3-South Explained
3-South is an American adult animated sitcom created by Mark Hentemann for MTV. It originally aired for 10 episodes from November 7, 2002, to January 16, 2003.
History
The series was created by Family Guy veteran writer Mark Hentemann during the show's hiatus, loosely based on Mark's college days at Miami University. It is the only animated series produced for MTV by Warner Bros. Animation; Paramount Global currently owns the series via MTV. Previously, MTV was part of Warner Bros.' sister company, Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment before the network was sold to Viacom in 1986. Creator Mark Hentemann would later go on to create Bordertown for Fox, which also ran for just one season.
The show's theme song is The Flaming Lips' song "Fight Test" from the album Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.
Premise
The show revolves around two lifelong dim-witted friends, named Sanford and Del and their misadventures at the fictional Barder College.[1] With the exception of their intelligent pre-med roommate Joe, nearly everyone at Barder is dumb and incompetent. Nonetheless, the idiotic, irresponsible, and thoughtless Sanford and Del are portrayed as the series' heroes, whereas the responsible, intelligent Joe is the de facto villain in most episodes.[2]
Main characters
- Sanford Reilly – voiced by Brian Dunkleman. Sanford is an obese, oafish, highly insensitive loudmouth who shows little consideration for others. He has a very crude sense of humor, believing in the value of toilet humor and stupid pranks. As Del's best friend, he often takes the lead in their pointless adventures. In the episode Fraternity, he is revealed to be diabetic and has to take insulin for it.
- Del Swanson – voiced by Brian Posehn. Del is Sanford's lifelong friend, similarly stupid, but more reserved and considerate. While Sanford is hopelessly dumb, Del shows a few glimpses of intelligence to his own surprise. He is extremely short and tends to have slightly better luck with women than Sanford ever does. Actor Brian Posehn gives Del a distinct low, droning voice, similar to the one used for Jim Kuback on the short-lived adult animated series Mission Hill.
- Joe Tate – voiced by Mark Hentemann. The most intelligent and very miserable student at Barder, Joe is forced to attend Barder College because he was not accepted to Harvard (due to the fact that Harvard had already filled their quota of white male students). He has aspirations of becoming a medical doctor, but is constantly at odds with Barder’s idiotic students and the school's abysmal facilities, including an extremely inept medical center. As Del and Sanford's roommate, he is forced to endure their rudeness and stupidity on a daily basis.
- Todd Wolfschmidtmansternowitz – voiced by Brian Posehn. The R.A. of Del and Sanford's floor, Todd is a grotesque loser with a high, croaking voice and several medical conditions, including albinism. Todd has been pathetic his whole life, often mentioning his loud alcoholic father and inability to cope with ordinary problems. He is constantly ignored by the students on his floor despite his good intentions, and has a tendency to blindly follow rules and regulations.
- Ed Bickel – voiced by Mark Hentemann. A hillbilly who lives on Todd's floor. Ed often hangs out with Del and Sanford and displays many stereotypical redneck habits, including a distinctly stupid laugh. Although just as dumb as everyone else, he sometimes provides helpful information and always has a cheerful demeanor.
- Dean Earhart – voiced by Jeffrey Tambor. A Barder alumnus, Dean Earheart deals with the school's many failings on a daily basis. He is neurotic, dishonest, and incompetent at his job. He has a blonde female assistant named Linda, who serves as his voice-of-reason.
- Felicity – voiced by Lori Alan. A girl who has a major crush on Del. Felicity has a psychotic romantic crush Del that she has had since high school, and only enrolled in Barder in hopes to always be with him. Her dorm room is filled with photos of Del all over the place. At one point, Del had to file a restraining order against her only for her to injunct it thinking it was all a misunderstanding. She constantly rips off her own hair to make clothing for Del, in hopes that one day she'll marry Del and bear children with him. She constantly bickers with Sanford.
- Cindy Reilly – voiced by Kathleen Wilhoite. Is Sanford's ditzy, unattractive, alcoholic older sister, who's a junior at Barder. In the first episode, she spent the summer sobering up, only for one of her friends to give her a beer to celebrate, which gets her drunk all over again. A common running gag in the show is her getting hit by a car, as well as flashing her breasts. She has also been banned from eating in the cafeteria for her antics.
- Dr. Heminger – Barder College's doctor. He is not very helpful when it comes to helping the students on campus, and doesn't seem to know anything about his profession. He also abuses medication.
Notes and References
- Book: Perlmutter, David . The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows . 2018 . Rowman & Littlefield . 978-1538103739 . 639–640.
- Book: Erickson, Hal . Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 . 2005 . McFarland & Co . 978-1476665993 . 2nd . 845.
