Episode 168 - Space Ghost Coast to Coast (Mike Lazzo, 1994-2008) (with Jacqueline Ristola)

Space Ghost Coast to Coast (Mike Lazzo, 1994-2008)

The Fantasy/Animation podcast takes listeners on a journey through the intersection between fantasy cinema and the medium of animation. Available via Apple Podcasts, Spotify and many of your favourite podcast hosting platforms!

In Episode 168 of the podcast, Chris and Alex are delighted to be joined by Dr Jacqueline Ristola, Lecturer in the Department of Film and Television at the University of Bristol, to discuss the Cartoon Network’s adult live-action/animated talkshow parody Space Ghost Coast to Coast (Mike Lazzo, 1994-2008). With research areas including animation, anime studies, media industry studies, and queer representation, Jacqueline is the ideal guest to introduce listeners to the surrealist tone, irreverent comedy, and generic subversions of Space Ghost, with a focus in this instalment on the specific episodes “Sleeper” (S2E7) (1995), “Rehearsal” (S4E1) (1997), and “Fire Ant” (S6E6) (1999). Listen as they discuss Space Ghost’s carnival qualities and the role of fantasy-as-critique; media conglomeration, the U.S. talk show wars, and Adult Swim; the labour of cut-and-paste and limited animation as a stylistic advantage; and how the meta-commentary of Space Ghost represents an abrasive challenge to the flow and form of conventional television animation.

**Fantasy/Animation theme tune composed by Francisca Araujo**

**As featured on Feedspot’s 25 Best London Education Podcasts**

**As featured on MillionPodcast’s Best 10 UK Animation Podcasts and Best 60 Movie Podcasts in the UK**

Suggested Readings

• Ristola, Jacqueline. 2024. “Every Time I Move My Arm, it Costs the Cartoon Network 42 Bucks”: Remixing Limited Animation in Space Ghost: Coast to Coast.” Television and New Media 26, no. 3: 355-372.

• Ristola, Jacqueline. 2025. “Queering the Metaverse: Envisioning the Future of Embodiment in VR.” Digital Society 4, no. 43:

• Sandler, Kevin. 2019. “Limited Animation, 1947–1989.” In Animation, ed. Scott Curtis, 75–102. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.

• Stabile, Carol A. and Mark Harrison, eds. 2003. Primetime Time Animation: Television Animation and American Culture. London and New York: Routledge.

• Wells, Paul. 2002. Animation and America. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.

• Williams, Raymond. 2003. Television: Technology and Cultural Form. New York and London: Routledge.