Mr. Meaty

Mr. Meaty
"Imagine if Jim Henson got drunk..." — PhantomStrider
Genre: Comedy Teen sitcom Puppetry Horror Running Time: 22 minutes Country: United States Canada Release Date: December 30, 2005 (pilot) September 22, 2006 - May 23, 2009 (official) Network(s): CBC Television Nickelodeon Nicktoons Created by: Jamie Shannon Jason Hopley Distributed by: ViacomCBS Domestic Media Networks Starring: Jamie Shannon Jason Hopley Todd Doldersum Marty Stelnick Arthur Holden Troy Baker Seasons: 2 Episodes: 20

Mr. Meaty is a teen puppet sitcom created by Jamie Shannon and Jason Hopley. The show centers on two lazy teenage boys named Josh Redgrove and Parker Dinkleman, who work at a fictional fast food restaurant named Mr. Meaty located inside the Scaunchboro Mall, getting into all sorts of predicaments along the way. It aired on Nickelodeon and CBC as a pilot in December 2005. However the series didn't appear until its official premiere on September 22, 2006 on Nickelodeon and CBC. The series stopped airing on Nickelodeon on February of 2007 when it's recent episodes "Doug of the Dead and Suburb of the Apes" aired on December 9, 2006. This meant that it moved to Nicktoons Network and ran from February 2007 to May 23, 2009. The show had gotten mixed reviews from critics, watchers and online reviewers.

Plot

Mr. Meaty centers on a pair of teenage boys working at a fast-food restaurant established in the fictional Scaunchboro Mall: the nerdy, gluttonous, awkward Parker Dinkleman (Jason Hopley) and the charming, popular, but uncaring and self-centered Josh Redgrove (Jamie Shannon). The boys are often placed in bizarre, supernatural or grotesque situations. They are also seen dealing with common teenage situations such as dating and peer pressure.

Recurring characters include Doug (Todd Doldersum), Scaunchboro Mall's beefy mall cop with a macho attitude; Edward R. Carney (Marty Stelnick), Mr. Meaty's 109-year-old founder and CEO who was previously cryogenically frozen; and Mr. Wink (Troy Baker), the cold-hearted manager of Mr. Meaty.

Horrifying Qualities

1. The puppets are really uncanny, low-quality and off-putting. Almost looking like something out of your nightmares.
2. Many of the characters are weird and unlikable. Parker is the worst of the characters (in some episodes) because of his disgusting, selfish behavior and obnoxious voice (it’s even worse when he screams).
   • The female characters are also unlikable and stereotypical, the goth girl in general is kinda offensive towards goths, the female teens have obnoxious voices that sound offensive towards teenage girls.
3. The humor and tone of the show is very disturbing, unfitting, and grotesque for a KIDS SHOW on Nickelodeon, CBC Kids and Nicktoons, that not even Breadwinners, Fanboy & Chum Chum, Super Duper Sumos, or Sanjay and Craig would go this far.
   • One of the shorts, "Crispy Hand" promotes CANNIBALISM, a goth girl customer slips and accidentally deep fries her hand, along with Parker! And if that wasn't enough, she and Parker even eat it! They even high five after biting off their deep-fried fingers!
   • In the episode "Moochmaster P.", Parker eats a raw burger patty, causing a huge tapeworm to grow inside of his stomach, and then later an Australian man comes and eats it instead of just killing it. Robotboy took that concept less disturbing in its episode "Tummy Trouble".
     • Aside the tapeworm, there are disgusting moments in the episode and Parker is really unlikable. He bites almost all of Josh’s meatball sandwich, and when he is chewing, there are chunks of the sandwich in Parker’s mouth while he talks.
     • And when Parker eats Doug’s donut, there are webs of his saliva coming out of his mouth and it still sticks onto Doug’s hand!
   • In the short, "Revenge of the Vegan", where Josh and Parker shoot a horror film with Parker dressed as a meat monster, a female vegan (better known as The Peace Woman) wearing a shirt saying "Meat is Murder" assaults them! Josh’s scream when the vegan finds him is unsettling and a migraine to hear.
   • The tar monster from "The Black Tar" is disturbing, him wanting a hug and the heartwarming music doesn’t help.
   • The episode "Geezers", have an elderly Josh and Parker stalk their younger selves and force them to make the movie they're supposed to film, which is very disturbing since stalking is a crime.
     • Not to mention that the elderly designs of the main duo are unsettling to look at.
   • In "I Love Lizzy", an alien disguised as a girl joins in on working at Mr. Meaty. And after her reveal that she’s an alien, she tries laying her eggs in Josh and Parker.
   • In "Schnozzola", Ashley gets her nose burned off by the boys after trying to remove a terrible zit. Later on, a rat eats her fallen nose. Which is disturbing to look at.
   • In "Embarrassed to Death", Parker has a flashback to a birthday party where a child nearly drowned in a kiddie pool. It was only because of Parker's explosive farting that he resurfaced.
   • Wedgelord’s design is unfitting and terrifying in a show for kids, but he’s completely harmless, hilarious, and likable than terrifying himself.
     • Same goes for Mr. Carney, he also has a disturbing design and he looks undead rather than really old and sick but he is also funny and likable. The only bottom line about him is that he can be unlikable (as seen in the episode the Tell-Tale Burger).
   • Parker’s transformation into a girl in "Parkerina" is terrifying, and the way he screams will get on your last nerve.
   • There is actually an unidentified victim still frozen in the kitchen freezer, which understandably unnerves Parker.
   • And because of all of these points, it makes you question why Nickelodeon would allow this show to go scot-free but not their other dark-toned cartoons, Invader Zim and Making Fiends?
   • There are also really disgusting moments in the show.
     • One of the shorts, "Gone With the Wind", has fart jokes. Josh farts once, a girl (better known as Ashley) who gives him her phone number farts twice, and Parker farts for the last several seconds until the end, it doesn’t sound like he’s farting but pooping his pants.
     • Parker lying that he showered yesterday even though Josh pointed out that he reeks.
     • Josh's meat girlfriend in "Roast Beef Barb".
   • All of these points above go to the point where the show feels more like an adult sitcom than a children's show on Nickelodeon or the CBC Kids block, and would've been better off if it was aired on MTV, CBC, Comedy Central, and/or [adult swim] instead of Nickelodeon or the CBC Kids Block. In fact, the show was originally meant for teens but was instead seen by children. Coincidentally, the series aired on TEENick from 2006 to 2007. Click here for more information.
4. Nickelodeon, CBC Kids and the creators (Jamie Shannon and Jason Hopley) seem to regret making the show seeing how it took two and a half years for them to air the finale. However, the finale (along with the second season) were produced around 2007 according to the credits. Click here for proof.
5. The voice acting is an absolute pain to listen to (except for Josh, Doug, and Parker), and the screaming can get on your nerves fast.
6. It gives off very wrong messages, for example; one commercial in "Parkerina" introduces a burger titled "The Ms. Meaty Burger". It helps young girls turn into voluptuous women when eaten with a special girly sauce (which is seen as an example in the commercial). Which is very disturbing.
7. Very bad camera movement; for example, the camera seems to tilt every once in a while, and some of the characters may get shoved into the camera.
8. Some of the plots are demented in a mediocre way and, for most of the episodes at least. On the bright side, the plots did improve in the rest of Seasons 1 and 2.
9. Dull, disturbing settings and lack of world-building.
10. While the lighting in certain episodes are okay, there are a few episodes that the lighting is pale to look at.
11. Poor-to-mediocre character dialogue.

Meaty-Good Qualities

1. Good puppeteering.
2. Some of the jokes are decent.
   • There are funny moments here and there.
3. A few of the characters are likable, such as Josh, Doug, Wedgelord, and Mr. Carney. Parker despite being unlikable and being the somewhat the worst character in the show is still somewhat likable and always shows feelings for Josh at times.
4. The theme song is okay.
5. Unique plots and good episodes every now and then, such as:
   • Buffalo Burrito (Which started the show on a high note)
   • Tater Turf
   • The Fries that Bind (depending on your view)
   • Wedgelor
   • Suburb of the Apes Original Sin
   • Ninjam
   • Dinkleman
   • Flinga Flonga (depending on your view)
   • Big Greasy Musical
   • Parker's Date (depending on your view)
   • Parker's First Kiss
   • Lord of the Geeks
   • Model Employee
   • Dream of the Dead (the finale episode)
6. The title cards in each episode are very creative.
7. Season 2 is a slight improvement.
8. Fortunately, Nickelodeon would learn their mistakes from this show and create a much better show involving puppets in 2021, that being The Barbarian and the Troll.

Reception

The show got mixed reviews, it currently holds a 6.1/10 on IMDB, 3/5 on Common Sense Media, and 4.3 on TV.com. And is considered to be one of the weakest Nickelodeon/Nicktoon shows ever made.

Saberspark considered this as the worst animated show to ever air on Nickelodeon, placing it on #1 on The Top 10 WORST Nickelodeon Shows. He even claims this as the bottom of the barrel for the channel.

However, as of now, the watchers are now divided about the show itself gaining 6.1/10 on IMDB, and 3/5 on Common Sense Media from both parents, teens and children.

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