In this week's installment of Saturday Morning Cartoons we see Mary Shelley's Frankenhole return for season two, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic return to SMC due to popular demand, and we take a quick look at one of my favorite HBO cartoons. Minor spoilers ahead!

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "Friends and Enemies"


The week's episode picks up right where last week's ended – Rako Hardeen (a sneaky Obi-Wan in disguise as his own assassin), Morallo Eval, and Cad Bane escaped a prison on Coruscant, and now they are seeking refuge in the outer regions of the galaxy. The trio ditches their stolen spaceship in an attempt to lose the rebels and then set out to exchange their prison unis for new weapons and outfits. This first clip gives a nice throw back to Professor Henry "Indiana" Jones as Cad Bane picks out a new hat and blasters to finish his post-prison outfit. Bane finds a way to assault a Rodian with a toothpick in the process too.



In the second clip, Rako Hardeen negotiates with a Bith (the species of the Mos Eisley Cantina Band members!) for a new ship and we get a glimpse of Cad Bane's suspicion of Rako/Kenobi - a suspicion bolstered by Kenobi's hesitation to attack a guard during the prison breakout. Don't forget about the light saber duel the last time Cad Bane and Obi-Wan met up - it might be a sign of what is to come.

Kenobi goes deep cover, asking Mace and Yoda to remove the bounty on his alter-ego, Cad Bane, and Eval. Anakin, in a fit of rage inspired by information from Palpatine, sets out with Ahsoka to Nal Hutta to track down the trio, leading to the four way duel between Cad Bane, Ahsoka, Anakin, and Kenobi/Hardeen shown in this clip.

Mary Shelley's Frankenhole – "H.G. Wells' Scary Monster Contest!"


Everyone's favorite time-traveling, podcast-hosting science fiction author, H.G. Wells, is expanding his empire to the world of scary monster beauty contests. A very Toddlers and Tiaras move, Mr. Wells - I think you might have a bright future with TLC (oddly, channel 666 in my area...).



Dr. Frankenstein is not too happy about the crowd the Scary Monster Contest brings in, and we see him refuse to sign a kid's brain. When Frankenstein refuses, Dr. Moreau is glad to consent, and we learn that Dr. Frankenstein is not a doctor at all. Victor Frankenstein enters the contest, attaching tentacles to his beloved beast, with Frankenstein's monster unleashing his inner feelings of self pity in front of the audience.

Generator Rex – "Deadzone"


Rex, Noah, and Feakins get disguises, with Rex looking sort of like a creepy version of Curious George's owner.The group uses the disguises to try to board an airplane, but Providence Agents get the jump on the trio.



Later in the episode, Rex uses his powers in a very cool way - taking control of a Providence battleship to defeat a group of Providence agents by ramming it into their smaller craft.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic – "The Last Roundup"


This is the most ominous cartoon episode title ever. "The Last Roundup" starts with a celebration for Applejack, as she leaves to represent Ponyville at the local rodeo and promises to donate her winnings to fix the town hall.



The ponies become concerned after a while when Applejack doe not return for a week. When the rest of the gang does find Applejack, she refuses to return. Applejack is generally not too happy at in this episode, running in a hamster wheel of anger, and messing up the berry sorting process. I miss the elder Pony that needs zap apples.

Marvel Anime: Blade – "Madworld"


Sometimes I find it kinda funny that this show is very good (oooh, -5 for a bad attempt to tie in the title of episode with a Tears for Fears song). In the beginning of this episode, Blade interrupts a gang making some shenanigans. Blade learns that the gang is a tied to Existence in the process and meets Detective Sakomizu in a sword-drawn stand off.



Detective Sakomizu and Blade confront Tanaka, who tells them that Deacon Frost is no longer in the country before unleashing vampire cats on the duo. Blade battles Tanaka, with the explosive battle in this clip.

The Life & Times of Tim – "The Celebrity Who Shall Remain Nameless"


These clips are possibly NSFW due to language. An unusual show for HBO (and maybe their best offbeat comedy series since Mr. Show), The Life & Times of Tim is a very dry, minimalist animated television show. It's sort of the anti-Seinfeld – Tim tries, but things always screw up and show him in a horrible light. HBO cancelled the show in August of 2010, with the creators prepared to bring the show to Adult Swim or Comedy Central, only to have HBO reverse their decision and order a third season, a season that started in mid-December.



In this episode, Tim moves into a new apartment, only to find out that Hugh Jackman is a nice guy and the love of his woman's life. Tim hires some homeless people to run Hugh Jackman off, but with no success - nice guy Wolverine takes the group of homeless people out for the greatest meal of all, pancakes for dinner.
The Life & Times of Tim airs Friday nights on HBO. Blade airs Friday nights on G4TV. Generator Rex and Star Wars: The Clone Wars air Friday nights on the Cartoon Network. Mary Shelley's Frankenhole airs Sunday nights during Adult Swim. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic airs Saturday Mornings on The Hub, when cartoons should air.