Mr. Pickles

Mr. Pickles
Genre
Created by Will Carsola
Dave Stewart
Written by Will Carsola
Dave Stewart
Sean Conroy
Directed by
  • Will Carsola
  • Animation director
  • Mike L. Mayfield
Voices of
Theme music composer Mark Rivers
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 20 (and 1 pilot) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Will Carsola
  • Dave Stewart
  • Micheal J. Rizzo
  • Mike L. Mayfield
  • Keith Crofford
  • Walter Newman
Producer(s) Micheal J. Rizzo
Eric Binns
Ollie Green
Running time 11 minutes
Production company(s)
Release
Original network Adult Swim
Picture format 1080p (16:9 HDTV)
Audio format Stereo
Original release Pilot:
August 25, 2013 (2013-08-25)
Official:
September 21, 2014 (2014-09-21) – present
External links
Website

Mr. Pickles is an American animated television series created by Will Carsola and Dave Stewart for Adult Swim. The series revolves around the Goodman family, especially their 6-year-old son named Tommy and the family's border collie, the demonic Mr. Pickles. The series was picked up for 10 quarter-hour episodes for its first season, which premiered on the network on September 21, 2014, and ended on November 23, 2014. It was renewed for a second season, which premiered on April 17, 2016, and ended on June 26, 2016.

On July 2, 2016, Adult Swim renewed the series for a third season.[1]

Plot

In the small, old-fashioned world of Old Town, the Goodman family and their innocent 6-year-old son Tommy own a border collie named Mr. Pickles. The two spend their days romping around Old Town, while unbeknownst to Tommy and the family – except for Tommy's grandfather – Mr. Pickles' secret evilness drives him to slip away to kill, mutilate and hump his many victims.

Characters

Main

Secondary

Cast

Additional voices

Production

The series was created by Will Carsola and Dave Stewart – of Funny or Die Presents notability – and executive-produced by Will Carsola, Dave Stewart, and Michael J. Rizzo.[2] The series was one of several shows pitched to Adult Swim, according to the creators, who also operate under the name "Day by Day". Stewart recalled promoting it as a "one-line sentence", while Carsola remembered that it derived from a "write-off" session, where the two present ideas to each other in the form of scribbles for their amusement. Carsola explained that ideas in this process are released from the pressure "of them being good", occasionally finding "one that sticks".[3] They later explained at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con International that the idea was based on Lassie, but has become "more of its own thing since then".[4]

Stewart's own female pet dog served as inspiration for the animators on the character of Mr. Pickles.[4][lower-alpha 1] Animation director Mike L. Mayfield recorded Stewart's dog playing around on video, with animators using the resulting footage as a basis for the character's movements;[5] the series is animated using Adobe Flash.[6][lower-alpha 2] Its setting is roughly based on Richmond, Virginia, where the creators started out in entertainment before moving to Los Angeles.[3] The creators are given creative freedom by the network, with Stewart explaining the notes received by them as "minimal", much to their surprise.[3] The creators observed some inconsistencies as to what is considered unacceptable, but try not to question it and compromise instead.[4]

Elaborating on its 11-minute running time, Carsola described it as a 22-minute show "squished" into a quarter-hour.[8] Among the voices for the characters include Brooke Shields,[3] Frank Collison, Jay Johnston and Carsola and Stewart themselves.[2] Shields' role in the series came after looking at the creator's work for Funny or Die and obtaining the script for Mr. Pickles. According to Carsola, the two were dubious over her interest in the series, but after being cast she provided lines in a recording booth in New York City while the creators supervised over Skype.[3]

Episodes

Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
Pilot 1 August 25, 2013
1 10 September 21, 2014 November 23, 2014
2 10 April 17, 2016 June 26, 2016

Pilot (2013)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date
11"Pilot"Will CarsolaWill Carsola & Dave StewartAugust 25, 2013
Tommy and Mr. Pickles join the Scouts to find the Great Outdoors and the DonkeyBird, while Grandpa tries to prove that Mr. Pickles is responsible for an exotic dancer's death.

Season 1 (2014)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)
21"Tommy's Big Job"Will CarsolaWill Carsola, Dave Stewart & Sean ConroySeptember 21, 20141021.43
Tommy sets out for a job when he falls for a young farmer girl.
32"Father's Day Pie"Will CarsolaWill Carsola, Dave Stewart & Sean ConroySeptember 28, 20141011.70
Tommy hunts for the missing Father's Day pie, but encounters Bigfoot instead who is actually a man named Vito Pizzarelli who is in this form as part of a witness protection program.
43"Foul Ball"Will CarsolaWill Carsola, Dave Stewart & Sean ConroyOctober 5, 20141041.47
The Goodmans go to a baseball game and Tommy hopes to catch a highly sought after, record-breaking foul ball.
54"The Cheeseman"Will CarsolaWill Carsola, Dave Stewart & Sean ConroyOctober 12, 20141071.64
The Goodmans go on a family camping trip and Tommy learns the frightening legend of The Cheeseman.
65"Dead Man's Curve"Will CarsolaWill Carsola, Dave Stewart & Sean ConroyOctober 19, 20141051.39
Tommy enters the soapbox derby and Grandpa finds Mr. Pickles' biggest fear.
76"Loose Tooth"Will CarsolaWill Carsola, Dave Stewart & Sean ConroyOctober 26, 20141061.27
Tommy sets out with Mr. Pickles to lose his tooth so he can meet the Tooth fairy. Meanwhile, the Sheriff searches for a group of wanted pedophiles.
87"Grandpa's Night Out"Will CarsolaWill Carsola, Dave Stewart & Sean ConroyNovember 2, 2014TBA1.23
After a night of heavy drinking, Grandpa awakes married to Crazy Linda and resorts to drastic measures to end the marriage. Meanwhile, Tommy seeks advice from the local town mutants to learn how to be himself.
98"Coma"Will CarsolaWill Carsola, Dave Stewart & Sean ConroyNovember 9, 2014TBA1.17
Mr. Goodman falls into a coma and dreams of a world where he and Mr. Pickles have switched places.
109"Where is Mr. Pickles?"Will CarsolaWill Carsola, Dave Stewart & Sean ConroyNovember 16, 2014TBA1.21
A disgruntled farmer hires mercenaries to capture and kill Mr. Pickles, and Tommy seeks help from the sheriff when he goes missing. Meanwhile, the Goodmans enjoy Floyd's hospitality where Mr. Goodman is shocked by Floyd's successful lifestyle.
1110"The Lair"Will CarsolaWill Carsola, Dave Stewart & Sean ConroyNovember 23, 2014TBA1.33
Grandpa wants to learn what actually goes on inside Mr. Pickles' doghouse to prove that he has not gone crazy, and gets more than he bargained for.

Season 2 (2016)

No.
overall
No. in
season
TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
U.S. viewers
(millions)
121"Mental Asylum"Will CarsolaWill Carsola, Dave Stewart & Sean ConroyApril 17, 20162010.93[9]
In the second season premiere, Mr. Pickles poses as the town's mayor and tries to bust Grandpa out of the asylum (since he landed there following the first season finale).
132"Cops and Robbers"Will CarsolaWill Carsola, Dave Stewart & Sean ConroyApril 24, 20162021.10[10]
Tommy gets caught in a big crime when he mistakes a midget for a child his own age.
143"Serial Killers"Will CarsolaWill Carsola, Dave Stewart & Sean ConroyMay 1, 20162031.020[11]
A prison bus full of serial killers are loose in Old Town, and Mr. Pickles is recruited as a K-9 cop.
154"Shövenpucker"Will CarsolaWill Carsola, Dave Stewart & Sean ConroyMay 8, 20162040.968[12]
With a metal thief loose in Old Town, Tommy and Mr. Pickles seek the help of an old superhero with a strange addiction.
165"Fish?"Will CarsolaWill Carsola, Dave Stewart & Sean ConroyMay 15, 20162050.942[13]
When a suspicious woman in town takes a romantic interest in Sheriff, Mr. Bojenkins sets out to reveal her true intentions.
176"A.D.D."Will CarsolaWill Carsola, Dave Stewart & Sean ConroyMay 22, 20162061.067[14]
What was once a Mr. Pickles episode, turns into a episode of Astronaut Dolphin Detective. And in this standalone episode within an episode, Astronaut Dolphin Detective must stop an evil space shrimp from using it's chainsaw spaceship to cut the Sun in half.
187"My Dear Boy"Will CarsolaWill Carsola, Dave Stewart & Sean ConroyMay 29, 20162071.010[15]
Tommy needs to learn responsibility and has to watch over Vito Pizzarelli's (Bigfoot) deer boy, a half-deer half-boy animal, and has trouble trying to get him under control.
198"Vegans"Will CarsolaWill Carsola, Dave Stewart & Sean ConroyJune 5, 20162080.771[16]
Beverly is invited to join a group of Vegans at the Vegan Headquarters without the intentions of how to be a true Vegan.
209"Talent Show"Will CarsolaWill Carsola, Dave Stewart & Sean ConroyJune 19, 20162090.998[17]
When Tommy tries to write jokes for the Old Town talent show, he crosses paths with a mysterious woman who has a face on her butt.
2110"Season 2 Finale"Will CarsolaWill Carsola, Dave Stewart & Sean ConroyJune 26, 20162100.930[18]
In the season finale, Grandpa finds an ancient and mysterious coin that he thinks has something to do with Mr. Pickles. But the season ends with an unanswered cliffhanger when Grandpa finds the truth about Pickles' pet gimp, Steve.

Season 3 (2017)

On July 2, 2016, Adult Swim renewed the series for a third season.[19] According with Adult Swim, the third season would resolve the cliffhanger presented at the end of "Season 2 Finale".[20]

Broadcast and reception

The series was picked up for ten quarter-hour episodes for its first season,[21] premiering on the network on September 21, 2014 following the ninth season premiere of Squidbillies.[2] In July 2013, the pilot episode was released online as part of a presentation of in-development shows for the network, partnered with KFC; viewers could vote for their favorite pilot, with the winner being broadcast on August 26, 2013.[22][23] The series lost to Übermansion, a Stoopid Buddy Stoodios production, although the presentation as a whole won an Internet Advertising Campaign Award in 2014 for "Best TV Integrated Ad Campaign".[24][25] The pilot was later published on the network's website on January 23, 2014,[26] and on YouTube on March 10 of the same year, becoming viral with over 700,000 views after roughly a month later.[3] A second season was mentioned at the 2014 Comic-Con.[4]

Reception for Mr. Pickles has been polarized. Writing for Strange Kids Club, Mat Spitkovsky stated the series' extreme content matter left him at a loss for words as well as confused. Afterwards, he found it lacking in "class, creativity and goddammit, originality" in the vein of Superjail!, although its "brazen approach at crass offense ... all in good fun" was "kind of cool."[27] Aaron Simpson of Cold Hard Flash called the series an amalgamation of Lassie and Superjail!, while observing some social commentary "to ensure this is more than just a multi-episodic sketch."[6] Mike Hale of The New York Times labeled it "the less tasteful but more mainstream" counterpart to Tim & Eric's Bedtime Stories, another addition to the network.[28] He wrote that the show was "more grisly than funny," but predicted it to have a cult following and that Shields' voice would add "surreal-pop-culture cachet".[28]

In Australia, the series premiered on August 3, 2015 on The Comedy Channel.[29]

References

Informational notes

  1. Stewart mentioned that she was an Australian Cattle Dog.[5] He also pointed out similarities between her and the main character, and jokingly called her "Ms. Pickles".[4]
  2. Cold Hard Flash is an entertainment and news website dedicated to media produced with Adobe Flash, founded by Aaron Simpson.[7]

Citations

  1. https://premieredate.tv/tv-series/3225-mr-pickles-release-date.html
  2. 1 2 3 Milligan, Mercedes (July 30, 2014). "Adult Swim Premiering Mr. Pickles September 21". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kutner, Brad (April 1, 2014). "RVA Born Day by Day Premieres the Terrifying Mr. Pickles on Adult Swim, Brooke Shields Lends Voice". RVA Magazine. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Begley, Jim (August 17, 2014). "SDCC – Adult Swim's Mr. Pickles Is the Touching Story of a Boy and His Evil Dog". Spinoff Online. Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on August 18, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2014.
  5. 1 2 Zargari, Shahab; Brunty, Ryan; Davis, Ryan (July 28, 2013). "SDCC 2013 Press Roundtable Interview Series: Mr. Pickles, King Star King, and Superjail!". Verbicide. Scissor Press. See video; 0:20–0:25, 6:00–6:50. Archived from the original on May 26, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  6. 1 2 Simpson, Aaron (March 24, 2014). "Adult Swim's Mr. Pickles Pilot". Cold Hard Flash. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  7. Simpson, Aaron (February 25, 2013). "About Cold Hard Flash". Cold Hard Flash. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  8. Zargari, Brunty & Davis 2013, 6:45–6:55.
  9. Rick Porter (April 19, 2016). "Sunday cable ratings: 'Fear the Walking Dead' falls but stays on top". Tvbythenumbers. Retrieved 2016-04-19.
  10. Rick Porter (April 26, 2016). "Sunday cable ratings: 'Game of Thrones' opens slightly lower, still dominant". Tvbythenumbers. Retrieved 2016-04-26.
  11. Rick Porter (May 3, 2016). "Sunday cable ratings: 'Game of Thrones' slips, 'Kardashians' premiere steady". Tvbythenumbers. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
  12. Rick Porter (May 10, 2016). "Sunday cable ratings: 'Game of Thrones' (very) steady with episode 3". Tvbythenumbers. Retrieved 2016-05-11.
  13. Rick Porter (May 17, 2016). "Sunday cable ratings: 'Game of Thrones' rises, 'Fear the Walking Dead' falls". Tvbythenumbers. Retrieved 2016-05-17.
  14. Rick Porter (May 24, 2016). "Sunday cable ratings: 'Preacher' has decent debut, 'Game of Thrones' ties season high". Tvbythenumbers. Retrieved 2016-05-24.
  15. Rick Porter (June 1, 2016). "Sunday cable ratings: 'Game of Thrones' hits season low on Memorial Day weekend". Tvbythenumbers. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
  16. Rick Porter (June 7, 2016). "Sunday cable ratings: 'Game of Thrones' back to usual numbers, 'Preacher' holds up". Tvbythenumbers. Retrieved 2016-06-07.
  17. Rick Porter (June 21, 2016). "Sunday cable ratings: 'Game of Thrones' holds up opposite NBA Finals". Tvbythenumbers. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
  18. Rick Porter (June 28, 2016). "Sunday cable ratings: 'Game of Thrones' scores series high with Season 6 finale". Tvbythenumbers. Retrieved 2016-08-22.
  19. https://premieredate.tv/tv-series/3225-mr-pickles-release-date.html
  20. https://premieredate.tv/tv-series/3225-mr-pickles-release-date.html
  21. Zargari, Brunty & Davis 2013, 7:10–7:20.
  22. "'Like a Slap to Your Taste Buds': KFC Gives Bite-Sized Chicken a Hot and Spicy Kick". KFC. July 23, 2013. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  23. "Adult Swim Pilots Mr. Pickles". Adult Swim. Turner Broadcasting System. July 2013. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
  24. "Adult Swim Pilots". Adult Swim. Turner Broadcasting System. July 2013. Archived from the original on May 26, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  25. "Adult Swim & KFC Wins 2014 Best TV Integrated Ad Campaign Internet Advertising Award for Adult Swim Pilots". Internet Advertising Competition. The Web Marketing Association. April 8, 2014. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  26. "Mr. Pickles". Adult Swim. Turner Broadcasting System. January 23, 2014. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  27. Spitkovsky, Mat (April 15, 2014). "Adult Swim Seeks New Levels of Depravity in Mr. Pickles Pilot". Strange Kids Club. Archived from the original on August 1, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
  28. 1 2 Hale, Mike (September 18, 2014). "A Devil Dog Tears into People, and Other Tales". New York Times. The New York Times Company. p. C3. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
  29. Purcell, Charles (July 30, 2015). "New this week (Aug 3): Rogue, Jonathan Strange, Bitten, 7 Days in Hell and live sport". The Green Room. Archived from the original on July 30, 2015. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
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