What’s That Coming Out of Her Nose? Spaceballs: The Animated Series

Sep 15

JeremyTelevision , , , , , Comments Off

Oh shit, there goes the television.

After years and years of speculation on sequels and announcements that didn’t quite materialize, Spaceballs:  The Animated Series is set to debut this coming weekend on cable network G4.  I’m trying to keep my expectations in check, but still, I have hope that this will be worth watching.  Okay, I’m really excited enough that it’s tough to keep my pants dry.

When the original Spaceballs film came out in 1987, I was eleven years old and the humor was just right for me.  Amazingly, as I grew older, the movie’s jokes grew with me.  Its wit became clear on more and more levels.  While at 11, “Barf!” “Not in here, mister, this is a Mercedes” gave me hysterics, college eventually came along and my friends and I were earnestly discussing the ways in which Princess Vespa’s change symbolizes the feminist movement.  By the time I finally parted with it in favor of a DVD copy, the crappy VHS tape I had used to steal the movie off of HBO nearly 20 years ago had become practically unusable from so much use.

When the rumors started flying around for Spaceballs III:  The Search For Spaceballs II, I was ecstatic.  But all through the ’90s, my hope dwindled as it became clear that a sequel was just not going to happen.  When John Candy died in 1994, the likelihood of a second entry dropped to nil, since it just wouldn’t be Spaceballs without Barf.  Then in the early 2000s, rumors started to circulate again, this time about an animated sequel.  I did not, however, give them much credence as nothing seemed to happen.  The show was announced on more than once occasion, but never seemed to actually make it onto a network’s schedule.

That’s all changed now with Mel Brooks finally bringing his gem to the small screen.  Brooks will star in the new series as President Skroob/Yogurt, while Daphne Zuniga will reprise her role as Princess Vespa.  Sadly, the rest of our favorite characters have been recast (Bill Pullman, are you too good for TV?).  Still, I’m pulling for them to do a good job.

Check out Spaceballs:  The Animated Series on cable network G4.  The premiere event starts at 3:00 p.m. (EDT — check your local listings elsewhere) with a screening of the original film, with 4 episodes of the new show starting at 5:00 p.m.  Check back next week to see if I like it more or less than The Dark Knight.

You can check out a seriously boobtastic trailer for Spaceballs:  The Animated Series by clicking here.  It’s boobarrific.  Boob.

You can get more information on the new series at the G4 website.