MarketDoug (TV series)
Company Profile

Doug (TV series)

Doug is an American animated sitcom created by Jim Jinkins and produced by Jumbo Pictures. It originally aired on Nickelodeon from August 11, 1991, to January 2, 1994, and on ABC from September 7, 1996, to June 26, 1999. The show focuses on the early adolescent life and zany hijinks of its title character, Doug Funnie, who experiences common predicaments while attending school in his new hometown of Bluffington. Doug narrates each story in his journal, and the show incorporates many imagination sequences. The series addresses numerous topics, including trying to fit in, platonic and romantic relationships, self-esteem, bullying, and rumors. Many episodes center on Doug's attempts to impress his classmate and crush, Patti Mayonnaise.

Premise
The series revolves around Douglas "Doug" Funnie, an 11 (later 12)-year-old boy who wants to be another face in the crowd, but by possessing a vivid imagination and a strong sense of right and wrong, he is more likely to stand out. ==Episodes==
Characters
Beyond the title character, Doug features a large ensemble cast of characters. Many of the series' ancillary characters, among them Ms. Wingo and Mr. Spitz, are based on authority figures from Jinkins' childhood. • Porkchop (voiced by Fred Newman): Doug's anthropomorphic pet Bull Terrier who is one of Doug's sidekicks and accompanies him nearly everywhere he goes. He sometimes assists Doug in making decisions and acts as his conscience. Porkchop is very talented in many things such as acting. He lives in an igloo-shaped doghouse in the Nickelodeon series, and a tipi in the Disney series. During a Christmas special, it is shown that Doug got Porkchop as a Christmas gift and that Porkchop once saved Beebe Bluff's life when she was about to fall through some thin ice. Porkchop, along with Doug, originally first appeared in ID spots for the USA Network children's block, USA Cartoon Express. • Mosquito "Skeeter" Valentine (voiced by Fred Newman): Skeeter is Doug's blue-skinned best friend. He is a normal boy who is more sociable than Doug, though he occasionally makes honking noises. Skeeter and his family have lived in Bluffington for some time, so he helps Doug acclimate to Bluffington. For example, Skeeter helps Doug order food at the popular Bluffington restaurant Honker Burger in the series premiere (resulting in their friendship). The character was based on Jinkins' high school best friend, Tommy Roberts. • Roger M. Klotz (voiced by Billy West in the Nickelodeon seasons, Chris Phillips in the Disney seasons): Roger is Doug's green-skinned nemesis, and a school bully. However, he is not prominently shown as an actual bully, instead having mischievous tendencies, playing practical jokes on characters. He is older than others in his class, as it took him three years to graduate from sixth grade. Roger has a crush on Doug's sister Judy and in certain episodes tries to woo her. Roger and his divorced mother lived in a trailer park in the Nickelodeon series; in the Disney series, Roger's family becomes wealthy from a real-estate deal struck between the owner of the trailer park and the Bluff family. Roger was inspired from a bully who lived in the same neighborhood as Jinkins. He adopted the bully's neighbors' last name, Klotz, for the character. • Beebe Bluff (voiced by Alice Playten): The heiress to the Bluff family fortune. Beebe is the daughter of Bill Bluff, the richest man in the town and a friend of Mayor White. The Bluff family is the namesake of the town of Bluffington, and in the second series, the school is even named after Beebe. Despite a certain air of superiority over her peers, Beebe maintains friendships with Patti Mayonnaise and most of her other contemporaries. Doug had his first kiss with her in the episode "Doug's Secret Admirer", although it was out of gratitude rather than love, since she already has a crush on Skeeter. Beebe was Alice Playten's final animated role before her death in 2011. • Judith "Judy" Anastasia Funnie (voiced by Becca Lish): Judy Funnie is Doug's older sister. Judy is very intelligent and especially dramatic. Unsurprisingly, she attends the Moody School, a school for artistically talented teenagers. Judy often gives or directs performances at Bluffington Elementary, which Doug initially dreads out of fear that Judy will embarrass him (as she has done in the past). Judy is usually seen wearing only purple and black, and rarely takes off her beret or her sunglasses. She has a very strong beatnik personality. Her actress, Becca Lish, also voices Doug's mother, Theda Funnie, his friend Connie Benge, bass player Wendy Nespah of Doug's favorite band The Beets, the hairdresser Fluke and many other characters. • Chalky Studebaker (voiced by Doug Preis): Chalky is considerably the most athletic of Doug's main circle of friends, and he is an excellent student. He wants to follow the footsteps of his older brother, Cliff. • Connie Benge (voiced by Becca Lish): A naive schoolgirl who is best friends with Patti and Beebe, and also one of Doug's friends. She had a small crush on Doug in the Nickelodeon series. Although she was rather heavy-set in the first series, she lost weight between the two series and received a new wardrobe and hairstyle after going to a beauty camp for the summer, making her look quite different in either show. In certain episodes of the first series, the color schemes for Connie's hair and skin are switched, giving her lime green hair and violet skin instead of indigo hair and pale green skin. • Al and Moo Sleech (voiced by Eddie Korbich): Nerdy twin brothers and two of Doug's best friends. Doug looks to them for technical help whenever he needs it. They tend to speak to each other using their own "twin language" using numbers for various words and phrases. In the Disney series, they skip all of the middle school grades and enter high school, but they maintain their relationships with Doug and others. They are each shown to have a crush on Judy. The two try to hide the fact that their father is not as intelligent as they are and is a hardworking doughnut baker. • Mr. Bud Dink (voiced by Fred Newman): A slightly odd, purple-skinned, dimwitted, retiree who lives next door to the Funnies with his wife and foil, Tippy (voiced by Doris Belack). Doug frequently approaches Mr. Dink for advice, but sometimes it is useless. He and his wife's last name comes from an acronym: Dual Income, No Kids, which supports Mr. Dink's spending on various things he claims as "very expensive". In later Nickelodeon episodes, Mrs. Dink becomes mayor of Bluffington, a role she continues in the Disney version. ==Production==
Production
Development based the series on his hometown of Richmond, Virginia. Doug was created by animator Jim Jinkins. He was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1953, and grew up fascinated by drawing. He went on to animation and filmmaking at Ohio State University, and upon graduation, got a job working at PBS in their children's programming unit. Jinkins first sketched the character of Doug while doodling without thought, not aiming to create a character based on himself. The long contract development took nearly a year to complete. Jinkins made sure that his contract allowed him to take the series to another network if Nickelodeon did not complete the show's order. Writing and design Jinkins characterized the series as not entirely autobiographical, but emotionally accurate to his childhood experiences. Each character in the series was based on people from Jinkins' life, with some exaggerations. Prior to the show's premiere, Jinkins sent messages to each subject of inspiration, notifying them of their inclusion. The show's design was labor-intensive, intended to convey a certain logic to the show's universe. In the show's pitch bible, which Jinkins described as "huge", contain floor plans for each main character's homes, as well as maps of each street. The designs were inspired by Jinkins' period working for R. O. Blechman at the Ink Tank, incorporating Blechman's nervous line quality. In writing the series, the production schedule was built around spending several weeks writing the series' scripts. Jinkins asked each writer to place a central theme at the top of each script — a problem Doug deals with in life, and the lesson he learns from it. Newman deliberately attempted to deviate from the standard of compositions for animated cartoons, which traditionally followed the style of Carl Stalling's work, with the frantic pacing being ill-suited for the show's slower pace. Jinkins argues that he worked hard to keep West on the series, claiming that the deal the company offered him was breaking their budget. Several original staff members of Doug have openly regarded the Disney run as inferior to the Nickelodeon run. Jinkins was less hands-on regarding the production of the show's Disney episodes due to other responsibilities. "I mostly agree with Doug fans who think the original 104 eleven-minute Doug stories made for Nick were the best", Jinkins later said. David Campbell felt the Nickelodeon episodes were "quirkier" and better, while Constance Shulman, Patti Mayonnaise's voice actress, felt voice recording sessions were not the same in the show's newer incarnation: "I missed all the gang crammed in the studio, waiting for their turn for the big group scene. Someone just dimmed the magic a bit." Another factor in Doug going to Disney might have been Nickelodeon's high expectations for the series not being met, something that has been acknowledged by Jinkins as well as Ren & Stimpy creator John Kricfalusi. Doug and Porkchop appear on a billboard in the ''Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers'' movie, released on Disney+ in May 2022. In 2023, Jinkins revealed concept art he had drawn for a potential revival titled Doug Kids that would focus on the children of Doug and his friends. However, the idea was passed over by Disney executives. ==Themes==
Themes
The series covers topics related to coming of age. After the series' completion, much of the online debate ensued over the race of Doug's best friend, Skeeter, who some viewers felt exhibited traits stereotypical of African Americans, and who subsequently drew conclusions that the character was intended to be African American. Jinkins did not envision this discourse on the series' colors. When creating the show, he came across his 200 design markers and employed an array of bright, wild colors for the characters. Jinkins later told The Huffington Post in 2014 that the series' colors "came to symbolize the irrelevance of race." ==Release==
Release
Home media Sony Wonder released a series of Doug videos of the Nickelodeon episodes between 1993 and 1996. Walt Disney Home Video released four videos of the Disney episodes in 1997; each collection featured two episodes. Paramount Home Entertainment and Amazon teamed up to release Doug and other Nick shows on manufacture-on-demand DVD-R discs available exclusively through Amazon's CreateSpace arm. Seasons 3 and 4 of Doug were released on DVD on December 8, 2009, and December 22, 2009, respectively. Season 4 was supposed to be released as a complete season, but Nickelodeon was unable to secure the rights of two episodes from the season and opted to rename the DVD release Doug: The Best of Season 4. Doug: The Complete Nickelodeon Series was released on June 26, 2014. Streaming Currently, all of the original run episodes, including the two that are missing from the season 4 DVD since its Paramount+ removal in December 2024, are available from video on demand services such as iTunes Store, PlayStation Network, and Amazon Prime Video, while the Disney run episodes and ''Doug's 1st Movie'' are on Disney+. Broadcast Reruns of the Nickelodeon series aired on Noggin until 2002, Nicktoons until 2007, and on TeenNick's NickRewind block from 2011 to 2021. Reruns also air on Pluto TV's "90s Kids" channel as of October 2023. The Disney series aired reruns on UPN’s Disney's One Too until 2000, Disney Channel until 2002, and on Toon Disney until 2004. ==Reception==
Reception
The series premiered alongside Rugrats and The Ren & Stimpy Show on August 11, 1991, being scheduled first among the three series. The show was not as immediately popular as its counterparts, Ratings The new Nicktoons block on Nickelodeon raised the network's ratings instantly. Doug constantly achieved over 2.0 in the network's most desirable demographics. The Disney episodes later reran in broadcast syndication and on the Disney's One Too block on UPN. Awards and nominations Doug received numerous domestic and international awards and nominations. It won two Parents' Choice Awards, two Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, and was nominated for three CableACE Awards and four Daytime Emmy Awards. It was also nominated for the Prix Jeunesse International Award. ==Other media==
Other media
Stage show On March 15, 1999, Disney premiered a new musical stage show, Doug Live!, at Disney's Hollywood Studios (at the time known as Disney-MGM Studios) at the Walt Disney World Resort. The show ran until May 12, 2001. Film A theatrical feature-length film, ''Doug's 1st Movie'', was released on March 26, 1999, before production on the television show ceased. During this time, meet-and-greet costumed versions of Doug and Patti were seen in Walt Disney World. It was received negatively by both critics and fans. Video game A video game developed by ImaginEngine for Game Boy Color was released by NewKidCo and Disney Interactive in 2000, titled ''Doug's Big Game''. Comics While Doug had never received his own self-titled print media outside of books that retold events of the TV series' episodes, comics that entailed original stories were published in the magazine Disney Adventures, from Volume 7 #5 in February 1997, to Volume 12 #1 in February 2002. To date, the one-page comic "Neckerchief Grief" is the last official material that features Doug in any major capacity. == See also ==
tickerdossier.comtickerdossier.substack.com