The Unofficial Modern Space Ghost FAQ
Version 2.1 (FAQ Presents The FAQ Show Starring FAQ)
February 24, 2000
Written and maintained by Bryan Lambert
Get the plain-text version here.
Changes since V2.0
- Additions made to voice cast list
- Addition made to C2C writing question
- Brak Show section updated with album track list and information from premiere.
- Cartoon Jam info added in Merchandise
- Cartoon Planet past-tensed.
- GPI references changed to Williams Street
- Brak Show section added.
- Episode guide replaced with links
- Character Profiles added and updated, now with Birdman and Wally Gator
- Williams Street biographical info removed, as the only bio info I had was for Tom Roche, who's no longer there.
- Merchandise section updated with latest news on Fashion Victim and Toycom's SG action figure
- Various and sundry other things updated and fixed
Just a quick reminder, this is an unofficial FAQ. I'm not affiliated with Williams Street in any way, so don't send me e-mails for Brak. As fun as they are to read, I'm not who you need to be putting in your To: lines.
Contributors:
Mike Shawaluk
Kim McFarland
Gerson Koenig
Taylor Gould
Spottiswoode Thjss
Special Thanks To:
Everyone who's offered their thoughts, impressions, corrections, and nitpicks.
Table of Contents:
- Space Ghost: Coast to Coast
- What is Space Ghost: Coast to Coast?
- Where and when can I see it?
- How many seasons of Coast to Coast have there been?
- Has Coast to Coast been cancelled?
- Who are these characters?
- How do you spell Tansut's name?
- Where'd such and such bit of animation come from?
- Who does the voices?
- Who does the music?
- Who writes these shows?
- How is the show produced?
- So, is there an episode guide available?
- What happened to Andy?
- FAQ Contributors' brief moments of fame.
- The Brak Show
- Cartoon Planet
- Space Ghost And The Internet
- Merchandise and Other Miscellany
I: Space Ghost: Coast to Coast
What is Space Ghost: Coast to Coast?Space Ghost: Coast to Coast (SGC2C to the acronymically minded) is the cartoon world's entry into the late night wars. Space Ghost, famed Hanna Barbera superhero of the 60's and 80's, spends fifteen minutes of quality time every week interviewing the cream of the celebrity crop, and we, the lucky ones, we get to watch.
The show premiered on April 15, 1994 with Space Ghost interviewing Kevin Meaney and Susan Powter, and being disgusted by, and blowing into oblivion, the Bee Gees. It continues to this day.
Coast to Coast, along with The Brak Show and Cartoon Planet, is produced by Williams Street (formerly Ghost Planet Industries), a sub-sub-subsidiary of the whole America Online-Time-Warner/Turner/Cartoon Network megaconglomothingy. WS's logo appears in that neat wavy graphic at the end of every SGC2C and CP show, accompanied by the "clang" sound from the end of the old Dragnet show
Where and when can I see it?
SGC2C airs exclusively on Ted Turner's Non-Stop Hanna Barbara Repository and Archive, also known as the Cartoon Network. If you don't get the Cartoon Network, you're out of luck. Currently, episodes air every Friday at 11:00 p.m. EST/PST, followed (usually) by a second episode at around 11:15 p.m. EST/PST. This pair of episodes is then repeated at 12:00 a.m. Sunday (Monday midnight, for the technically accurate).
Cartoon Network has both an East and West Coast feed, so the show airs at the same times in the Eastern and Pacific time zones. Central time zone residents should subtract an hour from these times. Mountain zone residents, from what I understand, may need to do some trial and error to see if they're one hour later than Pacific or two hours earlier than Eastern.
How many seasons of Coast to Coast have there been?
Six.
Sort of.
When it started, SGC2C didn't really have "seasons" as such. While it had cycles of new episodes and reruns, they didn't really corresponded to anything except when the marvelously talented individuals at (then) Ghost Planet Industries gave us new episodes.
However, the batch of new episodes in August, 1998 was officially called the fifth season, and the batch in fall/winter 1999 was called the sixth, so therefore, six seasons, now arbitrarily identified by airing year by Cartoon Network, with a widely varying number of episodes contained within.
Has Coast to Coast been cancelled?
No.
Now for the long answer. The show is on lengthy hiatus. This could mean any number of things, however, remember that there was a ten-month gap between "Waiting for Edward" (final episode of Season Five) and "Chambraigne" (The Season Six premiere). Right now, they're working on The Brak Show. But all indications are that the ratings are decent, the suits are happy, and there's nothing to get hyper about.
Who are these characters?
Space Ghost
He's the man. No, really. He's the man. The superhero this whole thing is based around. Space Ghost (a.k.a. Tad Ghostal) got his start in the 60's, as one of the many creations of Hanna Barbera cartoonist and long-time comic book artist Alex Toth. He fought evil in five to ten minutechunks for some time, aided by his sidekicks Jan, Jace, and Blip the Monkey. His powers include strength, flight, invisibility, and a wide variety of useful energy beams that emit from a pair of oversized shirt cuffs appropriately labeled "Power Bands". Amongst these rays are the standby destructo ray, a heat ray that can bring the Atlantic to boiling in 5 minutes, a smell ray, a freeze ray, and a spank ray. His inviso powers derive from his inviso belt (and not, as many people believe, from an inviso ray). Space Ghost got another shot at life in the early 80's. The less said about that particular revamp, the better. The new Space Ghost, as recharacterized by George Lowe and the Williams Street writers, is a bit befuddled at times, a bit cocky at others, but generally a good guy if you catch him on a good day.
Zorak
Zorak is green. With evil. Zorak is a giant praying mantis who, in the early days, occasionally referred to himself as a locust. Mythologically speaking, he was a criminal mastermind, who, after his capture, was forced into servitude as the bandleader of Space Ghost: Coast to Coast and frontman of "The Original Way Outs". Known far and wide for his deviousness, his sarcasm, and his ability to deliver scathing bon mots at a moment's notice, his only actual power is a remarkable regenerative ability. The modern Zorak has shown a fondness for gum, Jack Klugman, fly honeys, and a mysterious woman named "Zingor". All evidence points to the fact that Zorak is still a virgin. Zorak opens a new chapter in his career soon, as the sidekick on The Brak Show. Bets are currently being taken as to how long it will be before he devours Wally Gator.
Moltar
Another of Space Ghost's classic villains, Moltar is, in his own words, a "poorly drawn lava kind of a molten man". Nobody knows what's beneath his helmet, but we do know that it was enough to unsettle even Zorak, and that instead of a tongue and nose , he's got an oblong titanium slat and a cadmium alloy inhalant receptacle. He's been married to the beautiful Linda since around February of 1990. Linda, a "lovely lava lass", has a brother Zoltran who appears to be some sort of body snatcher. Moltar is the director of Coast to Coast. His job is to line up the guests for the show and keep track of the satellite feed. His deep, sonorous voice, his love of C.H.iP.s, his way with a lever, all these and more have endeared him to legions of Coast to Coast fans.
Brak
Brak. What can one really say about Brak? In his original form, he was a vaguely feline space pirate. In his modern version he's... he's... he's... he's Brak. Kind of stupid, but occasionally really smart. Kind of annoying, but often adorable. He likes beans. His recipes leave much to be desired. Brak's main outlet has been as co-host of Cartoon Planet, however, he has made the occasional appearance on Coast to Coast, often as a member of the Council of Doom. Brak steps into the spotlight now as the host and star of "Brak Presents The Brak Show Starring Brak", a job which he had to fight fairly hard for, even given the edge he had by being named "Brak".
Lokar
Ah, yes. Lokar. <Cue light classical music> Certainly the most erudite of the Council of Doom, Lokar, "Potentate of Thug Locusts", has a long-standing rivalry with Zorak. In addition to serving with the Council of Doom on such memorable events as the World Premiere Toon-In, the Space Ghost Christmas Special, and the Cookout, Lokar has provided hosting duties for several looks back into the Space Ghost vaults. He was, briefly, the "musical arrrrranger" for "Birdman: Coast to Coast" during the Tad Ghostal Contract Negotiations. He's also shown up as a villain in his own right once or twice ("Switcheroo" comes to mind)
Tansut
Tansut, the orange, somewhat wimpy member of the Council of Doom, played a fairly major role after his unsuccessful attempt at replacing Moltar during the "Jacksonville Incident". He was hired as the pre-show announcer of Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, a gig which lasted for several episodes, after which he was fired. He filled in for Moltar again during the Zorak/Moltar escape in "King Dead", during which time he broke things and showed us his manboobs.
Metallus
Metallus. He's big. Silver. And, except for some particularly lucid moments during the Christmas Special, nobody can understand a damn thing he says thanks to his massive reverb. Another member of the Council of Doom.
Black Widow
Black Widow, after a post-60's name change (she was known back in the day as "Spider Woman") is the only female member of the Council of Doom, assuming that Tansut doesn't count. There is some evidence she harbors a somewhat . . . unnatural crush on Space Ghost, but she's still evil, so Tad's having none of that.
Chad Ghostal
Chad is Space Ghost's evil twin. You can tell them apart by Chad's morphing goatee and his "rico suave" manner. A rakish casanova of a twin, he's used his wiles on, among others, Susan Olsen and Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. Chad's power bands feature an atomic drink mixer, an ultra-deluxe chick magnet, and a combination light dimmer/spotlight.
The Sorcerer
In case you were wondering, The Sorcerer is the short guy with the beard in The Original Way Outs who went through a brief stint of speaking. The future may reveal more about him than the dozen or so words he's spoken have so far, or it may not. We recommend you don't hold your breath. And if you wondered about THAT, you probably wouldn't mind knowing that the Way Outs' drummer is named "Christy", despite being called "Steve" at the end of Zorak's "Purple Haze" parody.
Leonard Ghostal
Space Ghost's granddad is the kind of man who can use the word "turnbuckle" in a sentence and not have it seem out of place. Leonard, an ex-pro wrestler who sounds a lot like Randy "Macho Man" Savage, wrestled against Moltar's dad, dealt harshly with Rob Zombie, got hit with a folding chair by Zorak, and made sneaky deals with the Saucer People. What a guy.
Raymond
Raymond is Zorak's incredibly adorable, high-voiced nephew whose inability to pronounce words like "Spaghetti" and "Apocalypse" instantly endeared him to a nation. Although Zorak devoured Raymond some 12 or so minutes after we were introduced to him, his memory lives on in the hearts of all good Americans. Raymond recently joined the ranks of full-blown angels by proving to Zorak that life was worth living, thereby earning the little guy his wings. Raymond's parents are Zorak's Uncle Judy and Aunt Lars.
Banjo
Perhaps the single most famous and recognizable line from Coast to Coast is Space Ghost's anguished cry of grief for his destructo-rayed sea monkey: "Banjo! Banjo! Banjoooooooo!" After ingesting a super vitamin pill, the megalomaniacal brine shrimp grew to massive proportions and attacked Zorak, forcing Space Ghost to choose between his bandleader and his beloved pet. He chose Zorak and fried Banjo. Banjo is also a figure of note due to the fact that his destruction and subsequent Ghostal grief have been retold or referenced to on three separate occasions: "Storybook House" (rerun in "Le Livre de Historie", "Freak Show", and "Woody Allen's Fall Project". Apparently, Banjo now resides amongst the heavenly host (cf. "Zorak").
Birdman
Birdman, a.k.a. Harvey, was tapped to fill Space Ghost's antedesk buttperch during some unpleasant contract negotiations prior to the premiere of Space Ghost: Coast to Coast. His fill-in attempt, "Birdman, Coast to Coast", was marred by the mauling of Lokar, the befuddlement of two American Gladiators, and the revelation that, without the sun, he conks right out. This proved to be an insurmountable liability in the late-night talk show arena, and Harv was given the boot.
Wally Gator
Wally Gator is yet another anthropomorphic Hanna Barbarian animal tapped to make his bold entrance into the post-modern, uber-ironic, hipper than thou universe we all know and love. Wally, whose most recent work has been in a kind of creepy CGI cartoon short short shown on Cartoon Network, will be the announcer on The Brak Show. So far, he seems to be behaving fairly straight-forwardly, a bit befuddled, and abused by Zorak.
How do you spell Tansut's name?
Back in the day, the various model sheets and episode title cards from the original series frequently contradicted each other. The most notorious example is Tansut, who we've seen as Tansit, Tanzut, and Tansut. His home page spells it "Tansut", and we all know that everything on the Internet is true, so there you go.
Where'd such and such bit of animation come from?
Zorak in the wig comes from a guest appearance on Jabberjaw that I'm sure he'd love to forget about, however, close examination by Kim McFarland seems to indicate that the actual wigs are different, and pasted on.
The iotas (from the Fran Drescher interview) are Gleep and Gloop from "Herculoids".
Much of the animation in newer episodes, like Bizarro Santa, is completely new, and produced by C. Martin Croker's studio.
Who does the voices?
The following voice actors have appeared in two or more episodes of Space Ghost: Coast to Coast, playing the following roles:
[NOTE: This list is not intended to be comprehensive.]
| George Lowe: | Space Ghost Window Repairman ("Jacksonville") Announcer ("Woody Allen's Fall Project") Himself ("Table Read") |
| C. Martin Croker: | Zorak Moltar Raymond Cow (in "Lovesick") Fake Weird Al Yankovic (Suspected) ("Woody Allen's Fall Project") (Credited as "Rex Bullion") Wally Gator (The Brak Show) Himself ("Table Read") |
| Andy Merrill: | Brak Lokar Commander Andy of the Cosmos (in person, "Freak Show") Space Ghost (live-action version, "Woody Allen's Fall Project") The Sorcerer Moltar (singing voice in "Edelweiss") Obi-Wan voice ("Switcheroo 2") Voice of Space Ghost toy ("Pavement") Dr. Nightmare (ATTORNEY AT LAW!) ("Lawsuit") Male Announcer ("Spanish Translation") Announcer/Space Ghost (Original C2C Pilot) |
| Don Kennedy: | Tansut Fake Bill Manspeaker ("Woody Allen's Fall Project") (credited as Derrick Slaugenhaupt) Bumper Announcer (Cartoon Planet) Announcer (Various and Sundry) |
| Judy Tenuta: | Black Widow |
| Scott Finnell: | Birdman |
| Tom Arcuragi | Bob the Director: |
| Dave Willis: | Passenger 12 ("Glen Campbell", "Jacksonville") The Dragon ("Zoltran") Zorak's Voice ("Woody Allen's Fall Project") Cousin Herndon (In person, "Freak Show") Himself ("Table Read") Colonial Guy ("Snatch") |
| Brad Abelle | Chad Ghostal |
| Mabel Isler/ Penny Jones | Space Ghost's Mom (Isler in "Switcheroo", Jones in "Late Show") |
| James Kirkconnell | Kirk The Storyteller (live) ("Storybook House") Space Ghost Expert (live) ("Woody Allen's Fall Project") Sleeping Guy (live) ("Curses") Himself (live) ("Sequel") |
| Gary Owens | Announcer ("Late Show") Space Ghost (Second Original C2C Pilot) |
Who does the music?
The opening and closing themes and much of the incidental music for SGC2C was performed and composed by Eddie Horst and the late jazz guitarist Sonny Sharrock, with accompaniment by Lance Carter on drums and Alfrieda Gerald (not Betty Rubble) on vocals.
From the liner notes to the Coast to Coast music CD:
Sonny Sharrock was drawn to jazz after hearing John Coltrane on Mile Davis' "Kind of Blue." Sharrock determined that he, too, would be a tenor saxophonist, but asthma quelled his dream. He reluctantly took up the guitar as a second choice. Sharrock toured and recorded with renowned artists such as Pharoah Sanders, Don Cherry, Cannonball Adderley, Herbie Mann and Miles Davis. He also issued a series of albums under his own name. In the late '70s, he disappeared from the scene for several years, resurfacing in 1980 with Bill Laswell's Material. In 1985, a solo album, "Guitar", launched a new phase of Sharrock's career. The following year, he made history as one-quarter of the band Last Exit, whose eruptive music suggested an amalgam of free jazz and metal. Last Exit issued six albums, while Sonny Sharrock put out another four, including "Seize the Rainbow" and "Ask the Ages." Sharrock died of heart failure at age 53 on May 26, 1994.
Alfrieda Gerald is a professional R & B vocalist whose commercial work has included advertisements for Coca-Cola, General Motors Corporation, McDonald's, MCI and others. As one of the featured vocalists with the fifteen-piece Rupert Orchestra, she has toured nationally. Gerald received
ten years of classical training before going professional.
Atlanta based surf rockers Man or Astroman? composed the closing theme and new incidental music for the 1997 season. NRBQ performed the opening and probably the closing theme for "Birdman: Coast to Coast". German industrial rockers Rammstein provided the opening theme to "Brilliant Number One", a track entitled "Wollt ihr das bett in flammen >sehen?".
Who writes these shows?
A bunch of people. Early episodes were scripted by Matthew Maiellaro and other Cartoon Network folks. There have been a number of other writing teams, notably Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer, a couple writers for David Letterman, Andy Merrill, Dave Willis, Matt Harrigan, Alan Laddie, and more. Oh, don't forget Joel Hodgson. In addition, some shows have been written by writers for The Onion.
How is the show produced?
We're not entirely sure, but apparently it involves equal parts blood, sweat, antique editing equipment, tears, and fairy dust.
The best, most detailed article I've seen involving the production process, from interview to post-production, can be found here. It's a bit too long to include here, and it's too well written to chop up.
But if you want just the essentials, here we go. Guests are lined up by Isabel Gonzales, talent coordinator, by talking to the stars' publicists. The interviews are then taped at CNN facilities in Atlanta, LA, or New York. The guests are actually talking to (usually) Dave Willis, who asks them a series of questions, and asks to be addressed as "Space Ghost". We assume this is for the sake of the interview, and not out of any kind of delusional state. The writers then take the interview tape, chop it up, take stuff out of context, create a new context for it, and make it funny. It's then put together by mixing old animation, new animation, live video, and editing effects.
Interesting side note. During the early days of the show, the interviews were done by Andy Merrill, wearing an ill-fitting Space Ghost costume.
Oh, and the set? It exists. It's real. It's not a drawing. Which, believe you me, surprised the heck out of me when I found out. You can see this for yourself in "Rehearsal".
So, is there an episode guide available?
Yes. But it's no longer part of the FAQ, because, frankly, it was messy, constantly out of date, and not as good as the two I'll be pointing you toward now.
The first is the official guide, the Space Ghost Home Companion, at http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/spaceghost/homec.html. The advantages include complete transcripts, credits, and audiovisual clips from the episodes. The disadvantages are the multipage, multimedia, hyperpresentation making it difficult to print out and carry in a back pocket.
The other can be found at Mike Shawaluk's site, specifically, http://snard.com/sg/guide/. Not only is the URL shorter, but guest lists are included in the immediate guide, along with links to transcripts of the episodes.
What happened to Andy?
The following comes courtesy Gerson Koenig's Daily Ghost Planet, with the only change being who's doing the thanking.
Andy Merrill, the lovable tot who was instrumental in the never aired pilot reel for Coast to Coast, who wrote and produced many an episode of Coast to Coast and Cartoon Planet, and supplies the voices for Brak and Lokar, and helped build the new Space Ghost web site has left Cartoon Network to pursue other pastures. He will still write the occasional script and continue to supply voices for his characters though. A touching farewell party was thrown at Ghost Planet Industires at the end of July (or so we hear). We'd all like to thank Mr. Merrill for all the laughter, tears, and thought-provoking moments he's brought to us lo' these many years, and will no doubt continue to give us, and wish him the best of luck in his new projects.
I heard that during one of the episodes, the email addresses of two of the contributors to this FAQ were briefly flashed on the screen. Is this true?
Yes.
Really?!? Which episode? And who are they?
Episode 42, "Switcheroo" (actually the second episode titled Switcheroo, but that's another story) And if you want to know who they are, I guess you'll have to watch the show, or sneak a peek at the transcript.
So how do these guys rate? Huh?
Beats me.
II: The Brak Show
What is The Brak Show?
The Brak Show, or, to be precise, "Brak Presents The Brak Show Starring Brak", is a new, half-hour, musical-variety maybe-series from the folks at Williams Street. Starring Brak, Zorak, and Wally Gator, our cartoon pals mix it up with real-world guests in a kind of Muppet Show/Cartoon Planet cross-hybridization.
When is The Brak Show on?
The Brak Show premiered on Sunday, February 20 at 7:00 Eastern/Pacific. There is a second episode/special planned for Thursday, March 16, 8:30 Eastern/Pacific. Obviously, the ideal would be for it to become an ongoing series with a regular timeslot, but as of now, that's still up in the air.
They reran the premiere episode the next day, however, a quick check of ClickTV doesn't show any other airings at least through March 8. We will keep our eyes out, however, as we know many of you missed it.
Who will be appearing on The Brak Show?
The guests for the February 20 episode included pop singer Monica, actor Freddie Prinze Jr., and Irish musicians The Chieftans. Monica halfheartedly lipsychned a new version of "I Love You Baby" in a duet with Brak. Prinze Jr. acquitted himself nobly on Highway 40 Revisited, while Brak and the Chieftans performed a traditional Irish tune.
Singer Jo Dee Messina and WCW rassler Diamond Dallas Page are also confirmed as guests for the March show. There are no rumors of DDP singing "Zingor" in a duet with Zorak. However, since I made that little joke, it has come to light that DDP -will- be singing, in a number titled "Evil is Only Skin Deep".
Is there going to be an album?
Yes. On March 14, Rhino will be putting out a compilation CD of songs from the show. The Monica track will not be included. Here's the track listing, from http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/spaceghost/cod/brak/cd.html
1. Really Cool Song
2. Franz Shoebert
3. Dentist *
4. Magic Toenail
5. Babbling Brook *
6. I'll Tell Me Ma (With The Chieftains)
7. Rock Candy
8. Big Fat Squid **
9. I Like Hubcaps **
10. Cowboy Buddy * **
11. Highway 40 (With Freddie Prinze Jr.)
12. Bananachek * **
13. Smell You Later **
14. Store **
15. Brak Counterbrak *
16. Evil Is Only Skin Deep (With Diamond Dallas Page) **
17. We Like Girls **
18. El Brakiachi *
19. Beeflog
20. Another Cowboy Buddy * **
21. Barbeque **
22. Count Brakula * **
23. I'm Forgettable **
24. News Bulletin * **
25. I'm A Cucumber **
26. News Bulletin * **
27. Molly Cule * **
28. We're Buds **
29. Chili Today Hot Tamale **
30. Ohio
Plus three "Super Special Bootleg Bonus Braktrax":
31. I've Got You Under My Drawers
32. Year Of The Mantis
33. Soup On A Stick
* - Not a song. ** - Presumably from Show 2.
Interestingly, "I'm A Cucumber" appeared in very rough form on Cartoon Planet. It'll be interesting to see what it's like in full flower.
Who are the new characters?
This is purely preliminary, but so far we have:
The Braktonics: Brak's backup band, including one or two guitarists, a drummer, and a keyboard player.
The Brakettes: Brak's backup singer(s), a three-headed harmonizing chorus.
Franz Shoebert: A deep voiced singing shoe.
The Mysterious Allen Wrench: An allen wrench with a mouth, seen briefly during "Ohio".
Grape Ape: Since he's listed on the CD, and appeared briefly in the first episode (though didn't speak), expect this other "classic" Hanna-Barbera character to play a future role.
III: Cartoon Planet
What was Cartoon Planet?
Cartoon Planet was, for most of its life, a half-hour collection of short animated skits and songs featuring Space Ghost, Zorak, and Brak. CP started as a daily, hour-long show featuring five to six hoary old cartoons from the vast Time-Warner-Turner empire's archive. These cartoons included short bumpers and skits, giving the impression that the show was "hosted" by Space Ghost, Zorak, and Brak. As time went on, the number of cartoons on the show decreased to 0, and the percentage of skits and songs increased to 100. Oh, and the show went from an hour to a half hour, and daily to weekly. And weekly to... not weekly.
When is Cartoon Planet on?
It's currently not being aired, as far as anybody knows. Personally, I'd love to see a nice, two-disc, archival edition DVD with every bit of Cartoon Planet-related material ever produced on it, but that is merely the fantasy of a tired FAQ-keeper with a DVD player and a desperate need to pad this question beyond a simple "no".
Will there ever be new Cartoon Planet stuff?
As far as we know, no. Luckily, the same spirit should live on nicely in the form of The Brak Show.
Who did the music for Cartoon Planet?
Cartoon Planet's original opening and closing themes were instrumental excerpts from a pair of They Might Be Giants songs, both from "John Henry". The opening theme was from "No One Knows My Plan", and the closing theme from "The End Of The Tour". Currently, CP opens with a lite jazz rumba piece that can be heard in full during the "Ghost Dance" sketch, and closes with Brak's rendition of "Bye Bye, Goodbye, Goodbye, Everybody". I have a sneaky but unconfirmed suspicion that "The Cartoon Planet Story" was perhaps a draft of a possible opening theme, but that's just my suspicion.
Eddie Horst writes most, if not all, of the original music for Cartoon Planet. He is a composer living and working in Atlanta who has been a professional musician for over 25 years. He attended Berklee School of Music in Boston, Mass., and later went into business for himself as owner of the Atlanta-based Eddie Horst Music in 1984. Horst writes, arranges and produces music for a multitude of commercials and television scores whose numbers include CBS' acclaimed series In the Heat of the Night. He has also scored music for films, including two made-for-television In the Heat of the Night movies and an upcoming feature film entitled Smooth Operator. (Information shamelessly lifted from the liner notes to the Sonny Sharrock Coast to Coast Music CD)
Who wrote the sketches and lyrics for Cartoon Planet?
Nearly all of the sketches and lyrics for Cartoon Planet were written by Andy Merrill, Pete Smith, and Jefferson Clay. Pete Smith is, by the way, the head writer for "The Brak Show". Apparently, "Put Your Socks On Mama" (from the CD's) comes from Andy Merrill's college days, so it's possible some of the others do as well. (In the unconfirmed suspicions area, I'd put "I'm a Sock that's Dirty" in that category.)
What was with the vampire/Count Floyd on Cartoon Planet?
Those live action segments with the guy in the cape are filler from the 1988 Saturday morning cartoon series The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley. The character's name is Count Floyd, and the actor is Joe Flaherty. He originated the character on the TV series SCTV, where it was much funnier.
What's the deal with "Brak Can't Stop Laughing"?
According to producer Jefferson Clay:
"Brak Can't Stop Laughing was pure non-scripted madness. It actually started when Andy (Brak) let out a horrific belch right before he was to record the song (Don't Let the Front Door Hit You on the Backside). This instigated a non-stop laughing fit for Andy, and we let the tape roll. It was too priceless to trash, so we turned it into a 'song'.
And now you know......the rest.....of the story. Good Day."
IV: Space Ghost and the Internet
So, I'm on the Internet, and I like Space Ghost. Where do I go?
The most active forum is the Ghost Planet mailing list, which focuses on Space Ghost Coast to Coast and Cartoon Planet. For information and a spiffy web interface to the list, visit: http://lists.duke.edu/archives/ghost-planet.html
You should be able to subscribe by e-mailing lists.duke.edu with "subscribe ghost-planet" in the body.
There is also a Usenet newsgroup, alt.fan.space-ghost, however it is plagued by the typical distribution problems of alt groups in general and alt.fan groups in particular.
For those of you into the whole Web Portal/Community/Club thing, there's a Yahoo! club, "ghostplanet", to be found at http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/ghostplanet".
And for the rabid chatmonkeys amongst you, on the second and fourth Wednesday of every month, there's a Space Ghost chat on IRC, UnderNet to be specific, in a room named #ghostplanet. I believe it begins at 8 EST, but since Wednesdays are bad for me, I've never been. For more information on the chat, and IRC in general, visit Hen_Solo's site at http://home.pacbell.net/sbruce/IRC-hints.htm.
There are also a number of useful, informative web sites out there with vast quantities of information. The three biggies are:
Gerson Koenig's "Daily Ghost Planet"
http://members.xoom.com/DailyGhost/
Features upcoming episode lists and news bits concerning all things Ghosty. Gerson's back on the Internet, and the DGP is safe and snug in its new home at Xoom.
Mike Shawaluk's Coast to Coast Transcript Page
http://www.snard.com/sg/
Featuring painstakingly transcribed transcriptions of every Coast to Coast episode to date, plus mucho ancillary material.
Brak's Scrapbook/Scriptbook
http://members.aol.com/essobmcc/brakbook/brakbook.htm
http://members.aol.com/cessta/index.htm
Negaduck's fantabulous page of Ghosty things, and her equally painstakingly transcribed transcriptions of many of the hundreds of Cartoon Planet sketches, skits and songs.
In addition, there are literally dozens of other websites, and a webring. The Ghost Planet Webring can be found at http://www.webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?ring=ghostplanethome.
For a reasonably comprehensive site that's devoted to, amongst other things, reviewing all the -other- SG-related sites out there, visit Koby Chodosh Of The Ever-Changing Handles' "Ghost Quasar" page, at http://members.xoom.com/pdestructo/sg.
Upon inspection, it appears to be updated even less frequently than this FAQ, but since I'm living in the mother of all glass houses on that count, I won't judge.
The Official Site
The former spaceghost.com site has now been folded into the Cartoon Network's "Favorites" section on cartoonnetwork.com. The URL and various other trademarked variants still work, bringing you to http://www.CartoonNetwork.com/spaceghost/, where you will find the reviews, the Home Companion, the Council of Doom web pages, and the Prancing Ponies. The content's not updated nearly as frequently as it used to be, but when it is, it's still good stuff. And they haven't forgotten their roots; Vector Black's head has still been sighted amongst the Prancing Ponies.
How can I get in touch with Space Ghost, Cartoon Network or GPI?
The following E-Mail addresses have been known to serve various purposes:
sgc2c@aol.com
(Given in the SGC2C closing credits. Mail to this address often receives a reply from "Space Ghost" himself)
cartoon.network@turner.com
(Cartoon Network's E-Mail, only tangentially Ghost-related)
What if I'm still bored?
Visit the Internet Movie Database, everyone's cure for a bout of temporary boredome. Clicking on the following link, http://us.imdb.com/Title?"Space+Ghost+Coast+to+Coast"+(1994), will give you a nice jumping off point to learn about the other projects of individuals involved with Space Ghost: Coast to Coast.
IV: Merchandising and Other Miscellany
What stuff can I buy?
Way back when, there was a "Modern Music for Swinging Superheroes" CD, which included many of the tracks that appear on "Bar-B-Que" and some other early Cartoon Planet stuff. However, they're all gone and they're not gonna make anymore, so nyah.
There was also a limited edition CD with some of Sonny Sharrock's music from the show available for quite some time. However, my sources now inform me that these, too, are all gone.
The first commercially available CD, "Space Ghost's Musical Bar-B-Que", is currently out in stores under the Kid Rhino label. It features 38 songs and sketches from "Cartoon Planet".
A followup CD, the second to be commercially available, is titled "Space Ghost's Surf & Turf". It was released on August 19, 1998. The fine people at Rhino tell us the following about it:
SPACE GHOST HANGS TEN -- Continuing their on-going mission to rescue the solar system from far better animated musical stylings, Space Ghost, Zorak, and Brak follow-up their successful Musical Bar-B-Que album on Aug. 19, with the release of SPACE GHOST'S SURF & TURF.
Featuring 22 musically diverse tracks and 14 comical vignettes, SPACE GHOST'S SURF & TURF invites fans to the screwiest luau this side of the Milky Way. The new CD presents even more of the show's funniest songs performed in a variety of musical styles, including rock, pop, blues, jazz, reggae, and rap. Each of the show's stars have solo turns, while all three combine for rollicking numbers, such as "Highway 40 Revisited," and two previously unreleased tracks, "Moo Kaluka" and "Baloney Sandwich.
The reason that several songs on MMFSS didn't make it onto Bar-B-Que is simple, but unfortunate. You see, much of the background music to Cartoon Planet songs is simply production music (i.e. from collections of music written expressly for use in television and movies that companies can buy the use of for a flat rate), sometimes known as "needledrop" music. This music, while available for use within TV shows, suddenly turns out to be less available when it comes time to sell albums of music from those selfsame TV shows. So, you get to hear Andy's stirring rendition of "Highway 40 Unplugged" on Bar-B-Que, but if you wanted to hear "Highway 40 Revisited" before Surf & Turf came out, you'd have had to dig out your crusty old VHS copy that you recorded at 6-hour speed. And if you'd wanted to listen to it in your very own big old pickup truck, you'd probably have had to hold a cassette player you swiped from an elementary school up to your tinny three inch TV speaker. Oh, and not get caught by ASCAP or whatever it's called.
That said, the inclusion of "Highway 40 Revisited", "Moo Kaluka", and "Baloney Sandwich" on the new Surf & Turf CD indicates that the "needledrop" problem has been successfully resolved or circumvented. The inclusion of these tracks also invalidates the above example, but it's so nicely written, I'm not deleting it. Finally, yes, we realize that "Highway 40 Revisited" is a stunning solo tour de force by Brak. We'll forgive the Rhino publicity people. This time.
There was a third non-commercial CD, called "Yeah, Whatever", also known as the Daily Affirmations CD. It featured a bunch of witticisms and daily affirmations, and appears to have been created for radio promo use. They were most likely given away for publicity use. Transcripts of the affirmations can be found on Mike Shawaluk's transcript page (see above). It features the (in)famous line "Hi, I'm Space Ghost, and I can open a can of spinach using my butt muscles."
Caroon Network has also released "Cartoon Jam", which has some Ghostly content, including the Coast to Coast main title theme (Sonny Sharrock's "Hit Single"), the short version of the Cartoon Planet theme ("Dia De Plaza"), and "Boo Boo Baba DeeDee", a CN promo featuring both Space Ghost and Brak.
And, as mentioned above, March will see the release of a CD compiling songs from "The Brak Show".
There have been many T-Shirts produced in the history of Coast to Coast. Fashion Victim produced the most visible series of T-Shirts featuring various Modern Space Ghost-esque designs. Links to scans of the flyer can be found on the Daily Ghost Planet and Brak's Scrapbook pages. Although Fashion Victim no longer produces the products, these T-Shirts may still be found at mall-type T-Shirt shops and the occasional chain record store. Kim McFarland sells the Fashion Victim merchandise to those who can't get it locally. Contact her (via Brak's Scrapbook) for details.
Some Warner Bros. Studio Stores tested a new Cartoon Network sub-store, in which were sold many new Space Ghost items, including keychains, maquette pins, a bank of the Ghost at his desk, patches, additional kids T-Shirts, etc.) This has not blossomed (or bubbled or buttercupped) into a Ghostly merchandise renaissance, which is a pity.
The Space Ghost Beanie has been released, and is available from Warner Brothers Studio Stores. However, for reasons complex and perplexing, some cities, including Atlanta, weren't allowed to sell them. We have reports that this is no longer the case. Check your local stores and ask about it.
Pretty much any item mentioned on the show, including footstools, the Spice Ghost Pak, the Zorak and Moltar children's album, and that Space Ghost action figure from "Pavement", don't exist for real. Well, the action figure exists, but it's a custom job. No, we can't figure out what figure it is either.
And now, the biggie. ToyCom's long-awaited Space Ghost action figure was finally released in January 2000, and boy is it a doozy. Not only is it a Coast to Coast action figure, complete with desk, stool, cards, and mug, but the figure itself is gorgeous and well-articulated. It was a comic-shop exclusive, however, so don't expect to pick it up at your local Toys R Us. Stores that carry comic-shop exclusive toys, such as, well, comic shops, Suncoast Video, and online retailers may still have them. In addition, ToyFare magazine will be offering a variant molded in clear plastic to simuulate that inviso style. With luck, the figure will be a success and the line can continue with rumored Zorak and Brak figures.
If you'd like to make your own custom Space Ghost, try this. Take an Animated Batman action figure, as plain as possible (Currently, "Detective Batman" or "Knight Glider Batman" from the New Batman Adventures line work well), cut and sand off the extraneous bits, and paint it. The Knight Glider figure has gauntlets that might make for nice power bands.