Courage The Cowardly Dog

Forthrightly, I am not so big on watching television shows like I was when I was a kid. In my younger days, I would watch television nonstop after school until bedtime. Now, as an adult with interesting goals, things have changed. When I am using the television, I normally watch informative or self-help videos on YouTube. However, I have been watching certain television shows that pique my interest.

There is one show in mind that I consider a *ahem* a guilty pleasure. As you can tell by the banner of my post, it is an animated series. The show I am referring to is Courage The Cowardly Dog. For those of you who have seen this show or even heard of it are probably wondering, “Why that show?” For those of you who are not familiar with the show, allow me to reveal the dark world of the major character on the show. The show is about a small, purple dog who lives with an elderly couple in an eerie, rural area. Based on the title, the dog is named Courage, and he is a fraidy cat, or I should say fraidy dog; hence, being “cowardly.” Getting back to the concept of the show, weird and sometimes creepy events happen around the family, and Courage would reluctantly try to save his family or the day. In some ways, this show reminds me of Scooby Doo, except Courage’s adventures are darker and paranormal, and he does not team up with dorky, young adults; meaning, he would go on his quests by himself. Do not get me wrong, I have always loved Scooby Doo, but I would choose the purple dog in a heartbeat.

I am not really a big fan of shows with live actors. However, I do enjoy some, old and new. Buck Rogers In The 25th Century, The Walking Dead, Cobra Kai, Dark Angel, iZombie, and a few others. Those shows are great to me. However, I am more into animated shows because I feel that they are more creative, and anything can happen in the animated world. I am not indicating that live action films cannot be the same. Watching animated shows (or movies) make me feel more young at heart. Animated shows like Dragon Ball Z, Samurai Jack, Justice League, ThunderCats, The Powerpuff Girls, X-Men, and many others I will admit I have watched in the past.

Courage The Cowardly Dog is the show that stands out the most for me. For one, the genre of the show is right up my alley. The show is a mix of horror, mystery, science fiction and a little bit of fantasy; and it all depends on the episode. Two, the bizarre circumstances that arise in Courage’s life are funny and so unpredictable. As Courage embarks on his crazy ventures, you do not know what will happen next. And three, the show is how I personally like art – creative and abstract.

I first watched this show in the early 2000’s, and I fell in love with it immediately. The first episode I saw was “The Shadow of Courage” from Season One. In this episode, the shadow of a deceased, evil rich guy was haunting Courage and his family.

The show lasted for only four seasons, and each episode were split into two mini episodes. There are a little over one hundred mini episodes, and I have seen every single one of them. As time progressed and my life became more productive, I completely forgot about the show. Accidental findings of Courage The Cowardly Dog merchandises on Amazon and eBay triggered memories of these crazy episodes. I decided to order the complete DVD set of the show, but I kept forgetting for some odd reason. After having HBO Max, I came across all four seasons of the show and felt like a kid in a candy store. Shortly afterwards, I began binge-watching this awesome show I love so much. It took me less than a week to watch every single episode on HBO Max. All episodes are great, but there are few of my favorite ones. “King Ramses Curse,” from Season One, was about an ancient slab that ended up on family’s property. This frightening-looking spirit, which I am assuming King Ramses, kept putting a curse on the family for not returning the slab.

Also, I really love “The Mask,” from Season Four, because of the relationships of the characters involved. A mysterious masked cat showed up on the property and abused Courage. It turned out that the cat’s best friend was a bunny who was being held hostage by the ex-boyfriend. The ex-boyfriend happened to be a much bigger dog than Courage which explained why the cat had so much hate for Courage.

Another favorite episode of mine is “Squatting Tiger, Hidden Dog.” In this episode, Courage and his family visited China. The elderly woman (Muriel) was kidnapped by an evil empress. Courage had to pass insane tests on his journey in order to save Muriel.

There is a part of me who is ashamed to admit that I really enjoy this show. I usually stay out of conversations when other people around me talk about the latest episodes of The Bachelor, The Real Housewives (of whatever city these days), or Bridgerton. Meanwhile, I have to bite my tongue if I have watched let’s say the crossover of Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go. The only people who know that I love this show are my children and a few close family members. The rest… well, let us just say that they will find out if they ever read this. Sure, watching this show can be an escape. However, it can also be a time to be grateful. It is indeed a strange world we live in but at least our world is not as dark and chaotic as Courage’s world.