Buzz Lightyear of Star Command

Shortly after Pixar and Disney released the direct-to-video "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins", this animated series was released. A weekday (and Sunday) series of about 49 episodes was the first to premiere (as part of Disney's "One Too" lineup), but a second set of 13 episodes soon ran parallel to it (as part of ABC's "One Saturday Morning" lineup). Picking up where "The Adventure Begins" left off, the series follows the adventures of Star Command's finest Space Ranger, Buzz Lightyear (...whom we're all probably familiar with...), teamed up with the daughter of the King of Tangea, Ranger Princess Mira Nova (...who possesses the ability to phase, or "ghost" through solid matter, a trait particular to her race...), the burly young native of Jo-Ad, Ranger Booster Sinclair Munchapper (...who, personality-wise, fulfills much the same stereotypical role as Curley did in the Three Stooges, or as Pledge-brother Flounder did in the movie "Animal House"...), and the prototype [e]xpendable/[e]xperimental (...it all depends whom you ask...) robotic Space Ranger, XR (...who fulfills much the same stereotypical role as Iago did in the latter two "Aladdin" films, and in the "Aladdin" series, or as Icarus did in the "Hercules" series...if they were robotic and equipped with a "full body crumple zone"...).

Throughout the series, there is no mention of Buzz being of the human race, nor is there any mention of Earth, nor of what year it is; the series COULD be set in the future, or it could be set a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. Much like "Captain Simian & the Space Monkeys", or "Earthworm Jim: the series", "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command" has both aspects of it for the amusement of children, and aspects of it that slightly more adult folks will find amusing. An example of the latter is the use of the euphemistic interjection "craters!" when under extreme emotional duress, much like the use of the interjection "slag!" in "Transformers: Beast Wars" and the interjection "smeg!" in "Red Dwarf". Such items as this, along with many nice minor "tips o' th' hat" to trademark mainstays of science fiction productions, allow for a wide audience of viewers to enjoy "Buzz Lightyear of Star Command". It orginally aired Saturdays at 10:30 on ABC.