September 26, 2020

EEK! THE CAT

 

EEK! THE CAT /

EEK! AND THE TERRIBLE THUNDERLIZARDS /

EEK! STRAVAGANZA

(FOX, September 12, 1992-August 1, 1997)

 

Savage Studios Ltd., Nelvana, Film Roman, Fox Children’s Productions, 20th Century Fox Television


 

MAIN CAST:

Bill Kopp – Eek the Cat, Pierre, Jib, Day Z. Kutter (season 2-5), various
Savage Steve Holland – Elmo the Elk, Doc Tari, (season 2-5), Wade Heap (season 4), various
Elinor Donahue – Mom (season 1-3 & 5)
Elizabeth Daily – Wendy Elizabeth (season 1-3), Kozy (2nd voice), various
Charlie Adler – J.B., Granny (season 1-3), Dr. Steggy, Bill (both season 2-5), various
Cam Clarke – Puffy, Wuz Wuz, Piggy the Penguin, Ryan Heap (season 4), various
Tawny Kitaen – Annabelle (season 1-3)
Karen Haber – Annabelle (season 3-5)
Dan Castellaneta – Mittens (season 1-2), Hank, various
John Kassir – Mittens (season 3-5), various
Eddie Deezen – Ringo
Brad Garrett – Zoltar, Thuggo (season 2-5), various
Jason Priestly (season 1-4) & Corey Feldman (season 5) – Bo Diddley Squatt
Kurtwood Smith – General Galapagos (season 2-5), Thuggo (4 episodes)
Curtis Armstrong – Scooter (season 2-5)
Kirk Thatcher – Klutter (season 4)
Micahel Zorek – Kopp (season 4)
Sandy Fox – Sandee Heap (season 4)
Halle Stanford – Vanna Erving (season 4)
David Silverman – John Heap (season 4)
Kathy Ireland – Andrea Heap (season 4)
Gary Owens – Announcer, various

 

 

            Animator and director Savage Steve Holland seems to have carved a career for himself out of his pitiful life experiences. He turned his failed 11-year-old birthday party into a sad film a comedy festival audience found hilarious, translated people he knew into the casts of Better Off Dead and One Crazy Summer, and utilized his harrowing experience as a pet owner for his first animated series.

Eek with Annabelle.

            Developed with friend and colleague Bill Kopp, Eek! The Cat centered on a pudgy purple cat named Eek (after one of Holland’s cats, voiced by Kopp using a voice he came up with for his own cat) who was an eternal optimist and always willing to live up to his motto that “It never hurts to help!” Except, in Eek’s case, it often did. Not only was he the victim of slapstick pratfalls that would make Wile E. Coyote jealous, but he often inadvertently caused harm and misery to others. He was also surrounded by some of the worst people that often sought to actively abuse or take advantage of him.

Eek with Wendy Elizabeth and J.B.

            Though anthropomorphized, Eek was generally a typical cat around his family. The matriarch known simply as Mom (Elinor Donahue) was often busy cleaning house or attempting to learn nonsensical phrases in foreign languages. She had two kids: Wendy Elizabeth (Elizabeth Daily) and J.B. (Charlie Adler). Both were whiny and spoiled, with Wendy Elizabeth being prone to emotional outbursts whenever things don’t go her way and J.B. being the least-intelligent of the pair. The kids’ favorite show was The Squishy Bearz Rainbow of Enchanted Fun Minute. It starred The Squishy Bearz, four family-friendly colorful bears—Kozy (Jaid Barrymore first time, then Daily), Puffy, Wuz Wuz (both Cam Clarke), Pierre (Kopp using a French accent)—that were a parody of the Care Bears and often ended up in extreme peril.

Sharky out for Eek's blood.

            Outside of the house, Eek had his girlfriend and neighbor, Annabelle (Tawny Kitaen, later Karen Haber, both using a southern drawl), an obese pink cat whose heftiness often escaped Eek. Annabelle was protected by Sharky the Sharkdog (who spoke in often-subtitled growls), her pet guard dog that resembled a shark and generally disliked Eek as he always happened to cause him injury or destroy his stuff (particularly his deceptively cavernous dog house). Sharky’s favorite show was Patriotic Warriors (a parody of American Gladiators), and was in love with one of their stars, Platinum. Mittens (Dan Castellaneta, later John Kassir), was Eek’s best friend who suffered from extreme paranoia and lived with the poor-sighted Granny (Adler). Steven was a squirrel who lived in a nearby tree with his family and was incredibly boring. The Incredible Elmo (Holland) was Eek’s inept yet loyal friend who hid his cowardice by constantly tricking Eek into doing something dangerous for him by claiming he needed to raise money for an absurd medical procedure for his brother, Timmy. Elmo had a variety of professions, including talk show host and medical doctor.

Close encounters of the Eek kind.

            Eek! The Cat debuted on FOX on September 12, 1992 as part of the Fox Kids programming block. Every episode was written by Holland and Kopp, utilizing slapstick humor and pop culture references. Occasionally, episodes would spoof entire movies, be done as a musical, or completely in rhyme. Rather than focus on the typical life of a housecat like other productions, Eek was often thrust into one silly situation after another; such as having to rescue Annabelle from the evil alien Zoltar (Brad Garrett) who wanted to use her as a battery. Although FOX had a comparatively liberal standards and practices department when compared to the other networks, Holland and Kopp made sure that the censor assigned to their show earned every penny she was paid by jamming the script with elements they couldn’t air. For instance, the aliens in the episode “Eek vs. the Flying Saucers” were initially described as a toilet, a urinal and a roll of toilet paper that were treated “like filth” on their last visit to Earth. It could be surmised that was just Holland and Kopp applying the old trick of putting in outlandish content in order to get the stuff they actually wanted past the censor. Animation duties were handled by Nelvana while Nathan Wang composed the music.



            Renewed for a second season, Eek! received a revamp. Holland and Kopp came up with the idea for a spin-off series that instead became a segment of the parent show. Eek! adventures were pared down to make room for The Terrible Thunderlizards, which saw the whole show renamed Eek! and the Terrible Thunderlizards. Production delays prevented the segment from joining the show when the season debuted and it ended up starting that November. Additional 1-minute segments were planned starring the various supporting characters, but they were dropped when they found they didn’t have sufficient time to air them. The Thunderlizards segments had their own theme composed by Dee Snider of Twisted Sister.

The Thunderlizards: Kutter, Squatt and Doc.


Thunderlizards was set in prehistoric times, however the dinosaurs were shown to possess advanced intelligence and modern equipment. A trio of dinosaur mercenaries—leader Doc Tari (Holland), a Parasaurolophus whose crest hole contained a multitude of gadgets; Day Z. Kutter (Kopp); a Styracosaurus who was an expert with sharp weaponry, and Bo Diddley Squatt (Jason Priestly, later Corey Feldman), a dim-witted Allosaurus that was often the first to volunteer for dangerous missions (modeled after Private Hudson from Aliens)—were tasked by their commander, General Galapagos (a Tyrannosaurus voiced by Kurtwood Smith), with exterminating a pair of cavemen before they were allowed to mate and eventually supplant dinosaurs as the dominant species.

Scooter and Bill.

Those cavemen were Bill (Adler) and Scooter (Curtis Armstrong, a frequent Holland collaborator). Scooter was the jolly, optimistic inventor of the pair, often coming up with a variety of (ultimately defective) devices. Ill-tempered Bill was often the guinea pig for those devices with disastrous results (ending with the line “When does the hurting stop?”). They were aware of the Thunderlizards’ attempts to come after them although they had no clue exactly why. It was often by sheer luck and the Thunerlizards’ ineptitude that the cavemen managed to escape every time.

Thuggosaur Biff looks at their latest failed invention.

The Thunderlizards had another foe: the Thuggosaurs. They were a race of undead Grim Reaper-like dinosaurs that lived in a place called the X-Zone. They were based on the Forbidden Zone mutants from Beneath the Planet of the Apes and Battle for the Planet of the Apes. The Thuggosaurs constantly try to attack Jurassic City, only to end up thwarted by the Thunderlizards and sometimes the cavemen. Leading the Thuggosaurs was Thuggo (Garret, Smith for 4 episodes), a fan of dramatic TV shows. Biff was his second in command; a gentle soul who enjoyed flowers.


While the show remained unchanged for the third season, it did gain another (and final) new name: Eek! Stravaganza. It also had a loss behind the scenes as Kopp left the production. While he still provided the voices for all of his characters, Kopp accepted a deal to develop The Shnookums and Meat Funny Cartoon Show for Disney’s The Disney Afternoon programming block. The show ended up being short-lived, and Kopp was offered a deal to do another show for FOX. Joining Holland on writing duties for the season were Kati Rocky, Pamela Wick, Henry Gilroy, Paul Germain, Sandy Fries and Frank Santopadre.

The fourth season introduced another new segment: Klutter! The segment focused on Ryan (Clarke) and Wade (Holland) Heap, two boys who desperately wanted a pet. However, their reporter father, John (co-creator David Silverman) was allergic to just about every animal. They got their wish, however, when Ryan accidentally charged a pile of clutter with static electricity, creating Klutter (Kirk Thatcher). They, along with their baby sister Sandee (Sandy Fox) and neighbors Vanna Erving (Halle Stanford) and Kopp (Michael Zorek) often went on adventures with Klutter as Ryan fancied himself a reporter like his father. Despite John’s insistence that their town was completely dull, that didn’t stop them from encountering ghosts, monsters, mad scientists and aliens.

Klutter munching on some chips.

Klutter! looked markedly different from the rest of the Eek! line-up. That was because it was co-produced by Film Roman with characters designed by Eric S. Keyes and Mark Walsh. Holland took on most of the staff from the recently-cancelled The Critic, all of whom worked on the segment. Because Holland and others often had fun talking about and drawing funny pictures of Bill Kopp behind his back, they created the character of Kopp based on him. Kopp was portrayed as a bit of a dimwit and often bore the brunt of some of the jokes. Only 8 episodes of Klutter! were made, alternating with Thunderlizards segments, which were produced and directed by Brian Sheesley. Silverman served as the story editor.

Eek and Elmo cook as Timmy looks on.

For the fifth and final season, Eek! was taken off of Saturday mornings and moved to the weekday afternoon timeslot. Klutter! reruns were used to fill up episode run times, alternating again with Thunderlizard segments. Although FOX cancelled the series in 1996, new episodes didn’t finish airing until the summer of 1997. Parts of episodes returned in reruns the following year in Fox’s Cartoon Cabaña programming block. Both seasons were written entirely by Holland.

Mulder and Scully appear on Eek!

One notable aspect of the show was the type and number of celebrity cameos they were able to book. William Shatner played Santa in the Christmas special and returned to play Captain Berzerk in another episode. Bobcat Goldthwait played Santa’s reindeer, Blitzen.  Tim Curry narrated an episode. Dee Snider and Mr. T portrayed dinosaur versions of themselves in Thunderlizards. Phil Hartman was a psychotic bunny, Buck Henry was Cupid, and Heather Locklear played Alice, a rival for Annabelle’s affections for Eek. As a love letter to the X-Files, and an acknowledgement for the fact that Eek! was seen on an episode of that show, not only did Eek! parody X-Files but David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprised their roles for an episode of Eek! Appearing as themselves was Nia James, John Walsh, “Weird Al” Yankovic, John Landis, Don Cornelius, Julie Strain, Chuck Jagger, Chris Leary, The Barbi Twins, Cynthia Rothrock, Fabio and Margaret Loesch, the head of Fox Kids. Holland and Kopp also appeared as themselves. Kato Kaelin was scheduled to appear as well, but the network vetoed that.



There wasn’t much released for Eek! in the way of merchandise, as Holland considered Eek a hard character to market. There was a single plush doll made by Marchon Inc., as well as a video game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System developed by CTA Developments and published by Ocean. Between 1995 and 2000, toys were released through the restaurants Hardee’s, Roy Rogers, Carl’s Jr., Weinerschnitzel, KFC, Subway, Dairy Queen, Long John Silver’s and Krystal. Hamilton Comics published a 3-issue comic based on the show in 1994. Only a single VHS tape containing the episodes “Catsanova” and “HawaiiEek 5-0” has been released in North America. 12 DVDs had been released by Jetix in the Czech Republic as Kocour Raptik and in Russia as Кот Ик. Eek! came under the ownership of Saban Entertainment after they bought out Fox Kids, and in turn became the property of Disney in 2001. For a time, episodes were available on the ABC Family website and on the Jetix and Jetix Play channels in Europe. 

 

 

EPISODE GUIDE (there is some discrepancy with the episode order & air dates for later seasons):
Season 1:

“Misereek” (9/12/92) – Eek takes Mittens’ place in order to get some better food but finds out the grass is always greener.

 

“Bearz N’ the Hood” (9/19/92) – Eek goes to get a Squishy Bearz autograph for Wendy Elizabeth, but the Rat Pack disguise themselves as the Bearz to take the mayor’s statue hostage.

 

“Castanova” (9/26/92) – Cupid aids Eek in getting the attention of his new neighbor Annabelle, while also avoiding her guard dog Sharky.

 

“Eek vs. the Flying Saucers” (10/3/92) – Eek has to save Annabelle and the planet from an evil alien.

 

“Cape Fur” (10/17/92) – Eek rescues and adopts a bunny, only to discover the bunny is a psychopath.

 

“HallowEek” (10/31/92) – Eek has to rescue his children and some ghosts from a pretty witch.

 

“Eek’s International Adventure” (11/14/92) – While on a family vacation, Eek is mistaken for a secret agent and ends up captured by the evil Brain with the gorgeous agent Sasha.

 

“HawaiiEek 5-0” (11/21/92) – Rescuing Anabelle from a swimming pool lands her, Eek and Jacques L’Ducks on a tropical island where Anabelle is made queen—and a sacrifice.

 

“Great Balls of Fur” (11/28/92) – When superstar Melvis fakes his death to escape his career, his manager tricks Eek into impersonating him for his own benefit.

 

“The Whining Pirates of Tortuga” (12/5/92) – While waiting for Sharky to leave, Eek regales the neighborhood kittens with an adventure tale about his encounter with real pirates.

 

“The Eekcidental Tourist” (12/12/92) – Wendy Elizabeth’s mother takes the family on a cross-country road trip to improve her geography knowledge, and Eek is left behind in every state.

 

“It’s A Wonderful Nine Lives” (12/19/92) – Eek goes on a mission to deliver a package that fell out of Santa’s sleigh.

 

“The Eeksterminator” (12/26/92) – Eek has to rescue the termites he gave Wendy Elizabeth from a group of spiders and an exterminator.

 

Season 2:

“Shark Therapy / Speed FrEek” (9/25/93) – Eek rushes Sharky to Dr. Elmo after running him over with a lawn mower, but all they do is make Sharky worse. / Elmo tricks Eek into running a race for him when he goes up against a superior opponent.

 

“Rocketship to Jupiter / Eek’s Funny Thing That He Does” (10/2/93) – Eek dreams that he and the Squishy Bearz visit Professor Wiggly to test his rocket ship. / Eek has to get lemons from Sharky’s yard in order to replenish J.B. and Wendy Elizabeth’s supply for their lemonade stand.

 

“Eekpocalypse Now! / Eex Men” (10/9/93) – Eek, the kittens and Elmo head up the McTropolis River to find Sharky. / Superpersonman decides to give up being a hero and saddles Eek with the job.

 

“Quadrapedia / Night on Squishy Mountain” (11/6/93) – The Rat Pack kidnaps Anabelle on behalf of two witch cats jealous of her beauty. / A day at the amusement park is disrupted when Mom is captured by an insane automaton.

 

“Star TrEek / Eeking Out a Living” (11/13/93) – Eek dreams he’s a starship captain engaged in a battle with Sharky the Sharktarian. / When Eek and Sharky accidentally break Annabelle’s garden fountain statue, they get jobs in order to buy the glue needed to fix it.

 

“Meat the Thunderlizards / The Great Eekscape” (11/20/93) – Believing mankind will lead them to extinction, General Galapagos forms the Thunderlizards to stamp out two cavemen. / Eek and Sharky end up in the pound when they’re found without their licenses.

 

“The Lava my Life / Eek Goes to the Hot Spot” (11/27/93) – A chase leads the Thunderlizards and the cavemen into unwittingly rescuing the President’s daughter. / When Eek ends up in the afterlife, a bad cat trades places with him so that Eek will end up in the hot spot instead.

 

“Tar and Away” (12/4/93) – The cavemen and Thunderlizards discover an alien ship in a tar pit.

 

“It’s a Very Merry Eek’s Mas” (12/5/93) – Eek takes Sharky to see Santa to grant him a Christmas wish, but they end up delivering presents instead when the reindeer and elves go on strike.

 

“Always Eat Your Spinach” (12/18/93) – Trying to root the cavemen out of a house leads Squatt to accidentally create a spinach monster.

 

“All About Babs” (1/1/94) – The dino scientists create a female human designed to lure the cavemen to the Thunderlizards, but she has her own plans.

 

“The Frying Game” (1/8/94) – The Thuggasaurs plan to use missiles to destroy Jurassic City.

 

“Ice Age Kapades / Something’s Abyss” (1/15/94) – The cavemen discover a lost ice projection gun in their travels and accidentally start the Ice Age. / The cavemen fall into a ravine where they’re captured by slugs whose princess wants to marry Bill.

 

“The Unbearable Lightness of Being Scooter / Thundersaurus Wrecks” (1/22/94) – While the cavemen escape via helium, the Thunderlizards discover the Thuggasaurs’ inflatable bomber. / Scooter saves a baby bat from falling, and as thanks its mother gives them a ride while the Thunderlizards pursue in a plane.

 

“A Sharkwork Orange / Let’s Make a Wheel” (2/5/94) – Eek sends Sharky to Dr. Elmo for his anger issues. / Bill tries out Scooter’s new wheel and ends up foiling the Thunderlizards’ new weapon against them.

 

“T-Rex, Lies and Videotape” (2/19/94) – Spy cameras used to find the cavemen stumble upon the Thuggasaurs’ latest explosive plot.

 

“Mountain Groan” (2/26/94) – On a camping trip, Annabelle ends up the only one not abducted and left alone against a bigfoot.

 

Season 3:

“Paws / In the Line of Fur” (9/10/94) – Eek, Sharky and Mittens have to retrieve Annabelle’s overfed goldfish from Wendy Elizabeth’s pool party. / After rescuing the President’s cat Socks, Eek becomes his escort and has to rescue him from mad dog Checkers.

 

“Chariots of Fur / Honey I Shrunk the Cat” (9/17/94) – Elmo forces Eek to substitute in a race for him and uses Sharky to ensure Eek will win. / Eek and Sharky end up shrunken by Elmo’s shrink ray, but before they can be enlarged they have to remove a raisin from the President’s brain.

 

“Shark Doggy Dog / Fatal Eektraction” (9/24/94) – Choking on a sock has Don Corenlius turn Sharky into a rap star. / Eek’s new neighbor has the hots for him and tries to get rid of Annabelle.

 

“The Good, the Bad and the Squishy / Birth of a Notion” (10/8/94) – Eek tells Annabelle about a mysterious stranger who partners with a sheriff to save a Western town. / Babs returns to celebrate Bill’s burpday…by having the cavemen build her a mall.

 

“Eek’s SnEek Peek / The Thunder Years” (10/15/94) – Eek provides some behind the scenes information of his movie with the Squishy Bearz. / The Thunderlizards are downed in Thuggasaur territory and reminisce while they await rescue in a cave.

 

“The Eex Files / The Hurting Show” (11/5/94) – Eek is believed to be an alien when he crashes into Area 51 after falling out of an airplane. / While the Thunderlizards stop a hijacking, Scooter invents a talk show to help Bill work through his problems.

 

“Paw Sores / T-Rex and Sympathy” (11/12/94) – Eek dreams he’s a space knight in a Star Wars-esque setting. / Mr. T-Rex rides along on the Thunderlizards’ next mission.

 

“The Eeksorcist / Boo Thunder” (11/19/94) – Elmo accidentally unleashes the joyful spirit Huggie who possesses Sharky and makes him too cute and lovable. / Scooter invents Halloween where they scare their neighbors with masks while the Thuggosaurs create a lava-covered robot for their next attack.

 

“Lord of the Fleas / Postcards from the X-Zone” (11/26/94) – Elmo tricks Eek into babysitting some savage penguins that he has to wrangle out of the mall. / The cavemen go on vacation when their home is hit by a stink bomb and the Thuggosaurs plan a giggle gas attack.

 

“Eekstremely Dull / Planet of the Crepes” (2/4/95) – An extremely boring squirrel family moves into the neighborhood. / While the Thunderlizards battle the Thuggosaurs’ submarine, an astronaut crash lands on Earth and is shocked by what he finds.

 

“Eeksy Rider / A Sharkdog Day Afternoon” (2/18/95) – While getting Wendy Elizabeth’s bike fixed, Eek, Sharky and Mittens enter a BMX bike tournament. / The Sharkenator arrives to eliminate Sharky, but Tera comes to his rescue.

 

“Rebel Without the Claws / Cromagnon Farce” (2/25/95) – While Annabelle’s at the beach, she sends Eek and Sharky off for an hour resulting in mishaps to befall Sharky’s car. The Thuggosaurs try to hijack the space rocket the Thunderlizards launch to track the cavemen.

 

“This Eek’s Your Life” (5/6/95) – Sharky relives his past as everyone comes out to celebrate his birthday.

 

“Try Hard” (7/8/95) – Eek heads off to donate things to the Kittens’ Hospital while Sharky seeks revenge against him for unknowingly destroying his statue.

 

Season 4:

“Valley of the Dogs / Klutter” (9/9/95) – Sharky wakes up one day and decides to become a Broadway star. / Ryan and Wade are desperate for a pet and accidentally create one when static electricity brings their clutter to life.

 

“Pup Fiction / The Klutter and I (Infection)” (9/16/95) – Eek and Sharky find a briefcase and set out to return it to its owner. / Klutter tries to help the kids stay awake long enough to watch a late-night horror movie.

 

“Natural Bored Kittens / Lizard of Aaaahs” (9/23/95) –

 

“OutbrEek / Arctic Blast” (9/30/95) –

 

“Octopussy Cat / Mixed Klutter” (10/7/95) – Eek undergoes a series of trials to return a lost octopus to the ocean. / A trip to the aquarium has Klutter being captured after he’s mistaken for an escaped sea creature.

 

“Going to Eekstremes / Bi-Predator” (10/21/95) – Eek’s cousin visits and drags him on a series of disastrous adventures. / Mr. T-Rex and Bill get blasted into a restaurant where General Galapagos is eating with his wife.

 

“Dazed and Eekstremely Confused / Franken-Klutter” (11/4/95) – Elmo tricks Eek into taking his place as a movie stuntman. / A disgraced scientist wants to get his hands on Klutter to figure out the secret to his living and become respected in his community.

 

“Eek Space-9 / The Yawn of Man” (11/11/95) – Eek and the crew have to stop Commander Berzerk from destroying the universe. / Babs shows off her anacondaminium while the Thuggosaurs’ latest plot backfires and turns them and the Thunderlizards into babies.

 

“The GraduEek / Peanut Klutter and Jelly” (11/18/95) – Sharky graduates obedience school and befriends an attractive mail carrier prospect. / After bringing a turtle back to the river, the kids have to chase their lunches after they float away on a log.

 

“PolitEekly Correct / Whatta Woild” (11/25/95) – After causing a quail to forget his song, Eek and Sharky take him on a musical tour. / The Thunderlizards have to stop the Thuggosaurs’ submarine attack.

 

“Night of the Living Spuds” (1/29/96) – John gives the kids a pointless story for them to investigate which leads them into encountering giant living potatoes.

 

“Goop Dreams” (1/30/96) – The dino scientists invent a sticky goop that can trap the cavemen.

 

“It’s a Thunderful Life” (2/1/96) – The Thunderlizards’ latest device against the cavemen goes crazy and begins attacking Jurassic City.

 

“Thunder & Frightning” (2/5/96) – The Thunderlizards are given jet packs for their next human hunt.

 

“The Ghost of Goober Bottom Pond” (2/6/96) – Klutter and the kids investigate a ghost story at the local pond.

 

“The Thunder of It All” (2/7/96) – The Thuggosaurs plan to use a missile launcher disguised as a smiling inch worm to invade and destroy Jurassic City.

 

“Bonfire of the Vanna Tea” (2/8/96) – Klutter accidentally ruins the high society party Vanna attempts to throw.

 

“The Magnificent 5 ½” (2/16/96) – To stop a Thuggosaur invasion, the Thunderlizards are saddled with three specialists for help.

 

Season 5:

“DiabolEek” (9/6/96) – Sharky goes to Dr. Elmo to help get rid of his Eek nightmares.

 

“Pre-Hysteric Man / Molten Rock-n-Roll” (9/13/96) – Bill accidentally releases a lava flow at the city, and the Thunderlizards are tasked with stopping it. / The Thunderlizards have to rescue musician Dee Snidersaur from the Thuggosaurs after his helicopter crashes in the X-Zone.

 

“MystEek Pizza” (9/16/96) – Eek ends up in orbit after ruining one of Sharky’s favorite shows.

 

“Eek Bin Ein Berliner / Thunder Valley” (9/20/96) – Eek causes the destruction of Shakry’s dog house, and disrupts his attempts to rebuild. / Bill tries to lose weight while Squatt flies away after drinking liquid helium.

 

“Snowbored” (10/14/96) – Elmo tricks Eek into taking his place in a snowboard race.

 

“Fists of Furry” (10/28/96) – Cynthia Rothrock trains Sharky in the martial arts.

 

“The Island of Dr. Meow / Home O’Spaien Alone” (7/7/97) – Sharky has to defend his newfound island paradise from a deranged scientist. / The Thunderlizards head to the X-Zone to escape General Galapagos’ wrath when they tear down the wrong building.

 

“Nightmare on Elmo St. / Night of the Living Duds” (7/14/97) – Eek and Elmo accidentally create a giant living chocolate souffle. / The Thunderlizards set out to stop the Thuggosaurs’ Super Beehive cannon.

 

“Show Squirls” (7/18/97) – The Squirrel’s show is taken on the road with Sharky serving as their manager.

 

“Eekscaliber” (7/21/97) – A conk on the head sends Sharky back to medieval times, serving King Eek by finding the Holy Grill.

 

“The FugEektive” (7/25/97) – Eek enlists John Walsh’ help in clearing an amnesiac Sharky of a bank robbery.

 

“The Sound of MusEek / Oh…the Humanity” (7/28/97) – Elmo’s friends hold a benefit concert for Timmy’s next procedure. / The Thunderlizards are sent to escort and important archaeological find while Scooter invents dentistry.

 

“Rock-Eek 6” (8/1/97) – When Sharky accidentally injures Platinum, he takes her place in her upcoming match against the Disturbed Android.

September 19, 2020

THE AMAZING LIVE SEA MONKEYS

 

THE AMAZING LIVE SEA-MONKEYS
(CBS, September 19-November 28, 1992)
 
Terry’s Creations, Inc., Some Assembly Required, Inc.

 
MAIN CAST:
Rob LaBelle – Dave
Peter Pitofsky – Bill
Sean Whalen – Aquarius
Howie Mandel – The Professor

 
            Harold Nathan Braunhut, also known as Harold von Braunhut, was an inventor known for his mail-order novelty products. Von Braunhut advertised his wares in the pages of comic books and were a staple of them for many years. Among his offerings were X-Ray Specs that were purported to see through clothing and skin (intriguing many prepubescent adolescents); Crazy Crabs, which were simple hermit crabs jazzed up with some purple prose; Invisible Gold Fish, which were guaranteed to remain invisible (since they weren’t actually there); and many more. One of von Braunhut’s most popular items were the Amazing Sea-Monkeys.

One of the many Sea-Monkeys ads.


            Sea-Monkeys were simple brine shrimp. Brine shrimp are typically harvested for fish food and could remain in a suspended state in dry conditions. Von Braunhut’s Sea-Monkeys came in a packet full of what looked like white powder that kids could pour into a bowl and bring the Sea-Monkeys to life. Of course, they hardly resembled the almost human-like depiction seen in the comic ads designed and illustrated by Joe Orlando. Despite the constant disappointment of what arrived when kids received their Sea-Monkeys, that hasn’t stopped the tiny creatures from getting a devoted fanbase.

The Professor explaining one of his biological experiments.


            One owner of Sea-Monkeys was comedian Howie Mandel. One of his daughters followed in his footsteps, requesting the tiny creatures since all her friends had them as well. Suddenly, an idea for a TV show centered around Sea-Monkeys came to him, imagining it to have the potential to be bigger than Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Mandel was able to sell the idea to CBS based on the success FOX was enjoying with his previous series, Bobby’s World. Mandell teamed up with the Chiodo Brothers to create the make-up effects for the Sea Monkeys based on Orlando’s drawings, as well as the variety of special effects that would be employed to turn it into a live-action cartoon.

The Sea Monkeys: Bill, Dave and Aquarius.


            Mandel played The Professor, a mad scientist who lived and worked in his lighthouse lab complete with stereotypical German accent. During one of his experiments, he enlarged three Sea-Monkey brothers—Dave (Rob LaBelle), Bill (Peter Pitofsky) and Aquarius (Sean Whalen)—who ended up becoming his roommates and assistants. Their misadventures were usually caused by their general ineptitude, and the fact that The Professor often left them alone and unsupervised (ironic since that was a lesson utilized in the first episode). Their best friend was Sheila Brentwood (Eliza Schneider), who was also their next-door neighbor and lived with her uptight parents (Jim Jansen & Patch Mackenzie). She liked to hang out with the Sea-Monkeys because their uniqueness countered her parents’ stuffiness, and possibly because her parents didn’t really care for them. The Sea-Monkeys also had the unique ability to project water from their fingers.


Sheila visiting to escape her parents.


            The Amazing Live Sea-Monkeys debuted on CBS on September 19, 1992. It was developed by Bradley Kesden and Skip Shepard, who also served as story editors and episode writers. Other writers included Melvin Barenboim, Jennifer Feucht, Tug Barnes, Dan Clark, Mary Ghiorsi, Scott Sedita, Terry Vennuzzi and Michael Davis. Chuck Cirino, Inc. provided the music. The series utilized a blend of slapstick and absurd humor. Typical stories featured The Professor heading off to some kind of function outside of the lighthouse after doing something to set the events of the story in motion, and The Sea-Monkeys ended up causing a mess they had to somehow clean-up before he got home. The Sea-Monkeys would often break the fourth wall, morph their heads into other people/creatures, zip off-screen to return with a random item for a gag, or perform a split-second quick change. There would also be the occasional genre or pop culture parody.


Aquarius imagining himself as a spy, ala James Bond.


            Unfortunately, Mandel’s predication of the Sea-Monkeys becoming bigger than the Ninja Turtles was way off the mark. The show performed abysmally in the ratings, failing to justify the hefty price tag the special effects were incurring (well over the proposed amount). CBS cancelled the series after just 11 episodes. It remained on CBS’ schedule for the remainder of the season. Interestingly enough, it ended up being replaced by another series starring Schneider: Beakman’s World.
 
 
EPISODE GUIDE:
“Octopotomus R’ Usamus” (9/19/92) – When the Sea Monkeys hydrate one of The Professor’s animal experiments as a pet for Aquarius, it ends up causing trouble at the Brentwoods.
 
“Lighthouse Alone” (9/26/92) – When Dave and Aquarius won’t let Bill help them with their alarm system, he decides to repeatedly trick them into thinking crooks are around.
 
“Swampthingamajig” (10/3/92) – Dave gets a swelled head when he’s bitten by the acting bug after he’s asked to substitute for a movie’s “monster”.
 
“Look, Don’t Touch” (10/10/92) – The Sea Monkeys need jobs to make enough money to replace a device they broke and end up working at the Brentwood’s vow renewal ceremony.
 
“Sea Monkey of Love” (10/17/92) – Dave and Aquarius try to help Bill get through the date he ends up with when he calls a dating service.
 
“Wrestlemania” (10/24/92) – Bill inadvertently challenges a professional wrestler to a match.
 
“Haunted Lighthouse” (10/31/92) – A group of thieves use costumes and trickery to scare off the Sea Monkeys and search the lighthouse for buried treasure.
 
“Scout’s Honor” (11/7/92) – The Professor encourages the Sea Monkeys to join some kind of club, and they decide to join Mr. Brentwood’s Moose Scout troop.
 
“Top Secret” (11/14/92) – An old school rival of The Professor uses Aquarius’ love of spy stuff to get into the lighthouse and attempt to steal The Professor’s latest invention.
 
“Talent Show” (11/21/92) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.
 
“Teacher’s Pests” (11/28/92) – NO SYNOPSIS AVAILABLE.