Sit Down, Shut Up (2009 TV series)
Sit Down, Shut Up | |
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Genre |
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Based on | |
Developed by | Mitchell Hurwitz |
Voices of | |
Composer | David Schwartz |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 13 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers | |
Running time | 22–23 minutes |
Production companies |
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Original release | |
Network | Fox (Animation Domination) |
Release | April 19 November 21, 2009 | –
Related | |
Sit Down, Shut Up (Australian TV series) |
Sit Down, Shut Up (sometimes also known as Sit Down, Shut Up! in some promos) is an American
Based on the Australian live-action sitcom of the same name, creator Mitchell Hurwitz came up with the idea for an animated version in 2000.[4] He wrote a script for a pilot episode, but "kept it in a drawer" until he pitched the show to different networks in 2008 when he needed money.[5] Hurwitz said that "it was just a wacky show, and nobody wanted it", but eventually Fox picked it up as a primetime animated series.[1]
Sit Down, Shut Up met with mixed reviews from critics.
Series overview
Season | Episodes | Originally aired | Rank | Viewers (in millions) | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First aired | Last aired | |||||
1 | 13 | April 19, 2009 | November 21, 2009 | 159 | 3.36[11] |
Characters
- Ennis Hofftard (voiced by Will Arnett) is a cyclist who teaches English and chases women. His catchphrase is "Catchphrases are for losers!" He is inept at thinking his plans through, usually causing even more trouble, and he seldom thinks about anything unless it has something to do with a woman or the promise of avoiding work. Ennis has a sexual interest in Miracle, as shown by his interest in seeing her breasts. He is shown to be very talented when it comes to getting women, even being a dating teacher before becoming an English teacher. He has also exhibited on several occasions the internal thought processes of a house cat which he refers to as his "comfort kitty" (a foul-tongued live-action cat) because he is cowardly. He was influenced by a feeling of failure to live up to his military dad but he later learns that his father was also a cowardly figure who has a comfort kitty of his own.
- Larry Littlejunk (voiced by Jason Bateman) is the gym teacher, and the only staff member who can teach; he can be seen as the protagonist for these reasons. He refers to himself as "Larry L." because he is embarrassed by his last name, and his catchphrase is "Why can't someone else teach P.E.?" He is apparently the only qualified teacher, but he lost the science-teacher position to Miracle Grohe because of her "nude" presentation (which, for censorship reasons, was never shown). He is hopelessly in love with Miracle, but at the same time can't stand how airheaded she is, so he insults her instead of telling her how he feels.[12] He has been shown dating other women, but still goes into dazed states when around Miracle. In an early promo for the series, the character was named Larry Slimp.[13]
- Miracle Grohe (voiced by Pillow Fight Club (a parody of Fight Club) that appears to be worldwide. Comedian Maria Bamford was originally cast as Miracle Grohe but was later replaced by Chenoweth.[15] The executives still allowed Bamford to do some "side voices" on the show.[16]
- Stuart Proszakian (voiced by insane.
- Muhannad Sabeeh "Happy" Fa-ach Nuabar (voiced by stereotypical jokes, as in one episode he is seen walking around with a bundle of dynamiteand in a promotional photo, is seen leaking toxic gas into the faculty room. It is also suggested he pees in Ennis' coffee, as when he needed to go to the bathroom he imagined Ennis' coffee mug. He also is implied to think he is cancerous, as shown when he kisses Larry to give him cancer out of spite for disrespecting Miracle's beliefs.
- Andrew LeGustambos (voiced by narcissist after seeing himself in a dress.[17] He resents Jose Canseco, for an incident that happened in his childhood when he played baseball. According to voice actor Kroll, Andrew is (alongside Helen) a loser amongst losers.[18] Kroll voices him to talk like a "modern day Snagglepuss".[18] In an early promo, the character was named Andrew Sapien.[13]
- Helen Klench (voiced by female hormone drugs (which Vice Principal Prozackian was given when it was believed that the hormone drugs were steroids). Helen is skinny but is considered unattractive in relation to Miracle. In one episode, it was revealed because of her extreme loneliness, she has a habit of falling in love with inanimate objects and lives with a lot of cats. She has a close friendship with Andrew, as the two frequently talk and exchange gossip together. She was an alumnus of Knob Haven High School, where she and Sue formed a musical duo, and she was obese back then.[17]
- Sue Sezno (voiced by hypocrite, clearly shown when she stated that she would have quit before firing any of the teachers, just to moments later fire Willard, and again when she pressured everyone to keep the School Fairfair, she cheated during the raffle. She is also shown to be incredibly lazy, giving the bare minimum to Miracle so she could become a teacher again because she didn't want to do the work of finding a new teacher, as well as saving the teachers who suffered a heart attack because she didn't want to have to do the paperwork. This as well as having no care for her fellow staff, as when she saw them have heart attacks, she just gave herself the rest of the day off, as well as planning to blame all of the school's problems on them at a meeting in Washington, D.C. It is revealed in the episode "Hurricane Willard", her full name is Susanna Louise Sezno. She is rarely in the spotlight when it comes to love interests, hooking up with Happy in "Back In Time" and becoming impressed with Stuart at the end of "Hurricane Willard."
- Willard Deutschebog (voiced by Henry Winkler) is a middle-aged German teacher with very low self-esteem. His catchphrase is, "If I believed in reincarnation, I'd kill myself tonight." He still is highly influenced by his mother for whom he used his position as a driving teacher to run errands. In one episode, he promised to dump his girlfriend because his mom said "she was a whore." In another episode, when presented with the option of a beautiful woman wanting to marry him, he responded, "I'm sorry. I promised my mother I would die alone." He's constantly fretting about his job and is normally homeless to the point where he lives in completely random places (the school football field, in the belfry of a tower, in the closet in the teacher's lounge). He has a fear of driving that stems from crashing his car into a drive-in theater screen during a sexual experience. To get around, he arranges for emergency vehicles and hearses to pick him up and take him where he wants to go by lying about sickness, fire, or death. Later, after he obtains the position of the school's driving instructor, he begins using the driver training car for his personal transportation. He also doesn't have an e-mail account or a phone. He has a habit of being a blabbermouth. In the 1930s, became infamous for making love with his teacher, and was known as "The Whoop-De-Doo Kid". He also apparently forages the school dumpster for food every day at 3:00. Despite his feelings of isolation due to his mother and terrible social skills, Ennis sees Willard as his closest friend and constantly takes it upon himself to defend him from any perceived taunting. In the episode "Tackin'" it is revealed by Ennis his middle name is either Leonard or Herbert.
Episodes
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Pilot" | Dwayne Carey-Hill | Mitchell Hurwitz | April 19, 2009 | SIT-101 |
Acting principal Susan Sezno is threatening to fire one of the teachers of Knob Haven High School due to budget cuts and reports of misconduct. Meanwhile, Vice Principal (and former prison entertainer) Stuart Proszakian ingests pills that are suspected to be steroids, thanks to the predictions of the ditzy, new-age hippie science teacher, Miracle Grohe. Meanwhile, German teacher Willard Deutschebog is desperate to hide his porno magazines and seeks the help of English teacher Ennis Hofftard for help, Helen seeks to find the school time capsule, and Andrew tries to get the attention of Larry and Miracle, only to end up interested in Stuart when he arrives at the school with full, augmented breasts. | |||||
2 | "Miracle's Are Real" | Raymie Muzquiz | Mitchell Hurwitz and Jim Vallely | April 26, 2009 | SIT-102 |
Knob Haven High throws a fundraising fair where all the games aren't rigged, after Miracle accidentally poisons the faculty by giving them hemlock as gifts for the first day of spring. Larry, during his pursuit of Miracle, accidentally makes her lose her spiritual beliefs after interrupting and ruining her "astral event," which would have given her the love of her life. Larry tries to make the prophecy come true for her when he realizes this during the fair, while Helen and Andrew set out to prove that Principal Sezno is a hermaphrodite, and Ennis falls for a raffle-ball basket while caring for Miracle's baby. | |||||
3 | "World's Greatest Teacher" | Frank Marino | Alex Herschlag | May 3, 2009 | SIT-103 |
Larry volunteers to give a speech to impress Miracle, but Ennis steals Larry's thunder when a YouTube video of Ennis's ranting becomes popular. Meanwhile, Willard becomes a driver's-ed teacher so he can overcome his fear of driving and Helen the librarian discovers that Happy the Janitor is keeping the books she was ordered to burn. | |||||
4 | "Back in Time" | Stephen Sandoval | Michael Colton & John Aboud | May 10, 2009 | SIT-104 |
In this homage to 1980s films, Principal Sezno sets up a PTA party at Huey Lewis's house, Helen tries to find her identity, Larry ends up on a date with a cross-dressing Stuart (who constantly keeps insisting that he is his sister), and Willard drives a time-traveling DeLorean back to World War II Germany. | |||||
5 | "High School Confidential" | Dwayne Carey-Hill | Aisha Muharrar | September 12, 2009 | SIT-108 |
Sue crashes her car into Ennis and tries to conceal the accident by hiding him (still stuck halfway through the windshield of her car) in the auto-shop class until the school can afford insurance. Meanwhile, Stuart takes over the school's failing newspaper to try to make enough money to purchase insurance, and turns it into a tabloid and Miracle is forced to go back to high school after it is revealed that she never graduated. | |||||
6 | "Taming of the Dude" | Ray Claffey | Michael Colton & John Aboud | September 19, 2009 | SIT-112 |
When Ennis offers to school the staff on dating and relationship issues, Larry objects to his methods, then through a strange turn of events, he meets a mysterious lady from Ennis’ past. Meanwhile, Sue joins an underground society called "Pillow Fight Club" and finds that Miracle is a member. | |||||
7 | "Hurricane Willard" | Raymie Muzquiz | Aaron Ehasz | September 26, 2009 | SIT-109 |
When the town is threatened by a flood, the high-school gym is used as an emergency shelter and Willard seizes the opportunity to be respected through fear. | |||||
8 | "Mr. Hofftard Goes to Washington" | Frank Marino | Dan Fybel & Rich Rinaldi | October 3, 2009 | SIT-110 |
Sue Sezno ditches the teachers to testify in a Senate hearing about why Knob Haven High School is the worst school in the country and, to prevent her from going, the staff breaks into teams that race to stop her. Meanwhile, Ennis gets sidetracked as he tries to prove his bravery to his father. Meanwhile, Helen wants to be noticed by guys, so Miracle teaches her how to flirt and Happy and Stuart become desperate to find survival in a hot air balloon. | |||||
9 | "Tackin" | Crystal Chesney-Thompson | Richard Day | October 10, 2009 | SIT-113 |
When Larry hears from the Deep South Council of Physical Fitness, he tries to convince Sue to get rid of all the junk food, but Willard's latest heart attack and his description of Heaven leads to a dangerous new trend called "tackin'" where teenagers induce heart attacks to get high. | |||||
10 | "Helen and Sue's High School Reunion" | Peter Avanzino | Alex Herschlag | October 24, 2009 | SIT-107 |
Larry plans the school's reunion while Andrew plots revenge against Jose Canseco, Larry decides to seek a lost love, and Ennis believes Happy is planning a terrorist attack. Note: Alanis Morissette guest-stars as herself. | |||||
11 | "Math Lab" | Crystal Chesney-Thompson | Laura Gutin | November 7, 2009 | SIT-106 |
Misunderstanding his part in Knob Haven High’s anti-drug campaign, Stuart builds a meth lab instead of a math lab. Meanwhile, Larry takes the school’s affiliation with a pharmaceutical company a little too seriously. Note: This episode was originally planned to be aired on May 17th, 2009 as the first-season finale, but due to low ratings and concerns over the episode's content, the episode was delayed.[19] The episode was also planned to air in early September before being replaced by "High School Confidential".[20] | |||||
12 | "SpEd" | Ray Claffey | Dan Fybel & Rich Rinaldi | November 14, 2009 | SIT-105 |
Ennis proctors the standardized tests for the gifted students and mistakenly convinces Happy to dump a truckload of kids into the harbor, forcing Larry to come to the rescue. Meanwhile, Willard tries to protect Stuart from a scam. | |||||
13 | "High School Musical Musical" | Stephen Sandoval | Josh Weinstein | November 21, 2009 | SIT-111 |
When Sue gives Andrew an ultimatum to turn around the drama department, he writes a musical starring the teachers. Meanwhile, Sue discovers that Ennis is smartest when he is intoxicated. |
Production
Creation and writing
Hurwitz wrote the first script and decided to take a more "supervisory role".[24] Josh Weinstein, a former writer for The Simpsons, was the showrunner, and Bill Oakley, another Simpsons writer, was originally on board, but ended his involvement with the show due to a contract dispute between the staff and Sony.[25] Sony refused to offer a contract which operated under the complete terms of the Writers Guild of America. Eventually a compromise was reached, and production resumed in June 2008.[25] Writers for the show include Josh Weinstein, Rich Rinaldi, Aisha Muharrar, Alex Herschlag, Laura Gutin, Dan Fybel, Aaron Ehasz, Michael Colton, and John Aboud.[25]
Animation
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/7/79/SitDownShutUpChar.png/185px-SitDownShutUpChar.png)
The show uses Eagle Rock High School as backgrounds for the animated characters.[5] Hurwitz said that he "wanted to set the show in the real world, and the writing staff is made up of people that come from live action and from animation, so it expresses that mix well".[5] He called it "just an aesthetic thing"; he saw Mo Willems' book Knuffle Bunny in a bookstore, and then contacted Willems.[5] Willems designed the characters and they "started to do this technique".[5] The images used for the school were taken at a school next door to the Rough Draft Studios, the series' animation studio.[5] Hurwitz chose Rough Draft Studios as the series' animation studio because Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein had a "great experience" with the studio when working on Futurama.[5]
In March 2009, creator Hurwitz and the cast were present at WonderCon to promote the show.[1] Hurwitz told the audience that they had just received "the first pieces of the show back" from the animation studio in South Korea, and showed the first clip of the show for the audience.[1]
Casting
The cast includes former Arrested Development stars
Reception
Critical response
Sit Down, Shut Up has received mixed reviews and currently has a 24% rating on
Genevieve Koski of
Ratings
Order | Episode | Timeslot | Rating/share
|
Rating/share (18-49) |
Viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Pilot" | 8:30 | 2.7/8[39] | 2.3/6[39] | 5.21[39] |
2 | "Miracle's Are Real" | 8:30 | 2.1/7[40] | 1.9/5[40] | 4.20[40] |
3 | "World's Greatest Teacher" | 7:00 | 1.0/4[41] | 0.8/3[41] | 2.09[41] |
4 | "Back in Time" | 7:00 | 0.6/3[42] | 0.7/3[42] | 1.59[42] |
5 | "High School Confidential" | 8:30 | 2.1/7[40] | 1.9/5[40] | 4.20[40] |
Cancellation
After two episodes had aired, the series' original 8:30 timeslot was moved to 7:00 due to low ratings.[2] After the fourth episode aired, the fifth and final episode of what was to be the initial run of Sit Down, Shut Up, was pulled from the Sunday Animation Domination lineup due to what was speculated as continued low ratings.[2] The remaining 9 episodes began airing on September 12, 2009, on Saturday nights at midnight (following the cancellation of Mad TV) on a loop until April 2010, when repeats of Brothers took over the time slot.[43]
Syndication
Sit Down, Shut Up! was formerly available on the streaming service,
References
- ^ a b c d Murphy, Matt (2009-03-03). "WC: Sit Down, Shut Up". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ^ a b c Goldman, Eric (2009-05-12). "Plug pulled on Sit Down, Shut Up". IGN. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
- ^ Battaglio, Stephen (2009-05-17). "Is my favorite show cancelled?". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 2010-01-02. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
- ^ a b c d "Sit Down, Shut Up TV Interview - WC 09: Mitch Hurwitz". IGN. Retrieved 2009-04-18.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Basile, Nancy. "Sit Down, Shut Up - Q&A with Will Forte & Mitchell Hurwitz". About.com. Archived from the original on 2010-05-04. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
- ^ a b "Sit Down, Shut Up". Metacritic. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ^ Carlson, Daniel (2009-04-19). "Sit Down, Shut Up - TV Review". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on April 23, 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
- ^ a b Krakow, Jonah (2009-04-17). "Sit Down, Shut Up: "Pilot" Review". IGN. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
- ^ a b Gallaghar, Kona (2009-04-19). "Sit Down, Shut Up: Pilot". TV Squad. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
- ^ "2009 Artios Award Nominees and Winners". Casting Society of America. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
- ^ "ABC Medianet 2008-09 Ratings". 23 June 2009. Archived from the original on 23 June 2009. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
- ^ Sit Down, Shut Up official website
- ^ a b "YouTube". youtube.com.
- ^ "The Drugs". Archived from the original on 2009-04-23. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
- ^ Snierson, Dan (2008-12-03). "Kristin Chenoweth joins animated comedy from 'Arrested Development' creator". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2008-12-05. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
- ^ Wenzel, John. "A comic voice you can't ignore". Kansas City Star. Retrieved 2009-04-07. [dead link]
- ^ a b Fritz, Steve (2009-04-10). "Animated Shorts: Inside Fox's Sit Down, Shut Up". Newsarama. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
- ^ a b c d Jensen, Michael (2009-01-15). "Fox's animated "Sit Down, Shut Up" includes bisexual male character". After Elton. Retrieved 2009-04-11.
- ^ "Listings | TheFutonCritic.com - The Web's Best Television Resource". www.thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ^ "Listings | TheFutonCritic.com - The Web's Best Television Resource". www.thefutoncritic.com. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- ^ a b c Lowry, Brian (2009-04-15). "Sit Down, Shut Up". Variety. Archived from the original on 2013-02-05. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- ^ Carter, Bill; Jacques Steinberg (2008-05-15). "Fox Will Bring Back 'Idol,' and Add Sci-Fi". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ^ Littleton, Cynthia; Michael Schneider (2008-05-11). "Fox greenlights J.J. Abrams' 'Fringe'". Variety. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ^ a b Michael Schneider (2008-04-27). "'Simpsons' duo draw 'Up' new show". Variety. Retrieved 2008-05-15.
- ^ a b c Michael Schneider (2008-07-16). "Bill Oakley exits 'Sit Down, Shut Up'". Variety. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
- ^ "Meet the Faculty and staff of Knob Haven High on the series premiere of "Sit Down, Shut Up" Sunday, April 19, on FOX". Retrieved 2009-04-04.
- ^ "Will Arnett and Amy Poehler Compete For Laughs". Parade. 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
- ^ Snierson, Dave (2008-12-03). "Kristin Chenoweth joins animated comedy from 'Arrested Development' creator". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2012-07-10. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
- ^ Ross, John. "Maria Bamford Interview". Sacramento Comedy. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
- ^ a b Ryan, Mike (2009-05-07). "Kenan Thompson talks 'Sit Down, Shut Up', 'SNL' and more". Starpulse. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
- ^ Furlong, Maggie (2009-04-16). "Hot Video: 'Sit Down, Shut Up' interview with Cheri Oteri & Nick Kroll". Archived from the original on 2012-12-03. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
- ^ Milligan, Mercedes (2009-04-04). "Q&A with Josh Weinstein of Sit Down, Shut Up". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
- ^ "Sit Down, Shut Up: Helen and Sue's High School Reunion". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
- ^ "Sit Down, Shut Up: Season 1". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
- ^ Wiser, Paige (2009-04-19). "Class acts earn average grades". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2009-04-30. Retrieved 2009-04-21.
- The Miami Herald. Retrieved 2009-04-21. [dead link]
- ^ Koski, Genevieve (2009-04-19). "Sit Down, Shut Up: "Pilot"". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
- ^ Gallaghar, Kona (2009-04-27). "Sit Down, Shut Up: Miracle's Are Real". TV Squad. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
- ^ a b c Gorman, Bill (2009-04-20). "Housewives Keys ABC Win; Sit Down, Shut Up Premieres Mixed". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 2009-04-23. Retrieved 2009-12-29.
- ^ a b c d e f Gorman, Bill (2009-04-27). "ABC wins; Sit Down, Shut Up drags down Fox". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 2009-04-30. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
- ^ a b c Seidman, Robert (2009-05-06). "Desperate Housewives win delayed Sunday ratings". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 2012-09-22. Retrieved 2009-11-27.
- ^ a b c Gorman, Bill (2009-05-11). "ABC Wins, But Desperate Housewives Hits Series Low". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on 2009-05-14. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- ^ "Fox to "Sit Down" in late night this fall". The Futon Critic. 2009-07-13. Retrieved 2010-02-20.
- ^ "Comedy Central Press | Home Page". Comedycentral.com. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
- ^ "Watch Sit Down, Shut Up Episodes and Clips for Free from Adult Swim". Adult Swim. 16 February 2015. Archived from the original on 30 November 2014.
External links
- Sit Down, Shut Up at IMDb