JACK BANNON DEAD AT 77

You can read the full story here.

While Bannon was best known for his role on Lou Grant, he also provided unspecified voices for Filmation's Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle animated series.

ROBERT GUILLAUME DEAD AT 89

You can read the full story here.

Guillaume was an actor best known for portraying Rafiki from Disney’s The Lion King franchise wherever he appeared, including in episodes of Timon & Pumbaa. He also portrayed Mr. Corblarb in an episode of The Addams Family (1992).

TUTENSTEIN

TUTENSTEIN

(Discovery Kids, NBC, November 1, 2003-October 11, 2008)

PorchLight Entertainment, Telegael, Discovery Kids Original Productions

MAIN CAST:

Jeannie Elias (as Loren Manda, season 1), Maryke Hendrikse (as Marie Vencer, season 2) & Donna Cherry (season 3 & movie) - Tut Ankh En Set Amun/Tutenstein

Crystal Scales (as Babi Mosquito) & Leah Lynette (season 3 & movie) – Cleo Carter

David Lodge (as Marcus Muldoon) – Luxor, Set

            The mummy lives!

The original Tutenstein.

            Self-proclaimed history nerd Jay Stephens was inspired by a visit to the traveling King Tut exhibit in Canada to develop one of his future comic creations: Tutenstein, a portmanteau of Tutankhamun and Frankenstein. The concept was initially designed with Nickelodeon Magazine in mind, but it was shot down by the comics editor. Tutenstein finally made his debut in 1997’s Land of Nod #3 by Black Eye Productions and was subsequently featured in several of Stephens’ following publications. Tut caught the attention of Fred Schaefer of Porchlight Entertainment who approached Stephens about adapting the character into animation. Stephens would work on designs and script ideas to shop around to various networks, but found little success. Discovery Communications was looking for content for their Discovery Kids channel, and considering they often aired specials dealing with ancient Egypt, the concept seemed a perfect fit.

Luxor, Cleo and Tut, falling to pieces.

            Tutenstein followed the adventures of the 10-year old Tut Ankh En Set Amun (Jeannie Elias, Maryke Hendrikse & Donna Cherry) who had become the pharaoh of ancient Egypt and wielder of the Scepter of Was. When his sarcophagus ended up in the museum where archeology enthusiast Cleo Carter (named after Cleopatra, voiced by Crystal Scales & Leah Lynette) often hung out, he was revived when lightning struck the staff. It also gave Cleo’s cat, Luxor (David Lodge), the ability to speak and a desire to serve Tut. Tut, being 10 and a former ruler, acted about as bratty as could be expected; using magical scrolls to cast spells for his own self-gain that often backfired. Tut was also put at odds with various ancient gods who could be just as arrogant and petty as he; in particular the god of chaos, Set (Lodge), who wanted to claim the Scepter of Was and free himself from his underworld prison. Professor Horace Behedty (named for the god Horus, voiced by Lex Lang as Vince del Castillo) was the museum’s curator and believed he was the smartest in the room; always looking to get more publicity for himself (and sometimes the museum). Walter Jacobs was the museum’s underpaid and dimwitted security guard, often tasked by Behedty to perform jobs not really in his function. Dr. Roxanne Vanderwheele was the professor’s colleague and a bit more open-minded and up-to-date in her approach to archaeology.

Barlow's series-launching image.

            Character designer Fil Barlow was responsible for adapting most of the character and set designs, and in fact it was his rendition that helped sell the show to Discovery. Stephens was on hand as a creative consultant, overseeing all aspects of the production. Egyptologist Kasia Szpakowska provided reference material for Barlow to work off of in order to get the designs to feel as authentic as possible. Barlow’s designs also led to the running gag of Tut’s body parts either falling off or becoming separated from his body somehow. After his 20-episode contract expired, Barlow was replaced by his student, Thomas Perkins, for the remainder of the series.  

 

Set. And he looked like such a friendly guy.

            Tutenstein debuted simultaneously on Discovery Kids and their programming block on NBC on November 1, 2003. Writers on the series included John Behnke, Rob Humphrey, Brooks Wachtel, Cynthia Harrison, Charlotte Fullerton, Scott D. Peterson, Tim Cahill, Kevin Campbell, Julie McNally Cahill, Michael Merton and Philip Morton. With Spzakowska and Karen Hill-Scott, Ed.D. serving as the educational consultants, each episode was able to inject a little factuality into its comedic approach. The ancient gods, for example, were largely accurate to the Egyptian depictions of them. The show was animated by NIC Entertainment Inc. with music by Guy Michelmore.

The Scepter of Was.

            Tutenstein ran for three seasons, concluding with the film Clash of the Pharaohs. The series was nominated for three and won two Emmy Awards in 2004, 2006 and 2007. In 2004, Marvel Comics published a promotional comic in association with Discovery Kids that saw Tut and friends meeting up with Spider-Man and some of the X-Men as they banded together to thwart Set’s latest scheme. In 2007, Discovery Kids released three DVD collections containing four episodes apiece, along with games and documentaries as special features.

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1:

“The Awakening” (11/1/03) – Cleo Carter brings Tut back to life and Luxor gains the ability to speak.

“The Curse of the Pharaoh” (11/8/03) – El Zabkar summons Ammut, the devourer of the hearts of the dead, to go after Tut.

“Clash of the Shadbitis” (11/15/03) – Tut’s being lazy and sending shabitis to help Cleo do chores causes things to go out of control.

“I Did It My Way” (11/22/03) – Disliking the modern world, Tut changes everything into ancient Egypt.

“The Boat of Millions of Years” (12/6/03) – Tut asks Ra to delay the sunrise so he can watch movies late, but Ra ends up in trouble and time stops.

“The Powerful One” (1/3/04) – Tut’s anger over not getting his own pyramid causes Hathor, the goddess of love, to be summoned and transformed into Sekhmet, the goddess of war.

“There’s Something About Natasha” (1/10/04) – Tut falls for Cleo’s friend Natasha and has a love spell put on her, but the spell goes horribly wrong.

“The King of Memphis” (1/17/04) – While visiting Memphis, Tut is split into three copies of himself that he must reunite by sunset.

“Roommates” (1/24/04) – Tut moves in with Cleo and constantly annoys her, on top of cheating her out of her stuff.

“Ghostbusted” (1/31/04) – The goddess Isis summons the ghost of one of Tut’s friends to punish him after he cheats her in a game.

“Near Dead Experience” (2/21/04) – Fearing Cleo might die of bronchitis, Tut wants his doctor, Imhotep, to preserve her like he was.

“The Unsafety Zone” (2/28/04) – Tut breaks the alarm that disturbed his slumber, allowing two thieves to escape.

“Happy Coronation Day, Tutenstein” (3/6/04) – Cleo throws Tut a party to honor the good deeds he’s done, but a slave of Set crashes it and steals something from him.

Season 2:

“Old Man Tut” (9/4/04) – Tut breaks his ankh so that he can become older—unfortunately, the process doesn’t stop.

“Cleo’s Catastrophe” (9/11/04) – Tut accidentally causes Cleo and Luxor to switch bodies.

“The Shadow Gobbler” (9/25/04) – When Tut separates himself from his shadow, he allows a shadow demon from the underworld to come to Earth and devour shadows.

“Tut Jr.” (10/2/04) – Tut loses Cleo’s little cousin in the underworld.

“Something Sphinx” (10/9/04) – Tut’s new servant makes Luxor feel left out.

“The Supreme Tut” (10/16/04) – Tut becomes a god.

“The Day of the Undead” (10/30/04) – Tut joins Cleo and her friends for Halloween and summons a demon from the underworld to scare them.

“Friends” (11/27/04) – Tut befriends a couple of delinquents and starts causing mischief.

“Green-Eyed Mummy” (12/4/04) – Tut sends the new mammoth exhibit to the underworld.

“Queen for a Day” (1/15/05) – Cleo takes Tut’s place when he’s kidnapped to the underworld.

“Procras-Tut-Nation” (10/1/05) – Having fun on Cleo’s skateboard may cause Tut to miss the Sed Festival in the underworld.

“Behdety Late Than Never” (10/22/05) – When Behdety calls in someone to help save the museum money, he ends up being a thief that frames Behdety for his crimes.

“Walter the Brain” (11/19/05) – Tut makes Walter smarter, and Thoth believes Walter is the one who cast the spell.

Season 3:

“The Comeback Kid” (9/9/06) – Tut uses a spell that makes him human again, but also brings a dinosaur back to life.

“Rest in Pieces” (9/12/06) – Tut separates his body parts to multitask, but they end up getting dispersed.

“Irresistible You” (9/13/06) – Tut tries to use a love spell to foil Cleo’s rival, but it backfires.

“Sleepless in Sarcophagus” (9/14/06) – Tut gets a snake to help him sleep, but doesn’t know a demon is actually possessing it.

“The Truth Hurts” (9/16/06) – Tut ends up cut-off after he insults some of the ancient gods.

“Was Not Was” (9/23/06) – Tut ends up losing his scepter.

“Tut the Defender” (10/14/06) – Tut brings two Vikings back to life to fight.

“Spells and Sleepovers” (10/28/06) – Tut disguises himself as a girl so he can attend Cleo’s sleepover.

“Fearless” (10/29/06) – Tut’s attempt to prove himself fearless causes him to leave a portal to the underworld open, allowing a demon to escape.

“UnPharaoh” (11/25/06) – A bracelet possesses Dr. Vanderwhelle and leads him to try and prove Tut was no longer a pharoh.

“Tut’s Little Problem” (12/2/06) – Using a size-changing scroll results in Tut becoming tiny.

“Into the Past” (10/9/06) – Cleo goes back to ancient Egypt to find out what happened to her father.

“Keep Your Wandering Eye to Yourself” (1/13/07) – Jealous of Cleo’s outside life, Tut plans to spy on her.

Special:

“Clash of the Pharaohs” (10/11/08) – Nightmares about his death prompts Tut to take a trip back in time and Cleo ends up being mistakenly crowned as a pharaoh. 


Originally published in 2017. Updated in 2021.

HALLOWEEN COMMERCIAL BREAK: TOYS 'R' US

On a spooky October Saturday morning, you were probably creeped out by these:

HALLOWEEN COMMERCIAL BREAK: BURGER KING

While watching on a spooky October Saturday morning, you were probably creeped out by theses:

TOONSYLVANIA

TOONSYLVANIA

(FOX, February 7, 1998-January 18, 1999)

DreamWorks Animation Television

MAIN CAST:

David Warner – Dr. Vic Frankenstein

Wayne Knight – Igor, Igor’s reflection

Brad Garrett – Phil, Bunny Wunny, various

Nancy Cartwright – Melissa Screetch

Matt Frewer – Dedgar Deadman (season 1)

Jess Harnell – Dedgar Deadman (season 2), Wink Dracula, Johnny Vermin, Igor (singing), various

Billy West – Fred Deadman, Newark, Store Clerk, Dr. Earl Schwartzberg, various

Kath Soucie – Ashley Deadman, Kyle Screetch

Tom Kenny – Ace Deuce, various

Valery Pappas – Stiffany Miss Mann, Deadman, Melissa Screetch’s Mother, various

Jonathan Harris – Seth Tuber (season 2)

Paul Rugg – Seth Tuber’s Mom (season 2), various

            After Jeffrey Katzenberg left Disney in 1994, he approached Steven Spielberg and music executive David Geffen about forming a studio that would work in both live-action and animation. This would be the first time in decades a studio would do so due to the risk and expense involved in such a venture. Spielberg and Geffen agreed on the conditions that the studio would only make nine films a year, they could work for other studios, and they would be able to get home in time for dinner. That October saw the formation of DreamWorks SKG, with financing from the three partners and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

Toonsylvania storyboard.

            In 1998, DreamWorks began production of their first animated series: Toonsylvania, also known as Steven Spielberg Presents Toonsylvania. The series was developed by Chris Otsuki and Eek! The Cat co-creator Bill Kopp. Like Spielberg’s earlier collaborations with Warner Bros. Animation, the series was a compilation of segments related only by the fact that they were comedic spoofs of the horror genre that often parodied pop culture and contained musical numbers. Unlike those shows, the series was centered on a smaller group of characters.

Igor, Phil and Vic.

            The first segment usually focused on a parody of Frankenstein, starring Dr. Vic Frankenstein (David Warner), your typical mad scientist; his assistant, Igor (Wayne Knight), who deemed himself the true brains of the outfit and always set out to prove it (with disastrous results); and Phil (Brad Garrett), the dim-witted monster they created. Together, they lived and worked in a castle on top of a high mountain overlooking the TransFernando Valley. After their misadventures in science, a brief segment would follow where Igor and Phil sat down to watch the rest of the show’s segments on television. In a running gag, something would always go wrong after Igor clicked the remote to turn the television on.

The Deadmans: Stiffany, Dedgar, Ashley and Fred.

            The next segment was typically the sitcom-styled “Night of the Living Fred”, which focused on a family of zombies called the Deadmans. Dedgar (Matt Frewer), Stiffany (Valery Pappas), Fred (Billy West) and Ashley (Kath Soucie) went about their daily lives as only creepily-grinning, decomposing members of society could. This segment was created and written or co-written by cartoonist Mike Peters with creative consultation by Lee Mendelson, and resembled Peters’ art styling. Occasionally, this segment would be replaced by a parody of a B-list horror movie. 

Melissa Screetch.

This would be followed by another short segment starring Igor called “Igor’s Science Minute.” He would either explain or sing about a scientific topic, typically with disastrous or explosive results. The final segment was “Melissa Screetch’s Morbid Morals”. It was set up by Igor catching Phil doing something bad, and then relating to him a story about Melissa to teach him a lesson. Melissa (Nancy Cartwright) was a horrible, bratty girl who drove the other characters in her stories nuts and often didn’t heed the warnings of adults (usually her mother, voiced by Pappas). Usually, she’d suffer the consequences for her actions. “Science Minute” and “Morbid Morals” were largely written by Otsuki, who created the latter.

            Toonsylvania debuted on FOX on February 7, 1998. It aired as part of Fox Kids’ “The No Yell Motel” programming block, which featured interstitials starring puppets working inside a creepy motel, alongside Goosebumps and Eerie, Indiana: The Other Dimension. The series’ theme was composed by Julie Bernstein, Steven Bernstein and Paul Rugg, while Michael Tavera, John Paul Given, Christopher Klatman and Thom Sharp did the rest of the music. Writers for the series included Kopp, Tracy Peters, Martin Olson, Keith Baxter, Karl Toerge, Vinny Montello and Steve Ochs. The characters were designed by Otsuki, Julian Chaney and Eric I. Robles, with animation done by Fil-Cartoons, Inc.

Seth Tuber.

            After the first season, Kopp left the show along with producer and series director Jeff DeGrandis when they became frustrated with DreamWorks’ “too many cooks” approach to production. Rugg was promoted to showrunner and the format was drastically changed for the second season. The Frankenstein segments were reworked to be more of a sitcom where they would interact with new characters; particularly next door neighbor Seth Tuber (Jonathan Harris), who was based on Psycho’s Norman Bates complete with an “immobile” mother (Rugg). Melissa’s segment was changed to “The Melissa Screetch Show”, which featured Melissa imagining herself the host of a show that would end up with those that disappointed her meeting an ironic fate. The B-movie parodies and several segments with the Deadmans also continued with Jess Harnell assuming the Dedgar role, but the “Science Minute” segments were jettisoned. New characters were mostly played by Rugg, who improvised many of their lines. 

            Fox Kids underwent a bit of restructuring in mid-1998 to accommodate the showing of more Saban Entertainment programs on the coveted Saturday morning broadcasts (Saban had merged with and taken over Fox Kids in 1998). Toonsylvania, along with Goosebumps, was moved to Monday afternoons where the last two episodes of the first season and all the second season aired. Unfortunately, that time tended to yield low viewership and the ratings took a rapid decline, justifying its ultimate cancellation. 

            Action figures and playsets were developed by Pangea Corporation and released through Toy Island. Burger King also included toys based on the show in their kids’ meals. RFX Interactive, Light & Shadow Production and Ubisoft published a video game for the show in 2000 for the Game Boy Color. DreamWorks Video released a single VHS of the show in 1999 containing a selection of season one segments (although they used the season two intro). The entire show only saw release for a limited time on Netflix’s Latin American feed in 2014 and 2015.

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1:

“Darla Doily – Demon Doll / The Importance of Being Urnie / Igor’s Science Minute: Clone or Be Cloned / Melissa Screetch’s Morbid Morals: The Boogeyman’ll Get You Melissa” (2/7/98) – Igor buys Phil a doll intent on killing its owners. / Fred and Ashley have to find their uncle Urnie after he’s mistaken for a bag of money during a robbery. / Igor teaches about cloning. / Melissa stays out too late and must get home before she has to face the Boogeyman.

“Blinde Date of Frankenstein / Football and Other Body Parts / Igor’s Science Minute: Helium and Hot Air Balloons / Melissa Screetch’s Morbid Morals: Stop Making Ugly Faces” (2/14/98) – Igor builds a girlfriend for Vic. / Fred and Ashley must prove themselves during a football game. / Igor uses Phil as an example of how helium works. / Melissa’s habit lands her a permanent starring role as a B-movie monster.

“Love Potion Number Nein / Attack of the Iguana People / Igor’s Science Minute: The Big Bang / Melissa Screetch’s Morbid Morals: Teeth for Two” (2/21/98) – Igor uses Vic’s love potion as a perfume for Natalie Nightshade. / A monster movie about reptile creatures. / Igor puts Phil in a popcorn machine to explain the big bang. / Melissa refuses to give her brother half her tooth money, enraging the Tooth Fairy.

“Baby Human / Earth vs. Everything / Igor’s Science Minute: Blunder and Lightning / Melissa Screetch’s Morbid Morals: Little Screechin Riding Hood” (2/28/98) – Igor creates a baby with a large appetite. / A monster known as Everything plots to conquer Earth. / Igor gets constantly struck by lightning as he teaches about it. / Melissa, as Red, tortures the Big Bad Wolf.

“Built for Speed / Captain Beaumarchais’ Fish Flakes / A Kiss Before Dying / Igor’s Science Minute: Gravity / Melissa Screetch’s Morbid Morals: Go Stand in the Corner, Young Lady” (3/7/98) – Vic’s rival rigs his car to explode if he goes under 60 MPH. / A commercial for the delicious fish-flavored breakfast cereal. / Ashley runs a kissing booth at the school carnival. / Igor pushes Phil off the Eiffel Tower to explain gravity. / After being forced to stand in the corner, Melissa gets her teacher fired.

“Spawn of Santa / Dead Hard / I Igor’s Science Minute: Periodic Table of Elements / Melissa Screetch’s Morbid Morals: Don’t Swallow the Seeds, Silly” (3/14/98) – Vic puts a bank robber’s brain in Santa’s body. / Fred must escape overnight detention to save his date from the school bully. / Igor sings about the periodic table. / Melissa swallows watermelon seeds that grow inside her.

“Doom with a View / Dead Dog Day Afternoon / Igor’s Science Minute: Evolution and the Attorney / Melissa Screetch’s Morbid Morals: Here There Be Monsters” (3/28/98) – Igor and Phil turn the castle into a bed and breakfast. / Fred takes his dead dog to a dog show. / Igor sings about evolution. / Melissa tells the story of Christopher Columbus—with her own style, of course.

Love Hurts / One for the Mall and Mall for One / Igor’s Science Minute: The Brain / Melissa Screetch’s Morbid Morals: Plain as the Nose on Your Face” (4/4/98) – Vic and Phil appear on a dating game show and Vic keeps getting hurt in the physical challenges. / The Deadmans go for a family photo. / Igor uses Phil’s brain as a model for his lesson. / Melissa’s nose grows as she constantly lies.

“Phil Feel Smart / Voodoo Vacation / Igor’s Science Minute: The Universe / Melissa Screetch’s Morbid Morals: Melissa, Don’t Spoil Your Appetite” (4/25/98) – Drinking chemicals to stop the burning from five-alarm chili causes Phil to become a super genius. / The Deadmans go on vacation in Hawaii and are mistaken for ancient gods. / Igor sings about the universe. / Melissa suffers ill effects from eating nothing but candy.

“WereGranny / The Lobster of Party Beach / Igor’s Science Minute: Luck is Not a Factor / Melissa Screetch’s Morbid Morals: the Screetchy Little Mermaid” (5/2/98) – Igor believes Phil accidentally spiking Vic’s grandmother’s tea with wolfsbane made her a werewolf. / A lobster ruins a beach party. / Igor teaches about luck. / Melissa is a mermaid out for revenge against the prince that spurned her.

“A Family Plot / A Zombie is Born / Igor’s Science Minute: Earthquake Boogie / Melissa Screetch’s Morbid Morals: Meliss and the Three Bears” (5/16/98) – Igor resurrects Vic’s ex-wife and family. / Fred and Ashley sign up for the talent show. / Igor sings about earthquakes. / Melissa bugs the three bears.

“Phil’s Brain / Jurassic Putt / Igor’s Science Minute: Bites and Stings / You Keep Bouncing Like That, You’re Gonna Hurt Yourself” (9/14/98) – Phil’s brain is lonely. / Fred goes on a mini-golf date. / Igor sings about the effects of bites and stings. / Melissa’s couch bouncing sends her to space.

“The Inferior Decorator / Bang! / Parasites / Melissa Screetch, Earth Ambassador” (9/21/98) – Igor replaces Phil’s brain with that of an interior decorator to perform the task of redoing Vic’s bedroom. / The Deadmans meet their new human neighbors. / Igor sings about the virtues of having a parasite for a pet. / A field trip to NASA leads to Melissa causing an alien invasion.

Season 2:

“Something Weenie This Way Comes / Ideadical Cousins / Melisserella” (10/26/98) – Broke, Vic and Igor take jobs in fast food while Phil is mistaken for an arcade machine. / Ashley’s cousin wants to get rid of her and take her place. / Melissa plays the role of a lazy, nasty Cinderella.

“Igor’s Replacement / The Deadman Bunch” (11/9/98) – Vic refuses Igor’s demands, causing Igor to go serve another mad scientist. / The Deadmans star in a Brady Bunch parody.

“My Fair Monster / The Nosey Face / Shelf of Brains” (11/16/98) – Igor trains Phil to win the Westminster Monster Show that Vic forbade him to enter. / The Angry villagers recite a poem about a stranger with a strange nose. / Phil sings about all the brains in the lab and his head.

“The Doomed Odyssey / Attack of the Fifty Footed Woman / Becki with an I” (11/23/98) – A movie crew invades the castle. / A sleepy western town is attacked by a giant woman with 50 feet. / Becki relates why she hates being on the show.

“The Longest Day / Take Us to Your Liter / Escape from Wet Nurse Island” (12/7/98) – Vic, Igor and Phil suffer the DMV when Vic’s license plate is misprinted. / Aliens want America to switch to the metric system. / Melissa creates a TV show where her babysitter ends up in an island prison.

“For Your Info-Mation / In or Out / Melissa Makes a Wish / Madame Olga’s Lament” (12/21/98) – Vic hosts an infomercial for his youth potion. / Fred and Ashley are suspended for being dead. / Melissa wants a Black Ops-style helicopter. / Madame Olga sings about her secrets and dreams.

“Some Weird in Time / Vittles with Vic / Parents Opposed to Television Inappropriateness / Toonsylvania Presents: Phil and Igor in ‘Don’t Axe, Don’t Tell’ / News from Around the World / A Man of No Importance / Swamp Thingy” (1/4/99) – Igor, Vic and Phil go time traveling. / Vic hosts a cooking show. / A network censor speaks out against the show’s violent content. / Phil’s segment gets toned down by the censor. / A newsreel relates how the Deadmans changed history. / An extra points out his scenes in the show. / A swamp monster wants a vacation.

“Cyranot / Igor III / Running of the Bullies / Troop 666” (1/18/99) – Vic steals Phil’s new love. / Igor stars in his own version of Richard III. / Fred and Ashley fight back against their bullies. / Melissa’s scout troop gets lost in the woods.

Originally posted in 2017. Updated in 2021.