AKA Cartoon Network

For the animation production company, seea.k.a. Cartoon.

AKA Cartoon Network
Also known as	Cult Toons
Created by	Exceeda
Directed by	Xavier Perkins Brett Foraker
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No.of seasons	Approx 1–2
Production
Running time	25 min approx.
Original release
Network	Cartoon Network
Release	1 February 1999(1999-02-01)– 2000(2000)

AKA Cartoon Networkwas a slot in theCartoon Networkweekday evening schedule from 1999 to 2000, between 7 and 9pm on weekday evenings. The slot consisted of repeated shows such asSpace Ghost Coast to Coast,Tom and Jerry,Looney TunesandCow and Chicken.In addition, the slot included an original show calledCult Toons,broadcast only on Friday evenings.

'AKA' Stings andCult Toonsmaterial would consist ofHanna-Barberaowned footage, prominently from the 1960s and 1970s (such asWacky Races,The Perils of Penelope Pitstop,The Banana Splits(includingArabian KnightsandDanger Island),Hong Kong Phooey,Help!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!,Harlem Globetrotters). More contemporary material includedCow and ChickenandDexter's Laboratory.

Cult Toons

Cult Toons(also referred to by Exceeda as 'AKA Cult Toons')was a series of 30-minute slot experimental alternate comedyVJ(video jockey) videos, directed by Xavier Perkins and Brett Foraker. The inclusion of seemingly irrelevant and obscure clips from films and cartoons gave the show a very surreal andnon sequiturquality.

For example, common features of the re-edited cartoons would include repeated footage (when a character would say "You can say that again" the previous line would often be repeated), freezing the footage (usually after a line such as "Hold everything!" or "Stop!" ), overdubbing voices (including randomly replacing lines with the theme music toThe Godzilla Power Hour), and repeating a line or sound effect and adding drum beats and record scratches over it, turning it into a briefhip-hopsong.

The start of an episode ofThe Gary Coleman Showwould often feature halfway through the show, edited so that lead character Andy LeBeau would suddenlyexplodea few seconds in. It would then end abruptly over a 'Technical Difficulties' caption, with a dramatic music sting.

Another example, suddenly cutting to a clip of amartial artsfilm if a character got angry. In addition, in an episode featuring theSuper Furry Animals,the opening titles ofHelp!... It's the Hair Bear Bunch!were edited so that all mentions of "bears" were replaced with themselves saying "furry animals".

Prominent material however would be live-action films ranging fromblaxploitationtoBruce Lee,as well as footage of celebrity interviews and turntable DJs created especially for the show.

The show would also feature clips from interviews with a range of special guests and promoted talents, particularly in the second series. Some special guests on the show includedRio Ferdinand,Super Furry Animals,Cast,Kele Le Roc,London Towers,Keith Duffy,Catatonia,Gay Dad,21st Century Girls,Rick Witter,Courduroy,WCWNitro Girls,Regular Fries,The Jungle Brothers,Trev Sinclair,Reef,Zach Shaw,AandWaikiki.

Tom Guest worked extensively on the show as a music producer. He later worked on a variety of products, including Cartoon Network andNickelodeoncommercials and idents in the early 2000s, a number ofThe Simpsonspromotions forChannel 4,and background music forPro Pinball:Big Race USAandMTV Base.

At the start of each episode, the featured cartoon and special guest would be announced by "MC Jacket Potato" (or Jackie P. for short), who was depicted by an edited likeness of Dexter fromDexter's Laboratory,made to appear with a dark skintone, a yellow outfit, and anafrohaircut. The end credits of each episode would reveal the programme's UK origin by sampling a clip ofVelma Dinkleyfrom an episode ofScooby-Doo, Where Are You!saying "Made only in England!", interrupted after each word by record scratches and clips.

External links

• January 1, 1999 episode of Cult ToonsonInternet Archive