Episode 100 - 100th Episodes

Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song” - The Simpsons

The Fantasy/Animation podcast takes listeners on a journey through the intersection between fantasy cinema and the medium of animation. Available via Apple Podcasts, Spotify and many of your favourite podcast hosting platforms!

The Fantasy/Animation podcast reaches its centenary, so join Chris and Alex as they celebrate 100 episodes with a look back at some memorable televisual hundredths from the world of cartoon sitcoms. Listen as they discuss “Daddy's Little Beauty” (S4E12) from The Flintstones (William Hanna & Joseph Barbera, 1960-1966), in which Fred enters Pebbles in a beauty contest for babies; The Simpsons (Matt Groening, 1989-) episode “Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song” (S5E19) where Principal Skinner is fired (and reinstated) with the unlikely help of Bart; the episode “Hank's Choice” S5E16) from King of the Hill (Mike Judge, 1997-) where Hank must decide between his love for son Bobby and Ladybird (the family pet dog); the South Park (Trey Parker & Matt Stone, 1997-) celebration “I’m a Little Bit Country” (S7E04) from 2003, which features a time travelling Cartman learning more about America’s Founding Fathers set against the backdrop of anti- and pro-war protests; and the 2007 Family Guy (Seth MacFarlane, 1999-) episode “Movin’ Out (Brian's Song)” (S6E02) featuring Brian and Stewie’s ill-fated attempts to live independently beyond the Griffin family home. Topics include the history of American television animation and post-war U.S. culture; the role of humour and satire in an increasingly satirical world; character design and fluctuating realist registers; narrative templates and intertextual referencing between canonical cartoons made for the small-screen; and the enduring role of the family and the home space within constructions of American national identity.

**Fantasy/Animation theme tune composed by Francisca Araujo**

Suggested Readings

  • Ezell, Silas Kaine. 2016. Humor and Satire on Contemporary Television: Animation and the American Joke. London: Routledge.

  • Perlmutter, David. 2014. America Toons In: A History of Television Animation. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc.

  • Stabile, Carol. 2003. Prime Time Animation: Television Animation and American Culture. London: Routledge.

  • Todorov, Tzvetan. 1975. The Fantastic: A Structural Approach to a Literary Genre. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

PODCASTChristopher Holliday and Alexander SergeantTELEVISION, HISTORY, CEL-ANIMATION, CARTOON, FAMILY, CHILDRENComment