Toonsylvania is an American animated television series, which ran for two seasons in 1998 on the Fox Kids Network block (usually placed in a block called "The No Yell Motel" that contained other scary kids' shows such as Goosebumps and Eerie, Indiana) in its first season, then was moved to Monday afternoons from September 14, 1998 until January 18, 1999, when it was cancelled. It was executive produced in part by Steven Spielberg, as DreamWorks' first animated series.
The show had recurring cartoon series that appeared in each episode. Unlike Animaniacs, Toonsylvania did not have a wide range of characters and almost every episode had the same content. The main segments were "Frankenstein", "Night of the Living Fred" (most episodes on season one), "Attack of the Killer B Movies" (some episodes from season 1), "Igor's Science Minute", and "Melissa Screetch's Morbid Morals".
Plot summary
Frankenstein
A typical episode of Toonsylvania starts with a cartoon series called "Frankenstein" (a parody of Mary Shelley's novel of the same name), about the adventures of Dr. Vic Frankenstein (voiced by David Warner), his assistant Igor (voiced by Wayne Knight) who always sets out to prove that he is a genius like his master, and their dim-witted Frankenstein Monster known as Phil (voiced by Brad Garrett).
During the season two restructuring, Igor, Dr. Vic Frankenstein and Phil interacting with a variety of new characters, including a snooping next-door neighbor Seth Tuber (voiced by Jonathan Harris), who was based on Norman Bates from Psycho. He interacted with his "immobile" mother by putting his hand over his mouth and talking into it. There was also a typical Transylvanian angry mob that was, in fact, a cheerful group of Beatles-esque hipsters. Most of these new characters were voiced by Paul Rugg, who also improvised many of their lines.
Remote control gags
Before the second cartoon, there is an animated vignette where Igor is on the couch with Phil and tries to use the remote control, only for a problem to occur (a running gag akin to the couch gags seen on The Simpsons) before the TV turns on to show the cartoon in question.
Night of the Living Fred
After that, there is a cartoon series called "Night of the Living Fred", about a family of zombies that consists of Fred Deadman (voiced by Billy West), his sister Ashley Deadman (voiced by Kath Soucie), his mother Stiffany Deadman (voiced by Valery Pappas), and his father Dedgar Deadman (voiced by Matt Frewer in season one, Jess Harnell in season two). This segment was created by cartoonist Mike Peters.
Attack of the Killer B-Movies
Sometimes, a parody of a B-list horror movie would air instead of a "Night of the Living Fred" cartoon.
Igor's Science Minute
A short segment where Igor gives a science lesson (be it a musical piece or a spoken piece) that always ends in disaster.
Melissa Screetch
When Phil the Frankenstein Monster does something bad, Igor punishes him by reading a horror tale from the book "Melissa Screetch's Morbid Morals". It involves a bratty girl named Melissa Screech (voiced by Nancy Cartwright) who does not heed the warnings of adults (usually given by her mother) and suffers the consequences for it one way or another. After the story is told, something tied in with the story happens with the characters.
During season two, Melissa Screetch starred in a new segment called "The Melissa Screetch Show". Whenever Melissa was disappointed with a friend or a family member, she would go home and cover herself under her bed sheets where she pretended to host a show. She then had her transgressor on as a guest star and often did away with them in an ironic manner.
Production
Second season changes
In season two, Bill Kopp and Jeff DeGrandis left the show and were replaced by Paul Rugg. The series' format changed into more of a sitcom style.
The only other backup segments to re-materialize in season two were the B-movie parodies (though some episodes of "Night of the Living Fred" aired) and Melissa Screetch in a new segment called "The Melissa Screech Show".
Series overview
Episodes
Season 1 (1998) Note: All episodes in this season were directed by Jeff DeGrandis.
Season 2 (1998–99)
Music
The music for the series was written by Michael Tavera, Keith Baxter, Christopher Neal Nelson, John Paul Given, Christopher Klatman and Thom Sharp. The main title song was written by Steve Bernstein and Julie Bernstein with lyrics by Paul Rugg.