Pet Alien

Pet Alien (French: Alien Bazar) is an animated television series created by Jeff Muncy of Pajanimals fame, with episodes written by Dan Danko and directed by Andrew Young.^[2] The series is a co-production of Mike Young Productions of the United States, Antefilms Production of France, Crest Communications of India and Telegael of Ireland, in association with John Doze Studios, with the participation of TF1 in co-production with Télétoon (France) and distribution by Taffy Entertainment. For Season 2, KI.KA and Europool in Germany joined as co-production partners.^[3]

Pet Alien
Genre	Slapstick Comedy Science fiction
Created by	Jeff Muncy
Developed by	Dan Danko Josh Fisher Tom K. Brown Bill Schultz Jeff Muncy Sadaf Cohen Muncy Andrew Young
Directed by	Andrew Young
Voices of	Charlie Schlatter Charlie Adler Jess Harnell Candi Milo
Composer	Michael Tavera
Country of origin	United States France Ireland India (season 1) Germany (season 2)
Original language	English
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	52 (104 segments)
Production
Executive producers	Bill Schultz Jeff Muncy Sadaf Cohen Muncy Nicolas Atlan Christophe di Sabatino Paul Cummins Sebastian Debertin (season 2) Marc Gabizon (season 2)
Producers	Siobhan Ni Ghadra Cary Silver (season 1)
Running time	22 minutes
Production companies	Mike Young Productions Antefilms Production (season 1) Crest Communications (season 1) Telegael Teoranta Europool (season 2) MoonScoop (season 2) Taffy Entertainment Télétoon
Original release
Network	TF1/Télétoon (France) Cartoon Network/Animania HD (U.S.)
Release	November 20, 2004 (2004-11-20)[1] – 2007 (2007)

It aired on Cartoon Network and Animania HD^[4] in the United States, and TF1 and Télétoon in France. 52 episodes were produced, making 104 segments.^[5]

Synopsis

The series centers on 13-year-old^[6] Tommy Cadle, whose lighthouse is invaded by five aliens.

Characters

Main characters

• Tommy Cadle (voiced by Charlie Schlatter) - He was once a normal kid who had no cares in the world and did well in school, at least until the aliens came along. Tommy is often bullied by some of the other kids because of the aliens' actions and is annoyed by them, but generally accepts them as part of his life and sees Dinko as his best friend. Dinko always refers to him as "Tommy of Earth".
• Dinko (voiced by Charlie Adler) - A Pterodactylus-like alien that is the leader of the alien gang, and Tommy's best friend. He and Gumpers always try to help Tommy, but they always muck things up, often because they misunderstand Tommy's words to the point of insanity. Often Dinko will go to extreme measures to solve his curiosity to these words and earth rituals. This all leads to Tommy getting punished and/or blamed for everything and the aliens get off scot-free. Dinko apparently also fears cats, so much so there's an episode ("Night of the Cat People") about it.
• Gumpers (voiced by Jess Harnell) - A strong, but easily scared gorilla-like alien with a big appetite. He appears to be extremely dumb most of the time, but he is capable of intelligent thoughts if he strains his brain hard enough. He and Dinko try to help Tommy with his problems, but they always mess things up and cause a bigger issue. Sometimes, Gumpers will point out the flaws in Dinko's plans, but Dinko never listens to him and does what he wants instead.
• Swanky (voiced by Jess Harnell) - Swanky is a British-accented insect-like alien that is the most refined of the gang. He is rude, lazy, elegant and very self-centered. He rarely accompanies Tommy and the aliens on their wacky adventures. He enjoys fancy things and massages and wants to steal Tommy's room for himself.
• Flip (voiced by Charlie Adler) - An energetic parrot-like alien and the biggest troublemaker of the alien gang whose speech is often unintelligible.
• Scruffy - Dinko's pet dog who jumps like a hare and whose tongue supposedly is smarter than himself.

Major characters

• Gabby (voiced by Candi Milo) - a girl who is in love with Tommy, but unfortunately he doesn't feel the same way. In several episodes it is revealed that she can smell when Tommy is in trouble.
• Granville DeSpray (voiced by Jess Harnell) - a direct descendant of DeSpray Bay's founders, and as such he values old English traditions like teatime. Oddly, all the characters think he is Norwegian. Granville is hopelessly in love with Melba and has numerous times, to no avail, attempted to win her heart. He hates Tommy and always blames him for anything bad that happens. He only has one friend; the statue Admiral Puff. He has another dog statue named Jean Claude. He always tries to impress Melba by acting street and displaying hip-and-hop.
• Clinton Fillmore Jefferson XIII (voiced by Charlie Schlatter) - Clinton competes in any kind of sports available and usually wins. He is also a bully who likes to annoy others including Tommy. He has a Canadian accent and his catchphrase is "Losah!" which he refers to people as.
• Melba Manners (voiced by Candi Milo) - A spoiled brat who is the arch-enemy of Tommy. She enjoys forcing him to do tedious or tiresome tasks and has a loud and shrill voice. She is also an exceptionally clever opponent in staring competitions. Like the other humans, she is too stupid to tell that the aliens are aliens. She just calls them Tommy's "things".
• Cap'n Spangley (voiced by Charlie Adler) - An old sailor who is a little crazy. He is afraid of water and crustaceans and he runs the local taffy shop which Tommy and the aliens visit often.

Minor/recurring characters

• Tommy's Mom (voiced by Candi Milo) - A woman who lives in a house located near to Tommy's lighthouse. The viewers never get to see her, as she keeps contact with her son solely through a speaker installed in Tommy's bedroom.
• Old Man Bitters - Cap'n Spangley's archenemy.
• Emperor Breet - An evil, terrifyingly demonic emperor who now and then journeys to Earth to kidnap the aliens living with Tommy. Unfortunately, he always loses the right to take them in a game he isn't very clever at, and therefore despises: musical chairs.
• Doctor Daffodil (voiced by Charlie Adler) - An octopus-like alien that Dinko and his friends consults whenever Tommy needs a doctor. Unfortunately, his methods can be highly dangerous and Tommy therefore tries to evade him as much as possible.
• Tommy's Teacher (voiced by Candi Milo) - She usually appears in some episodes that revolve in school. In one episode, she gave Tommy his first B− for his inflated hand and degraded it to a C+ when the hand shrunk and to a C− when his leg inflated.
• Mom-sicle and Popsicle - Swanky's parents who are red-necked unlike their son.
• The Mime - A mime that tries to enter the lighthouse but is always stopped by Flip.
• The Frog - A banjo-playing frog that appears in some episodes often as intermission for a new scene or a gag.

Production

The show was first confirmed to be in production as early as April 2002.^[7] In October 2002, the show's production partners were announced.^[8]

The series first premiered in the United States on Animania HD on November 20, 2004.^[4] Cartoon Network channels across the world acquired the pay-TV rights to the series.^[9] On October 4, 2005, the series was renewed for a second season.^[3]

Similar to some low-budget shows, the series uses only four voiceover actors; Charlie Schlatter, Charles Adler, Jess Harnell and Candi Milo. Harnell was even the voice director of the show and voiced three characters: Gumpers, Swanky and Granville.

Reception

The show was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award in the category "Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program", which was Jess Harnell (Swanky), at the 33rd Daytime Emmy Awards.^[10]

Series overview

Season	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released
1	26		November 20, 2004 (2004-11-20)	2005 (2005)
2	26		2006 (2006)	2007 (2007)

Episodes

Season 1 (2004–05)

Pet Alien season 1 episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Written by	Original release date [11]
1	1	"The Boy with Six Legs" "Evil Emperor"	Bryan Thompson Tom Shepard	November 20, 2004 (2004-11-20)
1a: After Tommy rushes to take the trash out after oversleeping, he puts on Swanky's robe and later gets accidentally locked out of the lighthouse by the aliens when in desperate need of shelter, and decent clothes. During this, a misleaded crab enters his lighthouse and lands right on the answering machine, and much of the aliens mistake the crab as a transformed Tommy. Swanky fancies himself a feast despite this.
2	2	"The Amazing Atomic Tommy" "Crater of Doom"	Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason	January 30, 2005 (2005-01-30)
2a: Dinko thinks Tommy is actually a grand superhero after he performs a magic trick pulling a coin out of his nose, and when he sees that exact event described on a superhero show on TV. Swanky observes this, and has his own greedy interest by thinking of Dinko as some sort of money cow – or alien, playing the role of a supervillain. Note: This episode is included in the DVD volume Atomic Tommy. 2b: Note: This episode is included in the DVD volume Lighter Side of Doom.
3	3	"Attack of the 50 Foot Boy" "It Came from the Closet"	Kat Likkel and John Hoberg Ray DeLaurentis	February 6, 2005 (2005-02-06)
4	4	"The Bride of Gumpers" "The Thing on the Corner"	Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason	February 13, 2005 (2005-02-13)
4a: Note: This episode is included in the DVD volume Spaced Out. 4b: Dinko befriends and soon becomes obsessed with Tommy's mailbox after Tommy won't play with him. Note: This episode is included in the DVD volume Aliens Unleashed.
5	5	"I Was a Teenage Bearded Boy" "Escape from Detention X"	Japhet Asher (story), Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason (writers) Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason	February 20, 2005 (2005-02-20)
5a: Note: This episode is included in the DVD volume Atomic Tommy.
6	6	"Box of Doom" "Assault of a Rodent"	Dan Zettel Ray DeLaurentis	February 26, 2005 (2005-02-26)
6a: Tommy is trying to search for Cap'n Spangley's box full of Norwegian jumping beans to find and retrieve for him. There's also a subplot where Granville believes the box contains a gift for Melba, so he passes whatever's in it as his own. Note 1: This episode contains a reference to The Shining, when Gumpers says "Here's boxy!" after the "box of doom" lands back in front of the aliens. Note 2: This episode is included in the DVD volume Lighter Side of Doom.
7	7	"They Came from Outer Space" "Tentacles of Terror"	Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason	February 27, 2005 (2005-02-27)
Note: This episode is included in the DVD volume Spaced Out
8	8	"The Great Movie Massacre" "The Day That Wouldn't End"	Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason (story and writers), Doug Molitor (story)	March 5, 2005 (2005-03-05)
8a: Tommy tries to make a movie. 8b: Tommy is caught in an almost never-ending time loop. Note: This episode is included in the DVD volume Atomic Tommy.
9	9	"It Comes When You Sleep" "Attack of the Werescruffy"	Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason Ralph Soll	March 6, 2005 (2005-03-06)
10	10	"Sounds of Doom" "Darkness"	Don Gillies	March 12, 2005 (2005-03-12)
Note: This episode is included in the DVD volume Lighter Side of Doom.
11	11	"She Comes for Your Heart" "Beast Who Stole My Heart"	Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason Don Gillies	March 13, 2005 (2005-03-13)
11a: Dinko finds out that Tommy is going to give his friend, Gabby, his heart on Valentine's Day, and tries to stop it.
12	12	"Night of the Walking Cannonball" "It Landed on the Porch"	Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason Ray DeLaurentis	March 19, 2005 (2005-03-19)
13	13	"Bay of the Triffids" "Doctor of Doom"	Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason (story), Ralph Soll (writer)	March 20, 2005 (2005-03-20)
13a: Note: This episode is included in the DVD volume Spaced Out. 13b: Note: This episode is included in the DVD volume Lighter Side of Doom.
14	14	"Invasion of the Balloon People" "The Little Monster Ball"	Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason	March 26, 2005 (2005-03-26)
15	15	"The Land That Size Forgot" "The Day the Food Expired"	Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason Meg McLaughlin	2005 (2005)
15a: In this Gumpers-centric episode, he believes the small town full of tiny people in his snow globe (which he names "Tinytopia") is real, and tries to protect it away from the no-good shakers. Swanky is most interested in uncovering its secrets, but his plans are thwarted by everyone else. He, of course, gives it a good number of shakes. Even Dinko isn't immune to the urge to shake it, as he goes nuts with the thing. Because of that, Gumpers is upset at and disappointed in Dinko, and no longer considers him a friend, leaving him distraught and full of regret. Fortunately for both of them, this grudge doesn't last long and they make amends. Note: This episode is included in the DVD volume Atomic Tommy. 15b: When the fridge is almost empty, the aliens go to extremes in trying to get more.
16	16	"The Evil That Thumbs Do" "Terror TV"	Ray DeLaurentis	2005 (2005)
16a: Tommy and Swanky accidentally switch bodies.
17	17	"Bad Blood from Beyond" "The Day Time Stood Still"	Ken Pontac Ray DeLaurentis	2005 (2005)
Note: This episode is included in the DVD volume Spaced Out.
18	18	"Horror Scope" "Scare Affair"	Ken Pontac Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason	2005 (2005)
Note: This episode is included in the DVD volume Aliens Unleashed.
19	19	"Stage Fright" "Night of the Cat People"	Scott Peterson Ray DeLaurentis	2005 (2005)
Note: This episode is included in the DVD volume Aliens Unleashed.
20	20	"Return of the Ghastly Gobbler" "Shipping and Handling Not Included"	Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason Baz Hawkins and Micheal J. Prescott	2005 (2005)
21	21	"The Boy Who Became Something..." "Unleashed Beast of Fury"	Kevin Donahue Scott Peterson	2005 (2005)
22	22	"The Creature of the Spray Bay" "The Alien Who Sold the World"	Kat Likkel and John Hoberg Don Gillies	2005 (2005)
23	23	"Beware the Decider Maker" "I Voted for an Alien"	Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason	2005 (2005)
24	24	"A Pirate and His Dog" "They Took Tommy's Brain"	Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason	August 20, 2005 (2005-08-20)
Note: This episode is included in the DVD volume Aliens Unleashed.
25	25	"The Boy Who Ate Too Much Taffy" "The Floating Head"	Ray DeLaurentis Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason	August 21, 2005 (2005-08-21)[12]
25b: Three cheers for DeSpray Bay as Tommy is roped in to helping Melba build a float for the annual parade. Dinko fears that once the float is finished, it will take Tommy away forever!
26	26	"The Time That Time Ended" "The Day of Judgement"	Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason Ray DeLaurentis	2005 (2005)

Season 2 (2006–07)

Pet Alien season 2 episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Written by	Original release date [11]
27	1	"The Creature Who Left" "It Came from the Fan Club"	Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason	2006 (2006)
27a: Swanky moves out of the lighthouse. Swanky learns a lot from this experience, and misses the very thing that drove him away from the other aliens; a sense of fun. 27b: Tommy becomes jealous when he learns that Dinko and Gabby have formed a bond and secret fan club dedicated to their appreciation of him. Tommy and Gumpers also pretend to have their own fan club which they persuade the others to join, and to gain information about their secret. Both sides end up on the same predicament of wanting to be part of their respective clubs. By comedic convenience, it works out and the truth is revealed, uniting them all.
28	2	"A World Without Hamburgers" "The Evil That Pinched My Feet"	Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason Scott Gray (writer), Dan Danko and Tom K. Mason (story editors)	2006 (2006)
28a: After Dinko hears the ramblings of the recurring Old Man Bitters on how much he despises junk food, he quickly adopts that ideology and decides to eat healthier, begging Tommy and the rest to do the same.
29	3	"The Earth Boy Who Needed Protection" "Seventy Foot Tommy"	JC Vaughn Michele Gendelman & Ursula Ziegler	2006 (2006)
30	4	"Island of Doom" "Him"	Andrew Young (story), Tom K. Mason and Dan Danko (writers) Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason	2006 (2006)
31	5	"The Guest Who Wouldn't Leave... Ever" "Day of the Naked Aliens"	Scott Gray (writer), Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason (story editors) Tom K. Mason and Dan Danko	2006 (2006)
Note: "Day of the Naked Aliens" is the only episode to have some notable censorship. When the series aired on Qubo, the episode was omitted from their lineup and replaced with another airing of the episode "Race with the Clinton". This is speculated to be a result of all the nudity-themed jokes and innuendos, such as Tommy gesturing to his crotch while saying "naked stuff", Gumpers singing about being naked, and the ending where the entire human cast gets stripped nude.
32	6	"Master Bakers!" "The Horror That Is Klattou"	Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason Don Gillies (writer), Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason (story editors)	2006 (2006)
32a: Swanky demands Gumpers to find his special purpose, which in this case means refraining from consuming the gingerbread man cookies he sees from the local bakery. Convinced that the cookies were made of real people, he tries his best to fulfill the task of protecting them. His gluttonous appetite serves a large hindrance; Tommy has to oversee Gumpers just so he doesn't mess things up further.
33	7	"He Walks and Talks Like an Alien" "The Night of Two Tommys +1"	Mike Rabb (writer), Tom K. Mason and Dan Danko (story editors) Tom K. Mason and Dan Danko	2006 (2006)
33a: Desperate to beat Melba in a math contest, Tommy teams up with Gumpers.
34	8	"Curse of the Frozen Tommy" "Night of the Norwegian Boy"	Chris Hicks and Francis Lombard (writers), Tom K. Mason and Dan Danko (story editors) Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason	2006 (2006)
34a: Tommy plays video games all night with his friends and falls asleep at school, but won't wake up. 34b: Enlisted by Granville, Gumpers plays Cyrano for him.
35	9	"Curse of the Invisible Boy" "Remote Control of Doom"	Joel Metzger (story), Tom K. Mason and Dan Danko (story editors) Nicole Feenstra (story), Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason (story editors)	2006 (2006)
36	10	"They Took the Toilet to Outer Space" "This Phone. This Insanity!"	Don Gillies (story), Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason (story editors) Tom K. Mason and Dan Danko	2006 (2006)
37	11	"They Had an Aluminium Ticket" "The Slo-Mo Terror"	Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason Don Gillies (story), Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason (story editors)	2006 (2006)
38	12	"Trapped in the Pink Purse Dimension" "Race with the Clinton"	Joel Metzger (writer), Tom K. Mason and Dan Danko (story editors) Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason	2006 (2006)
38a: Tommy and the aliens get trapped inside a purse one-by-one. 38b: Tommy enters an upcoming soapbox derby determined to beat Clinton, and swears off alien technology to build his go-kart himself.
39	13	"Big Hand of Fate" "The Beast That's Stuck in My Foot"	Danielle Evenson (story), Tom K. Mason and Dan Danko (story editors) Tom K. Mason and Dan Danko	2006 (2006)
39a: Radiation from an asteroid causes Tommy to wake up with his hand having increased in large size right before baseball tryouts (which Dinko likes a little too much), and this has a share of pros and cons. His hand also turns normal again at inconvenient times.
40	14	"The Black Eye of Doom" "The Sheriff Was an Alien"	Joel Metzger (story), Tom K. Mason and Dan Danko (script and story editors) Steven Darancette and Xandy Sussan (story), Tom K. Mason and Dan Danko (script and story editors)	2006 (2006)
41	15	"Crevice of Doom" "She Came from Conforma!"	Ursula Ziegler & Michele Gendelman (writers), Dan Danko & Tom Mason (story editors)	2006 (2006)
41b: Dinko orders Tommy a new robotic mother from Conforma.
42	16	"Terror in My Nose" "Belch of Destruction"	Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason	2006 (2006)
43	17	"Gumpers of the Future" "Planet of the Granvilles"	Steven Darancette & Xandy Sussan (story), Tom K. Mason and Dan Danko (story editors) Andrew Young (story), Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason (writers and story editors)	2006 (2006)
43b: Tommy, Dinko and Gumpers are trapped in an alternate dimension.
44	18	"The Boy Who Cried "Waaah!"" "The Cow Says "Moo!""	Ray DeLaurentis (script), Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason (story editors) Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason (writers and story editors)	2006 (2006)
44a: Dinko's new hat invention designed to help Tommy expectedly leads to the opposite effect, in large due to Dinko's selfish convictions in an effort to slow down and freeze Tommy's aging process. As the title suggests, interference caused between the metal hat and age-slower-downer accidentally turns Tommy into a baby instead of the intended outcome.
45	19	"Duet from Another Dimension!" "The Doctor Is In... Sane!"	Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason	2006 (2006)
46	20	"The Horrible Workout of Evil" "The Incredible Floating Boy"	Tom K. Mason and Dan Danko Ralph Sol (writer), Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason (story editors)	2006 (2006)
47	21	"The Lookalike Girl of Evil" "Uranus Awaits"	Rick DeMott (story), Tom K. Mason and Dan Danko (script and story editors) Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason (script and story editors)	2006 (2006)
48	22	"The Night My Brain Froze" "Scout's Horror!"	Tom K. Mason and Dan Danko	2006 (2006)
49	23	"When TV Ruled the World" "The Thing with the Ugly Face"	Ralph Soll (script), Tom K. Mason and Dan Danko (story and story editors) Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason (story, script and story editors)	2006 (2006)
50	24	"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Swanky" "The Day That Flip Stood Still"	Tom K. Mason and Dan Danko (writers and story editors) Don Gillies (script), Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason (story editors)	2006 (2006)
51	25	"When Clinton Ruled the World!" "Beware the Crack!"	Don Gillies (story), Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason (story editors) Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason (script and story editors)	2006 (2006)
52	26	"The Alien Who Invaded the Taffy Shoppe" "Hammy of Earth!"	Declan O'Brien (writer), Dan Danko & Tom K. Mason (story editors) Ursula Ziegler & Michele Gendelman (story), Dan Danko & Tom Mason (story editors)	2007 (2007)

Home media

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment released four compilations of the series on DVD and VHS from October 18, 2005, to February 7, 2006, only in Region 1. Each compilation contained four segment-episodes from the first season.

Pet Alien home video releases

Season			Episodes	Release dates
				United States
	1	2005	26	Volume 1: Atomic Tommy: October 18, 2005[13] Episodes: "The Amazing Atomic Tommy" • "I Was a Teenage Bearded Boy" • "The Day That Wouldn't End" • "The Land That Size Forgot" Volume 2: Aliens Unleashed: October 18, 2005[14] Episodes: "The Thing on the Corner" • "Horror Scope" • "Stage Fright" • "A Pirate and His Dog" Volume 3: Lighter Side of Doom: December 6, 2005[15] Episodes: "Crater of Doom" • "Box of Doom" • "Sounds of Doom" • "Doctor of Doom" Volume 4: Spaced Out: February 7, 2006[16] Episodes: "The Bride of Gumpers" • "They Came from Outer Space" • "Bay of the Triffids" • "Bad Blood from Beyond"

Video game

Main article: Pet Alien: An Intergalactic Puzzlepalooza

A video game based on the series was released in the United States on July 30, 2007, for the Nintendo DS handheld console. It is a puzzle game developed by Shin'en Multimedia and published by The Game Factory.^[17]