You know the animation craze has gone out of control when cable channels like FX start tossing their name in the ring
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| FX: More than the old shows' rest home?
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Who's going to get a cartoon next? CNN?
Let's make one thing clear. We like cartoons. Always have, always will. But, for lack of a better phrase, this is getting ridiculous. One has to be concerned that the overall quality of these new animated programs will eventually become what the overall quality of the sitcom is: horrible. People with too little talent, making too many of the same type of show.
It's all Hanna-Barbara's fault. The bastards.
After all, they were the ones who put The Flintstones, a Honeymooners rip-off, on during primetime, thus assuring network execs for decades to come that it could be done. They proved a cartoon could exist outside of Saturday.
That said, and in the spirit of quality television (especially cartoons), let's hope the latest entrant into the market -- FX Channel's The Dick and Paula Celebrity Special, kicks some ass. If it doesn't, you don't want to know what's going to happen.
The show, produced by Tom Snyder Productions (Dr. Katz.: Professional Therapist), follows the behind-the-scenes happenings at Dick and Paula's talk show and seems very Larry Sanders-esque at first glance. Let's hope it borrows a page from the groundbreaking sitcom it's ripping off by presenting an interesting perspective and delivering some good humor.
The cast will include the voices of Paula Plum (Next Stop Wonderland), Richard Snee (Sheer Madness), Jon Benjamin, Andy Kindler, Tom Leopold, Jen Schulman, and Bill Braudis.
Wouldn't it be nice if The Dick and Paula Celebrity Special gave folks another reason to watch FX other than to catch X-Files and In Living Color repeats?
