This is your resident cartoon mogul Devildriver1313 throwing another edition of…
Ah, tomatoes. Nature’s edible conundrum. Is it a fruit or a vegetable? Is it an evil instrument of death created by mad scientist? Or have the tomatoes become sentient and exact their revenge on humanity for consuming their brethren? Answer—all of the above. In 1978, humanity was under assault from red fruit/vegetable hybrid in the cult classic film “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes”. Three sequels followed along with an animated series that was just ripe for cheesy goodness.
The animated series Attack of the Killer Tomatoes debuted in 1990. It is set after the events of the first film where tomatoes have been outlawed in the US since the Great Tomato War. However that has not stopped Dr. Putrid T. Gangreen from engaging in his experiments. Gangreen’s ultimate goal is to rule the world and he will not let anyone stop him. But his most successful experiment may very well be his undoing. Tara Boumdeay, a tomato turned human runs away from Gangreen, taking with her ‘Brother’ the fur-covered F.T., whom she passes off as a dog. They befriend Chad Finletter (nephew of the Great Tomato War veteran, Wilbur Finletter) who, after saving the pair from a tomato attack, gets Tara a job at his uncle Wilbur’s Tomatoless Pizza Parlor. She shares their secret with Chad regarding the two of them being tomatoes and Chad vows to help them against whatever Gangreen has planned. That is where everyone stands at the start of the first episode, “Give A Little Whistle”, where the evil Doctor sets his new plans into motion (and would continue through the first season).
Tara, F.T. and Chad Finletter
CHEESE FACTOR!! The Killer Tomatoes movies were B-movies meaning they were campy and cheesy. So it’s no surprise that the animated series would live up to its live action counterparts. There are one-liners aplenty and all of them tomato related. Good for a few moments but the gag runs old midway through the series’ first season. The antagonist Doctor Putrid T. Gangreen had a pension for breaking the fourth wall. A lot of the doctor’s comments aimed at the fact that he realizes that he is in a cartoon. This gag filtered to the rest of characters as well. But again, Deadpool they ain’t. And then there’s F.T. or Fuzzy Tomato who is passed off as Tara’s pet dog. Seriously? He’s round. He’s red and fuzzy. He’s walks on green stems. He’s a friggin’ tomato. Surely, someone coulda figured this out.
Putrid T. Gangreen and his henchman Igor plot to revive the Tomato Wars.
WHY WE WATCHED!! For the Cheese Factor! All the above reasons are the same reasons why we watched this show. Plus, this show is in fact based off the second film “Return of the Killer Tomatoes” which hit theatres in 1988, a decade after the original film (see, the Mask and Indiana Jones weren’t the first franchises the have a 10+ year gap between sequels). Thus, making it more relevant with the 80’s kids who weren’t old enough to remember the original 1978 film. To draw in fans of “Return of the Killer Tomatoes”, John Astin reprised his role as mad scienti—sorry, angry scientist Putrid T. Gangreen, whose name was changed from the character Mortimer Gangreen in the film. Addams Family fans will remember him as Gomez Addams from the original TV series.
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes ran for two seasons on FOX Kids from 1990-1991. Changes to characters and storyline in the second season led to the series cancellation. Nevertheless, it was a funny and entertaining show filled with cheesy goodness and a parachute.
The tomatoes get:
In some cases, cheese is good with tomatoes.
