People & Media...

Last Friday night, in lieu of hitting the town, I decided to stay in and catch up on my Netflix. And, let me tell you, it was delightful; a much needed respite from the hustle and bustle of the city that never sleeps. My roommate Emily and I watched Robert Altman’s 1993 film “Short Cuts,” which is based on the stories of Raymond Carver. See that movie. It’s real good.

But really, that’s all irrelevant. The reason I bring up the movie is because, during one scene, there’s a shot of a child attentively watching “Captain Planet” in his living room. And then that got me thinking: what ever happened to Captain Planet? Where is he now? Because, the more I learn about the grave state of affairs that is global warming, the more I realize that this world may need Captain Planet now more than ever…

So I did a little research. It turns out the Captain was created by none other than media maverick and billionaire entrepreneur, Ted Turner, in 1990, and the television series lasted six seasons, wrapping up in ’96. 1990? Way to go, Ted Turner. Creating Captain Planet in ’90 seems more forward thinking to me than the decision to merge Time Warner and AOL. On top of that, the Captain’s merry band of ring-bearing comrades hailed from five different continents, giving the show an ethnic, global vibe. It’s important to note that this is long before anyone even knew what being “green” was, and Turner decides to create a blue-skinned superhero with an outrageous mullet who fights environmental villains alongside a posse of multicultural, socially conscious youth. This is progressive stuff. Thinking back on my childhood (I was pretty much the target demographic for the show), I don’t remember a lot about the specifics of the program, but I definitely recall thinking that Captain Planet was cool. I’m fairly certain that the Captain’s status as a hip dude was undisputed amongst my circle of friends. We didn’t even realize, transfixed as we were by his tight leotard and bold hairstyle, that the show could be deemed “educational.”

And then, he was gone. After the show ended in 1996, Captain Planet disappeared from the mainstream pop consciousness. Today, as the earth is ravaged by the effects of global warming, and the call to action to reduce carbon emissions grows more and more vital, Captain Planet’s message is perhaps more poignant than ever. Which is why I propose the following: why not bring him back? I’m not talking about the original series- no, the early nineties animation and clunky scripts laden with bad puns wouldn’t hold the attention of today’s kids who, constantly oversaturated with media as they are, have grown too savvy and discerning to appreciate the nostalgia associated with good, old-fashioned 2D cartoons. This modern reincarnation would not only have to look sick, it would also have to be a little darker, so that its young viewers could be tricked into learning about the perils associated with global warming while simultaneously being frightened by scary-ass bad guys. Maybe a live-action, Tim Burton-esque feature length film would work, set in the near future on a planet cloaked in smog, with a haunting Danny Elfman soundtrack providing the mood music for Captain Planet’s exploits. Ooh, I think I like the sound of that.

In any event, Captain Planet (and Ted Turner) was onto something in 1990 when he pledged to bring pollution down to zero. And I think it’s high time we followed suit.