Nickelodeon has had a history of developing heroic characters to complement their comedy shows.
For example, a recurring character on The Ren & Stimpy Show was Powdered Toast Man, which was just an excuse for guest star Gary Owens to parody his iconic 60's hero, Space Ghost.
In the case of SpongeBob SquarePants, there was an Aquaman send-up, Mermaid Man (Ernest Borgnine, ex-Airwolf, McHale's Navy) and his sidekick, Barnacle Boy (Tim Conway).
In "Back to The Past", SpongeBob (Tom Kenny) and Patrick (Bill Fagerbakke, ex-Coach, Gargoyles) help the aging heroes back to their headquarters, and are introduced to a time machine. Patrick, being dumber than a bag of hammers, accidentally sends them back in time to the 50's. The younger versions of Mermaid Man & Barnacle Boy are voiced by two more 60's icons, Adam West & Burt Ward. Holy nostalgia!
Edit, 8/5/2020: Unfortunately, the video has been deleted. In its place is a short clip of the episode title credits:
In memory of Tim Conway, who passed away yesterday at 85. No rating, out of respect.
2 comments:
You know, I've always wondered why they changed the color of Mermaidman's belt. The purple with the blue buckle kind of messes up the color scheme.
I wish I knew.
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