TUG to the Cartoons of the 80’s Episode Guide: New Adventures of Beany and Cecil

New Adventures of Beany & Cecil
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Episode Guide:

Episode 1: The Framed Freep

Air Date: September 10th, 1988
Writer(s): Chuck Lorre

Synopsis:
[This was a 22 minute episode] The episode begins with Beany and Cecil enjoying a day of surfing on the sea while they sing to each other. Then, Captain Huffenpuff shows up and informs the crew that he has just received a letter from King Muckamuck asking for help against a three-headed monster named the Freep. We hear a few jokes and a comical look at a map, that includes the “Bermuda Shorts” before transitioning to the Isle of How Are Ya and Why Not Kee-Kee Beach.  The crew come face to face with the Freep while the viewers discover that a character named, Dishonest John is controlling the Freep from inside. John also gives us some information that Captain Huffenpuff is his old enemy. Cecil makes a statement alluding to his boxing expertise and instantaneously the villagers create a boxing ring and we have ourselves a match between Cecil and Freep. The Freep gets the best of Cecil but Beany get’s his first inkling that something with the Freep is more than meets the eye. Huffenpuff introduces his next trick, Freep paper which will trap the Freep when he touches it. Unfortunately, the Captain gets stuck to it multiple times while unveiling it. At this point, the King introduces his daughter, Princess Princess who garners Beany’s undivided attention. The Freep invades causing Huffenpuff to come up with another one of his ‘two-part plans’, this time, it’s ‘run and hide’. Beany and Cecil distract the Freep to draw him away from the villagers and almost fall off a cliff in the process. After a few more gags, where anything Cecil says immediately gets animated, our dynamic duo plunges off the cliff to the waters below only to land on Leakin Lena (their ship) and Crowy, and in the process bringing all of the above to the bottom of the ocean. We are then introduced to a new Freep, this time an actual female, three-headed monster. Beany allows it to get away which results in the entire village charging after him. Beany and Cecil, in their escape, find themselves in the real Freep’s cave. It is here, where we learn that the female Freep is, actually friendly and was trying to warn the villagers. The fake Freep has captured Princess Princess and run away with her. Beany and Cecil head out for an attempted rescue while the real Freep hides. The gang is aided by a giant arrow sign which states “This way to the Freep” which is pointing toward Club Bad, ‘where the bad come to play’. In an interesting sequence we see the likes of, Dr. Doom, Joker, Frankenstein, Red Skull, Jason Voorhies, Doc Ock, Norman Bates, Ming the Merciless, ETC ETC. Dishonest John gives Princess Princess a tour of the Club includes places like the Shark Infested Pool. Beany and Cecil make it to Club Bad bad and discover the unmanned Freep robot sitting outside the door. Princess Princess yells to Beany and Cecil saying, “Help Beany Help!” to which John replies, ‘Is that all you say in this show, is, Help Beany Help?” to which Princess pulls out a set of papers and says “Here look at the script”. John then replies, “You’re right, what jerk wrote this?” Beany and Cecil confront John and a chase ensues. The female Freep joins the chase and helps Beany and Cecil rescue Princess Princess. We end with a quick song by our heroes.

Grade: 3/5

Episode 2a: Radio with a Bite!

Air Date: September 17th, 1988
Writer(s): George Atkins

Synopsis:
[This was an 11 minute episode] We begin with Beany trying to convince Cecil to go into the dentist office. Dishonest John sneaks in while Cecil is in the Dentist chair and ties his tongue around his head a few times as well as implanting a reciever into one of his teeth. His evil plan is to broadcast the crimes he wants commited into the receiver and make Cecil think that it’s his inner conscience telling him what to do. DJ struggles with his transmissions at first and causes Cecil to lead a whole dance number. On his second attempt he convinces Cecil to go to a museum and steal a Bengal Tiger painting. The tiger ends up being a real tiger though and he mauls Dishonest John. With no explanation Beany references that from now on if Cecil hears his conscience, it will be the real thing. We end with a little jingle as always.

Grade: 1/5

Episode 2b: The Brotherhood of B.L.E.C.H.

Air Date: September 17th, 1988
Writer(s): Chuck Lorre

Synopsis: 
[This was an 11 minute episode] We start with a stroll through a suburban street looking at house after house until we get to Dishhonest John’s house which is the only house being decimated by a storm. While he is checking his mail he find a letter from his club, the Brotherhood of B.L.E.C.H. (which stands for, bad guys, losers, evil doers, crooks and horrible people). The letter lets John know that his membership will be canceled unless he can prove his ‘blechiness’. He’s confronted by some gangsters who question his ‘badness’ to which he states, ‘Who me? Are you kidding? I taught Michael Jackson how to be bad’. They demonstrate how they will cancel the membership by engaging in a dance number that flattens John. We then transition to Beany, Cecil and crew who are singing a song about how they don’t know where they are going. “We don’t know where we’re going, cause we don’t know where we’ve been. We just know we’re the good guys and good guys always win”. Beany states, “gee Cecil, I get the feeling we’re being watched’ which Cecil responds with, “Boy I hope so, If we’re not, they’ll take us off TV.” Dishonest John begins an attempt to show his ‘badness’ by going after our good guys. Beany talks the gang into being nice to DJ and giving him a chance. John doesn’t know how to react to the kindness and has to regroup. Before he get’s flattened by the mafia men, he begs for another chance. He switches some directional arrows and causes our heroes to head for Dead Man Falls instead of the Calm Seas they were looking for. The crew treats the falls like an amusement ride instead of a terror and thwart John’s plans once again. For his last scheme, DJ reads from a book entitled “Terror of the Campfire Girls” with two authors listed, one of which is, Stephen Queen. We then see the good guy crew discussing that they need to look terrified so that John doesn’t get in any more trouble from the bad guy mafia. John unleashes a terrible tornado on our heroes, but the twister is the size of a small puppy. Right before he recieves his punishment he points to what has become a giant tornado which shocks the B.L.E.C.H. men. It’s never explained as to what caused the tornado to get so large and it seems ambiguous if the heroes caused it or not. Eventually it becomes ‘real’ though and Cecil has to save the day. Dishonest John received an award for his performance but when Cecil gives him back the tornado maker, he accidentally unleashes another tornado on himself and must run away. 

Grade: 2.5/5

Episode 3a: The Bad Guy Flu!

Air Date: September 24th, 1988
Writer(s): Rowby Goren

Synopsis:
[This was an 11 minute episode] We start off today’s episode with Captain hiding a top secret box with ‘incredible contents’ from Beany and Cecil. Dishonest John sees it through his telescope and decides he needs to steal it. He seems to be coming down with a cold and vows to start stealing more vitamins. He unplugs his raft sending him flying to the Leakin Lena where he hopes to spy on them until another sneeze sends him to the deck and exposes him to the crew. Somehow a doctor finds his way to the boat where he diagnoses John with the ‘bad guy flu’. The heroes take care of DJ while he recovers but they turn out not to be the best caregivers. Cecil’s granny, Neptune even supplies a home remedy that does anything but cure John. DJ decides to try to find the Top Secret box while he is being cared for. After multiple attempts he finds it under his bed and tries to conceal it under his clothes upon his exit from the boat. Just as he leaves, he opens the box and it’s full of signs that say ‘Top Secret’. DJ injures himself trying to leave and the doctor orders him to stay another week to which John jumps overboard and attempts to swim to shore. 

Grade: 3/5

Episode 3b: D.J.’s Disappearing Act 

Air Date: September 24th, 1988
Writer(s): Chuck Lorre

Synopsis:
[This was an 11 minute episode] We being on the Leakin Lena as the Captain shows off his newest invention, invisibility paint. The catch, being that it only lasts a few minutes. As always, Dishonest John is spying on them and decides to attempt to steal the paint so that he can pull off a diamond heist. He swims to the Leakin Lena, grabs the pain undetected and then calls a water taxi who he speeds away on. He calls back to the crew letting them know that he stole the paint. Beany warns the heroes that if they don’t stop DJ that there will be terrible consequences. Cecil asks “Does that mean there’s a chase scene coming” to which Beany confirms and we go into the chase scene. DJ uses what must be a bottomless bucket to paint a bridge, which causes the good guys to crash right into it, he then paints a whale and the guys sail right into it as well. Interesting note; they find Pinocchio inside the whale. Pinocchio tells them he wants them out of his story immediately. Beany, exclaims, “Your story? Isn’t this OUR TV show?” Pinocchio responds, “TV?! I Don’t do TV! I’m a big movie star” to which his nose grows multiple times. Cecil claims he can get them out of their or his name isn’t “He-Serpant, Master of the Universe.” They contemplate using the wood of Pinocchio’s nose to start a fire but Beany decides that they can escape while the Whale flosses his teeth. We transition back to DJ who has painted himself invisible and proceeds to get hit by every mode of transportation and even a marching band while he attempts to cross the street. The heroes are in hot pursuit in the Leakin Lena, which now has wheels. The paint wears off unbenownst to John who harasses the two giant security guards only to be pummeled after he finishes. He makes a second attempt and gets his hands on the diamond and makes for the exit but once again the paint wears off and our crew chases after him to recover Uncle Captain’s greatest discovery (the Giant Diamond). DJ gets on top of a giant skeleton, saying “Fred Flintstone, eat your heart out” and attempts to use the skeleton to gain an advantage. It is at this point that we discover that Beany can say some magic words and send his hat coptor out into the world do do his bidding. As he exits the museum he very loudly proclaims that he has stolen the worlds biggest diamond to which the entire city hears him and comes after the diamond as well. This prompts quite the ruckus or what Cecil calls, “The biggest fight cloud to ever grace Saturday Morning cartoons.” This episode has one too many of the same jokes and drags quite a bit in the second half. Cecil ends up catching the diamond and all ends well. 

Grade: 2.5/5

Episode 4a: Cecil Meets Clambo

Air Date: October 1st, 1988
Writer(s): Paul Dini

Synopsis:
[This was an 11 minute episode] We start at a drive in theatre where Cecil and Cecilia are watching Clambo: First Squid: Part 692. They run into the real Clambo who asks Cecilia if she wants to be in his next picture. This causes Cecil to start working out and Dishonest John observes this and dons a muscle suit. He sells Cecil on the fact that he can make him muscular and inflates him until he takes off into space. This also propels Dishonest John through the air and he crash lands on a Smurf Village, proclaiming, “Egads, I’ve been blown into another cartoon show.” Cecil on the other hand gets launched into the movie set of the next Clambo picture where we also see Cecilia receiving direction. Cecilia is attacked by a giant robotic penguin and Cecil comes in to rescue the damsel in distress. Cecilia informs Cecil that he’s always been her hero and they exchange a kiss. 

Grade: 2/5

Episode 4b: The Golden Menu

Air Date: October 1st, 1988

Writer(s): Rowby Goren

Synopsis:
[This was an 11 minute episode] We start with Cecil pumping Iron in the Ocean next to the Leakin Lena. The Captain informs the crew that they are on a top secret mission for Soup and Sandwich Island where there is a secret Golden Menu that will allow people to get any item they order. Of course, Dishonest John is listening in and decides he needs to get his hands on the Golden Menu. We see a map sequence very similar to the one in Episode 1 that leads us to the island. Once on the island they encounter a series of obstacles, ala, Indiana Jones. After the heroes have been trapped by a group of spoons, DJ appears and takes the Captain’s map and heads off to obtain the Golden Menu. Cecil worms his way out of the trap but ends up exiting a cliffside and falling into a river of alphabet soup. At one point, Beany uses the letters in the river to spell out HELP CECIL as he gets taken away by the tide. They come up against a soda cracker dam to which Cecil turns to the camera and says “Hey Kids, while we’re busy crashing, can you check out what DJ is up to” and we transition back to Dishonest John. John gets his hand on the Golden Menu but is confronted by our good guys as they swim in on a wave of alphabet soup. Before they know it they are ‘trapped in an ancient restaurant by a tribe of angry amazon waitresses.” The waitresses inform the group that anyone who steals the golden menu must face the head waistress. The head waitress asks whos idea it was to swipe the golden menu to which Dishonest John points to Uncle Captain. Once Uncle Captain is spotted all of the waitresses bow down to him as if he is Royalty and call him the “Great Customer”. They take them all out to a monument that looks like the Uncle (once Crowy sits on his head at least). The Captain mistakingly orders everything on the menu and is told he must eat everything on his plate. While he is chowing down, DJ steals the Golden Menu once more and attempts to make his escape. As Captain continues attempting to eat all of the food, Beany and Cecil face a number of food attacks from Dishonest John. Beany activates his Beany copter once again and flies off to confront John. He blows a pie back into DJ’s face and grabs the menu so they can go back and save the Captain. By ordering mashed potatoes, licorice and chocolate sauce they turn the monument into Dishonest John and the waitresses focus their attention on him instead. Our heroes make an escape while DJ is forced to eat and Cecil instructs Captain and Crowy on some exercises. 

Grade: 2.5/5

Episode 5a: The Courtship of Cecilia

Air Date: October 8th, 1988
Writer(s): Paul Dini

Synopsis:
[This was an 11 minute episode] We begin with Cecil singing about his intentions to court Cecilia.Cecil explains to Beany what it felt like when he met Cecilia including feeling like fireworks were going off, getting hot, getting cold, getting tongue tied, having butterflied etc etc. Dishonest John listens in on them from a submarine below the Leakin Lena and develops a plan. Beany encourages Cecil to sing a song to convey his feelings. DJ attempts to disguise himself as Cecilia using a big inflatable costume. Beany and Cecil serenade the real Cecilia while John hides nearby and throws things at Cecil making him think that Cecilia didn’t like the singing. The real Cecilia comes to after being knocked unconscious by DJ and let’s Cecil know how much she loved his song. Next John serves Cecil some rocket fueled lemonade and delivers it in disquise. Cecil is launched into the atmosphere and we have a commercial break, we return from the break to Dishonest John stating “3 commercials and a station break and he’s still up there.” The real Cecilia comes by and makes Cecil drink some of her lemonade which has also been tainted and once again he launches into space. Captain encourages Cecil to bring Cecilia a gift and instead of Flowers Cecil brings her Flounders but DJ poses again and tells Cecil that he needs to bring better presents. He goes out and brings her back a treasure chest full of gold. Cecilia gets upset that Cecil is trying to buy her love and storms off. She quickly comes back though and everyone sees the dual Cecilias. A chase ensues with DJ eventually getting his just desserts being chained to a boat as he rows the crew through a romantic scene.

Grade: 2/5