Please Share... 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tonight at 10:30pm Eastern, 9:30 Central, (because Spike Lee has a problem being affiliated with Network Television) finally aired thier long-promoted new “Cartoons For F**kin’ Adults” line-up. The set list includes an hour of old-time favorites “Ren & Stimpy,” intersected by two new half-hour shows “Gary The Rat” and “Stripperella.” “Gary” features the vocal talent of Kelsey Grammar in a pitch perfect parody of Angry Dr. Frasier Crane. Obviously, Grammar’s trying to prove that he’s more than a one-trick pony after more than 20 years as the titular doctor on “Frasier” and “Cheers.” Gary’s penchant for Cosmopolitans and expensive imported cheese delivery would suggest otherwise. The show, shelved since 2000 and executive produced by Grammar, establishes Gary as a big-time human lawyer who woke up one morning as a rat. Far from Kafka-esque allusions (although there is a brief nod to waking up as a bug with a rat’s head), the opening credits all but spell outGary’s rodential metamorphosis. Later in the show, a confuscian barfly postulates that it is a sign that Gary Andrews, hot-shot Tobacco company defending lawyer, has been “in the rat race too long” and this is his karmic payback, which Gary non-chalantly dismisses as not possibly being the cause. In an effort to inject long term plot points, the pilot also introduces a ridiculous cast of uninteresting and one-dimensional charaters: A parody of a hitman/exterminator of the Big Dumb Mook mold, a pest-detesting neighbor desperate to be rid of The Rat, and a dumb-as-a-block-of-cheese delivery kid. There’s also a running gag about Gary’s ne’er seen, institutionalized mother, who seems to be the victim of various non-sequitor torture rituals. The thinly veiled computer animation is choppy at best, and looks more like a story-board from a market-research homework assignment (no offense to internet artist ). Executive producer Grammar attempts to be naughty with the show’s cavalier attitudeand use of the word “shit,” but the potty humor can’t compensate for the lack of imagination in this dismal evolution of Frasier Crane. Thank goodness the execs at The New TNN had the programming gusto to slot this stop-motion failure between tried-and-true “Ren & Stimpy,” and the inspired Marvel Comic guru Stan Lee’s creation “.” Based on the bodacious curves and attitude of sexy ex-Baywatcher Pamela Anderson, “Stripperella” follows exotic dancer Erotica Jones at dance club “Tender Loins” at night, and later, on her adventures as secret agent 0069 (a number tattooed on her upper, right thigh and magically imbued with secret lair unlocking power). And what a secret lair it is! Housed in the bowels of a department store, it’s part Zion, part “Office Space.” It’s in this secret lair that the show’s true nature really starts to peek through. Over a loudspeaker, a woman’s voice is heard reminding secret agents about stealing from the clearly labelled food in the fridge. This is followed byan introduction to Stripperella’s boss, a man in a Charles Xavier-type wheel chair that he proceeds to zip uncontrollably throughout the cavernous room in. Finally, the chair stops and we’re treated to another hysterical gag when Mr. Boss utters “These things are dangerous! Good thing I’m not a cripple” and proceeds to get out of, pick up and smash into the fireplace the offending gizmo. But wait, that’s not all! In order to discover Stripperella’s mission, they start up the old Rubics Cube/Get Smart fancy wall, only to reveal a tiny, 30 year old tv set with rabbit ears and tinfoil. During her mission, she proves to be a veritable stripper Gumby with a legion of inspector gadgets hiding in her boots, gloves and the three or so other inches of body creatively concealed by blue/black clothing. She uses a hidden boot laser to cut through a leg cuff and uses her toes to unlock an arm shackle. This is follwed by a scene ripped from the animation cells of “Heavy Metal,” where our heroinerides through the air straddling an evil, cellulite injecting spider. Finally, she performs emergency breast implant removal surgery on the podium at the VH1 Fashion Awards where a cartoon Woody Allen utters one liners like “I haven’t seen a bomb that big since — well, my last ten movies.” It’s this kind of irreverant, self-refferential humor that wins bonus points with those of used to the dry, allusion-free versions of cartoons found on Saturday Mornings. This is definitely a “Cartoon For F**kin’ Adults.” Not just for its abundance of T&A shots, but for its level of humor and sophistication. Not to mention the true-to-form comic-book style renderings of characters and locations. In a genius marketing move, has released the first issue of the coinciding comic book (incidentally, with cover art by a ). And, while feels that “Stripperella is pretty cool as a comic book heroine, I must admit I’m partial to the animated version.” Heck, I’m still stuck on “Striperella is pretty [damn]cool.” “Gary the Rat”: C-, “Stripperalla”: A-, “Stan Lee”: A+ “Gary the Rat” airs Tuesdays at 10:30pm ET; “Stripperella” airs Tuesdays at 11:00pm ET, both on The New TNN. Please enable JavaScript to view the Like this: Like Loading...

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