Teacher's Pet (TV series)
| Teacher's Pet | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Children's television series, Adventure, Comedy |
| Created by | Gary Baseman Bill Steinkellner Cheri Steinkellner |
| Written by | Gary Baseman Bill Steinkellner Cheri Steinkellner Ford Riley Laura McCreary Michael Price |
| Directed by | Timothy Bjorklund |
| Voices of | Nathan Lane Shaun Fleming Debra Jo Rupp Wallace Shawn Jerry Stiller David Ogden Stiers |
| Composer | Stephen James Taylor |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 39 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Gary Baseman Bill Steinkellner Cheri Steinkellner Jess Winfield |
| Running time | 30 minutes (including commercials) |
| Production companies | Walt Disney Television Disney Television Animation |
| Original release | |
| Network | ABC (2000-2002) Toon Disney (2002) |
| Release | September 9, 2000 – May 10, 2002 |
Teacher's Pet (also known as Disney's Teacher's Pet) is an American Disney animated television series about a dog who lives like a young boy.[1] Created by Gary Baseman, Bill Steinkellner and Cheri Steinkellner and directed by Timothy Björklund, it was broadcast on Disney's One Saturday Morning on ABC and later Toon Disney. A feature film version was released in 2004 (with most of the cast from the show reprising their roles). The show ran from 2000 to 2002. The show was influenced by Gary Baseman's dog, Hubcaps. He would wonder what the dog would do while he was gone. He made this show in honor of him, with Spot portraying Hubcaps.
Main plot
It is Leonard Helperman's fourth grade year. His mother Mary Lou is the teacher of his fourth grade class, and he is already embarrassed. Spot, his talking dog, is sick and tired of staying home all the time, so he decides to dress up and go to school. When he arrives, he acquires his new name (from a pencil and a change of his name Spot) and makes friends immediately. He shows great intelligence and sports skill. Leonard is suspicious. In the bathroom of school, Leonard confronts "Scott" and finally learns that it is his dog, and that he can talk, along with the other pets. Leonard is shocked and does not want Scott to stay at school. Scott does not listen to him, claiming that education is his destiny. Leonard allows Scott to stay at school, but can only wish that he would just go back home. The series usually focuses on adventures at school, but with subplots of the other two household pets, Pretty Boy and Mr. Jolly having their own adventures.
Characters
- Leonard- Spot's 10-years-old master and best friend. He's very unpopular because his moms the teacher. All of the other kids bully him and are mean to him. He just wishes that Spot would stop his silly charade and go back to being a normal pet. He's voiced by Shaun Fleming.
- Spot the Dog- Leonard's talking dog. He dresses up as a boy and attends Leonard's school. He's the most popular and doesn't want anyone to know he's really a dog. Everyday, Spot will get Leonard detention, grounded, or beaten up. In the movie, he changes into a human like he's always wanted but at the end, he changes back to a dog. He's voiced by Nathan Lane
- Mary Lou- Leonard's mother. She is the teacher of Leonard's class and embarrasses him. And sometimes likes to do that. She's a caring and loving woman. She has a New York accent like Lois Griffin. Like the rest of the cast (besides Leonard and his other pets) she doesn't know Spot can talk. In the movie, she finds out. She's voiced by Debra Jo Rupp
- Jolly the Cat- Leonard's cat. He's afraid of the outside world and stays at home with the family's parrot. And he loves to eat. He's in love with the principals cat but his fear of the outside world (and her evil nature) prevents romance. He's voiced by David Ogden Stiers.
- Pretty Boy- Leonard's parrot. He hangs out with Jolly and is a wisecracking parrot and has Mr. Potato Head like sarcasm. He calls Spot "Dog Breath". He's an honest guy and loyal friend but can be mean or grumpy a lot. he sometimes bully's Jolly. He's voiced by Jerry Stiller.
- Principal Strickler- the principal at Leonard and Spots school and Mary Lou's boss. He owns a cat named Talullah who Jolly is in love with and knows Scott (Spot) is a dog. He hates dogs and always accuses Leonard of things without proof just like Principal Skinner. He's voiced by Wallace Shawn.
- Leslie- Leonard's love interest. She takes the "stereotype" outta stereotypical popular girl. She tolerates Leonard but likes Spot/Scott better. According to the shows website, Leonard and Leslie used to be best friends (until Leonard found out his pets could talk). She's voiced by Mae Whitman.
Secondary characters
- Tyler, Taylor, and Trevor: (Pamela Adlon) Three of the coolest kids in school. Leonard wishes he was as cool as them. They usually participate in typical slacker activities like skateboarding. They bully Leonard, but usually he flies under their radar.
- Younghee: (Lauren Tom) Another girl of the class that is from Korea. She usually bullies Leonard or is mean to him, but mostly, she cares, as a matter of fact, she secretly is in love him.
- Chelsey and Kelsey: Twins of the class. They are usually stuck-up and think they are more important than everyone else, but they always bicker with each other. Leonard tries to get their attention, but usually fails.
- Moltar: Ian's invisible friend. Usually Ian likes to do the weird stuff he does with him.
Scheduling history
The first episode aired on ABC's "One Saturday Morning" on Saturday, September 9, 2000, and remained on ABC until 2002. In January 2002, the show also began airing in Toon Disney, and they used that channel to air new episodes every Friday. While still airing on ABC, it was eventually removed from ABC on September 14, 2002 due to a new Saturday morning block called "ABC Kids." As of 2006, it vanished from Toon Disney as well and is nowhere to be found. In Australia, it aired on Disney Channel from 2001 to 2005 where it was pushed back to the mornings and late night spots on Disney Channel. The show's spot was then replaced in 2006 by 101 Dalmatians and finally Recess which currently is the only One Saturday Morning cartoon now airing on Disney Australia. Recess airs on Family Channel in Canada.
Worldwide release
Episodes
| Season | Network | Episodes | First airdate | Last airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ABC | 13 | September 9, 2000 | January 13, 2001 |
| 2 | ABC, Toon Disney | 26 | September 22, 2001 | May 10, 2002 |
Awards
- Won Emmy: Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Special Class Animated Program 2002 and 2003
- Won Emmy: Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program: Nathan Lane 2001
- British Emmy (BAFTA): Best International Children's Programming.
- Baseman also won for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation for Production Design on this animated series.
Feature Film
In 2004, Walt Disney Pictures produced a full-length animated feature film of the show in theaters. It was simply titled "Teacher's Pet". It featured Spot, Leonard, Mr. Jolly, and Pretty Boy going to Florida to visit a mad scientist named Dr. Ivan Krank who they hope may be able to use his scientific abilities to turn Spot into a real boy.
References
- ^ "A New Neighborhood for Animated Series". LA Times. September 9, 2000. Retrieved 2010-09-03.