Histeria!

My mother took one look at the theme song and declared that it was the stupidest thing she'd every seen! I thought she was bizarre! This show kept me laughing to no end. Even today as I sit here writing I'm still laughing at "Women Leaders in Group Therapy" as I play it in my head. I learned some interesting things that they don't bother teaching in school (The origins of the weekday names is one thing, Aztec Gods is another! You know, interesting stuff!)! I still catch this every now and then, and I laugh at reruns that I've already seen. So I recommend it to anyone with a sense of humor. As for my mother, she's living happily ever after, complaining about everything I like, from "Histeria" to "Dexter's Lab" to "Cats Don't Dance." What can I do about her? (Sell her at the next yard sale...J/K. Sort of.)

This cartoon has to be THE classic cartoon of the Warner Bros. "Silver Age Of Toons." The plot is simple, the show makes fun of history! Some classic sketches are employed in the making of this series. Also, portraying the historical figures as entertainment stars is sheer genius. (e.g. Frank Sinatra as Julius Caesar, Jerry Lewis as Meriwether Lewis, Mike Myers and Dean Martin both play Marc Antony, and Shirley MacLaine plays Joan of Arc.) For those of you who are classic comedy fans, this is a must-see!

Histeria is a wonderful cartoon that takes well known history stories and makes them entertaining! History was never this fun! Of course, the stories are much different from before, so the show isn't the most educational show ever, but it makes up for that with its entertainment. The writers were obviously thinking "What would it be like if Napoleon and Alexander the (Not So) Great lived in the society we live in today?" This is one of the reasons this show is so entertaining. It mixes normally boring history lessons with everyday characters and life situations of the present. This makes the show very entertaining. Definitely worth a look!

For years, this show and "Time Squad" were programs I actively looked for to buy. After all, I used to be a history teacher and loved how the shows made fun of our past. Plus, if I had to be forced to watch a cartoon with my kids, I sure preferred these to the rest of the recent cartoons. However, I have just about given up hope, as years later, they STILL have not been released.

So what did I like about "Histeria!". Well, it wasn't its historical accuracy, that's for sure. But I did appreciate how it taught the kids a bit of history but couched it in humor. Additionally, I loved how there was plenty of humor for the adults--such as the very funny lady censor who kept interrupting the show during its bawdier moments. All in all, fun, semi-educational and clever. My only reason for not giving it a higher score is that like so many made for TV cartoons, the quality of the animation was only about average.

With it's mix of semi-educational history lessons, humor, music, and spoofs of contemporary culture, "Histeria!" is quite an amusing cartoon. Episodes which spoof current and classic television shows abound here as well. The only trouble is, some of them seem over the heads of it's intended audience. Does the average young viewer understand why Thomas Jefferson is played out like "The Jack Benny Program?" Do they know that Abraham Lincoln's voice is supposed to be a parody of Johnny Carson? Are they familiar enough with the Rat Pack, to understand why Frank Sinatra & company are playing Julius Caesar, Brutus, etcetera, or Evita Peron sounds like Charo? Ernest Hemingway and Leonardo da Vinci as Batman?

Not to say that it isn't a funny, and educational show, because it is. I particularly like scenes when actual quotes, with hand-written signatures of historic figures are briefly imposed on the screen. The show only ran for one season, and that's too bad, because there's so much more ground for a show like this to cover such as the world since 1945(Okay, I know they've done it already, but not enough), and the tales of the Great Depression that our grandparents never told us about such as the 1932 Bonus March, or how communists and fascists tried to take advantage of the despair of the period.

Anti-media zealots like Peggy Charren, and Terry Rakolta, frequently complain about the content of children's television, claiming that it'll turn kids into violent, illiterate sociopaths, and urge parents to watch with their kids. This show certainly won't give people like them anything to worry about, and may even get them interested in U.S. and World History. But if you have kids, be sure to watch it with them anyhow, because some of what they see here will require more explanations from you.