For those, like me, who were completely unaware of the show’s existence, it premiered in 1968 as a kid sci-fi/action program with marionettes a la ”Thunderbirds” and “Captain Scarlet.” Although, as a kid, I was aware of such shows—they frequently ran on my favorite local UHF stations—I ignored them because the puppets creeped me out, as did “living mouth” cartoons from the same era like “Clutch Cargo.”
However, decades later (and following the appearance of “Team America,” hilariously inspired by marionette shows of the late ‘60s) my childhood puppet-phobias have subsided enough to for me to re-approach these shows – including “Joe 90” – which is curiously similar to the fiction of cyberpunk guru William Gibson, and a certain movie trilogy by the Wachowski Brothers.
Like that film in question, “Joe” features a tow-headed kid (named Joe – duh) who is used by his scientist father as his personal lab animal to test his newest invention – a super-computer called BIG RAT – which can download knowledge into Joe’s brain in a matter of seconds, enabling him to serve as a boy secret agent.
The detailing of the puppets in “Joe” is actually very good – so good, in fact, the more than once a few seemed almost human. But for me, the show’s greatest highlight is its Austin Powers-style soundtrack which is too good to miss. I wonder if there’s a “Joe” soundtrack somewhere out there on Ebay?
At any rate, click here for a sample of “Joe’s” opening sequence, and hold onto your hookas and transistors.
Dad? These secret experiments won't cause any permanent
brain damage, will they...? Um, Daddy?
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