Gary Larson's "Tales from the Far Side"

It's a crime that this isn't broadcast annually along with the other Halloween specials...

Tales from the Far Side originally aired on CBS in 1994.  As far as I know, this is the only time Gary Larson's comic was ever animated.  Larson's dark humor is on full display in vignettes such as a farmer resurrecting undead livestock, arthropods enjoying an in-flight movie (until things go horribly wrong), and zombies hanging out on a dude ranch.  The music is as weird as you would expect and the animation for the characters and creatures are spot-on.

Growing up, I was disappointed year after year to find that this special was rarely replayed.  Perhaps it wasn't kid-friendly enough to be played along with the Charlie Brown and Garfield specials for some reason?

Thankfully, my ever-loving grandma taped it on a VHS so I could enjoy it over and over again whenever.  You know I wore that thing out!

Freaky Factoids: Thagomizer

Did you know that the "business end" of a Stegosaurus' tail had a name?  Apparently, the part of the tail adorned with the rows of sharp spikes (thought to be used as a means of defense against potential prehistoric predators) is called the thagomizer.

It turns out that the term owes its origin to an old Far Side comic by the cartoonist Gary Larson.

I suppose this could be considered one of those situations in which life imitates art...