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57-402: Birdman was an ordinary human who has been endowed by the sun god Ra with the ability to shoot solar rays from his fists and project quasi-solid "solar shields" to defend himself against attacks (Birdman's origin is only vaguely, and only briefly, hinted at during the series. His real name is there given as Raymond "Ray" Randall). After he had acquired his avian—and other—powers, he was recruited by

114-501: A "talk show" style program. The characters' crudely animated lips, awkward movements that resembled "paper dolls glued to Popsicle sticks", and continuity errors became part of the joke. Merrill assembled a proof of concept test pilot in April of 1993, using archival footage of Denzel Washington , and Merrill voiced Space Ghost. The pilot never aired but an edited version later appeared on DVD, with Washington removed. A second pilot

171-428: A 2012 interview with Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis to promote The Campaign . Space Ghost has appeared in commercials for Coca-Cola , Dr Pepper , AT&T , Nestea , Esurance , and VitaminWater as well as network promos for Cartoon Network and Adult Swim. Space Ghost, Moltar, Zorak, Brak, and Mojo Jojo from The Powerpuff Girls appear in a 2002 interview with professional soccer player Hugo Sánchez on

228-431: A more or less original character sharing their basic name and appearance). Their earliest show of this style was Space Ghost Coast to Coast , where Birdman appeared in five episodes, voiced by Scott Finnell. On the show, he was portrayed comically; depressed, out-of-work and desperate for money. Birdman hosted the show in the episodes "Pilot" and "Sequel", and was fired on both occasions. It was here revealed, contradicting

285-616: A performance by Thurston Moore , the unedited version of Matt Groening 's interview from "Glen Campbell", pencil test footage, bonus footage and Easter eggs, as well as commentary on every episode. "Rehearsal", "Gallagher", "Edelweiss", "Anniversary", "Zoltran", "Pilot", "Speck", "Zorak", "Switcheroo (1997 Version)", "Mayonnaise", "Brilliant Number One", "Boo Boo Kitty", "Needledrop", "Sphinx", "Pavement", "Untitled", "Hipster", "Piledriver", "Suckup", "Dam", "Boatshow", "Telethon", "Dimethylpyrimidinol Bisulfite" and "Joshua". It also features commentaries by cast members, new footage, deleted scenes,

342-556: A podcast that he wrote a script for a live-action version of Space Ghost Coast to Coast . Four boulders found on the planet Mars were named after Space Ghost, Zorak, Moltar, and Brak. Zorak and Brak make various cameos in the series Jellystone! Season 3's "Space Con" features Space Ghost, Brak, Zorak, and Moltar, with Lowe and Merrill reprising their roles. The episode makes references to Space Ghost Coast to Coast and its spinoffs Cartoon Planet and The Brak Show . Saturday-morning cartoon " Saturday-morning cartoon "

399-464: A reworking of a 2007 live-action pilot Lowe Country. Space Ghost also appears on the 1998 series Donny & Marie to promote the CD Space Ghost's Surf & Turf , and as the announcer for the 2011 video game Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion , with some of his dialogue alluding to Coast to Coast . Space Ghost appears in or is referenced in various musical works. The character

456-494: A row in order to "absorb as much Space Ghost " as he could. Andre would also ask executive producer and Adult Swim president Mike Lazzo several questions about the series, as he was an executive during its production run. To Andre's surprise Lazzo had no interest in Space Ghost Coast to Coast , saying "Space Ghost is dead to me". The character Space Ghost has hosted various Coast to Coast -style interviews outside of

513-452: A song of the same name. From 1997 to 2003, Space Ghost Coast to Coast comics were published in anthology comics Cartoon Network Present , Cartoon Network Starring and Cartoon Cartoons by DC Comics . Issue 40 of the comic book Scooby-Doo Team-Up features a non-satirical Space Ghost in his traditional role as a space-traveling superhero, albeit one who captures Moltar and Zorak with the help of Scooby-Doo. Sidekicks Jan and Jace say that

570-619: A standard Hanna-Barbera Saturday-morning superhero cartoon . Space Ghost Coast to Coast is one of the first original series produced for Cartoon Network, and the earliest not to broadcast pre-existing cartoons. It premiered on April 15, 1994, and originally ended on December 17, 1999. It was revived on May 7, 2001, and was moved to the new Adult Swim late-night programming block on September 2, where new episodes premiered until April 12, 2004. Two final seasons were released exclusively on GameTap from 2006 to 2008. 109 episodes were aired over 11 seasons. Space Ghost Coast to Coast helped launch

627-517: A subverted talk show format hosted by Space Ghost as he interviews live-action guest stars, whom Space Ghost believes to be fellow superheroes, appearing on a monitor beside Space Ghost's desk. In early episodes, Space Ghost begins his interviews by asking guests about their superpowers. His interactions with guests can be awkward because the guests' answers are often changed to humorously match Space Ghost's questions in post-production. Later episodes feature guests being allowed to interact directly with

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684-428: A top-secret government agency, Inter-Nation Security, and now works full-time fighting crime, assisted by his pet eagle, who responds to the name of "Avenger". In addition to the abilities he received from Ra, Birdman also possesses the power of flight, thanks to the giant wings which sprout from his back. It is possible Birdman is fireproof; being forced into an incinerator recharged rather than hurt him. His sole weakness

741-510: Is a colloquial term for the original animated series and live-action programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks . The genre was a tradition from broadly the mid-1960s to mid-2010s; over time its popularity declined, in the face of changing cultural norms, increased competition from formats available at all times, and heavier media regulations. In

798-494: Is accused in one episode of being a mad bomber). Many of Birdman's former associates and enemies appear on the show in supporting roles (the character Reducto, now given the first name Myron, regularly appears as a prosecuting attorney, and Mentok the Mind-Taker judges cases from late Season One onward). Instead of being a clever superhero, this version of Birdman is portrayed as a semi-competent, bungling lawyer, although among

855-494: Is airing on the Canadian version of Adult Swim , albeit periodically. Space Ghost Coast to Coast has received generally positive reviews from critics. In January 2009, IGN named Space Ghost Coast to Coast as their 37th favorite animated TV show in their Top 100 Best Animated TV Shows article. In 2013, IGN placed Space Ghost Coast to Coast as number 18 on their list of Top 25 animated series for adults . Alex Toth ,

912-605: Is mentioned in the opening lyrics of cello rock band Rasputina 's song "The Olde Headboard", which is featured on their 1998 album How We Quit the Forest . Space Ghost Coast to Coast is featured in the Danger Doom song "Space Ho's". Rapper SpaceGhostPurrp named himself after the titular character and used the character's image for the cover of his NASA mixtape. British indie band Glass Animals references Space Ghost Coast to Coast on their 2020 album Dreamland with

969-527: Is that he has to recharge his superhuman powers periodically, through exposure either to the sun's rays or to a comparable source of heat and/or light such as a desk lamp (when he was once shrunken to insect proportions) or the aforementioned incinerator, a weakness that is exposed in nearly every episode. His trademark is his battle cry of "Biiiiirdman!!!" whenever he goes into battle. In the 1990s, Cartoon Network decided to base new comedy shows on older characters (although in many cases, that simply meant creating

1026-568: The Villainous episode "BH's Bizzare Bad-Venture". Birdman is briefly pictured in the Jellystone! episode "Epic Rager", where he is implied to have died as seen in Attorney at Law . Space Ghost Coast to Coast Space Ghost Coast to Coast is an American adult animated television series created by Mike Lazzo for Cartoon Network and first broadcast in 1994. It takes

1083-931: The Xbox Live Marketplace. The series, along with other Adult Swim shows such as Robot Chicken , Aqua Teen Hunger Force , Samurai Jack and Rick and Morty , was released on HBO Max on its May 2020 launch. It was removed when the streaming service rebranded as Max. "Elevator", "Spanish Translation", "Gilligan", "CHiPs", "Bobcat", "Punch", "Banjo", "Batmantis", "Story Book" (listed as "Story Book House"), "Girlie Show", "Hungry", "Fire Drill", "Sleeper", "Jerk", "Urges", and "Explode" and had 2 Easter eggs. Special features include commentaries, original artwork, and Zorak singing "Jingle Bells". "$ 20.01", "Lovesick", "Transcript", "Sharrock", "Boo", "Freak Show", "Switcheroo", "Surprise", "Glen Campbell", "Jacksonville", "Late Show", "Cookout", "Art Show", and "Woody Allen's Fall Project" Special features include "Andy's Pilot",

1140-663: The 1970s, these groups exercised enough influence, especially with the U.S. Congress and the Federal Communications Commission , that the television networks felt compelled to impose more stringent content rules for the animation houses. In 1978, the Federal Trade Commission was openly considering a ban on all advertising during television programming targeting preschoolers, and severe restrictions on other children's program advertising, both of which would have effectively killed off

1197-504: The 1990s. Such examples included Disney's Disney Afternoon in syndication, Fox 's Fox Kids , UPN 's UPN Kids , CBS 's CBS Saturday , The WB 's Kids' WB , and Amazin' Adventures (later Bohbot Kids Network) in syndication. From 1992 however, the "Big Three" traditional major networks and their affiliates began replacing their Saturday-morning animated programming with weekend editions of their morning magazines . and live-action teen-oriented series. Multiple factors contributed to

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1254-697: The 1995 World Premiere Toon-In , "President's Day Nightmare" (without any footage from the cartoons featured and some scenes rearranged) and Easter eggs. The fourth DVD released exclusively through the Adult Swim website and is titled "The 1998 Episodes" rather than "Volume Four". It includes the episodes "Terminal", "Toast", "Lawsuit", " Cahill ", "Warren" (36-minute cut), "Chinatown", "Rio Ghosto", "Pal Joey", "Curses", "Intense Patriotism" and "Waiting for Edward". It also features an unfinished episode guest-starring Steven Wright titled "Dinner with Steven" and one Easter egg. The fifth DVD released exclusively through

1311-780: The Adult Swim website and is titled "From the Kentucky Nightmare DVD" rather than "Volume Five". It includes the episodes "Snatch", "Sequel", "Girl Hair", "Chambraigne", "Table Read", "King Dead", "Fire Ant" (22-minute cut), "Curling Flower Space", " Knifin' Around ", "The Justice Hole", "Kentucky Nightmare", "Sweet for Brak", "Flipmode", "Mommentary". Extras include Snatch Alt Ending, Table Read Extra, Conan Raw Interview, George Lowe Record, Clay Croker Record, Promos, Busta Raw Interview, Momentary w/Creators Commentary and Momentary: Jelly Bean and two Easter eggs. A Space Ghost Coast to Coast promotional CD titled Space Ghost Coast to Coast: Yeah, Whatever... featuring four tracks

1368-557: The Hump", the 2003 Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode "The Dressing", a 2004 promo interview for Tom Goes to the Mayor , the 2004 Adult Swim special Anime Talk Show , the 2006 Robot Chicken episode "Suck It", the 2007 film Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters , the 2011 Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Bold Beginnings", and the 2011 Adult Swim pilot Earth Ghost ,

1425-553: The Latin America Cartoon Network channel, and again in 2003 interviewing Óscar Pérez Rojas , which also features Eustace from Courage the Cowardly Dog . Space Ghost frequently makes cameo appearances in episodes of or promos for other Cartoon Network or Adult Swim animated series, including a 2002 promo for The Powerpuff Girls Movie , the 2002 The Brak Show episode "Runaway" and 2003's "Enter

1482-744: The Masters of the Universe and continuing with such series as The Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles . These were heavily criticized by ACT, but were nevertheless successful. As well, several more lighthearted series appeared, popularized by Hanna-Barbera’s The Smurfs and Jim Henson’s Muppet Babies . These included series based on popular video games , such as Saturday Supercade . Despite increased competition from cable television networks (such as Nickelodeon , Cartoon Network , and Disney Channel ), Saturday-morning and weekday cartoon blocks continued to remain popular in

1539-487: The United States, The CW continued to air non-E/I cartoons as late as 2014; among the "Big Three" traditional major networks, the final non-E/I cartoon to date ( Kim Possible ) was last aired in 2006. This era continues to be satirized and/or spoofed in popular culture. The tribute album Saturday Morning: Cartoons' Greatest Hits was released in 1995, featuring covers of Saturday-morning cartoon themes from

1596-591: The block's premiere. The series ended its television run in 2004 with its 93rd episode, "Live at the Fillmore". In 2006, the series returned as a five-minute web series on Turner Broadcasting 's GameTap online service, in which Space Ghost interviewed celebrities from the video game industry and GameTap's artist of the month. The series officially concluded with the final webisode on May 31, 2008. On April Fools' Day 2014, Adult Swim broadcast an unannounced Space Ghost Coast to Coast marathon with new material in

1653-466: The careers of the animators Adam Reed , Matt Thompson , Andy Merrill , Jim Fortier, Pete Smith, Michael Ouweleen , Erik Richter , Dave Willis , and Matt Maiellaro . It produced the spin-offs The Brak Show , Aqua Teen Hunger Force , Perfect Hair Forever , and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law . The series inspired or influenced other series for Adult Swim, including Sealab 2021 and The Eric Andre Show . Space Ghost Coast to Coast uses

1710-453: The change, among them the introduction of people meters that children found difficult to operate in the mid-1980s, an increasingly competitive market fueled by the multi-channel transition , a boom in first-run syndicated content and the introduction of home video and video games , increasing restrictions on advertising and educational content mandates , and broader cultural changes stemming from an increase in no-fault divorces and

1767-472: The characters Brak and Zorak, recurring characters on Space Ghost Coast to Coast . In 2007, Cartoon Network Spain produced an adaptation of the series which aired as part of the Adult Swim block on TNT Spain. This version replaces the guests with Spanish celebrities. In 2020, a puppet version of Brak appeared in YouTube videos uploaded by Andy Merrill . On January 21, 2023, Jason Segel announced in

Harvey Birdman - Misplaced Pages Continue

1824-443: The characters. Although he starts out more level-headed and very much resembling his superhero ways, he becomes more and more eccentric, egomaniacal and idiotic with how he manages the show and treats his guests. Space Ghost's bandleader , an evil talking mantis named Zorak, and his director-producer, a red-helmeted lava man named Moltar, work forced unpaid labor for Space Ghost, ostensibly as punishment for their crimes committed on

1881-512: The creator of Hanna-Barbera's Space Ghost , was rumored to have been displeased with the usage of his characters in parody, but Toth disproved the rumor through written letters by admitting he appreciated all adaptations of his work. In a 2012 interview, Eric André mentioned being a big fan of the show, stating it was a major influence on him while developing his own series for Adult Swim, The Eric Andre Show . Before shooting Andre would rewatch several episodes of Space Ghost Coast to Coast in

1938-417: The end of the post-World War II baby boom . Attempting to pair the newscasts with the remaining cartoons was largely unsuccessful because the two program formats drew widely different audiences that did not lend themselves to leading in and out of each other , leading to viewership oddities (such as NBC's children's block having an average viewership age of over 40 years old); by the late 2010s, all of

1995-528: The episode on Saturday night. Later, the program was moved to various late-night time slots, usually on weekends. Cartoon Network's Adult Swim often aired two 11-minute episodes back-to-back with advertisements to make a 30-minute programming block. In its first few years, Cartoon Network showed episodes of the original 1960s and 1980s Space Ghost cartoons (sometimes with an added laugh track ) after each 11-minute episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast . In February 1995, an episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast

2052-426: The form of a surreal parody of talk shows , hosted by a reimagined version of Hanna-Barbera character, Space Ghost . It incorporates surrealism and non-sequitur humor. Space Ghost Coast to Coast is the first TV show produced by Williams Street (formerly known as Ghost Planet Industries), which started Adult Swim in the early 2000s. It contrasts the original 1960s series, Space Ghost , which aired as

2109-619: The form of commercials featuring Space Ghost, Zorak, and Moltar in a voice-recording booth ad-libbing lines from episodes. The series has seen occasional marathons on Adult Swim since, including one on October 22, 2021, in promotion of an Adult Swim tie-in with Carl's Jr. In commemoration of the show's 30th anniversary, Adult Swim streamed a 16-episode marathon loop on the Adult Swim YouTube channel. The stream lasted for one month. In Canada , Space Ghost Coast to Coast previously aired on Teletoon 's Teletoon at Night block, and

2166-477: The format; the commission ultimately dropped the proposal. The networks were encouraged to create educational spots that endeavored to use animation and/or live-action for enriching content, including the Schoolhouse Rock! series on ABC which became a fondly-remembered television classic. With the 1970s came a wave of animated versions of popular live-action prime time series as well, mainly with

2223-516: The generally accepted times for these and other children's programs to air on Saturday mornings were from 8:00 a.m. to approximately 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time Zone . Until the late 1970s, American networks also had a schedule of children's programming on Sunday mornings, though most programs at this time were repeats of Saturday-morning shows that were already out of production. In some markets, some shows were pre-empted in favor of syndicated or other types of local programming . Beginning in

2280-409: The last years of the genre's existence, Saturday-morning and Sunday-morning cartoons were primarily created and aired on major networks to meet "educational and informational" (E/I) requirements . Minor television networks, in addition to the non-commercial PBS in some markets, continued to air animated programming on Saturday and Sunday while partially meeting those mandates. In the United States,

2337-490: The major American networks had shifted to live-action documentary programming, ostensibly targeted at teenagers to meet the educational mandates but less likely to cause a clash with the newscasts. This documentary programming also benefited from having less restrictive rules for advertising compared to programming targeted to children. Saturday-morning and Sunday-morning cartoons were largely discontinued in Canada by 2002. In

Harvey Birdman - Misplaced Pages Continue

2394-479: The mid-1960s, the Saturday-morning timeslot would feature a great deal of series appropriate for children, although most of these were reruns of animated series originally broadcast in prime time and adventure series made in the 1950s, as well as telecasts of older cartoons made for movie theaters . Later in the decade, the slot would be dominated by superhero and action cartoon series, influenced by

2451-532: The now-defunct Adult Swim online store. The final six episodes of the television run have never had an official DVD release. Nearly every episode was available to buy through a "build your own DVD" feature on Adult Swim's website. Thus the final season episodes, early episodes that were left off the first volume, and unedited shows that had been altered on the official releases were now available to own, but only in DVD-ROM form. In 2006, episodes were made available on

2508-427: The original Birdman show, that his first name was Harvey. "Harvey Birdman" was the name that writer Evan Dorkin came up with. Birdman later got his own show, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law , now voiced by Gary Cole . In the show, Harvey is a defense attorney, and his clients are generally classic Hanna-Barbera characters given new roles ( Fred Flintstone appears, for example, as a mafia don, and Boo-Boo Bear

2565-588: The original series . Because of their history as enemies of Space Ghost, they never get along with him even as co-workers and often make it very clear that they hate him and disrupt the show as retaliation for their forced labor. Zorak is especially hateful towards Space Ghost due to being his arch-enemy, whereas Moltar just puts up with being forced to do the show against his will, but will chime in to antagonize Space Ghost from time to time alongside Zorak. Early seasons feature music played by Zorak and his band "The Original Way-Outs". The original theme song, "Hit Single",

2622-473: The series, including an interview with Jim Carrey and film director Chuck Russell for the 1995 VHS release of The Mask , a 2009 interview with Zoe Saldaña to promote James Cameron 's Avatar , a 2010 interview with Jack Black to promote Gulliver's Travels , a 2010 short with Steve Nash to promote VitaminWater , a 2011 interview with Tommy Wiseau interspersed during commercial breaks on Adult Swim's April Fools' Day broadcast of The Room , and

2679-468: The show either spun off or directly inspired the four original cartoons that constituted Adult Swim's comedy block— Sealab 2021 ; The Brak Show ; Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law ; and Aqua Teen Hunger Force —all of which were created by Space Ghost Coast to Coast staff. Although Harvey Birdman uses traditional animation to flash animation , the rest uses the same limited animation style as Space Ghost Coast to Coast . The Brak Show includes

2736-494: The show's increasingly outlandish cast of characters, he is often the straight man . In the series finale, "The Death of Harvey Birdman", he returns to his superheroing ways, defeating an old enemy before being suddenly hit with a bus and killed. Harvey Birdman, along with Space Ghost , appeared in the background in multiple scenes of the Season 4 episode of The Powerpuff Girls titled "Members Only". Harvey Birdman appeared in

2793-485: The show. Seasons 4–6 feature a new closing theme by Man or Astro-man? , and in later seasons the opening theme and titles were nearly abandoned. Alternate songs are sometimes used as theme music, including the CHiPs theme song for the episode titled "CHiPs". An hour-long musical season finale featuring the bands Yo La Tengo and Cornershop was planned for the 1998 season but never produced. Space Ghost Coast to Coast

2850-491: The success of Space Ghost . These were heavily criticized by parents for their violence. By 1972, most action programming had been removed from the Saturday-morning slot, following pressure from parents' lobbying groups such as the Action for Children's Television (ACT). These groups voiced concerns about the presentation of commercialism , violence, anti-social attitudes and stereotypes in Saturday-morning cartoons. By

2907-446: The two villains are clever and that once, to keep him from interfering in their plans, they even "hypnotized him into thinking he was a talk show host! Fortunately, he snapped out of it after eight seasons." On hearing that, Space Ghost frowns and says, "I don't want to talk about it." Space Ghost: Coast to Coast has been released on home media in three widespread DVD volumes and two additional volumes only available for purchase through

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2964-402: The voices of the original casts, as well as imitations of the highly successful Scooby-Doo combining teen characters and talking animals with supernatural mystery stories. By 1982, under President Ronald Reagan , the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) had loosened programming and advertising regulations, leading to the era of "half-hour toy commercials", starting with He-Man and

3021-507: Was composed by free jazz guitarist Sonny Sharrock and performed by Sharrock on guitar, Lance Carter on drums, Eddie Horst on bass, and Alfreda Gerald on vocals. Sharrock and Carter recorded songs for the show that were later compiled on the album Space Ghost Coast to Coast . As a tribute to Sharrock, who died in May 1994 shortly after the show first aired, the episode "Sharrock" featured fifteen minutes of unedited takes of music recorded for

3078-457: Was created by Mike Lazzo after he was asked to develop a cartoon to appeal to adults . The series' original title stemmed from early 1993 when Andy Merrill and Jay Edwards were brainstorming names for a marathon of the 1960s Space Ghost for Cartoon Network, trying to find things that rhyme with "Ghost". Because of budget limitations, Ned Hastings recycled clips from the original series and reorganized them on an Avid non-linear editor for

3135-433: Was developed, interviewing Emma Thompson . Gary Owens , who originally voiced Space Ghost in the 1960s show, portrayed the character for the pilot. George Lowe was eventually cast as Space Ghost when Coast to Coast was officially picked up. Owens later provided a cameo appearance on the show. The series premiered on April 15, 1994, having aired initially at 11:00 p.m. ET on Friday nights, with an encore showing of

3192-474: Was released in 1995. A comedy album titled Space Ghost's Musical Bar-B-Que was released by Kid Rhino and Cartoon Network in 1997. A follow-up album, Space Ghost's Surf & Turf , released the following year. Cartoon Planet , a spin-off featuring Space Ghost, Zorak, and Brak hosting a variety show on the Cartoon Planet, premiered on Cartoon Network and its sister network TBS in 1995. In 2000,

3249-539: Was simulcast on Cartoon Network, TBS , and TNT for the "World Premiere Toon-In" special debut of Cartoon Network's World Premiere Toons series. In the special, Space Ghost interviews a few of the new directors, while the Council of Doom members are the judges of the cartoon clips. The first run ended on December 17, 1999, with the episode "King Dead". On September 2, 2001, new episodes and re-runs moved to Cartoon Network's late-night programming block Adult Swim during

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