Seventy-Five years after Popeye's first appearance in E.C. Segar's Thimble Theater comic strip, the spinach-quaffing gob is back in primetime in a 30-minute, computer-generated cartoon special, Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy, which will air on the Fox Network in the fourth quarter of 2004.  Oscar-winning actress Kathy Bates will voice Popeye's female antagonist, Sea Hag, while Billy West (Ren and Stimpy) will provide the voice of the battling blue jacket with the bulbous forearms.  Mark Mothersbaugh (ex DEVO) has created a new version of the classic Popeye the Sailor Man theme song, which is sure to annoy traditionalists.

King Features Syndicate, which owns the rights to Popeye, is hoping that the TV special will reignite interest in the property.  King Features' president Rocky Shepard told Variety, 'We may do more specials or even an animated movie.'  Lion's Gate Home Entertainment will release an hour-long, expanded DVD version of Popeye's Voyage on November 9.