''Unnatural History'' is a television series produced by
Warner Horizon Television
Warner Bros. Television Studios (operating under the name Warner Bros. Television; formerly known as Warner Bros. Television Division) is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of ...
for
Cartoon Network and
YTV.
The series is the second scripted, live-action show on Cartoon Network after the failure of ''
Out of Jimmy's Head
''Out of Jimmy's Head'' (abbreviated as ''OOJH'') is an American teen sitcom. It was advertised as the first Cartoon Network original series in its genre, and is based on the network's 2006 film '' Re-Animated''. The series was produced by Cart ...
''. The series consisted of thirteen hour-long episodes and premiered on Sunday, June 13, 2010.
On July 13, the series was rescheduled to Tuesday nights.
It is only the second Cartoon Network show outside of
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
Toonami
Toonami ( ) is an American late night television programming block that primarily broadcasts Japanese animation and occasionally American action animation. It was created by Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco and produced by Williams Street, a divis ...
to have the
U.S. rating of "
TV-PG-V", and a parental-guidance warning after every commercial break and at the beginning of the show (the first being ''
Star Wars: The Clone Wars''); its rating in Canada for most episodes is "
G", or else "
PG".
On November 19, 2010, Cartoon Network cancelled the series after one season.
[Cartoon Network Cancels 'Unnatural History'](_blank)
By NELLIE ANDREEVA , Friday November 19, 2010 @ 8:09pm, Deadline.com
Premise
This series is centered on Henry Griffin, a teenager with exceptional skills acquired through years of globe-trotting with his
anthropologist parents. But Henry faces his biggest challenge of all when he moves back to America to attend
Smithson High School in Washington D.C., a place stranger than any he's ever lived before. Together with his cousin Jasper and Jasper's friend Maggie, he uses the skills that he learned around the globe to solve the postmodern mysteries of high school.
Cast and characters
Main characters
* Henry Griffin (
Kevin G. Schmidt) is a globe-trotting teenager who must adjust to life as regular high school student. With his knowledge of different cultures, he uses his skills to solve different crimes and mysteries of ancient history. He has lived all over the world with his
anthropologist parents. He was forced at the beginning of the pilot episode to move in with cousin Jasper and uncle Bryan and go to high school in Washington, D.C. His family's constant re-locations include
Bhutan
Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...
,
Liberia,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
,
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the sout ...
,
Japan,
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
and
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. Through these countries he has learned many different skills ranging from reading
dead languages,
martial arts, even
escape artist
Escapology is the practice of escaping from restraints or other traps. Escapologists (also classified as escape artists) escape from handcuffs, straitjackets, cages, coffins, steel boxes, barrels, bags, burning buildings, fish-tanks, and oth ...
isms. He is also quite skilled at
parkour now living in the urban jungle. He exhibits somewhat impaired social interaction, and is often not attentive to the conversations of Jasper and Maggie. He had a beloved, late godfather named Dante Mourneau, whose words of wisdom he still uses in times of uncertainty.
* Jasper Bartlett (
Jordan Gavaris
Jordan James Gavaris (born September 25, 1989) is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Felix Dawkins in the BBC America and Space television series ''Orphan Black'' (2013–2017). He is the lead in '' The Lake'' opposite Julia St ...
) is Henry's cousin in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
Unlike Henry, he does not like getting into trouble and prefers staying out of Henry's shenanigans but always gets involved anyway. He is very much into his schoolwork and dreams of attending
Yale University
Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...
. He was also shown in the series to possess a good memory. He and Maggie have known each other since they were ten and it's implied that Jasper has a crush on her, as he always seems to get jealous whenever she and Henry seem to express a romantic interest in each other.
* Margaret "Maggie" Winnock (
Italia Ricci) is best friends with Henry and Jasper. Like Jasper, she is a very dedicated student. She does not have much of a sense of humor and when she is not in school she works part-time at the school's National Museum Complex. She is a vegetarian, and has photographic memory, which is often used to help solve mysteries. It's implied that she has a crush on Henry as he always protects her and she tells him everything first.
* Bryan Bartlett (
Martin Donovan) is Henry's uncle (his mom's brother) and Jasper's dad. He is the dean of Smithson High School. He is always caught off guard by Henry's knowledge and troublesome ways, but welcomes them if they are done in good faith to better certain situations.
Recurring characters
* Hunter O'Herlihy (
Wesley Morgan) is a stereotypical
jock who plays for the football team of the school. He has very little intelligence and often displays abusive behavior to anyone around him, especially Jasper and Henry, often serving as an antagonist towards the group. However, he has shown some morals, as if someone helps him he will later repay the favor, stating he doesn't like to owe anybody.
* Julian Morneau (Matt Baram) is an
Ornithology
Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...
teacher as well as the estranged son of Dante. He is displayed as Henry's enemy in many episodes, which seems to stem from the fact that his father saw Henry as more of a son. He also appears to have his hands in shady places, such as helping in the illegal transport of an endangered species, as well as Henry is quick to suspect he might have a hand in some of the activities pertaining to the events of the episode.
* Rosmary Griffin (née Bartlett) (
Jack Hourigan
Jack Hourigan (born August 14, 1968, in Burlington, Ontario, Canada) is a playwright, actress, and co-host of the show ''How to Boil Water'' on the Food Network with Tyler Florence
Tyler Florence (born March 3, 1971) is a chef and television hos ...
) is Henry's mother and the younger sister of Bryan who is actually skeptical of her son's recent activities and during the season finale, she and her husband at first views her son as a disgrace to the Griffin name after a humiliating incident, but after Henry saves the day once again, she and her husband realized what a great person her son really is around the campus.
* Zafer Griffin (
Scott Yaphe) is Henry's father who was also skeptical of his son's recent activities, but later realized how good a person Henry really is.
* Michael O'Molley (
Robbie Amell
Robert Patrick Amell IV (born April 21, 1988) is a Canadian-American actor and producer. He is best-known for his roles as Stephen Jameson on The CW series ''The Tomorrow People'', Ronnie Raymond/Firestorm on The CW series ''The Flash'', Natha ...
) is another antagonist of Henry and his friends. He also has a rude attitude in general. He works at the juice bar located at the National Museum Complex.
Episodes
Reception
Critical reception
''Unnatural History'' received mixed to positive reviews from critics, with Barry Garron of ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
'' praising it as "an appealing mix between ''
The Hardy Boys
The Hardy Boys, brothers Frank and Joe Hardy, are fictional characters who appear in several mystery series for children and teens. The series revolves around teenagers who are amateur sleuths, solving cases that stumped their adult counterp ...
'' and ''
Indiana Jones'' with ''
National Treasure
The idea of national treasure, like national epics and national anthems, is part of the language of romantic nationalism, which arose in the late 18th century and 19th centuries. Nationalism is an ideology that supports the nation as the funda ...
'' thrown in for good measure". ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' writer Robert Lloyd found the show fun and lively, composed of "familiar, mashed-together" action-adventure themes. ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' reviewer Brian Lowry was more critical, calling it "unexciting" and lacking "the requisite thrills a young audience weaned on big-budget movies is apt to demand."
Viewer reception
According to the
Nielsen ratings, the premiere episode was watched by 1.39 million viewers, though the pilot episode did not place in the Top 25 cable programs for the week of June 7–13, 2010. Of that audience, the pilot episode earned 334,000 viewers among boys aged 6–11 earning a 2.7 in that demographic, with Cartoon Network claiming gains among kids 2-11, kids 9-14, and other kids demographics compared to the same time period the previous year.
Cancellation and intended second season plans
On November 19, 2010, it was announced that
Cartoon Network would not renew the series for a second season.
On December 29, 2010, creator
Mike Werb
Mike Werb is an American screenwriter, whose writing credits include ''Face/Off'', '' The Mask'' and the story for '' Lara Croft: Tomb Raider''.
A Los Angeles native, Werb attended Stanford. He is a UCLA Film School graduate.
He has worked as ...
revealed that he intended to have the show picked up by another network, but a deal could not be secured.
['Unnatural History' Creator Mike Werb On Show's Cancellation & His Season 2 Plans](_blank)
By NELLIE ANDREEVA , Wednesday December 29, 2010 @ 1:31pm PST Werb also revealed his plans if the show had been renewed for a second season:
References
External links
*
{{Former Cartoon Network original programming
2010 American television series debuts
2010 American television series endings
2010s American high school television series
2010s American mystery television series
2010s American teen drama television series
American adventure television series
Cartoon Network original programming
English-language television shows
Martial arts television series
Television series about teenagers
Television series by Warner Horizon Television
Television shows filmed in Toronto
Television shows set in Washington, D.C.