Space Ghost

I have many fond memories of Hanna-Barbera action cartoons, a phase the company went through between the early successes of limited animation (Quickdraw McGraw, Huckleberry Hound, the Flintstones) and the later, sadder days when anything that smacked of violence or adventure was considered far too evil for impressionable youths.

It was the days of Jonny Quest. Of The Herculoids. And, in 1966, of Space Ghost.

I loved Space Ghost. He was great. His voice, done by the inimitable Gary Owens, was heroic. His costume design, by Alex Toth, was classic and still looks great today — mostly white, with the black cowl and nebulous yellow cape. No boots — that made it look cool, different, sleek and etherial.

The music — an eerie wail, and then the HB jazzy brass mixed with spooky electronic sounds. Great stuff.

And the power bands. I loved SG’s power bands. No one, single, easily-defeatable power for him. Dozens of rays, dozens of special effects, deus ex machina and the perfect gimmick. I used to run around pushing imaginary buttons on my wrist to make energy beams of all sorts shoot out. SG could do anything.

And his ship, the Phantom Cruiser. Way, way, way cool, sleek and sinister.

The shows were 8 minute episodes, barely long enough for the Sinister Villain to capture SG and/or his sidekicks, Jan and Jace and Blip, and then for a thrilling rescue/escape that spelled doom for the villain’s plans (and, often, the villain).

We’re not talking Homer (the poet) here. Or maybe we are — there was something archetypically simple and straightforward and powerful about those stories. At least for a five-year-old. Today they seem really hokey … but it’d difficult to disentangle my current adult sophistication from the little kid who was awed and amazed.

It all went downhill from there. First HB was forced out of the “serious” super-hero biz by the same folks who snipped and clipped Roadrunner cartoons for excess violence. SG came back in the early 80s, but it was only a pale specter of himself — the Phantom Cruiser, for example, had taken on the same blocky, chunky lines of the cars of that period (K-Car, anyone?).

And then, of course, the 90s and 00s have brought “Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast,” a late-night comedic “talk show.” Imagine doing the same with a Franklin Roosevelt look-alike, or a John Kennedy double, or an animated Abraham Lincoln. That’s how much it grates on my nerves every time I see it.

Because, you see, Space Ghost was my hero. He fought hard, he protected the innocent, he defeated the evil. He didn’t give up. He didn’t shrink back from danger. He took his duties seriously. He used brains, brawn, and super-science to take down those who would hurt or enslave others. Even though the producers of SGC2C have loads of yucks poking fun at that simplistic earnestness, it really meant something to me in those days.

Space Ghost was my hero. In some ways, he still is.