Cosmic Cat - "Scaredy Cat"

by Linda Kay

Original Air Date: Oct 15, 2018

Starring: Penny

Directed by: Bill Hedges

Cat Out of the Bag Alert! This review contains some spoilers for this episode!

Synopsis: A love letter to classic filmmaking, this clever web series follows space traveler Will Ziffel (Bill Hedges) and his comic-book loving cat Penny the Cosmic Cat as they find adventure while roaming the galaxy in their spaceship Andromeda.

Kitty Cameo: The episode opens with a tribute to the classic MGM Studio logo, only the Cosmic Films Studio logo has a hissing tuxedo cat and the words Artis Pro Fun (art for fun).

Featured Feline: Needing fuel for the spacecraft, Will and Penny decide to land on an unknown planet with the promise of fuel-bearing rock. Penny has to be distracted from her comic book and seems more interested in food than the actual landing (note that in some shots Penny is played by a delightfully cute faux stand-in).

Cosmic Cat - black cat Penny with comic book

Cosmic Cat - mechanical black cat Penny with food bowl

After the opening credits, Will and Penny set forth on the planet’s surface where Penny locates a strange amulet.

Cosmic Cat - black cat Penny credit screen

Cosmic Cat - black cat Penny discovering amulet

This leads them to discover an abandoned area filled with computers and machines. Right before they return to their ship, Penny accidentally turns on one of the machines.

Cosmic Cat - black cat Penny on top of computer with Will Bill Hedges

Back in their craft for the night, Penny is plagued by ghostly apparitions.

Cosmic Cat - mechanical black cat Penny looking scared

Things get even stranger when a cowboy robot shows up later and threatens Will. Penny watches their impending shootout with interest.

Cosmic Cat - black cat Penny extreme close up

They eventually figure out the machines are somehow absorbing ideas from their reading material and attacking them with images and creations from those pages.

Cosmic Cat - black cat Penny being held by Will Bill Hedges

We won’t spoil what happens . . . you definitely need to check out the episode below!

Cosmic Cat - black cat Penny held by Will Bill Hedges

Behind the Scenes

Penny is a black cat who plays the titular lead and was adopted by Bill Hedges from the Nebraska Humane Society. She has a real screen presence and as an indoor cat enjoys the stimulation that filmmaking affords her. In 2019 she was joined by cat actor Judy who shared the role from then on. They are also supported by a large team of stuffed and radio-controlled cats who not only take on the difficult and dangerous parts but also provide some delightfully funny touches to the whole proceedings.

Cosmic Cat - mechanical black cats with Bill Hedges and Penny on the set

This is an amazingly wonderful series which deserves way more love. Bill Hedges and his team create their sets and props in a former movie theater in Lyons, Nebraska (where Bill actually worked as a teenager!) and everything is done with practical effects as they were in the golden age of cinema. There is a clear love of both science fiction and movies in general in this series with a healthy dose of humor that both film lovers and cat lovers will enjoy.