Telemachus and Nono (Ulysses 31)
Before anybody really knew what manga was, British kids' TV imported a number of manga-tinged foreign cartoons such as Battle of the Planets/G-Force and Thunderbirds 2086. But the holy trinity of dubbed after-school animation, complete with once-heard never-forgotten theme songs, was Willy Fog, Cities of Gold and Ulysses 31.
We wanted to be in Ulysses 31 so badly. Ulysses was a spacefaring warrior with a jetpack and a lightsaber that had a laser gun built into it. He's so badass that even looking like Barry Gibb can't dent his awesomeness. The commander of one of the coolest spaceships ever, the Odyssey, he is condemned to wander space after rescuing his son, Telemachus, from the evil Cyclops. Frankly, we wish he hadn't bothered with the irritating moppet.
Telemachus not only has the blond bowl haircut, he has a daft headband, and hangs out with a cowardly robot called Nono. Honestly, cowardly robots? Who the frell builds a cowardly robot? Nono is clearly intended as comic relief, which he achieves by -- you'll love this, it's hilarious -- eating nuts and bolts. We were 5-years-old and we still hated him.
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