Still 'Beavers' after all these years.

Nickelodeon had produced a lot of cartoons in their history. Some good, some bad, some average and others unremarkable. Still, in the nearly 16-year history of Nicktoons, one show stands up above the rest. That show is "The Angry Beavers", which debuted on Nickelodeon a decade ago today.

Created by Mitch Schauer (a veteran of "Bobby's World" and "Freakazoid!"), the show was about two beaver brothers: the laid-back Norbert (voiced by Nick Bakay) and the hyperactive Daggett (voiced by Richard Horvitz). The boys were forced to move out of their parents' dam (there can only be one pair of children living there, and Mom just had twin girls) and strike out on their own...at least, that's how it was at the outset.

Now, a number of shows gradually move away from their initial premise, for better or worse. "The Angry Beavers" was no exception, ultimately turning into a story about two beaver brothers, only, in this incarnation, one (when he wasn't stuffing extra syllables into every second word) would grow continually exasperated by his childlike sibling's shenanigans. It may sound like a cause for alarm, but, in my opinion, that's when the show got funnier.

One need look no further than "Ugly Roomers" - written by Micah Wright ("Oh, Brother?", "Omega Beaver", "Dag's List") - for proof of this.

BTW, for the curious, here are my favorite episodes:

* "Dag for Night" - The boys find a monster movie (they love those things), but it doesn't have an ending. They figure, why not make one ourselves? Why, indeed?

* "Dag's List" - Daggett wants to remember the names of those that "muss him up". Norbert gets him "The Priorganizer". Dag, however, gets hung up on the various features.

* "Das Spoot" - The boys travel to the depths of the lake (!) in a toy sub (!!). An archetypal episode if ever there was one, with funny banter and a wild climax.

* "Gonna Getcha" - During a game, Dag goes too far, causing Norb to swear revenge. Sure, there's (off-screen, thankfully) toilet humor, but it's put to an amusing end.

* "Home Loners" - Neither of the boys are aware that the other is in the dam, leading to some crazy conclusions. Horvitz's line delivery during Dag's bathroom rant is a riot.

* "The Legend of Kid Friendly" - The boys head out West and meet Kid Friendly. The lyrics to the ballad don't really rhyme, but coming out of Waylon Jennings, that's perfectly forgivable. The references to the first two Terminator films are a delightful surprise.

* "Omega Beaver" - Dag is convinced that the Radioactive Howler Leeches have eaten Norb, making him "the last beaver on Earth!". If only for Dag's methods of fending off the Leeches, this is a must-see.

* "Slap Happy" - Dag takes pleasure in slapping his tail, but Norb feels it's only for emergencies, and only their father can set them straight. Pure laughing gas, from the instructional film (narrated by Robert Stack!) to, perhaps, the single funniest hidden adult gag in the history of cartoons.

* "Ugly Roomers" - Disgusted by Dag's habits, Norb sets out to build his own room. The boys trying to outdo each other is always good for a laugh, and the exchange at the end is a terrific WTH?! moment.

* "Utter Nonsense" - The boys see who can go the longest without making any noise. The climax with the alternate means of speaking must be seen to be believed.

I would love, more than anything, to tell you to look for these episodes when they come on, but, at this writing, the show isn't airing on Nicktoons Network. And don't go looking for it on Nickelodeon, either. I cannot imagine why this fine show is being treated so shabbily. It's light-years better than what's currently airing on either network. Even more, it seems that the channel doesn't care about putting it on DVD. (Side bar: it would've been nice if the format had been invented during the show's heyday. Clearly, "Spongebob Squarepants" is benefitting from this 'strike while the iron is hot' way of thinking.) All that can be done is to hope that the network sees the error of their ways; figure out that no one cares that much about the likes of "El Tigre" or "Kappa Mikey" and free up some space on the schedule.

Okay, enough with the moping, for this is time of celebration. Let me just say that the fine VAs, animators, writers, storyboard artists, directors, producers and everyone in-between, not to mention Charlie Brissette's terrific underscoring (an appreciation of which I hope to have at this blog sooner or later) combined to create an enjoyable cartoon series, one which (let us hope) gets the respect accorded to a "Ren and Stimpy" or a "Spongebob".

Oh, and here's one of my favorite episodes, the aforementioned "Dag for Night". It was written by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who also penned "Home Loners" and "Gonna Getcha", among other episodes (and later wrote Bad Santa). It serves as a good example of how nutty the show could be, and how the funniest of gags could come out of nowhere (the autographed pictures, the creature's speech patterns).

BTW, the voice at the end is that of Victor Wilson, another of the show's gifted writers ("Das Spoot", "Long Tall Daggy"). He went on to co-write and produce "Most Extreme Elimination Challenge". Not bad, I think.

Angry Beavers 204B - Dag for the Night
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