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List of Martha Speaks characters

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This is a list of characters from the TV series Martha Speaks.

Main characters

Animals

  • Martha Lorraine:[1] Voiced by Tabitha St. Germain. The titular protagonist, Martha is a talking dog that was born an energetic stray and was put in the dog pound as a puppy. In "Martha's Life of Crime", she explains that before Helen adopted her that a pair of bumbling thieves (now revealed to be young Otis Weaselgraft and Ms. Bumblecrumb) tried to use her for crimes, but in the end she got them arrested and returned to the shelter, where Helen's family adopted her as the family pet. Martha gained the ability to talk after Helen gave her a bowl of alphabet soup; the letters in the soup went to her brain instead of her stomach, which was an event that couldn't be repeated with another dog, but Martha has to continue eating it to retain her ability to speak. She got the ability to communicate with people previous to the adoption of Skits. "Martha's Worst Best Day" reveals that opening the can from the bottom will cause Martha to speak the opposite of what she means. Martha often sticks her nose in other people's business, trying to help, but sometimes accidentally causes trouble. "Truman and the Deep Blue Sea" reveals she had frequent carsickness when she was a puppy. She has had jobs as a telemarketer, a radio talk show host, firedog, etc. In "Martha's Pickle" she mentioned that she still does her radio show from the episode "Martha Gives Advice". Despite her talk show, various community members seem surprised when Martha talks to them, or skeptical when someone mentions a talking dog. It is established in several episodes that she is a mutt.[2] She has mentioned in multiple episodes she is part pit bull.
  • Skits Lorraine: Voiced by Brian Drummond. Helen's other dog, who tried the same alphabet soup, but it did not make him talk. His history is not know that much, but he was found by T.D. but he can't keep Skits because his dad is allergic to dogs. Skits was first introduced in the episode "Martha and Skits", and his days as a puppy were expanded upon in "Martha Plays Favorites" and "Skits on Ice". Skits also had a history of misbehavior that started in "Martha Runs Away" and ends in "Skits Behaves". Skits has also been shown to be heroic, getting the fire department to help get Martha down from a tree in "Martha to the Rescue". Although he is bigger than Martha, Skits is younger than her. He also has brontophobia,[3] He was once Windy McCloud's weather dog[4]

Kids

  • Helen Lorraine: Voiced by Madeleine Peters. Helen is Martha's and Skits' owner, who has red, short, and ruffled hair, and is usually the voice of reason of the group. She has a fair complexion. Helen is closest to Martha and thinks of Martha as her best friend. Out of the six main kids, Helen is the most sensible. Despite this, she can be a bit overbearing and even show her mean side (as in "Martha Runs Away", where she scolded Martha for things she didn't do). She always hangs around this group of friends, but T.D is said to be her best human friend. Some signs indicate they may have crushes on each other. She is also the shyest of all her friends.
  • Tyrone Daniel [citation needed] "T.D." Kennelly: Originally voiced by Alex Ferris, but replaced by Valin Shinyei in season 5 due to Ferris' voice maturing. T.D. is Helen's best friend and a fan of Professor Monkey. His father, O.G., is an inventor, while his mother is the vice-principal at his school. T.D.'s academic performance is quite underwhelming; he has admitted that every minute in school feels eternal, though there are some episodes where he is shown to get good grades. He also believes in the supernatural. He has a grandfather named C.K., who works as a farmhand, and also a younger cousin named C.D. T.D. also has an unnamed older sister, who has not made an appearance in the series because she's at college. T.D. has unruly blond hair, and almost always wears orange shorts with a blue and pale blue T-shirt with a picture of a tomato on the front.
  • Alice Boxwood: Originally voiced by Christina Crivici, but replaced by Michelle Creber in season 4 and by Ashlyn Drummond in season 5. Alice is Helen's best school friend. She is pale-skinned (she is obsessed with sunscreen due to her complexion) has blonde hair curled up in a ponytail, wears glasses, brown shorts, red-and-white shoes, and a green shirt with a blue stripe running across the center. She has ill-luck with her birthdays and her whole personality is being generally clumsy. Despite her interests in ballet, she is a bit of a tomboy and she can be somewhat mean-spirited, as seen in "Ice Scream" and "Martha Puts Out The Lights". She has an older brother named Ronald who bullies her (yet does seem to care about her from time to time) and a pet cat, Nelson, with whom Martha is mortal enemies. She first appeared in the self-titled episode Martha Speaks in a cameo appearance, and her first major appearance was in Martha Plays a Part.
  • Carolina: Voiced by Vanesa Tomasino. Carolina is Helen's cousin. She is very fashion-conscious and sings horribly. She is usually portrayed as a know-it-all and sometimes shallow girl. She often uses Spanish words and phrases, giving the translation shortly afterwards. She had a dislike for dogs up until the episode "Dog Daze", where she learns what it's like to be a dog through a dream.
  • Truman Oatley: Voiced by Cedric Payne. Truman is Helen's friend (and next-door neighbor) who loves reading and is prone to seasickness. He has a dark complexion and brown hair. He is often a pessimist and lacks confidence and is reluctant to try new things because he is frequently convinced that the activity is pointless. He has entomophobia and has shown signs of being obsessive compulsive. Truman is younger than Helen, T.D., and Alice, and he usually focuses on the negative.
  • Milo Lee: Also originally voiced by Alex Ferris, but later replaced with Trevor Lim in season 5. Milo is Skits's friend, who was introduced as a main character in Skits and Mr. Scruffles. He likes dogs very much and adopts one named Lily. His favorite activities are playing with Skits and Lily, outdoor things (camping, hiking, etc.), and going to Camp Winnetka. His first appearance was actually in "T.D.'s Magic", which takes place before his second appearance in "Skits and Mr. Scruffles" and "Carolina Picks a Lily".

Adults

  • Mariela Lorraine: Also voiced by Tabitha St. Germain. Mariela is Helen's mom, who works in a flower shop. She is Hispanic and, like Carolina, she often uses Spanish words and phrases, giving the translation shortly afterwards.
  • Daniel "Danny" Lorraine: Also voiced by Brian Drummond. Danny is Helen's Caucasian dad, who works as a bus driver. When he was a child, his favorite superhero was The Green Gas Lamp, a parody of the Green Lantern. He is usually a serious and stern character, though half of the time, he has a somewhat immature personality. He also says that his favorite comic book series is Pinkie the Pony, a possible reference to My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, which is created by Lauren Faust.

Minor characters

Animals

  • Nelson Boxwood: Ronald's moody Persian cat, and Martha's nemesis.
  • Polly Boxwood: Voiced by Kathleen Barr. Polly is Ronald's parrot, who often makes him look bad.
  • Bob: A mean junkyard dog who plays with his food and eats his toys.[citation needed] In Martha Walks the Dog, it is revealed that his owner mistreated him, which is the reason why he is mean, though his owner has treated him better as the show progressed.
  • Courageous Collie Carlo: The Rough Collie dog Star of a fictional TV series on the show. Carlo first appeared in "Martha to the Rescue". He has a fear of flowers, "anthophobia", obtained after an embarrassing accident in his studio.[5] He is Martha's main love interest.
  • François: Mrs. Clusky's spoiled and snobby white poodle. He is basically like Ronald and is very demanding.
  • Big Minnie: A monster that was seen in the episode "Martha Camps Out" and mentioned in the episode "Martha and Truman Get Lost", where she finds Truman's missing lucky rock.
  • Jeffey: An elephant that lives at the zoo and is a recurring character on the series.
  • Professor Monkey: A monkey writing books. Professor Monkey knows how to understand all languages, however, only knows how to speak monkey.[6] He knows how to play the guitar.
  • Kitten: A little orange kitten that lived with the Boxwoods for a short period of time waiting to be adopted. He appears in the episodes "There Goes the Neighborhood" and "Martha Acts Up" and took an instant liking to Martha; saying that she reminded him of his mother. At first, Martha and Skits both despised the kitten being prejudiced of his species and thinking that all cats are bad. But at the end, Martha and Skits befriend the kitten and learn their lesson about not to judge someone's personality based on what animal they happen to be. While he was adopted by another family, Martha and Skits are allowed to visit him whenever they want.
  • Bert: A small dog once used by Otis W. to make money. He is a pug and has helped Martha out on some occasions.
  • Lily: Milo's dog, originally adopted by Carolina. She first appeared in "T.D.'s Magic", and her origin was revealed in "Carolina Picks a Lily". Her breed type is implied to be a mutt, like Martha. Lily is maybe mixed with a poodle, a bulldog, and a Doberman pincher

Kids

  • Ronald Boxwood: Voiced by Kathleen Barr. Ronald is Alice's big brother who's in high school. He is a misogynist and has a cat named Nelson and a parrot named Polly. He is something of a snob who likes to scare people and make a fool out of Martha.
  • Jake Lorraine: Voiced by Tabitha St. Germain. Helen's two-year-old baby brother. Martha calls him "Jakey", and loves to teach him how to talk.
  • Tiffany Blatsky: Carolina's friend and rival, who is shown to be obsessed with winning everything.[citation needed] Her only important roles were in "Escape From Flea Island" and "No Dogs Allowed".
  • Chuck Smith: A kid who sits in front of T.D. in school. T.D. states that he stares at the back of his head all day, and in "Raiders of the Lost Art", he drew a picture of it.
  • C.D. Kennelly: T.D.'s four-year-old cousin. He is a Doggie Lover, though Skits is the only dog who can handle his rough play. He is also somewhat gullible, as he believes that T.D. has magic powers, as shown in "T.D.'s Magic".

Adults

  • Otis Weaselgraft: Voiced by Colin Murdock. One of the main antagonists of the TV series, who wants to dognap Martha so he can make money off her special ability, and calls Martha "talking dog", but is constantly thwarted by Martha and her young friends. His main downfall is he underestimates Martha's intelligence. In one episode, he sold T.D. a "steak tree" as a scam, but even though the main characters discovered it didn't grow steaks, he wasn't caught. He and Pablum are recurring antagonists in the series, despite repeatedly getting caught and defeated in his scams by Martha. Both he and Pablum always manage to escape arrest.
  • Dr. Harold Pablum: Voiced by Brian Drummond. An antagonist of the TV series, Pablum is a scientist who serves as Otis Weaselgraft's sidekick/minion. Despite trying his best to help Otis, he is constantly abused by him.
  • Granny Florence "Flo": The old and grumpy owner of the factory which makes the Alphabet soup Martha eats and needs to speak. She is shown to be greedy and regrets having to put "every letter in every can" (per the company's slogan).
  • Granny Elsie: The deceased founder of Martha's alphabet soup.
  • Alfred "Al" Abbott: Voiced by French Tickner. He is the alphabetician who makes the letter A for the alphabet soup Martha eats. He is laid off when Granny Flo decides to cut costs by getting rid of half the letters for the soup, but gets it back after he shares his last can of complete alphabet soup with Martha, who scares Granny Flo into giving everyone back their jobs.[citation needed]
  • Kazuo: Voiced by Matt Hill. The dog pound owner. He wants to make sure all the dogs at the pound get good homes and ends up adopting Pops, an abused Bulldog and one of the longtime residents at the pound. While working, he wears earmuffs with a radio. He has a cousin named Kenji who helped out at the dog pound the day Martha and her family first came there.
  • Omar Gaelic "O.G." Kennelly: T.D.'s dad. He owns a workshop and is shown to be quite eccentric and enjoys inventing things. He is voiced by Terry Klassen.
  • Janice Kennelly: Voiced by Nicole Oliver. Janice is T.D.'s mother. She is the vice-principal of the school.
  • Mrs. Eulah Demson: Voiced by Kathleen Barr. Helen's neighbor and the neighborhood grouch. She is often grumpy, selfish, conniving, and often intolerant of others' activities. She can barely stand Martha, however, it has been shown that she secretly likes Martha.[citation needed] She had dog allergy in Martha the Witness but got cured at a Wagstaff City hospital in Therapy Dog. She has loud alarms on her front porch that go off when someone rings her doorbell. She has a young granddaughter named Felicity that will appear in season six who is a mute and is very timid of Mrs. Demson.
  • CK: TD's uncle. He's a farmer who Helen, Timmy, David and Martha once visited. His farm is seen in the episode "Down on the Farm" and was mentioned in the episode "Skits Behaves". One time when he was visiting him, he found skits.
  • Louie Kablooie and James "Jimmy Gimmie" Moore: Two crooks who attempted to rob Aprin Jewelery Store in Codename: Martha, but were foiled by Martha and, according to T.D., sent to jail. Codename: Martha was initially the only time they ever appeared, but they later returned in the season five episode, Stanley Saves the Day.
  • Karl: The man who owns the butcher shop. Also voiced by Terry Klassen
  • Mrs. Clusky: Voiced by Nicole Oliver, she is Helen's teacher. She is shocked when she finds out Martha can speak, though she has since warmed up to it.
  • Cisco: A Russian old man.
  • Lucy "Lucille" Lorraine: Daniel's mom. She doesn't like bacon, and she is allergic to flowers.[citation needed]
  • Bernard "Bernie" Lorraine: Daniel's father. He once lost Lucille's keys, bended her skies, and sold Lucille's chair for a big grizzly bear.
  • Boomer: An old man with fading sight, often losing his glasses.
  • Mrs. Parkington: An old lady who believes in the ghost of her Great Aunt Martha.
  • Windy McCloud: Wagstaff City's meteorologist.
  • Mrs. Oatley: Truman's mom. She owns a daycare center run at home.
  • Mr. Oatley: Truman's dad.
  • Brunhilde: An opera singer best known for singing high notes.
  • Terrence Lee: Milo's father.

Dogs in the pound

  • Miranda: A Yorkie poodle. According to Martha, she was abandoned because the bows she wore didn't match the drapes in her house. She later gets a new owner.
  • Pops: An abused and mean looking junkyard dog. He was later adopted by Kazuo.
  • Butterscotch, Streak, and Mandarin: The puppy triplets. Streak, Butterscotch, and Mandarin were adopted by triplets revealed to be Mrs. Clusky's nieces in the episode "Nurse Martha". They were abandoned as puppies, according to Martha in "Ain't Nothing But a Pound Dog, Part 1". An interesting paradox: in the episode "Nurse Martha", Butterscotch is a puppy and cannot be understood by Martha. However, prior to this, in the episode "Ain't Nothing But A Pound Dog", Martha understands him and his siblings.
  • Estelle: A white poodle, who was abandoned because her old family moved to an apartment where no pets, including dogs, are allowed.
  • Wally: An English Hound or a pointer. He was adopted by a family that travels a lot. His ear was chomped on by a bear.

BookBots

The BookBots are robot superhero versions of Martha, Helen, T.D., Alice, and Truman, who were invented by the gang in The Martha Show, Part 2. They have wacky inventions and when given the choice of going on missions in disguise, they usually choose to be pirates. Most of the gang play themselves. They also have an oath that they live by: "I pledge allegiance to books and words because books and words express ideas, and without ideas, our brains wouldn't do anything (except keep the wind from whistling through our empty robot heads) with liberty and justice for all (rights reserved)."

Heroes

  • Chief, the BookBot's leader and dispatcher, played by Carolina.
  • Martha is portrayed as the team's bravest member. She is a fan of Insert-a-Word, a retired game show hosted by The Announcer. She can also eat large amounts of foods at once without overloading. She uses a mailbox as a jet.
  • Helen is portrayed as the voice of reason of the group and has usually taken the leadership role. She and Truman use Helen's treehouse as a blimp.
  • T.D. is portrayed as the smartest member of the group, in contrast to his real-life intelligence. He uses a school desk as a car.
  • Alice is portrayed as a very skilled person, in contrast to her real life, clumsy traits. She drives a speedboat.
  • Truman is still portrayed as being a smart person but is not as smart as T.D. He and Helen use her tree house as a blimp.
  • Mrs. Demson appeared as Chief's assistant in "The Martha Show, Part 2".

Enemies

  • Dr. O'Mayhem, the archenemy of the BookBots, who wants to take over the town. He is played by Ronald.
  • The Announcer, the former host of the game show Insert a Word, who got tired of his job and received a radioactive microphone that gave him the power to take nouns out of books and bring them to life. He only appeared in Return of the BookBots: The Case of the Missing Words. He is voiced by Brian Drummond, despite looking very similar to Stephen Colbert.

Allies

  • Dr. Dewey Decimal, the creator of the BookBots, played by O.G., who appears in Return of the BookBots: The Case of the Missing Words, Part 1.
  • Dr. Exacty is a dog-scientist friend of Martha, played by Skits, who appeared in Return of the BookBots: The Case of the Missing Words, Part 2. According to Martha, he scratches himself when he thinks real hard, and he rolls on his back whenever performing complex math problems.

Superhero alter egos

  • Super Pooch, a superhero version of Martha, who only appears in Martha to the Rescue and Martha Runs the Store, Part 1. Her only known superpower is X-ray vision.
  • Mighty Mutt Martha, a hero version of Martha (based on Courageous Collie Carlo), who only appeared in Martha to the Rescue in one of Martha's fantasies.
  • Verb Dog, a superhero version of Martha, who has the ability to use verbs against super villains. She only appears in Verb Dog, When Action Calls!
  • Al-Ice, a superhero version of Alice with ice powers. Her only weakness is anyone making her laugh, which causes her to lose control of her powers and freeze herself.
  • Helen, a superhero version of Helen Lorraine from Verb Dog, When Action Calls!, who is very huge and can hypnotize dogs simply by calling their names.
  • TD-603, a robot version of T.D., who appears in Verb Dog, When Action Calls!. He uses robot tentacles that sprout from his back.
  • Dr. R, a super villain version of Ronald, who only appeared in Verb Dog, When Action Calls!. He tricks Verb Dog into defeating Al-Ice, TD-603, and Helen before attempting world domination and put a collar and muzzle on Martha. But by Martha's next daydream, Verb Dog has reunited with her friends and defeated him.
  • Mr. Astonishing and Captain Thrill are superhero versions of T.D. and Truman, respectively, who appear in Martha the Hero Maker, Starstruck Martha and Truman on the Ball. They are capable of flight, though Mr. Astonishing is afraid of heights.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Martha Goes to School". Martha Speaks. 2 minutes in.
    Mrs. Clusky: "Is this Martha Lorraine?"
    Martha: "That's right."
  2. ^ "Martha Speaks . FAQ". PBS KIDS!. WGBH. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
  3. ^ as revealed in "Skits Under The Weather"
  4. ^ , as shown in "Martha the Weather Dog".
  5. ^ Carlo's anthophobia is revealed in "Starstruck Martha"
  6. ^ Professor Monkey's only spoken language, monkey, was revealed in the episode "Martha Doesn't Speak Monkey"