May 24, 2014

DANGER MOUSE

Saturday Morning Cartoons: Danger Mouse (1981-1992). Travel back in time to the early 1980s, when spy fans were enjoying the first marathons of classic Bond on TV, and old faves were finally becoming accessible through the growing technology of home video. In 1981 Roger Moore's For Your Eyes Only hit the big screen, and on British television an animated secret agent show called Danger Mouse made its debut. Spy Vibers will of course recognize the playful reference to Danger Man. In the series, which lasted ten seasons, the dapper spy DM and his assistant Penfold raced the globe thwarting the diabolical plots of Baron Silas Greenback. Viewers enjoyed the smart cocktail of cool gadgets, clever puns, and a talented cast of voice actors. Danger Mouse received his orders from Colonel K, styled after M, and voiced by Edward Kelsey (The Tripods, The Saint, The Avengers). The animation was simple but effective, often overlaying cels with photographic source images of the city (ala Yellow Submarine). Bond fever struck hard in 1983 with the release of both Octopussy (Roger Moore) and the return of Sean Connery in Never Say Never Again. By 1984, Nickelodeon was riding the spy-wave importing Danger Mouse to the United States. A complete box set of 89 episodes was released by A&E in 2007 (available through Amazon here). A number of sets have been released in the UK, including a new complete collection in 2011. If Spy Vibers are inclined to hunt for DM collectibles, seven annuals were published in England between 1982 and 1987. The video clip below features an episode, characteristically titled with humorous self-reference to a Patrick McGoohan classic, Ice Station Camel. Enjoy!



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