Pink Panther memories
PharWarner's bomb scare entry brought up memories of the Pink Panther. Not just the movies, but the animated cartoon as well. I don't recall the network I saw it on or who the sponsors were or much else not directly related to the cartoon. I saw these cartoons on TV before there was an... unspokespanther(?) for fiberglass insulation.
I do remember that the Pink Panther never, ever, spoke. A later version of the cartoon had him speak. I didn't bother trying to watch such a wrong thing as that. Other characters might have spoken, but I think mostly it was animation and the Henry Mancini theme. The only character I can recall recurring with the Panther was the poor guy who'd always be trying to paint a room or some other job... and always losing.
The other characters that I remember did not appear with the Panther, but in their own shorts on the show. The Ant and the Aardvark I liked. I liked the Ant, of course, since he was the little guy who was put upon and dealt with the problem successfully. I liked the Aardvark's voice. I did not realize until years later that that voice was meant of (stereotypically Jewish) comedian Jackie Mason. Religion, stereotypes, and real life people had nothing to do with the appeal for me. It was a neat voice and that was that.
I haven't seen any Pink Panther cartoons for some years now. Partly it's that I don't watch much TV anymore. Partly it's that Saturday morning cartoons seem to be fading into history. And I expect partly that since it's what I consider a classic, it's not "hip and cutting edge" enough to warrant air time. I suppose it might be on someplace, probably on of those new cable channels nobody gets and everyone is supposed to pester their cable company to carry it.
* Vakkotaur does a quick check.
Hrm, there is a Pink Panther DVD. Several, in fact, but only one that isn't live action, it seems. I wonder if it's the original, properly non-speaking Pink Panther? After a further check, yes, it is. And there appears to be a video of the Ant and the Aardvark. Alas, that seems to be only VHS. (Pet peeve: the use of the term "video" to mean a VHS tape. 'DVD or video' is silly. Both tape and disk can hold video.)
[ADDENDUM: 19 Jan 2010. In going through a DVD set of Pink Panther cartoons it turns out that the fellow did speak, but only very, very rarely.]