Such sophisticated humor - Boris

Decades after watching the show when it first came out, and years after learning of the historical character, I finally (duuhhhhh) realized the pun inherent in Boris BADonov's name: Boris GODonov, the Russian Tsar. I did catch on to the "Fatale" reference pretty quickly, tho'.

They definitely had an anti-establishment twist to their humor, too; long before the 60's protests. My favorite line comes when they've confronted two fedora and trench coat-wearing characters who've been shadowing them: "Who are you guys, anyway?" "Does the name 'Military Intelligence' suggest anything to ya?" Bullwinkle: "A contradiction in terms?" Very unusual for the hyper-patriotic era when it debuted. Perhaps we can credit this to Jay Ward's upbringing and education in Berkeley and Cal. I've just learned that Bullwinkle got his name from a car dealership in Berkeley.

I used to watch "Crusader Rabbit", another Ward creation and one of my youthful faves and precursor to that other rodent/large mammal pair of R & B. Until the Simpson came along, I used to say "They don't make them like that anymore", and Groening respectfully cites R & B as a great influence.