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Reviews
Cool McCool (1966)
MCCOOL & THE GANG
When BATMAN became a TV phenomenon in 1966, its creator BOB KANE also launched his zany animated spy spoof COOL MCCOOL, a bumbling secret agent who spoke in JACK BENNY-esque tones and gave headaches to both the underworld and his excitable (though never fully revealed) boss NUMBER ONE. Other than human wind machine HURRICANE HARRY and the slithery, plant controlling RATTLER, the colorful cast of cackling criminals were reminiscent of Gotham City's baddies, from PENGUIN knock off THE OWL and JOKER-like prankster JACK IN THE BOX to MAD HATTER clone DR. MADCAP. Voice pros BOB MCFADDEN and CHUCK MCCANN provided the show's punchy personalities...MCCOOL's oft repeated "That will NEVER happen again, Number One!" and "Danger is my business!" smacked appealingly of Agent 86's best known tag lines. Featuring high tech gizmos including the mustache phone and Lassie-loyal Cool Mobile, this inventive, gag heavy toon (with its snappy, guitar driven theme song) was a notch above most Saturday morning fare of the sixties.
Car 54, Where Are You? (1961)
OOH! OOH!
CAR 54, WHERE ARE YOU? followed the hilarious hijinx of excitable, none too bright NYPD cop GUNTHER TOODY (JOE E. ROSS, who played a similar role as kooky SGT. RITZIK on BILKO) and quieter, more sensible mama's boy FRANCIS MULDOON (FRED GWYNNE, pre-HERMAN MUNSTER). The loud, eclectic cast was rounded out by AL LEWIS (the future GRANDPA MUNSTER) as Officer LEO SCHNAUSER, CHARLOTTE RAE as his wacky wife SYLVIA, and PAUL REED's long suffering CAPTAIN BLOCK, not to mention many familiar BILKO faces in smaller roles. The unorthodox procedures and general chaos that ruled NYPD's 53rd precinct doubtedly served as inspiration for BARNEY MILLER many years later. Filmed on location in the Bronx and armed with fast-paced, preposterous plots, an unforgettable theme song, and a razor sharp cast, CAR 54 was "just the ticket" among early sixties sitcoms.