| Runtime: | 20-22 minutes |
| Genre: | Animated sitcom |
| Creator: | Mark Cullen Robb Cullen |
| Starring: | Kelsey Grammer Billy Gardell Spencer Garrett Rob Paulsen Rick Gomez Vance DeGeneres Susan Savage Robb Cullen |
| Country: | United States |
| Company: | Grammnet Productions Cheyenne Enterprises Spike Animation Studios |
| Executive Producer: | Mark Cullen Robb Cullen Kelsey Grammer Arnold Rifkin |
| Network: | Spike TV |
| Composer: | Mark Mothersbaugh Josh Mancell |
| Num Episodes: | 26 |
| Num Seasons: | 2 |
Gary the Rat is an American adult animated sitcom created by the Cullen Brothers for Spike TV (previously known as TNN) and animated by Spike Animation Studios.[1] It was produced by Grammnet Productions and Cheyenne Enterprises and distributed by Viacom.
It began as web episodes in flash animation on the internet in 2000, created by the defunct eStudio (later re-structured studio BLITZ) for Mediatrip.com.[2] [3] It consisted of 13 short episodes programmed in Adobe Flash which also included a game to occupy the viewer while the episode loaded in the background.
The network TV series aired on Spike in 2003, lasting for two seasons.[4]
Gary "The Rat" Andrews is a self-centered, misanthropic defense attorney who awakens one morning to find that he has somehow transformed into a giant bipedal rat. Gary struggles to deal with his transformation and hold on to his status as a high-paid, if mercenary, lawyer. Until Gary figures out why he's like this he has decided to try and function the best he can in a "human" world. Outraged at his new appearance, Truman, a tenant in Gary's expensive apartment building, has hired exterminator Johnny Bugz to get rid of Gary for good.
Grammer said of the character, "Gary the Rat has been compromising every scruple to the point that he compromises his humanity."[5]
Episodes were approximately 3 minutes long, programmed in Adobe Flash which also included a game to occupy the viewer while the episode loaded in the background.
Each episode begins with Gary having a surrealistic nightmare in which he is killed. During each episode Gary receives telephone calls from his mother in which he heartlessly dismisses her.
Kevin McDonough of United Media gave the show a negative review, praising the voice actors but calling the show itself "virtually laugh-free."[6] Phil Gallo of Daily Variety thought that the first episode was "too serious" and that Grammer's character was derivative of Frasier Crane.[7] Giving it one star out of four, Dean Johnson of The Boston Herald criticized the first episode as unfunny, and questioned whether the show would fit Spike's demographic.[8]
A more favorable review came from Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, who thought that Grammer was "well-cast" and that it was the "least crude" of the three cartoons airing on Spike at the time (Ren & Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon" and Stripperella).[5] Matthew Williams of Toon Zone gave a mixed review, saying that some elements of episodes were drawn out for too long, but that Grammer "saves the show from mediocrity" and that he considered some of the jokes funny.[9]
The complete series has not been released on DVD or Blu-ray. However, all episodes are available on iTunes and Amazon Prime Video.