Greg the Bunny is an old fashioned ensemble cast TV series that tickles the funny bone. Everyone who watches the series will immediately have a favorite character (mine is the delightfully slow turtle, Tardy). The show had (I use the past tense since this show was never given a shot to find an audience before FOX pulled the plug on it.) an interesting mix of likable (Greg, Jimmy and of course Tardy), misunderstood (Gil and Alison) and just downright strange (Count Blah and most of the fabricated Americans--puppets.) There are a few other human characters who get their time in the stoplight as well. What FOX screwed up was the irreverent nature of the show. Seeing shows like 'Arrested Development' and 'Malcolm in the Middle' on FOX that are boarder line tasteless at times, makes me wonder why they'd try to tone down a show like 'Greg the Bunny'. But they did. The first half of the series is great, then there is a steady decline as the show got whitewashed and sanitized. A wonderful highlight of the DVD set are the commentaries by the creators. At one time it was a passion but then they caved to other peoples whims and the show sank. The Tardy the Turtle mini movie, if you enjoy Tardy is great as well. I highly recommend this show to anybody who enjoys The Simpsons and most other FOX adult cartoons.
55 Reviews
A Good Show Cancelled Too Early
jeremycrimsonfox19 October 2020
A show I saw in my high school years, Greg The Bunny was another Fox show that was made in a time when the network was experimenting with new ideas for TV shows, only to cancel them in one season (sometimes while the season is in progress). A comedy using puppets, the show is about Greg, a bunny living in America, where puppets, or Fabricated Americans, who lives with his friend, Jimmy, played by Seth Green. Needing a job, he goes to apply for an assistant jon at Sweetknuckle Junction, a show directed by Jimmy's father, Gil (played by Eugene Levy), but becomes the replacement for Rochester Rabbit, with Jimmy becoming his father's assistant to keep him on when it's learned Greg has no acting experience. Greg and his fellow castmates get into wacky antics.
The puppets are awesome in this. From the amazing Count Blah to Warren The Ape, the puppets prove they are not for kids (especially when the commercials previewing it shows the stuff, especially that one that parodies the This Is Your Brain On Drugs PSA). The human cast is also good, with the likes of Jack, the host of Sweetknuckle Junction who has a dark side when not in character, to Alison, the network executive who used to work for PBS, the cast is amazing and the actors all do a good job with the episode and the stories they are given (one episode, Sock Like Me, is about prejudice, as Greg writes on the bathroom calling himself a sock, which in universe, is a racist slur towards puppets, and another, Greg Goes Puppish, has Greg join a puppet rights movement).
Sadly, this show only lasted thirteen episodes (eleven which aired on television). During the show's run, Fox could not make up its mind on the direction the show is going, and sometime through, ordered the show to be toned down in some areas, and even focus more on the humans (which is a dumb move considering the title character is a puppet). But this is a good example of how to do adult humor right, as while it does have some tasteless stuff, they make sure to use it sparingly to keep it from getting stale (plus some episodes take jabs at Sesame Street).
The puppets are awesome in this. From the amazing Count Blah to Warren The Ape, the puppets prove they are not for kids (especially when the commercials previewing it shows the stuff, especially that one that parodies the This Is Your Brain On Drugs PSA). The human cast is also good, with the likes of Jack, the host of Sweetknuckle Junction who has a dark side when not in character, to Alison, the network executive who used to work for PBS, the cast is amazing and the actors all do a good job with the episode and the stories they are given (one episode, Sock Like Me, is about prejudice, as Greg writes on the bathroom calling himself a sock, which in universe, is a racist slur towards puppets, and another, Greg Goes Puppish, has Greg join a puppet rights movement).
Sadly, this show only lasted thirteen episodes (eleven which aired on television). During the show's run, Fox could not make up its mind on the direction the show is going, and sometime through, ordered the show to be toned down in some areas, and even focus more on the humans (which is a dumb move considering the title character is a puppet). But this is a good example of how to do adult humor right, as while it does have some tasteless stuff, they make sure to use it sparingly to keep it from getting stale (plus some episodes take jabs at Sesame Street).
Too sophisticated for the American public
srsd3009 May 2022
The double entendres was too much for many of the American public who later became Trump supporters. One of the funniest shows of the decade but again, the Christian Right just couldn't understand that it was a comedy. They saw the fabricated characters as a threat to the country and thought they were illegal aliens who snuck across the border in clothing boxes. The trump public likes Tim Allen shows that have some crazy moral in the end.
Great show, so they'll probably cancel it
Randi-58 May 2002
As I write this, "Greg the Bunny" is a prime candidate for cancellation. What a shame! This is a funny, original show, and I think it would build an audience if Fox gave it a chance.
The characters -- humans and puppets -- are a scream, the concept (that puppets are living, breathing individuals) is totally new, and the humor is both sophisticated and crude. What's not to like?
Fox pulled "Greg" for May sweeps, replacing it with "Bernie Mac" reruns. That can't be a good sign.
The characters -- humans and puppets -- are a scream, the concept (that puppets are living, breathing individuals) is totally new, and the humor is both sophisticated and crude. What's not to like?
Fox pulled "Greg" for May sweeps, replacing it with "Bernie Mac" reruns. That can't be a good sign.
Hysterically funny
MightyPeacelover27 May 2005
This is/was one of the funniest shows I've seen. There are intellectual bits thrown in every once in a while, but the show was stolen time and again by two of the supporting puppets: Warren Demontague/Professor Ape and Tardy the Turtle. Between Warren's incessant solipsism and Shakespearean flair and Tardy's .... can't quite describe it - but it's funny, the show has enough packed into it that it is possible to ignore the more forced parts of the father/son dynamic.
The human cast is perfect, and interact with the puppets in such a manner as to make you almost believe that the puppets are real. It's particularly funny to see Bob Gunton, a.k.a. the Warden from the Shawshank Redemption as Junction Jack. It would have been wonderful to see the interplay develop between the humans and 'fabricated Americans' but alas Fox decided against it. Still, with a return to it's IFC roots coming in June, at least there'll be some Greg for people to watch.
The puppeteers themselves really made the show come alive, despite Greg's eye implants midway through. Personally, I felt that Victor Yerrid's Tardy's bodily expressions were worth th price of the DVD by themselves. Unbelievably funny time and again.
I especially recommend the extras 'Puppet Auditions' and 'Tardy's Letter,' which made me laugh painfully hard. The characters' commentary while you check out the menu screens is funny to hysterically so, and worth waiting until the audio loops.
Can't recommend it higher. If you like the Family Guy, Robot Chicken, Aqua Teen Hunger Force or the like, you'll love Greg the Bunny. Also great for fans of Seth Green, Eugene Levy, Sarah Silverman, Bob Gunton, and Dina Waters. It's worth the rental price, at least.
The human cast is perfect, and interact with the puppets in such a manner as to make you almost believe that the puppets are real. It's particularly funny to see Bob Gunton, a.k.a. the Warden from the Shawshank Redemption as Junction Jack. It would have been wonderful to see the interplay develop between the humans and 'fabricated Americans' but alas Fox decided against it. Still, with a return to it's IFC roots coming in June, at least there'll be some Greg for people to watch.
The puppeteers themselves really made the show come alive, despite Greg's eye implants midway through. Personally, I felt that Victor Yerrid's Tardy's bodily expressions were worth th price of the DVD by themselves. Unbelievably funny time and again.
I especially recommend the extras 'Puppet Auditions' and 'Tardy's Letter,' which made me laugh painfully hard. The characters' commentary while you check out the menu screens is funny to hysterically so, and worth waiting until the audio loops.
Can't recommend it higher. If you like the Family Guy, Robot Chicken, Aqua Teen Hunger Force or the like, you'll love Greg the Bunny. Also great for fans of Seth Green, Eugene Levy, Sarah Silverman, Bob Gunton, and Dina Waters. It's worth the rental price, at least.
A fun Must buy for a long summer
Rabh1720 July 2007
I heard of Greg the Bunny long ago, but passed it up because I thought it was going to go far too far into sophomorism and just overdo it.
But now that I watched it, the show is a nice, light, ADULT mix of humor. Sesame Street-- but a Sesame Street where after the cameras are off, the puppets grab a cigarette, take a leak, hit the snack table and think about getting some action. . .maybe, they hope.
Seth and Levy are great, but as others have said, they are the sounding boards for the puppets. Greg is cute-- but Warren is a Scream. And the sitcom snaps hilarious because, let's face it, We Don't expect to hear those kinds of things fall out of a Puppet's mouth. The Innuendo is hysterical: Puppet dirty magazines, anyone?
The amazing part of the whole series is that the producers and writers played everything on Just-This-Side-of-the-line from raw. The show never dives into obscenity. But the audience fills in the rest and laughs and laughs. A kid-- well maybe a very YOUNG kid (If you raised it right)-- would watch and scratch his head and wonder why his Mom and Dad are gasping and out of breath.
No-- Not a hit every time. Not every episode. But hey, it's a sitcom- with puppets!! And it's actually kinda 'sweet'
But not for small Kids-- (Not if you raised them right!)
But now that I watched it, the show is a nice, light, ADULT mix of humor. Sesame Street-- but a Sesame Street where after the cameras are off, the puppets grab a cigarette, take a leak, hit the snack table and think about getting some action. . .maybe, they hope.
Seth and Levy are great, but as others have said, they are the sounding boards for the puppets. Greg is cute-- but Warren is a Scream. And the sitcom snaps hilarious because, let's face it, We Don't expect to hear those kinds of things fall out of a Puppet's mouth. The Innuendo is hysterical: Puppet dirty magazines, anyone?
The amazing part of the whole series is that the producers and writers played everything on Just-This-Side-of-the-line from raw. The show never dives into obscenity. But the audience fills in the rest and laughs and laughs. A kid-- well maybe a very YOUNG kid (If you raised it right)-- would watch and scratch his head and wonder why his Mom and Dad are gasping and out of breath.
No-- Not a hit every time. Not every episode. But hey, it's a sitcom- with puppets!! And it's actually kinda 'sweet'
But not for small Kids-- (Not if you raised them right!)
Sheer Genius
fung07 January 2011
This is the kind of show that US television really can't do. When someone does accidentally sneak in the side door with a brilliant effort like Greg the Bunny, it has to be neutered or killed. (Just like Firefly and many other shows that actually dare to push the boundaries.)
Of COURSE Greg the Bunny was not allowed (or helped) to find its audience. I only caught it by total fluke, without knowing what kind of show it was. What I discovered was one of the most innovative, cynical, depraved and utterly hilarious series of all time. (If you don't get it, don't hurt yourself trying. Just flip over to those reruns of Friends, and let your brain turn to porridge.)
In the UK, things are very different. Off-the-wall shows like Black Books, Still Game or 15 Storeys High are lovingly incubated and cherished for generations. Sometimes, as with Monty Python, they achieve worldwide acclaim. That's the reward for taking chances.
My advice: seek out the excellent DVD collection of Greg the Bunny and take a chance. Then ask yourself why all TV comedy can't be this clever.
Of COURSE Greg the Bunny was not allowed (or helped) to find its audience. I only caught it by total fluke, without knowing what kind of show it was. What I discovered was one of the most innovative, cynical, depraved and utterly hilarious series of all time. (If you don't get it, don't hurt yourself trying. Just flip over to those reruns of Friends, and let your brain turn to porridge.)
In the UK, things are very different. Off-the-wall shows like Black Books, Still Game or 15 Storeys High are lovingly incubated and cherished for generations. Sometimes, as with Monty Python, they achieve worldwide acclaim. That's the reward for taking chances.
My advice: seek out the excellent DVD collection of Greg the Bunny and take a chance. Then ask yourself why all TV comedy can't be this clever.
An absolute FOX classic!
Catherine_Grace_Zeh22 January 2006
"GREG THE BUNNY," in my opinion, is an absolute FOX classic! I've seen every episode, and I still enjoyed it very much. It's hard to say which episode was my favorite. However, I think it was always funny when a mishap occurred. I always laughed at that. Despite the fact that it was a short-lived series, it was nice that the main characters stayed with the show throughout its entire run. It seems that no one stays with a show throughout its entire run. Everyone always gave a good performance, the production design was spectacular, the costumes were well-designed, and the writing was always very strong. In conclusion, I hope they bring it back on the air for fans of the show to see.
The muppets on drugs.
SHB_7331 March 2002
The above summary would be the best way to describe this show. The puppets and humans co-exist together in this laughably funny show which takes us behind the scenes of a children's show called "Sweetknuckle Junction". Greg the bubby (voiced by Dan Milano) is the newest castmember of the show which stars both humans and puppets (or as they liked to be called "fabricated Americans".) What's funny is when the cameras stop rolling and the cast start insulting each other, the one liners between the puppets and humans are so funny and the chemistry between them works perfectly. Not since the 80's TV show "D.C. Follies" has a show about puppets made me laugh. Greg the bunny is one of the funnier new shows on Fox.
You better watch this show; blah!
kazama-24 June 2002
Greg: I saw your hooters Dottie?
Dottie: WHAT?!?!?!
Greg: The owls for the counting sketch. They're right over there.
Owls: Hi.
With lines and witty humor like that, this show should be migrated to FX so it can be as adult as the original verison on IFC. Smart, witty, funny, and just worth a half hour of anyones time.
Dottie: WHAT?!?!?!
Greg: The owls for the counting sketch. They're right over there.
Owls: Hi.
With lines and witty humor like that, this show should be migrated to FX so it can be as adult as the original verison on IFC. Smart, witty, funny, and just worth a half hour of anyones time.
Flawed but lovable
abdel41114 December 2006
This was a show that was easy to fall in love with, flaws and all. Most of the episodes had long periods where nothing funny was going on, like two people sitting in an office with no puppets, no gags, straight story-line type stuff. Then you'd have a couple of knee-jerk type jokes with the ape making a poop joke maybe. Generally, not the best writing in the world. But the idea, the feel of the show, everything about it just made it so easy to love, that I still miss this show and have fond memories of when it was on the air. And even though it was a seriously flawed show, by the time it had hit its second season, I'm sure it would have worked everything out. Besides, it was ten times better than half the crap FOX is still putting on their network.
Watch it for the mentally challenged turtle
manicmango131 January 2005
I never get attached to shows. I hate sitcoms, and the few shows I like always get canned. I made the mistake of getting attached to this.
When I saw the first episode, I couldn't believe anything that good was on TV. It was actually funny! Yet I knew it wouldn't last. I could see that the mainstream just wasn't ready for Greg the Bunny. After all, how would one prepare for a show full of crazy puppets? The characters are amazing. Eugene Levy, Seth Green, and Sarah Silverman are all very funny. However, the puppets make the show. Count Blah is obviously a take off of the count on Sesame Street. The retarded turtle who graduated from Harvard (he got head of his class), the alcoholic thespian monkey, the washed-up Rochester Rabbit, and several others that I can't think of right now are all hilarious. Junction Jack is certifiable but hilarious. Each episode has a few things that make you laugh out loud. Tardy the Turtle has a non-sequitir one-liner every episode, such as "Nobody's supposed to touch me where my bathing suit covers." The episodes I liked best were the one with the constipated Snuggles bear who screams "somebody kill me!" while on the john and the one where Junction Jack castrates Jimmy's (Seth Green) girlfriend's dog and the episode where Greg gets really involved in "puppet's rights." The DVD has a ton of outtakes and special features and is definitely worth it since this show got canned two years ago.
When I saw the first episode, I couldn't believe anything that good was on TV. It was actually funny! Yet I knew it wouldn't last. I could see that the mainstream just wasn't ready for Greg the Bunny. After all, how would one prepare for a show full of crazy puppets? The characters are amazing. Eugene Levy, Seth Green, and Sarah Silverman are all very funny. However, the puppets make the show. Count Blah is obviously a take off of the count on Sesame Street. The retarded turtle who graduated from Harvard (he got head of his class), the alcoholic thespian monkey, the washed-up Rochester Rabbit, and several others that I can't think of right now are all hilarious. Junction Jack is certifiable but hilarious. Each episode has a few things that make you laugh out loud. Tardy the Turtle has a non-sequitir one-liner every episode, such as "Nobody's supposed to touch me where my bathing suit covers." The episodes I liked best were the one with the constipated Snuggles bear who screams "somebody kill me!" while on the john and the one where Junction Jack castrates Jimmy's (Seth Green) girlfriend's dog and the episode where Greg gets really involved in "puppet's rights." The DVD has a ton of outtakes and special features and is definitely worth it since this show got canned two years ago.
Great start
jps-00727 March 2002
Excellent concept, with great writing, a really funny cast, and lines that you just don't expect to come from puppets. This has the potential to be as funny as "That 70's Show" and "Malcolm in the Middle". As long as the scripts are allowed to stay quirky, this show and "Andy Richter" will last.
One of the funniest things on TV
cdudte13 February 2005
Fox canceled this thing too early... I'm hoping that the the DVD is market research like the Family Guy DVD, and they bring it back! This comedy was too smart for the American Public. If you've seen Mr. Roger's Neighborhood and Sesame Street, you would understand the comedy and humor in living animated puppets (fabricated Americans!). One of the best shows on TV! The Alcoholic Fozzy-bear character, the count that keeps dropping his pants, the hottie dumb blonde and the conductor that's sarcastic! So many characters are what we wish were on Barney and Sesame Street. This show captures the true essence of children's shows!
hilarious -- da bomb!
saimahuq10 April 2003
I loved this show! The funniest characters were the puppets (fabricated Americans) who interacted on the same level as the humans, were just as vain and ridiculous as any other celebrity. They all graduated from Harvard (as they sing in the opening credits) and have started this kids' show.
The humans weren't all that as characters, but the writing was great. In one episode, Greg the Bunny is competing with Jimmy (Seth Green) for the attentions of Laura, a lovely female reporter. Greg imperiously tells Jimmy (as Laura only has eyes for the star of the show), "A vanilla cappuccino. Make that happen!" To which Jimmy bitterly says "Yeah, I could make a lot of things happen to your vanilla cappuccino."
Another favorite line is when someone accuses Count Blah of being a rip-off of Sesame Street's "the Count". "HE is the fake! His accent is fake! I am from Transylvania -- HE is from New Jersey!"
Or when one character laments "This party isn't going to be like that time you all came to my house and cleaned out my liquor cabinet!" and another one says "THAT was an intervention!"
Yeah, boozing puppets -- gotta love it!
The humans weren't all that as characters, but the writing was great. In one episode, Greg the Bunny is competing with Jimmy (Seth Green) for the attentions of Laura, a lovely female reporter. Greg imperiously tells Jimmy (as Laura only has eyes for the star of the show), "A vanilla cappuccino. Make that happen!" To which Jimmy bitterly says "Yeah, I could make a lot of things happen to your vanilla cappuccino."
Another favorite line is when someone accuses Count Blah of being a rip-off of Sesame Street's "the Count". "HE is the fake! His accent is fake! I am from Transylvania -- HE is from New Jersey!"
Or when one character laments "This party isn't going to be like that time you all came to my house and cleaned out my liquor cabinet!" and another one says "THAT was an intervention!"
Yeah, boozing puppets -- gotta love it!
"Greg" is a unique screwball series that gets better and better as it goes. Much better than Fox made it look.
liquidcelluloid-19 April 2005
Network: Fox; Genre: Comedy; Content Rating: TV-PG (for language, innuendo and adult content); Available: DVD; Classification: Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4);
Season Reviewed: Complete Series (1 season)
Created by Dan Milano (from his own short "The Greg the Bunny Show"), Spencer Chinoy and Steven Levitan (a hack assembly line sitcom producer, here stumbling on his best work with Milano); "Greg" is set in a universe in which the puppets from children's shows are alive off-camera and cohabitate the Earth with humans. This may not sound new, but "Greg" takes an angle exploiting the political and cultural differences between the humans and these living pieces of sewn together cloth hilariously. Puppets, you see, prefer to be called "farbricated-Americans", speak the near dead native tongue of "puppish" and the most offensive racial epithet you can hurl at them is "sock". The writing is witty; cleverly dispensing pop-culture jabs and one-liners with a sense of irony and cartoon-like self-deprivation.
In "Greg" adorable little bunny puppet Greg (voiced by Milano) gets shoved into the starring role of "Sweetknuckle Junction" - a low-rated public access children's show that includes the crackled Junction Jack (Bob Gunton), Dottie (Dina Waters, crying a lot), and puppets Count Blah (Drew Massey), Warren Demontague (Milano) and Tardy the turtle. Behind the scenes Greg's friend Jimmy (Seth Green) is the PA, Jimmy's father Gil (comedy god Eugene Levy) is "producer/director" with Alison (Sarah Silverman) as the voice of the network. Somewhere in there is "Susan the monster", one of the funniest running characters on the series.
My review of the initial televised run of "Greg" would not have been a positive one. I felt the show was awkward and never became outrageous enough or hit - yes, what Roger Ebert calls - escape velocity to become really funny. I'm happy to say that that wouldn't have been right. Fox ran the episodes out of order and used the lamest gags to promo it (actually gags in which the joke was that they where supposed to be lame).
Good thing for DVD. The show did indeed start out awkward, lacking comic delivery and the actors still seem uncomfortable. But when you reassemble the series in production order you get a show that gets better and better as it goes. The actors get more comfortable with their puppet co-stars, the stories get wackier and more creative. Eventually, the show finds its rhythm as an ensemble comedy.
As a Shakespearian trained actor trapped in a children's show, Warren the Ape just about steals the series. However, all the puppets are endearing. Milano has concocted a colorful cast of characters to play with here and it becomes a joy watching them - and all their ticks - interact. The show takes full advantage of the things it can get away with with a puppet cast (the turn-around episode "Rabbit Redux" features a puppet funeral roast). And some things are just intrinsically funnier when said by a puppet. You haven't quite lived until you've heard Count Blah punctuating a tale of his romantic endeavors with the phrase "she blahed me". This isn't Jim Henson and the show is shabby in the puppet production department, as Greg literally has buttons for eyes in the first half, but that is part of its slacker comic charm.
Typically mugging Seth Green wisely underplays and gets some of his biggest laughs ever (an over-the-top reaction in "Surprise" is a favorite). But then there is Eugene Levy, who is so effortless you can't tell if he's slumming. Even if this show may only reach the kids who just know him as "the dad" from "American Pie". It boggles the mind that a network can cancel a show that is able to harness the comic talent of Eugene Levy each week. For her part Sarah Silverman has never looked sexier. She never really seems to warm up to the puppets, but, honestly, she is lucky just to be standing next to someone like Levy.
Normally I would fault hack producer Levitan, but "Greg" was constantly being cut off at the knees by the network - one that doesn't know what to do with this type of show and wants it to be "edgy" one minute and at the same time appeal to the kids that would watch the kind of shows this one is parodying the next. Got that? No, it doesn't make sense, and it is awkward but that's Fox - always wanting to please everyone all the time and in the process alienating the show's likely audience.
But just in time Milano's wacky vision starts to crawl out from under the network constraints and hits its stride in the last half. "Father and Son Reunion", "Blah Bawls", the screwball "The Jewel Heist", "The Singing Mailman" and particularly "Surprise" and the unaired "Jimmy Drives Gil Crazy" are terrific. Corey Feldman, Mad TV's Michael McDonald and Marilu Henner (as Warren's ex-wife) show up in gutsy guest spots. The show ultimately finds a nice middle ground between silly "Sesame Street" jokes and the vulgar excesses of Robert Smigel's "TV Funhouse".
In the normal life cycle of a long running TV series, it is often a given that the first season is a write-off as a time when the show was still experimenting and trying to find itself. Of course now, with the networks hair-trigger reaction to cancel shows that don't perform instantaneously, most of the time a first unrepresentative season is all we have to go on. I can't forget the mis-steps of the first few episodes, but they are forgivable and hardly out of the ordinary. It is only Fox's fault that this show didn't blossom into the full-blown comic fun that seems capable of. "Greg" is original, crazy, adorable, smart and very funny. Put it on your list of Great Shows Canceled Before Their Time.
* * ½ / 4
Season Reviewed: Complete Series (1 season)
Created by Dan Milano (from his own short "The Greg the Bunny Show"), Spencer Chinoy and Steven Levitan (a hack assembly line sitcom producer, here stumbling on his best work with Milano); "Greg" is set in a universe in which the puppets from children's shows are alive off-camera and cohabitate the Earth with humans. This may not sound new, but "Greg" takes an angle exploiting the political and cultural differences between the humans and these living pieces of sewn together cloth hilariously. Puppets, you see, prefer to be called "farbricated-Americans", speak the near dead native tongue of "puppish" and the most offensive racial epithet you can hurl at them is "sock". The writing is witty; cleverly dispensing pop-culture jabs and one-liners with a sense of irony and cartoon-like self-deprivation.
In "Greg" adorable little bunny puppet Greg (voiced by Milano) gets shoved into the starring role of "Sweetknuckle Junction" - a low-rated public access children's show that includes the crackled Junction Jack (Bob Gunton), Dottie (Dina Waters, crying a lot), and puppets Count Blah (Drew Massey), Warren Demontague (Milano) and Tardy the turtle. Behind the scenes Greg's friend Jimmy (Seth Green) is the PA, Jimmy's father Gil (comedy god Eugene Levy) is "producer/director" with Alison (Sarah Silverman) as the voice of the network. Somewhere in there is "Susan the monster", one of the funniest running characters on the series.
My review of the initial televised run of "Greg" would not have been a positive one. I felt the show was awkward and never became outrageous enough or hit - yes, what Roger Ebert calls - escape velocity to become really funny. I'm happy to say that that wouldn't have been right. Fox ran the episodes out of order and used the lamest gags to promo it (actually gags in which the joke was that they where supposed to be lame).
Good thing for DVD. The show did indeed start out awkward, lacking comic delivery and the actors still seem uncomfortable. But when you reassemble the series in production order you get a show that gets better and better as it goes. The actors get more comfortable with their puppet co-stars, the stories get wackier and more creative. Eventually, the show finds its rhythm as an ensemble comedy.
As a Shakespearian trained actor trapped in a children's show, Warren the Ape just about steals the series. However, all the puppets are endearing. Milano has concocted a colorful cast of characters to play with here and it becomes a joy watching them - and all their ticks - interact. The show takes full advantage of the things it can get away with with a puppet cast (the turn-around episode "Rabbit Redux" features a puppet funeral roast). And some things are just intrinsically funnier when said by a puppet. You haven't quite lived until you've heard Count Blah punctuating a tale of his romantic endeavors with the phrase "she blahed me". This isn't Jim Henson and the show is shabby in the puppet production department, as Greg literally has buttons for eyes in the first half, but that is part of its slacker comic charm.
Typically mugging Seth Green wisely underplays and gets some of his biggest laughs ever (an over-the-top reaction in "Surprise" is a favorite). But then there is Eugene Levy, who is so effortless you can't tell if he's slumming. Even if this show may only reach the kids who just know him as "the dad" from "American Pie". It boggles the mind that a network can cancel a show that is able to harness the comic talent of Eugene Levy each week. For her part Sarah Silverman has never looked sexier. She never really seems to warm up to the puppets, but, honestly, she is lucky just to be standing next to someone like Levy.
Normally I would fault hack producer Levitan, but "Greg" was constantly being cut off at the knees by the network - one that doesn't know what to do with this type of show and wants it to be "edgy" one minute and at the same time appeal to the kids that would watch the kind of shows this one is parodying the next. Got that? No, it doesn't make sense, and it is awkward but that's Fox - always wanting to please everyone all the time and in the process alienating the show's likely audience.
But just in time Milano's wacky vision starts to crawl out from under the network constraints and hits its stride in the last half. "Father and Son Reunion", "Blah Bawls", the screwball "The Jewel Heist", "The Singing Mailman" and particularly "Surprise" and the unaired "Jimmy Drives Gil Crazy" are terrific. Corey Feldman, Mad TV's Michael McDonald and Marilu Henner (as Warren's ex-wife) show up in gutsy guest spots. The show ultimately finds a nice middle ground between silly "Sesame Street" jokes and the vulgar excesses of Robert Smigel's "TV Funhouse".
In the normal life cycle of a long running TV series, it is often a given that the first season is a write-off as a time when the show was still experimenting and trying to find itself. Of course now, with the networks hair-trigger reaction to cancel shows that don't perform instantaneously, most of the time a first unrepresentative season is all we have to go on. I can't forget the mis-steps of the first few episodes, but they are forgivable and hardly out of the ordinary. It is only Fox's fault that this show didn't blossom into the full-blown comic fun that seems capable of. "Greg" is original, crazy, adorable, smart and very funny. Put it on your list of Great Shows Canceled Before Their Time.
* * ½ / 4
Hilarious but not for kids.
oxblood12 January 2005
Excellent but short-lived cancelled series from FOX network, "Greg the Bunny" is hilarious and makes you wonder why it wasn't picked up by the Comedy Channel.
Set in a world where puppets are considered a race, Greg is a rabbit puppet who lives with his human pal, Jimmy (Seth Green) who gets him a job on a kids' TV show where his father (Eugene Levy) is a director. The cast of the TV show includes a prima donna ape puppet, a Count Dracula-like puppet with a speech impediment, as well as other humans and puppets. The main theme is that everyone involved humans and puppets alike, have their own personal problems and quirks.
The show is a riot especially characters like , Warren D'Montague, the thespian ape with a host of vices and the surly Junction Jack who acts like a friendly Mr. Greenjeans before the camera but has a cigarette and a griping attitude as soon as the director yells "cut".
Even though shows like "The Simpsons" have been able to break the boundaries between adult and children's viewing, it's impossible to market a show like this on network TV without pointing toward children. Adults would never go for an adult puppet show. They're much too self-conscious and hypocritical to allow themselves the pleasure. However, be warned: despite it's Sesame Street references, this show is not for kids. There are way too many references to sex, drugs and alcohol, race and violence for this to be geared toward kids. It's obvious why this show was canceled by even the maverick network, FOX. Network TV could never sustain a show this unmarketable. Try to show it to kids and their parents will complain about the adult content. But adults would never give it a chance cuz it visually resembles a kid show. Kind of a Catch-22. This is the type of thing that could have gone farther on cable. Comedy Channel, Spike TV, MTV, even. Check out the DVD. All the filmed eps are there including 2 never aired. Funny stuff! Guest shots by Gary Oldman, Marilu Henner and Corey Feldman.
Set in a world where puppets are considered a race, Greg is a rabbit puppet who lives with his human pal, Jimmy (Seth Green) who gets him a job on a kids' TV show where his father (Eugene Levy) is a director. The cast of the TV show includes a prima donna ape puppet, a Count Dracula-like puppet with a speech impediment, as well as other humans and puppets. The main theme is that everyone involved humans and puppets alike, have their own personal problems and quirks.
The show is a riot especially characters like , Warren D'Montague, the thespian ape with a host of vices and the surly Junction Jack who acts like a friendly Mr. Greenjeans before the camera but has a cigarette and a griping attitude as soon as the director yells "cut".
Even though shows like "The Simpsons" have been able to break the boundaries between adult and children's viewing, it's impossible to market a show like this on network TV without pointing toward children. Adults would never go for an adult puppet show. They're much too self-conscious and hypocritical to allow themselves the pleasure. However, be warned: despite it's Sesame Street references, this show is not for kids. There are way too many references to sex, drugs and alcohol, race and violence for this to be geared toward kids. It's obvious why this show was canceled by even the maverick network, FOX. Network TV could never sustain a show this unmarketable. Try to show it to kids and their parents will complain about the adult content. But adults would never give it a chance cuz it visually resembles a kid show. Kind of a Catch-22. This is the type of thing that could have gone farther on cable. Comedy Channel, Spike TV, MTV, even. Check out the DVD. All the filmed eps are there including 2 never aired. Funny stuff! Guest shots by Gary Oldman, Marilu Henner and Corey Feldman.
Down right hilarious......
raysond28 March 2002
I had the chance to catch the premiere episode of "Greg The Bunny" as of last night on FOX. Not since the days of earlier puppet shows has this one been funnier. It was a send-up of Jim Henson's Muppets mixed in with several characters that had striking resemblances...for instance,Greg the Bunny looks more the 'bunny rabbit' from Bob Keeshan's Captain Kangaroo;a count by the name of Count Blah resembles the count from Sesame Street,which looks striking different,but Blah is not from Sesame Street mind you......let me give you a synopsis of the show..it begins with a ordinary adventures of fast talking,smart(and sometimes potty mouth)Bunny who gets hired to do a children's television show and is run by the director(played by SCTV's Eugene Levy)who insisted that he is the next biggest thing to come since Kermit the Frog,but he is not Kermit mind you(Kermit is for kids,Greg is not--BE WARNED)and he is always on constant watch by his manager in charge.
However,the show is down right hilarious,especially with the puppets and all,but it passes the book with flying colors,but let me remind you---since this show came on Wednesday nights that this is not a children's show and if you have little ones who are wondering what that bunny is doing while they're up and about---please send the little ones to bed--IMMEDIATELY---this is an adult show....but if you have pre-teens and all,it's okay,because its made for teens and adults in mind but in terms it is funny. A Must See.
However,the show is down right hilarious,especially with the puppets and all,but it passes the book with flying colors,but let me remind you---since this show came on Wednesday nights that this is not a children's show and if you have little ones who are wondering what that bunny is doing while they're up and about---please send the little ones to bed--IMMEDIATELY---this is an adult show....but if you have pre-teens and all,it's okay,because its made for teens and adults in mind but in terms it is funny. A Must See.
Hilarious!
beautiful_suburban_midnight4 April 2002
Freaking Hilarious
MessedupJames27 March 2002
This show took all that was adult humor and throw it into one show. I love the puppets and actors chemistry and the right timing of humor that the writers throw in. Seth Green will always be funny and the dad from American Pie kicks ass too. Thank God, finally a South-Park like show with quality.
Why was this show cancelled?
CmHowell995 July 2003
This show was hilarious I cannot believe it was cancelled It was about a show called Sweetkunckle Junction that had all these acting puppets the show was directed by Gil Bender then one day a bunny named Greg could not find a job so he had Gil's son Jimmy help him get a job on Sweetknuckle Junction. The show revolves around letters. One time a crew for TV guide came to interview the show Sweetknuckle Junction and everybody had a busy job to do getting prepared. Another time Gil's ex-wife planned to marry another man and that made Gil depressed. Another time Sweetkunckle Junction had to support a kid's group. So in all in all this show was hilarious shame on Fox Television for cancelling this program.
the actors all rock
wolvsrain11 March 2005
yeah, junction jack is good but so are all the other non-puppet actors. i don't think he 'tolerated' anyone. everything they do is so goofy and silly and off the wall that any one actor treating the others like indulgent little children is really beside the point. Seth Green is so great as GB's sidekick. he doesn't get in the bunny's way and he lets GB get all the attention. yeah the girls are sexy and i don't see what your problem with sluts is. basically they're all good--that show is flawless.
besides, Greg the bunny is so cute! i'd go out with him. but since it's off the air i watch adult swim. aqua teen hunger force is a riot and inuyasha and kagome are totally cute. i want to ride my bike and suddenly end up with some hot half demon.
besides, Greg the bunny is so cute! i'd go out with him. but since it's off the air i watch adult swim. aqua teen hunger force is a riot and inuyasha and kagome are totally cute. i want to ride my bike and suddenly end up with some hot half demon.
Not funny
Art1-213 April 2002
This was not funny and certainly not memorable. I felt myself waiting for it to get funny and certainly saddened by the fact that with above average actors, one could not link them up with some superior writing.
Where a good percentage of the actors are puppets, you absolutely must have reasonably decent writing. Here's the premise: Inexperienced director, with cynical puppets, ditzy gal, and a has-been actor attempts to revamp a kid show, but only causes kids to spasm due to light effects. Not even a good try.
Where a good percentage of the actors are puppets, you absolutely must have reasonably decent writing. Here's the premise: Inexperienced director, with cynical puppets, ditzy gal, and a has-been actor attempts to revamp a kid show, but only causes kids to spasm due to light effects. Not even a good try.
Did someone say "Evil" Muppetshow?
cozm09 April 2002
Look out, here its comes!
Fox surely has a HIT-show in its hands here
-Very funny one-liners (Tardy eating crayons: "crayons taste like purple") -Great cast (Tardy, Warren and Count Blah, blah rule) -The human cast also is very nicely casted with Seth Green as Greg's friend
I really am hooked on the Greg the Bunny show since day one (even though it doesnt air in Europe :)
Stop wasting ur time reading these reviews, go see the show, blah!
Fox surely has a HIT-show in its hands here
-Very funny one-liners (Tardy eating crayons: "crayons taste like purple") -Great cast (Tardy, Warren and Count Blah, blah rule) -The human cast also is very nicely casted with Seth Green as Greg's friend
I really am hooked on the Greg the Bunny show since day one (even though it doesnt air in Europe :)
Stop wasting ur time reading these reviews, go see the show, blah!
if you can find them, check out the IFC shorts
yesacs4 April 2002
i fell in love with this show when it was on the Independant Film Channel. It was on Saturday nights at 10pm and they would host a movie providing sketch bookends related to the movie of the week. These were light years ahead of what you now see on FOX. Some things in the FOX version are funny, but not like non stop comedy of the original. If you can, check out "The Godfather 2000" that they did.
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