We have some big news for SPC fans this month! Let's start with:
SABAN SELLING OUT!
That's right, Saban has been the owner of "Samurai Pizza Cats", but they are selling out all their share of Fox Family Worldwide, which includes the Fox Family Channel and Fox Kids. Fox will most likely soon become the new owners of the show. Fox will have to pay Saban somewhere between 1.2-1.6 BILLION DOLLARS, maybe even more, for Saban's 49.5% share of FFW! Things are still being worked out as of the time I write this, so I don't have all the details yet. You can read some more about it here http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20001221/bs/fox_family_saban_3.html
Another 10 Year Anniversary
Most Pizza Cats fans know that 2000 was the 10 year anniversary of "Cat Ninden Teyande", but 2001 is an important anniversary for us too. It was in 1991 that the English version, "Samurai Pizza Cats" was made, although most of us wouldn't see it until years later.
Many anime shows have been dubbed into English and had their stories changed for "western" viewing, but they usually take themselves too seriously and end up totally stupid. (Voltron comes to mind off the top of my head) The crew who worked on SPC really put some talent into their work, and made something that, while different from the original, was just as fun and kept to the spirit of the original. The English dub also lead to SPC being dubbed into several other languages. Without it, most of us would probably also have never found out about the original Cat Ninden Teyande. Many fans got their first real interest in anime from SPC.
I'm not really sure what day or month work started on SPC in 1991, but sometime this year will be it's 10th anniversary, and I hope sometime this year we may see it on our TVs again.
-Violet
Pizza Cat's New Year's Resolutions
Last month we asked what New Year's Resolutions their favorite SPC characters should make, here's what some SPC fans suggested:
From: Annik Boyer
For the series, in general, it would be to make a come back on the TV.
For an particuliar character, it would be with Big Cheese: to pursue his
cross-dressing and to have some of his big and funny explosions once in a
while...
From: Ribby
Speedy: I hereby resolve to make sure Guido is out of the way before I go to
visit Lucille!
Guido: I hereby resolve to make sure Speedy is out of the way before I go to
visit Lucille!
Polly: I hereby resolve to whack Speedy and Guido every time I see either of
them trying to sneak off!
Francine: I hereby resolve to practice my aim with the new Deer Hunter game
I got for Christmas!
Spritz: I hereby resolve to get my water from somewhere else, now that I've
figured out where it's come from...YEESH!
Bad Bird: I hereby resolve to sit in waterfalls and meditate every time I'm
ever defeated to numb the pain and get my brain working!
Princess Vi: I hereby resolve to make the Big Cheese give me back ALL of my
clothes and ALL of my makeup or I'll have him sent to Prisoner's Island!
Big Cheese: But they're mine...
Fred: Fa-red, fa-red, shimmy shimmy cocoa pop, fa-reeeeeeeeed!
From: Milfalcon9
For Polly...to be nicer to Speedy, and for Lucille, to be a Pizza Cat!
From: Pepper
Speedy- Propose to Polly (But wait until she's in a really good mood)
Polly- Stop beating up Speedy & Guido with frying pans, and use something more durable to hit them with
Guido- Star in Austin Powers 3. He's perfect for the role.
Francine- Get lessons from a shooting gallery, so she won't keep shooting the SPC into trees, buildings, brick walls etc.
Lucille- Remember not to stand up Speedy or Guido on dates.
Bad Bird- Take up boxing, in order to help prevent Princess Vi marrying him.
Big Cheese- Get singing lessons, and NEVER sing ANY easy-listening music ever again.
Princess Vi- Buy more desert Islands, so she can exile more people.
Mama-San & Junior- Start catching the train (they've never managed to catch that bus they're always waiting for) and think up better jokes.
Jerry Atric- Stop sipping that stupid tea (Its 10 years past its Use-by date)
The Rude Noise- Play their songs at the Big Day Out
Big Al Dente- See a psychiatrist about his *obsession* with poles
From: CrimsonCat45
Speedy: Stop fighting with Guido so much.
Guido: Let Speedy go on a date with Lucille.
Polly: Just be her good old self.
Francine: Try to stop firing the Pizza Cats into mountains, walls, and other hard objects.
Big Cheese: Do something about that bad case of redeye.
Pizza Cats Facts
Pururun's (Japanese) voice actress, Ai Orikasa, also is the voice of Ryoko on "Tenchi Muyou".
Many of the voice actors from the English SPC also worked on the animated "Heavy Metal 2000" movie.
New Message Board for SPC fans
As a replacement for the old "SPC Bored Room", a new SPC fan message board, the "Scratching Post" has been set up at the Samurai Saving Time site. This isn't meant to be a substitute for the alt.tv.pizzacats newsgroup, but fans seemed to like using the old message board, so it's was worth replacing. The "Scratching Post" is run by dedicated SPC fans and is intended to provide a friendly and junk (Spam, etc.) free place for SPC fans to speak out.
http://www.proboards.com/boards/index.cgi?&user=pizzacats&b=1
2001 Calendar
The 2001 SPC fan calendar is up and running. The January page is ready for you to download and print out or use as wallpaper on your computer and keep track of the days as you make your way through 2001. This month's image is by Expresso and has a winter theme.
http://members.fortunecity.com/spccalendar/
This Month's Picture
The Pizza Cats play some other roles.
Happy New Year!
That's it for the first issue of 2001. We'll be back next month with the latest news. Hopefully Saban selling out will help SPC find a better home, dealing with Saban has always been difficult and frustrating for SPC fans who want the show back on, so any move is probably for the better.
-Violet
