The lost episode of Dragon Ball Z narrated by Johnny Bravo has finally been found

The turn of the century was a weird time for television, filled with bizarre spin-off shows and inexplicable commercial campaigns that seem more like hallucinations than reality. Every once in a while, an intrepid media archaeologist will unearth a particularly fascinating piece of pop-cultural ephemera from the digital dustbin of history for modern audiences to gawk at with bewildered appreciation.

Case in point: This long-lost episode of JBVO: All Request Cartoon Showthe short-lived talk show spinoff from Cartoon Network’s Johnny Bravowith the eponymous proto-himbo telling of a sped-up episode of Dragon Ball Z.

Uploaded to internet archive on Tuesday by “SandersPlanet” and “Jericho” before being shared on Twitter by YouTuber LSuperSonicQ on Wednesday, the “I’ve Been Practicing” episode features Johnny Bravo answering a caller’s “live” request for an episode of Dragon Ball Z in which Goku fights Frieza. After explaining to the caller that he cannot broadcast an entire half hour episode Dragon Ball ZJohnny decides to make a concession: he will air the episode in question, but it will be fast-forwarded to save time.

The scene is the kind of experimental, WTF-inducing fun typical of Cartoon Network’s late-night programming of the era, made even more hilarious by Johnny’s confused commentary on what’s happening. JBVO: All Request Cartoon Show definitely feels like part of Cartoon Network’s other attempts at “hosted” cartoon talk shows, like the one from 1993 The Moxy Show and that of 1994 Space Ghost coast to coast.

To date, only two of the series’ 28 episodes have been recovered. What is the probability that all episodes will find their way online? Not likely, but hope springs eternally into life!