The Drinky Crow Show Explained

Based On:	MAAKIES (by Tony Millionaire)
Voices:	(See Characters)
Theme Music Composer:	They Might Be Giants
Opentheme:	"The Drinky Crow Show" (by They Might Be Giants)
Country:	United States
Language:	English
Network:	Adult Swim
Num Seasons:	1
Num Episodes:	11 (and 1 pilot)
Runtime:	11–12 minutes

The Drinky Crow Show is an American adult animated television series created by Eric Kaplan and Tony Millionaire based on the latter's comic strip Maakies. The pilot episode aired on Adult Swim on May 13, 2007.^{[1] [2]} The series premiered on November 23, 2008, and ended its run on January 25, 2009. The cancellation of the show was confirmed by a Maakies comic.^[3]

Dino Stamatopoulos provides the voice of the title character and David Herman voices Uncle Gabby and Captain Maak. Millionaire's then-wife Becky Thyre voices the Captain's Daughter and Phoebe Bird. Pamela Adlon voices Mademoiselle DeBoursay and other female characters. Creators Tony Millionaire and Eric Kaplan provide additional voices. They Might Be Giants perform the show's theme song.

Setting

The show centers on Drinky Crow (an often drunk crow) and Uncle Gabby, described as a drunken Irish monkey. It has a 19th-century nautical setting, where the main characters are constantly at war with the French, who are mostly alligators. It is characterized by graphic violence and surreal humor, so it normally is rated TV-MA-V for graphic violence.^[4]

Production

The animation is done by Mirari Films's facilities in Brasov using Maya,^[5] its resolution and its color palette are deliberately kept low. This gives the show a more traditional cel-animated look, reminiscent of 1950s children's TV cartoon shows.^[6]

Characters

• Drinky Crow (Dino Stamatopoulos) - A desperate, depressed, tormented, romantic, suicidal, alcoholic crow.
• Uncle Gabby (David Herman) - A self-centered, stubborn, overweight Irish monkey who is only after girls and booze. He tends to only think of himself and sometimes tries to manipulate Drinky Crow.
• Phoebe Bird (Becky Thyre) - Drinky Crow's on-again, off-again, long-suffering sober seagull girlfriend. She used to date a walrus, but lost interest with him as he kept bringing his work home.
• Captain Maak (David Herman) - The brutal, lash-wielding captain of the boat Drinky Crow and Uncle Gabby work on. He is an American who does not care much for Uncle Gabby. He will only allow homosexuals near his daughter.
• Captain's Daughter (Becky Thyre) - A flirtatious, barefooted, sadistic, Betty Boop-style character who, like her title says, is the captain's daughter. Her real name is never given and the characters refer to her as "Captain's Daughter" (which is likely her real name). Her hobbies include never bathing and flossing her teeth while taking dumps.
• Lieutenant Vronchy (Dino Stamatopoulos) - An evil alligator who also is a naval captain for France.
• Mademoiselle DeBoursay (Pamela Adlon) - The French spy who works for Lieutenant Vronchy. She is able to sneak in and out mostly by seducing Uncle Gabby and Drinky Crow.
• Veteran Adult Swim voice actor George Lowe plays uncredited background characters.

Episodes

Season 1 (2007–09)

International broadcast

In Canada, The Drinky Crow Show previously aired on G4's Adult Digital Distraction block,^[7] and on the Canadian version of Adult Swim.

Home media

All episodes, excluding the pilot, are available on iTunes. The entire series, including the pilot, has been made available for streaming on the official Adult Swim website.^[8]

External links

• • • The Original Maakies Comic and Tony Millionaire's Site

Notes and References

1. Drinky Crow May 13! . 2007-04-06 . The Beat . dead . 2007-04-06 . https://archive.today/20130104120958/http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2007/04/02/drinky-crow-may-13/ . 2013-01-04.
2. News: McGrath . Charles . 2007-05-13 . Guy Drinks. Bird Drinks. Guy Thrives. Bird Drinks . 2010-05-25 . The New York Times.
3. Web site: Maakies .
4. The Drinky Crow Show! . 2007-05-12 . Fantagraphics Books . 2008-01-01.
5. News: 2007-06-29 . Maya Makes Drinky Crow Show's Boozy, 2-D World Spin . 2007-06-29 . Wired.com.
6. Web site: The Drinky Crow Show Interview . 2009-02-10 . ColdHardFlash.
7. Web site: City TV . https://web.archive.org/web/20100107014243/http://www.g4tv.ca/static/schedule.shtml . 2010-01-07.
8. Web site: Watch The Drinky Crow Show . AdultSwim.com.