Now I'm feeling frustrated because you are all mentioning lots of cartoons and I don't have access to any of them. We probably will get pay-TV sometime - my hubby had it when he lived up country, but he didn't get it when he moved back here, too busy socialising with his buddies again.

'Spaw,

Unfortunately yes: to the list of entitiies etc we have foisted on the world (Rolf Harris, Olivia Newton-John, Paul Hogan etc) unfortunately I have to add Nads, including the commercial - exactly as I have seen it on TV here. I didn't consciously know the use of the word as you describe it (luckily I'm not eating my breakfast yet) but it may explain why subconsciously I winced each time I heard it - apart from the extreme crassness of the ad, of course.

kat, I don't know about LEXX - never heard of it. I'll see what I can find out. I haven't seen Aeon Fluxx but your description reminds me of the live-action movie Tank Girl. It's great. I think it was based on a cartoon strip.

Dale, I agree about what you said about Daria, especially about the underlying morality. I guess when I used the word controversial I meant that, well the type of people Daria & jane consider to be fair game would be the type of people who would possibly object to it especially asa cartoon shown on our public/government funded TV channel at 5.30pm i.e. the time when kids are likely to be watching. Ren & Stimpy started out on the same channel at about the same time but had to be moved to about 9.30pm because of some viewers' outrage. Daria wouldn't create that sort of backlash because it is more subtle, but it reminds me of when Noddy books (British, kids books, by Enid Blyton) back in about the 60's were retracted from sales and the best I canmake out of the scanty info is that it was because Noddy said in one that he was "feeling a little queer" and Mr Plod, the policeman i.e. an authority figure, was portrayed as a plodding, pleasantly stupid man. Huh!?

Helen