Forgotton geekdom: The Pole Position cartoon

Josh
Monday
11:14 am

This morning, ForeverGeek.com released a list of the Top 20 Geek Cars. I have a few problems with the list, and Twitter pal @Zeblue_prime disliked it enough to post a feature-length rebuttal.

Rather than create my own list, I bring to your attention two geeky cars nobody else remembers: The heroes of “Pole Position.”

More lens flares than a J.J. Abrams movie.

Not the 80s arcade game, or the horrible Atari 2600 conversion, but the CBS cartoon that ran in 1985.

In many ways, the show had striking parallels to the soul-crushingly-depressing “Devlin,” but without the wrist-slitting sadness. “Pole Position” was about three sibling crime fighters who were part of a traveling stunt show. When their parents died, they were contacted by a secret government agency to continue the family business of stunt driving and FBI-like mystery solving.

They accomplished their awesome stunts not through their own prowess, but through the help of their two high-tech talking cars, Wheels and Roadie. The cars, a 60s-era Mustang and a high tech sportster, had an endless supply of hidden gadgets. Hoverjets, waterskis, oil slicks and grappling hooks all made an appearance.

Cars? Check. Heroes? Check. Annoying little kid? Check. Cute animal mascot thing? Check.

The two vehicles had distinct personalities, not altogether unlike Mel Gibson and Danny Glover from “Lethal Weapon.” Wheels, the “older” talking Mustang, is frequently “too old for this stuff,” while the more reckless Roadie is always eager to help the team out of a tight spot.

The show only ran for 13 episodes, but because kids will watch anything, ran for nearly two years on CBS and enjoyed a resurgence a few years later on the BBC.

Oh, and in case you want more, here’s the rockin’ theme song and introduction: