The Dating Guy
| The Dating Guy | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by |
|
| Voices of |
|
| Composer(s) | Jono Grant |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language(s) |
|
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 26 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
|
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production company(s) | |
| Distributor | Entertainment One |
| Release | |
| Original network | |
| Original release | September 17, 2009 – December 29, 2010 |
| External links | |
| Website | |
| Production website | |
The Dating Guy is a Canadian animated series that originally aired on Teletoon at Night[1] starting on October 17, 2010.[2] In the United States, it aired on HDNet starting on September 17, 2009.[3]
The show was created by Matt Hornburg and Mark Bishop, with executive producers being John Morayniss and Frank Saperstein.[4] Produced by marblemedia and Entertainment One, the show also has a Gemini Award-winning tie-in website, with two web series: The Morning After Show, which discusses episodes of the main show, and Dr. Love, which features an indepth look at dating;[5] unlike the show, the web series are live action.[6]
The show's premise revolves around the adventures of four Canadian twenty-something friends living in Downtown Toronto, looking for love in all the wrong places.[7] Guests such as Russell Peters and Howie Mandel appear on the show.[8]
Development
The show's existence was first noted in 2006; at the time, C.O.R.E. was slated to provide animation services.[9] By 2007, a different animation studio was being sought, with the show then-scheduled to premiere in late 2008. Smiley Guy Studios in Toronto was the animation service.[10] and later in March 2009.[11]
According to Frank Saperstein, the idea behind the show is based on the real-life dating experience of one of its creators.[12] The influence of the founders of marblemedia, Matt Hornburg and Mark Bishop, on the show's premise has also been noted.[13]
Characters
The show focuses on four main characters who constitute a group of friends, Mark, VJ, Woody, and Sam, and a number of recurring characters.[14]
Main characters
- Mark Dexler (Fab Filippo) - Mark is a 25-year-old single man who works as a copywriter at an ad agency. He shares an apartment with his best friends VJ and Woody.[15]
- VJ Mendhi (Anand Rajaram) - VJ is an IT guy at the same ad agency Mark works at. Despite sharing an apartment with his friends Mark and Woody, he does not pay rent. He is of east Indian descent and he owns a pet raccoon named Zorro. He is extremely perverted, has seen all the internet porn in the world, and although he still has yet to lose his virginity. It is revealed in the episode 'Too Fast, Too Dexler', that VJ is ironically short for Vagina.[16]
- Woodrow "Woody" Jenkins (Sean Francis) - Woody is a head bartender of Black Canadian descent, and shares living quarters with his friends Mark and VJ. He is classified as a "playa".[17]
- Samantha "Sam" Goldman (Lauren Ash) - Sam is a woman living in the same building as Mark, VJ, and Woody and is friends with all of them; however, their friendships are strictly platonic.[18]
Recurring characters
- Anderson Anderson (Gabriel Hogan) - a well rounded, good natured guy who can't hold down a job, he has an on-and-off relationship with Sam.
- Celia (Bryn McAuley) - a country Mormon who is new to the city and works at the Hotel Ego bar with Woody who she despises because of all of Woody's sinning.
- Vince - a police officer who takes his job very seriously, his speech is vaguely similar to Al Pacino.
- Wang (Albert Chung) - the owner of A Taste of Wang the local Chinese restaurant, who is also a part-time drug dealer, he has a daughter named Lily.
- Vikram Cha Cha (Sugith Varughese) - VJ's uncle, and his surrogate father, he is a veterinarian.
- Irwin Chang - the leader of the Chinese mafia who is menacing despite the fact that he rarely speaks, he communicates through blowing smoke rings understood by his translator Rudolph.
- Falafel Guy (Tony Daniels) - a falafel guy, his real name is Jeff but no one seems to care. He was killed by Cannabis in "Spanking the Monkey".
- Randy (Dwayne Hill) - a common thief who steals anything he can get his hands on. He was killed by being frozen by liquid nitrogen in "24ish", but returns in the next episode "Perfect 10 Killer".
- Brian Booyah (Howie Mandel) - The CEO of Johnson and Booyah.
- Denise Felcher (Kathleen Laskey) - Mark and VJ's sex addicted boss.
- Bryce (Noah Cappe) - Mark's arch enemy, his coworker who acts like his boss.
- Ursula (Krystal Meadows) - A young coworker of Mark and VJ, she is VJ's secret crush.
- Zorro - VJ's pet raccoon, who despite being an animal is extremely perverted.
- Captain Steiner - an elderly nazi who is Woody's best customer at Hotel Ego.
Episodes
The show ran for two seasons of 13 episodes each.[19]
Season 1
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | American air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Bonnie & Mark" | September 17, 2009 |
| 2 | 2 | "Beaver Fever" | September 24, 2009 |
| 3 | 3 | "Boner Donor" | October 1, 2009 |
| 4 | 4 | "A Taste of Wang" | October 8, 2009 |
| 5 | 5 | "Statute of Limitations" | October 15, 2009 |
| 6 | 6 | "Yummy Dummy" | October 22, 2009 |
| 7 | 7 | "Really Bad Lieutenant" | October 29, 2009 |
| 8 | 8 | "Captain Petard" | November 5, 2009 |
| 9 | 9 | "There's Something About Amelia" | November 12, 2009 |
| 10 | 10 | "Cherry Sundae" | November 19, 2009 |
| 11 | 11 | "Woodyplicity" | December 3, 2009 |
| 12 | 12 | "Wind Tunnel" | December 10, 2009 |
| 13 | 13 | "He's Here and He's Queer" | December 17, 2009 |
Season 2
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | American air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1 | "24ish" | October 6, 2010 |
| 15 | 2 | "Perfect 10 Killer" | October 13, 2010 |
| 16 | 3 | "Incredible Shrinking Woody" | October 20, 2010 |
| 17 | 4 | "AssPocalypse Now" | October 27, 2010 |
| 18 | 5 | "Leprechaun Interrupted" | November 3, 2010 |
| 19 | 6 | "Gross Encounters of the Virgin Kind" | November 10, 2010 |
| 20 | 7 | "VJ and the Holy Boner" | November 17, 2010 |
| 21 | 8 | "Spontaneous Skidmark" | November 24, 2010 |
| 22 | 9 | "Spanking the Monkey" | December 1, 2010 |
| 23 | 10 | "Brother From Another Tanning Booth" | December 8, 2010 |
| 24 | 11 | "Too Fast Too Dexler" | December 15, 2010 |
| 25 | 12 | "Weekend at Booyah's" | December 22, 2010 |
| 26 | 13 | "20,000 VJ's Under the Sea" | December 29, 2010 |
Reception
A review of the show prior to its release on Teletoon praised it for its humour but criticized it for a perceived lack of polish.[20] A review of the DVD rated it 2/5, praising the show's eccentricity and references to Canadian culture but criticizing its humour and storyline.[21]
The Dating Guy has also been criticized for allegedly being a ripoff of the webcomic Least I Could Do, which was reportedly submitted to Teletoon to create an animated series that did not come to fruition.[22] Teletoon has reportedly denied the accusation.[23]
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Gemini Awards | Best Cross-Platform Project - Fiction | DatingGuy.com | Won | [24] |
Home video releases
A DVD containing only Season 1 was released on April 26, 2011.[25] The first season was also released for online viewing on the US version of Amazon Video.[26] The entire show is available from the Canadian iTunes Store.[27] Seasons 1 and 2 are both available on the US version of Hulu.[28]
References
- ↑ "Teletoon Unveils Teletoon at Night’s Fall 2010 Programming Highlights". Channel Canada. 2010-07-17. Retrieved 2013-07-30.
- ↑ "Teletoon Canada Inc. | Teletoon At Night'S Original Series The Dating Guy Serves Up A Comedy Cocktail With A Provocative Twist". Newswire.ca. 2010-09-23. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
- ↑ "Dallas' HDNet debuts "The Dating Guy" | www.pegasusnews.com | Dallas/Fort Worth". www.pegasusnews.com. 2009-09-10. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ AWN | Animation World Network (2007-10-23). "Marblemedia Finds Blueprint for Dating | AWN | Animation World Network". AWN. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ "marblemedia". marblemedia. 2009-10-23. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ Emily Claire Afan (2010-10-15). "Teletoon kicks off new A18-34 block Sunday » Playback". Playbackonline.ca. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ "The Dating Guy | TELETOON at Night". Teletoon.com. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ Metro, Staff (2010-10-14). "Romance gets animated on The Dating Guy | Metro". Metronews.ca. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ "Teletoon gets a date » Playback". Playbackonline.ca. 2006-06-26. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ "Blueprint, marblemedia go Dating » Playback". Playbackonline.ca. 2007-10-19. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ AWN | Animation World Network (2008-04-02). "Dating Guy To Hit Teletoon | AWN | Animation World Network". AWN. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ Ramin Zahed (2009-03-31). "Executive Q&A: MIPTV 2009". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ Katie Bailey (2011-12-12). "Best of the Year: marblemedia » Playback". Playbackonline.ca. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ "datingguy.com". datingguy.com. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ "Mark Dexler". datingguy.com. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ "VJ Mendhi". datingguy.com. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ "Woody Jenkins". datingguy.com. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ "Sam Goldman". datingguy.com. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ "The Dating Guy - Episode Guide - Zap2it". Tvlistings.zap2it.com. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ Avril Lavigne. "Sneak A Peek: The Dating Guy | Mike's Bloggity Blog | Canada's Entertainment Blog | Movies, Television, Music, Radio". Mikesbloggityblog.com. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ "The Dating Guy: Season 1 | DVD Reviews". Pressplus1.com. 2011-05-30. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ "Ryan Sohmer wants you to help make an LICD cartoon a reality!". The Webcomic Overlook. 2011-05-24. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ "Teletoon responds to the LICD discussion". The Webcomic Overlook. 2011-05-25. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ "Canada's Awards Database". .academy.ca. 2013-04-02. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
- ↑ "Dating Guy - Season 1 / Célibataire cherche - Saison 1 Bilingual: Amazon.ca: Fab Filippo, Sean Francis, Lauren Ash: DVD". Amazon.ca. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ comiXology. "The Dating Guy: Season 1, Episode 1 "Bonnie & Mark": Amazon Video". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ "iTunes - TV Shows - The Dating Guy, Season 1". Itunes.apple.com. 2010-10-17. Retrieved 2013-09-29.
- ↑ "Hulu - TV Shows - The Dating Guy". Hulu.com. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
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