Pinky, Elmyra & the Brain

I know, I borrowed a little from Roger Ebert there, but that's just about the only way I can sum up my feelings about "Pinky, Elmyra, and the Brain" [shudder]. Oh, my gosh! How could they just go on and change such a wonderful show?? I only rarely found Elmyra all that funny myself (in fact, I find her kind of annoying), and it was really a kick in the pants to discover that she would be put together with Pinky and the Brain. That just spelled trouble right there. "Pinky and the Brain" was right up there with "Animaniacs" as my favorite cartoon. After their change of setting, though, Pinky's "narfs" and "poits" were never the same again. Mercifully, the show was soon put out of its misery, but it just signaled the end of Pinky and the Brain, the two funniest megalomaniacal lab mice ever on TV.

I love Animaniacs, I love Pinky and the Brain but I hate Pinky, Elmyra and the Brain. Sorry, I just don't like it. For me the only redeeming qualities are Pinky, Brain and the voice acting of Rob Paulson and Maurice LeMarche, merely because I find Pinky adorable and Brain funny in a deadpan sort of way. Other than that, it doesn't work, some of the earlier episodes have one or two laughs, but that is it. Personally I thought the animation was somewhat sub par here, Pinky and Brain don't look the same, and some the backgrounds are static sometimes. Secondly, the character of Elmyra is incredibly obnoxious, she was fine in Tiny Toons, but pairing her with Pinky and the Brain is like pairing a deer and a tiger, it doesn't work, plus the way she is written here makes her increasingly annoying as her role expanded throughout the show's run. Also, Cree Summer has done so much better work before, she is a great voice actress but she doesn't seem suited to the character of Elmyra at all. Even worse than Elmyra was the writing, some of it was very childish, clichéd and predictable, same with the story lines, and the music was forgettable and annoying. The show's concept didn't bode with me either, taking it out of the lab and still incorporating those iconic catchphrases that would only work if it was still in the lab, it had the same effect of Romeo and Juliet being completely updated yet the archaic language stayed the same. What I am saying is that the use of "narf" and "poit" didn't work in a new setting. Overall, I dislike this show, stick with Pinky and the Brain, which oozes with intelligence and smart writing, everything this tried to accomplish and failed. 2/10 Bethany Cox

This is a perfect example of a series that long outlived its usefulness. I loved Pinky and the Brain and watched the show almost religiously, but when some dunderhead at the WB decided to pair these mice with Elmyra, I was horrified. There was absolutely no reason to take them away from Acme Labs except that the show had just run out of ideas. This was an example of the expression "jumping the shark"--it was obvious it was all downhill for the show from then until its cancellation--and with crappy episodes without the original formula, it wasn't long before the show breathed its last. Frankly, I just found it embarrassing to watch towards the end. My recommendation is never watch this incarnation of the show and use massive amounts of denial. Convince yourselves and others it never occurred---the ONLY shows that ever existed were Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain. They NEVER paired the mice with Elmyra--no, never!!

Okay, this show only lasted 2 seasons. The first one was pretty funny. The second one was just plain stupid. The WB had done what they had always mocked, the dumbing down of kids shows. Having those annoying songs in the second season, Pinky falling in love with a pig, and Elmyra's role getting increasingly bigger in each episode made the whole thing bomb. However, "The Man From Washington", and "The Ravin" was worth a laugh or two. Still, don't waste your time watching the other shows.

I thought the original Pinky & the Brain series was excellent, but this spin off was pretty bad. Pinky and Brain were still funny, but everything else wasn't. For those that don't know, Elmyra was from Tiny Toons. Her character worked there, but in this show she was really just annoying. This show lacked a lot of the humor it's predecessor had. This show lasted only one season.