Colonel Bleep

Summary

The story begins in 1945, when Earth's first nuclear blast triggers cosmic disturbances. A Stone Age caveman named Scratch, who had been hibernating, is awakened and thrown into the modern world. Meanwhile, the blast alarms the inhabitants of a possible exoplanet called Futura. The Futurians, an alien species with heads shaped like Reuleaux triangles and small, slender bodies, dispatch one of their own, Colonel Bleep, to investigate. Once on Earth, Bleep makes Scratch his deputy, with Bleep symbolizing the future and Scratch the past. Representing the present is Squeak, a puppet that wears a cowboy hat, can move on its own, and was originally unable to speak—though this rule was later dropped, and Squeak did talk in some episodes. The trio sets up a base on Zero Zero Island in the Atlantic Ocean, tasked with protecting Earth's Solar System from alien dangers.

Colonel Bleep is usually shown with a transparent bubble helmet, a helicopter-like propeller, and two antennae. The propeller, combined with his ever-present unicycle, helps him travel through space. His antennae fire beams of "futomic energy"—a blend of future and atomic—that can take many forms, most often a raygun. Bleep can only absorb a limited amount of this energy; in a few episodes, he runs out and becomes vulnerable, and the heat from his beams can sometimes be a problem. Scratch relies on his superhuman strength and a large club. Squeak has no special powers beyond his unexplained sentience and ability to move. The series is heavily influenced by the Space Age, with most episodes set in Earth's Solar System, where intelligent life exists on many planets. Robots help with interplanetary travel, and a space station called X-1 serves as a transport hub.

Production

Colonel Bleep was produced by Soundac, Inc., which was originally formed in 1951 in Buffalo, New York by Bobby Nicholson. After Nicholson left, Robert D. Buchanan took his place, and in 1955 Soundac relocated to Miami, Florida. The initial concept involved wraparounds for a hosted show where the animated shorts would serve as the framework for a children's variety show with quizzes, riddles and interactive content; it may have had a public airing on Buffalo affiliate WGR-TV. The show was syndicated by Richard H. Ullman in Buffalo, and the wraparound segment reel was sponsored by the Canadian grocery store chain Loblaws. The working title was The Adventures of Colonel Bleep. The animation was extraordinarily limited, typical of TV animation of that era. Local newscaster Noah Tyler narrated and provided virtually all vocal characterizations. Jack Schleh directed all episodes. The design was influenced by googie designs of the 1950s and early 1960s, with angular space vehicles, large tailfins, boomerangs in signs and architecture, and atomic symbols representing Bleep's futomic energy. Schleh and Buchanan also produced a series of syndicated physical fitness cartoons called The Mighty Mister Titan, which premiered on January 1, 1964, with 100 episodes.

Legacy

Most of the animated TV shorts from Colonel Bleep's era have survived, but almost none of the show's original production materials are known to still exist. The series was still airing as recently as 1971, and its copyrights were not renewed, expiring in 1985. In 1991, Streamline Pictures released two VHS tapes containing most of the episodes that were still known at the time; these were reportedly found in the film vault of a southwestern U.S. TV station that had gone bankrupt. After that, only one episode, "The Treacherous Pirate," saw release until August 23, 2005, when Alpha Video put out a DVD called Colonel Bleep Volume 1. That disc included 23 episodes, about 20 of which had never appeared on the earlier tapes. Known episodes include the premiere, "Col. Bleep's Arrival on Earth," and a clip show thought to be the finale, "Test of Friendship." On September 12, 2019, eight previously lost episodes were uploaded to YouTube from sepia-toned black-and-white prints. A ninth lost episode, "Winner Take All," followed on October 19, 2019; all nine came from the personal collection of Ron Kurer and his site Toon Tracker. In September 2018, animation historian Jerry Beck found black-and-white wraparounds, including the original title sequence, in Mark Kausler's archives and posted them on YouTube; a higher-quality version was uploaded on February 18, 2024. In October 2019, a kinescope of the local kids' show Cartoon Express with Engineer Bill surfaced on YouTube, showing a title card for the lost episode "Squeak and the Black Knight." In March 2023, film archivist Sarah Smith discovered the lost episode "The Malicious Mailman," a sequel to "The Lunar Luger." It was restored by Multicom Entertainment Group and released on the streaming service The Archive on August 23, 2023.