The Halloween Kids (TV series)

The Halloween Kids is an American animated dark comedy television series created and developed by Elliot Strange, Christopher Thompson and Sam Simon. The show originally aired on NBC in 2000 for four episodes before getting cancelled due to low ratings, with The WB picking it up and airing it in its entirety.

Production
The show was produced by Gecko Studios, 4nOut Productions, Christopher Thompson Productions, Brad Grey Television and Columbia Tristar Television. The animation was produced by Adelaide Productions and outsourced to Yeson Entertainment.

This was the second adaptation of the The Halloween Gang, the first being an eponymous series created by Byron Blessard in the mid-90s. By the time it was created, the book series had ended (itself over creative issues between Strange and Blessard.) Blessard had intended to revive the series under his own vision. While the show had lasted for four seasons, it had only done so due to its inexpensive nature and its used to cater to E/I requirements. The fact that it was aired in syndication meant that it had no other shows to compete with. In spite of that, the show received negative reviews.

The show was promoted with special mention to Simon’s involvement, which may have led to the show's downfall as he merely developed the show and had varying involvement on a writing basis. It was considered a letdown and led to an early cancellation, until it was picked up by another network and aired in full, gaining something of a cult following.

Broadcast History
Initially, the show aired on NBC through most of the creators' association with The Simpsons. Only four episodes out of a thirteen episode season aired on the network, and out of order, where it would be cancelled abruptly. However, due to surprisingly strong fan feedback and a noted increase (albeit slight) in the ratings up until the last episode aired, NBC agreed to sell the show to The WB who had previously bid for the show, where the first season aired in its entirety.

Internationally, the first season of the show aired on Global in Canada, Locomotion in Latin America, Trouble in the United Kingdom, DR1 in Denmark, Q2 in Belgium and Nine Network in Australia. The show aired on Trio in the mid-2000s as part of the network's Brilliant But Cancelled block.

Plot
Episodes begin with a cold open that typically has nothing to do with the plot of the upcoming episode, though early on the openings would be used to sum up the start of the episode's plot. These are done for laughs or for commentary. The show relied on pessimistic commentary along with quick references and trope subversion for its humor. In most episodes, there're live action segments detailing surreal concepts, these usually played in the form of commercials. Some episodes conclude at a local bar Leland and Adelaide attend, where they sum up their feelings for the conflict of the day.

The show centered on the Mahoneys, a middle class family consisting of father and former blue collar worker Leland, retired local wrestler Dakota, teenaged brat Adelaide, hopelessly dim Artemis and twins Jody and Judy, the former being the leader of his school's clique and the latter being a neutral presence. Jody is confounded by suzy Suzy, a girl who wants to eradicate her school's clique in the hope of bringing peace to the school. The Mahoneys were granted a home in the neighborhood after Leland saved billionaire Burton Wandowski's life and he is able to find parallels between their sociopathic attitudes. Leland occasionally rams heads with his racist blue-collar father while the kids contend with their own issues.

Although it's presented as a comedy, the show utilized drama and thriller aspects. Comedy is reserved for dialog, with visual gags being uncommon. The show used reference humor, with a focus on obscure material or subtle nods to more mainstream titles, though the show is most remembered for jokes modeled after lyrics in songs. Darker scenes are often played without build-up and is meant to establish most antagonists. The show often mocked atheism, environmentalism, activism and gun control, Strange claimed to hold no stances on any of them, lampooning each to provide a different scope and encourage more views.

The show takes place in South Dakota, though not specified where it's generally agreed it's set somewhere near Rapid City, with Box Elder being a popular guess. The producers wanted to set the show in either New York or somewhere along the west coast, but Strange fought against it, feeling that a common setting would make it hard for it to stand out from others. Strange would settle for a state within the Midwest or an upper southern state, with New Hampshire serving as a compromise.

Characters

 * Jody and Judy Mahoney (Justin Pierce (pilot), Will Estes (full series) and Kirsten Storms respectively): Twins, as well as the youngest in the Mahoneys. In episodes centered on the family, they're featured the most prominently. The two are heated rivals, but tend to work together the most often, later mending their ways.
 * Jody was born ten seconds before Judy and is the only son in a family predominated by girls. Jody is pompus and smug, plus generally unaware of how his words can harm those around him. Though perhaps because of his honesty, he is able to maintain a sense of respect from others, and this enabled him to become the leader of his school's clique. While confident, Jody is self-loathing and refuses to pass on his worst traits to his children. He is notable for his vow to never date anyone, much to the disbelief of his parents, which he claims is due to how poorly he got along with Judy. But he is willing to take what he's told into consideration and try to better himself. Jody was voiced by Justin Pierce in the first episode, but after his death he was replaced by Will Estes.
 * Judy is, technically, the youngest daughter in the Mahoney family, being born ten seconds after Jody. She and Jody used to be inseparable, but grew apart due to differing interests and conflicting personalities. Judy's feud with her brother was one-sided as he felt deep down he deserved any form of abuse, but ironically, the two work well together and even hang out and he's willing to help her through emotional issues. Judy is tomboyish and laid back, but has a harsh temper and inherited her mother's arrogance, leading to her getting into situations.


 * Dakota Mahoney (Lisa Ann Walter): Dakota is a former pro-wrestler who retired due to mounting pressure nearly pushing her toward substance abuse. She was a three-time champion at a local wrestling club in her hometown, and previously she worked as a gym teacher. Dakota is Lutheran, part Scottish and part Irish, taking the latter seriously due to her own contempt toward Italians. Dakota tends to be high strung and refuses to hear her kids out even when it's necessary. She is also incredibly cruel to people she considers toxic to her and rarely seeks out friends as each relationship always sours, with an infamous one leading to Dakota framing the friend for murder. From Wautoma, Wisconsin.
 * Leland Byrd (Michael J. Fox, (pilot), Gary Cole): The patriarch of the Mahoneys. Leland is the youngest of the Byrds, and grew up during a time when Lionel fell out on a political basis. As a result, he was thrown into work training early on and clashed with his father over his use of negative reinforcement. He was adopted by a Native American, Thunderbolt who was friends with a witch doctor. Leland's enemies were cursed by the witch doctor, allowing him to live a peaceful life. Though that, combined with the abuse and apathy from his biological family rendered him sociopathic. He tends to slap his son, but out of repressed fear that he'd go down the same path as him. His sociopathy also renders him cold-faced when it comes to harming people, and Burton's coddling fuels this. Leland comes from Canyon, Texas. Michael J. Fox voiced Leland in the pilot, but was replaced by Gary Cole. Fox would focus more on producing the show so he could focus on preferred projects.
 * Artemis Mahoney (Linda Cardellini): The second eldest daughter in the Mahoney family. Artemis is childish for her age, having a fondness for puppetry and makes money by doing shows at public functions. Artemis is considered to be the least malicious member of the Mahoneys, willing to help others, but thankfully she isn't harped on for it and often makes it out better than the rest of her family. A common running gag involving her centers on her inability to find her way back home, leading to her asking a vexed neighbor for guidance. She is shown to be somewhat of a savant in most areas, notably in that she can understand people who speak a foreign language, though she doesn't speak it, and can infer gibberish and sign language.
 * Adelaide Mahoney (Allison Mack): The eldest daughter in the Mahoneys. Adelaide is a diva, holding that trait in her school and home life. She is also a vain individual and tends to go too far when it comes to payback, failing to realize the consequences of her actions until the last minute. She has somewhat of a close relationship with Leland, to the point she is allowed to go with him to the bar to make sure he doesn't drink over his limit and act as his designated driver. Adelaide is a naturist, often spending her alone time in her room naked, leading to humorous consequences when her family barges in on her.
 * Cousins: To denote relatives that occasionally visit.
 * Ruth (Christina Moore): A poser who is often considered to be an equal to Jody in terms of pulling a drastic 180, though she lacks his pessimistic attitude.
 * Mabel (Danielle Judovitz): A sports fanatic who is strangely very close to Jody and always sides with him. This is owed to him telling her his reason for putting up with abuse at the hands of others, and she feels he can still be a good person.
 * Rosemary (Jennifer Hale): The youngest, and a kid genius. Jody often taunts her for that factor and as a result, she doesn't side with him as often. However, she is also easily swayed through physical violence as she is the weakest and folds when she believes she'd get hurt.
 * Alistair Bullock (David Lander): Burt's business partner who supervises Leland and accounts for his finances. Alistair is more casual about his wealth and is Burt's equal when it comes to his social skills. Alistair is notable for his low speaking volume, though in his head he believes it's normal and that everyone talks too loud. Leland is unaware of Alistair's intents, and views him as a friend, something Alistair accepts. Alistair is often seen with his wife Ardith (Allyce Beasley), who is fairly naive. Alistair is from From Coronation, Alberta and Ardith is from Zehner, Saskatchewan.
 * Dagenham "Dag" Byrd (Diederich Bader): Leland's brother. Dag is generally extroverted and holds down a job as an accountant, but finds himself at odds with Leland, though this isn't unjustified. Dag is a pathological liar, ruining the trust of his friends and family, with the exception of Lionel due to Dag following his father's wishes. He is also generally impotent and spineless and considered unreliable when it comes to cooperative measures. He had become so notable for this that when he shot Lionel, his family considered it a personal breakthrough. Dag is often viewed as what Leland would've become had he never stood up to his parents.
 * Letta Byrd (Susan Dey): Dag's wife. Letta was once a rebellious girl who dated a biker (who would turn out to be Andy), but stuck with Dag after taking her father's advice. As a result, her passion in life gradually diminished until she just stopped caring. However, she has too much pride to admit to this and tends to argue with women who're single under bitter circumstances or are in dysfunctional marriages.
 * Lionel Byrd (Richard Romanus): Leland's father. Lionel was a bigoted, racist, insensitive, misogynistic man who had a strong impact on Leland's personality going into adulthood. Lionel adhered to social beliefs and standards long rendered obsolete. Lionel believed that being hard on his children was the best way to mold them into men, but it wound up driving at least Leland away. Lionel is bullheaded, often refusing to listen to criticism even when it's deserved. As the series goes on, we learn that a bulk of the Byrds hated Lionel and were hoping for him to die. In the finale, Lionel is shot by Dag, with his funeral only being attended for the will.
 * Delia Byrd (Adrienne Barbeau): Leland's pompous mother. Delia seems to operate in her own world and was obsessed with her pet dog. She had supposedly opposed the idea of having kids, but due to Lionel forcing himself upon her she got pregnant, with the incident occurring twice. She had viewed Leland and Dag as a joint curse and had often tried to pretend they don't exist. She often ignores everyone, but was rude to Dakota due to her upbringing in the Midwest (holding a hateful sentiment toward them and the South.) After Dakota accidentally runs over her dog, she winds up feeding it to her to get revenge over a straight day of insults. In later episodes we learn this took a toll on her mental health, with her locking herself in her room for several months and Dag providing food for her.
 * Thunderbolt (Gregg Berger): A Native American shaman who served as Leland's adoptive father when Lionel was arrested for assaulting a police officer. Leland found solace with Thunderbolt due to him being more receptive to his problems, and he returned the favor through his connection to the dark arts, where Leland's bullies would be promptly cursed. Thunderbolt is killed by a jealous Lionel when Leland declared Thunderbolt to be his true father.

The Survivors
A clique consisting of kids who have gotten out of trouble, while embarrassing those who tried to do the same to them. It became an amalgamate between two groups headed by Jody and Judy, the former leading the popular kids and the latter leading the bullies.
 * Colleen Dixon (Melissa Fahn): A deadpan girl who tends to keep to herself most of the time. Whenever she speaks, it's in the form of a sarcastic quip, no matter to whom. She is seen the most often with a hoodie and beanie, no matter the weather. In a way, she acts as Judy's darker conscious, often indirectly encouraging her to do the wrong things to resolve a conflict they're in.
 * Christine (Anndi McAfee): Judy's other friend. The polar opposite to Colleen, Christine is the most levelheaded compared to the two and tries to come up with reasonable solutions to their problems, but tends to keep her mouth shut when she realizes no one would listen to her. She tends to see the good in anything, no matter how ridiculous it is.
 * Randy McGuinness (Danny Cooksey): Jody's best friend of several years. He had moved with Jody's family out of commitment, though it's likely his parents were invited to join the project. Randy is loutish and a compulsive prankster, but gets by through thick skin which enables him to take whatever punishment heads his way. Randy seems to be smart enough to know how something would play out and indirectly gives practical and obvious solutions to issues certain individuals face. Hints have shown that Randy has a sexual attraction to Jody, hence his willingness to help him.
 * Deacon Rosenthal (Christopher Kennedy Masterson): The resident emo and the third wheel of Jody's circle of personal friends. True to his personality, he is apathetic to all that goes on, but if he's passionate about anything he slowly warms up to it. A running gag throughout the series is that the girls are obsessed with him, likely due to his personality showing a lack of desire to inflict sexual harm. Deacon proved to be the least popular character by fans and was written off by Unusual Suspects.
 * Simon Bullock (Jason Spisak): The son of Alistair and Cassandra's brother. He seems to be more favored compared to Deacon, and is seen the most often with Jody and Randy. Simon is a troublemaker, but doesn't have Randy's luck in getting out of jams. Simon is also accident prone, though this seems to only be apparent in insignificant times. In spite of different social views, Simon and Cassandra get along very well, with Jody and Randy's admission to the clique coming from his recommendation. Simon always wears a bandaid on his cheek, with this being used as a test by Strange to the storyboard artists to test their level of attention to detail.
 * Casandra (Cathy Cavadini): The most popular student in school. True to her title, Casandra is an obnoxious airhead, and few want to associate with her. She hardly antagonizes anyone though, and seems to be impatient with anyone she deems annoying. She had been at a low ebb with Jody, but in Unusual Suspects the two are forced to spend time together and find they were able to work well together. Her posse consists of Cassidy, Molly, April, Erica, Jordan and Molly II.
 * Fiona Kennedy (Eliza Schneider): Ashley's best friend. She's poor and lives in a trailer park, but cares little for how it affects her social standing. Fiona doesn't interact with anyone in the Survivors, but doesn't want to disassociate from them. She is somewhat insane, and Ashley is the only one who could put up with her.
 * Ashley Yorke (Antoniette Spolar): Ashley is a somewhat sociopathic child, taking joy in seeing obnoxious people suffer. She is willing to put down anyone who annoys her, regardless if said person is on good terms with her. As a result, she has very few friends and has no interest in making any new ones. Her hatred of obnoxious people appropriately stems from constant encounters with them growing up; this has even extended to her family, to the point she refuses to even share the same house with them, moving into her treehouse before getting taken in by Andy. Her parents and upper relatives are her polar opposites, being obnoxiously optimistic and friendly, but vicious when questioned. Ashley is said to be from Vernal, Utah.

The Neighborhood
In spite of contrasting personalities, they act as a close-knit community and work together to tackle issues that plague their neighborhood. None of the neighbors are natives to South Dakota.
 * Martha and Harold (Nancy Travis and David DeLuise respectively): Snobbish and generally negative neighbors who frequently appear throughout the series. Harold is an apathetic man who seems to care little about even the most dire situations, though he would ironically join in the activities of his neighbors. He cares little for his wife and tried to break up with her, but as he got her pregnant he was forced to marry her, and their marriage is dysfunctional as a result. Martha frowns upon more attractive women and is generally insecure overall. She is a conspiracy theorist who often comes up with crazy ideas as to why something is happening. In spite of her demeanor, she considers Harold and a few others to be the closest friends she had in her life. Martha's from Wolfeboro, New Hampshire and Harold's from Creighton, Nebraska.


 * Brooks MacPherran (Jay Mohr): Brooks is Leland's best friend, one of his earliest as well. Brooks works as a defense attorney and is said to be his family's prime source of income. While he tends to see things the way Leland does, he has a lighter personality and is prone to instances of idiocy every now and again. From Hawthorne, Nevada.


 * Muriel MacPherran (Julia Louis-Dreyfus): Brook's wife. Muriel is a laid-off realtor who's bitter over the circumstances behind it. Perhaps to alleviate the stress from it, she tends to prank her family and frequently gets drunk, though ironically, she maintains stability when necessary. While she's friends with Dakota, it doesn't seem to be to the same extent as the friendship between their husbands. Muriel is very likely bisexual, and had briefly operated an LGBT-oriented pirate radio station with Belbury's gay residents. From Holland, Michigan.


 * Cosmo   Kadic (Michael J. Fox):  A principal at Belbury Middle School. Cosmo is prideful and quick to get instigated when challenged. Beyond his closest friends and family, he seemingly cares little about the well-being of others, shown by him tormenting numerous students whilst he was in college. He also seems to use his job as principal to let out his more sociopathic tendencies, all to enforce his role as principal. In spite of his demeanor, he doesn't actively hate anyone unless they antagonize him. He and Ms. Chapley are the only constant staff members at the school. From Hamilton, Montana.
 * Hope Chapley (Dina Walters): A teacher at Belbury Middle School. Hope is apathetic to kids in general, but doesn't let that interfere with her work. She is shown frequently in episodes centering around the neighborhood along with Cosmo. At school, she frequently aids Cosmo in whatever he's doing and she tends to act as a sex partner for him, hence how she's able to get away with more than other teachers. From From Pawhuska, Oklahoma.
 * Bob Dixon (Brian Dennehy): Colleen's father. For a time, he was the strongest man in Belbury, best known for his dexterity and better resistance to pain. This was compromised when he was involved in a car accident, breaking his back and both of his ankles in the process. Years of recovery rendered him out of shape and he walks with the aid of a cane. Bob is misanthropic, blaming this on mockery he faced as a child due to his jewish roots and growing up in the south. His wife Enid and daughter Colleen, along with most members of the neighborhood are exceptions as they share similar views to him. Bob is envisioned as a "Jewish Archie Bunker." Bob is from Cave Junction, Oregon.


 * Enid Dixon (Kathy Najimy): Colleen's mother. Basically Bob's equal, Enid had been a victim of bullying due to her height along with a rumor of her supposedly having a green nipple, and she had also been a victim of religion-related bullying as she came from a state within the bible belt. While Enid often goes against Bob's means of parenting most of the time, she is still strict and mostly old-fashioned. Enid is from Republic, Washington.


 * Burton Wandowski (Richard Karn): A billionaire who helped fund the revitalization of various houses in South Dakota. He is a typically friendly and charitable man. However, Burton was (and still is to a lesser extent) an anti-Italian nationalist. His bigotry stems from personal experiences during his youth, where the rudest and most vindictive people he encountered happened to hold Italian roots; he claims that Italian stereotypes tend to be more accurate than other stereotypes for different races. A particularly infamous incident involved Burt shooting a prostitute and a Turkish gigolo in league with a loanshark over payment disputes involving his father, though he would shoot the latter, considering him ungrateful for relieving him of debt. His actions have led him to become both feared and revered from different sides. Burton connects with Leland in terms of repressed sociopathy which is why he is kinder to him. From Centralia, Washington.
 * Jade Wandowski (Jennifer Tilly): Burton's wife. Seemingly poised as a trophy wife, Jade is actually a very intelligent woman, being the only one in the neighborhood to graduate with a degree, though she was never able to find a career in her field that made her happy. Jade is a timid and frail hypochondriac who is often seen with her husband and is reluctant to stand on her own. From Morgan, Vermont.
 * Kerry Reichardt (David Lander): Britney's father. Kerry is a slovenly individual who suffers from a number of mental illnesses, including bipolar disorder as well as a hereditary tumor that caused his and Britney's hair to turn white and is also an introvert. He works in sales and had kept his job against all odds due to him being the only barrier preventing a takeover from a rival company. He is more than aware of his own failings and has no desire to make any connections because he knows they turn people away and due to a generally bad marriage ruining his perception of women in general. He is notable for sending his mother to prison after taking a nightmare too literally, losing face with his father and locking a delusional girl in his basement, leaving her to die. Kerry's from Yuma, Colorado.
 * Andy Hammond (Hank Azaria): An uppity man who rarely holds back when it comes to criticizing people. Andy is generally anti-social, which heavily affected his work life because of his penchant to snap. His attitude enabled him to earn a relationship with Chris, later Autumn and Martha when they met. In spite of his demeanor, he could surprisingly be reasoned with once someone talks to him long enough, and he's seemingly not very bright, as he tends to go against his own social doctrines by accident. His poor depiction of the world stems from his introverted nature, and as a result he reacts to things differently than anyone normally would. Andy holds no contempt toward anyone, save for those he deems to be rotten by nature. From Basin, Wyoming.
 * Mike Stearns (Phil LaMarr): A sour man and a frequent complainer. He tends to be the most vocal about whatever ill will he's feeling. He is the only African American male who lives in Belbury, something he considers meaningless. He considers himself something of an Uncle Tom, being pessimistic toward the more toxic areas of black culture. Mike, like Burt, holds resentment toward urban areas, only this time he focuses directly on Baltimore. He had briefly gone to school in the city, where its rapid decay and apathy from its residents, along with instances of violence tainted his perspective on African Americans. Mike's from Shelbyville, Kentucky.
 * Chris Hancock (Glenn Shadix): A cynical and generally downbeat man. Chris was desensitized as a kid, having had his wallet stolen by a friend who he bludgeoned with a rock in retaliation and beat up, only to get stopped by his friend who got shot by racist cops. Compared to Mike and Andy, he is more open to conversation and is a genuine source of good advice come the time. Leland is one of his more involved friends, but they could never build on it due to them never being able to agree on a day to hang out one on one. As a result, the only time the two are together are in group functions, normally with Andy, Mike, Harold, Martha, Brooks and Muriel. Chris is from Ashley, North Dakota.

Secondary Neighbors
Denoting neighbors who had no significant roles in any episode.
 * Trisha: From Clarinda, Iowa.


 * Autumn (Kath Soucie): From Farmington, Utah.
 * Luna: From Valparaiso, Indiana.


 * Sully (Michael McDonald): From Townsend, Montana.


 * Mazzy (Mo Collins): From Clovis, New Mexico.
 * Bebe (Kathy Kinney): From Clifton, Illinois.
 * Wilma (Park Overall): From New Cumberland, West Virginia.
 * Rod (Dave Wittenberg): From Twin Falls, Idaho.
 * Conrad: From Mount Cory, Ohio.

Other Prominent Characters

 * Mercury MacPherran (Jenna Von Oy): Adelaide's best friend. Mercury is a naive girl who often tags along with Adelaide no matter how ridiculous her plans are. She is obsessed with fashion and often finds herself in a major crisis when someone tells her something is off about her appearance. She is only ever seen when Adelaide is involved in a major part of the plot.


 * Clifford (Billy West): A heavyset bully, among the most prominent and the leader of a group of bullies. In spite of his stature, Clifford is very selective as to who he wants to harm physically, instead electing to use verbal attacks. He tries to go after the cliques, but they typically get him back by threatening to reveal one of his secrets.
 * Britney Reichardt (Eliza Schneider): Among Clifford's friends. Britney is conceited, cynical and willfully ignorant on a cultural basis. Bad exchanges typically devolve to violence if things work out poorly for her, often with her kicking male opponents in the groin. In spite of this, she maintains a comfortable relationship with her friends and her father. She was once Randy's boyfriend, but after he took someone's suspicions to heart, he lashed out at her after she took him out of school early for his birthday and she played a part in his departure.
 * Suzy Hellman (Catherine Disher):  The prime antagonist. Suzy serves as a statement on unchecked hypocrisy when it comes to social justice. She attacks students high up in the social food chain, while possessing traits of a typical diva. Early on she left the primary characters alone, but after succumbing to psychological torture, though she mellows out in the last episode after causing a catastrophe. She returns as an antagonist in the second season, but this is considered non-canon.
 * Stacy Hulteen (Pamela Adlon): A fizzy yet trashy girl. Stacy is also somewhat squeamish when it comes to more dire situations and doesn't think through what she says. In spite of her visage, she wants desperately to separate her style from her personality and gets emotional when people judge her based on how she looks. Stacy became Jody's on again off again boyfriend in the first episode, though they broke it off toward the end of the series.
 * Briana Wandowski (Eliza Schneider): Daughter of Burt and Jade. She doesn't attend the same school as Jody and Judy, being homeschooled. Briana is more wrapped up in her wealth than her own parents and often dips into their funds via credit cards. She plays a major role in Die-Section where she tries to divert attention from a costly transaction by framing it around the frog and mutant insect outbreak, but fails, as well as in Dirty Deeds, Done Dirt Simple where Judy steals Briana's CD. Briana's a fan of Weird-Al Yankovic.
 * Puff (Andre Rosey Brown): An African American man who, whenever he appears, plays Puff the Magic Dragon on a guitar and sings in a high-pitched voice. He appears as part of a running gag, often as a musical guest who immediately belts out the song. While he was never named, he is nicknamed Puff due to his synomity with the song. Puff has a son who attends the same school as Jody and Judy, performing the same gag on a flute.
 * Sargent Grover Glover (Arthur Burghardt): The only other teacher beside Ms. Chapley at Jody and Judy's school. Grover is a drill instructor who previously served time in prison for abandoning his post. He played a major role in Die-Section where he headed a frog dissection class, and toward the episode, he rounds up frogs to start a French restaurant. Throughout the series, we get implications of Grover getting involved in criminal activity. In Playing the Dozens, a secondary story on the front page ties Grover to an arson scandal. In Blood is Thicker than Liquid, he is seen assaulting an old woman. In Describe that Tune, he appears in the anime non-sequitur where he opens fire on an orange vendor cart. In Lights Out, he is a red herring in an assault investigation.
 * Roman (Nathan Fillon): An irritable and childish man who often frequents the mall. He has an obsession with hot sauce and his irate bouts always center on situations relating to it. It's implied heavily that Roman is a pedophile, having a crush on Mercury and stalking her (this happened prior to the series when he was a counselor at a summer camp Mercury attended until he was caught by Adelaide, though Mercury never knew this since she and Adelaide never exchanged names and Roman likely doesn't recognize Adelaide in her teen years.)
 * Jomo Simain (Chi McBride): A manager at a Mexican buffet restaurant. While typically reserved, he loses his temper if pushed hard enough. His name had often been the source of various misconceptions, (his first name is pronounced "homo" like homosexual and his last name is another term for ape, a derogatory term for African Americans.) Perhaps ironically, Jomo is a staunch conservative, perhaps to a frightening extent as he often votes in favor of violence against minorities, had voted against Barry Goldwater through anti-semitism sentiments and uses racial slurs on a frequent basis, only getting away with it due to people turning a blind eye when an African American acts racist.
 * Otis (Nick Jameson): Another mall frequenter who is often knocked down by either the kids or other strangers, chastising each after the act. However, when they bring him into a conversation he is more receptive, implying it's his only chance at getting some form of social interaction. He is a centenarian, implying this in an off-the-cuff remark he made to Judy, claiming that he was her age a year before Arizona became a state. Though not confirming the exact day and month, it can be said he was born in 1899 and is 101 years old. Otis claims his family is notorious for their longevity, with a relative of his claiming to have made it to 123 years of age, but was never confirmed due to his birth certificate getting destroyed in a fire.

Season 1
Centers on the misadventures of the Mahoneys.

Reception
The show was considered a letdown, due to heavy promotion revolving around the involvement of former writers from The Simpsons. However, it did receive favorable reviews, with praise going toward its characters and subversive comedy along with a seamless incorporation of darker elements. The show was popular with teenagers and young adults.

Years after the show was cancelled, it gained something of a cult following coinciding with the decade long disappearance of its creator.