Gary the Rat explained

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]

Premise

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]

Voice actors

Media

List of web episodes

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.

List of network episodes

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.

Critical reception

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]

References

  1. Book: Perlmutter . David . The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows . 2018 . Rowman & Littlefield . 978-1538103739 . 235.
  2. News: Rat's out of the bag: 'Frazier' star to produce Web animated series. 19 July 2017. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. August 22, 2000.
  3. Web site: Mediatrip shows 'Rat' stuff. Marc. Graser. 22 August 2000.
  4. Book: Erickson . Hal . Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 . 2005 . 2nd . McFarland & Co . 978-1476665993 . 366.
  5. Web site: TV Reviews: Cartoons for guys premiere on Spike TV. old.post-gazette.com. 2013-02-04. 2018-07-08. https://web.archive.org/web/20180708020341/http://old.post-gazette.com/tv/20030620owen0622p2.asp. dead.
  6. Web site: Record-Journal – Google News Archive Search. news.google.com.
  7. Gallo. Phil. Gary the Rat. https://web.archive.org/web/20160409050329/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-105515099.html. dead. April 9, 2016. Daily Variety. HighBeam archive. June 26, 2003.
  8. Johnson, Dean. Bomb AND bombshell; Lawyer-bashing 'Gary the Rat' a trial for viewers. (Arts and Lifestyle). https://web.archive.org/web/20161018194519/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-104128305.html. dead. 18 October 2016. The Boston Herald. 24 June 2003. HighBeam archive.
  9. Web site: TZ Reviews: "The Strip," Bare of Quality – ToonZone News. 27 June 2003.

Release

The complete series has not been released on DVD or Blu-ray. However, all episodes are available on iTunes and Amazon Prime Video.

External links