The Brak Show, Vol. 1
Long before his stint as an intergalactic pirate, and later, as an  addled sidekick to Space Ghost onCartoon PlanetandSpace  Ghost: Coast to Coast, Brak was just a naïve, feline-esque kid  living with his parents, his pal/nemesis, the evil mantis Zorak, and a  massive warrior robot neighbor in the suburb of Spacetown. Fourteen of  his misadventures have been compiled on this weird and frequently  hilarious two-disc set, which also features a bundle of extras, all  highlighted by Brak’s irrepressible need for song. Written and produced  bySG: CTCwriters Jim Fortier and Pete Smith, and featuring  several performers from that series as well (including Andy Merrill as  Brak, C. Martin Croker as Zorak, and George Lowe as Brak’s Dad),The  Brak Showechoes its predecessor’s penchant for absurd,  stream-of-consciousness comedy; episodes hinge around Brak putting on a  musicial ("Psychoklahoma," featuring Charo!), rescuing his mom from a  lovesick alien blob ("Mobab"), a staring contest ("The Eye"), and using  a time machine to finish his homework ("Time Machine").  If the  premises seem too silly for words, the writing and performances  (especially Merrill and Croker) are both giddy and clever, and in a  very odd way, accurately evoke the anything-goes imagination of  pre-teens. The show’s credit sequences, which spoof popular sitcoms   from the past (Laverne and Shirley,Petticoat Junction),  add another layer of quirky charm.Volume 1 compiles the entire first season ofThe Brak Show, and  tosses in three episodes from Season 2 for good measure (the episodes  are presented out of their broadcast order); commentaries by Smith,  Fortier, Merrill and Brak himself are featured on three episodes, while  an odd audio-only radio play of an unaired pilot is heard over a  fourth. Clips from his short-lived variety show,Brak Presents The  Brak Show Starring Brak, and a terrific 20-minute barrage of his  best moments fromCartoon PlanetandSG: CTC, round out  the extras. So much Brak in a single package may be too much for the  casual fan, but for the Brak obsessive in your life, this will be  comedy nirvana.--Paul Gaita