Spaceballs: The Animated Series

Some jokes are funny because they're new and surprising, while others make us laugh because they're familiar, taking the comfortable and giving it just enough of a twist to seem different. SPACEBALLS: THE ANIMATED SERIES definitely falls into the second category. And, since this is Mel Brooks (who will never be accused of being overly sensitive), the humor is clever but coarse. There are plenty of jokes about sex, drugs, and religion, and some of the female characters have costumes so small they could never function in a world where the laws of physics apply.

While the original film focused squarely on the Star Wars movies (with frequent references to many other films thrown in for good measure), the series takes aim at the entire universe of sci-fi, fantasy, video games, and pop culture Each episode gleefully skewers a new target, including The Lord of the Rings movies, Jurassic Park, the Grand Theft Auto games, and, of course, the three Star Wars prequels that were released too late to get their due the first time around (it's a good strategy, since the original Star Wars movies are now decades old, and young viewers might be more entertained by a show making fun of something they've seen recently).