The Premise
Colonel Bleep, the intelligent space ranger working for the Futura
High Command on planet Futura, is assigned on a mission to Earth after
discovering that humanity has developed nuclear bombs. Seeing them as
signs of trouble, members of the Futura High Command send Colonel Bleep
to Earth, where he would later meet his two loyal deputies, Squeak and
Scratch. Squeak is the happy-go-lucky marionette shaped like a little
boy. His origins could be more evident, and he needs a mouth and a voice
for himself (though there are a few episodes in which he talks).
Despite these issues, he can still move and think independently and is
as curious as most children. Scratch is the clueless but mighty
prehistoric brawn of the trio. Although all cave people should have been
extinct, Scratch is practically the last of his kind. He was
accidentally sent from the Stone Age to the modern world after being
blasted out of an atomic explosion while falling asleep for “several
thousands of years.” The three heroes decide to band together by
creating a home on a small tropical island and working with one another
as they venture across the universe to protect it from evil forces and
dangerous hazards. In terms of symbolism, Colonel Bleep, Squeak, and
Scratch represent the future, present, and past, respectively, thus
making them the show's main stars.
Timeline
1950s
- 1951 - Bobby Nicholson founded Soundac as a studio for game shows and animated commercials.
- 1956 - Production for Colonel Bleep, created by Robert D. Buchanan and Jack Schleh, begins at the brink of the early space age and the show's first year under a copyright license.
- 1957 - Colonel Bleep is first syndicated to children's programs nationwide, but only in black and white.
1960s
- 1960 - Original run for Colonel Bleep ends.
- 1967 - Colonel Bleep is brought back to re-runs and is produced in full color for the first time.
1970s
- 1971 - The last known year for reruns of Colonel Bleep.
1980s
- 1981 - Last known year of production before Soundac closed down.
- 1985 - Colonel Bleep enters the Public Domain after failure to renew the copyright.
1990s
- 1991 - The search to restore Colonel Bleep begins! Streamline Productions releases the show on video cassettes with 14 episodes.
- 1993 - Co-creator Jack Schleh passes away. Another restored episode, The Treacherous Pirate, sneaks into Speed Racer: The Movie (aka The Speed Racer Show) when it hits theaters.
2000s
- 2000 - Colonel Bleep is introduced to public-domain cartoon collections on DVD and VHS.
- 2005 - 20 more episodes of Colonel Bleep are restored on DVD by Alpha Video
2010s
- 2013 - The Colonel Bleep Wiki first launches Fandom (formerly known as Wikia).
- 2018—On YouTube, Jerry Beck and Mark Kausler restore a demo reel (presumably the original test pilot) of The Colonel Bleep Show.
- 2019 - Ron Kurer restores eight episodes of Colonel Bleep on his channel, ToonTracker.
2020s
- 2022 - Development for Colonel Bleep and the Uncharted Earth begins.
- 2023 - Multicom Entertainment Co. restores one episode, The Malicious Mailman. Colonel Bleep and the Uncharted Earth was first promoted on social media (back when it was a novel).
- 2024 - The test pilot for Uncharted Earth is released on GoDaddy, YouTube, and the Internet Archive. The first Colonel Bleep subreddit is created on Reddit.
- 2025 - The book Colonel Bleep and the Uncharted Earth: The Quest to Revive a Forgotten Classic is first published digitally on the Internet Archive and traditionally on Lulu. Colonel Bleep and the Test Theme are transferred to Mozello and PeerTube. The first unofficial channel for the original Colonel Bleep series has also been released on PeerTube.
Want to learn more?
Consider checking out the Colonel Bleep Wiki on Fandom for more accurate information, including videos of the original surviving episodes, articles, galleries, unique lists, other projects by Soundac, and more!