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.

Greg the Bunny is an old fashioned ensemble cast TV series that tickles the funny bone. Everyone who watches the series will immediately have a favorite character (mine is the delightfully slow turtle, Tardy). The show had (I use the past tense since this show was never given a shot to find an audience before FOX pulled the plug on it.) an interesting mix of likable (Greg, Jimmy and of course Tardy), misunderstood (Gil and Alison) and just downright strange (Count Blah and most of the fabricated Americans--puppets.) There are a few other human characters who get their time in the stoplight as well. What FOX screwed up was the irreverent nature of the show. Seeing shows like 'Arrested Development' and 'Malcolm in the Middle' on FOX that are boarder line tasteless at times, makes me wonder why they'd try to tone down a show like 'Greg the Bunny'. But they did. The first half of the series is great, then there is a steady decline as the show got whitewashed and sanitized. A wonderful highlight of the DVD set are the commentaries by the creators. At one time it was a passion but then they caved to other peoples whims and the show sank. The Tardy the Turtle mini movie, if you enjoy Tardy is great as well. I highly recommend this show to anybody who enjoys The Simpsons and most other FOX adult cartoons.

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 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!

Fox canceled this thing too early... I'm hoping that the the DVD is market research like the Family Guy DVD, and they bring it back! This comedy was too smart for the American Public. If you've seen Mr. Roger's Neighborhood and Sesame Street, you would understand the comedy and humor in living animated puppets (fabricated Americans!). One of the best shows on TV! The Alcoholic Fozzy-bear character, the count that keeps dropping his pants, the hottie dumb blonde and the conductor that's sarcastic! So many characters are what we wish were on Barney and Sesame Street. This show captures the true essence of children's shows!