Continuing Top Cat week with ep. 2 of 'the 1,000,000 Derby', courtesy of Youtube. I have a theory about great series. The truly greats always seem to die an early death. Mr. Hell and Invader Zim come to mind as contemporary examples. And here we have the elder statesman of canned series, Top Cat. Running 30 eps., it lasted less than a year, yet it still is one of the best-loved of the Hanna-Barbera series. It's also a prime example of classic HB studio style...adapting beloved personalities from radio and t.v. and coupling them with themes from existing popular shows, not as a pure ripoff, but as a kind of animated homage. Here's a cool v.o. artist photo from the Wikipedia article:
Having missed out on this series, and a lot of the HB 'animal' shows, Top Cat really is a surprise. I'm finding elements of Fred and Yogi in Top Cat, combining Fred's working man gruffness with Yogi's sly sensibility. Fortunately, Turner recently published the whole Top Cat series on DVD, complete with interviews, model sheets, all the goodies. Think I'll pick me up a copy next week...If I do, I'll make sure it winds up in the TAIS library for the members to peruse. Meanwhile, we'll continue with the final ep. of 'The 1,000,000 derby' tomorrow, mebbe get the good word from Ruth herself on her fave feline. Later!
1 comment:
top cat still tops with me - Ruth
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