Celebrity Deathmatch

Celebrity Deathmatch
Genre Sports entertainment
Claymation
Black comedy
Satire
Wrestling
Parody
Hardcore wrestling
Created by Eric Fogel[1]
Directed by Eric Fogel (1998–2002)
Andrew Horne (2006–07)
Jack Fletcher (2006–07)
Starring Steve Austin (season 1) Maurice Schlafer (1998–2002)
Len Maxwell (1998–2002)
Mills Lane (1998–2002)
Chris Edgerly (2006–07)
Masasa Moyo (2006–07)
Jim Thornton (2006–07)
Composer(s) Eric Perlmutter
Alan Elliot
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 6
No. of episodes 93 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Abby Terkuhle (1998–2002)
Richard Doctorow (2006–07)
Running time 21 minutes
Production company(s) MTV Animation
The Comedy Network (2006–07)
Cuppa Coffee Studio (2006–07)
Distributor MTV Networks
Release
Original network MTV (1998–2002)
MTV2 (2006–07)
Picture format 4:3
Audio format Dolby Surround
Original release May 14, 1998 (1998-05-14) October 20, 2002 (2002-10-20)
June 10, 2006 (2006-06-10) – March 30, 2007 (2007-03-30)
External links
Website

Celebrity Deathmatch is a claymation television show which depicted randomly chosen celebrities challenging each other to fights and murdering each other in a wrestling ring, ending in the loser's gruesome demise and getting humiliated in front of a large crowd of people. It was known for its various power-ups, different abilities, various stats, all amounts of different weapons, the brutality and fatality of the different attacks, excessive amounts of blood, large amounts of blood losses and exaggerated physical injuries (e.g., one person cuts off a participant's foot, living through decapitations, impalement, etc.)[2][3] used and permitted in every match.

The series was created by Eric Fogel, with the pilots airing on MTV on January 1 and 25 1998.[4] The initial series ran from May 14, 1998 to October 20, 2002, and lasted for a 75-episode run. There was one special that did not contribute to the final episode total, entitled "Celebrity Deathmatch Hits Germany", which aired on June 21, 2001. Professional wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin gave voice to his animated form as the guest commentator. Early in 2003, a film based on the series was announced by MTV to be in the making, but the project was canceled by the end of that year.

For a brief period in 2001, episodes of Celebrity Deathmatch aired on broadcast network UPN, immediately following episodes of fellow stop motion series Gary & Mike.[5]

In 2005, MTV2 announced the revival of the show as part of their "Sic 'Em Friday" programming block. Originally set to return in November 2005, the premiere was pushed back to June 10, 2006 as part of a new "Sic'emation" block with two other animated shows, Where My Dogs At? and The Adventures of Chico and Guapo. The show's fourth and fifth season was produced by Cuppa Coffee Studios and the premiere drew over 2.5 million viewers, becoming MTV2's highest rated season premiere ever. It was canceled again in 2007.

In April 2015, MTV2 announced a reboot of the show.[6]

Episodes

Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired Network
Pilots 2 January 1, 1998 (1998-01-01) January 25, 1998 (1998-01-25) MTV
1 12 May 14, 1998 (1998-05-14) October 22, 1998 (1998-10-22)
2 21 January 31, 1999 (1999-01-31) November 11, 1999 (1999-11-11)
3 25 January 27, 2000 (2000-01-27) February 11, 2001 (2001-02-11)
4 19 July 22, 2001 (2001-07-22) June 6, 2002 (2002-06-06)
5 8 June 10, 2006 (2006-06-10) July 29, 2006 (2006-07-29) MTV2
6 8 February 9, 2007 (2007-02-09) March 30, 2007 (2007-03-30)

Characters

Main characters

Minor regular characters

Temporary co-hosts

History

A deathmatch between Beavis and Butt-head in the "Fandemonium 2000" episode of the series.

Celebrity Deathmatch started on MTV's Cartoon Sushi as a short that featured convicted murderer Charles Manson and shock rocker Marilyn Manson fighting to the death. Deathmatch was brought back in 1998 for MTV's Super Bowl XXXII halftime special. Just three months later, Celebrity Deathmatch had entered MTV's main lineup. The show was popular enough for show creator Eric Fogel to be named one of the most creative people in the TV industry by Entertainment Weekly.

During the next four seasons, Celebrity Deathmatch became more popular in other countries and gained viewers from all over the world, but four seasons and 75 episodes later in 2002, MTV decided to cancel the show.[8]

Revival

New episodes of the show, which began production in 2005, were produced by Cuppa Coffee Studio as opposed to MTV's now-defunct animation department.[9][10] The show featured an all-new voice cast and a new look. Johnny, Nick, and Mills Lane returned, albeit with new voices. Mills Lane, who used to be played by himself, was played by Chris Edgerly due to the real Mills Lane's 2002 stroke. Debbie Matenopoulos was replaced by Tally Wong. Eric Fogel chose not to get very involved with the new seasons due to his involvement on his show Starveillance for the E! network. The show was directed by Jack Fletcher and Dave "Canadian" Thomas. During the 2006 season, fans were able to vote on MTV2.com for future matches by choosing one of three matches and by sending a write-in request. However, due to the second cancellation of the show, these matches would not come to fruition.

In April 2015, MTV2 announced a reboot of the show on their Twitter. As of March 2016, no dates have been said yet, but the pilot has been green lit.

Soundtrack

MTV asked Marilyn Manson to compose a song for the show. Ultimately, the song conveyed the public's obsession with violence and sadistic acts, which were portrayed on television. Manson believed that was the show's satirical take regarding society as a whole. "Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes" became the only single off the Celebrity Deathmatch soundtrack. It was nominated in 2001 for the Best Metal Performance Grammy Award, and later included on Manson's album The Last Tour on Earth.

See also

References

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Tuesday, March 29, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.