Mr. Skullhead - "Good Idea/Bad Idea" From Animaniacs

"Good Idea/Bad Idea" From Animaniacs

Each "Good Idea/Bad Idea" was generally a 30-second segment between cartoons. In the segment, a narrator (Tom Bodett) described a "Good Idea" which was usually some mundane but enjoyable activity which Mr. Skullhead would then perform. The narrator would describe a "Bad Idea" which was the same task except with one crucial detail changed. Mr. Skullhead would then perform the variation on the first activity which usually resulted in him severely injuring himself. Typical examples:

Good Idea: Having breakfast served to you in bed. Bad Idea: Having tennis balls served to you in bed. (Skullhead is pummeled by tennis balls)

Good Idea: Buying a pair of shoes on sale. Bad Idea: Buying a parachute on sale. (Skullhead jumps out of a plane with a defective parachute that falls off of his back)

As Jason Green writes, "Steven Spielberg's madcap animated classic Animaniacs had its fair share of hilarious running gags. Toward the top of the heap was the string of two-line gags known as 'Good Idea, Bad Idea', wherein a hapless soul named Mr. Skullhead would perform a 'good idea', then receive some sort of violent comeuppance from a related 'bad idea', all narrated in a brilliant deadpan by Tom 'We'll leave the light on for ya' Bodett.

"Good Idea/Bad Idea" was reprised in two issues of the Animaniacs comic book: the special Christmas edition released a few months before the series proper, and another one late in the series' run. These often featured characters other than Skullhead, like the Warners or Slappy.