Project G.e.e.K.e.R. | |
---|---|
Genre | Action Adventure Comedy Science fiction |
Created by | Douglas TenNapel Doug Langdale |
Voices of | Billy West Cree Summer Brad Garrett Jim Cummings Charlie Adler |
Theme music composer | Terry Scott Taylor |
Composer | Shawn Patterson |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 13 |
Production | |
Executive producers | Douglas TenNapel Doug Langdale |
Producer | Audu Paden |
Production companies | Doug² Adelaide Productions Columbia TriStar Television |
Original release | |
Network | CBS |
Release | September 14 – December 7, 1996 |
Related | |
Earthworm Jim Catscratch The Weekenders Dave the Barbarian Phineas and Ferb |
Project G.e.e.K.e.R. is an animated television series that premiered on CBS on September 14, 1996. It was created by Douglas TenNapel, creator of Earthworm Jim , and Doug Langdale, the developer of Earthworm Jim the animated series, and was a production of Columbia TriStar Television under Adelaide Productions, with original music by Shawn Patterson and the main title theme composed by Terry Scott Taylor. [1] TenNapel and Taylor also collaborated on the video games The Neverhood , Boombots and Skullmonkeys , and in 2005, re-united for the Nickelodeon cartoon Catscratch .
The show was cancelled after only one season, as CBS cancelled all of their Saturday morning schedule in 1997 to stop their downward-spiraling ratings. [2]
The Federal Communications Commission also rejected CBS's attempt to classify the show as educational and informational under that fall's strengthened requirements for children's programming. [3]
The titular character, Project GKR (Geno-Kinetic Research), is an artificial shapeshifting being created by Mister Moloch and Dr. Maston of Moloch Industries and intended to be used as a weapon. However, the cyborg Lady MacBeth and her Tyrannosaurus rex companion Noah rescue him before he can be finished, leaving him a moronic, cartoonish being with little control of his powers. Subsequently, the three must work together to evade capture and prevent Moloch from re-obtaining GeeKeR.
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
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1 | "Destruct Sequence" | Audu Paden | Doug Langdale | September 14, 1996 | |
Premiere Episode. After stealing GeeKeR from Dr. Maston, GeeKeR's self-destruct mode initiates, a feature Dr. Maston put in to keep him from falling into the wrong hands. Becky and Noah have no choice but to seek Maston's help to save his life. | |||||
2 | "In Space, No One Can Hear You Sneeze" | Rafael Rosado | Doug Langdale | September 21, 1996 | |
GeeKeR, Becky and Noah go into hiding on Space Station Zebra, but Mister Moloch sends his most insidious operative, Larry the Virus, after them. Larry uses his mind-control abilities to manipulate everyone on the station into attacking GeeKeR. | |||||
3 | "Nightmare Park" | Llyn Hunter | Doug Langdale | September 28, 1996 | |
GeeKeR, Becky and Noah are on the run from the Junkers, bio-engineered street thugs hired by Mister Moloch. The chase leads them into Nightmare Park, an abandoned amusement park full of still-functioning systems which are programmed to respond to any aggressive act with deadly combat games. Becky must control her raging temper or the park's mechanisms will destroy them all. | |||||
4 | "Geekasaurus" | Toshiyuki Hiruma | Jan Strnad | October 5, 1996 | |
When GeeKeR morphs into a dinosaur and finds himself unable to change back, Noah must hide him in Dinopolis, a hidden city of dinosaurs where no humans are allowed. But this brings the wrath of Mister Moloch down on dinosaurs everywhere, and soon Noah must choose between protecting his friend and saving his people. | |||||
5 | "Smell of the Wild" | Rafael Rosado | Richard Stanley | October 12, 1996 | |
GeeKeR starts emitting a hideous stench which draws an attack from Mister Moloch's goons, as well as the ire of Becky and Noah. Feeling rejected by his friends, GeeKeR runs away to the Wildlife Refuge, declaring that "animals like stinky things." But in the Refuge, GeeKeR faces a danger even greater than Mister Moloch: hordes of mutant animals led by the mighty Toxic Moose. | |||||
6 | "23" | Audu Paden | Doug Langdale | October 19, 1996 | |
Doctor Maston finally succeeds in creating another artificial human, GKR 23. GKR 23, equipped with a computer brain, is even more powerful than GeeKeR. 23 soon breaks free of Mister Moloch's control and sets out to destroy all humanity and repopulate the earth with superior, artificial beings like himself. Now it is up to GeeKeR to defeat the virtually indestructible 23. | |||||
7 | "Thing Called Love" | Llyn Hunter | Richard Stanley | October 26, 1996 | |
GeeKeR experiences love at last, falling hard for Sirena, a tentacled alien woman. Becky is suspicious; it seems as if this alien has some strange power over men. But even when it becomes obvious that Sirena is working for Mister Moloch, GeeKeR refuses to abandon his "true love" and walks willingly into Moloch's clutches. Can GeeKeR break the chains of love and do the right thing? | |||||
8 | "In the GeeK of the Night" | Audu Paden | Jan Strnad | November 2, 1996 | |
Due to being affected by a satellite signal, GeeKeR periodically transforms into a monster while sleepwalking and wreaks havoc on Neo-Denaire. This forces him to stay awake to avoid transforming, which causes troubling sleep deprivation-induced hallucinations. | |||||
9 | "Independence Daze" | Toshiyuki Hiruma | Richard Stanley | November 9, 1996 | |
Mister Moloch sets hundreds of ravenous, mechanical Cyberplants loose on Neo-Denaire to capture GeeKeR and his friends. When Becky and Noah are captured, the fuzz-brained GeeKeR must prove that he can be independent and track them down by himself. | |||||
10 | "Worm" | Rafael Rosado | Thomas Hart | November 16, 1996 | |
GeeKeR gets a pet alien worm, which Becky cannot stand and ultimately has him release it into a series of underground tunnels. In this environment, it grows to an enormous size, and Moloch uses it to track down GeeKeR. Soon, both GeeKeR and Noah are captured, and the only way Becky can save them is to overcome her revulsion and team up with the worm. | |||||
11 | "Noble Savage" | Llyn Hunter and Audu Paden | Jan Strnad | November 23, 1996 | |
Doctor Maston implants a tracer in Noah so that Mister Moloch can track him and capture GeeKeR. However, this affects his brain and gradually causes him to lose his intelligence. Noah soon goes off on a berserk rampage, and Becky and GeeKeR have to track him down. | |||||
12 | "GeeKMan" | Audu Paden and Rafael Rosado | Doug Langdale | November 30, 1996 | |
GeeKeR gets hold of a bunch of old comic books and decides that the best way for him to be accepted by normal people is to become a superhero. Donning a garish costume with huge inflatable muscles, he becomes GeeKMan, Champion of Justice. Unfortunately, "GeeKMan's" rather destructive heroics turn the people of Neo-Denaire against him. | |||||
13 | "Future Shocked" | Rafael Rosado | Doug Langdale | December 7, 1996 | |
GeeKeR, Becky and Noah travel a hundred years into the future and discover that Mister Moloch has gained control of GeeKeR and used his powers to conquer the galaxy. An elderly, imprisoned Noah gives them a few murky tips on how to foil Moloch's plan, and they return to the present to fight a seemingly doomed battle to change the course of history and save the galaxy. |
Terry Scott Taylor (friend of creator Doug TenNapel) was contracted to write the main title theme for the show, while Shawn Patterson was selected to be the series score composer. Two days before the show was set to air, Columbia TriStar discovered a licensing issue with Terry and Patterson was asked by the producers to compose and produce a main title theme to go on the air. Shawn completed this and Project GeeKeR aired with Shawn's original main title music. Weeks into the series, the licensing problem with Terry Scott Taylor was cleared up and the show's creator Doug TenNapel requested that Terry's original main title theme be reinserted into the series. Patterson's main title music was then removed from the remainder of the series.
The Neverhood is a 1996 point-and-click adventure video game developed by The Neverhood, Inc. and published by DreamWorks Interactive for Microsoft Windows. The game follows the adventure of a claymation character named Klaymen as he discovers his origins and his purpose in a world made entirely out of clay. When the game was originally released, it was unique in that all of its animation was done entirely in claymation, including all of the sets. The gameplay consists mostly of guiding the main character Klaymen around and solving puzzles to advance. Video sequences help advance the plot. In addition to being unique, The Neverhood aimed at being quirky and humorous, as is evident by the characters, the music, and the plot sequence. The game has garnered a cult following. It received a sequel in 1998, Skullmonkeys, which was a platform game, abandoning the adventure format of the original.
Douglas Richard TenNapel is an American animator, writer, cartoonist, video game designer, and comic book artist whose work has encompassed animated television, video games, and comic books. He is best known for creating Earthworm Jim, a character that spawned a video game series, animated series, and a toy line. He is also the creator of the animated television series Catscratch (2005–2007), which aired on Nickelodeon, and was itself a loose adaptation of TenNapel's comic book limited series Gear.
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Skullmonkeys is a platform video game developed by The Neverhood, Inc. and published by Electronic Arts for PlayStation. It is the sequel to The Neverhood, and rather than being an adventure game, it is a platformer. Players again take control of Klaymen, who this time must defeat a horde of creatures called Skullmonkeys under the command of his old foe Klogg.
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Douglas Michael Langdale is an American screenwriter, producer, film director, actor, and voice director, who mostly works on television cartoons, live action and animated films. He has worked with Disney numerous times, as well as the writing partner of Jorge Gutierrez.
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Earthworm Jim is a series of platform games featuring an earthworm named Jim who wears a robotic suit and battles the forces of evil. The series is noted for its platforming and shooting gameplay, surreal humor, and edgy art style. Four games were released in the series: Earthworm Jim, Earthworm Jim 2, Earthworm Jim 3D, and Earthworm Jim: Menace 2 the Galaxy, with the first game released in 1994. The series had lain dormant for almost a decade before Gameloft remade the original game in HD for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade in 2010. Interplay announced Earthworm Jim 4 in 2008; little to no information surfaced until May 2019 and August 2020, and development was believed cancelled by the rights owners by 2023, as it had never left pre-planning stages.
Earthworm Jim 4 is a proposed video game in the Earthworm Jim series. It was originally announced by Interplay Entertainment in 2008, and referred to by Interplay as "still in development" in May 2011. Later commentary over the next decade from individual developers would contest its development status, until May 2019, when it was announced that the game was being developed for the Intellivision Amico console. Lack of updates in the years following has again lead to the belief that the game is on hold or cancelled.
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Events in 1966 in animation.
Cartoon Medley is a compilation album produced by Kid Rhino and Atlantic Records for Cartoon Network and released on July 6, 1999. First unveiled in early 1999, it serves as a collection of songs from the channel's programs and anthological series, including those from Hanna-Barbera and others like Cow and Chicken and The Powerpuff Girls. In addition to the material, the album also includes six downloadable games and features for the listener. Critically, Cartoon Medley was awarded three out of five stars by AllMusic while "The Powerpuff Girls " was singled out by Billboard's Moira McCormick for being a "breakout" track.
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Shawn Michael Patterson is an American composer and songwriter. He wrote the song "Everything Is Awesome" for the Warner Brothers feature film The Lego Movie (2014).