Glenn Martin, DDS is a stop-motion-animated television series that premiered on Nick at Nite on August 17, 2009 and is rated TV-PG. Some episodes are rated TV-14, because the show is directed toward a teen and adult audience. The series is produced by Tornante Animation in association with Cuppa Coffee Studio. The show has recently begun airing during the day.

The network initially imposed a laugh track on the show, but removed it by episode 8, because "it gave the show too much internal thinking", according to the creators.

[edit] Overview

After burning down his house, Glenn takes his family — wife Jackie, hormone-addled 13-year-old Conor, power suit-wearing 11-year-old Courtney, Courtney’s overachieving assistant Wendy, and Canine, the family dog — on a cross-country road trip to tighten the family bond. Unfortunately for Glenn, he has no traveling experience.

The show has a 1970s sensibility including the design of the Winnebago which is driven around the country.^[1] It was reportedly inspired by the 1971 ABC made-for-TV movie In Search of America that starred Jeff Bridges as a college dropout who drove a Winnebago around the country with his family.^[2]

Former Disney chief executive Michael Eisner, who has put his own money into the project, pitched it to Nick at Nite rather than ABC. Eisner was quoted as saying the decision was based on Nick at Nite's record of nurturing shows.^[2]

Due to successful ratings, it was recently announced that Glenn Martin, DDS was renewed for a second season.

[edit] Characters

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2009)

• Glenn Martin is an optimistic traveling dentist who dreams of becoming closer with his family.
• Jackie Martin is a mother of two and a wife. She is upbeat and level-headed.
• Conor Martin is the 13 year-old son of the Martins. He is going through puberty and has extreme hormones; he also tends to be the subject of pratfalls due to his clumsiness and thinks about RVs most of the time. There is evidence that Wendy and Conor have feelings for each other.
• Courtney Martin; she can adapt to any habitat, if turning it into a money-making habitat. She is competitive, outspoken and boastful. Despite of this, she can be very loyal. Her catchphrase is "This stinks!"
• Wendy Park (real name Bon Wa Foa) is Courtney's mail order assistant/employee. Wendy is generaly a sweet and friendly girl, who is very mature. The wire frame model used for Wendy is the same used for James in the 1996 classic, James and the Giant Peach. She appears to be Korean. There is evidence that she has feelings for Conor, and Conor having feelings for Wendy. Her parents are never seen. Her mom is seen for a few seconds in Korean Oppeartunites before being bagged and maybe killed by ninjas, so it is presumed that she may be orphaned and therefore lives with the Martins.
• Canine is the Martins' dog

[edit] Minor Characters

• Heckakaiah is the Amish dentist who appeared in "Amish Anguish."
• Spinster Strubrah is the Amish 16-year-old who comes close to marrying Conor in "Amish Anguish."
• Sex-In-The-City Amish Ladies are the two Amish woman and a horse that Jackie befriend in "Amish Anguish."
• The Circus was the rather antagonistic leader of the Circus in "The Grossest Show On Earth."
• The He-She was the male and female combination circus freak that appears to hate each other in "The Grossest Show On Earth."
• Circus Freaks are the shows at the Circus including the Man-Like Lady, the Clown, and others in "The Grossest Show On Earth."
• Star Finder A pacifist vegan who becomes friends with the Martin's in "A Bromantic Getaway"
• Rick Montana A hippocratic delinquent who built an underground lair so he could use the other villagers' good intentions. He tries to take Glenn's house insurance money in "A Bromantic Getaway" by getting close to him... "so close that it's just short of being extremely gay", as described by Wendy.
• Vito Renzuli A mafia don who becomes Glenn's business partner in "We've Created A Mobster", but he died when an unfortunate chain of events caused the COPA to explode. He acts like the stereotypical Italian gangster and is an obvious parody of Mafia don Vito Corleone from The Godfather. He loves Glenn's big head saying it's like a seedless watermelon or like Easter Island
• Joey Heath Nut A hit man that worked for Vito in "We've Created A Mobster", but he died in the COPA explosion.
• Bobby Panache A stylish hipster who has a patented brand of snarkasm.
• Penny Panache The new wife of Bobby that only appears in her new car where Bobby hops in and leaves. Bobby calls her his special friend.
• Dora An old lady who is hard of hearing in "From Here To Fraternity."
• Mr. Chou Wendy's old gymnastic teacher who appears in the episode "Korean Opportunities". He said that since Wendy used too much dynamite and blew off his arm replaced with a laboratory baby arm. He also reveals that Wendy's real name is Bon Wa Foa.He is very mean before Wendy leaves North Korea
• Bean Fiend A G.P.S. that Glenn buys that tries to kill Jackie in "Fatal Direction". At the end it is reavealed she is a beautiful blonde hair woman.
• Erasmus is a crotchety general store owner hellbent on killing a werewolf in "Halloween."
• Renee a homosexual pageant judge from the episode "Little Miss Backstabber".

[edit] Cast

• Kevin Nealon as Glenn Martin
• Catherine O'Hara as Jackie Martin
• Peter Oldring as Conor Martin
• Jackie Clarke as Courtney Martin
• Judy Greer as Wendy Park

[edit] Writers

• Aron Abrams & Greg Thompson
• Alex Berger
• Bryan Behar & Steve Baldikoski
• James Bearden Cook Jr.
• Sivert Glarum & Michael Jamin
• Laura Gutin
• Jennifer Joyce
• Pavs (Adam Pava)
• Robin Shorr

Sivert Glarum & Michael Jamin are the show's head writers

[edit] Episodes

[edit] Critical reception

Glenn Martin, DDS has received unfavorable reviews from critics, garnering a 48/100 ^[3] from Metacritic based on 9 reviews after the series premiere. Part of the criticism was leveled at the overuse of laugh tracks (which was permanently removed a month after the show's premiere.) Mike Hale of the New York Times said, "Glenn Martin, DDS is pretty much laugh-free (though it does have a laugh track)."^[4]

The Hollywood Reporter said, "But ignore the stilted jokes, the limp characterization, the complete lack of "re-imagining" of anything. Just understand this: "Martin" is an animated show with a laugh track. Imagination comes in handy, though, in trying to figure out how someone approved this concept, labored on this and then let it free into the world."^[5]

Variety said, "Despite the contributions of Eric Fogel (MTV's "Celebrity Deathmatch"), "Glen Martin" isn't as bad as visiting the dentist, but isn't much better than sitting in the waiting room. It sucks and will likely be cancelled soon, making more room for more classic sitcoms, such as Malcolm in the Middle, which it has pre-empted on Mondays. Positioned as a spoof of classic sitcoms, "Glenn Martin" gets off to a bad start by incorporating a laugh track, which only highlights some of the deficiencies in the writing."^[6]

The Los Angeles Times wrote, "Still, except for the dog's hindquarters, I like the look of it. (Eric Fogel of MTV's "Celebrity Deathmatch" oversees the animation.) Press materials indicate that the Martins will be visiting Las Vegas, Yellowstone, the Mall of America and Hollywood in future adventures, and as a fan of the form, I'm interested to see what the animators make of them."^[7]

New York Daily News writer David Hinkley gave the show 4 out of 5 Stars, calling it "satire with biting wit." ^[8]

The Boston Globe called it "cute, giggle-worthy, and only a smidgen dangerous."^[9]

The website shakefire.com gave the show an A-, saying "If the show can carry on with this combination of intelligent and not so intelligent humor I can see it lasting for a very long time."^[10]

In November 2009, controversy began after a Florida mother was outraged at the series airing at 8:00PM with SpongeBob airing before it, as her 11 year old child had seen it and was appalled by the adult humor in it. ^[11]

[edit] References

MandM.com

[edit] External links

• Nick at Nite's official site
• Glenn Martin, DDS at the Internet Movie Database