Space Ghost is not your ordinary talk-show host. He is based in outer space and prefers a hood and cape over the industry-standard suit and tie.

He drives around a phantom cruiser, has the ability to become invisible at will and his band leader is a praying mantis. Is it any wonder he is currently giving David Letterman, Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien a run for their money?

The idea for the talk show originated in 1992 when Turner Broadcasting’s Senior Vice President of Programming and Production Mike Lazzo was kicking around ideas for publicity stunts for the recently launched Cartoon Network.

He had a dream one night about a talk show involving his favorite superhero, woke up and scribbled it down. The idea progressed from that point on and “Space Ghost Coast to Coast” was born.

“It was kind of a shock that the network let us do it,” Lazzo said in a thick Southern drawl. “I was eight years old when I first started watching ‘Space Ghost and Dino Boy’ religiously. I thought it was fascinating that he was a ghost.”

Flash forward to the ’90s. Lazzo has shaped the late ’60s superhero into a cutting-edge personality for the 21st century. His talk show is an “absurd and surrealistic” mixture of big-name guests, cartoon antics, musical performances and wacky questions like “Do you breathe oxygen?” and “What is your secret identity?”

“The show operates on several different levels,” Lazzo said. “Some episodes go off onto weird tangents or different directions, sometimes all at once. Imagine a meeting of Superman, Larry Sanders and a ransom note, and I think you’ll get the idea.”

In the beginning

The original episode of the talk show was a two-minute tape that featured spliced clips from the original 1966 “Space Ghost and Dino Boy” cartoon, combined with a pre-packaged press interview with Denzel Washington.

Based on the strength of the demo, Turner Broadcasting (which owns the Cartoon Network) gave Lazzo the green light to develop more episodes. But first Lazzo had to decide who else would be on the show besides Space Ghost.

Former nemesis Zorak was added when C. Martin Croker, an animator at Crawford Communications, mimicked the character’s voice over the intercom system.

Lazzo thought the voice was hilarious and placed Zorak as the show’s leader. Moltar, also a former Space Ghost enemy in the original ’60s cartoons, came aboard as the show’s producer.

“The most interesting people on the old show were the villains,” Lazzo said. “We didn’t want the other heroes because they weren’t very cool.”

The Wonder Twins, Jan and Jace, two characters from the original cartoon, were scratched because they looked “too humanistic.” Dino Boy was scrapped because he wasn’t very entertaining (although Lazzo hinted he might appear down the road).

Blip, Jan and Jace’s monkey from the original cartoon, appeared in only one episode of Coast to Coast, and may also appear again.

After casting was completed, the trick was to produce the show at the lowest cost possible. To lower production costs, Lazzo and the other producers use original art from the ’60s cartoons, layer it over a new background while adding some new elements (like Space Ghost’s desk) and then recolor everything using today’s technology.

Video footage of the guests are then combined with the finished cartoon.

An all-star line-up

Throughout the talk show’s broadcasting, more than 35 illuminaries have appeared on the show. At first, it was difficult to book good guests consistently.

Most of the people who first came on the show were drawn because they either had liked Space Ghost as a child or were fascinated with the concept of a talk show in space.

Among the guests who have appeared on the show are comedians Bobcat Goldthwait, Rich Hall, Jim Carrey, Fran Drescher and Carrot Top.

The various musicians include The Bee Gees, The Ramones, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Alice Cooper, Michael Stipe, Juliana Hatfield, David Byrne, Slash, Matthew Sweet, Thurston Moore, Les Claypool and Method Man.

Additionally, psychedelic guru Timothy Leary appeared on an episode shortly before his death. Former Batman actor Adam West also flew by for a visit.

Joel Hodgson, creator of Mystery Science Theater 3000, appeared with Penn and Teller. Elvira showed the Olsen twins (from “Full House”) the dark side and Matt Groening brought puppets of “The Simpsons” by to say hello.

“We’ve been fortunate to have such great guests,” Lazzo said. “At first, it was kind of difficult deciding who would fit into the show’s format. But that gets easier over time, once you know the direction each episode is going to take.

“We have some great guests coming on next season,” Lazzo added. “They are probably the best selection of guests that we’ve had since the show first began.”

But even though the guest situation is getting better over time, there are a few people Lazzo would like to have on the show, including Johnny Carson, Letterman, the remaining Beatles and Bill Clinton.

“If I could have on any one person in the world,” Lazzo said, “it would have to be William Shatner. That man is absolutely fantastic. I’d also like to have on Leonard Nimoy. After all, they are both known for space things.”

But since both Enterprise veterans have declined offers, Lazzo got his space kick by having Bill Mumy (“Lost In Space”) and Mark Hamill (“Star Wars” trilogy) on instead.

‘People need silliness’

“Space Ghost Coast to Coast” has risen the stake in the talk-show-host wars. Since its debut on April 15, 1994, the show has risen from relative obscurity to being one of the highest-ranked and most widely watched cartoon shows in history.

It is currently seen in more than 42 million homes.

Lazzo has big plans for the upcoming fourth season, which kicked off last month. There are currently 24 new episodes slated to run through December.

“Twenty-four episodes is a pretty ambitious schedule for us,” Lazzo said. “This is the largest amount of new episodes that we’ve run in one season since the show’s inception. Hopefully everything will go off well.”

Upcoming guests include reggae legend Jimmy Cliff (from The Wailers), Lenny and Squiggy from “Lavern and Shirley,” Robin Leach, Jon Stewart, Charlton Heston, The Tick, Buzz Aldrin, Peter Fonda, George Clinton, Pavement, Beck and possibly Metallica (“they have expressed an interest in playing on the show,” Lazzo said).

“I didn’t expect this show to be as successful as it has been — not even in my wildest dreams,” Lazzo said. “I figured that we’d put out a couple of episodes and then fall by the wayside.

“But people need silliness in their lives,” he added. “Hopefully people will watch Space Ghost to have a good laugh, relive their youth and open their minds.”

“Space Ghost Coast to Coast” airs every Friday at 10 p.m. and Saturday at 11 p.m and 2 a.m.