Space Ghost Coast to Coast

Space Ghost Coast to Coast (abbreviated as SGC2C) is an American adult animated parody talk show, created by Mike Lazzo and hosted by the 1960s Hanna-Barbera cartoon character Space Ghost. Though the original 1960s series aired as a standard Hanna-Barbera Saturday-morning superhero cartoon, Space Ghost Coast to Coast was a reboot of the series intended for adults, reinterpreted as a surreal spoof talk show and produced using the original artwork. The first two seasons were presented as a serious talk show with subdued jokes, while the later seasons relied more on surrealism, non-sequitur, and tabloid.[3]

Not to be confused with Space Ghost (TV series).
For the character, see Space Ghost.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast
From the left: Space Ghost, Moltar and Zorak.
GenreComedy[1]
Created byMike Lazzo
Based onSpace Ghost
by Alex Toth
William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
Directed byC. Martin Croker (animaton)
Voices of
Opening theme"Hit Single" by Sonny Sharrock
Composers
Country of originUnited States
No. of seasons11
No. of episodes110 (and 4 specials) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers
Producers
Running time
  • 11–30 minutes (1994–2004)
  • 5 minutes (2006–08)
Production companies
DistributorWarner Bros. Television Distribution
Release
Original network
Picture format4:3 SDTV
Original releaseCartoon Network run:
April 15, 1994 (1994-04-15) –
July 22, 2001 (2001-07-22)
Adult Swim run:
September 2, 2001 (2001-09-02) –
April 12, 2004 (2004-04-12)
GameTap run:
May 30, 2006 (2006-05-30) –
May 31, 2008 (2008-05-31)
Chronology
Preceded bySpace Ghost
Followed by
External links
Website

Space Ghost Coast to Coast is considered to be the first original series fully produced by Cartoon Network. It premiered on April 15, 1994, and originally ended on December 17, 1999.[4] The series was revived on May 7, 2001, and was moved to the new Adult Swim late-night programming block on September 2 of that year, where new episodes premiered until April 12, 2004. Two final seasons were released on GameTap from 2006 to 2008. Over 11 seasons, 108 episodes aired. The series is notable for helping launch the careers of animators Adam Reed, Matt Thompson, Andy Merrill, Jim Fortier, Pete Smith, Michael Ouweleen, Eric Richter, Dave Willis, and Matt Maiellaro.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast had two spinoff series in the form of Cartoon Planet and The Brak Show, and inspired or influenced other series including Sealab 2021; Aqua Teen Hunger Force; Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law; Perfect Hair Forever; and The Eric Andre Show.

Format

Space Ghost Coast to Coast used the talk show format as its template, but subverted it regularly. Various celebrities appeared on the show as guests. They were shown on a TV screen next to Space Ghost's desk, and unlike the characters, they were not animated. In early episodes of the show, Space Ghost apparently believed his guests were other superheroes and usually opened the interview by asking them about their superpowers. His interactions with guests were almost always painfully awkward, and sometimes hostile. It was sometimes hard to tell if guests were aware of the nature of the program on which they were appearing. Their answers often did not match the questions coming from Space Ghost, because the questions were changed after the interview. This method was dropped in later episodes, and the guests were allowed to directly interact with the characters.

Space Ghost's relationship with his co-workers was even worse. His bandleader, an evil talking mantis named Zorak, and his director-producer, a red-helmeted lava man named Moltar, worked for Space Ghost as punishment for their crimes. They frequently disrupt the show and make no secret of the fact that they hate him. Zorak is more openly hostile towards Space Ghost, while Moltar is primarily focused on having the show end quickly. Both are shown to be substantially smarter than Space Ghost and easily outwit him whenever it serves their interests.

Most episodes of Space Ghost Coast to Coast were about 15 minutes in length, although there were a few 30-minute episodes. Cartoon Network often aired two episodes back-to-back to make a 30-minute programming block. In the first few years of the show, Cartoon Network would show episodes of the original 1960s and 1980s Space Ghost cartoons (sometimes with an unusually added laugh track) after the 11-minute episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast.[4]

Music

In the early seasons of the show, music was played by Zorak and his band "The Original Way-Outs". The original theme song, "Hit Single", was composed by free jazz guitarist Sonny Sharrock, performed by Sharrock on guitar, Lance Carter on drums, Eddie Horst on bass and Alfreda Gerald on vocals. Sharrock and Carter recorded a number of songs for the show, several of which were later compiled on the album Space Ghost Coast to Coast. As a tribute to Sharrock, who died in May 1994 shortly after the show first aired, the episode "Sharrock" featured nearly fifteen minutes of unedited takes of music recorded for the show.

Seasons 4–6 featured a new closing theme by Man or Astro-man? and in later seasons the opening theme and titles were almost completely abandoned. Various other music was sometimes used as the theme song, including the CHiPs theme song for the episode titled "CHiPs". An hour-long musical season finale for the 1998 season was planned, featuring the bands Yo La Tengo and Cornershop, but was never produced.[5]

Production

Space Ghost Coast to Coast was created by Mike Lazzo after he was asked to create a cartoon to appeal to adults.[1] The original name of the show stemmed from early 1993, while Andy Merrill and Jay Edwards were coming up with names for a marathon of the original Space Ghost TV show to air on Cartoon Network, trying to find things that rhyme with "Ghost". Limited budgets required creative animation, so Edwards and Ned Hastings recycled clips from the original series and reorganized them on the Avid non-linear editor for a "talk show" style program. The editors animated lips and made the "cheap" looking motion of "paper dolls glued to Popsicle sticks" and continuity errors part of the joke.[6]

The series premiered on April 15, 1994,[7][8] having aired initially at 11:00 p.m. ET on Friday nights, with an encore showing of the episode on Saturday night. Later, the program was moved to various late-night time slots, having usually been on weekends.

January 1995 saw a special episode included on the Turner-distributed VHS release of The Mask after the film, where Space Ghost and Zorak promoted the show, and interviewed Jim Carrey and the film's director Chuck Russell. In February 1995, an episode of Space Ghost Coast to Coast was simulcast on Cartoon Network, TBS, and TNT for the "World Premiere Toon-In" special debut of Cartoon Network's World Premiere Toons series. In the special, Space Ghost interviewed a few of the new directors, while the Council of Doom were the judges of the cartoon clips. The first run ended on December 17, 1999, ending with the episode "King Dead". But in 2000, Cartoon Network premiered stealth pilots for the show's spin-off The Brak Show as well as Sealab 2021, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force all of which were created by the people who worked on Space Ghost Coast to Coast.

On September 2, 2001, new episodes of the series, along with re-runs of the existing episodes, moved to Adult Swim, a late night programming block, launched by Cartoon Network that night. The series ended its television run in 2004 with its 93rd episode, "Live at the Fillmore".[4]

In 2006, the series returned as a five-minute web series on Turner Broadcasting's GameTap online payment service in which Space Ghost interviewed celebrities from the video game industry and GameTap's artist of the month. The series officially ended with the final webisode on May 31, 2008.

On April Fools' Day 2014, Adult Swim had an unannounced Space Ghost Coast to Coast marathon with new material in the form of commercials featuring Space Ghost, Zorak and Moltar in a voice-recording booth ad-libbing lines from episodes.

Cast
Main article: List of Space Ghost Coast to Coast characters
George Lowe provides the voice of the lead role, Space Ghost.

Episodes
Main article: List of Space Ghost Coast to Coast episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast airedNetwork
Pilots2UnairedN/A
110April 15, 1994 (1994-04-15)November 11, 1994 (1994-11-11)Cartoon Network
28February 20, 1995 (1995-02-20)October 20, 1995 (1995-10-20)
315February 2, 1996 (1996-02-02)December 25, 1996 (1996-12-25)
424July 18, 1997 (1997-07-18)January 1, 1998 (1998-01-01)
511August 7, 1998 (1998-08-07)December 25, 1998 (1998-12-25)
68October 8, 1999 (1999-10-08)December 17, 1999 (1999-12-17)
782May 7, 2001 (2001-05-07)July 22, 2001 (2001-07-22)
6September 2, 2001 (2001-09-02)May 12, 2002 (2002-05-12)Adult Swim
85January 1, 2003 (2003-01-01)December 14, 2003 (2003-12-14)
92January 11, 2004 (2004-01-11)April 12, 2004 (2004-04-12)
109May 30, 2006 (2006-05-30)May 24, 2007 (2007-05-24)GameTap
118September 11, 2007 (2007-09-11)May 31, 2008 (2008-05-31)
Specials5November 4, 1994 (1994-11-04)1996 (1996)Cartoon Network

International broadcast

In Canada, Space Ghost Coast to Coast previously aired on Teletoon's Teletoon at Night block,[9] and currently airs on the Canadian version of Adult Swim.[10]

Home media
DVD NameRelease DateEpisodesAdditional Information
Volume OneNovember 18, 200316This two disc boxset collected 16 episodes from the show's first three seasons, 1994 to 1996.

"Elevator", "Spanish Translation", "Gilligan", "CHiPs", "Bobcat", "Punch", "Banjo", "Batmantis", "Story Book House", "Girlie Show", "Hungry", "Fire Drill", "Sleeper", "Jerk", "Urges", and "Explode" and had 2 Easter eggs. Special features include commentaries, original artwork, and Zorak singing Jingle Bells.

Volume TwoNovember 16, 200414This two disc boxset collected 14 episodes from the third season, 1996.

"$20.01", "Lovesick", "Transcript", "Sharrock", "Boo", "Freak Show", "Switcheroo", "Surprise", "Glen Campbell", "Jacksonville", "Late Show", "Cookout", "Art Show", and "Woody Allen's Fall Project" Special features included "Andy's Pilot", a performance by Thurston Moore, the unedited version of Matt Groening's interview from "Glen Campbell", pencil test footage, bonus footage and Easter eggs, as well as commentary on every episode.

Volume Three:
This Is 1997		April 12, 200524This two disc boxset collected all 24 episodes from the show's 1997 season, the fourth season, some of which were the originally aired extended versions.

"Rehearsal", "Gallagher", "Edelweiss", "Anniversary", "Zoltran", "Pilot", "Speck", "Zorak", "Switcheroo (1997 Version)", "Mayonnaise", "Brilliant Number One", "Boo Boo Kitty", "Needledrop", "Sphinx", "Pavement", "Untitled", "Hipster", "Piledriver", "Suckup", "Dam", "Boatshow", "Telethon", "Dimethylpyrimidinol Bisulfite" and "Joshua". It also featured commentaries by cast members, new footage, deleted scenes, the 1995 World Premiere Toon-In, "President's Day Nightmare" (without any footage from the cartoons featured) and Easter eggs.

Volume Four:
The 1998 Episodes		December 7, 200711This single-disc set collected all 11 episodes from the show's 1998 season, the fifth season, one of which was the originally aired extended version.

The fourth DVD was released exclusively through the Adult Swim website, and was titled "The 1998 Episodes" rather than "Volume Four".[11] It included the episodes "Terminal", "Toast", "Lawsuit", "Cahill", "Warren" (36-minute cut), "Chinatown", "Rio Ghosto", "Pal Joey", "Curses", "Intense Patriotism" and "Waiting for Edward". It also featured an unfinished episode guest-starring Steven Wright titled "Dinner with Steven" and one Easter egg.

Volume Five:
From the Kentucky Nightmare DVD		September 11, 200816This two disc boxset included all 14 episodes from 1999 to 2001, seasons six and seven, one of which was the originally aired extended version.

The fifth DVD was released exclusively through the Adult Swim website, and was titled "From the Kentucky Nightmare DVD" rather than "Volume Five". It included the episodes "Snatch", "Sequel", "Girl Hair", "Chambraigne", "Table Read", "King Dead", "Fire Ant" (22-minute cut), "Curling Flower Space", "Knifin' Around", "The Justice Hole", "Kentucky Nightmare", "Sweet for Brak", "Flipmode", "Mommentary". Extras included Snatch Alt Ending, Table Read Extra, Conan Raw Interview, George Lowe Record, Clay Croker Record, Promos, Busta Raw Interview, Momentary w/ Creators Commentary and Momentary: Jelly Bean and 2 Easter eggs).

The fourth and fifth volumes were only available for purchase through the now-defunct Adult Swim online store. The final six episodes of the television run have never had an official release on DVD. Nearly every episode was available to buy through a "build your own DVD" feature Adult Swim had on its website, thus the final season, early episodes that were left off the first volume and unedited shows that had been altered on the official releases were now available to own, but only in DVD-Rom form. The shop was taken down in 2012 for unknown reasons.

In 2006, episodes were made available on the Xbox Live Marketplace.[12][13] The series, along with other Adult Swim shows such as Robot Chicken, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Samurai Jack, and Rick and Morty was released on HBO Max on its May 2020 launch.[14]

Legacy

Alex Toth, the original creator of the Hanna-Barbera cartoon, was rumoured to have not been pleased with the parodical usage of his characters, but through written letters, this rumour was disproven with Toth admitting he appreciated all adaptations of his work.[15]

In 1995, a spin-off show called Cartoon Planet premiered on Cartoon Network as well as one of Cartoon Network's sister networks, TBS. This show featured Space Ghost, Zorak, and Brak hosting a variety show on the Cartoon Planet.

In 2000, the show either spun off or directly inspired[16] the four original cartoons that constituted Adult Swim's comedy block—Sealab 2021, The Brak Show, Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, and Aqua Teen Hunger Force (also known by various alternative titles). Although Harvey Birdman used traditional animation to flash animation, the rest used the same limited animation style as Space Ghost Coast to Coast, and all four shows were created by the original writers and staff for the series. The Brak Show included the characters Brak and Zorak, recurring characters on Space Ghost Coast to Coast.

Various Space Ghost Coast to Coast clips and shorts have been made after the series.

In a 2012 interview, Eric Andre mentioned being a big fan of the show, stating it was a major influence on him while developing his own series for Adult Swim, The Eric Andre Show. Before shooting Andre would rewatch several episodes of Space Ghost Coast to Coast in a row in order to "absorb as much Space Ghost" as he could. Andre would also ask executive producer and Adult Swim president Mike Lazzo several questions about the series, as he was an executive during its production run. To Andre's surprise Lazzo had no interest in Space Ghost Coast to Coast, saying "Space Ghost is dead to me".[18]

Space Ghost is mentioned in the opening lyrics of cello rock band Rasputina's song "The Olde Headboard", which is featured on their 1998 album How We Quit the Forest.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast is featured in the Danger Doom song Space Ho's [19]


Four rocks found on the planet Mars were named after Space Ghost, Zorak, Moltar, and Brak.[20][21] In January 2009, IGN named Space Ghost Coast to Coast as their 37th favorite animated TV show in their Top 100 Best Animated TV Shows article.[22]

In 2013 IGN placed Space Ghost Coast to Coast as number 18 on their list of Top 25 animated series for adults.[23]

Rapper SpaceGhostPurrp is named after the titular character, as well as lending his image for the cover of his NASA mixtape.

Space Ghost appears on the 1998 series Donny & Marie to promote the CD Space Ghost's Surf & Turf.

Space Ghost can be seen in the beginning of The Powerpuff Girls Movie in the movie theatre next to other Warner Bros., Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network characters, such as Zorak and Brak. He was also in a promo advertising the movie.

Space Ghost appears on the 2002 The Brak Show episode "Runaway" and the 2003 episode "Enter the Hump".

In the cold opening for the 2003 Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode "The Dressing", Space Ghost's body is seen on the floor dripping with blood, and Dr. Weird is seen putting Space Ghost's head over his own. Seth Green makes an appearance as well, from footage of an unaired Space Ghost Coast to Coast episode (entitled "One Way Out").

Space Ghost is in a 2004 promo forTom Goes to the Mayor, where he interviews Tom and the Mayor.[24]

Space Ghost appears in the 2004 Adult Swim special Anime Talk Show.

Space Ghost makes a cameo in the 2006 Robot Chicken episode "Suck It".

Space Ghost makes a cameo in the 2007 film Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters. Space Ghost has been in commercials for Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper, AT&T, Nestea, Esurance, and Vitamin Water and has appeared in many bumps and promos for Cartoon Network and Adult Swim.

Space Ghost, Moltar, Zorak, Brak, and Mojo Jojo from The Powerpuff Girls appear in a 2002 interview with professional soccer player Hugo Sánchez on the Latin America Cartoon Network channel, and again in 2003 interviewing Óscar Pérez Rojas (which also featured Eustace from Courage the Cowardly Dog).[25]

Space Ghost is in the 2011 Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Bold Beginnings".

Issue 40 of the comic book Scooby-Doo Team-Up features a non-satirical Space Ghost in his traditional role as a space-traveling superhero, albeit one who captures Moltar and Zorak with the help of Scooby-Doo. Sidekicks Jan and Jace say that the two villains are clever and that once, to keep him from interfering in their plans, they even "hypnotized him into thinking he was a talk show host! Fortunately, he snapped out of it after eight seasons." On hearing that, Space Ghost frowns and says "I don't want to talk about it."

In the late 1990s, Cartoon Network's website hosted a Flash game called "How Zorak Stole X-mas". In the game, the player controls Space Ghost, who zaps Zorak with his power bands, dodges Zorak's thrown eggs, and prevents Zorak from escaping with Christmas presents. Another game was "Blast Zorak" where the player uses Space Ghost to blast Zorak as much as possible before the time runs out.

The British indie band Glass Animals references Space Ghost Coast to Coast on their 2020 album Dreamland with a song of the same name.

See also

Explanatory notes
  1. Seasons 1, 4, 6, 7 and 8, except "Brilliant Number One, "Brilliant Number Two" (both from season 4) and "Sweet for Brak" (season 7)
  2. Seasons 4–8
  3. seasons 5 and 8
  4. Seasons 2 and 3
  5. Episodes 28–33, 54, 58–62, 65, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73 and 85

References
  1. "Space Ghost Coast to Coast [Animated TV Series] (1994) - Trailers, Reviews, Synopsis, Showtimes and Cast". AllMovie. Archived from the original on April 27, 2016. Retrieved March 4, 2015.
  2. Known as Ghost Planet Industries for the first five seasons.
  3. Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 767–770. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  4. "'Space Ghost Coast to Coast' Is Still Influential and Funny, 25 Years Later". Geek.com. April 12, 2019. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2019.
  5. McCormick, Moira (June 20, 1996). "On The Tube". Billboard. p. 22. Archived from the original on March 24, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
  6. Kuldell, Heather (November 10, 2004). "Cover Story: [a cartoon is born]". Creative Loafing. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
  7. "Late Night with Space Ghost". Snard.com. April 15, 1994. Archived from the original on September 9, 2007. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  8. Meisler, Andy (November 20, 1994). "And Now, Here's . . . Ummm . . . Space Ghost". The New York Times. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on February 14, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2010.
  9. https://mediaincanada.com/2006/06/22/teletoon-20060622/
  10. https://imissbionix.wordpress.com/2019/03/22/canadian-adult-swim-channel-gets-launch-lineup-app-gets-discontinued/#more-3948
  11. "Space Ghost Coast to Coast: The 1998 Episodes". Williamsstreet.com. Archived from the original on June 5, 2009. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  12. Kohler, Chris (November 22, 2006). "Xbox HDTV Downloads: Best Space Ghost Ever | Game | Life from Wired.com". Blog.wired.com. Archived from the original on July 19, 2009. Retrieved August 1, 2009.
  13. "Xbox.com | Movies & TV Shows — adult swim". Archived from the original on February 12, 2008.
  14. https://www.ign.com/articles/hbo-max-tv-shows-movies-originals-list
  15. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 8, 2019. Retrieved November 8, 2019.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  16. Albert Costill (March 23, 2010). "From Space Ghost to Robot Chicken: A Visual History of Adult Swim". AMOG. Archived from the original on April 8, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  17. "Adult Swim / Steve Nash Connects with Vitamin Water". Adultswim.com. Archived from the original on May 16, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  18. Luippold, Ross (May 10, 2012). "Eric Andre Talks His New Adult Swim Show That ABC Isn't 'Thrilled' About". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on September 16, 2012. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  19. DANGERDOOM – Space Ho's, retrieved January 14, 2021
  20. Self, Kevin (February 1998). "Technically Speaking". Spectrum. IEEE. 35 (2): 17. doi:10.1109/MSPEC.1998.8484951.
  21. "Named Rocks on Mars". Mars.jpl.nasa.gov. Archived from the original on January 27, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  22. "37, Space Ghost Coast to Coast". IGN. January 23, 2009. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  23. Fowler, Matt (July 15, 2013). "The Top 25 Animated Series for Adults". IGN. Archived from the original on July 22, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  24. https://web.archive.org/web/20120820215950/http://www.tgttm.com/media/promos/seasonone/g2.jpg
  25. https://vimeo.com/25014722
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