Cartoons have always been a dominate force in the annals of Prime-Time television, especially in the 90’s when shows like The Simpsons and King of the Hill would pull in big ratings for FOX. In 1998 a new form of cartoon was catching wave and thought to be the next big thing. I’m not talking about Seth MacFarlane, he was still a year away before releasing Family Guy. I’m talking about claymation. You mean like Rudolf and the California Raisins? Yes, exactly like Rudolf and the California Raisins…only a little more adult skewed sprinkled with repetitive plot lines and cheap pops.
UPN banked a lot on this trend picking up. I’ll be the first to admit that I was very excited for their Friday line-up of Gary and Mike, followed by Celebrity Deathmatch. And being totally honest, I enjoy Gary and Mike; the story of two friends traveling across the country on a road trip, accomplishing nothing of importance, and unwittingly destroying hopes, dreams, and personal property.And it featured the voices of Harland Williams and Christopher Moynihan.
The other notable show from this era was The PJs. Created and voiced by Eddie Murphy, this show was meant to be a comical tale of a lower class American family living in the projects. As a big Eddie Murphy fan myself, I think this might mark the start of his downfall into poor choices and bad roles. The show surprisingly last 3 seasons, but near the end Eddie himself backed out prompting an impressionist to take over the voicing duties.