Perhaps some background information is in order. Pepper Ann focuses on the life of an "average" adolescent (seventh grade) girl with a single mother and a tomboyish younger sister (Moose). This cartoon is an exemplar of the newer wave of children's cartoons: the storylines are simple enough that a young child would have no problem following them, but the content is not inane and it is not a program that "talks down" to its audience. [Take heed, Warner Brothers and Hanna Barbara: many of the so-called "classic" cartoons that ran in seemingly endless fashion when we were young were just plain stupid.] Most of the storylines revolve around the main character, Pepper Ann, but this one is about Moose, who is apparently a fan of Tundra Woman. Therefore, she is euphoric when she learns that a new Tundra Woman cartoon will debut next Saturday on Channel 99. She is nonplussed, however, when it turns out that Tundra Woman is portrayed as being interested in shopping and primping her hair (as well as dating Ice Thoron, her traditional enemy). Her initial protest to Channel 99 is ineffectual; dejected, she retreats to her room. Her efforts gain momentum, however, when her Tundra Woman action figure comes to life, and Tundra Woman exhorts her to seek out like-minded fans in order to coerce Channel 99 into revamping the cartoon. Galvanized by this epiphany of sorts, Moose rallies Tundra Woman's fans - many of whom are now adults - and Channel 99 takes notice. "The people have spoken," one of the station's executives concludes. But the revised Tundra Woman cartoon is little better: Tundra Woman is portrayed as an Amazon-like warrior girl with no morals. When Tundra Woman fans lodge a second protest, Channel 99 responds by pulling the show off the air. Moose feels like she's let Tundra Woman down, but in the last few seconds of the segment, the Tundra Woman action figure comes to life again and indicates that her efforts were appreciated.

What impressed me the most about Nicole Sullivan's performance is how well she altered her voice during her first voice-over, when she does the airhead Tundra Woman. I couldn't even tell it was Nicole Sullivan. For the rest of the segment, she uses her usual voice (which is quite adequate for an assertive, headstrong character like Tundra Woman). Her overall performance was good, and I was also impressed by how distinctive a voice she has - friends of mine have confirmed this. Of course, if one places this cartoon on the total spectrum of material Ms. Sullivan has performed (she has done material as esoteric as Shakespeare, Isben and Chekhov), this gig would end up somewhere near the low end of the IQ scale. But even so, Pepper Ann is a more intelligent cartoon than at first glance. The way Moose yearns for a more "authentic" Tundra Woman mirrors the way real-life fans of comic book and science fiction characters fret when new television and movie versions of these beloved characters deviate from the original characterizations. And the way Pepper Ann's mother springs into action (she claims she is concerned the character is a bad role model) smacks of real-life parental activists like the PMRC (although in this case, their motives seem more benevolent, the end is the same - to get someone in the entertainment industry to change the content of their product). And while we shouldn't read too much into this role, it seemed somewhat appropriate that Sullivan, who while hardly an outspoken feminist has in her own way advanced the cause of women in the entertainment industry, played the role of such an strong, independent and assertive female superhero.

If you're a die-hard Nicole Sullivan fan and you haven't already seen this episode, I strongly recommend it. It's on pretty early on Saturday mornings (8 AM Eastern time), but that's what VCRs are for.

Audio clips (in MP3 format):

• Tundra Woman bestirs Moose to take action (30 seconds; 354 KB)