A second look at "Capitol Critters"

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Rhymereverytimer

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On one of the Simpsons' Treehouses of Horror openings, there are three gravestones where three failed adult cartoons are "resting"- Capitol Critters, Fish Police, and Family Dog. So one day I was screwing around looking at videos, and I decided to do a search on one of the shows. Interestingly enough, all 13 episodes of CC were online. (It's not on DVD or VHS to my knowledge.)

On one hand, I understand why the show flopped. The jokes aren't anywhere near as sharp as its contemporaries, it's a bit slow moving, and more often than not it feels more like an animated drama than the comedy I recall it being advertised as. On the flip side of the coin, I found some of the characters quite likeable, and the concept (orphaned mouse trying to survive in DC) not a bad idea in theory, though a lot of opportunitues at political humor were passed up.

Just my thoughts.
 
I'll have to catch these on YouTube (in fact I just watched pt 1 of the debut episode) but I will say I did see the first few episodes when they first aired.
Yes the start of it is a real downer--Max's family gets gassed--but there are a couple laughs when you get into the show (and that first scene of course is there to give some background on Max's past). I do remember the two cats, one being the "Vice President's Cat"--inept, clumsy, cowardly (the VP at the time was Dan 'Potatoe' Quayle)...a bit of an inaccuracy in a way because it implies the veep lives at the White House, too. Actually I believe the VP
lives at Blair House but maybe they have an office in the white house.
Who knows...

Various sites have episode guides, like: http://www.ticon.net/~dpoch/critters/

There are couple comments on the IMDB page for it and one says, "Obviously, this was a show with a very dark and straightforward plot and only funny for comic relief purposes. Unfortunately, the "cutsie, Saturday morning cartoon" look ruined the public's outlook on the show and was lampooned by critics, ending the show mid-series."
 
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