The Mighty B

(sorry Bonnie, this post is not about you)

In my ever-increasing effort to become The Most Balanced, Well Rounded Person You Will Ever Meet, i've added a Nickelodeon show to my regular DVR recordings. (current subscriptions: Ebert & Roeper, Reno 911, Martha Stewart and various scripted offerings that are on summer hiatus) This cartoon gem is just about the best thing to happen to the color yellow since butterscotch candies. Go thee to your tv guide and find the next episode of THE MIGHTY B.

'The Mighty B' is the name of the imaginary superhero alter ego belonging to the one and only Bessie Higgenbottom, a 10yr old Honeybee Scout with giant glasses, a gnarly lateral lisp and a feverish drive to earn every available merit badge (there are something like 4,000). She also has the energy of a liter bottle of concentrated Red Bull. The best, best, best part about Bessie is that she was created and is voiced by The Funniest Blond Woman Ever To Walk Planet Earth: SNL's Amy Poehler. (i had to specify blond because you can't make me choose between her and Tina Fey and Kristen Wiig. i won't do it. Until i decide that would make a good blog. Then i will.)

Por ejemplo: in one episode, Bessie and her Honeybee pal Penny get addicted to crashing Bat Mitzvahs. Imagine the social profiling jokes that escape the younger viewers, it's pretty hilarious. Key quote: "Ok Penny, remember: if anyone asks, we are her cousins from Tel Aviv."

In another episode, Bessie becomes an investigatory journalist to scoop out the secret of her fellow Honeybee, Portia. If you didn't think it was possible for a children's cartoon to spoof the Oscar-winning Watergate film, 'All the President's Men', you were wrong.

Bessie also beat-boxes her way onto a roller coaster, teaches her dog to ballroom dance, and decides she has ESP. If you've ever seen the SNL sketches where Poehler plays the little kid 'Caitlin' ("Rick! Rick! Rick! Rick!") you'll have a good idea of the mania that identifies Bessie. Plus, the animation is 'Ren & Stimpy'-esque, so it's pretty nutty.

My explanation doesn't do it justice because there are a thousand subtle jokes in every episode and i can't capture the pages-long diatribes that Bessie delivers at hyper-speed. Asians, dog shows, stage-moms, carnies, you name it: this show lovingly digs at it. Oh, and it's set in San Francisco! NorCal pride!

Go watch it. Now. Or come to my house because i have them all saved on the DVR.