The turn of the century was a weird time for television, filled with bizarre spin-off shows and inexplicable commercial campaigns that resemble more like hallucinations than reality. Occasionally, some intrepid media archaeologist will exhume a particularly fascinating piece of pop cultural ephemera from the digital dustbin of history for modern audiences to gawk at in bewildered appreciation.
Case in point: this long lost episode of JBVO: Your All Request Cartoon Show, the short-lived talk show spin-off of Cartoon Network’s Johnny Bravo, featuring the eponymous proto-himbo narrating over a sped-up episode of Dragon Ball Z.
Uploaded to Internet Archive on Tuesday by “SandersPlanet” and “Jericho” before being shared by YouTuber LSuperSonicQ over Twitter on Wednesday, the episode “I’ve Been Practicing” features Johnny Bravo answering a “live” caller request to air an episode of Dragon Ball Z in which Goku fights against Frieza. After explaining to the caller that he can’t air a whole half-hour episode of Dragon Ball Z, Johnny decides to make a concession: He’ll air the episode in question, but it’ll be fast-forwarded to save time.
The scene is the kind of experimental, WTF-inducing fun typical of Cartoon Network’s late-night programming of that era, made even more hilarious by Johnny’s confused commentary over what’s transpiring. JBVO: Your All Request Cartoon Show definitely feels like a piece of Cartoon Network’s other attempts at “hosted” cartoon talk shows, like 1993’s The Moxy Show and 1994’s Space Ghost Coast to Coast.
To date, only two of the series’ 28 episodes have been recovered. What are the chances of all the episodes finding their way online? Not likely, but hope springs eternal!