Let's Watch This - An Episode of "Histeria!"

The 1990s were a great time for the television department of Warner Bros. Animation. Collaborating with studios like Amblin Entertainment and DIC Entertainment, this is the decade where they gave us such beloved shows as Animaniacs, Taz-Mania, and Batman: The Animated Series.

While more often than not the shows that Warner Bros. Animation made were meant to be more humorous than educational (which isn't to say that Animaniacs couldn't be educational, of course), it wasn't until 1998 that they decided to do a show that was intended to be VERY educational. Which isn't to say that this new show wouldn't be comedic, but still...

The result was a show called Histeria!. Created by Tom Ruegger and featuring the voice talents of Warner Bros. alumni Frank Welker, Tress MacNeille, Rob Paulsen and Maurice LaMarche - plus Tom's kids - the show was intended to have at least sixty-five episodes. Alas, the show went over budget, and as a result only fifty-two episodes were created before the show was cancelled in 2000 with only two seasons (the second of which was only six episodes long) and as a result fell into obscurity alongside other Warner Bros. Animation shows like Detention and Road Rovers (which I've already looked at on this blog, remember?).

Before writing this article, I hadn't seen a single episode of this show. But today, we'll be looking at an episode titled "The Wild West". Will it be good? Or will I end up getting HISTERIA (forgive the pun) from it? Let's find out!

After the theme song, the episode begins with Miss Information (Laraine Newman) leading a group of tourists through the wild west. She claims that it was named after a TV show, but Father Time (Frank Welker) corrects her, then introduces the host of the show - Billy the Kid (Luke Ruegger), who's an actual kid. Then the kids start singing a song about Billy, for some reason.

Well, so far, this show hasn't succeeded in making me laugh.

Anyhow, Billy announces that today they're going to play a game called "Jailbreak". He tells the kids that one of them needs to fetch him his gun. Then the show is interrupted by network censor Lydia Karaoke (Nora Dunn), who doesn't approve of a criminal hosting a TV show for kids. Billy says, "I am what I am! A bad man!" If he's a bad man, why does he have the voice of a kid?

I mean, aside from the fact that his name is "Billy the Kid"...
Heck, he even LOOKS like a kid.

Unfunny shenanigans ensue, and then we get a bunch of characters shouting "The Wild West!" Then we see most of those same characters yelling "HISTERIA!" Jeez, there's a whole lot of shouting on this show...

Then we cut to a kid named Froggo (Nathan Ruegger), who dresses like Wakko Warner and sounds like Dr. Claw. He tells us that gold was discovered in 1848 in California. Then we cut to a kid named Loud Kiddington (Cody Ruegger), who shouts "GOLD!" And then we cut to the World's Oldest Woman (Tress MacNeille), who tells us about the gold rush. Then some guy named Horace Greely (Frank Welker, I believe) tells an incredibly stupid kid named Lucky Bob (Jeff Bennett) to go west. And then we cut to the kids singing another song... what the heck is going on?! Every five seconds the show cuts to something different! It makes the entire show feel disjointed.

Oh yeah, and at one point Yakko Warner makes a cameo.

"Keep it down! I'm watchin' a much better Warner Brothers show!"

After that, Billy the Kid talks about how laws in the Wild West were frequently changed, ignored and broken. And then we get a game show called "Indian Givers", hosted by renowned Indian fighter General George Armstrong Custer. And hooray, he's voiced by Rob Paulsen! Rob makes everything better.

The contestants are Sitting Bull, Chief Joseph (Rob Paulsen, I think), and Geronimo (who I think is voiced by Billy West, but I could be wrong). Geronimo gets the first question wrong, Chief Joseph is intended to be a caricature of Sammy Davis Jr. (at least, I think he is) and he gets the next question wrong, and the answer to every question is "Surrender peacefully and let settlers take over your land." Sitting Bull wins, and his prize is for him and his tribe to be driven off to a smaller and less desirable piece of land. And I will admit that the "Are you hot?" "Yes, I'm hot." joke is kinda funny. General Custer then reminds them that in a thousand years or so they'll become rich from casino gambling.

The scene end with General Custer getting attacked by Indians. It's actually pretty satisfying.

I'm just now realizing how much he looks like Cap'n Crunch...

Then we cut back to Father Time, who tells us about the police force of the wild west - the Earp Brothers, played by Loud, Froggo and another kid named Toast (Tress MacNeille). Who promptly burp in unison. Classy, fellas.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand then we immediately cut to something else. Specifically, a talk show hosted by Miss Information. Her first guest is Doc Holiday (Billy West), who talks about the gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Miss Information asks why they had the fight at a corral that she thinks was "only average" (get it?). And then Bugs Bunny shows up (I don't know who does his voice, but it doesn't sound like Billy West... maybe it's an uncredited Greg Burson?).

"What are you doing here?"
"Eh, a rabbit's gotta pay da bills somehow..."

Then Billy the Kid shows up again, telling us that just because he's on the run doesn't mean that he's gonna be shrinking his hosting duties. Yeah, uh, you haven't really been "hosting". You show up here and there, but most of the show has been random sketches hosted by other characters. Billy tells us about the Pony Express, which we then get an ADVERTISEMENT for.

Then we get ANOTHER talk show called "Home on the Range", hosted by Bill Straitman and featuring Buffalo Bill Cody. This is ANOTHER sketch that isn't funny in the slightest.

The show ends with Sheriff Pat (Jeff Bennett) getting the best of Billy the Kid. Billy tells us to join them next time for another "thrill-packed edition" (this was "thrill-packed"?) of... random characters saying "Histeria!"

Including this awesome eagle. Why couldn't HE have been the host of the show?!

I think that it's possible to make learning fun. This, however, is not how you do it. I'm not going to judge the entire show by this episode, but this was not "thrill-packed" in the slightest. There are some good things - Rob Paulsen carries the "Indian Giver" sketch (that man really does make everything better), Bugs Bunny and Yakko Warner making cameo appearances - but most of the episode was disjointed and not funny. It's like drive-by edutainment. Here's one character saying something... and then here's another character saying something... and then here's another character saying something. Animaniacs this ain't.

It really is a shame that a show from Tom Ruegger and featuring the talents of Jeff Bennett, Tress MacNeille and Frank Welker wasn't better. It's not an AWFUL show, but in my opinion there is nothing hysterical about Histeria!.