70s cartoon fame). Stewart’s deadpan has never been better, and the sheer atrocity of this several-minute-long joke makes for even more laughs.
Ratings
Show: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Picture/Sound: 4 out of 5 stars
Features: 3.5 out of 5 stars