Dexter's Laboratory

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Dexter's Laboratory
Dexter's Laboratory intertitle since season 2.
Format	Animated series, Science fiction, Adventure, Comedy
Created by	Genndy Tartakovsky
Voices of	Christine Cavanaugh (1996-2001) Candi Milo (2001-2003) Allison Moore (1996-1997; 2001-2002) Kathryn Cressida (1997-1999; 2002-2003) Kath Soucie Jeff Bennett Eddie Deezen
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	78 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	22 minutes approx.
Broadcast
Original channel	Cartoon Network (1996-2005) Boomerang (2006-present) YTV
Original run	April 28, 1996 – November 20, 2003 (Pilot aired on February 26, 1995)
External links
Official website

Dexter's Laboratory (commonly abbreviated as Dexter's Lab) is an Annie Award-winning American animated series created by Genndy Tartakovsky and produced by Cartoon Network Studios (also co-produced with Hanna-Barbera in 1996-2001), about a boy genius named Dexter, who has an enormous secret laboratory, filled with an endless collection of his inventions, hidden behind a bookshelf in his bedroom. His enemy and rival is a boy named Mandark, whose genius does not quite match Dexter's, but tries to beat Dexter at science by stealing Dexter's inventions and using them for his own purposes. However, Dexter feuds more often with his ditzy older sister, Dee Dee, who always manages to find a way to get inside the lab, playing with and destorying Dexter's inventions or distracting him from his work. Seasons 1 and 2 are now available on iTunes.

Premise and Format

Each thirty minute episode of Dexter's Laboratory consists of two to three cartoon shorts, with the exception of the series finale (Before the revamped series), Last But Not Beast, which was one twenty-five minute cartoon.

The series revolves around a boy genius named Dexter, who has a secret laboratory (which he pronounces "la-bore-a-torrey" instead of the American pronunciation "lab-ra-torrey") filled with highly advanced equipment hidden behind a bookshelf in his bedroom. Access to this never-ending laboratory is achieved by speaking various passwords or by activating hidden switches on the bookcase (such as pulling out a specific book). Dexter is normally in conflict with his ditzy older sister, Dee Dee, who has an uncanny talent for gaining access to Dexter's lab despite his best efforts to keep her out. Dee Dee eludes all manner of security and, once inside, delights in playing in the lab, often destroying his inventions and creations. Dexter manages to keep the lab a secret from his clueless, cheerful parents, who humorously never notice evidence of the laboratory, even when it is right before their eyes.

Dexter has an arch-nemesis, a boy named "Mandark" Astronominov. Often Mandark, through fraud or (rarely) by coincidence, attempts to take credit for Dexter's achievements. Mandark is also in love with Dee Dee, though she doesn't appear to notice or return his affections. This proves to be one of his weaknesses. From Ego Trip onwards, Mandark's schemes become significantly more evil, his laboratory darker-looking and spiky, instead of the bright, bio-mechanical looking lab featuring a massive spherical structure that strongly resembles the Death Star.) In season three, it is revealed that Mandark hates Dexter because when Dexter first met him on the neighborhood streets, Dexter teased him for looking like a girl. (Seasons three and four portray Mandark's parents as hippies, who dress him like a girl and name him Susan.) However, this is not canonical as in season one, Mandark and Dexter meet each other for the first time at school.

The show breaks the time-honored TV rule of returning the characters and situation to the status quo at the end of each episode; most episodes end in an unexpected and unresolved state with no easy solution offered for returning things to normal; e.g. the entire lab self-destructs and is completely gone, Dexter is turned into a sandwich, the earth is destroyed, etc. Dexter usually fails at what he has set out to do, with Dee Dee often winning. However, each episode always begins from the accepted "normal" premise of the program.

Style of Humor

The show's humor derives in part from Dexter's essentially one-sided and intense rivalry with his sister and from exaggerated stereotyping of his high intelligence and social awkwardness. The rest of Dexter's American family, who is, aside from Dexter, a exagerrated stereotypical American family, also provide much of the humor.

Much absurdist and surrealist humor is used as well. The show often "jumps the shark" intentionally and in an exaggerated way, poking fun at the tendency of dramatic films to contain unrealistic situations. This type of humor is most often used when Dexter's parents are portrayed as completely naieve and unable to notice clues to the exitstence of Detxer's high-tech inventions or his laboratory.

Production

Dexter's Laboratory was inspired by one of Genndy Tartakovsky's drawings of a ballerina. After drawing her tall and thin shape, he decided to pair her with a short and blocky opposite, Dexter. In 1991, he made his first "Dexter" short. On February 20, 1995, Dexter's Laboratory made its first run on the The Cartoon Cartoon Show. In March 1996, the first season began airing. Directors and writers on the series included Genndy Tartakovsky, Rumen Petkov, Craig McCracken, Seth MacFarlane, Butch Hartman, Rob Renzetti, Paul Rudish, Mark O'Hare, John McIntyre and Chris Savino.

Dexter's Laboratory ended its initial run in 1999. The series finale was Last But Not Beast, which differed from the format of the other episodes in that it was not comprised of different segments but featured one plot in a twenty-five minute episode. It featured Dexter's family, alongside many of the recurring characters from the Dexter universe, in a battle against a monster that Dexter had accidentally released from a volcano as an exchange student in Japan. In this episode Dexter was forced to reveal the lab to his parents. The series was followed up by the hour-long cult TV movie Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip, the last Dexter production created or directed by Tartakovsky and generally considered by fans to be the last of the era of classic Dexter's Laboratory shows. The movie had a somewhat darker tone than the series and featured Mandark as the main villain, his schemes of universal domination more evil than any of his previous ones.

Despite the fact that Last But Not Beast was intended as a series finale, due to the show's popularity, Dexter's Laboratory re-entered production in 2001. The new episodes, which ran for two more seasons, had a different production team than the originals, since Genndy Tartakovsky was busy working on Samurai Jack and Star Wars: Clone Wars. (MacFarlane and Hartman had left Time Warner altogether at this point, focusing on Family Guy and The Fairly OddParents, respectively.) This second line of episodes featured significantly different visual designs, alternative character backgrounds, and different sound effects. Despite the differences from the originals and the continuity errors, they still began with the same intro and title and are officially considered part of the same series.

Backup segments

In some three-segment episodes of Dexter's Laboratory, the protagonist of the middle segment would sometimes be a character that regularly appeared in other episodes. There were two kinds of these segments, running during 21-minute slots: Dial M for Monkey and The Justice Friends. "Dial M for Monkey" appeared in the first half of the first season, while The Justice Friends appeared in the latter half of the first season. Monkey often appeared in the Justice Friends segments and vice versa, teaming with his fellow superheroes, while Dexter and Dee Dee sometimes appeared in the Monkey segments.

Dial M for Monkey

Dial M for Monkey intro card.

The Dial M for Monkey shorts feature Dexter's lab monkey, Monkey (played by Frank Welker), who (unknown to Dexter) has superpowers and fights evil with his secret agent and superhero partners. One episode, "Barbequor," caused a controversy and eventually led to that episode's banishment because of its portrayal of gay stereotypes. Monkey's true identity was finally revealed to Dexter in the series finale of Dexter's Laboratory, "Last But Not Beast" (though Dexter's memories were erased afterwards. The segment's title derives from Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M for Murder and DC Comics' Dial H for Hero.

The Justice Friends

The Justice Friends intro card.

Major Glory, The Infraggable Krunk, and Valhallen are all roommates who live in an apartment complex. Most of the adventures of the Justice Friends deal with the three trying to balance out their superhero adventures while just trying to keep their composure living in the house. They have also appeared on at least one episode of The Powerpuff Girls, thereby tying the "universes" of those two shows together. Most of these adventures play out like a sitcom along with a laugh track, used in a satirical manner. The segment's title likely derives from the DC Comics superhero organization The Justice League and its sanitized animated cartoon version, Super Friends, though the team itself is clearly a parody of Marvel Comics's Avengers title (itself the Marvel equivalent to the Justice League). The three main characters are based on the Marvel Comics characters of Captain America, Hulk, and Thor, each of whom belonged to the original Avengers comic team. Valhallen's name is a portmanteau of Valhalla (the spiritual plane of Norse mythology) and Van Halen. Valhallen frequently refers to himself as the "Viking God of Rock".

Both of these segments crossed over into episodes of Dial M For Monkey. In addition to Agent Honeydew and Monkey, the three superheroes are seen in action along with additional superheroes, similar to the large amount of Justice League members in "Challenge of the Superfriends".

The Puppet Pals

The Puppet Pals is a fictional TV show existing within the Dexter universe. It is watched by Dee Dee and seen in the Justice Friend's apartment. The Puppet Pals, probably due to it's extremely childish content, was never used as a back up episode, but it is seen as a few very small segments between certain episodes, using live-action puppets.

Other Media

Ego Trip

Ego Trip is an Annie Award-winning one-hour animated television special spawned from the Cartoon Network animated television series Dexter's Laboratory, produced by Hanna-Barbera (now Cartoon Network Studios) for Cartoon Network, and aired in 1999.

Music videos

Four music videos were made in 2002 and had occasional airings between shows on Cartoon Network. One was a mock-anime video sung by They Might Be Giants called Dee Dee and Dexter.

The other three were rap songs which were released on a compilation album:

• Back to the Lab (by Prince Paul): A pop art video highlighting the walkway sequence of a stern Dexter, marching presumably back to his lab. The video consisted of various clips and animation derived from the series' later seasons.
• Secrets (by will.i.am): will.i.am singing/rapping within a color-tinged record studio, with Dexter bumping his head and mixing up beats on a turntable in the background.
• Dexter (What's His Name) (by Coolio): A pseudo "live" performance, essentially Coolio freestyle-rapping beside Dexter on an animated stage before a large cheering crowd composed of a host of Cartoon Network characters.

Dexter's Laboratory: The Hip Hop Experiment

Dexter's Laboratory: The Hip Hop Experiment
Compilation album by Various artists
Released	August 20, 2002
Genre	Hip hop
Label	Cartoon Network/Columbia Records
Professional reviews
Allmusic link

Dexter's Laboratory: The Hip Hop Experiment, a compilation album featuring songs by various hip hop artists inspired by the series, was released on August 20, 2002 on Columbia Records. The track listing for the CD are as follows:

1. "Dexter's Laboratory Opening Theme"
2. "Secrets" - will.i.am
3. "Dexter (What's His Name?)" - Coolio
4. "Love According to Dexter" - Phife Dawg, introducing Slick E. Rose
5. "Sibling Rivalries" - De La Soul
6. "Mandark's Plan" - YZ
7. "Back to the Lab" - Prince Paul

Video games

Four games were released to tie in with the series, Dexter's Laboratory: Robot Rampage for the Nintendo Game Boy Color (a licensed version of Elevator Action), Dexter's Laboratory: Chess Challenge for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance, Dexter's Laboratory: Deesaster Strikes! for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance, and Dexter's Laboratory: Mandark's Laboratory? for the Sony PlayStation all developed and produced by the now defunct^[1] publisher BAM! Entertainment. Dexter, Mandark, Dee Dee, and Dexter's computer are in the MMORPG FusionFall.^{[citation needed]}

DVD release

References

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Dexter's Laboratory

• Dexter's Laboratory at the Internet Movie Database
• Dexter's Laboratory at TV.com
• Dexter's Laboratory at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
• Dexter's Laboratory at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Dexter's Laboratory at Wikia