Special Note: If you have any preferences as to what I review for “March of Disney” find me on twitter @davethedave1670 to express it. I’ve got more cartoons and some live action shows on tap and only 4 more weeks to fill. And if you suggest anything without checking what I’ve done in the past I will shame you the next week. Thanks.
“Teacher’s Pet” is a Disney production produced on the tail end of my little kid cartoon watching days. That sentence was crafted by someone with a B.A. in Journalism folks. Anyway, I only make the first sentence known because I’m not sure if this show was very well received. It only ran for two seasons so likely not. Either that or they couldn’t pay Nathan Lane’s salary anymore. I remember seeing it when I was getting close to my teen years and liking it. Sadly once I turned 13 I lost sight of shows that Disney was putting out. I may have to get all nostalgic and watch some because this and “Fillmore” seem pretty great. I also feel compelled to note that I watched “Recess” and “Hey Arnold” in their entirety in the last 2 years, so I’ve gotten over the no kid’s show thing.
So let this lead off Disney month and we hope that all you cynics who hate Walt for being a proposed frozen Nazi can look past his faults and enjoy the programs made after he was dead. I’m pretty sure Spot would curb stomp Mickey Mouse anyway.
He'd at least smack him around. Thanks for the pic Brandon Maertz. Write again soon!
Want to know why I know Spot could do that? Old Spot is a self-serving jerk. His master and best pal Leonard allows him to dress up as a boy named Scott and attend school. Leonard also covers for him every time Scott almost blows his cover. Did I mention that their teacher is Leonard’s mom and Scott’s owner? Get the title now Carnegie Hall?
This isn’t new in the world of entertainment. Dogs are always inconsiderate jerks. We’ve got Dog from “CatDog”, Snoopy from “Peanuts”, Pork chop from “Doug”, Astro from “The Jetsons”, and less so Gary the Snail from “SpongeBob Squarepants”. All of them can be helpful when push comes to shove, but normally at the drop of hat they’ll pitch a fit if they don’t get their way. Scott takes the cake because he’s far more popular than Leonard, despite being horrifying looking in his human guise, and doesn’t help his boy out. I understand you have to look out for number one, but come on Scott. I bet Leonard wishes he were Steven Wright every day.
"I spilled spot remover on my dog. Now he's gone."
Scott is getting all the ladies; even Leonard’s old friend Leslie. They were best pals, but as time moved on and old Leo got less cool, Leslie bailed. He is “Doug Funnie-ing” the situation by being friends with her but pining away. Luckily for Doug his dog Pork Chop didn’t put on clothes and hump her leg. Scott is the coolest guy in school and he can’t even let his main man Leonard keep his girl? She’s drooling over Scott like he’s a bully stick or Beggin’ Strip.
The girl problems cause some tension, but normally Scott and Leonard get along. I did look at the Wikipedia for this show to make sure I didn’t forget anything, and it is written like the duo was the worst of enemies. I almost think this show is based on a true story and it’s based on the guy who wrote the Wikipedia page. It’s so arbitrarily hyperbolic. This line especially is just so bizarre sounding:
“He (Scott) always comes up with amazing plans which’ll get Leonard punished, sent to detention, or pounded. Spot uses his dog qualities to impress everyone and beat Leonard at everything. Their rivalry gets bigger and bigger all the time.”
"I'm scared"
Nathan Lane’s portrayal of “Scott” came to an end abruptly. The show also featured a weird principal, a goofy cat and a cantankerous old bird. A show just about the pets likely would have done better. Leonard is just “Charlie Brown” redux #43. The loser owner who has an awesome dog motif displayed by “Teacher’s Pet” took it even further and had Scott talk and scoop up his girlfriend. I haven’t Google image searched the program at this point, but I will for you people in order to provide some visual stimulus. I got burned on “Rugrats” so I’m not looking forward to my findings. Rule 34 is a real pain. Hopefully the rest of “March of the Disney” will be to your liking F.A.N. people and I won’t scar myself for life.
Crisis averted