''Gary the Rat'' is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

adult 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 maj ...

animated sitcom An animated sitcom is a subgenre of the sitcom that is animated instead of live action and is generally made or created for adult audiences in most cases. ''SpongeBob SquarePants'', ''The Simpsons'', ''South Park'', and ''Family Guy'' are four of ...

created by the Cullen Brothers for

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Media Networks. The network's headquarters are located at the Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles. The channel was ...

(previously known as TNN) and animated by Spike Animation Studios. It was produced by Grammnet Productions and Cheyenne Enterprises and distributed by Viacom. It began as web episodes in

flash animation Adobe Flash animation or Adobe Flash cartoon (formerly Macromedia Flash animation, Macromedia Flash cartoon, FutureSplash animation, and FutureSplash cartoon) is an animation that is created with the Adobe Animate (formerly Flash Professional) ...

on the internet in 2000, created by the defunct eStudio (later re-structured studio BLITZ) for Mediatrip.com. It consisted of 13 short episodes programmed in

Adobe Flash Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia software platform used for production of animations, rich web applications, desktop applications, mobile apps, mobile games, and embedded web browser video players. 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 one season.

Premise

Gary "The Rat" Andrews is a self-centered, misanthropic

defense attorney A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while others are employed by the various ju ...

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."

Voice actors

Kelsey Grammer Allen Kelsey Grammer (born February 21, 1955) is an American actor and producer. He gained notoriety and acclaim for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'' (1984-1993) and its spin-off ''Frasier'' (1993-2004), ...

as Gary "The Rat" Andrews, a successful and ruthless lawyer at Harrison, Camille, Beckett and Weiss who has turned into a 6-foot rat. According to the episode ''This Is Not a Pipe'', Gary likes opera. *

Billy Gardell William Gardell Jr. (born August 20, 1969) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Gardell played Chicago police officer Mike Biggs on '' Mike & Molly.'' He also had a recurring role as Billy Colivida on '' Yes, Dear'' and appeared in a dozen ...

as Jack Harrison, Gary's boss and named partner at Harrison, Camille, Beckett and Weiss. *

Betty White Betty Marion White (January 17, 1922December 31, 2021) was an American actress and comedian. A pioneer of Golden Age of Television, early television, with a television career spanning almost seven decades, White was noted for her vast work i ...

as Gary's Mother, unseen and only appears as a voice on the telephone. * Robb Cullen as Johnny Bugz, a pest exterminator with a particular dislike of rats and pet cat called Boots. *

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model. She was initially a child model and gained critical acclaim at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film '' Pretty Baby'' (1978). She continued to model into ...

as Cassandra Harrison, Mr. Harrison's wife. She only appeared in the episode ''Future Ex-Wife''. *

Camille Grammer Camille Grammer Meyer ( Donatacci) is an American actress, dancer, model, and television personality. She is known for appearing on '' The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills''. Grammer started her career as a dancer, model and actress, and worke ...

as Betty, Mr. Harrison's Secretary * Spencer Garrett as Truman Pinksdale, President of the Montana Resident's Committee. *

John Mahoney Charles John Mahoney (June 20, 1940 – February 4, 2018) was an English-born American actor. He was known for playing Martin Crane on the NBC sitcom '' Frasier'' (1993–2004), and won a Screen Actors Guild Award for the role in 2000. Mahon ...

as Steele, resident at the Montana apartment building. *

David Hyde Pierce David Hyde Pierce (born April 3, 1959) is an American actor and director of stage, film and television. He starred as psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom '' Frasier'' from 1993 to 2004, and won four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Scree ...

as Addison, resident at the Montana apartment building. * Rick Gomez as Bud, a cheese delivery boy who is not very bright and mistakes Gary for being a dog. *

Hynden Walch Hynden Walch is an American actress. She is best known for voicing Starfire in the ''Teen Titans'' franchise and Princess Bubblegum in ''Adventure Time''. She also voiced Penny Sanchez in ''ChalkZone'', Amore and Lockette in the Nickelodeon ver ...

as Little Girl, witness in the Southern Tobacco Company case. *

Ted Danson Edward Bridge "Ted" Danson III (born December 29, 1947) is an American actor. He achieved stardom playing the lead character Sam Malone on the NBC sitcom ''Cheers'', for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. ...

as Terry McMillian, con artist and suck up, joins the firm as their newest mergers and acquisitions lawyer. *

Mary Stuart Masterson Mary Stuart Masterson (born June 28, 1966) is an American actress and director. She has starred in the films '' At Close Range'' (1986), '' Some Kind of Wonderful'' (1987), '' Chances Are'' (1989), ''Fried Green Tomatoes'' (1991) and '' Benny & ...

as Caroline Swanson, Gary's ex-girlfriend and an opposing lawyer. *

Wayne Knight Wayne Elliot Knight (born August 7, 1955) is an American actor. In television, he played Newman on '' Seinfeld'' (1992–1998) and Officer Don Orville on '' 3rd Rock from the Sun'' (1996–2001). He also voiced Igor on ''Toonsylvania'' (1998 ...

as Gary's rival, J. P. Wordley. *

Joe Pantoliano Joseph Peter Pantoliano (born September 12, 1951) is an American character actor who has appeared in over 150 films, television and stage productions. After his early roles in the television series '' M*A*S*H'' and the 1983 comedy '' Risky Bu ...

as Anthony 'the Heel' Stilletto *

John Corbett John Joseph Corbett Jr. (born May 9, 1961) is an American actor and country music singer. On television, he is best known for his roles as Chris Stevens on ''Northern Exposure'' (1990–1995), Aidan Shaw on ''Sex and the City'' (2000–2003), ...

as Frank Spillogotoriettio, lawyer with Boywe, Cheatem and Howe. He only appeared in the episode ''This Is Not a Pipe''. *

Michael Keaton Michael John Douglas (born September 5, 1951), known professionally as Michael Keaton, is an American actor. He is known for his various comedic and dramatic film roles, including Jack Butler in ''Mr. Mom'' (1983), Betelgeuse in '' Beetlejuice'' ...

as Jerry Andrews, Gary's cousin and con artist, wanted for forgery, polygamy and other offenses. *

Vance DeGeneres Vance Elliott DeGeneres (born September 2, 1954) is an American actor, comedian, musician, film producer and screenwriter, known for his work in television and movies. Early life DeGeneres was born at Touro Infirmary in New Orleans, Louisiana t ...

as Additional Voices * Susan Savage as April * Jonathan David Cook *

Seymour Cassel Seymour Joseph Cassel (January 22, 1935 – April 7, 2019) was an American actor who appeared in over 200 movies and television shows, and had a career that spanned over 50 years. Cassel first came to prominence in the 1960s in the pioneering in ...

* Marnie Alexenburg *

Robert Goulet Robert Gérard Goulet (November 26, 1933 October 30, 2007) was an American and Canadian singer and actor of French-Canadian ancestry. Goulet was born and raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts until age 13, and then spent his formative years in Canad ...

as Himself *

Kristin Bauer van Straten Kristin Bauer van Straten ( Neubauer) is an American film and television actress, notable for her roles as vampire Pamela Swynford De Beaufort on the HBO television series ''True Blood'', Jerry's girlfriend Gillian ("man hands") on ''Seinfeld'' ...

Rob Paulsen Robert Frederick Paulsen III (born March 11, 1956) is an American voice actor, known for his roles in numerous animated television series and films. He received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program and three Anni ...

as Police Officer *

Kevin Michael Richardson Kevin Michael Richardson (born October 25, 1964) is an American actor. Known for his distinctively deep voice, he has mostly voiced villainous characters in animation and video games. In film, Richardson voiced Goro in ''Mortal Kombat'' (1995) ...

Michael Panes Michael Panes is an American actor, writer, musician and composer. He attended Brown University and graduated with a music degree. He has appeared in numerous off-Broadway plays and has been noted as a gifted comedian with an uncanny resemblance ...

Media

List of Web Episodes

Episodes were approximately 3 minutes long, programmed in

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 United Media was a large editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States, owned by the E. W. Scripps Company, that operated from 1978 to 2011. It syndicated 150 comics and editorial columns worldwide. It ...

gave the show a negative review, praising the voice actors but calling the show itself "virtually laugh-free." Phil Gallo of ''

Daily Variety ''Variety'' is an American media company owned by Penske Media Corporation. The company was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933 it added ''Daily Variety'', based ...

'' thought that the first episode was "too serious" and that Grammer's character was derivative of

Frasier Crane Dr. Frasier Winslow Crane (born ) is a fictional character who is both a supporting character on the American television sitcom ''Cheers'' and the titular protagonist of its spin-off ''Frasier'', portrayed by Kelsey Grammer. The character debu ...

. Giving it one star out of four, Dean Johnson of ''

The Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pu ...

'' criticized the first episode as unfunny, and questioned whether the show would fit Spike's demographic. A more favorable review came from Rob Owen of the ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the Alle ...

'', 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''). 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.

References

Release

The complete series has not been released on DVD or

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

. However, all episodes are available on iTunes and Amazon Prime Video.

External links

*
Gary the Rat
webisodes (

Wayback Machine The Wayback Machine is a digital archive of the World Wide Web founded by the Internet Archive, a nonprofit based in San Francisco, California. Created in 1996 and launched to the public in 2001, it allows the user to go "back in time" and see ...

archive) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gary The Rat 2003 American television series debuts 2003 American television series endings 2000s American adult animated television series 2000s American sitcoms 2000s American workplace comedy television series American adult animated comedy television series American animated sitcoms American flash adult animated television series English-language television shows Spike (TV network) original programming Television series created by the Cullen Brothers Fictional lawyers Animated television series about mice and rats Television series about shapeshifting