Glenn Martin, DDS

This article is about the stop-motion-animated television series. For the aviation pioneer, see Glenn L. Martin.

Glenn Martin, DDS
Created by	Michael Eisner Alex Berger Eric Fogel
Voices of	Kevin Nealon Catherine O'Hara Peter Oldring Jackie Clarke Judy Greer
Music by	Andrew Gowan
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	1
No. of episodes	9 (as of September 28, 2009)
Production
Producers	Adam Pava Ken Onion
Running time	30 minutes (with commercials)
Original release
Network	Nick at Nite Nicktoons Network(2009) The N(2009)
Release	August 17, 2009 – present

The Early Years-Nintendo DS

"We have developed Nintendo DS based upon a completely different concept from existing game devices in order to provide players with a unique entertainment experience for the 21st century." -Satoru Iwata

The Show

Glenn Martin, DDS is a stop-motion-animated television series that premiered on Nick at Nite on August 17, 2009 and is rated TV-PG, some episodes are TV-14 because the show is directed toward a teen and adult audience. The series is produced by Tornante Animation in association with Cuppa Coffee Studio. The show has recently begun airing during the day.

The network initially imposed a laugh track on the show, but removed it by episode 8, because "It gave the show too much internal thinking", said the show's creator.

In the Footsteps of the Chinese Empereor

Unlike George Lopez, a contemporary show that also had a claymation cast, Glenn Martin DDS only rarely and mildly ventured into social commentary. TV Guide once famously referred to Glenn Martin DDS as "a look at urban black life that manages to capture the offensiveness of George and Ernie while avoiding that program's fun." Most episodes focused on the goals of teenage males — meeting males, finding after school jobs, and RVs. Episodes sometimes featured subplots involving Mrs. Martin, Conner's bratty sister Courtney, or waitress Canine.

Overview

The show follows the adventures of traveling dentist, Glenn Martin, and his family. After 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 dog — on a cross-country road trip to tighten the family bond. Unfortunately for Glenn, he has no traveling experience.

The show has a 1970s sensibility including the design of the Winnebago which is driven around the country. It was reportedly inspired by the 1971 ABC made-for-TV movie In Search of America that starred Jeff Bridges as a college dropout who drove a Winnebago around the country with his family.

Former Disney chief executive Michael Eisner, who has put his own money into the project, 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.

Characters

• Glenn Martin is an optimistic traveling dentist who dreams of becoming closer with his family.
• Jackie Martin is a mother of two and a wife.
• Conor Martin is the 13 year-old son of the Martins. He is going through puberty and has extreme hormones; he also tends to be the subject of pratfalls due to his clumsiness and thinks about RVs most of the time.
• Courtney Martin is an 11 year-old who acts more like an adult businesswoman; she can adapt to any habitat, if turning it into a money-making opportunity.
• Wendy Park is Courtney's mail order assistant/employee. The wire frame model used for Wendy is the same used for James in the 1996 classic, James and the Giant Peach. She appears to be Korean.
• Canine is the Martins' dog.

Minor Characters

• Amish Dentist is the Amish dentist who appeared in "Amish Anguish."
• Spinster Strubrah is the Amish 16-year-old who comes close to marrying Conor in "Amish Anguish."
• Sex-In-The-City Amish Ladies are the two Amish woman and a horse that Jackie befriend in "Amish Anguish."
• The Circus was the rather antagonistic leader of the Circus in "The Grossest Show On Earth."
• The He-She was the male and female combination circus freak (carnie) FREAK! that appears to hate each other in "The Grossest Show On Earth."
• Circus Freaks are the shows at the Circus including the Man-Like Lady, the Clown, and others in "The Grossest Show On Earth."
• Star Finder A pacifist vegan who becomes friends with the Martin's in "A Bromantic Getaway"
• Rick Montana An antagonistic hippocratic delinquent who built an underground lair so he could use the other villagers' good intentions. He tries to take Glenn's house insurance money in "A Bromantic Getaway" by getting close to him... "so close that it's just short of being extremely gay", as described by Wendy.
• Vito Renzuli A mafia don who becomes Glenn's business partner in "We've Created A Mobster", but he died when an unfortunate chain of events caused the COPA to explode. He acts like the stereotypical Italian gangster and is an obvious parody of Mafia don Vito Corleone from The Godfather.
• Joey Helznut A hit man that worked for Vito in "We've Created A Mobster", but he died in the COPA explosion.
• Bobby Panache A stylish hipster who lived on the road doing odd jobs for two years. He redecorated the RV in "Pimp My RV". He was catapulted into the backside of a sycamore and defeated at trickster leg wrestling. He acted in a very effeminate manner. Wendy had a crush on him, horribly ruined when he revealed he was marrying someone.
• Mr. Chou Wendy's old gymnastic teacher who appears in the episode "Korean Opportunities".
• Beansworth Glenn's arch rival that will appear in season 2. Based on concept art he appears to be part plant.

Cast

• Kevin Nealon as Glenn Martin
• Catherine O'Hara as Jackie Martin
• Peter Oldring as Conor Martin
• Jackie Clarke as Courtney Martin
• Judy Greer as Wendy Park

Writers

• Aron Abrams & Greg Thompson
• Alex Berger
• Bryan Behar & Steve Baldikoski
• James Bearden Cook Jr.
• Sivert Glarum & Michael Jamin
• Laura Gutin
• Jennifer Joyce
• Pavs (Adam Pava)
• Robin Shorr

Sivert Glarum & Michael Jamin are the show's head writers

Episodes

List of Glenn Martin, DDS episodes

Theme Song

The show's theme song, "Let's Hit The Road" was originally titled "Let's Kick Some Ass". However since the series is aimed at the family demographic, the lyrics were redubbed as not to offend younger viewers.

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 said, "Glenn Martin, DDS is pretty much laugh-free (though it does have a laugh track)."

The Hollywood Reporter said, "But ignore the stilted jokes, the limp characterization, the complete lack of "re-imagining" of anything. 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 said, "Despite the contributions of Eric Fogel (MTV's "Celebrity Deathmatch"), "Glen 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."

The Boston Globe called it "cute, giggle-worthy, and only a smidgen dangerous."

The website shakefire.com gave the show an A-, saying "If the show can carry on with this combination of intelligent and not so intelligent humor I can see it lasting for a very long time."

External links

• Nick at Nite's official site
• Glenn Martin, DDS at IMDb