¡Eek, el gato!

Certainly one of the most original spoof shows in the history of television is Eek! the Cat. It's surreal, it's nonsensical, it's satirical---the things the best shows are made of.

You can't help but love this series with such wonderful characters: Eek! the purple cat, his obese girlfriend Annabelle and her pet shark-dog Sharky, Mittens the depressed cat and Elmo the Incredible Elk, whose little brother Timmy always have some kind of bizarre ailment. This show spoofs pretty much every famous movie. Some of the best spoofs are Jaws (a mutated fish in the kiddie pool), Apocalypse Now! (a search for a surprisingly obese Sharky), the Exorcist (pea soup, Barney the Dinosaur and big-eyed dolls), Pulp Fiction (a briefcase, a Geek in a box and a dentist) and The Terminator (dog catchers and the Hubble Space telescope).

Each episode consists of the following. Eek! is dating Annabelle, Sharky doesn't like Eek! and wants to hurt him. Elmo the Elk goes about raising money for his Little Brother Timmy's operation while Mittens just try to get through the day. These aren't different shorts like Animaniacs; these are usually all the same episode.

Brought to you by the man who brought us the movie Better off Dead (Savage Steve Holland) this series is pure genius. It does have it's faults but if you love weird TV this is the series for you.

I liked Garfield but I loved Eek! When I look back on Eek, I realize his girlfriend Annabelle was a horrific reflection of the "then" beautiful Anna Nicole Smith. I mean really.EEEEEEEEKKKK!!!!! This cartoon featured the likes of dinosaurs being fooled by an idealistic neanderthal and a frustrated one! If a miracle occurs and this is back on the air, collect em!!!! I especially loved Mr T REX!!! (you photosynthesized foo!!!!)

This is one of my favorite shows from my childhood. The crazy, sometimes even Monty Python-like humor is incredible. The main character is the lovable purple cat. He tries to be helpful and kind to others, but because he's a bit clumsy and dumb, he sometimes makes things even worse. The other characters like his overweight girlfriend, his owners (A mother and her bratty kids) and the shark-like dog who is always out to get him are a lot fun to. Some of the episodes had some satirical humor in them, as well as good, old crazy cartoon violence. Why this hilarious show hasn't been released on DVD yet I don't understand.

As a huge fan of ridiculous television, this show fits my style perfectly. It's pretty much about a cat named Eek who has a strange paranoia about pretty much everything (Monsters, Bananas, Mr. Roger) and all of his friends who take him on wild adventures. It's kind of like Scooby Doo, but the dog is a cat, the humans are animals and it's not so involved.

Wild, manic, and very, very clever. Perhaps a bit TOO hip for the kids. Eek is a hopelessly optimistic cat who is head over heels over the neighbor's cat, Wendy Elizabeth, a massively obese feline, who shares a backyard with Sharkey, a (literally) fire-breathing fusion of dog and shark. It's not this combination that made the series so memorable, it was the themes of many of the episodes that were parodies of films.

What other animated series could get away with parodies of "A Clockwork Orange", "Apocalypse Now", "Easy Rider" and "Pulp Fiction"? I was half expecting a parody of "Eraserhead" to show up.

If it ever gets back onto TV, watch it. Especially for the hyperkinetic opening segment from the show's first season.