"London. Birthplace of the waterproof teabag and the clockwork steam iron, and home, in a red pillarbox cunningly disguised as a red pillarbox, of Dangermouse – Distinguished Order of Incredible Bravery; and Penfold – Cowardy Cowardy Custard and the Bar."

So begins another adventure for Dangermouse and Penfold, defender of justice and quivering jelly respectively, as they battle to save the world yet again from the clutches of evil toad Baron Greenback.

Comments | DM's return? | Links | Credits
Characters | Comics | Merchandise

Comments

Dangermouse had the distinction of being the first UK cartoon to make it big on American TV, although it actually proved to be a hit all over the world (it's been shown in over 70 countries). A fascinating fact, when you consider how resolutely and hilariously British it is; from DM's suave BBC English accent to the photo-realistic skylines of London used in every episode. Not to mention, of course, the postmodern Monty Python/Goodies-like surrealism in the writing (I told you not to mention that).

As is often the case with these things, the earlier episodes are the best, as many of the later ones suffer from being 22 minutes long, but only having 2 minutes' worth of plot. Also, the cheapness of the animation is really obvious when viewed through a cynical adult's eyes. An average episode uses at least 10 different generic sequences, such as DM and Penfold descending the sofa-lift, or walking across the screen, or talking to Colonel K on the video phone. And don't even get me started on the lengths they go to to avoid having to lip-synch! Spotting stuff like this from episode to episode is entertaining in itself, though, so I'm not complaining. In fact, I'm sure there's a drinking game in there somewhere...

DM's return?

Hmm... tricky one, this. Rumours have been rumoured (yes, even on this very site). Talk has been talked. Scripts have been scripted. Horrible, horrible ideas have been tossed around. Yet at this precise moment (May 2003), DM seems to be in something of a state of limbo. So what can I say? Well, keep watching this space. I can't think it's very likely that Dangermouse won't be allowed the glorious comeback many people would say he deserves, but for the moment, there aren't any exact details to pass on to you. I can confirm the 3D project's pretty much dead and buried: probably for the best, really.

Links

Whoa nelly! Now here's a Dangermouse site to be proud of. Club DM is slick, filled with luscious multimedia content, and basically makes my page look like a right load of old cack. So please go there, while I weep bitterly into my Cherry Tango.

There's a fascinating interview with Brian Cosgrove and Mark Hall, which mostly concentrates on DM, at the Classic Television Web site.

Toonhound has a nice Dangermouse section, as well as many useful links to help you find more info.

80s Nostalgia has pictures, sounds and - wait for it - video clips! WooHoo!

Dangermouse.org is the place to go for lots of .wav files, screengrabs, and more. Writing's a bit choppy, though. Sort it out, dearie.

Go here for Dangermouse stories, and more top-secret info from "The Dangermouse File".

It's handy to have an episode guide for such a long-running show, don't you think?