When I was a kid, I was obsessed with fast things. Cars in particular were so intriguing that my parents bought me a battery-operated dashboard so that I could pretend like I was driving. I was also the proud owner of a spiffy red fire engine.
Which brings me to my favorite cartoon. How I adored Speed Racer. I still love that show! Originally, Speed Racer was a Japanese cartoon in the 60s. This was one of the first anime series to gain popularity in the United States.
In 1967, the show premiered in the US after being acquired by Trans-Lux. Most of the stories revolved around him, his gal pal Trixie, his baby brother and his pet chimp. His older brother, Racer X figured prominently as well.
Peter Fernandez was the genius behind the American version of the beloved Japanese comic. He was also affiliated with another one of my favorite cartoons from that era, Marine Boy. Fernandez wrote all the Speed Racer scripts as well as voicing Racer X and Speed. Â He also rearranged the theme song into the popular tune that we know and love today.
Part of this show’s appeal was the awesome Mach 5. I remember daydreaming about that car and trying to decide if I could choose between it and the Batmobile or if I could just have both of them. This was definitely a selling point.
Another thing that kept viewers tuning in was the dynamic between Speed and his family. The tension between him and Racer X was always exciting coupled with the races. It meant for an engaging cartoon.
In the 90s, the series made a comeback when MTV started airing reruns in the mornings. From there, a new program was created with an exciting logo, episode titles and closing credits. Even in the 2000s, Speed had an impact as a daily comic strip drawn by Mort Todd. This incarnation ran in the New York Post.
There are many ancillary products associated with this show. Beginning with a sweet Matchbox replica of the Mach 5. There are action figures and die casts forms of the Mach 5 and Racer X’s car the Shooting Star. Wii, Nintendo DS and PlayStation 2 all have games available. Speed Racer can also be found on Blu-ray and DVD.
Ogun Bat is a Japanese superhero created by Takeo Nagamatsu in 1931 and is considered to be the first Japanese superhero. The anime ran 52 episodes between April 1st 1967 and March 23rd Read more
Released in December 1980, Zork: The Great Underground Empire - Part I aka Zork I was an interactive fiction video game written by Marc Blank, Dave Lebling, Bruce Daniels and Tim Read more
Zoolander is back but a lot has happened since 2001! Rest assured the Ben Stiller comedy features familiar faces and a few new ones with plenty to get you excited. Read more
At a dinner party with their wives, NASA scientist Dr. Keith Ritchie (Tony Huston) reveals to his colleague Dr. Curt Taylor (John Agar) that he has secretly been in communication Read more
In Italy during World War II, an American military patrol discovers a spaceship that has crash-landed in the woods, along with its alien crew. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm9fnNfLg8M A nearby Nazi unit also Read more
Zone Fighter was a tokusatsu science fiction/superhero television series produced by Toho Company Ltd. It aired from April 2nd 1973 to September 24th 1973, with a total of 26 episodes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdhcjsVLDQY The series follows Read more
When the government's latest crime deterrent, obmoz, goes completely off the rails and starts to destroy everything from the underfunded super team Planetronix to the president himself, who ya gonna Read more
Tony Todd is back in an all new zombie movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBlWz-n-nec When the world is in shambles, plagued by a zombie outbreak, only the strong will survive, but just how Read more
Directed by Chris Watson and distributed by Troma Entertainment, Zombiegeddon begins as Satan creates a human-like race called zombies. When the zombies begin taking over the world, dirty cops Jeff Read more
Zombie Hotel ran for twenty-six episodes in 2006 and focuses on Fungus and Maggot - two child zombies who pretend to be human to get into their local school. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzXhCDspKxU Read more
After surviving the 'Multipocalypse', Ben tries to live a normal life, hiding the fact that he is infected with a zombie plague. His new friends have just found out ... Read more
A dutiful Samurai, a madcap Ninja and a bizarro Zen Monk team up to battle the undead in Feudal Japan. Can these unlikely allies stay friends long enough to stop Read more
Based on Marilyn Sadler and Roger Bollen's book of the same name, Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century was directed by Kenneth Johnson and set in the year 2049. It Read more
Arriving in 2010, Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City was the sequel for 2004's Zebraman, and starred Show Aikawa once again as Shinichi Ichikawa/Zebraman. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqnYJugzaiU As the film opens it Read more
Directed by Takashi Miike, Zebraman follows Shinichi Ichikawa (Shô Aikawa), a man whose life is unravelling before his eyes. At work he is a failing school teacher and at home he Read more
Ryan Reynolds announced via Twitter that Zazie Beets (Atlanta) will play Domino in the upcoming Deadpool sequel: https://twitter.com/VancityReynolds/status/839947701487796224 Deadpool 2 will be directed by David Leitch (John Wick), with original Deadpool scripters Rhett Reese Read more
Zardoz, often referred to as "the one where James Bond is in his pants," is set in a future post-apocalypse Earth in the year 2293. By this point in history Read more
Zapped is a British sci-fi/fantasy sitcom that takes place in both in the real world and in a town called Munty which exists in a medieval fantasy world. The series Read more
A prequel set in the world of Syfy's #1 scripted hit zombie series Z Nation, Black Summer is as bad as the apocalypse gets. A worldwide drought and famine when Read more
Susan Leighton
Editor @1428_Elm podcaster at Nerdrotic Channel #writer #journalist #critic #movies #television #popculture
I had forgotten about this. Watched it all the time even when I went off to college. Another Japanese anime cartoon I watched was Star Blazers about a reincarnated Yamato. Thanks for the memories.
Anytime, Don! For whatever reason, Speed popped into my mind & I thought why not write about him? I still love that Mach 5! I am not aware of Star Blazers. I might have to look into that! Thanks for reading & commenting, as always.