Why I Love... Warren the Ape!
Welcome to another edition of the Why I Love column, where I, Eric Ratcliffe, pick something I've read, played, listened to or watched to discuss with you fair readers. This week I talk to you about something I've been following since around 2001. A project that I fell in love with and was cancelled fast but keeps managing to come back in a new form every couple years. I talk of course about the very awesome Greg the Bunny, which in its current form on MTV is called Warren the Ape.
The first time I met Greg the Bunny, Warren and the rest of the crew was the Fox show, which featured puppets who liked to be called "Fabricated Americans" living around normal humans in the real world. Almost like a twisted version of Sesame Street. It was an easy concept to fall in love with, but with forced network changes, low rating and mishandling the show, it only lasted 13 episodes, only 11 airing.
The original IFC show was much more of an improv'd show where Greg would introduce different movies all while in some sort of theme. The Greg puppet was pretty basic and very cute and was, to a certain extent tortured by his human roommates (most visible by at least voice was Spencer Chinoy who is one of the co-creators of the series). Sean Baker, Spencer Chinoy and Dan Milano created the series in each one of its incarnations with Dan doing the voice work for Greg, Warren the Ape, and Count Blah.
Now that you have a little history, we will talk about the current form of the series in Warren the Ape!
The Story:
We follow Warren the Ape (Dan Milano), failed sitcom star and Fabricated American who has somehow figured that a reality show about trying to reform his career will help him. He has a college age assistant named Cecil (Josh Sussman) and constantly gets support and help for his drug and alcohol problems from Dr. Drew Pinsky. The show follows him as he tries to make peace with his demons, old friends and just trying to rebuild his career.
The Crew:
Returning from all the previous incarnations are of course Dan as Warren and Greg the Bunny. Warren of course is in every episode with appearances by Greg in a few episodes as well as Count Blah and others.
Josh Sussman is a surprise addition as I've seen the guy on everything from Wizard of Waverly Place to Glee and he really hits on all points, stealing the show from Dan's Warren on a few points.
Dr. Drew is also someone I'm surprised at as it seems that helping actors with their addictions over time must have worn off on him as he has made 
me laugh at several points through the season.
Behind the camera Spencer, Dan and Sean all directed episodes (seeing pictures of Dan directing while in some of the most awkward positions is really cool). I highly recommend checking out the production blogs on gtheb.com (the official site for the characters).
Guest Stars:
Something that Warren the Ape did really well was its guest stars. From Seth Green to Sarah Silverman to Eugene Levy all returning to interact with Warren from the past, to guys like Mick Foley who really hit on all cylinders and even Corey Feldman (Warren's old "neighbor" and arch nemesis) and even Billy Crudup who honestly had my favorite guest star appearance on the show.
Each guest star was able to play off Warren perfectly and brought so much to the table. It's great seeing Warren the Ape become what Greg the Bunny was originally supposed to be.
Improv:
The show succeeds where Greg fell off. A lot of the show's material is improv, which makes it feel more real. Josh and Dan bounce off each other really well and you easily become entranced and want to see what happens to these characters because of how real it feels.
Having Drew Massey, Dan Milano and Victor Yerrid all playing different puppets doesn't hurt either as the three really make the puppets feel real and unique and believable as if there wasn't a man behind Warren.
The Plotlines:
Warren finds himself in some terrible and just bizarre situations that just add to the fun of the series. When the network doesn't allow him to shoot a TV pilot, he rebels against them and, without spoiling too much, teaches people how to make their own drugs.
Warren borrows money from Cecil, fires him at one point and even goes to jail with Mick Foley, which all bring about some of the best moments of the show.
Verdict:
The last episode airs days before this review hits the site and my interview with Dan will be up 3 weeks after (apparently I suck when it comes to timing) and there has been no word on whether or not it's been picked up for a second season. But I believe most of the episodes are available on mtv.com and if you really want to check it out, the series is available on iTunes! I highly recommend supporting and checking out the series to the best of your availability. As you'll hear in a few weeks, Dan Milano is one of us; he's also a really cool guy. Greg the Bunny, Warren the Ape...no matter what it's called the show survives in one form or another, but it is sure as hell worth hunting down. If you are a fan of Curb Your Enthusiasm, classic Muppets or even just dark comedies, this is for you. It will make you laugh and is well worth the time watching.
(As of press time Warren the Ape aired every Monday at 10:30 pm Eastern time on MTV)
Eric Ratcliffe is a young writer/pop culture journalist/interviewer currently working on pitching a project named the Hunter chronicles. When not reading his weekly stack Eric can be found watching DVDs, playing on his 360 (gamertag: Zack Hunter) or just surfing online trying to find a scoop or two. Brand new to the Comic Related family, Eric is a fun new voice. Eric shops at TJ's Collectibles. Visit them on the web at www.tjcollect.com!
blog comments powered by Disqus