But hell, before Paramount Network, its predecessors had an interesting history themselves. They started out as a country-oriented network before it began to try and compete with other cable networks, and then it became Spike TV. Now, I tend to show interest in animated shows airing on networks that predominantly show live-action, but during the time Spike launched, they attempted a dedicated animation block to original cartoons, and I'm gonna discuss the impressions I get from one episode of each, along with some background trivia.
As an aside, I'm going to talk about Spike shows that made it to air. I'm not going to discuss Immigrants since that came out as a movie.
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| Stripperella |
Stripperella was brought to us by the late and great Stan Lee. This wasn't based on a pre-existing IP, this was the character's first introduction to the world. If this would've come out today, everyone's heads would've exploded, or someone would've decapitated Lee's corpse. I'm going to use images to separate the sections, but that's only because I wanted to give you an idea on how the show pushes sex appeal.
The show stars, and somehow I figured it would, Pamela Anderson, of VIP fame. We also have Biff Tannen, Mark Hamill, Joey Lauren Adams, Tom Kenny, Jill Talley, Vince MaMahon, Kid Rock- Okay, either Stan Lee was a national treasure, or maybe they had the money. The show was produced by The Firm, a talent management company that would later merge with Michael Ovitz's Artists Management Group. Among the producers are Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert, best known for writing and producing All That and Keenan and Kel, among other misc. Nickelodeon shows. They also wrote a majority of the episodes of this show.
Okay, so cleavage and midriff exposure aside, she's a stripper who happens to be a superhero. All plotlines involve crimes against the beautiful along with some knocks against crappy villain plans. The first episode is a two-parter, so I'm gonna jump to the third episode. I still have three other shows after this.
First few seconds in, I'm getting some Batman-parody vibes. The show's animation is decent, and its art-style screams Batman: The Animated Series. I'm forever grateful it doesn't scream Teen Titans. The episode in question centers on a criminal who mugs low-price stores. The joke coming into this is that why would he rob a store with affordable prices? And the villain's name is... Cheapo. Okay I'm not expecting high art, but I suppose this is a step above what you'd get in modern parody films.
Now, as you'd expect we'd get a lot of, ahem, stripteasing in this, and this is amplified in the opening sequence. All I know about her so far is that she's a superhero who's day job is stripping. Luckily, since the animation is good they can pull it off.
Post intro, we get into another aspect of this show, double entendres. We get an anus joke the moment we hear Pamela Anderson speak, no, we don't see her ass she's just plugging an animal rights group with an unfortunate acronym. Anyway, we get a little political jab, where Cheapo got out due to the government's lenience toward criminals, dropping a hard "liberal" too. I would say this would've been perfect during the H.W. Bush administration, but it would only do so if this were set in Massachusetts and if Michael Dukakis won. But whatever the case, it's refreshing to hear a political joke that doesn't involve... can you guess?
Believe it or not, but this is the first I ever heard of a villain like Cheapo. The guy basically has no money and works on a budget. Come to think of it, this is the first I heard of a superhero who works as a stripper. That, combined with its humor, as well as the fact that this is the first time I've ever seen an animated show set in a strip-club. I may be nicer to this regardless of what comes next, this so far seems like the most original thing I've ever seen. I can't post many images of this show, you can see why.
The sting behind Cheapo's ultimate plot is to not only steal a diamond, but an imitation of it. If you wanna play a character, you gotta follow through, so I commend them for that. I reserve the same comment for Stripperella's focus on strip-club terms and erotic dancing. If they didn't have that it'd just be reduced to pointless trivia. However the episode plays out, I'm just glad they followed through. Also Stan Lee makes a cameo in this.
I went into this, expecting the sex appeal to get in the way of action, but there is a decent balance. The strip scenes play out where they're appropriate, and they don't forgo the action too much. We still get a cohesive story out of this, a cohesive story with snarky dialog to mend it all together, along with occasional stabs at superhero show cliches. I actually liked the episode I watched, though something tells me I'd be in for a gamble if I see more.
So to sum up, it's like Batman if Batman was a stripper. It has action, it has tits, but it combines them well. Whatever the case, I prefer this to Mosaic, never heard of Mosaic? Of course you never heard of Mosaic. As for whether or not this could be considered sexist, we still have a kickass heroine who doesn't answer to a man and stay in the kitchen all day.
Before I move on, I'd like to bring up a strange factoid. RowdyCMoore did a review of this some time ago. I only bring this up because me and him are contributors to Manic Expression on some level. Then again, I wouldn't want anything to do with Rowdy, and he'd gladly return the favor.
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| Gary the Rat |
Right off the bat, this show is interesting in terms of who was involved. The show was created by Mark and Robb Cullen, and this is honestly the first I heard of them. Apparently they were behind a garbage UPN series that I may need to look into someday.
Aside from that, the show stars Frasier and Sideshow Bob himself, Kelsey Grammer. Grammer also produced this show, so it has to be good with that level of faith, right? Wanna know who else produced it? Cheyenne Enterprises, which if you didn't know was Bruce Willis' production company. Well sorry to deceive you, but the company was also ran by Arnold Rifkin, who produced this show.
This show technically predates what would follow, it originally began as a series of shorts on the web in the year 2000, but came to Spike in 2003.
The series centers on Gary Andrews, a detestable defense attorney who turns into an anthropomorphic rat. This show would do for furries what Stripperella did for horny guys. Anyhow, like Stripperella, the premise isn't abandoned, he does try to find the reason for his transformation while maintaining his reputation, and adjusting to rat-like habbits.
I get a James Bond vibe from this, going by Gary's mannerisms and overall appearance, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing if they do something original with it. Well when was James Bond ever a rat who converses with his mom on the phone and dabbles in law? Then again, if you wanted to see Frasier do funny stuff while maintaining a straight face and disposition, they got this in spades.
The animation isn't as good as Stripperella. As mentioned before this began as a series of flash shorts, and it shows here. But when it comes to more comedic and commentary oriented shows, the animation should be the least of anyone's problems. I mean... it looks pleasant, the art style is at least original, it's not like 40% of everything's CGI and the rest is filled with characters who mug the screen without even trying, and I'm not making a Cans Without Labels reference for nothing, you'll find out soon enough.
Another thing about the show is that Gary's landlord wants him out and hires an exterminator to get rid of him. This could easily be used as an allegory for... I dunno, racism? Or property politics? But at least we get a clearer idea into why Gary changed. The guy's a schmuck, but isn't aware of it. That's my takeaway. Along with the fact that this takes place in New York. Also, he gets right to the point and accepts his predicament, he knows he's a walking circus attraction.
I guess this is also a commentary on how people are marginalized based on their issues, going for the Dilbert/Clerks/Stressed Eric approach where people are portrayed for their ineffectiveness and there're few sane voices in the crowd. Or perhaps it's just the ways Gary tries to find help, in that people are either apathetic to his plight or they give him an answer and it goes well over his head.
Looking into this, I expected the show to be a bit darker, and well, traditionally animated for some reason, so I was caught by surprise when I found out about what it actually was. At best, it's like Frasier, but with a slight legal slant and a touch of fantasy. Kelsey Grammer's sophistication, mended with some rat habits, makes for an interesting show. The character's well realized, and even for the animation, it has an interesting style.
This seems like the kind of show you need to follow on an episode-by-episode basis, so for me, if I ever have the time, maybe I'll check out the rest of the show to see what gives.
This show technically predates what would follow, it originally began as a series of shorts on the web in the year 2000, but came to Spike in 2003.
The series centers on Gary Andrews, a detestable defense attorney who turns into an anthropomorphic rat. This show would do for furries what Stripperella did for horny guys. Anyhow, like Stripperella, the premise isn't abandoned, he does try to find the reason for his transformation while maintaining his reputation, and adjusting to rat-like habbits.
I get a James Bond vibe from this, going by Gary's mannerisms and overall appearance, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing if they do something original with it. Well when was James Bond ever a rat who converses with his mom on the phone and dabbles in law? Then again, if you wanted to see Frasier do funny stuff while maintaining a straight face and disposition, they got this in spades.
The animation isn't as good as Stripperella. As mentioned before this began as a series of flash shorts, and it shows here. But when it comes to more comedic and commentary oriented shows, the animation should be the least of anyone's problems. I mean... it looks pleasant, the art style is at least original, it's not like 40% of everything's CGI and the rest is filled with characters who mug the screen without even trying, and I'm not making a Cans Without Labels reference for nothing, you'll find out soon enough.
Another thing about the show is that Gary's landlord wants him out and hires an exterminator to get rid of him. This could easily be used as an allegory for... I dunno, racism? Or property politics? But at least we get a clearer idea into why Gary changed. The guy's a schmuck, but isn't aware of it. That's my takeaway. Along with the fact that this takes place in New York. Also, he gets right to the point and accepts his predicament, he knows he's a walking circus attraction.
I guess this is also a commentary on how people are marginalized based on their issues, going for the Dilbert/Clerks/Stressed Eric approach where people are portrayed for their ineffectiveness and there're few sane voices in the crowd. Or perhaps it's just the ways Gary tries to find help, in that people are either apathetic to his plight or they give him an answer and it goes well over his head.
Looking into this, I expected the show to be a bit darker, and well, traditionally animated for some reason, so I was caught by surprise when I found out about what it actually was. At best, it's like Frasier, but with a slight legal slant and a touch of fantasy. Kelsey Grammer's sophistication, mended with some rat habits, makes for an interesting show. The character's well realized, and even for the animation, it has an interesting style.
This seems like the kind of show you need to follow on an episode-by-episode basis, so for me, if I ever have the time, maybe I'll check out the rest of the show to see what gives.
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| Ren and Stimpy: Adult Party Cartoon |
That's right, you knew this would be coming up. Unfortunately, for the sake of historical context I may need to defy my philosophy and give the obvious.
Right after John Kricfalusi was kicked off of Ren and Stimpy, and well after the show bit the dust, he got involved in a revival. Given that he's no longer bound by the standards of children's television, he essentially was able to do what he wanted, and the rest is history. It tainted the prospect of Ren and Stimpy being involved in future Nickelodeon properties, aside from a cameo in Attack of the Toybots and whatever else I'm missing, and this was John K.'s last television series, the stints on Adult Swim don't count as they were one-time shorts.
Believe it or not, this was my first exposure to Ren and Stimpy, at all. I used to watch Spike TV with my dad as a kid and I saw the characters in commercials. Now no, I never saw the show as a kid, but I imagine it would've had some kind of impact. No joke, I saw an episode of The Sopranos as a kid and it left an impact. It was Member's Only, and somehow I filtered out what happened in between most scenes in the final act.
Believe it or not, I actually saw two episodes prior to this review, the first and second ones, and since those were aired on Spike, it's a win win situation. But wait, the second? Does that mean I saw Ren Seeks Help? Yes.
Just to make this clear, I don't consider the show to be very good, and I'm gonna view it as someone who had no nostalgic background with Ren and Stimpy, which amounts to everyone who went after it. My biggest issue with it is how it's executed. Their attempts at gross-out and edgy humor comes off as desperate at best. Jokes drag on for longer than they need to, plus swearing.
The first episode revolved around Ren and Stimpy ingesting bodily fluids that enter a spittoon they move into, previously living in a homeless guy's mouth (which I remember catching in a commercial), then Stimpy kisses a rat's ass. It's like a sideshow attraction detailing some cornerstones in gross-out humor. For those that like it, it comes off as incredibly shallow. When you think about it, it happens for the sake of happening, and you can see it happening from a mile away. Oh, they're in a spitoon? Well I'm sure some joke will revolve around what goes into the spitoon. Also, Ren whips potatoes, and someone considers it a national offense... I'm glad I had no major background with the original show.
Then there's the big one, well big in that Mr. Enter covered it a long time ago and people latched onto it. As someone who never grew up with Ren and Stimpy, how did this episode go for me? Well I just saw a boy with an uncheck cased of sociopathic tendencies, and apparently frogs are like humans too. My biggest issue with this episode is edge for the sake of edge. It felt like they were throwing whatever they could at the wall to see if it would stick.
And to those who complain how the parents did nothing, that's just a part of Ren's descent into sociopathic hell. If his parents were ordinary, we wouldn't be here right now. His parents play a part into his psyche, where they were hardly there or are passing down a torch in some regards. People hate this in that they had a history with Ren and Stimpy, but as someone who, well, wasn't, it's a generic look at a man's depleting sanity, snapping when pushed too far.
There is a bright side to this, the animation, for what it's worth, is very good. The designs can be off-putting, but it amplifies the atmosphere the show's going for.
But there is one remaining question. Is this worse than Cans Without Labels? Absolutely not. For one, again, this had the most effort in terms of animation, and it was well before John K. got slaughtered by the grooming scandal, plus it didn't have a Kickstarter blunder behind it. It was just an edge and gross for the sake of having edge and gross show. I can't recommend this to anyone, aside from its use as an endurance challenge. Can you make it through all six episodes?
Right after John Kricfalusi was kicked off of Ren and Stimpy, and well after the show bit the dust, he got involved in a revival. Given that he's no longer bound by the standards of children's television, he essentially was able to do what he wanted, and the rest is history. It tainted the prospect of Ren and Stimpy being involved in future Nickelodeon properties, aside from a cameo in Attack of the Toybots and whatever else I'm missing, and this was John K.'s last television series, the stints on Adult Swim don't count as they were one-time shorts.
Believe it or not, this was my first exposure to Ren and Stimpy, at all. I used to watch Spike TV with my dad as a kid and I saw the characters in commercials. Now no, I never saw the show as a kid, but I imagine it would've had some kind of impact. No joke, I saw an episode of The Sopranos as a kid and it left an impact. It was Member's Only, and somehow I filtered out what happened in between most scenes in the final act.
Believe it or not, I actually saw two episodes prior to this review, the first and second ones, and since those were aired on Spike, it's a win win situation. But wait, the second? Does that mean I saw Ren Seeks Help? Yes.
Just to make this clear, I don't consider the show to be very good, and I'm gonna view it as someone who had no nostalgic background with Ren and Stimpy, which amounts to everyone who went after it. My biggest issue with it is how it's executed. Their attempts at gross-out and edgy humor comes off as desperate at best. Jokes drag on for longer than they need to, plus swearing.
The first episode revolved around Ren and Stimpy ingesting bodily fluids that enter a spittoon they move into, previously living in a homeless guy's mouth (which I remember catching in a commercial), then Stimpy kisses a rat's ass. It's like a sideshow attraction detailing some cornerstones in gross-out humor. For those that like it, it comes off as incredibly shallow. When you think about it, it happens for the sake of happening, and you can see it happening from a mile away. Oh, they're in a spitoon? Well I'm sure some joke will revolve around what goes into the spitoon. Also, Ren whips potatoes, and someone considers it a national offense... I'm glad I had no major background with the original show.
Then there's the big one, well big in that Mr. Enter covered it a long time ago and people latched onto it. As someone who never grew up with Ren and Stimpy, how did this episode go for me? Well I just saw a boy with an uncheck cased of sociopathic tendencies, and apparently frogs are like humans too. My biggest issue with this episode is edge for the sake of edge. It felt like they were throwing whatever they could at the wall to see if it would stick.
And to those who complain how the parents did nothing, that's just a part of Ren's descent into sociopathic hell. If his parents were ordinary, we wouldn't be here right now. His parents play a part into his psyche, where they were hardly there or are passing down a torch in some regards. People hate this in that they had a history with Ren and Stimpy, but as someone who, well, wasn't, it's a generic look at a man's depleting sanity, snapping when pushed too far.
There is a bright side to this, the animation, for what it's worth, is very good. The designs can be off-putting, but it amplifies the atmosphere the show's going for.
But there is one remaining question. Is this worse than Cans Without Labels? Absolutely not. For one, again, this had the most effort in terms of animation, and it was well before John K. got slaughtered by the grooming scandal, plus it didn't have a Kickstarter blunder behind it. It was just an edge and gross for the sake of having edge and gross show. I can't recommend this to anyone, aside from its use as an endurance challenge. Can you make it through all six episodes?
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| This Just In |
I had to use the screencap above because it had the Spike bug on it, just to prove this aired on that network. Regretfully, only three episodes of this show are available anywhere, the first one is lost, and it's unlikely anyone recorded it or is aware of its rarity.
I also used the screencap because I needed to put one name on blast. Steve Marmel. You may recognize Marmel from The Fairly Odd Parents and Danny Phantom, but I know him nowadays as the average Twitter user. Stacks upon stacks of tweets cluing us in toward how political he is. Also he's on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@stevemarmel
Why am I bringing up his political views? Because this was a political show, and it was a conservative-leaning show. Now that's irony in the sincerest sense of the word. Even more so when you realize the protagonist Marmel voices has that lean.
Unlike the previous three entries, I'm gonna go over the animation first. The show, like Gary the Rat, was done in flash. Gary the Rat had a bit more detail, while this show is more simplistic. This was done primarily so they could get episodes out in time while the issues they discuss are still relevant. The animation is automatically better than Our Cartoon President's animation, as the latter made use of a lazier form of software.
The show centers on the exploits of reporter Brian Newport and his daily life... outside of the office. A prime point of interest is the bar, where Brian interacts with his henpecked friend... friend. And his black friend... black friend. Okay their names are stated in the episode, but I couldn't be bothered to remember them.
The conflict is always framed around something within a social-political basis. The one episode I saw of this was the second, where Brian's bar was taken over by a waitress, and he doesn't hold back. He showcases the toxicity of more radical feminism, at least toxic for the time. There's even a knock at the culture of the middle east.
But don't get me wrong, he knocks the right side too. The Cuban bartender is thrown into jail following a terrorism allegation, and Arnold Schwarzenegger appears in this too, portrayed as a total dolt. So I can conceivably see liberals and conservatives finding something to enjoy about this show.
Marmel was, in his own words, a raging moderate. But nowadays, with his left lean he essentially sold out. Now look, I don't want to knock on anyone's political views, but if you go about it a certain way, having to stress and go into things without thinking it through... I don't even want to know you.
Basically, we need this kind of show nowadays, a show that pokes fun at both sides. I am sick to hell of this one-sided bullshit, this is some George Wallace/Strom Thurmond level bullshit. Wanna know why conservatives call their movement the new punk rock? Well because they're rejected en-masse and only rebels would bother to promote their views, plus, guess who's holding the reigns?
See this is why I hate politics, you can't help but succumb to shelling your views out. And before you think it, I'm a center-left authoritarian, given my political compass results anyways.
Final Thoughts
However you feel about Spike's animated shows, it's not hard to see how interesting they are. We had a Stan Lee cartoon centered on a stripper who happens to be a superhero, we got to see Frasier act like a rat, we got some trauma in the least likely place along with a good idea on how bad John K. truly was, and we even got a glimpse into Steve Marmel's political history before he became retarded.
I'm certain someone covered all of these Spike shows in some kind of retrospective, but have they ever covered all four? That aired directly on the network?
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