Mongrels on BBC 3

[Reevz1977]

Hey big congrats Warrick,

I pointed this out to the missus the other day and said I wanted to catch it - Looks ace! ! ! !

 

[Boober_Gorg]

I already posted this on TP ...

Here's my impression of the show so far after seeing the first episode ... don't read this if you don't want spoilers.

Marion the cat - his suave accent and demeanor echo that of Pepe LePew.
Nelson the fox - A sly con-fox with a soft side. If he's the ringleader, maybe there's hope.
Destiny the Afghan hound - I can relate to the pressure of obedience school, but try placing her in a non-scatological situation and see if she's any better. I'd like it if she (or any of the other animals) were able to act out revenge in a way that doesn't involve mauling, urine or feces, because that's what everyone expects of them.
Kali the (Jamaican) pigeon - seems kinda mean-spirited and one-dimensional. But that's just based on one episode.
The Rats - I hope they get their own episode. That would be nice.

The premise - a gang of rebellious animals trying to make it in the world - couldn't be a better idea for a puppet show. The first episode follows the standard sitcom structure, which I hope will include more deviations in the next few installments. I thought the odd chicken was going to be upset after overhearing the "F**k Chickens" song, but instead it seemed like the plot took a different direction - then it became somewhat predictable again.

The production values - Henson-quality top-notch, especially the "F**k Chickens" song. This might be a selling point if they try marketing it to BBC America or Adult Swim.

I also noticed quite a bit of cutaways and celebrity jabs - is the show trying to be like Family Guy? (Which is also shown on BBC3) On that show, it's confirmed that Brian and the humans can communicate, but it's always been ambiguous with Stewie. Since the adults don't respond to the animals' wisecracks, some might say that's a valid distinction. but upon seeing Nelson fight with the chicken, I can't help but be reminded of Family Guy yet again (yeah, it's a one-time thing here, but still!). Joggy said to me three years ago, "Europe is Americanising in rapid speed." I'm beginning to see what he meant.

Swearing - UK TV typically is less censored than US TV, but this episode still has a bunch of bleeps. Will the DVD be the same or will it be unbleeped? Given the tone of the rest of the episode, somehow I get the sense that they're added for humor in that one scene where Nelson's racking up points.

Maybe this series needs to grow on me (or maybe I need to de-stress from my my hectic schedule). I've been catching a lot of new animated/puppet shows in their infancy (Neighbors From H*ll, Warren the Ape, Late Night Liars), and I have mixed feelings about them. (I feel the most hopeful for Warren the Ape, being that I know the characters from beforehand.)

My overall feelings of all four are:
Neighbors - **/5 (the humor is ten years too old!)
Warren - ****/5 (gotta love Dan Milano)
Liars - ***/5 (there's at least SOME laughs in there)
Mongrels - ***/5 (see above)

If any of these shows last beyond 8 episodes, I'll be impressed. Keep up the good work, Warrick. You could surely end up doing something for Henson someday.

 

[Luke]

Maybe this series needs to grow on me (or maybe I need to de-stress from my my hectic schedule). I've been catching a lot of new animated/puppet shows in their infancy (Neighbors From H*ll, Warren the Ape, Late Night Liars), and I have mixed feelings about them. (I feel the most hopeful for Warren the Ape, being that I know the characters from beforehand.)

My overall feelings of all four are:
Neighbors - **/5 (the humor is ten years too old!)
Warren - ****/5 (gotta love Dan Milano)
Liars - ***/5 (there's at least SOME laughs in there)
Mongrels - ***/5 (see above)

If any of these shows last beyond 8 episodes, I'll be impressed. Keep up the good work, Warrick. You could surely end up doing something for Henson someday.

Great review. I think its maybe taking this a little too seriously tho - yes a lot of the stuff you talked about is deliberate (like the bleeps ... the fox even uses a horn to "bleep" at one point, thats all part of the joke). The humour and celebrity stuff is typical of other Brit shows like Facekacker or Bo Selecta - thats just our type of comedy nowdays. Actually watching it, and seeing how so much of the humour is extrememly Brit focused i wondered whether Americans would be able to "get" it. I think maybe they arent worried about that tho as BBC3 commisions a lot of similar shows just for themselves, though i'd hope there will be a DVD.

As for Henson .. this show and the other BBC puppet Warrick puppeteers is way more high profile than anything they are doing. I love Henson and the Henson people but i can't help but feel that since selling the Muppets they have tried so many different shows and pilots to try get a hit, the lack of focus shows a bit in the output. It's great though to see "Mongrels" as well as other American adult puppet shows getting some attention latley - Twitter has been buzzing about it all.

 

[Gaskett]

Hope all who has seen Mongrels is enjoying it. It's generally aimed at a 16 to 32 year old audience and although some of the jokes may be a little risque, there is a heart running through the show, which we try to bring out in all the characters.

I'm one of the puppeteers and puppet builders on the show, so please keep with us and pass on the good word. That word, is Mongrels.

 

[Buck-Beaver]

Does anyone have a list of the puppeteers who work on this? Aside from Andy Heath and those of you who have posted, I'm curious to know who else does the show.

Thanks!

 

[Beauregard]

I had a feeling that you might have been involved, W, as soon as I saw it advertised.

Although I have yet to watch an episode due to a lack of internet/tv access at this time. I heard Scott Mills raving about the show the other day on Radio 1 too, so that's cool.

 

[BlueFrackle]

Along with me and Andy, it was Richard Coombs, Iestyn Evans, Susan Beattie and Mak Wilson, Simon Buckley, Mandy Glass and Matt Hutchinson.

 

[Gaskett]

The other Key performers are ... Richard Coombs, Iestyn Evans, and Sue Beattie. However, a lot of other uk performers have lent a hand on a lot of episodes.

 

[Luke]

Oh Mak Wilson, remember him from Hoobs, Moppatop and Faffner.

I'm still really loving it, best new show on TV this year for sure.

 

[BlueFrackle]

He also did Earl Sinclair on Dinosaurs, and was part (not sure which) of Hoggle!