Space Ghost
| Space Ghost | |
|---|---|
 Space Ghost as he appears in Space Ghost Coast to Coast | |
| First appearance |
"The Heat Thing" (Space Ghost segment) |
| Created by |
Alex Toth William Hanna Joseph Barbera |
| Portrayed by |
Gary Owens (1966–1982, 2011) George Lowe (1994-present) Andy Merrill (1995-1999) |
| Information | |
| Full name |
Thaddeus "Tad" Ghostal (in Space Ghost Coast to Coast) Thaddeus Bach (in the DC comic) |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Late-night talk show host (in Space Ghost Coast to Coast) |
| Family |
Unnamed mother Chad Ghostal (twin brother on Space Ghost Coast To Coast) |
| Spouse(s) | Björk (wife in "Knifin' Around") |
| Relatives | Leonard Ghostal (grandfather) |
| Powers |
Flight Super strength Enhanced agility Enhanced stamina Teleportation Belt that grants Invisibility Power Bands give an assortment of energy powers and abilities |
Space Ghost is a fictional character created by Hanna-Barbera Productions and designed by Alex Toth for CBS in the 1960s. In his original incarnation, he was a superhero who, with his sidekick teen helpers Jan, Jace, and Blip the monkey, fought supervillains in outer space. In the 1990s, the character was brought back as a host for his own fictional late-night talk show, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, on Cartoon Network and Adult Swim. In the 2000s, he was revamped as a serious superhero once again in a DC Comics mini-series.
Television series
Space Ghost and Dino Boy
The original series debuted in 1966, in which the "Space Ghost" segments shared time with an unrelated segment called Dino Boy in the Lost Valley. Space Ghost was voiced by Gary Owens, Tim Matheson voiced Jace (Matheson was the voice of "Jonny" in Jonny Quest, another Hanna-Barbera adventure cartoon series) and Ginny Tyler voiced Jan. Don Messick provided vocalizations for Blip. Space Ghost and his helpers fought such recurring supervillains as Moltar (voiced by Don Messick), Zorak (voiced by Don Messick), Black Widow (voiced by Ginny Tyler; the character was named the Spider Woman in one episode), Metallus (voiced by Ted Cassidy), Brak (voiced by Keye Luke), and Creature King (voiced by Vic Perrin). The original series comprised 42 Space Ghost and 18 Dino Boy episodes, and ended in 1968.
Space Stars
22 new Space Ghost segments appeared on Space Stars in 1981. The episodes introduced a new assortment of villains including an evil version of Space Ghost named Space Spectre (voiced by John Stephenson) who came from an alternate universe. His spaceship, the Phantom Cruiser, was also given a sleeker and more modernized look. As in the original series, Space Ghost often came to the aid of The Herculoids and vice versa. They also frequently crossed paths with the Teen Force, and it appeared that Jan and Teen Force member Kid Comet were dating as well. Gary Owens reprised his role as Space Ghost, but Tim Matheson was replaced by Steve J. Spears as the voice of Jace, Ginny Tyler was replaced by Alexandra Stewart as the voice of Jan, and Don Messick was replaced by Frank Welker as the vocal effects for Blip.
Space Ghost Coast to Coast
The character Space Ghost hosts a talk show, Space Ghost Coast to Coast, which began broadcasting in 1994 on Cartoon Network. One-time villains Zorak (a giant Praying Mantis or Locust, depending on the particular episode) and Moltar (a lava creature inside a metal suit) were Space Ghost's sidekicks (with guest appearances from many other old Space Ghost villains, most notably Brak). The show, as well as the short-lived Cartoon Planet, was a spoof of late-night shows such as the Late Show with David Letterman. Celebrities interviewed by Space Ghost included Beck, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Magicians Penn and Teller, Cassandra Peterson aka Elvira, Joel Hodgson, Carrot Top, Jim Carrey, Jon Benjamin, Conan O'Brien, Thurston Moore, Pavement, Adam West, Björk, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Goldie Hawn, Timothy Leary, and Mark Hamill. In this series, he is played by George Lowe.
The show relied heavily on absurd, surreal, or even dadaist humour. Space Ghost Coast to Coast continued to 2004 as the oldest program on Cartoon Network's late-night comedy/action programming block, Adult Swim. The characters of Jan, Jace, and Blip, Space Ghost's old sidekicks, appeared twice on the show. After approximately eight seasons, the show went into hiatus, and the writers Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro used characters they developed in an unaired episode ("Baffler Meal") to create another popular "would-be spin-off" Aqua Teen Hunger Force. After that show proved successful, Baffler Meal was animated and aired in 2003.
New episodes of Space Ghost Coast to Coast appeared on the "Animation" channel of the GameTap service, beginning on May 30, 2006. Most guests were either gaming celebrities or musicians. On May 31, 2008, the show ended when the TV section of GameTap shut down.
Actors
Three actors played Space Ghost in the three "main" Space Ghost series:
- Gary Owens (1966–1982, 2011) in Space Ghost, Space Stars and Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
- George Lowe (1994–present) in Space Ghost Coast to Coast, Cartoon Planet, The Brak Show, Squidbillies, Perfect Hair Forever, Robot Chicken, Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters
- Andy Merrill (1995–1999) in Space Ghost Coast to Coast as "Live Action Space Ghost" and Cartoon Planet as "Dancin' Space Ghost"
Comics
Space Ghost has appeared in the following comic books:
- Hanna-Barbera Super TV Heroes (Gold Key, 1968)
- Golden Comics Digest (Gold Key, 1969)
- TV Stars (Marvel, 1978)
- Space Ghost (Comico, 1987)
- Cartoon Network Presents (DC, 1997)
- Space Ghost (DC, 2005)
Action figures
Space Ghost's Coast to Coast version was released as an action figure by Toycom, complete with a desk and chair, a series of cue cards, and a mug. Also included were several different sets of hands, allowing the figure to be used either as the talk show host or the super hero or both. The shoulders and neck were ball-jointed, with a light plastic yellow cape. A transparent variant "invisible" figure and a variant with electric "light up" powerband were also released. A repaint of this figure was used to create a Space Specter figure. In 2012 a new Space Ghost figure was released in the Jazwares Hanna Barbera series and came with a pack-in of Blip.
Other appearances
- George Lowe voiced Space Ghost in the Robot Chicken episode "Suck It". He was seen as a member of the Adult Swim Council alongside Peter Griffin and Master Shake.
- He is seen in every episode of Perfect Hair Forever, either with small importance to the episode or as a background character.
- Space Ghost is seen as an "easter egg" in various episodes of Off The Air.
- Lowe voiced Space Ghost in four episodes of The Brak Show.
- Space Ghost and Zorak make cameos in Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film For Theaters. Space Ghost is killed by a missile that Meatwad launches.
- Space Ghost has made cameos in various episodes of Aqua Teen Hunger Force including the episode "Dickesode" where he can be seen dancing like a robot on the Aqua Teen's television screen.
- Space Ghost appeared on Loveline several times between 1995 and 1998, completing the show in character, and thus being the only other fictional guest besides Triumph the Insult Comic Dog to guest on the show.
- Space Ghost along with Harvey Birdman appeared in the background in multiple scenes of the Season 4 episode of The Powerpuff Girls titled "Members Only".
- Space Ghost and his sidekicks appear in the Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode "Bold Beginnings!" with Gary Owens reprising his role of Space Ghost, Jan voiced by Cathy Cavadini, and Jace voiced by James Arnold Taylor. He teams up with Batman to fight Creature King (voiced by Gregg Berger) who had captured Jan, Jace, and Blip.
- Space Ghost was featured as the narrator of the fighting game Cartoon Network: Punch Time Explosion.
External links
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