Glenn Martin, DDS
Encyclopedia
Glenn Martin, DDS is an American stop-motion-animated television series that premiered on Nick at Nite
on August 17, 2009. The series is produced by Tornante Animation
in association with Cuppa Coffee Studio
. Glenn Martin, DDS is Nick at Nite's fourth original series (the first was Hi Honey, I'm Home!
, the second was Fatherhood
and the third was Hi-Jinks
).
The show premiered on March 18, 2010 on Sky1 in the UK and Ireland.
Season two premiered on June 11, 2010.
) — on a cross-country road trip to strengthen the family bond.
chief executive Michael Eisner
, who put up his own money to produce the pilot episode, 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.
The show has a 1970s
sensibility including the design of the Winnebago
which is driven across the country. It was reportedly inspired by the 1971 ABC
made-for-TV movie In Search of America, which starred Jeff Bridges
as a college dropout who drove a Winnebago across the country with his family.
for Best Animated Television Production.
In November 2010, the show won two Gemini Awards for Best Animated Series and Best Direction for an Animated Series (Ken Cunningham for "The Tooth Will Set You Free").
The Hollywood Reporter
wrote, "ignore the stilted jokes [and] the limp characterization. [...] 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."
Variety
wrote, "Despite the contributions of Eric Fogel (MTV's 'Celebrity Deathmatch
'), 'Glenn Martin' isn't as bad as visiting the dentist, but isn't much better than sitting in the waiting room. 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."
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."
New York Daily News
writer David Hinkley gave the show 4 out of 5 Stars, calling it "satire with biting wit."
The Boston Globe
called it "cute, giggle-worthy, and only a smidgen dangerous."
The Detroit News wrote that the show is "full of enough end-of-the week laughs to help you giggle yourself into the weekend."
Keith Watson, of London's daily newspaper Metro, wrote "Glenn Martin, DDS is a neat companion piece to Family Guy with a curiously endearing quality."
Website Shakefire.com rated the show an "A-".
It holds a 3.5/5 rating on iTunes.
. In response to several complaints from parents, Nickelodeon moved the show to Friday nights at 10:30.
Nick at Nite
Nick at Nite is the nighttime Cable network that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon on Sundays from 8.p.m.-7.am., Monday through Fridays from 9 p.m.-7 a.m. and Saturdays from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. . Though it shares channel space with Nickelodeon, A.C. Nielsen Co...
on August 17, 2009. The series is produced by Tornante Animation
Tornante
The Tornante Company is a privately held investment firm founded by former The Walt Disney Company CEO Michael Eisner in 2005. Tornante invests in and creates media and entertainment....
in association with Cuppa Coffee Studio
Cuppa Coffee Studio
Cuppa Coffee Studio is a Canadian animation studio in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; it was founded by Adam Shaheen and Bruce Alcock in December 1990...
. Glenn Martin, DDS is Nick at Nite's fourth original series (the first was Hi Honey, I'm Home!
Hi Honey, I'm Home!
Hi Honey, I'm Home! is an American television sitcom that ran from July 19, 1991, to July 12, 1992 for thirteen episodes. The series was television's first "instant" rerun. Each week, a new episode of the series aired on ABC as part of their Friday night TGIF lineup. The same episode would re-air...
, the second was Fatherhood
Fatherhood (TV series)
Fatherhood is an American animated television series revolving around the Bindlebeep family and various happenings, inspired by the book of the same name by Bill Cosby. This was Nick at Nite's first original animated series. It has aired on Nick at Nite and Nickelodeon. It was canceled in...
and the third was Hi-Jinks
Hi-Jinks
Hi-Jinks is a hidden camera show that premiered on Nick at Nite in 2005. The show is hosted by Leila Sbitani. The show gives parents a chance to play practical jokes on their children, in a similar fashion to Candid Camera...
).
The show premiered on March 18, 2010 on Sky1 in the UK and Ireland.
Season two premiered on June 11, 2010.
Plot
After accidentally 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's dogDog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
) — on a cross-country road trip to strengthen the family bond.
Characters
- Glenn Martin, the show's titular character, is an optimistic travelling dentist who dreams of becoming closer with his family.
- Jackie Martin is the wife of Glenn and mother of Conor and Courtney. She is often stressed with the problems involved in raising a family in an RV.
- Conor Martin is the 13 year-old son of the Martins. He is going through puberty and is hormonal. He also tends to be the subject of pratfalls due to his clumsiness.
- Courtney Martin is the 11 year-old daughter of the Martins, who acts like an adult business woman. She is competitive, outspoken and boastful.
- Wendy Park (real name Bon Wa Fo) is Courtney's assistant/employee. She was born in North KoreaNorth KoreaThe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
. - Canine is the Martins' dog, who has an oversized anus.
Development
Former DisneyThe Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
chief executive Michael Eisner
Michael Eisner
Michael Dammann Eisner is an American businessman. He was the chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 until 2005.-Early life:...
, who put up his own money to produce the pilot episode, 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.
The show has a 1970s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
sensibility including the design of the Winnebago
Winnebago Industries
Winnebago Industries Inc., , is a manufacturer of motor homes, a type of recreational vehicle or RV, in the United States. It is based in Forest City, Iowa.-Corporate history:...
which is driven across the country. It was reportedly inspired by the 1971 ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
made-for-TV movie In Search of America, which starred Jeff Bridges
Jeff Bridges
Jeffrey Leon "Jeff" Bridges is an American actor and musician. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Otis "Bad" Blake in the 2009 film Crazy Heart....
as a college dropout who drove a Winnebago across the country with his family.
Laugh track
Unusually for a modern animated sitcom, the show had a laugh track in early episodes. This was later removed at the request of the creators.Awards and nominations
In December 2009, the show was nominated for an Annie AwardAnnie Award
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles, California branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood since 1972...
for Best Animated Television Production.
In November 2010, the show won two Gemini Awards for Best Animated Series and Best Direction for an Animated Series (Ken Cunningham for "The Tooth Will Set You Free").
Critical reception
Glenn Martin, DDS has received mixed reviews from critics, garnering a 48/100 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 wrote, "Glenn Martin, DDS is pretty much laugh-free (though it does have a laugh track)."The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
wrote, "ignore the stilted jokes [and] the limp characterization. [...] 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."
Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
wrote, "Despite the contributions of Eric Fogel (MTV's 'Celebrity Deathmatch
Celebrity Deathmatch
Celebrity Deathmatch is a claymation television show that depicts celebrities against each other in a wrestling ring, almost always ending in the loser's gruesome death. It was known for its excessive amount of blood used in every match and exaggerated physical injuries...
'), 'Glenn Martin' isn't as bad as visiting the dentist, but isn't much better than sitting in the waiting room. 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."
The Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
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
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, Yellowstone, the Mall of America
Mall of America
The Mall of America, also called MOA and the Megamall, is a shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of the Twin Cities, in the United States. It is located southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77, north of the Minnesota River and is across the...
and Hollywood in future adventures, and as a fan of the form, I'm interested to see what the animators make of them."
New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
writer David Hinkley gave the show 4 out of 5 Stars, calling it "satire with biting wit."
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
called it "cute, giggle-worthy, and only a smidgen dangerous."
The Detroit News wrote that the show is "full of enough end-of-the week laughs to help you giggle yourself into the weekend."
Keith Watson, of London's daily newspaper Metro, wrote "Glenn Martin, DDS is a neat companion piece to Family Guy with a curiously endearing quality."
Website Shakefire.com rated the show an "A-".
It holds a 3.5/5 rating on iTunes.
Controversy
In November 2009, a Florida mother was outraged that the series contained sexual references despite airing in an 8pm slot following SpongeBob SquarePantsSpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Much of the series centers on the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of "Bikini Bottom"...
. In response to several complaints from parents, Nickelodeon moved the show to Friday nights at 10:30.
Worldwide release
| Country | Network | Premiere Date |
|---|---|---|
| Nick @ Nite | August 17, 2009 | |
| City TV | October 3, 2009 | |
| Latin America Latin America Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area... |
CityFamily The Film Zone |
January 15, 2010 2011 |
| Fox8 FOX8 Fox8 is an Australian cable and satellite channel available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television's subscription platforms... |
March 7, 2010 | |
| Sky1 | March 18, 2010 | |
| Sky1 | March 18, 2010 | |
| Africa Africa Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area... |
FX Africa | May 8, 2010 |
| Sky Uno | December 13, 2010 | |
| 2x2 2x2 (TV channel) 2×2 is Russia's oldest private entertainment TV channel. Since 2007 it specializes in animated series.-History:Founded in 1989 and first aired on September 27, 1990, 2×2 became the first commercial television in the Soviet Union.... |
April 1, 2011 |