Regular Show | |
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Season 1 | |
Starring |
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No. of episodes | 12 |
Release | |
Original network | Cartoon Network |
Original release | September 6 November 22, 2010 | –
Season chronology | |
The first season of the American animated sitcom Regular Show, created by J. G. Quintel, originally aired on Cartoon Network in the United States. Quintel created the series' pilot using characters from his comedy shorts for the canceled anthology series The Cartoonstitute. He developed Regular Show from his own experiences in college. Simultaneously, several of the show's main characters originated from his animated short films The Naïve Man from Lolliland and 2 in the AM PM. The season's production officially began on August 14, 2009, was produced by Cartoon Network Studios, and ran from September 6 to November 22, 2010.
Regular Show's first season was storyboarded and written by Quintel, Sean Szeles, Shion Takeuchi, Mike Roth, Jake Armstrong, Benton Connor, Kat Morris, Paul Scarlata, and Kent Osborne.
Two 23-year-old friends,[1] a blue jay named Mordecai and a raccoon named Rigby, are employed as groundskeepers at a park and spend their days trying to slack off and entertain themselves by any means. This is much to the chagrin of their boss Benson and their coworker Skips, but the delight of Pops. Their other coworkers, Muscle Man (an overweight green man) and Hi-Five Ghost (a ghost with a hand extending from the top of his head), serve as their rivals.
Many of the characters are loosely based on those developed for Quintel's student films at California Institute of the Arts: The Naive Man From Lolliland and 2 in the AM PM. Quintel pitched Regular Show for Cartoon Network's Cartoonstitute project, in which the network allowed artists to create pilots with no notes to be optioned as a show possibly. After The Cartoonstitute was scrapped, and Cartoon Network executives approved the greenlight for Regular Show, production officially began on August 14, 2009.[2] After being green-lit, Quintel recruited several indie comic book artists to compose the show's staff, as their style matched close to what he desired for the series. The season was storyboarded and written by Quintel, Sean Szeles, Shion Takeuchi, Mike Roth, Jake Armstrong, Benton Connor, Kat Morris, Paul Scarlata, and Kent Osborne while being produced by Cartoon Network Studios.
Roth is the creative director and Janet Dimon is the producer. The first season of Regular Show was produced between August 2009 to July 2010.[2] It utilizes double entendres and mild language; Quintel stated that, although the network wanted to step up from the more child-oriented fare, some restrictions came along with this switch. The whole season aired in the same time slot on Mondays at 8:15 p.m. on Cartoon Network.
The voice actors include Quintel (as Mordecai and Hi-Five Ghost) and William Salyers (as Rigby). Quintel states that the writing crew tries to "come up with dialogue that sounds conversational and not too cartoony so that the characters are more relatable." In addition, Sam Marin voices Pops, Benson, and Muscle Man, Mark Hamill voices Skips, a yeti, and Jeff Bennett voices Hi-Five Ghost in this season only; starting with season 2 to 8, Quintel takes over the role.
The character of Mordecai embodies Quintel during his college years, specifically at CalArts: "That's that time when you're hanging out with your friends and getting into stupid situations, but you're also taking it seriously enough."[3] The character of Rigby developed randomly when Quintel drew a raccoon hula-hooping on a Post-It. He liked the design and developed the character of Rigby to be a jerk character who is far more irresponsible than his companion.[4]
The season generally received positive reviews from most critics, gaining a Metascore—a weighted average based on the impression of critical reviews—of 76 percent. Critics enjoyed the risque and adult innuendos and humor, the animation style, and the voice acting.[5]
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Animation direction by | Written and storyboarded by | Original air date [6] | Prod. code [7] | U.S. viewers (millions) |
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1 | 1 | "The Power" | Robert Alvarez and Brian Sheesley | J. G. Quintel | September 6, 2010 | 697–003 | 2.10[8] |
While Mordecai and Rigby are wrestling with a doll, they accidentally make a hole in the wall. Using a magical keyboard that can do whatever they want, the two decide to convince their boss Benson to give them raises so they can hire someone to fix the hole. After this works, Rigby accidentally uses the keyboard to send his coworker Skips to the Moon. Mordecai, Rigby, Benson, and park owner Pops pile into a golf cart and use the keyboard to travel to the Moon to rescue Skips. There, the group find Skips being chased by a giant monster resembling a mixture of Mordecai, Rigby, and the doll they were wrestling. Rigby distracts the monster and allows Skips to break free from its grip, using the keyboard to return the group back home. | |||||||
2 | 2 | "Just Set Up the Chairs" | Robert Alvarez and Brian Sheesley | Sean Szeles and Shion Takeuchi | September 13, 2010 | 697–004 | 1.90[9] |
In the midst of a children's birthday party, the park groundskeepers are instructed by Benson to help prepare. In order to prove to Benson that they're not slackers, Mordecai and Rigby agree to set up the chairs but end up distracted when they find a set of arcade games while trying to find more chairs. When Rigby discovers an arcade game called "Destroyer of Worlds", he accidentally releases the 8-bit antagonist of the game, which begins destroying and wreaking havoc on the park. With help from Skips, the two create a giant arcade graphics robot designed to fight the Destroyer of Worlds. In order to save Mordecai, Rigby uses his excessive button mashing to destroy the Destroyer of Worlds, saving the park. | |||||||
3 | 3 | "Caffeinated Concert Tickets" | Robert Alvarez and Brian Sheesley | J. G. Quintel and Mike Roth | September 20, 2010 | 697–001 | 1.72[10] |
Mordecai and Rigby learn that a band named Fist Pump will be playing live at a concert venue named Slammers. Being Rigby's favorite band, Rigby attempts to persuade Mordecai to join him at the concert. Initially reluctant, Mordecai agrees to go after he learns that his crush Margaret will be in attendance. The two manage to convince Benson to give them overtime to pay for tickets, but after learning that only V.I.P. tickets are available, the two seek help from a giant coffee bean and its translator in order to stay awake while completing more chores. After successfully gaining the tickets, the giant coffee bean betrays the duo and steals them, instigating a grueling chase to Slammers. After regaining their tickets, Mordecai learns that Margaret has a boyfriend as he and Rigby fall asleep and stay asleep through the entire concert. Song: "Working for the Weekend" by Loverboy Guest voice: S. Scott Bullock as the Giant Coffee Bean | |||||||
4 | 4 | "Death Punchies" | Robert Alvarez and Brian Sheesley | J. G. Quintel, Mike Roth, and Jake Armstrong | September 27, 2010 | 697–007 | 1.98[11] |
Rigby steals instructions from "Death Kwon Do" on how to perform a powerful punching move to beat Mordecai at a game where he always gets punched. But it backfires when Mordecai discovers his secret and uses a block move to counter the powerful punch. Song: "You're the Best" by Joe Esposito | |||||||
5 | 5 | "Free Cake" | Robert Alvarez and Brian Sheesley | Kat Morris and Paul Scarlata | October 4, 2010 | 697–011 | 2.10[12] |
Mordecai and Rigby plan to throw a surprise birthday party for Skips so they can eat free cake but realize their accident ruins Skips' ritual to stay immortal. Guest voices: Robin Atkin Downes as Gary and David Kaye as the Guardians of Eternal Youth | |||||||
6 | 6 | "Meat Your Maker" | Robert Alvarez and Brian Sheesley | Sean Szeles and Shion Takeuchi | October 11, 2010 | 697–012 | 1.87[13] |
Mordecai and Rigby get trapped in a meat locker while searching for some new hot dogs after the latter ignorantly wastes a pack that Benson purchased. They meet a group of anthropomorphic hot dogs who agree to help them, but soon reveal intentions of eating them instead to avenge their kind. Guest voice: Tim Curry as the leader of the anthropomorphic hot dogs, a visual gag on Curry's roles as Dr Frank-N-Furter. | |||||||
7 | 7 | "Grilled Cheese Deluxe" | Robert Alvarez and Brian Sheesley | Sean Szeles and Shion Takeuchi | October 18, 2010 | 697–008 | 2.16[14] |
Mordecai and Rigby mistakenly eat Benson's grilled cheese sandwich and are sent out to get him another one. They compete to see who can lie better, which quickly gets them into bigger trouble with two astronauts that they try to impress. Song: "Lies" by The Thompson Twins Guest voices: Scott MacDonald as Major Williams, James Sie as Jimmy and B. J. Ward as Doctor Asinovskovich | |||||||
8 | 8 | "The Unicorns Have Got to Go" | Robert Alvarez and Brian Sheesley | Kat Morris and Paul Scarlata | October 25, 2010 | 697–005 | 2.42[15] |
Mordecai buys a new cologne to attract Margaret, but it instead attracts a group of delinquent unicorns and has to find a way to get rid of them which will not be as easy as it seems when Rigby takes their side to hang out. | |||||||
9 | 9 | "Prank Callers" | Robert Alvarez and Brian Sheesley | J. G. Quintel, Mike Roth, and Kent Osborne | November 1, 2010 | 697–009 | 2.10[16] |
Mordecai and Rigby are sent back to 1982 after attempting to prank call the "Master Prank Caller" and need help to get back to their proper time. Guest voice: Tim Curry, who provides some of the Master Prank Caller's lines. | |||||||
10 | 10 | "Don" | Robert Alvarez and Brian Sheesley | Benton Connor, Kat Morris, and J. G. Quintel | November 8, 2010 | 697–006 | 2.09[17] |
The park is under audit and Rigby's accountant brother Don, who is taller-in-size but younger-in-age, is called to help rescue it from financial ruin. Don proves to be very popular with the crew, much to Rigby's annoyance. His refusal to take in Don's "sugar" (a strong-hearted hug) causes the park to become slowly wiped from existence. This forces Rigby to reconcile his differences to his brother. Guest voice: Julian Dean as Don | |||||||
11 | 11 | "Rigby's Body" | Robert Alvarez and Brian Sheesley | J. G. Quintel and Mike Roth | November 15, 2010 | 697–002 | 1.93[18] |
When Rigby's body forces itself out of his consciousness after he overeats junk food, Mordecai and Skips try to return him to normal before the change becomes permanent. Still, a bodybuilder also wants Rigby's body too. Guest voice: Jeff Bennett as the bodybuilder | |||||||
12 | 12 | "Mordecai and the Rigbys" | Robert Alvarez and Brian Sheesley | Sean Szeles and Shion Takeuchi | November 22, 2010 | 697–010 | 2.03[19] |
After Mordecai and Rigby accidentally pass themselves off as a real band, their future selves appear to help them out. But after finding out that it is a hoax, they end the band causing the future selves to disappear. Song: "Party Tonight" by Sean Szeles, sung by Mordecai Guest voice: Paul F. Tompkins as the voice on Pops' "How To Be A Musician – with Sir Geoffrey" instructional records |
Warner Home Video released multiple DVDs, consisting of region 1 formats. Slack Pack, Party Pack, Fright Pack, Mordecai & Margaret Pack and Rigby Pack were created for Region 1 markets containing episodes from the first season.
The Complete First & Second Seasons was released on Blu-ray and DVD on July 16. 2013.
Regular Show: The Complete First & Second Seasons | |||||||
Set details[20][21] | Special features[20][21] | ||||||
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Release dates | |||||||
Region 1 | Region 2 | Region 4 | Region A | ||||
July 16, 2013[20] | October 6, 2014[22] | October 2, 2013[23] | July 16, 2013[21] |
Dude, we're 23 years old, we shouldn't be busting holes in walls.
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