Colonel Bleep (1957 Animated TV Series)

Arriving in 1957, Colonel Bleep is a mostly overlooked gem from its era that delivered an imaginative animated sci fi entry with plenty of whimsy, and it has since become a cult favorite.

What Is It?

After Colonel Bleep, an interplanetary intelligence agent from the planet Futura, completes the capture of the dangerous criminal Dr. Destructo, he is assigned a new top-secret mission: travel to Earth and observe its people, places, and customs while investigating disturbances detected by the Futuran High Command (caused by the first atomic bomb). Joining Bleep on Earth are his two companions: Squeak, a curious puppet boy who does very little talking, and Scratch, a prehistoric caveman who was awakened from his long slumber by the atomic blast. Together, the trio begins their adventures across Earth and the galaxy.

Aired: Syndication, 1957-60, 1 Season Totaling 100 Episodes

Voice Cast: Noah Tyler

Crew: Robert D. Buchanan (Creator/Writer), Jack Schleh (Creator/Director)

Legacy:

This series delivered the first sci fi animated entry for television, and also the first color cartoon on the tube. While it is not well remembered today, it is a ton of fun as it follows the antics of Colonel Bleep and his companions while they defend against dangerous enemies and also traveling around the galaxy.

A Closer Look:

Among the early sci fi-oriented cartoons that aired on television, genre fans may remember Space Angel (more on that one at this link), Jonny Quest (more on that one at this link), and The Jetsons. But 1957’s Colonel Bleep slipped into obscurity sometime after its original run, and sadly, it is often overlooked among formative sci fi entries. It debuted in syndication with episodes that were five to six minutes long at most, becoming the first sci fi animated series to air in the U.S. It also delivered the first color cartoon at a time when most television sets across the country still offered only black-and-white viewing.

Created by Robert D. Buchanan and Jack Schleh (neither of whom have any other notable animation credits to their names), it introduced the cosmic hero Colonel Bleep, who comes from the planet Futura and is sent to Earth to monitor things after the first atomic bomb brings our planet to the attention of other beings in the galaxy. But this show brings no warning about the dangers of nuclear power; it is simply a fun little series that follows Bleep and his two rather odd companions as they defend against dangerous villains or just wander around the cosmos carrying on their daily routines. The episodes can barely be called stories, often running no longer than four to five minutes, not including the opening and closing credits. But they are imaginative and whimsical, and a ton of fun, as we follow the antics of Bleep and his team and learn more about the universe they inhabit (in fact, some episodes are essentially just travelogues).

The animation is pretty minimal, as you would expect from a television series of that era. But the artwork is quite good, and at times it even hints at what would follow later with The Jetsons. All of the episodes (or at least all of the ones I have seen) are narrated by Noah Tyler, with no dialogue from the characters. But he does an enthusiastic job of telling the story and helps keep things moving along quite briskly.

I’m not quite certain this one counts as a classic, but it is surely worth seeking out as a look at the early days of television animation. The episodes are short and fast-paced, and you can get through eight to ten of them in under an hour. As mentioned, this one has flown under the radar since it first aired, but it is definitely a gem from its era, and it has gone on to develop somewhat of a cult following.

Cancelled Too Soon?

The series ran from 1957 to 1960, producing 100 episodes that were not broken out into multiple seasons. That is a decent run for an animated show, and if you condense the episodes into thirty-minute blocks, you get about the same number that The Jetsons and Jonny Quest produced. I have seen no information explaining why they stopped making episodes, but they may have decided they had enough to keep the series going through encore runs, and it continued to air until the early ’70s.

Should It Be Rebooted?

Absolutely. This series was a ton of fun, and it could be revived with new episodes that carry on directly from the original or that reimagine the concept. And as it turns out, the latter is currently underway. Colonel Bleep slipped into the public domain in 1985, and it found its way onto videotape and DVD collections as well as streaming on some of the lesser-known services. A reboot of the property is in the works, with a Kickstarter campaign that just began and is looking to produce new animated shorts offering a reimagined version of the character. This one is certainly deserving of such treatment, and you can read more about the project and support the revival at this link.

Interesting Facts:

As mentioned above, Colonel Bleep was the first color animated TV series in the United States, premiering in syndication on September 21, 1957, and beating Hanna-Barbera’s color The Ruff and Reddy Show to the air by three months. At that point, only about 0.2% of U.S. households owned a color television, meaning virtually everyone who watched the show during its original run saw it in black and white. It would not be until the mid-1960s that color sets became much more common in American homes.

It appears that no original production materials from Colonel Bleep survived, and only about 45 of the 100 episodes produced still exist today. Some of the episodes have only recently been rediscovered, though, and it is possible that others could emerge in the coming years.

Colonel Bleep along with Scratch, Squeak, and Dr. Destructo are among the characters appearing in the video game Royalty Free-For-All which was just released and is available on Steam.

Where Can You Watch It?

Many of the surviving episodes have been collected on DVD, and those sets are pretty affordable. It is not streaming on any of the major services, but you can find it on several of the streaming channels that feature public domain works, and you can watch it on YouTube.