Baby Blues (TV series)
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''Baby Blues'' was an American
adult animated An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...
sitcom, based on the comic strip of the same name by Rick Kirkman and
Jerry Scott Jerry Scott (born May 2, 1955) is an American cartoonist and writer. He is known for co-creating the comic strips ''Baby Blues'' and '' Zits''. He is one of only four cartoonists to have multiple strips appearing in over 1,000 newspapers world ...
, produced by
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
The first eight episodes of ''Baby Blues'' originally aired in the United States on
The WB The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on terrestrial television, broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture be ...
between July 28 and August 24, 2000, before being canceled. The five remaining episodes from the first season eventually aired on
Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
in 2002. A second season, consisting of 13 episodes, was produced but never aired. The animated adaptation of ''Baby Blues'' differs from the comic by having it take place when Zoe was still an infant, even though she was the older sister to Hammie in the strip at the time. In addition, it focuses on Darryl and Wanda's relationship with supporting characters created for this series, including the Bittermans, a dysfunctional next-door family with three children; Bizzy, Zoe's babysitter; and Kenny, Darryl's laid-back close friend and co-worker.


Characters


Main

* Darryl MacPherson (
Mike O'Malley Michael Edward O'Malley (born October 31, 1966) is an American actor, writer and producer. Born in Boston and raised in New Hampshire, O'Malley hosted the early 1990s children's game show '' Nickelodeon Guts'' before moving to Los Angeles later ...
) is the uptight and responsible father of Zoe and husband to Wanda. He tends to think Wanda's heart-felt ideas are crazy, but will later agree with them if there is an advantage for himself. He wants the best for his baby daughter, but can overly protect her. Despite intending to do the right thing, he has done unexpected selfish things, such as pretending to grieve over going with Carl and their kids to a fun zone, only to watch an attractive dancer at the place singing every time it was a child's birthday. But in the end, he is faithful to his wife and daughter. Darryl often feels that his wife nags him and will always discuss his issues to his friend, Kenny at work. Most commonly, he will talk about a problem, the next day, talk about how happy he is to have solved the problem an easy way, then the next day, talk about how it did not work out. Darryl is quick to express jealousy—particularly of Carl, his next door neighbor. * Wanda MacPherson ( Julia Sweeney) is Darryl's wife and Zoe's mother. She is caring, unpredictable, passionate and impulsive by turns. However, just as Darryl does, she loves Zoe and wants only the best for her. Wanda is a stay at home mom. Her closest friends are her neighbor Melinda and a teenage girl named Bizzy, who serves as Zoe's babysitter from time to time. Wanda generally has a cheerful disposition, but she is quick to let her emotions get the best of her. She will usually go through drastic measures to fix something, against her husband's wishes. Wanda is occasionally melancholy about motherhood, as suggested by the title ''Baby Blues''. She is said to have a "crazy spark" in her that never left. This is seen at one point, when she wants to feel young again and escapes with Bizzy and her friends at night and gets caught by the police. Wanda's unpredictable and impulsive behavior is often a source of extreme stress for Darryl. However, in the end, they always settle their differences and make peace after the arguments and problems are resolved. * Zoe MacPherson (
E. G. Daily Elizabeth Ann Guttman, (born September 11, 1961) better known as E. G. Daily and Elizabeth Daily, is an American actress and singer. Daily is best known for her animation voice roles as Tommy Pickles on ''Rugrats'' and its spin-off ''All Grown ...
) is the infant daughter of Darryl and Wanda. As a baby, Zoe's curiosity and emotions are expressed in her eyes, which show almost complete understanding when something happens or if somebody talks to her. Although calm and cheerful in the day time, she is very loud and cries nonstop at night, leaving her parents to stay up all night, taking turns rocking her, and carrying her until day time. Zoe appears to have a really close relationship with Rodney, the trouble kid next door who seems to be the only one who could stop her crying and comfort her. * Melinda Bitterman ( Arabella Field) is Wanda's friend and neighbor whose family is dysfunctional. Melinda is always seen smoking in her yard as her husband and kids are working on some bizarre, dangerous or disastrous activity. Any time she sees Wanda, she always greets with the same line, "Hi Wanda, how's the baby?" Seemingly careless or tired, Melinda seems to desire the happiness and relationship she once had before she became a mother and somewhat envies Wanda's stable life, but is still content with her family. She always talks in a calm voice, even when discussing an insane thing that her family is doing, as if it were normal. * Carl Bitterman (
Joel Murray Joel Murray (born April 17, 1963) is an American comedy actor. He is well known for his roles in the television series ''Mad Men'', ''Grand'', '' Love & War'', '' Dharma & Greg'', '' Still Standing'', and '' Shameless''. He has also appeared in ...
) is Melinda's husky, big-muscled and overweight husband. A seemingly bum like man, Carl claims that he gives his kids strict discipline, even though he has lowered himself to their level many times, particularly Rodney, who pesters Carl until he takes aggressive action. Carl is usually envied by Darryl, for his mechanic skills and other things Darryl fails at. Carl can be rude and obnoxious at times, but considers himself the "man of the house". He usually involves his children in several activities, such as practicing to shoot arrows or riding in a hover car without seat belts. He belittles Darryl's parenting skills, and self-confidence, either bluntly or through his children who have little respect for Darryl. Because of this, Carl and Darryl do not particularly get along, although Darryl has been talked into doing things he would not normally do, because of Carl's forceful insistence. * Rodney Bitterman (
Kath Soucie Kath or KATH may refer to: * Kath (city), the historical capital of Khwarezm * Kath (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * KATH-TV, the NBC TV station in Juneau, Alaska * KATH (AM), a radio station in ...
) is the eight-year-old son of Carl and Melinda Bitterman. Rodney is also the antagonist. Rodney is very mischievous and is best known for causing a lot of trouble. However, he's the smartest of his siblings and is street wise. Rodney repeatedly pesters his dad by asking stupid questions, shooting knock-knock jokes to avoid going to bed, and placing his finger an inch from his father's tools immediately after being told not to touch them. Rodney's antics always makes his sister, Megan, laugh. Besides being a menace, he can be very sympathetic, particularly to Darryl and Zoe. The sensitive side of Rodney has shown his somewhat neglected or misunderstood relationship with his dad. At one time, Rodney had tried one of Darryl's cheesy mushrooms and realized how much he cared about good food and wanted to cook. However, his father thought it was silly, so Rodney had relied on Darryl to help him. This preference to Darryl over his own dad led Darryl to pride, despite Rodney's annoying and teasing Darryl many times previously. Rodney's sensitive side also shows through his a caring and loving relationship with Zoe. * Megan Bitterman (Kath Soucie) is Rodney's younger sister and is very close to Rodney. Megan is most commonly known for laughing out loud at anything Rodney does to pester their father. Megan is almost always seen with Rodney and keeps a huge smile on her face all the time. However, when Rodney is not around, she is seen to get very sad and cry. * Shelby Bitterman is Carl and Melinda's youngest son who is a
sociopath Psychopathy, sometimes considered synonymous with sociopathy, is characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits. Different conceptions of psychopathy have been u ...
and is always seen carrying a fat, green, baseball bat around which he hits things with, without expression. The episode "Hurtin Inside" revealed he is four years old. He never speaks, but often communicates by pointing, and was once seen to whisper to his mom at a game of baseball in "The Bitterman Hillbillies". * Bizzy Carey (
Nicole Sullivan Nicole Sullivan (born April 21, 1970) is an American actress and comedian best known for her six seasons (1995–2001) on the sketch comedy series '' MADtv''. She also played Holly Shumpert in five seasons (2001–2005, 2007) of the CBS sitcom ...
) is Darryl and Wanda's teenage friend who babysits Zoe on many occasions. The MacPhersons have known her since she was a girl scout. Bizzy seems to look older than she actually is, since Darryl's boss once bought Darryl's lie about her being his wife. She dislikes
Drew Carey Drew Allison Carey (born May 23, 1958) is an American comedian, actor and game show host. After serving in the U.S. Marine Corps and making a name for himself in stand-up comedy, he gained stardom in his own sitcom, '' The Drew Carey Show'', an ...
, her faux morally responsible stepfather. Wanda and Darryl many times have had to question her about her many dysfunctional boyfriends. Bizzy is blond, very thin and has a fast metabolism, as she once claimed when Wanda discovered Bizzy had been sitting on the couch all day, eating a whole bag of chocolate chip cookies, with no worry, while babysitting. It is unknown if Bizzy is her real name or not. * Kenny (
Diedrich Bader Karl Diedrich Bader (born December 24, 1966) is an American actor and comedian who is best known for his comedy roles. He has appeared as a series regular in television sitcoms ''The Drew Carey Show'', '' American Housewife'', and '' Outsourced' ...
) is Darryl's smooth-talking friend and co-worker at the office. Kenny is something of a nuisance to Darryl, such as bragging about his life and family, or poking fun at Darryl's personal relationship with Wanda. Darryl normally talks to Kenny about his problems at home, to which Kenny advises with either agreeable or nonagreeable mischievous ideas. Kenny's personality is seen to be laid back and worry-free, however, he grew upset and anxious one time Darryl stopped working for a while. Even though Kenny seems to think his family's normal, it's hinted that his wife was cheating on him with a neighbor, and that he might be a neglectful father, since for one second in an episode he forgot he had a third child. * Charlie (
Phil LaMarr Phillip LaMarr (born January 24, 1967) is an American actor, comedian and screenwriter. LaMarr was one of the original featured cast members on the sketch comedy television series '' Mad TV''. His voice acting roles in animated series include J ...
) is the MacPhersons' pet dog.


Recurring and minor

* Rex (Phil LaMarr) and Josie (
Wendy Raquel Robinson Wendy Raquel Robinson is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as high school principal Regina "Piggy" Grier on The WB comedy sitcom ''The Steve Harvey Show'' (1996–2002), and as sports agent Tasha Mack on The CW/ BET/Paramo ...
) are an African-American couple who are close friends of Darryl and Wanda's. Rex is known for appearing in sweaters similar to what
Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and media personality. He made significant contributions to American and African-American culture, and is well known in the United States for his eccentric ...
wore on ''
The Cosby Show ''The Cosby Show'' is an American television sitcom co-created by and starring Bill Cosby, which aired Thursday nights for eight seasons on NBC between September 20, 1984, until April 30, 1992. The show focuses on an upper middle-class Africa ...
'', while Josie's favorite pastime is gardening. In the episode "God Forbid", they admit that they are
Moonies The Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, is a new religious movement, whose members are called Unificationists, or " Moonies". It was officially founded on 1 May 1954 under the name Holy Sp ...
. * Sylvia (Kath Soucie) and Midge (E. G. Daily) are a lesbian couple who are close friends of Darryl and Wanda's. Sylvia has black hair, while Midge is blonde. * Mrs. Johnson ( Alice Hirson) is an elderly lady, and another one of Darryl and Wanda's neighbors. She has an unseen son named Howard, a " man-child" who still loves to read comics in his treehouse. * Officer Murphy (Diedrich Bader) is an obese police officer who speaks with a stereotypical Irish accent. * Dr. Gruber ( Steven Weber) is the MacPhersons' big-nosed, big-eared family doctor who likes to make jokes. He appeared in two episodes straight, "Ugly Zoe" and "Wanda Proof". * Hugh ( Jim Cummings) and Maggie Wizowski (
Elizabeth Perkins Elizabeth Ann Perkins (born November 18, 1960) is an American actress. Her film roles have included ''About Last Night'' (1986), '' Big'' (1988), ''Avalon'' (1990), and '' He Said, She Said'' (1991), ''The Flintstones'' (1994), ''Miracle on 34th ...
) are Wanda's parents who appeared in two episodes, "Rodney Moves In" and "A Baby Blues Christmas Special", along with Darryl's parents. Darryl criticized his father-in-law for telling lousy stories. * Pauline (Arabella Field) and "Mac" MacPherson are Darryl's mother and silent father. * Bunny (Kath Soucie) is a close friend of Wanda's, and the only character from the comic strip, besides the MacPherson/Wizowski family, to appear in this series. However, unlike in the strip, where she has a son named Bogart, she has a baby boy with long blond hair named Haget. Butch, her husband from the original comic strip, never appears in the series.


Production

Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a flagship of Warner Bros. Discovery. As the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which was active from 19 ...
produced eight of the season one episodes, with overseas animation done by Varga Studio in Hungary for five of them (including the pilot), and Sunwoo Entertainment in Korea for the three others.
Rough Draft Studios Rough Draft Studios, Inc. is an American animation production studio based in Glendale, California, with a second studio in Glendale and its sister studio Rough Draft Korea located in Seoul, South Korea. The studio was founded in Van Nuys, Lo ...
in
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did five episodes, which include "Bizzy Moves In", "Rodney Has Two Daddies", "Hurtin' Inside", "Ugly Zoe", and "Wanda Moves Up". In another attempt to compete with Fox's popular animated sitcoms, The WB made the series to be more adult-oriented than the comic strip (by having some sexuality, mild swearing, etc.). Because Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott had limited creative control over the animated version, they were not completely pleased about this kind of difference, though Scott said he liked "part of it". The ''Baby Blues'' animated series took nearly five years to develop and produce, and what was initially the pilot, "A Baby Blues Christmas Special", was supposed to air in December 1998, but it was postponed more than once, while other episodes were being ordered and completed. The
Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...
episode finally aired on Adult Swim on February 24, 2002. In 1999, the series was almost to be re-titled ''Bluesville'' without Scott's knowledge, but ''Baby Blues'' was kept as the title, given how popular the comic strip is with more than 60 million readers.


Opening sequence

The opening theme song was a shorter version of "
It's All Been Done "It's All Been Done" is a song by Canadian alternative rock group Barenaked Ladies. It was released as the second single from their 1998 album, ''Stunt''. The song was successful in Canada, peaking at 1 on the '' RPM'' Top Singles chart and be ...
" by Barenaked Ladies, from their 1998 album '' Stunt''. The title sequence was designed by Renegade Animation, who would later be known for Cartoon Network's ''
Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi ''Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi'' is an American animated television series created by Sam Register for Cartoon Network. Produced by Renegade Animation and Cartoon Network Studios, the series stars fictionalized and animated versions of the Japanese pop r ...
'', and shows the characters at the
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
studios.


Episodes


Series overview


Season 1 (2000–02)


Unaired second season

In September 2000, Warner Bros. announced that a second season would be produced. Although a second season, consisting of 13 episodes, was produced, it has never aired. Kirkman stated that the second season was nearly complete, and only needed a few final edits (such as replacing the temp music), before it was ready for release. Despite this, however, Kirkman also states that the season was written off as a loss by The WB as an accounting practice, and "will probably never see the light of day".


Broadcast

The WB typically aired two episodes each week, thus enabling eight different episodes to be shown in the five-week run, but abandoned plans to air additional episodes which had been completed. Previously unaired episodes from the first season later aired on Cartoon Network's late night programming block,
Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as dult swim'' and often abbreviated as s'') is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programmed by its in-house ...
, and on
Teletoon at Night Teletoon at Night (stylized as TELEToON AT NiGHT and formerly known as Teletoon's Adult Block, The Detour On Teletoon and Teletoon Detour) was a Canadian English language late night programming block that aired on Teletoon, which is owned by Tel ...
in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.


Reception

When ''Baby Blues'' aired on The WB, it got moderate to low ratings, resulting in its cancellation in August 2000. The series also received mixed to negative reviews from professional critics. Particularly, on its premiere night,
South Coast Today ''The Standard-Times'' (and ''Sunday Standard-Times''), based in New Bedford, Massachusetts, is the largest of three daily newspapers covering the South Coast of Massachusetts, along with '' The Herald News'' of Fall River and ''Taunton Daily Gaze ...
wrote that "'Baby Blues' is hardly perfect. Its teen characters are right out of the MTV/WB playbook; the notion of a nutty family next door is as old as the sitcom hills. But as a slightly silly, slightly sweet summer series that's not afraid to show it has a heart, it more than exceeds even this cranky critic's expectations." David Bianculli of New York Daily News was negative towards ''Baby Blues'', giving it 1 1/2 stars, and called it "depressingly flat". Also in the article, he wrote "Timing and originality, even in comedy, may not be everything – but they count for a lot, and WB's new 'Baby Blues' series doesn't get high marks in either category. First, 'Baby Blues', which premieres with a double header tonight at 8, is an animated prime-time comedy, arriving the summer after a season in which there were too many dull entries in that particular genre. That's bad timing. 'Baby Blues' could overcome that by being funnier than the rest. Unfortunately, it's not. Second, 'Baby Blues', based on the syndicated comic strip by Rick Kirkman and Jerry Scott, is a sitcom in two dimensions. That is, it's an animated show in which human beings engage in everyday activities – working, goofing off, sleeping, fighting and so on. At its best, this particular category of animated comedy gives you '
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
'. At its worst, it gives you '
Clerks A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store. Office holder Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court. *Barristers' clerk, a manager and adminis ...
'." John Kiesewetter from the
Television Critics Association The Television Critics Association (TCA) is a group of approximately 200 United States and Canada, Canadian television television criticism, critics, journalists and columnists who cover television television programme, programming for newspapers, ...
wrote a negative article on the series. He calls it "an embarrassment to the newspaper comic's loyal readers, all 60 million", and criticizes The WB for turning "the sweet family musings into a cross between '' Dennis the Menace'' and ''
Dawson's Creek ''Dawson's Creek'' is an American teen drama television series about the lives of a close-knit group of friends in the fictional town of Capeside, Massachusetts, beginning in high school and continuing into college that ran from 1998 to 2003. T ...
''", and for having it lack "the charm, wit and insights of the daily strip about weary new parents Darryl and Wanda MacPherson, and baby Zoe."


Notes


References


External links

* {{Warner Bros. animation and comics 2000 American television series debuts 2002 American television series endings 2000s American adult animated television series 2000s American sitcoms 2000s American surreal comedy television series American adult animated comedy television series American animated sitcoms English-language television shows The WB original programming Television shows based on comic strips Television series by Rough Draft Studios Television series by Warner Bros. Television Studios Television series by Warner Bros. Animation Animated television series about families