Liven Up Social Isolation With a G.I. Joe Marathon, Courtesy of Hasbro

G.I Joe is both one of the cheesiest and one of the most fondly remembered of the ‘80s wave of toyetic action cartoons. Does it hold up to your nostalgia? Well, now, during this period of widespread social distancing amidst the novel coronavirus pandemic, is certainly the time to find out.

And knowing is half the battle, so here’s some good info for you: Hasbro has uploaded fifteen full episodes of the classic show to YouTube. You can find them here. That’s almost seven hours of G.I. Joe joy, from the saga of The M.A.S.S. Device to the Pyramid of Darkness arc, because, apparently, this show had arcs? Lasting like five episodes each? I’m going to be real with you, I’m a ‘90s kid, I’m not nearly as much of a Joe expert as some of our other staffers.

But I know that this is the perfect time to watch a lot of television, especially television that imagines a government-like organization that’s both heroic and competent. The world is a scary, complicated place, but in the bastion of cartoons there are simple problems and simple solutions, solutions that often involved buying action figures. And since, for most of us, the most helpful thing we can do right now is just stay home, it seems entirely appropriate to indulge that sort of escapism.

Joe your hearts out, y’all.