Animated Tron Spoof Coming to UPN

Gudlyf writes "Sci Fi Wire is reporting that executive producers of 'That 70's Show,' Marcy Carsey, Tom Werner and Caryn Mandabach, are doing a CGI-animated midseason replacement show for UPN called 'Game Over,' which is best described as a sitcom spoofing 'Tron.' The show centers on the Smashenburns, an ordinary suburban family who live in an alternate video-game universe inhabited by action heroes, monsters and cartoon characters. Patrick Warburton and Marisa Tomei will be voicing the husband Rip and wife Raquel respectively."

Comments

Horay for Animation

[luzrek]

Didn't see any screenshots, but it sounds like it might be fun to watch.

More seriously, perhaps the people in th US are finally realizing that animation isn't just for children. TNN (I think) has also just started airing three new animated shows Ren & Stimpy's Adult Party Cartoon, Gerry the Rat (spelling?), and Stan Lee's Striperella (spelling?). While I'm not a huge Ren & Stimpy fan, all three seem pretty good. Kelsey Grammar's voice acting as a bitter and sarcastic giant rat is pretty good, and there seem to be quite a few running jokes (in just the first two episodes). Additionally, the show is able to deal with issues of race/class/ethanticity/whatever with species standing in for the politically untouchable subject (much as robots do in Futurama). Stripperella is obviously intended to be much more comical, and suceeds in at least two areas. First, the general atmosphere is a throwback to the 1960's batman series (campy villans, secret identities, etc., but no "Biff" or "Baff"). Second, the degree of normalcy that the public persona and the other exotic dancers enjoy is stressed to the point of being funny (or perhaps I'm not ready for porn to be mainstreamed).

Anyway, horay for more animation (that isn't aimed at kids).

Re:Horay for Animation

[Babbster]

I've only seen one of the new cartoons on the TNN Thursday, and that's "Gary The Rat." Stan Lee has been a hack since almost before I was BORN [1972], and combining him with Pamela "Social Disease" Anderson doesn't do anything for me; Ren & Stimpy was over years ago.

Anyway, I watched the first episode and I didn't laugh once. I've been a Kelsey Grammer fan for a long, long time but I found his performance just as wooden and painful to listen to as everyone else's in that episode. The story and script were just dreck (concept great, execution pitiful - see "Enterprise"). The only redeeming quality was the art style which I thought was excellent.

Usually, I give new shows three or four episodes (my time permitting) to get a head of steam but I didn't even see potential in Gary The Rat.

If this is where "cartoons for adults" are heading they're going to go away again, sooner rather than later.

Re:Horay for Animation

[Anonymous Coward]

beep!! that would be japan, sir, not the usa...

Like Tron - Not

[Chasuk]

This show is like Tron? How?

In Tron, a video game programmer gets sucked into a virtual world by something called the MCP (forget what that stands for, after all these years), and is forced into gladiatorial games...

And because they both involve video games, this show about the Smashenburns is like Tron?

Is Beevis and Butthead like the Flintstones because they are both cartoons?

Re:These are the shows that must be remade:

[tekrat]

Somebody tried to do a Star Blazers movie but that got tanked before it ever got to production. I guess not enough people remember it. But then again, they probably would have screwed it up. Just got to http://www.anime.com to get your junkie fix on Star Blazers and BotP.