In the early days of television animation no-one had any real money to work with, but while shows like Crusader Rabbit, Rocky and His Friends and the better shows of Hanna-Barbera - many of which were a just a short time away - made up for this with witty writing and clever use of posing with the limited animation, there were always shows which, to be blunt didn’t. Even if you are feeling really nostalgic for Colonel Bleep again I would recommend that it be left in your memories, because seeing it again might give you a nasty shock.

I hadn’t been born when this cartoon first aired in the fifties, but then again I wasn’t present the first time round for many of the cartoons I’ve added (which have dated date to 1906). However, I have been insistent on seeing as many pieces of animation history as I can get in front of my eyes and to this end I’ve seen some classic gems and some worthless garbage. I have nothing per se against shows which have bad animation, but when that animation is really incompetent and accompanied by terrible writing you have to conclude one thing, that you should warn others against it.

In the early days of television animation, where companies had little new content to go with, it appears as if any new content was good content. In some cases, like those I described at the beginning, these were shows that have stood better to the ravages of time, The works of Jay Ward are still enjoyable, as are the early shows of Hanna-Barbera. In some ways this isn’t surprising, Hanna-Barbera was made up of veterans from the theatrical age, who made sure that their product looked decent, despite the budgets and had top notch writers to create stories.

Unfortunately, Bleep has neither of those qualities to offer. To someone who watched it in its heyday, then fond memories may be had by looking at the profile picture. Yet to someone from the here and now, looking back at this with fresh eyes, even compared to its contemporaries it stands out for all the wrong reasons. If you really want to watch a cartoon show from the 1950’s then grab a copy of Crusader Rabbit or Huckleberry Hound and leave this monstrosity back in the past where it belongs.

Truly one of the most awful things that ever was writ, one episode of this godawful early TV animation will have you thanking God for Scooby Doo. This is not a review: I admit that. It's just a warning. Just because they released the thing on DVD, don't mistakenly believe it has some lasting merit. It's stupid, horribly animated, and one of the most dreadful early excursions into TV animation.