Childhood, revisited

There were few things as a child that I loved more than Thundercats. I went through a Power Rangers stage as well, in fact I remember when Power Rangers first came out and all I wanted to do was watch episode after episode. Thankfully I’m over that. But I also loved Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Tin-Tin. Ooh, I also miss Hysteria (a show about history, even as I child… man…), Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain. I still rue the day that I didn’t buy the Pinky and the Brain complete season set when it came out because it cost too much money. What was I thinking? I was thinking I wanted to save Brandon and I some money and he just let me walk out of Target without my childhood some part of my adolescence. Argh!!

Ok, so let’s prioritize:
1. Pinky and the Brain (The writing is just amazing on this show)
2. Thundercats (Funny story, read ahead)
3. Hysteria (Who doesn’t love learning about Lizzie Borden through cartoons)
4. Tin-Tin (007 trapped in the body of a kid, and a doggie sidekick)
5. Animaniacs (burping all 50 states in song, honestly, need I say more?)
6. Sabrina the Teenage Witch (fine, mostly I liked Harvey)

Let me just say that Pinky and the Brain was easily second to none in writing for a kid’s show. Now that I think about it, it was probably geared toward teenagers. The Simpsons’ are great, but that’s geared more toward adults so duh, the writing has to be smart. But Pinky and the Brain really raised the bar and made us kids think about the context in which Pinky and the Brain found themselves. For example, the time that Brain was Don Cerebro and Pinky was Sancho Pinky. An allusion to a great classical work, I mean, c’mon! That’s genius!

This clip shows my favorite combination of mice and history. My favorite lab mice and my favorite band:


Before my Pinky and the Brain infatuation matured into the love that you can marry, there was Thundercats and only Thundercats. This started early. I must have been 4 or 5 when the attraction became strong and I wanted nothing in the world but to be Cheetara. She’s the really fast girl with Cheetah spots and her weapon is a big stick. I forget what those ninja big sticks are called. Anyway, when I was five my grandpa and I were watching Thundercats together at the foot of someone’s bed. Quietly I disappeared and came back with a broomstick, much in the style of Cheetara’s giant stick. I quietly climbed on the bed behind my grandpa, then I quietly stood up behind Grandpa, while quietly raising my giant stick in the air I shouted, “I am CHEETARA!!!” that proclamation was followed by swift blow to my grandpa’s head. Needless to say, my grandpa was not excited about being hit on the head with a broomstick, but he bore it well and let me off the hook.

Here’s a little clip to jar all of our memories: