thehound - January2001

       ____________________________________________________

      It's Captain Pugwash on Speed.

      It's devilishly dirty, with dangly bits to boot.

     'Aaagh! It's The Mr Hell Show' is, we're told, the world's first
      prime time animated sketch show. 13 x 30min episodes packed
      with enough toon dynamite to blow your socks off. Or summat
      like that. It also happens to be British, which is mighty useful,
      'cos it means I can give you the scoop on this hot project here
      at Toonhound...

        Mr Hell banner

      That's Mr Hell above. Fiendishly handsome, isn't he? On the
      right is his pal Serge The Seal Of Death . Here's what the
      press blurb has to say:

    'Each week our sulfurous and sardonic anti-hero stars in his own
      adventure, and introduces a parade of short, sharp sketches and
      cracked recurring characters - all infected with the same wickedly
      cynical sense of humour. Of course, Mr Hell isn’t THE devil. He’s
      A devil - the little demon inside everyone of us - except he’s out
      and ready to party!'

     And 'partying' means, amongst other things, lounging around the
     house all day with your underpants off. That's right, my friends,
     Mr Hell likes to let the little fella flap free in the breeze!

     Mr Hell was created by Peafur Productions and produced
     with Canada's Sextant Entertainment for the BBC - Peafur being
     that on-the-rise production company and writing partnership
     of David Freedman and Alan Gilbey, the guys who worked on
     'Rex The Runt', 'Foxbusters', 'The First Snow Of Winter' and
     more. They've cherry-picked an elite band of animation rebels
     to support them, including supervising art director Jeff 'Swampy'
     Marsh, of Simpsons name-fame. So how did they get from cute
     ducklings to horny trouserless devils?

     Find out in my Q&A with the Alan Gilbey here.

     There are 13 half-hours in the 1st hot Season of Mr Hell, and
     from the clips I've seen so far, it's racy and rude and certainly
     cuts the quickfire mustard when compared to any of its american
     counterparts...

     It's also tugging at the boundaries of computer technology.
     Chris Brough ('ReBoot') and his crew at Sextant Entertainment
     studios have created the unique computer animation technique
     referred to as 'Hellmation'. It's helped them create the modern-
     retro look of the series and enabled them to populate it with a
     menagerie of support characters. They're even taking a brief
     leap into full-3D in one of the shows.

   Oh, and there's one more devious trick up the sleeve: See, they've
     persuaded that lascivious Lucifer himself, Bob Monkhouse, to
     voice their fiendish star!

     Mr Hell is being shoe-horned into a primetime slot on BBC2
    sometime this Spring...


     _____________________________________________________

      Okay so that horny old devil gets top billing. But what about
      sidekicks, stools, and cameos - Who are the other stars in
      ascendance to look out for?

      Top of the heap must surely be Serge The Seal Of Death. After
      cruel fur trappers killed his parents, Serge the little seal cub
      vowed bloody revenge on the entire fashion industry. Never
      seen without a Robinson M96 or Glock 22 S&W, Serge spends
      his time on the show racking up a bloody body count of fashion
      victims. His gun-toting ways have, apparently stirred up some
     controversy across the pond:

     'The Mr Hell Show has the highest mortality rate of any cartoon
     series ever made. In the US some of the show’s violence is
     censored, in case it inspires real harp seals to go into gun shops
     and reek revenge on the fashion industry....'

Hmm. Methinks little Serge may get his own fansite soon...

Angela and Damien

    As well as seals, stay tooned for Mr Hell's snooty ex-wife Angela,
    his half-angel-half-devil-butter-wouldn't-melt son Damien, the
    brilliant-but-repressed Victorian Lady Detective, Champion The
    Wonder Snail, and - oh - then there's Josh who believes in
     reincarnation, which is fortunate considering the amount of times
     he seems to gets killed (Those are two of his incarnations below,
     third and fourth in the line-up...)

      Victorian Lady Detective

     Topping the list of weirdness is Lucky. Batman has Robin. The
     Lone Ranger has Tonto. And Serge - well - he has a severed
     rabbit's foot keychain that squeeks. You'll have to visit the
     official site to see how he - it? - she? - looks...

     That's also the place to go for a thorough episode guide which
     I'm not even going to attempt to repeat here!

    _____________________________________________________



     So where did he come from, this horny old devil? - Well, Mr Hell
     first appeared in a line of Greeting Cards created by Scottish
     misanthrope, Hugh MacLeod. These cartoon cards were so bitter
     and twisted they were virtually unsendable to anyone, but Dave
     Freedman and Alan Gilbey saw that a great character lurked within
     them, who would be perfect for TV. Here's that press blurb once
     more:

     'Mr Hell was sold virtually the first time we showed him to anyone
     - to Universal Pictures in the States' explains Freedman. 'They
     loved him, and then spent the next year trying to change him into
    a lovable live action sitcom character!'

    A parting of the ways led to other offers from the States, and more
    attempts to tone down the character. 'Everyone was interested in a
    show based around a devil, but could we make him a little less devilish?'
    says Gilbey. 'When a producer said he would make the show if we
    coloured him blue and renamed him Mr Heck, we ran away screaming.
    We held out to do the show our way…and held out…and held out.'

    Over the next four years Alan and Dave went on to write several
    award-winning children’s cartoons, but the devil still sat on their
    shoulder telling them to bring him to life. 'Although we often joked
    about the curse of Mr Hell, we never gave up on him - and finally, it
    paid off.' They reworked Mr Hell as a the host of a show full of their
    crazed creations; sketch comedy that could only be done through the
    medium of animation, and finally they found producers brave enough
    to help them bring their undiluted vision to the screen.

    And so it came to pass that, last year, Dave and Alan sold their
   souls to the BBC and Canada’s Sextant Entertainment and a hip
    hot new adult series was unleashed upon the world...


     ___________________________________________________

     Ah yes, but is it all actually any good? - Well, I can't tell you. All I
     can say that this one has a mighty-fine pedigree behind it and those
     there site clips work for me...

     Judge for yourselves when it arrives this Spring on BBC2!

     Better yet, take a look at the website:
     http://www.mrhell.com

     You'll find a character guide, episode synopsis, downloads
      and clips - It's all good bad fun, actually. But you'll need the
      latest flash plug-in to view it all...

      And when you're done there, why not check out the
      talent behind the show:

      http://www.peafur.com
      http://www.sextantentertainment.com

      Don't forget my Q&A with Alan Gilbey!

      - Till next time!

              thehound@toonhound.com
                                                                                         DEVIL TALK



	January - 2001 Aaagh! - It's The Mr Hell Show special....		Got any gossip? Tell it to The Hound!
		What the Hell...? Introducing Mr Hell... Who the Hell...? The costars of Mr Hell... How the Hell...? The history of Mr Hell...
		Devil Talk Peafur's Alan Gilbey talks to the Hound...
	____________________________________________________ It's Captain Pugwash on Speed. It's devilishly dirty, with dangly bits to boot. 'Aaagh! It's The Mr Hell Show' is, we're told, the world's first prime time animated sketch show. 13 x 30min episodes packed with enough toon dynamite to blow your socks off. Or summat like that. It also happens to be British, which is mighty useful, 'cos it means I can give you the scoop on this hot project here at Toonhound... That's Mr Hell above. Fiendishly handsome, isn't he? On the right is his pal Serge The Seal Of Death . Here's what the press blurb has to say: 'Each week our sulfurous and sardonic anti-hero stars in his own adventure, and introduces a parade of short, sharp sketches and cracked recurring characters - all infected with the same wickedly cynical sense of humour. Of course, Mr Hell isn’t THE devil. He’s A devil - the little demon inside everyone of us - except he’s out and ready to party!' And 'partying' means, amongst other things, lounging around the house all day with your underpants off. That's right, my friends, Mr Hell likes to let the little fella flap free in the breeze! Mr Hell was created by Peafur Productions and produced with Canada's Sextant Entertainment for the BBC - Peafur being that on-the-rise production company and writing partnership of David Freedman and Alan Gilbey, the guys who worked on 'Rex The Runt', 'Foxbusters', 'The First Snow Of Winter' and more. They've cherry-picked an elite band of animation rebels to support them, including supervising art director Jeff 'Swampy' Marsh, of Simpsons name-fame. So how did they get from cute ducklings to horny trouserless devils? Find out in my Q&A with the Alan Gilbey here. There are 13 half-hours in the 1st hot Season of Mr Hell, and from the clips I've seen so far, it's racy and rude and certainly cuts the quickfire mustard when compared to any of its american counterparts... It's also tugging at the boundaries of computer technology. Chris Brough ('ReBoot') and his crew at Sextant Entertainment studios have created the unique computer animation technique referred to as 'Hellmation'. It's helped them create the modern- retro look of the series and enabled them to populate it with a menagerie of support characters. They're even taking a brief leap into full-3D in one of the shows. Oh, and there's one more devious trick up the sleeve: See, they've persuaded that lascivious Lucifer himself, Bob Monkhouse, to voice their fiendish star! Mr Hell is being shoe-horned into a primetime slot on BBC2 sometime this Spring... _____________________________________________________ Okay so that horny old devil gets top billing. But what about sidekicks, stools, and cameos - Who are the other stars in ascendance to look out for? Top of the heap must surely be Serge The Seal Of Death. After cruel fur trappers killed his parents, Serge the little seal cub vowed bloody revenge on the entire fashion industry. Never seen without a Robinson M96 or Glock 22 S&W, Serge spends his time on the show racking up a bloody body count of fashion victims. His gun-toting ways have, apparently stirred up some controversy across the pond: 'The Mr Hell Show has the highest mortality rate of any cartoon series ever made. In the US some of the show’s violence is censored, in case it inspires real harp seals to go into gun shops and reek revenge on the fashion industry....' Hmm. Methinks little Serge may get his own fansite soon... As well as seals, stay tooned for Mr Hell's snooty ex-wife Angela, his half-angel-half-devil-butter-wouldn't-melt son Damien, the brilliant-but-repressed Victorian Lady Detective, Champion The Wonder Snail, and - oh - then there's Josh who believes in reincarnation, which is fortunate considering the amount of times he seems to gets killed (Those are two of his incarnations below, third and fourth in the line-up...) Topping the list of weirdness is Lucky. Batman has Robin. The Lone Ranger has Tonto. And Serge - well - he has a severed rabbit's foot keychain that squeeks. You'll have to visit the official site to see how he - it? - she? - looks... That's also the place to go for a thorough episode guide which I'm not even going to attempt to repeat here! _____________________________________________________ So where did he come from, this horny old devil? - Well, Mr Hell first appeared in a line of Greeting Cards created by Scottish misanthrope, Hugh MacLeod. These cartoon cards were so bitter and twisted they were virtually unsendable to anyone, but Dave Freedman and Alan Gilbey saw that a great character lurked within them, who would be perfect for TV. Here's that press blurb once more: 'Mr Hell was sold virtually the first time we showed him to anyone - to Universal Pictures in the States' explains Freedman. 'They loved him, and then spent the next year trying to change him into a lovable live action sitcom character!' A parting of the ways led to other offers from the States, and more attempts to tone down the character. 'Everyone was interested in a show based around a devil, but could we make him a little less devilish?' says Gilbey. 'When a producer said he would make the show if we coloured him blue and renamed him Mr Heck, we ran away screaming. We held out to do the show our way…and held out…and held out.' Over the next four years Alan and Dave went on to write several award-winning children’s cartoons, but the devil still sat on their shoulder telling them to bring him to life. 'Although we often joked about the curse of Mr Hell, we never gave up on him - and finally, it paid off.' They reworked Mr Hell as a the host of a show full of their crazed creations; sketch comedy that could only be done through the medium of animation, and finally they found producers brave enough to help them bring their undiluted vision to the screen. And so it came to pass that, last year, Dave and Alan sold their souls to the BBC and Canada’s Sextant Entertainment and a hip hot new adult series was unleashed upon the world... ___________________________________________________ Ah yes, but is it all actually any good? - Well, I can't tell you. All I can say that this one has a mighty-fine pedigree behind it and those there site clips work for me... Judge for yourselves when it arrives this Spring on BBC2! Better yet, take a look at the website: http://www.mrhell.com You'll find a character guide, episode synopsis, downloads and clips - It's all good bad fun, actually. But you'll need the latest flash plug-in to view it all... And when you're done there, why not check out the talent behind the show: http://www.peafur.com http://www.sextantentertainment.com Don't forget my Q&A with Alan Gilbey! - Till next time! thehound@toonhound.com DEVIL TALK
- F2002