Greg the Bunny

Excellent but short-lived cancelled series from FOX network, "Greg the Bunny" is hilarious and makes you wonder why it wasn't picked up by the Comedy Channel.

Set in a world where puppets are considered a race, Greg is a rabbit puppet who lives with his human pal, Jimmy (Seth Green) who gets him a job on a kids' TV show where his father (Eugene Levy) is a director. The cast of the TV show includes a prima donna ape puppet, a Count Dracula-like puppet with a speech impediment, as well as other humans and puppets. The main theme is that everyone involved humans and puppets alike, have their own personal problems and quirks.

The show is a riot especially characters like , Warren D'Montague, the thespian ape with a host of vices and the surly Junction Jack who acts like a friendly Mr. Greenjeans before the camera but has a cigarette and a griping attitude as soon as the director yells "cut".

Even though shows like "The Simpsons" have been able to break the boundaries between adult and children's viewing, it's impossible to market a show like this on network TV without pointing toward children. Adults would never go for an adult puppet show. They're much too self-conscious and hypocritical to allow themselves the pleasure. However, be warned: despite it's Sesame Street references, this show is not for kids. There are way too many references to sex, drugs and alcohol, race and violence for this to be geared toward kids. It's obvious why this show was canceled by even the maverick network, FOX. Network TV could never sustain a show this unmarketable. Try to show it to kids and their parents will complain about the adult content. But adults would never give it a chance cuz it visually resembles a kid show. Kind of a Catch-22. This is the type of thing that could have gone farther on cable. Comedy Channel, Spike TV, MTV, even. Check out the DVD. All the filmed eps are there including 2 never aired. Funny stuff! Guest shots by Gary Oldman, Marilu Henner and Corey Feldman.

I loved this show! The funniest characters were the puppets (fabricated Americans) who interacted on the same level as the humans, were just as vain and ridiculous as any other celebrity. They all graduated from Harvard (as they sing in the opening credits) and have started this kids' show.

The humans weren't all that as characters, but the writing was great. In one episode, Greg the Bunny is competing with Jimmy (Seth Green) for the attentions of Laura, a lovely female reporter. Greg imperiously tells Jimmy (as Laura only has eyes for the star of the show), "A vanilla cappuccino. Make that happen!" To which Jimmy bitterly says "Yeah, I could make a lot of things happen to your vanilla cappuccino."

Another favorite line is when someone accuses Count Blah of being a rip-off of Sesame Street's "the Count". "HE is the fake! His accent is fake! I am from Transylvania -- HE is from New Jersey!"

Or when one character laments "This party isn't going to be like that time you all came to my house and cleaned out my liquor cabinet!" and another one says "THAT was an intervention!"

Yeah, boozing puppets -- gotta love it!

Excellent concept, with great writing, a really funny cast, and lines that you just don't expect to come from puppets. This has the potential to be as funny as "That 70's Show" and "Malcolm in the Middle". As long as the scripts are allowed to stay quirky, this show and "Andy Richter" will last.

As I write this, "Greg the Bunny" is a prime candidate for cancellation. What a shame! This is a funny, original show, and I think it would build an audience if Fox gave it a chance.

The characters -- humans and puppets -- are a scream, the concept (that puppets are living, breathing individuals) is totally new, and the humor is both sophisticated and crude. What's not to like?

Fox pulled "Greg" for May sweeps, replacing it with "Bernie Mac" reruns. That can't be a good sign.

I never get attached to shows. I hate sitcoms, and the few shows I like always get canned. I made the mistake of getting attached to this.

When I saw the first episode, I couldn't believe anything that good was on TV. It was actually funny! Yet I knew it wouldn't last. I could see that the mainstream just wasn't ready for Greg the Bunny. After all, how would one prepare for a show full of crazy puppets? The characters are amazing. Eugene Levy, Seth Green, and Sarah Silverman are all very funny. However, the puppets make the show. Count Blah is obviously a take off of the count on Sesame Street. The retarded turtle who graduated from Harvard (he got head of his class), the alcoholic thespian monkey, the washed-up Rochester Rabbit, and several others that I can't think of right now are all hilarious. Junction Jack is certifiable but hilarious. Each episode has a few things that make you laugh out loud. Tardy the Turtle has a non-sequitir one-liner every episode, such as "Nobody's supposed to touch me where my bathing suit covers." The episodes I liked best were the one with the constipated Snuggles bear who screams "somebody kill me!" while on the john and the one where Junction Jack castrates Jimmy's (Seth Green) girlfriend's dog and the episode where Greg gets really involved in "puppet's rights." The DVD has a ton of outtakes and special features and is definitely worth it since this show got canned two years ago.