Title: | Doug |
Rating | ![]() |
Start - end: | 1991 - 1999 |
Studio: | Nickelodeon |
Official site: | Doug official site | Rate: |
In 1991, the Nickelodeon episodes began airing and we find 11 1/2 year-old Douglas Yancey Funnie and his family (Phil, Theda and sister Judy), having just moved from their former residence in Bloatsburg, to the new town of Bluffington. There he meets Skeeter, Patti, Roger and Beebe, and his new life in a new town begins! Doug writes in his journal and sometimes even imagines himself as a superhero named Quailman to help him out with situations and decisions.
Douglas Yancey "Doug" Funnie: The protagonist and title character in Doug (1991-1999). A shy daydreamer with a good heart and a love for writing and music (specifically his favorite band "The Beets"). Doug is an avid banjo player, and can often be found writing songs underneath trees about his secret affection for Patti Mayonnaise. At some point in every episode, Doug is seen writing (and dictating via voice-over) his thoughts in his personal journal, with "Dear Journal, It's me. Doug." And in the episode "Doug Can't Dance" Doug says "Dear Diary Hi It's Me Doug." This journal is extremely important to Doug, and as learned in one episode, he would typically be offended whenever someone called it his "diary". He has several alter-egos: a superhero named Quailman, explorer Race Canyon (parody of Indiana Jones), crime-stopper the Chameleon, cowboy Durango Doug, outlaw Jack Bandit, Wafflestomper (seemingly a parody of Steven Segal) and Secret Agent 000 Smash Adams (a parody of 007 James Bond). In the Nickelodeon's Doug episode "Doug's Garage Band", Doug sings the "Bangin' on a Trash Can" song. Doug was voiced by Billy West (1991-1994: Nickelodeon's Doug), and Tom McHugh (1996-1999: Disney's Doug).
Theda Funnie: Doug and Judy's mother. She is the typical housewife (just like Elizabeth Montgomery's Samantha Stephens, wife of Dick York's and Dick Sargent's Darrin Stephens on Screen Gems' Bewitched), but is also a working mother on some occasions. She has pink skin, and tends to be very meek-mannered. However, in one episode, she upbraids Mayor White at a town meeting regarding litter and trash pollution in Bluffington. Theda was voiced by Becca Lish.
Phillip "Phil" Funnie: Doug and Judy's father. He is a department store photographer. He's outgoing and friendly, and a bit of a shmoe. He has orange skin, and is famous for giving advice and other lines throughout the series, one of which is "The Ol' Funnie Fireball". He is also known for getting to play with (the best band ever) "The Beets". Phil was voiced by Doug Preis.
Judith "Judy" Funnie: Doug's tan-skinned older sister, and the oddball of the family. She is obsessed with the workings of William Shakespeare, and is a wanna-be actor and artist who attends a special art school (Moody School for the Gifted) for gifted individuals. She is a rather intelligent person, but at times is embarrassed by the banality of her family, even going as far as to having her entire family act out a performance piece to impress a boy she once liked. She and Doug have normal bouts of sibling rivalry, but usually team together when faced with a problem. Her usual attire consists of her signature red hair, purple beret, an over-sized purple sweater with no sleeves, black shirt and pants, black boots, and black sunglasses. She is the stereotype of what is known as beatnick. Judy was voiced by Becca Lish.
Cleopatra "Dirtbike" Funnie: Doug's baby sister. Born in the Disney version. She has Caucasian-toned "skin", like Doug. Her name comes from a humorous series of events in the Christmas episode that she was born in. Doug was checking his Christmas list, and Judy questioned what he was looking at. He says they are name suggestions for the baby, but Judy snatches the list, and makes fun of the "names" (one of which was "dirt bike"), then sarcastically makes theatrically relevant suggestions (one of which was "Cleopatra"). At the end of the episode, after the baby was born, Theda (who was present during the argument) tells the siblings that she took a name suggestion from each of them. Dirtbike's vocal effects were provided by Fred Newman.
Grandma Funnie: Doug's paternal grandmother, who also appears to be either divorced or widowed. She is a stereotypical kind grandmother, who often spoils Doug with excessive amounts of junk food. She lives by the philosophy that "simple is best", and stitching a sample of it on the mantle, though her exact phrasing of this belief is absurdly convoluted. She owned a craft store in a Disney episode, which Doug turned into a popular coffee shop to make some money for a Beets concert, only to be forced to spend all his earnings at the end to pay off the store's debt amassed from a humorous incident involving Skunky, and return the store to the way it was.
Porkchop: Doug's anthropomorphic dog who, while not able to talk, helps Doug in certain situations, and has several human-like characteristics. He lives in an igloo in the Funnie family's backyard. Porkchop's typical dog sounds were provided by Fred Newman (actor).
Characters
Mosquito "Skeeter" Valentine: Doug's blue-skinned best friend, he is famous in both versions of the series for the "honk honk" sound he frequently makes. Skeeter comes from another family who has lived in Bluffington for quite some time. His father has a foul temper and has a slow vocabulary. His mother is kind-hearted and rather meek. He also has a mischievous two-year old brother, Dale, who once gave Doug a hard time when Doug babysat for him. He also has an on-again/off-again relationship with rich girl Beebe Bluff. Skeeter initially helps Doug order food from the popular Bluffington restaurant "Honker Burger" (which was later demolished) in the series premiere (resulting in their friendship), and later helps Doug learn how to dance. He has a superhero alter-ego, whom he calls "Silver Skeeter", based on The Silver Surfer from Marvel, and is the equal of Quailman, Doug's superhero alter-ego. It is revealed that Skeeter is a genius, later gaining the respect of geeky twin brothers Al and Moo Sleech. He is very laid-back, and willing to take any situation in stride. His hobbies include: playing air guitar, listening to "The Beets", and hanging out at "Honker Burger". It is often speculated by fans and critics that, because of his facial features, athletic ability, break dancing skills, the fact that he is part of the only blue family, his girlfriend is the only purple girl, and beat box ability, that Skeeter is African American. Skeeter was voiced by Fred Newman (actor).
Patti Mayonnaise: An orange-skinned blonde athlete and Doug's love interest. Her physical talents include: basketball, baseball, ballet, bowling, and weightlifting, among others. She seemed to like Doug to a certain degree throughout the series, but it was previously unknown whether she fully reciprocated his feelings(though in one epsidoe, she did reveal that, of all the friends she has, she considers Doug the one she most cares about). Her father, Chad, uses a wheelchair to get around, and her mother is deceased, as we learn in one particular episode after Doug causes her old house to cave in by throwing rocks at it. In some episodes of Disney's Doug, she has a super heroic persona named "Supersport". In the Disney episode "Night of the Living Dougs", she was dressed as Barbara Eden's Jeannie the genie from Screen Gems' I Dream of Jeannie. She is voiced by Constance Shulman.
Beebe Bluff : A purple-skinned rich girl. She is a friend of Patti, Doug, and Skeeter, with whom she has an on-again/off-again relationship. She is the daughter of Bill Bluff, a rich businessman and descendant of Bluffington's founder, Thaddeus Bluff. Her mother owns the town's ballet school. Her rich family background makes her somewhat spoiled, and therefore, a bit of a snob and constant whiner. In the Disney version, the kids go to Beebe Bluff Middle School, named after Beebe and built in the shape of her head. Beebe was voiced by Alice Playten.
Buddy "Bud" Dink: Next-door neighbor of Doug who constantly invests in new inventions that are "very expensive", and end up malfunctioning. Generally, he is a goofy but benevolent character to whom Doug looks for advice. His surname "Dink" stands for Dual Income, No Kids which explains his wealth and ability to purchase so many expensive things. He also has purple skin. Mr. Dink was voiced by Fred Newman.
Tippingdale "Tippy" Dink: Mr. Dink's wife, and later the mayor of Bluffington. She is a slow talker, known for her sarcasm and deadpan reactions to her husband's stupidity and naivet?. However, when Doug aired on ABC, her attitude changed. She is more active, having defeated Robert "Bob" White in an election for Mayor of Bluffington, and her deadpan reactions are far less frequent. Like her husband, Mrs. Dink has purple skin. She was voiced by Doris Belack.
Chalky Studebaker: A friend of virtually every student at Bluffington School. He is a good-natured and all-around talented student. Incredible athlete and natural-born leader, excels at every sport or activity he participates in (except drawing). He is a "super-jock" with light green skin. He was under tremendous pressure to match the accomplishments of his older brother Cliff, who had amassed a very large trophy collection. Due to this, he often took on more than he could handle in order to live up to his father's expectations. This led to Chalky cheating off Doug's test in order to get a good grade because of his time consuming extracurricular activities. He later admitted to Mrs. Wingo that he had cheated, and retook it at a later time which showcased his good character and morals. During the class' graduation from Beebe Bluff Middle School Chalky performed Pomp and Circumstance.
Connie Benge: Connie is a sweet, naive, heavy-set girl in the Nick version, while she is a slimmer singer and songwriter in the Disney version. She seems to have a small crush on Doug. In the Disney version, she develops a crush on Roger. Connie was voiced by Becca Lish.
Mrs. Wingo: Doug's green-skinned grandmotherly elementary school teacher. Mrs. Wingo was voiced by Doris Belack.
William "Bill" Bluff III: The richest man in town, father of Beebe, and descendant of the town's founder. Very much a pompous stuffed-shirt, he refuses to believe anyone but his family could have founded Bluffington, but at the end of a Nickelodeon episode, when the remains of an ancient man were found in Bluffington, it was implied that they were actually that of Mr. Dink's ancestor, not Bluff's. Mr. Bluff was voiced by Doug Preis.
Barbara "Betty" Bluff: Bill Bluff's wife and Beebe's mother. She has green hair and purple skin.
Robert "Bob" White: The former Mayor of Bluffington, who later becomes the middle school principal. He is constantly asserting everyone he sees to "Vote for Me!", even elementary school students. For a brief while he was a radio personality. Bob was voiced by Greg Lee.
Alex Tang: Appeared in one episode, in which he helped Doug pass a tough geometry test. Voiced by Andrew Cusick.
Grandma Opal: Doug's extroverted maternal grandmother, who seems to be either divorced or widowed. She owns a motorcycle, and is into disco. She is remembered for introducing her grandson to the Japanese delicacy sushi, of which he was originally skeptical. She also indicates that at one time she was quite popular.
Fentruck Stimmel: He is a dark green-skinned foreign exchange student from the fictional country of Yakistonia. He is not prominent in the show until the Disney version. In the Disney Christmas episode, he thinks Christmas is Halloween, and Halloween is Easter. He was known for his bizarre cultural greetings and other traditions. For instance, when greeting someone he would place his hand under his armpit and make "fart noise" gestures, while continually saying, "Shwooba, shwooba, shwooba!" At one point, he gave Doug a jar of fresh Yakistonian air as a gift.
Percy Femur: He is Mr. Bone's nephew. Percy is a tall, mean, and tough student. He is known to sport a rat-tail hairstyle, camouflage pants, and army boots. He once bullied Roger until he was sent back to his old school (with the help of Doug). He makes small roles in the series, and seems to be somewhat of a decent athlete, but is incredibly stupid and gullible.
Mr. Swirly: The local ice cream and candy salesman in the original series. Mr. Swirly is often seen in his uniform. He also has a head shaped like an ice cream cone. Doug saved Student Government Day by suggesting that Mr. Swirly let the chocolate chips, which were about to hit the ice cream factory cooling fans, hit the fan, thus turning them into Chocolate Swirlies (Doug's favorite). This comes from an old phrase, which Doug mentions later in the episode: "Sometimes you just have to let the chips hit the fan". In the Disney version, Mr. Swirly opens his own restaurant called Swirly's, where the kids all hang out, since, at this time, "Honker Burger" no longer exists (It was replaced by the classier "Chez Honque").
Judge Peterson: Judge Peterson is a judge who appears in the Nickelodeon's Doug episode "Doug's Christmas Story". He is voiced by Billy West.
Guy Graham: He is a self-motivating eighth-grader, who first appeared in Disney's Doug. He had a crush on Patti, and was Doug's new arch-enemy. While he was a supporting character, he played a major role in Doug's 1st Movie, being Bill Bluff's right-hand man, unknowingly. He also is another of Quailman's nemeses, called the Golden Salmon.