Spy Groove

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Spy Groove
Spy Groove.jpg
Created byMichael Gans
Richard Register
Kevin Thomsen
Directed by Elliot M. Bour
Saul Andrew Blinkoff
Voices ofMichael Gans
Richard Register
Theme music composerPeter Min
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producerAbby Turkuhle
ProducerVicki Smith
Running time30 minutes
Production company MTV Animation
Original release
Network MTV
ReleaseJune 26, 2000 (2000-06-26) 
July 13, 2002 (2002-07-13)

Spy Groove (also known as SG) is an American adult animated series created by Michael Gans, Richard Register and Kevin Thomsen for MTV. [1] Originally airing for thirteen episodes, it premiered on June 26, 2000 and ended on July 13, 2002. It aired on Teletoon Detour in Canada.

Contents

Spy Groove was created by Michael Gans, Richard Register and Kevin Thomsen, who also wrote and performed the voices for the show. The general plot is about two suave yet cocky secret agents, Agent #1 and Agent #2, and their boss, Helena Troy, who assigned them their missions. [2] Like the tone of MTV's animated programs, Spy Groove is consistently tongue-in-cheek and often employs fast-paced banter between the protagonists. It also features a number of pop songs in some episodes at the time of its broadcast.

Background and artistic style

Co-creators Michael Gans and Richard Register were comedy duo performers before becoming writers and utilized their fast-paced rapport in the show based on their acts. The end credits sequence shows the protagonists (voiced by Gans and Register) chat and bicker together on topics irrelevant to the events of each episode, which was the only use of improvisation from the voice actors.

The "Spy Groove" aesthetic is based on artist Glen Hanson's style, who was the art director and designed the characters and settings. [3] It is basic and shiny, with brilliant colours and dark lines. Because of Hanson's caricature work, many characters are modeled after celebrities including Agent #1 and Agent #2, who were modelled after Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, respectively.

As a homage to classic cartoons, the show practices limited animation, with most of the animation being limited to lip-synching, facial expressions, some movements and action scenes, as characters are often still in most scenes of each episode.

Voice cast and characters

Main characters

Villains

Minor/one-off characters

Episodes

  1. Move Over Miami (Villain: Mr. Fish and Rock Debris)
  2. Ski Cats (Villain: The Contessa)
  3. Virtual Vegas (Villains: Johnny Nevada and Sierra Nevada)
  4. Queen of DeNile (Villain: Champagne Du Jour)
  5. Greek Freaks (Villains: Xerxes twins)
  6. Spanish on the Fly (Villain: Julio Blanco)
  7. Malibooboo (Villain: Connie Lola Andrea LeTete)
  8. Cyberberian Sexpress (Villains: Napoleon Pushkin and Sierra Nevada)
  9. Sneaky Tiki Taboo (Villain: Nick Nack/The Big Bahoner and Rock Debris)
  10. Tokyo Takedown (Villain: Grandmama San's grandson)
  11. Brazilian Brew-Ha-Ha (Villain: Leo Macho Grande)
  12. Snap, Crackle, Popillon (Villain: Marquis De Guy)
  13. Manhattan Glam Chowder (Villain: Mr. Fish and Rock Debris)

Gadgets

The Agents were equipped with high-tech toys disguised as more mundane items. However, keeping with the tone of the series the gadgets often contained various features, functions, and stylish trademarks that often ranged from convenient to the ridiculously useless (at least until the story-line made the item useful). Some examples include:

Villains

The majority of the Spy Groove villains are of the sort found in most secret agent fare. However very few were interested in global domination, but instead obsessed with some little slice of modern culture. For example, a plan to get all top 10 of the most eligible Hollywood bachelors (as defined by Blather magazine) married so that poor #11 would finally get noticed. Or to get every coffee drinker in the world addicted to the villains' own special blend.

Some of the Spy Groove villains include:

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References

  1. Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 585. ISBN   978-1538103739.
  2. Cubillas, Sean (July 3, 2021). "MTV's 10 Best Animated Series". Screen Rant . Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  3. "Glen Hanson on Instagram: "TBT twenty years ago & the animated series I art directed & designed for @mtv called "Spy Groove"! Swipe left to see some of the hand inked original character art I still have! A very talented crew worked really hard on this and it's a shame it only went one Season. . . . . . . #throwbackthursday #spygroove #mtv #mtvanimation #sexyspies #jetsetspies #artdirection #glenhansondesign #handinked #handrawn #originalartwork"". Instagram. Retrieved February 11, 2023.