A New Book is Now Available!

Disclaimer: The following article was originally released on February 16, 2025 and has been transferred from GoDaddy to Mozello for preservation purposes.

Before I begin the article, I wish you all a happy Indie Animation Day, in which we celebrate all things indie animation, from a massive variety of web shows to experimental movies that defy your average Hollywood films. Because of this, I’m here to promote a special tie-in release for Colonel Bleep and the Uncharted Earth. As you may or may not know, Colonel Bleep and the Uncharted Earth originally started as a novel. Due to poor promotional skills on social media (especially as a first-time author), I decided to scrap the book away and turn this passion project into an indie animated series instead. However, I created another book titled Colonel Bleep and the Uncharted Earth: The Quest to Revive a Forgotten Classic.

In this publication, readers will be introduced to the original series and its complicated history, the studio behind it all, the ongoing renaissance of Colonel Bleep since the 90s, plans for a potential remake in a growing age of indie animation, and a script to its test pilot Colonel Bleep and the Test Theme. Also, readers will be exposed to over 70 colorful pictures, including promotional material from Soundac and the classic predecessor, concept art for the modern variation of Colonel Bleep, and screenshots from the test pilot. Consider purchasing a physical copy on Blurb or download a free PDF on Internet Archive starting February 16!

Easter Eggs in Colonel Bleep and the Test Theme

Disclaimer: The following article was originally released on January 31, 2025 and has been transferred from GoDaddy to Mozello for preservation purposes.

As of January 31, 2025, Colonel Bleep and the Test Theme has been introduced to the world for almost half a year. If you haven’t seen it yet, I suggest you watch it on the Internet Archive or PeerTube before reading this article. While not incredibly notable, Colonel Bleep and the Test Pilot includes some cameos that refer to the original series and other Soundac productions.

Rockets and Saucers near Jupiter

The first batch of cameos features a city near Jupiter, the gas giant. Above its buildings, several flight vehicles pass by, including a tall, narrow rocket labeled “J.”

• The Green Saucer: This lime-green saucer features two aliens with antennae on their heads. It originated from a rare 1962 Soundac commercial featuring aliens traveling from Venus to explore the World’s Fair in Seattle, Washington.
• The Purple Ship with Three Tails: Another ship is tinted dark purple and has three tails. This refers to a minor villain named Octo the Terrible, a temporary companion to Dr. Destruco in the episode Danger Below.
• The Orange Cargo Ship: The next ship is a cargo ship from Jupiter. It was previously spotted in The Bat and the Bottle, in which three characters suffered a firestorm on another planet called Thor.
• The Blue Space Scooter: Next, we see another alien closely resembling a human. This one, in particular, is riding a space scooter, which most space deputies use when on flight patrol or other duties.
• The Gray Rocket: This gray-coded rocket, resembling a missile, was inspired by a similar rocket owned by Dr. Destructo. However, only his minions pilot the ship.
• Another Saucer from Venus: The second-to-last spacecraft in line is another Venusian saucer coded in pink. This kind of saucer is mentioned twice in The Battle and the Bottle and The Wicked Web, where four crashed near floating icebergs near Pluto.
• The Red Cruiser: The last ship passing by is a narrow cruiser from Mars. Three cruisers, mentioned in The Bat and the Bottle and The Evil Eye, were lost during a severe space storm on a strange sea of liquid air.

The T-Shirt

One of the earlier scenes featuring Lucius shows him as a young boy testing his strange powers, including his intelligence, speed, agility, and strength. In one part, a teenage Lucius is seen lifting the heaviest weights, wearing a white T-shirt with a blue angular letter “T” surrounded by a red ring. The emblem originated from another animated series by Soundac, Mighty Mister Titan: a 1960s animated series intended to encourage children to exercise often and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Unfortunately, this show was one of Soundac’s most unsuccessful projects and was ultimately canceled after former President John F. Kennedy’s assassination.

Danger from the Screen

While observing the countless dangers from the universe, Bleep, in his lab coat, changes the screen three times.

• The first picture shows an ice demon, a minor villain appearing in Ice Demons Attack and Test of Friendship.
• The second picture shows a power plant in flames, which references The Firebomb.
• The third picture depicts a rocket crashing on a volcanic planet called Thor, which was prominently featured in Fire Water.

Flash past Uranus and Neptune

Near the end of the pilot, Bleep pilots his saucer as it passes by Uranus and Neptune via hyperspeed. The saucer is an upgraded version of Colonel Bleep’s laboratory from the original series. It is similar in design and structure, but the newer version can work like a spaceship. Then, there is another scene where Bleep witnesses the giant, shadowy figure of Dr. Destructo. Finally, we see Bleep take flight and salute the audience before it fades out.

In these two moments, the narrator says, “Now in a cosmic crusade of a lifetime, Colonel Bleep will travel up, down, backward, or forwards in distance and time. He shall face danger and battles between life and death while trying to maintain truth and justice throughout the vast galaxies of the universe. So here he is, the eccentrical Colonel Bleep: spaceman of the future!”

All three scenes pay homage to Col. Bleep’s Arrival on Earth, the first episode of the 1950s series, and are closely connected to the last three sentences announced by its narrator.

“So here they are three extraordinary companions, Colonel Bleep [Bleeps} of the future, [Squeaks] Squeak of the present, and Scratch [Scratches] of the distant past. Together, they travel up, down, backward, or forwards in distance or time. Together, they face danger and death as they fight to maintain right and justice throughout the vast galaxies of the world.”

Interviews and a Rotten Film with Ziggy Cashmere

Disclaimer: The following article was originally released on January 17, 2025 and has been transferred from GoDaddy to Mozello for preservation purposes.

Back in the summer, before I left Discord, I met a particular content creator and college student named Ziggy Cashmere (not in person, obviously). Ziggy is an author and filmmaker who has spent time uncovering lost media and documenting media with poor development, such as the infamous 2012 animated film Foodfight. He has also spent time preserving old media, such as film reels, and is the creator of his analysis channel Ok, so….

Unexpectedly, he gained interest in contributing to the search for restoring Colonel Bleep and sharing information about other forgotten works by Soundac. The research became more interesting when Ziggy interviewed Scott Schleh (sculptor and son of the co-creator, Jack Schleh) and Jerry Beck (one of the earliest pioneers in restoring Colonel Bleep). Later, on July 30, 2024, Ziggy created an article, Building Zero-Zero Island, which foretells the complicated history of Soundac and its productions. He soon adapted the article into a YouTube video titled Television's First (and Lost) Color Cartoon, which primarily discusses the making of the original Colonel Bleep series. Not only that, but he also scanned pictures of Soundac's promotional material and leftover artwork that remained visually fresh for decades. These images are available on Flickr and the Colonel Bleep Wiki on Fandom.

While interviewing Scott Schleh, he eventually offered a film reel that hadn't been projected in nearly seventy years. Ziggy eventually promoted a campaign on Ko-Fi so that he could raise enough money to buy certain chemicals to restore the film's quality. As time passed, the reel was cleaned from the vinegar syndrome decay and scanned by a Twitter/X user named Quazza, but the results didn't come as expected. Most of the film's imagery has entirely faded, with only fifteen seconds left in the reel to be well-polished.

According to his next video, Saving a Destroyed (and Personal) Cartoon, the reel consisted of four unknown episodes and was made as a present from Jack Schleh to a close friend named George Schwenk. Schwenk had two children, Debbie and Kurt, who were most likely fans of the show. Based on what was left on the reel, the introduction reveals the lost cartoons dedicated to these children with love. While the results may have been disappointing, restoring this forgotten reel did not fail, as Ziggy was grateful to have been able to repair a film that hadn't been preserved in such a long time. In the long run, Ziggy has done his best by interviewing important people who could offer him the most crucial information and resources possible. He will continue trying to retrieve more reels owned by other archivists. For more accurate information, please consider watching the following videos in the article. Don't forget to read Ziggy's article documenting Soundac.

The Streamline Episodes

Disclaimer: The following article was originally released on December 20, 2024 and has been transferred from GoDaddy to Mozello for preservation purposes.

A long time ago, in California, three lovers of animation of every kind (Carl Macek, Jerry Beck, and Fred Patten) founded a media company, Streamline Pictures, in 1988. The company helped release video cassettes of anime films (ex., My Neighbor Totoro and Akira) and series in the United States. Besides anime, Streamline also released cassettes of obscure classic cartoons such as Animaland, Musical Paintbox, Cambria’s infamous syncro-vox cartoons Space Angel and Clutch Cargo, and, for the first time, Colonel Bleep.

Two years before Streamline Pictures was founded, Jerry Beck (a college student) and his friend John Kricfalusi (the future creator of The Ren and Stimpy Show, and before he was deemed a criminal) threw small cartoon parties by watching cartoons from stacks of 16 mm film reels. Then, one day, Kricfaulsi suggested Beck bring in the “worst” obscure cartoons nobody could remember in 30 years or more. This is when Beck brought in reels of Colonel Bleep, whom he had watched as a child and remembered the show having severely limited animation but an appealing art style (note that the art style is one of Kricfaulsi’s inspirations on The Ren and Stimpy Show, specifically on the episode Space Madness).

And so it was decided that Beck would begin finding and restoring the first fourteen episodes of Colonel Bleep. These episodes were brought from the original master reels of the show, which were found in a lab in Texas that was falling from bankruptcy. To this day, Tom T. Moore of Reel Media International and Tom T. Reich of Make Business Smarter keep some master reels in their archives. Streamline planned to release five volumes of Colonel Bleep, but only two were released as most of these episodes were too degraded to be restored. Despite this, the people of Streamline were still willing to give the show a chance to be heard once again by the world and start a search to restore the complete adventures of Colonel Bleep.

Volume One

Colonel Bleep’s Arrival on Earth

Colonel Bleep prepares for his first adventures on earth and meets Squeak and Scratch as his new closest friends and deputies, thus starting a series of wacky escapades.

Scratch and His Feathered Friend

Set after the events of Man Hunt on the Moon, the trio investigates Dr. Destructo’s hideout in a strange jungle on Jupiter’s Twelfth Moon. Meanwhile, Scratch encounters a giant Superbird.

The Lunar Lugar

Dr. Destructo creates a gravity gun powered by lunar energy, which is used to try and terminate Bleep’s deputies.

The Killer Whale

A monstrous whale named Colassal attacks the frog-like inhabitants of Aqualand. Squeak and Scratch and an army of Moonmites (not from Aqua Teen Hunger Force) are assigned to stop the creature from his wrongdoings. 

(Warning: This episode triggers issues regarding whaling and marine animal abuse, which may upset specific audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.)

The Firebomb

Futurian robots have thrived with Robo-Lube oil, but that all changes when Destructo and his gorilla, Grizzo, send a fire bomb to eradicate the oil industry.

The Pirate Plot

Unknown to the scientists, the moonmites’ home is destroyed by a test rocket. Colonel Bleep and his deputies rescue them all in time and send them to a safer place from any more missiles and other threats. Meanwhile, Black Patch and his space pirates plan to abduct the deputies and moonmites and sell them as enslaved laborers in Pluto's fictional red pepper mines.

Volume Two

The Bat and the Bottle

As the Futura High Command grows more aware of space accidents in various parts of space, Bleep prepares to create a safer map for all by proposing a power ship known as the Trav-a-Lab. Elsewhere, Dr. Destructo assigns his giant vampire bat to deliver a bottle of explosive liquid to destroy the ship to smithereens.

The Wicked Web

The Trav-a-Lab sets off to investigate floating icebergs near Pluto. While on its way, the Black Knight of Pluto builds an electromagnetic web to attract the wondership to its shocking doom.

The Evil Eye

The Trav-a-Lab stops by the sea of liquid air, where Black Patch and his pirates plan to release a missile, which only Scratch knows thanks to a strange periscope.

Fire Water

The Trav-a-Lab voyages to the volcanic planet of Thor to spray off water on its violent lava. Dr. Destructo steals a cargo ship containing rocket fuel that will cause the ship to suffer a burning inferno.

Tunnel in Space

In a city on Jupiter’s fictional moon, Septa. Colonel Bleep leads the construction of a tunnel to protect space travelers from frequent crashing meteorites.

The Treacherous Trio

The Black Knight, Bruto the Black Robot, and Black Patch form a trio to terminate Colonel Bleep by kidnapping his deputies on Zero-Zero Island.

Knight of Death

On a fake rescue mission, the Black Knight and his allies kidnap Squeak and Scratch while setting a trap that will cost the supply Bleep’s futomic energy and the lives of his beloved deputies.

The Hypnotic Helmets

Bruto prepares a pair of space helmets for Squeak and Scratch. They are unaware that they contain the ticking sounds of Bruto’s hypnotic powers, which turn the deputies into the robot’s servants assigned to kill Colonel Bleep.

Progress Regarding Episode One (Part Two)

Disclaimer: The following article was originally released on November 22, 2024 and has been transferred from GoDaddy to Mozello for preservation purposes.

Today, I am proud to announce the starring cast of characters who will be featured in the first episode of Colonel Bleep and the Uncharted Earth! These actors worked hard to pursue their roles, strengthening each character’s dialogue and personality.

Cadet Lucius Morningstar

VA: Henry Barrows

Growing up in Futura, Lucius was known to be a gifted child prodigy, which allowed him to skip a few grades ahead during his schooling years. When he hit puberty, he eventually gained the powers of a super soldier, including enhanced speed, strength, and agility. But that was all thanks to being created in an unethical lab operation and losing his parents shortly after his birth. Despite living the life of a lonely orphan, Lucius had always dreamed of being a space ranger. He attempted to pursue such a career once he enrolled as a space cadet at the Futura High Command Academy at 18. However, his day attending the school’s orientation would not go as perfectly as planned.

Cadet Etoile Feu

VA: Jaxon Stallings

While trying to adjust to his new life in the Academy, Cadet Feu is disrupted by Cadet Morningstar, who only wants to build a nice friendship with him. Although he can be rude, snobby, and impatient, Feu is just too clever and attractive for Morningstar to leave behind. Yet our protagonist is unaware of the suspicious tricks Feu has hidden under his sleeve.

Regarding the episode, a full-on storyboard sequence is in the works. The plan is to finish it by December 9 before 4:00 pm due to a critique for a storyboard class. Unlike most storyboards, this one will be drawn in full-color frames, thus resembling more of a comic strip with its panels shaped in various ways. Of course, I will not share the storyboard until after the episode is complete due to spoilers. As soon as it's over, I will continue animating the episode while attending another class: Advanced Transmedia: Animated Short Film.

The Alpha Video Episodes

Disclaimer: The following article was originally released on November 8, 2024 and has been transferred from GoDaddy to Mozello for preservation purposes.

Whenever a cartoon enters the public domain, it’s likely to be featured on DVD collections from third-party media companies such as Millcreek’s Cartoon Collections or Digiview’s Toon Factory. Or better yet, a series of certain cartoons under the same title may have their DVD collection from whatever company is willing to produce it. In one instance, a reel of formerly lost episodes of Colonel Bleep (along with a few found earlier) was brought to life on DVD and produced by Alpha Video. This collection rapidly increased the number of Colonel Bleep episodes and the show’s involvement in many public-domain cartoon collections on DVD. Like in the Toontracker Article, a list describing each episode will be provided in the Alpha Video article.

The Uncharted Island

After forming the trio, Colonel Bleep and his friends set out to find a place to call home.

The Earth from Outer Space

The trio observes and learns about how time on Earth works. Later, they attended a Mardi Gras festival in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Building an Island Base

With his futomic energy, Colonel Bleep builds homes for himself and his friends on Zero-Zero Island. Instantly, they visit the former Belgian Congo and witness a sugarcoated sequence in the country (Warning: This episode contains politically incorrect scenes that can offend specific audiences. Viewer discretion is advised).

Scratch and the Sea Serpent

Scratch gets trapped in the stomach of a sea monster. With a pair of futomic lightning bolts, Bleep and Squeak set off to rescue the caveman.

Squeak and the Terrible Termite

Bleep and Scratch set off to rescue Squeak, who had been abducted by a termite that had somehow grown into a malicious monster.

The Runaway Rocket

A rocket test to the moon goes off course when a gravitational pull sets the rocket to crash down Zero-Zero Island. Quickly, Colonel Bleep soars high to stop the incident.

Man Hunt on the Moon

With Squeak and Scratch in tow, Colonel Bleep set off to the moon to investigate the rocket mishap from The Runaway Rocket.

The Prehistoric Present

Colonel Bleep gives Scratch a special birthday present: a trip back to prehistoric times where he could reunite with his family and play with his childhood pet, Dimples the Dinosaur.

Shadows of Suspicion

Day by day, Squeak pulls various pranks on his friends (mostly on Scratch), but his favorite pranks are making shadow puppets to pretend that he’s in danger.

Danger Below

Colonel Bleep and his deputies set to confront Dr. Destructo and his temporary ally, Octo the Terrible, who steal the priceless pearls of the ocean planet of Aqualand.

War in Robotland

Dr. Destructo secretly conquers the mechanical world of Robotland, forcing the laborers to build war machines. Of course, Bleep and his friends set off to end the hostile conflict.

Dangerous Holiday

Bleep invites his deputies to visit his homeworld in Futura, letting them freely explore the planet’s city without supervision. Neither Squeak nor Scratch knows that the wicked Black Knight of Pluto is trying to sabotage their pleasant visit.

Nightmare

Colonel Bleep builds two space scooters for his space deputies and reminds them to study their flight instructions. While Scratch is determined to learn flight skills carefully, Squeak takes a foolish risk by making himself the Ace of Space with his own highly functional rocket.

Exposed

Having neglected his studies, Squeak struggles to pass his first flight inspection quiz, while Scratch manages to pass the quiz cautiously and perfectly.

Satellite of Death

Scratch prepares for his first space scooter mission but is soon abducted by stereotypical Soviets (the Spagovians) trying to fulfill their plan to launch a satellite before they’re ready to conquer the world. (Warning: This episode contains politically incorrect scenes that can offend specific audiences. Viewer discretion is advised.)

The Ingenious Invention

Squeak and Scratch test their snow machine to make snow for their island home while Bleep sets off on his flight patrol to discover a satellite with stranded puppies and kittens.

The Invisible Gorilla

Dr. Destructo assigns his pet Grizzo, a coconut-loving gorilla, to steal Zero-Zero Island’s rich supply of coconuts.

The Ghastly Ghost

In Egypt, Dr. Destructo sends an army of baboons to steal the precious possessions in the Great Pyramids of Giza. Bleep and the trio set off to guard the pyramids before more treasure is stolen.

Test of Friendship

A reward proclaiming the space deputy of the year threatens the brother-like friendship of Squeak and Scratch, who are tied as the best nominees.

The Greedy Gorilla

In Colonel Bleep’s wondership, known as the Trav-a-Lab, Destructo assigns Grizzo to put in a bomb to destroy the spacecraft.

The Toontracker Episodes

Disclaimer: The following article was originally released on October 25, 2024 and has been transferred from GoDaddy to Mozello for preservation purposes.

Film archivist Ron Kurer re-released eight episodes of Colonel Bleep on his YouTube channel, Toontracker, on September 12, 2018, and October 19, 2019. For many years, Kurer searched for old film reels of classic and obscure cartoons created in the 20th century, as he had never given up his love for animation since childhood.

Then, by the fall of 2018 and 2019, Kurer discovered a few episodes from old film reels displaying some forgotten episodes of the original Colonel Bleep series. Because of how old these reels have been since the 1950s, the episodes are unfortunately in a sepia tone, but it's better than being lost forever. Here is a brief description of each episode, which videos are available in this article.

1. The Magnetic Menace

Colonel Bleep creates a special magnetic paint in various colors for missiles attracted to a planet's surface light. Meanwhile, Squeak and Scratch use that paint to decorate the imaginary rocket they build from an old wooden barrel, without Bleep noticing and unaware of its strange powers.

2. The Falling Star

Squeak discovers his old chest of stage costumes, considering he was a theatre actor before joining forces with Bleep and Scratch as a space deputy. Out of nowhere, a space pirate named Black Patch takes advantage of the puppet's nostalgia and dream of becoming a theatre star in a performance of near death.

(Warning: This episode contains a politically incorrect scene that can offend specific audiences. Viewer discretion is advised)

3. The Relentless Rain

While Colonel Bleep investigates the mysterious robbery of clouds that has led to several droughts on other planets, Dr. Destructo creates a rainstorm, flooding the plastic dome protecting Zero-Zero Island and trying to make Squeak and Scratch drown in their dooms.

4. A Windy Knight

Bleep creates a safe detour map for his deputies to keep for their morning flight patrol, but a vicious knight in black armor from Pluto foils the colonel's plan and sends Squeak and Scratch in a hostile, intergalactic tornado.

5. Ice Demons Attack

An army of fuzzy ice demons threatens to freeze the entire universe into a massive winter wasteland. It's up to Colonel Bleep and his squadron to take action before they try to take over the planets, including Futura.

6. The Rusty Robots

Dr. Destructo creates a Rust-o-Spary and infects hundreds of robots with a rust virus. Elsewhere, Bleep spends the night creating a vaccine that will end the mechanical infection.

7. Space Station X-1

Destructo's robot, Bruto, returns! This time, he sneaks into a space station and sets a death trap for Squeak and Scratch during their daily rocket patrol.

8. Ball of Fire

After telling a story to Squeak about how Scratch rescued a baby mammoth from a pile of snow, the caveman soon sets off to confront a scorching fireball from melting down the snowy mountains of Northern Asia.

9. Winner Take All

The second-to-latest episode to be revived from the abyss! Squeak and Scratch reluctantly agree to participate in a rocket race against a mysterious pilot, unaware that the rival is a relay of four other competitors: Bruto, The Black Knight, Black Patch, and Grizzo (Dr. Destructo's trained gorilla).

Progress Regarding Episode One (Part One)

Disclaimer: The following article was originally released on October 11, 2024 and has been transferred from GoDaddy to Mozello for preservation purposes.

Since I completed Colonel Bleep and the Test Theme, I have been working hard to develop the first episode, The Spaceman's Beginning Part One. The episode will be based on the book's first four chapters, including the prologue.

The animation for the prologue is complete, but it's taking me a while to finish what was supposed to be the book's first official chapter. However, I'm hoping to finish it before Halloween.

I was able to cast three new actors for Episode One! Jaxon Stallings, a TTU graduate and member of KTTZ-FM, will voice our main antagonist, Etoile Feu. Justine Hollingshaus and Jorge Villarreal will voice minor characters. I still seek an actor to voice Cadet Morningstar on the TTU campus and two more minor actors. Meanwhile, I have recordings for those who could play their roles, which will be saved for my completed animations for Episode One.

Apart from The Spaceman's Beginning Part One, I have also been working on a new video for changes in changing the novel to series, with more details on my issues promoting the book and plans on what to expect for episode one. I hoped to complete it and upload it earlier this month, but I had other vital projects, so I decided to delay it and finish it later.

Please be aware that animation takes time and progresses slowly. While it requires a lot of patience, I promise I will get closer to completing the episode with the help of some new and returning cast and crew members. In the future, I will continue to share more upgrades for the episode, including one to celebrate its completion and plans to release it to the world!

The Colonel Bleep Pitch Bible

Disclaimer: The following article was originally released on September 27, 2024 and has been transferred from GoDaddy to Mozello for preservation purposes.

In my previous article, "Colonel Bleep and...The Older Test Pilot?", I wrote about the story of a film reel presenting a demo reel of what is most likely a test pilot for the original Colonel Bleep show back in 1956. You might have noticed a slideshow of a proposed series document in the art gallery, which you can find on the Original Archive. In this bi-weekly article, we will dig deeper into the Colonel Bleep pitch bible from one page to another.

Title Page

The title page gives us a fresh start in learning what the show was supposed to be: an animated adventure quiz featuring TV’s newest star at the time. The first page features Colonel Bleep and his deputies soaring down from space. Below the design is the name and address of Richard H. Ullman Inc., a company that helped produce the show. There is also a list of other productions created by Soundac, such as forgotten game shows like Watch the Birdie and Melody Mileage, a series of weather reports starring the Weather Man, and names for specific collections of animated commercials.

Program Contents

The second page depicts the show’s scheduling plan, which includes how long it should air for the week, either on weekdays or once a week (note: this was before the Saturday Morning Cartoon trend became a thing). If aired on the weekdays, each show episode would last for five minutes a week, with one cartoon episode and a new riddle appearing once every Monday. The rest of the days would feature a new quiz for the children to answer when possible. On Friday (if time allows), a preview of the next episode will be announced. If aired once every week, the show would last for thirty minutes, starting with the opening sequence, a cartoon episode, the first two quizzes, the riddle, two more quizzes (all with phone calls), and the closing sequence. I believe that Soundac preferred the 30-minute sequence for Colonel Bleep since it was easier to pack the cartoons, the quizzes, and the riddles in one, meaning more time for preparing the show.

Program Format

More planning for the show involves hiring a host portraying a specific character like Captain Star, Cactus Jack, or Uncle Bill (it was often confused that Colonel Bleep first aired on a so-called syndicated children’s program, Uncle Bill’s TV Club). The set promoting Colonel Bleep is supposed to resemble an Earth Command Station, tying the show’s theme to the Space Age. There is also a more detailed explanation of the five-minute format for the show, such as how prizes are awarded to the children (if they answer a question correctly) or to give them another chance to answer a question if they failed in a previous one. There are also suggestions for a peanut gallery for children who want to attend the quiz show on their local TV station.

Merchandising

Some unique strategies in promoting the show are labels on food products for children who want to participate in the quiz show, such as mailing their name, address, and phone number to their local station. As for many cartoons in the 20th century, toys and other merchandise were based on the shows through self-liquidation and under the sponsorship of specific brands, such as the Loblaws supermarket chain. Apart from merch, the show can host contests for the best drawings, a new name for Zero-Zero Island (take Null Island, for example), the best riddle submitted, or how many paper cutouts of Scratch’s club in a jar.

Concept art of the set

The last page of the series features concept art for the proposed set for The Colonel Bleep Show. The design is similar to the stage scenery from the demo reel featured in the previous article, with a few cardboard cutouts of the rocket from the opening sequence, a background art of space, and a peanut gallery with Colonel Bleep’s face upfront. The scenery offers some flare in representing the Golden Space Age, the practical charm of the original series.

Now, it may be a bit disappointing to many as it does not compare to other pitch bibles like Star Trek, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (initially titled My Little Pony Adventures), Stranger Things (initially titled Montauk), or Adventure Time, which all do excellent descriptions of worldbuilding, storytelling, and introducing the characters. While I understand the people of Soundac were more into making Colonel Bleep a game show, some aspects the creators should have included are short descriptions of each character (precisely the main three), a simple premise for the cartoons, and a list of episodes they plan to produce (which could have given us some hints of episodes that are still missing today). Nevertheless, it at least provided some constructive planning on how Soundac wanted TV stations to promote the show and fulfill the company’s business as it would become one of Soundac’s most successful productions at its time.

Colonel Bleep and...the Older Test Pilot?

Disclaimer: The following article was initially released on September 13, 2024, and has been transferred from GoDaddy to Mozello for preservation purposes.

Sometime in the middle of September 2018, professional cartoon researchers Jerry Beck and Mark Kausler discovered an old 1956 reel of what is possibly a test pilot of the Colonel Bleep quiz show. In one of my videos titled The Rise and Fall of Colonel Bleep, I mentioned how the cartoon was primarily designed as an “animated adventure quiz” in which the show pronounces quizzes and riddles worth solving live or on the telephone for the kids to win special prizes.

The reel was posted on YouTube on September 11, and an article discussing the pilot was posted just one day later. The video (along with the articles) was nicknamed The Colonel Bleep Show, as it would feature mostly the quiz show rather than the cartoon. Nearly six years later, the reel was released on YouTube again, but in much better quality by the film archivist Jeff Sabu (which is being displayed in this article).

The video starts with Bleep soaring through space with his unicycle as the show's title pops out. We are soon introduced to the show host, Captain Star (played by Bob Lawrence), who welcomes the audience into the show, sponsored by the Canadian supermarket chain Loblaws (as the show’s studio, Soundac, originated in Buffalo, New York and some stores in the United States helped promote the show). After the introduction sequence, the show proceeds to display one of the episodes of Colonel Bleep: Scratch and the Sea Serpent.

The video returns to Captain Star, who, along with the narrator, announces the first quiz question. This question is referred to in Col. Bleep’s Arrival on Earth, right at the scene where scientists working in the Hale Telescope discover the spaceman approaching our world. Bleep and his deputies, Squeak and Scratch, struggle to agree on which mountain the telescope was built. Bleep believes it's Mount Everest, Squeak thinks it's Mount Palomar, and Scratch predicts it's Mount Wilson. Sooner or later, Captain Star prepares his adorable device, the Futomic Memory Energizer, and calls the first participant, Tom Jones, who answers the correct answer, Mount Palomar, and wins a toy boat as his prize.

Just before the following quiz is announced, Captain Star tells all the kids that whoever wishes to be a part of the show can mail a label featuring Colonel Bleep from a bag of Loblaws own baked loaf of bread next time they go grocery shopping with their parents (as the show, again, is sponsored by Loblaws). They'll receive a special membership card from their local TV station when they send the label (along with their name, phone number, and house address).

The second quiz is referred from The Uncharted Island, in which Bleep and his pals find the perfect place they can call home, known as Zero-Zero Island, as it is marked on the center of Earth’s axis. This time, the trio cannot agree on the name of the center latitude line dividing half of the Earth equally. Bleep predicts the Tropic Belt, Squeak thinks it's called The Great Divide, and Scratch believes it's the Equator. The second participant in this quiz is Jim Carter, who correctly answers that it is the Equator and wins a baseball set as his prize.

After a test commercial break, the video proceeds to the riddle. Unlike the last two quizzes, the riddle does not relate to any episode of the series, rather than being based on a tricky poem that the child (with the help of their parents) needs to solve. The prize promoted in this riddle is an RCA portable radio-phonograph, “the world’s first and finest.” Before proceeding to the first riddle, Jack Mitchell, the third participant, is chosen to solve a riddle from the week before. The riddle from last week is never shown, but the answer is football, which Jack fails to solve. Soon, the show proceeded to the latest riddle, a famous historical event.

A militant cow of the opposite sex,

came running with the Sun.

Valleys rang from North to South,

before the day was won.

This riddle refers to the Battle of Bull Run (the first major battle of the American Civil War) since a bull is the opposite of a cow. The segment, which came running with the sun, refers to the fight starting at 5:30 in the morning, and the North and South may refer to the Union and the notorious Confederate states (who won that battle), respectively.

Just as the show is almost over, the narrator promotes the next exciting episode of Uncharted Island, where we can discover Bleep and his friends’ dream homes and their destination to Zero-Zero Island. Eventually, the show ends with Captain Star saying farewell to the audience, and we proceed to the ending credits.

The older test pilot is nothing like the modern test pilot I created, as they take entirely different paths: one that’s more product-driven and the other that’s more character-driven. Regardless, the studio (mostly Jack Schleh) developed innovative techniques by making Colonel Bleep one of the first to combine cartoons with a quiz show celebrating the Golden Space Age. The set design is beautifully done, and Lawrence and Noah Tyler (the narrator) did an excellent job hosting the show with their bold and exciting tones of voice. This demo reel was successful and became a hit in its original black-and-white air run from 1957 to 1960. After a five-year hiatus in most TV stations, the show was brought back around 1967, but this time, in glorious living color!

Tune in the next two weeks as I post another article regarding the show's pitch bible!

The Malicious Mailman

Disclaimer: The following article was originally released on August 30, 2024 and has been transferred from GoDaddy to Mozello for preservation purposes.

On August 23, 2023, Multicom Entertainment Inc. restored and re-released the latest episode of the original Colonel Bleep show. It is currently available to watch for free on The Archive website (not to be confused with The Internet Archive).

https://www.thearchive.tv/feature/colonel-bleep-malicious-mailman

As of this day, it is the only Colonel Bleep episode brought back in the 2020s and the only episode not to be posted on YouTube (but it could be sometime soon). Along with The Treacherous Pirate and Nightmare, it is also one of three episodes to have its visual quality rejuvenated.

Before you watch The Malicious Mailman, you should watch The Lunar Luger first in the video below.

Completed watching this episode? Excellent! Now, I can explain the following episode before you plan on watching that next.

Set after the events of The Lunar Luger, Colonel Bleep invents the solar shield, a golden sun-shaped disk that is strong enough to resist the Lunar Luger’s moon-gravity control. Any pilot with a solar shield will be protected from certain doom from Dr. Destructo’s gruesome weapon. However, the doctor doesn’t let those shields get in his way. He assigns his robot, Bruto (often called The Black Robot, and yes, I know it sounds a bit problematic), to sabotage the delivery of packaged solar shields in the Futura mailing station.

Sarah Smith, who found this episode significant, and the staff of Multicom Entertainment Inc. restored it in the best condition possible, are creditable.

Introducing the Newsletter (Again)

This was a tough decision and journey to participate in, but the Colonel Bleep and the Uncharted Earth website has recently been transferred from GoDaddy to a new web host that is much more user friendly and affordable: Mozello.

While we have switched to another web host (for the second time since we transferred from Wix), the newsletter will remain the same as we will continue to release new articles regarding updates and future plans for Uncharted Earth and interesting facts regarding its classic predecessor.

We will also be transferring most of our older articles, not for self-plagarism but for preservation. Please note that preserved articles will include a disclaimer, along with the date of its original release date. Until then, we'll be sure to get back on track once we complete even more grand changes for this passion project!