What A Cartoon! - The December Schedule

The year is coming to a close, which means it's the first holiday season for What A Cartoon! And we've done our best to cover different kinds of celebrations, while including some non-themed selections for those of you who'd rather forget about everything December entails. If you're not subscribed to the Talking Simpsons Network, signing up for just $5 a month will get you every episode of What A Cartoon! and Talking Simpsons a week ahead of time and ad free, not to mention a ton of bonus episodes, limited series, and more! And our new $10 tier will give you access to our brand-new monthly What A Cartoon! movie podcast, where our patrons choose the subject matter. If you like hearing us nerd out about cartoons, subscribing to the Talking Simpsons Network is a great way to get much, much more of that.

Here's what's on the schedule for next month:

Rugrats - "Chanukah" [Patreon Date: 12/3/18 - Free Feed Date 12/10/18]

After animating the the first three seasons of The Simpsons, Klasky-Csupo went on to create Rugrats, Nick's pre-SpongeBob mega-hit that eventually spawned three movies. And for this episode of What A Cartoon!, we'll be checking out the Rugrats Chanukah special, one of two Rugrats animated specials to celebrate Jewish holidays. While most cartoons of this era backed away from religion entirely, Rugrats often leaned into the Jewish background of some of its characters, and this episode is a great example of that. In the USA, Rugrats is available on Hulu, and you can get a free 30-day trial of the service on us!

Gargoyles - "The Mirror" [Patreon Date: 12/10/18 - Free Feed Date 12/17/18]

We've done a Disney Afternoon cartoon before, but this month, we're looking at one of the company's biggest, riskiest ventures on TV: Gargoyles. Though this show couldn't have come into being without Batman: The Animated Series, it takes its dark tone in a completely different direction by building a rich world with a deep mythology, continuity, and plenty of references to smart stuff. (Oh, and there are a whole lot of Star Trek people, too.) For our exploration of Gargoyles, we'll be looking at season two's "The Mirror," a status quo-changing episode that introduces one of the best characters in the entire series. Unfortunately, Gargoyles is not currently available on any streaming services, though the DVDs are extremely cheap, and you can purchase episodes and seasons on Amazon Prime.

American Dad - "The Best Christmas Story Never Told" [Patreon Date: 12/17/18 - Free Feed Date 12/24/18]

Earlier this year, we were tough-but-fair to Family Guy, but this month, we're looking at a Seth Macfarlane cartoon we actually like. (Yes, it's possible.) Though American Dad started with a fairly limited premise, as the series continued past its first season, it slowly grew into a fun comedy sandbox full of entertaining characters to play with. And this season two episode is a great example of American Dad's early brilliance with how it turns its stock "A Christmas Carol" plot into an exploration of alternate realities and killing Jane Fonda. All this, and an amazing guest role from Lisa Kudrow! You can currently find this episode and a whole lot more of American Dad on Hulu.

Rick and Morty - "Total Rickall" [Patreon Date: 12/24/18 - Free Feed Date 12/31/18]

Hey, have you heard about this little show called Rick and Morty? It seems to be pretty popular. While Justin Roiland, Dan Harmon, and the rest slave away on 100 more years of Rick and Morty, we'll be looking at one of the best episodes of the series to date. Total Rickall combines the best elements of Rick and Morty in one package: it has a solid, clever sci-fi plot, an incredible assortment of absurd new characters, and some great gross-out humor. If you don't own the Blu-Rays, you'll find all of Rick and Morty streaming on Hulu.

Clone High - "Snowflake Day" [Patreon Date: 12/31/18 - Free Feed Date 1/7/19]

Though they basically rule Hollywood these days, back at the beginning of the 21st century, Phil Lord and Chris Miller were just two guys who had a little one-season cartoon on MTV. (Yes, we know it aired on Teletoon first but we live in AMERICA.) At the time, this series seemed destined to be forgotten, but over the years it's gained a real cult following. And for our What A Cartoon! treatment of Clone High, we'll be looking at "Snowflake Day," Clone High's very own holiday special! If you missed the series way way back in the early '00s, you can buy it all digitally via Amazon Prime.

We've got a bunch of great stuff planned for this month, and if you have some holiday downtime, we hope you spend it with us! Thanks again, and get ready to close out 2018 by listening to even more great podcasts!