French
DeutschMr. Meaty
| Mr. Meaty | |
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| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
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| Executive producer | Jack Lenz |
| Producers | Jason Hopley Jamie Shannon |
| Editor | Susan Cormack |
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| Release | September 22, 2006 – May 23, 2009 |
Mr. Meaty is a teen sitcom created by Jamie Shannon and Jason Hopley. The show centers on two lazy teenage boys, Josh Redgrove and Parker Dinkleman, who work at a fast food restaurant called Mr. Meaty inside a shopping mall as they often encounter supernatural and bizarre situations. The series is set in the fictional town of Scaunchboro, based on Scarborough, Toronto.
Mr. Meaty originated as a series of 17 shorts that appeared as interstitials on Nickelodeon in the United States and CBC Television in Canada. A pilot episode featuring material from the shorts aired on December 30, 2005. The series officially premiered on September 22, 2006, and continued to air until May 23, 2009. It ended with a total of two seasons and twenty episodes, three of which are 22-minute specials.
Premise
Mr. Meaty centers on a pair of teenage boys working at a fast-food restaurant established in the fictional Scaunchboro Mall: the nerdy, gluttonous, awkward Parker Dinkleman (Jason Hopley) and the charming, popular, but uncaring and self-centered Josh Redgrove (Jamie Shannon). The boys are often placed in bizarre, supernatural or grotesque situations. They are also seen dealing with common teenage situations such as dating and peer pressure.[2]
Characters
Main
- Josh Redgrove: (voice by Jamie Shannon) A 16-year-old cashier and employee at Mr. Meaty.
- Parker Dinkleman: (voiced by Jason Hopley) Josh Redgrove's best friend who works as a fry cook. Characters appearance and voice are based on former coworker (William Pawson).
- Edward R. Carney: (voice by Marty Stelnick) He is the original founder and current owner of the Mr. Meaty chain.
- Mr. Wink: The manager with an electric chip on the back of his head, he was once a kind and friendly individual.
- Lizzy: (Alien who only worked there for a short time) She was cleverly disguised as an attractive young woman, being crushed on by both Josh and Parker for a short time.
- Chip 2.6: First seen in Model Employee. He’s a robot, built to be the perfect Mr. Meaty employee.
- Eddie: Parker's pet yeti who only worked at Mr. Meaty's for a little bit, but was shipped back to the Himalayas.
Minor
- Ashley Steinberg: Her best friends are Brittney and Ashley 2. She seems to be the leader of the trio.
- Brittney Of the three, she seems to have the most common sense and is almost always there to offer advice to Josh and Parker.
- Art"ee"st Woman: The owner of Pantosphere.
- Ashley 2: She and Brittney are followers of Ashley.
- Goth Girl: She is a goth who went on a date with Josh to see the premiere of Star Raiders IV.
- Gord: He wears his blond hair in beaded dreadlocks.
- Ping: An employee who teaches Josh and Parker to be ninjas.
- Doug: A beefy security guard with a buzz haircut, black shades, and a prominent bottom lip. He speaks with a macho attitude and is very dedicated to his job.
- R.O.B.: R.O.B. is the Mr. Meaty security bot who only appeared in "Buffalo Burrito".
- Ashley Steinberg: The long haired brunette who is very concerned.
- Ashley 2: A member of the girl group of Scaunchburo Mall.
- Brittany: The most reasonable and apparently liked girl of Scaunchburo Mall.
- Tanya: A thick lipped girl with black shades and long dirty blonde hair.
- Parkerina: (female version of Parker) who dressed in a cowgirl outfit, two red pigtails over his shoulders and with notable eyelashes.
- Natasha: A European (probably Russian, due to her accent) member of the Against Josh Group who appears on the screen during the Against Josh Group meeting in "Parkerina".
- Sky: A member of the girl's group.
- Ken: Josh's older brother who is extremely annoying.
- Darryl: Ken's best friend and his bodyguard.
- Tyrone: Provides the music for The Tater Tots so they can break dance.
- Tater Tots: Three 8-year-old Hip-Hop gangster brats.
- Hamish: Parker's other best friend.
- Natalie: A little vampire girl discovered in the freezer. She turned Parker and Josh into vampires.
- Barb: Josh's ex girlfriend made of meat.
- Leanne: Parker's girlfriend.
- Brandon DuBois III: Parker's friend.
- Gavin: Parker's friend.
- Karlon Bugosi: A former actor who has now become a brain-eating zombie. Bugosi only appeared in "Dream of the Dead", in which he was the main antagonist and anti-hero.
- Lucas E. Romero: A horror movie director who only appeared in "Dream of the Dead."
Production
Mr. Meaty began as a series of shorts that played between longer programs on Nickelodeon from 2002 to 2005. They were also featured on CBC's variety show The Void, on Nickelodeon's iTunes listings, and on the TurboNick website. The show was Shannon and Hopley's second production for Nickelodeon after Nanalan', as well as the Disney Junior series Ooh, Aah & You.
Neither of the series' creators had worked at a fast food restaurant prior to creating the show. However, Hopley had once worked at a movie theater's concessions stand, which gave him inspiration for some of the ideas in the show.[3] He has also cited The Ren & Stimpy Show as a source of inspiration for the show's style of humor.[3]
The show was created specifically for a teenage audience; of the target age group, executive producer Jack Lenz said, "Entertaining kids in their teens is not easy and it takes a very strong concept to catch on with this demographic. Mike Judge clearly nailed it with Beavis and Butt-Head and we believe that Mr. Meaty will do the same."[1]
Nickelodeon commissioned a season of full-length episodes around September 2005.[4] An 11-minute pilot titled "In Parker's Sight" aired on December 30, 2005.[5] It was a retrospective featuring material from the earlier shorts. On September 22, 2006, the series made its official debut on Nickelodeon. The episode "Buffalo Burrito" had been released as a sneak peek on the iTunes Store two days earlier on September 18.[6] The series moved to Nickelodeon's sister channel Nicktoons on February 23, 2007. Nicktoons aired the remaining episodes from March 10, 2007, to May 23, 2009.
Episodes
Series overview
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Network | |||
| Pilot | December 30, 2005 | Nickelodeon | |||
| 1 | 12 | 10 | September 22, 2006 | December 9, 2006 | |
| 2 | March 10, 2007 | March 17, 2007 | Nicktoons | ||
| 2 | 8 | December 6, 2008 | May 23, 2009 | ||
Pilot (2005)
| Title | Original air date | |
|---|---|---|
| "In Parker's Sight" | December 30, 2005 | |
| When Josh and Parker get locked in a freezer, Josh reflects on good times while Parker eats everything in sight. | ||
Season 1 (2006–2007)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nickelodeon (2006) | ||||||||||||
| 1a | 1a | "Buffalo Burrito" | Jason Hopley | Jason Hopley | September 22, 2006 | 101 | ||||||
| Parker has very bad body odor, but Josh won't tell him for fear of his reaction. Meanwhile, Mr. Meaty is getting ready to introduce their new Buffalo Burrito, and Wink hires two actors to be Bucky Buffalo for the big intro, but they are zapped by the Mr. Meaty Security Bot, who is lurking around the mall. Parker volunteers Josh and himself to be the buffalo, and Josh is forced to get inside the buffalo costume with a very smelly Parker. | ||||||||||||
| 1b | 1b | "Parkerina" | Jamie Shannon | Jamie Shannon | September 22, 2006 | 102 | ||||||
| Mr. Meaty's latest product, the Ms. Meaty burger, is out, and Josh and Parker try to sell it to girls for their phone numbers. To their dismay, however, none of them accept. Parker, however, has eaten 12 and chugged down the special Girly Sauce, which painfully turns him into a girl. Josh sees this as a way to find out why none of the girls are into him. Josh tells the girls that Parker's name is Parkerina, and she is his cousin from the country and has come to get a big city makeover. Josh leaves her in their hands, and they become friends, causing Parkerina to become more feminine. After talking with the girls where they discuss how Josh uses them to his own gain, Parkerina becomes angry with Josh and rallies the girls to give him a piece of their mind, but at that very moment she turns back into Parker. The girls become even angrier and shove Josh into Ms. Meaty burgers, causing him to turn into Jocelyn while Parker hides in the freezer. | ||||||||||||
| 2a | 2a | "Schnozzola" | Jamie Shannon | Jamie Shannon | September 29, 2006 | 105 | ||||||
| Josh and Parker try to help Ashley Steinberg get a zit off of her nose with a special concoction, "Nuke 10", but it burns off her nose and they attempt to glue it back on with "Nose Balm 20". Soon they replace her nose with a sausage after her original nose falls into the deep fryer. Everyone likes the new craze for noses made of Meat. | ||||||||||||
| 2b | 2b | "Wedgelor" | Jason Hopley | Jason Hopley | September 29, 2006 | 101 | ||||||
| Josh is upset that the mall girls don't like him because he's skinny. Three 8-year-old hip hop gangster brats called the Tater Tots harass him, call him "Skinny Butt," and give him a wedgie. So Josh and Parker go to the store to get protein powder, despite Parker telling Josh to listen to Master Kindu, and encounter a jar on the bargain rack that contains the demon Wedgelor. The demon gives Josh a big beefy body, but he doesn't make his head big to match his body. After that, Wedgelor goes on a wedgie rampage in the mall. | ||||||||||||
| 3a | 3a | "The Fries That Bind" | Jamie Shannon | Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | October 6, 2006 | 103 | ||||||
| After Parker gets caught in a meat explosion caused by Josh, he storms out of Mr. Meaty. Not only did Josh refuse to apologize, he called him "Porker". But when Parker accepts a new job at the "Soy What" counter across the food court, Josh finds that he can’t cope without his friend and heads across the court to apologize. Instead, he discovers Parker about to be sacrificed, and eaten by a vicious soy cult. The two friends overcome their differences and battle their way free, armed with such delicious meaty products. | ||||||||||||
| 3b | 3b | "Moochmaster P." | Jason Hopley | Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa Story by : Jamie Shannon | October 6, 2006 | 105 | ||||||
| Parker is hungry and he tries to get Josh to give him one bite of his sandwich. Josh gives in and Parker eats almost the whole thing, so Josh calls him a moocher. Parker then goes around the mall and takes one bite of everyone's food. Then he comes back and eats a raw burger and a tapeworm soon grows in Parker's stomach and eats the food Parker mooches before Parker can. | ||||||||||||
| 4a | 4a | "Hamish" | Jason Hopley | Jason Hopley | October 13, 2006 | 102 | ||||||
| After Josh abandons Parker for a girl at the premiere of Star Raiders IV, Parker looks for a new best friend. He ends up making one out of ham and other meat from Mr. Meaty and names him Hamish. He and his new friend go to the movie theater to harass Josh and his date. | ||||||||||||
| 4b | 4b | "Tater Turf" | Jamie Shannon | Jamie Shannon | October 13, 2006 | 106 | ||||||
| The Tater Tots challenge Josh to a dance-off, and Josh wins. But when another challenge comes, Josh reveals that he only has one move. | ||||||||||||
| 5a | 5a | "Nosferateens" | Jamie Shannon | Jamie Shannon | October 27, 2006 | 104 | ||||||
| Josh and Parker discover a vampire hiding in the freezer and decide that becoming undead is the perfect plan to get away from all of the boring rules they endure every day working for Mr. Meaty. But after making their wish come true, they quickly find out that being vampires is not as cool as they thought. | ||||||||||||
| 5b | 5b | "I Love Lizzy" | Jason Hopley | Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | October 27, 2006 | 104 | ||||||
| When Lizzy, a new employee, arrives at Mr. Meaty, Parker quickly falls for her. She’s a messy eater, she likes Star Raiders, and her burps smell like his favorite burger combo. The only problem, however, is that Josh has a crush of her, too. The two boys get into a game of oneupmanship, trying to impress Lizzy – a game that Parker wins. But when Josh discovers that Lizzy’s really a lizard-faced alien, he tries to tell Parker, but Parker doesn't believe him. | ||||||||||||
| 6a | 6a | "Parker's Date" | Jamie Shannon | Jamie Shannon | November 4, 2006 | 103 | ||||||
| When Josh talks Parker into going on a double-date with him, he has to change his buddy from zero to hero. Despite all of the training, he still is a zero, and the date is disastrous - at least until Parker finds a girl who talks a little Kalingi herself. | ||||||||||||
| 6b | 6b | "The Tell-Tale Burger" | Jason Hopley | Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | November 4, 2006 | 106 | ||||||
| When Parker suddenly runs off to the bathroom, and Josh has to cook fries and causes an overflow of oil, he blames Parker for it. After his guilt takes him over, Josh confesses to Mr. Carney, and as soon gets all tied up as punishment. | ||||||||||||
| 7 | 7 | "Model Employee" | Jason Hopley | Jamie Shannon, Jason Hopley, Simon Racioppa & Richard Elliott | November 18, 2006 | 107 | ||||||
| Meatycorp has come up with a new robot, named Chip 2.6, who is assigned to work at the Mr. Meaty at Scaunchboro Mall. Josh takes a liking to Chip, but Parker believes it is out to take their jobs. | ||||||||||||
| 8a | 8a | "Unihorn" | Jamie Shannon | Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | November 25, 2006 | 108 | ||||||
| Parker finds a magic crystal and receives a unicorn horn with the power to heal. Josh gets jealous and summons the unicorn with the same crystal, but things go awry when he becomes an ugly-looking horse himself. | ||||||||||||
| 8b | 8b | "Josh-Off" | Jamie Shannon | Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa Story by : Jason Hopley | November 25, 2006 | 108 | ||||||
| Josh tells Parker to stop such being a dork and act like him, so Parker does... literally. Now, they have a face-off, hosted by Doug to see who is the real Josh. | ||||||||||||
| 9a | 9a | "Roast Beef Barb" | Jason Hopley | Jason Hopley | December 2, 2006 | 109 | ||||||
| Parker makes Josh a meat girlfriend. Everyone at the mall makes fun of her and Josh defendes her. Then Barb leaves Josh for a prime rib. | ||||||||||||
| 9b | 9b | "My Eddie" | Jamie Shannon | Jamie Shannon | December 2, 2006 | 109 | ||||||
| Parker orders a Baby Yeti that he saw on a commercial on Asian TV, and names him "Eddie." That night, when Eddie eats everything stored in the freezer and grows into a giant yeti the next morning as a result, Josh and Parker have to think of a way to convince the management to provide them with more meat. But when Wink comes by to drop off the new products, Parker must figure out what to do with Eddie Even worse, Mr. Carney and Wink find Eddie, and decide that they can do something about Eddie and Parker, which involves having an abominable barbecue. | ||||||||||||
| 10a | 10a | "Doug of the Dead" | Jason Hopley | Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | December 9, 2006 | 110 | ||||||
| A strange new device is brought to Mr. Meaty, called the SALIVATOR-X8, guaranteed to increase meat sales by 200%. When activated, however, it turns the patrons of the mall into meat-feasting zombies. Fortunately, Doug saves Josh and Parker from the zombies and destroys the machine. | ||||||||||||
| 10b | 10b | "Suburb of the Apes" | Jason Hopley | Jason Hopley | December 9, 2006 | 110 | ||||||
| After Ken and Darryl steal the first Game Craze, which rightfully belonged to them, Josh and Parker build a time machine to go two months into the future. They find Scaunchboro Mall to be invaded by baboons. It turns out that the machine sent them into the year 2676, where baboons rule the earth. | ||||||||||||
| Nicktoons (2007) | ||||||||||||
| 11a | 11a | "Original Sin" | Jason Hopley | Jason Hopley, Jamie Shannon, Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | March 10, 2007 | 111 | ||||||
| In this flashback episode, Wink recalls the good old days before two meddlesome teenagers came along and thawed out Mr. Carney and how Wink received an implant on his neck. | ||||||||||||
| 11b | 11b | "Ninjam" | Jamie Shannon | Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa Story by : Jamie Shannon | March 10, 2007 | 111 | ||||||
| Josh and Parker ask Ping, the owner of Chop Schtick, to teach them on how to be ninjas, so they can plot revenge on Ken and Darryl. | ||||||||||||
| 12a | 12a | "Dinkleman" | Jason Hopley | Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | March 17, 2007 | 112 | ||||||
| Parker gains superpowers as a bonus from Mr. Carney, but when he sees that Josh is annoyed, he finds a way to make Josh feel more important. | ||||||||||||
| 12b | 12b | "Incredible Jerk" | Jason Hopley | Jason Hopley | March 17, 2007 | 112 | ||||||
| Years of being insulted finally takes a toll on Parker, who turns into a rampaging beast and insults everyone. | ||||||||||||
Season 2 (2008–2009)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13a | 1a | "Parker's First Kiss" | Jason Hopley | Jason Hopley Story by : Jason Hopley, Jamie Shannon, Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | December 6, 2008 | 114 |
| Parker gets a girlfriend, but is very nervous about kissing her. He turns to Josh for guidance. | ||||||
| 13b | 1b | "Kid's Party" | Jason Hopley | Simon Racioppa & Richard Elliott Story by : Jason Hopley, Jamie Shannon, Simon Racioppa & Richard Elliott | December 6, 2008 | 114 |
| Britney asks Josh to throw a Mr. Meaty birthday party for her little brother, Taylor. However, when Josh and Parker feed the boy a piece of very sugary cake, he goes hyper and runs crazy through the mall. | ||||||
| 14a | 2a | "Embarrassed To Death" | Jamie Shannon | Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa Story by : Jamie Shannon, Jason Hopley, Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | December 13, 2008 | 115 |
| A video leaked into the internet causes Parker to literally die of embarrassment, but it's not his time to go yet. | ||||||
| 14b | 2b | "Puppet of Pop" | Jason Hopley | Jason Hopley Story by : Jason Hopley, Jamie Shannon, Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | December 13, 2008 | 115 |
| Mr. Carney books teen pop star, Jesse Lumberpond (based on Justin Timberlake) to hold a concert at the mall, and Josh and Parker scheme to be in his band, until he is knocked unconscious by Parker. | ||||||
| 15a | 3a | "Nightmare on Josh Street" | Jason Hopley | Jason Hopley Story by : Jason Hopley, Jamie Shannon, Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | December 20, 2008 | 116 |
| Josh throws a party while his family is out of the house, but since he's worried about being cool, he decides not to allow Parker to come. Parker shows up anyway. | ||||||
| 15b | 3b | "Lord of the Geeks" | Jamie Shannon | Jamie Shannon Story by : Jason Hopley, Jamie Shannon, Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | December 20, 2008 | 116 |
| The cool kids and the geeks must work together to defeat an evil ork. | ||||||
| 16a | 4a | "Geezers" | Jamie Shannon | Jamie Shannon Story by : Jamie Shannon, Jason Hopley, Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | December 27, 2008 | 117 |
| Josh and Parker keep putting off the making of their Ninja Zombies movie, so their future selves, from 80 years later, who still haven't made the movie, come back and try to convince them to quit procrastinating. | ||||||
| 16b | 4b | "Insecurity Guard" | Jamie Shannon | Simon Racioppa & Richard Elliott Story by : Jamie Shannon, Jason Hopley, Simon Racioppa & Richard Elliott | December 27, 2008 | 117 |
| After Doug the security guard is injured, Parker decides to take his place. When the position goes to Parker's head, Josh organizes a resistance movement against him. | ||||||
| 17a | 5a | "Mama's Boy" | Jason Hopley | Jason Hopley Story by : Jason Hopley, Jamie Shannon, Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | January 3, 2009 | 118 |
| Parker is sick of his mom babying him, so he moves out of the house. | ||||||
| 17b | 5b | "Puberty Fairy" | Jamie Shannon | Jamie Shannon & Jason Hopley Story by : Jamie Shannon, Jason Hopley, Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | January 3, 2009 | 118 |
| Parker is visited by the Puberty Fairy, but struggles to hang onto his childhood. | ||||||
| 18a | 6a | "Flinga Flonga" | Jamie Shannon | Jamie Shannon Story by : Jamie Shannon, Jason Hopley, Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | January 10, 2009 | 119 |
| Josh and Parker find out that their childhood bully has returned to Scaunchboro, and they plot to get revenge on him. But Josh realizes that Brent has changed and tries to get Parker to call off their "intergalactic revenge." | ||||||
| 18b | 6b | "Backseat Driver" | Jason Hopley | Jason Hopley Story by : Jason Hopley, Jamie Shannon, Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | January 10, 2009 | 119 |
| Josh fails his driving test, and instead of admitting it to Brittany, he takes her illegally to the drive-in, secretly using Parker to give him driving guidance. | ||||||
| 19 | 7 | "Big Greasy Musical" | Jamie Shannon | Jamie Shannon | May 23, 2009 | 113 |
| Josh dreams he stars in a musical where he must save Princess Brittany from Mr. Carney's evil clutches using his "diamond voice". | ||||||
| 20 | 8 | "Dream of the Dead" | Jason Hopley | Jason Hopley Story by : Jamie Shannon, Jason Hopley, Richard Elliott & Simon Racioppa | May 23, 2009 | 120 |
| One day at Mr. Meaty, Parker tells Josh that a man named Lucas E. Romero (based on George A. Romero) is having a horror movie competition, which Josh and Parker enter. | ||||||
Home media
| Title | Episode count | Release date | Episodes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nick Picks Vol. 5 | 1 | March 13, 2007 | "Parkerina" | |
Reception
Common Sense Media gave the series a rating of 3/5, stating that the humor was geared toward older children and noting that some viewers "will enjoy the idiosyncratic characters and their attempts to survive the uncertainties of puberty."[5] Susan Stewart of The New York Times gave the show a positive review, calling its puppetry "a perfect medium for sending up the foibles of the teenage years" and commending the two main characters' "deft characterizations".[7]
In May 2007, the show ranked as the fourth highest-rated Saturday morning program among children aged 2―11.[8]
References
- ^ a b "Canadian Television Produced Puppet Series, Mr. Meaty, to Premiere September 22 in 90 Million Homes in U.S." Marketwired. Nasdaq, Inc. September 19, 2006.
- ^ Downey, Kevin (November 3, 2006). "What's the Beef Over Mr. Meaty?". Broadcasting & Cable. Future plc.
- ^ a b Davis, Michael; Sode, Scott (October 27, 2006). "Chew on This: An Inside Look at the Unsavory Mr. Meaty". TV Guide. CBS Corporation.
- ^ Waldman, Dan (September 1, 2006). "Puppeteers serve up meaty kids fare for Nick" (PDF). Kidscreen. Brunico Communications.
- ^ a b Ashby, Emily (2005). "Mr. Meaty TV Review". Common Sense Media.
- ^ Ball, Ryan (September 19, 2006). "Nick's Mr. Meaty Hits iTunes". Animation Magazine.
- ^ Stewart, Susan (September 28, 2006). "Lamb Chop, Your Peers Have Reached Puberty". The New York Times.
- ^ "Look who's watching: A snapshot of the US kids TV audience" (PDF). Kidscreen. Brunico Communications. May 1, 2007.
