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The Weekenders is a Disney animated series about the weekend life of four diverse 7th graders: Tino Tonitini, Lorraine ("Lor") McQuarrie, Carver Descartes, and Petratishkovna ("Tish") Katsufrakis, voiced by veteran cartoon voice-actors: Jason Marsden, Grey DeLisle, Phil LaMarr, and Kath Soucie, respectively. It is stated at least once that the four main characters are each twelve years old. The setting is the fictional town of Bahia Bay, California. The show was created by Doug Langdale, co-creator of Sony Pictures Entertainment's Project G.e.e.K.e.R., and later creator of Disney Channel's Dave the Barbarian.

Production

The series, created by Doug Langdale, made its debut in 1999 as a part of Disney's One Saturday Morning on the American Broadcasting Company and later on Disney's One Too on Sunday mornings. Later it moved to cable channel Toon Disney and aired on The Disney Channel for a short time. In Canada, it was shown on the Family Channel three times a day on weekdays. In the UK, Disney Channel began airing the show exclusively on Friday afternoons, Saturdays and Sunday mornings to fit in with the basic premise (the Latin American version of Disney Channel did the same when airing the show).

The show became popular because of its distinctive animation style, and character movements were fluid. One of the points of deliberate humor by the animation was that the eyes on each character were far apart, similar perhaps to Nickelodeon's cartoon program, Rocket Power.

The setting takes place in Bahia Bay, which is actually based on San Diego, California where the creator lived. The show's title theme (performed by Wayne Brady) was written by both Brady and Roger Neill.

TV Guide dubbed The Weekenders as "the show that killed Pokémon," because ABC stole the ratings when they aired it at 10:00 am - the same time Pokémon aired on Kids' WB. In addition, Variety (magazine) and the New York Post reported that The Weekenders took the number one rating on Saturday morning television, which knocked off Pokemon from its 54 consecutive weeks as the top spot. The Weekenders last aired on Toon Disney in 2007.

Episodes

DVD releases

US (Region 1)

The entire show is now available on DVD on two volume sets sold exclusively through the Disney Movie Club and Disney Movie eBay shop, which makes The Weekenders the first Disney animated television show to have a full release on DVD.

Characters

Tino

Tino Tonitini (voiced by Jason Marsden) is the Italian-American de facto lead character of the series. He frequently begins each episode by breaking the fourth wall, introducing himself, and describing the situation at hand. As conflict develops during the episode, he usually asks his mother for advice. Of the four main characters, Tino is considered by his friends to be the most neurotic and weird, making his behavior the butt of many jokes. He has an irrational fear of clowns, but is able to develop a certain degree of tolerance towards them. He is also an amateur conspiracy theorist and makes obscure references to things that are bizarre, such as bats being able to breathe underwater. Though he often does things that are considered dorky, such as playing air guitar or laughing maniacally, he has the capacity for intelligent wit and will make remarks that are subtly sarcastic. Tino usually wraps up the episode by stopping after his friends have walked off, turning the camera, and stating the moral of the story. Sometimes, other characters do this. His trademark catchphrase, often delivered as his last line bidding farewell, is "Later days!"

Lor

Lorraine "Lor" McQuarrie (voiced by Grey DeLisle) is the Scottish-American tomboy and the "jock" of the group. She has shoulder-length strawberry-blonde hair and often wears T-shirts and jeans. She has fourteen brothers. She also is confident and assertive. Lor is an avid sports player, and she excels at both basketball and soccer. She is frequently caricatured as the "dumb jock," as many of the jokes revolve around her inability to understand things. Lor is spoiled, tough, bratty, and borderline insensitive, to the group's chagrin. She mock-threatens violence ("I'm going to pound you one!") when she is either offended or upset. Lor also enjoys eating junk food and playing video games. Even though Lor and Tish are best friends, Lor has more in common with the guys, Tino and Carver, than with Tish. Despite being tough, Lor is unable to speak coherently to boys she likes and has a crush on Thompson Oberman, a boy at school who has blue hair and wears sunglasses. She struggles in school but can earn a decent grade when she sets her mind to it. Overall, Lor is not very bright or all that kind but is indeed a true friend to her pack, always sticks by them, and shares a mutual love and respect for them.

Carver

Carver René Descartes (voiced by Phil LaMarr) is the self-proclaimed "cool guy" of the group. He has a strong interest in clothes and fashion (particularly shoes). Although he appreciates spending time with his friends, Carver desperately wants to be one of the cool kids and, ultimately, to become a celebrity. He is shown to be somewhat self-centered and annoying and can be immensely shallow and superficial: he once rejected a girl simply because she was too tall. Thus the more touching moments of the show are when he is altruistic and battles his own insecurity. One of the many recurring jokes about Carver is that he secretly owns and tries on women's clothing. However, he usually (albeit nervously) responds that the clothing is his sister's. Carver also has a younger brother named Todd, a toddler stuck in his terrible twos, who occasionally torments Carver and, by extension, his friends. He goes to his sister, Penny, for advice, but she frequently disregards his questions. Carver's head is often compared to a pineapple for humorous effect. Carver is sometimes noted for his horrible handwriting, which often leads to people reading words much different from his intentions. Carver's mom, sister, and brother are voiced by Cree Summer.

Tish

Petratishkovna "Tish" Katsufrakis (voiced by Kath Soucie) is the intellectual of the group and Lor's best friend. She has medium-length auburn hair, wears glasses, and dresses conservatively. She is also the most considerate of the four, as she frequently points out what is and is not offensive, and cares about people's feelings. Tish is a straight-A student, but has received at least one "B" grade, which surprised everyone and Tish herself. She is also a perfectionist and a vegetarian as she eats carrot hot dogs. Tish enjoys reading, classical music, art, and solving math problems in her head during her free time. She is the one to give advice to her best friend, Tish. She plays dulcimer and has participated in many contests. She also greatly admires William Shakespeare. Tish considers herself the most cultured of the four, and she often attempts to convince her friends to participate in high-society activities, such as visiting the museum or an art show. Although it is never stated which country her family comes from, it is implied that she is of Eastern European descent and both of her parents are immigrants to the United States (possibly Ukraine or Russia, judging by her name). Her name, "Tish," is short for Petratishkovna—which, according to her parents, means "girl with one nose". As seen in the episode, "Brain Dead," when Tish's parents describe how they named her. She was going to be named Goosh, which means "has to take off shoes to count to ten." But her parents renamed her because she was so smart. She is also allergic to guavas. The last name Katsufrakis is from a family from the island of Crete. The family immmigated to the United States through Ellis Island around 1906. The family still lives in the United States. In Greek, the word "katsufrakis" means a weathered face.

Ms. Tonitini

Ms. Tonitini (voiced by Lisa Kaplan) is Tino Tonitini's mother. She usually is able to give helpful and insightful advice to Tino about how he should cope with his problems. She is known for her unique style of cooking and unusual meals, which are disliked by Tino and his friends. From the beginning of the series, she is divorced, although she begins a relationship with Dixon. Her first name is not given throughout the entire series. She is very sarcastic, especially with Tino. She is a very easy going mother and tries to give Tino advice when needed. She is very concerned with cooking healthy meals like seaweed casserole, tofu, and other dishes that nobody likes but Tino eats even when it gives him nightmares. She also does impressions and sometimes lectures Tino.

Running Gags

• The constantly changing themes of the pizza place (one weekend it's Pizzamergency, and another it's Pizzanaut). The gang is always served by the same man.
• Carver's horrible penmanship.
• A reference to Lor's many brothers and Lor never being quite sure exactly how many there are. There are 14 according to the episode Dead Ringer.
• Lor's brothers' constant urge to dog-pile on someone.
• Tino's mom serving foods of highly questionable origin (Such as kelp ravioli and spinach Jell-O cones).
• Chloe Montez's unusual, and often embarrassing predicaments. She is never shown on-screen.
• Strange and exotic food exhibits at the anthropology museum (Including ants and putrid shark).
• Whenever Mrs. Katsufrakis says something, Tish says what she means, and Mrs. Katsufrakis then says: "is what I say (That's what I said)." (e.g.: In the episode To Tish, Mrs. Katsufrakis says "I leave you to kitchen my cup." when she really meant "I leave you to kiss and make up.")
• Tino's mom knowing everything about all of the predicaments he's ever gotten himself into. This usually leads to her finishing his sentence for him. One time, she even left an answering machine and even knows Tino would be bewildered.
• Tish's obsession with having perfectly trimmed toenails.
• Tino (or someone else in the group) always summing things up and ends an episode with the statement "Later days".
• Frances' obsession with pointy things. e.g.: The Halloween episode shows her dressed as a pair of scissors.
• Jan "The Man" Testeverde constantly saying, "Hey yowza, dudes!"
• The kids' teacher, Mr. Hossinfeld, referring to something as "a kick in the pants".
• Tino having constant fears and obsessions.
• The charitable duties of Helpers Helping the Helpless, led by the perpetually pregnant Gloria Duong.
• Coach Colson answering the door in his robe (or worse). He always thought it was girl scouts selling cookies.
• Tino becoming glued to various objects, such as beach towels and trees.
• Carver's obsession with shoes and being cool.
• Tino's fear and lack of coordination with anything sports related (except horseshoes).
• Carver's head resembling a pineapple.
• Tino's head resembling a pumpkin. One time Carver called him "Pumpkin Pie", which Tino hates.
• Carver falling to his knees with his fists in the air yelling "Curse you!" to the sky.

Reception

The Weekenders has received very positive reviews from critics and fans for its solid writing, upbeat energy and multi-dimensional characters . It has an 8.5/10 rating on IMDB and similarly maintains an 8.7/10 on TV.com.

References

1. As seen in the episode, "Nevermore," when both Carver and Tino's mom cite reasons that they may be too old for trick-or-treating.
2. "The Weekenders". www.bcdb.com, May 13, 2012
3. "Weekenders Homepage on Family Channel's Site". Family.ca. 2008-12-08. Retrieved 2008-12-08.
4. "Mega Mirror: Hangin' With 4 Friends". The Mirror. 2000-11-11.
5. "'The Weekenders' defeats 'Pokemon'". Variety.com. 2000-05-05.
6. "'Pokemon Has a Lost Weekend'". nypost.com. 2000-05-10.
7. "NEWS: The Weekenders hits DVD!". openvaultdisney.com. 2013-02-04.
8. "Want to Buy DMC DVD's Without Joining the DMC? Now You Can!". openvaultdisney.com. 2013-07-14.
9. "OVD Opinion Piece: What THE WEEKENDERS Means for Disney TV Cartoons on DVD". openvaultdisney.com. 2013-02-06.
10. As seen in the episode "Tino's Dad," just after the group had interacted with the waiter at the pizzeria.
11. As seen in the episode "Dead Ringer", her brothers are often crowded together for humorous effect.
12. In the episode, "Celebrity," Carver resents Tish when she becomes a temporary celebrity, wishing instead that it should've been him.
13. As seen in the episode, "Secret Admirer," Carver discovers that his admirer is too tall.
14. As seen in the episode, "Celebrity," when Carver finds a dress for Tish, Tino questions why he has it at all.
15. As seen in the episode, "Brain Dead," the main focus of the story is how Tish and her friends react to her getting a "B."

External links

• The Weekenders at IMDb
• Template:Bcdb
• Template:Tv.com show

• 1999 American television series debuts
• 2004 American television series endings
• 1990s American animated television series
• 2000s American animated television series
• Disney Channel shows
• Television series created by Doug Langdale
• Television series by Disney
• Television shows set in California
• Family Channel shows
• ABC Kids