Mario Netas
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Mario Netas is an internet animated cartoon airing weekly in the online website of the Mexican newspaper Reforma. The cartoon is supposed to be a talk show about a dummy named Mario inviting mexican and foreign newsmakers to explain current news. It was first aired on March 16, 2005.
Initially the show aired weekly on Wednesdays. But since July 4, 2005 the show airs on Tuesdays.
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[edit] Name of the show
The name of the show is a play on words. Mario is the name of the host of the show, and Netas is a Mexican Spanish slang for truth, so roughly translated the show's name would be "Mario's truths". However, Marionetas is also the Spanish word for marionettes. Pacasso and Berenice Loaeza are the producers of the show.
[edit] Characters
Mario Netas Mario Netas is a wooden dummy and host of the show. He often brags in a humorous way about sleeping with a large number of women, especially at the beginning of the show. He frequently makes fun of the guests on his show and criticizes anything on the show that he doesn't like, like the "Cartas a Marito" section. He hates being called Marito, but this doesn't stop most guests, like Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Marta Sahagun, from calling him that.
El Buen Bob "Good" Bob is the puppet master. He controls Mario. He is fat, wears a green mask and never speaks. Mario often asks Bob questions, which are followed by an awkward silence when Bob doesn't answer (leaving Mario to see backwards and says coldly "se" ("yeah"). However, Bob is said to have a fan club, and is the target of many girls' affection.
Don Polo Don Polo is an old worker in the set of the show, usually works as the only cabin crew member, but has sometimes had some bigger roles, such as being host of the show when Mario went on holiday. He has a big ability to use the censorship button when an invitee began to say profanities, this skill was put on a test when Cuauhtemoc Blanco and, more recently, Ana Guevara assist to the interview. Attempting to imitate Mario and Bob's routine, he produced a puppet he called "Polito" (Little Polo). However, his abilities as a ventriloquist were nowhere to be seen.
Nicanor Nicanor was first introduced in the Marta Sahagun episode, as a "ropavejero," a low-class Mexican clothes "expert." His first appearance was so popular that he became a recurring character. Apparently, Nicanor spends most of his time at the studio as a handyman, for he is randomly introduced in every episode. He was given his own section on the show, named "Cartas a Marito", which is a section where fans send letter to the show to express how they feel about the show and its characters. He was mysteriously injured before one episode, and was in a coma. He later reappeared again, but his section was canceled. He speaks with a common Mexico City accent. Like Don Polo (whose bombed jokes simply did not appeal to the producer of the show), he hosted the show while Mario and Bob were on vacation. He has managed to interview a couple of guests when Mario and Bob are not around, like Sadam Hussein. On that episode we also met his aunt, the psychic Madame Wendolyn (her real name is Anastasia). Another relative that has also appeared on the show is Cyber-Carlos, Nicanor's cousin. He is supposed to be the electronic voice that reads out loud the news from Reforma.
[edit] Sections of the Show
The Spicy Comment
While the curtain raises Mario tells Bob something related with an adventure with women. There is always a sex connotation hidden in the story. Suddenly he notices that the curtain is raised and he breaks to welcome the viewers to the show.
The Interview
The interview is the section on the show when the politicians or other invited characters appear. It is often the longest part of the show, but some interviews are really short.
The Picture of the Week
A picture is shown and Mario makes fun of it in some way.
The Movie Section
This is a section where Mario reviews a movie chosen by him based on the "Muvimetre", a scale that goes from Terrible to Excellent.
Cartas a Marito (September 12, 2006 - November 28, 2006)
This section was hosted by Nicanor, in which he read letters and emails from fans. Beginning with the episode of October 31, 2006 the letters were displayed on a "manta". Mario hated this section, because in most letters fans preferred other characters better than him. The section was canceled after Nicanor fell down from a stair while writing it. The last letter was read by Mario.
[edit] Bob's lack of animation
Since the show is conducted by Mario Netas, through out most of the shows Bob remains unanimated. So far, there has been no show in which Bob has spoken or even made a sound. Nonetheless, there a couple episodes where Bob moves or reacts to something said on the show.
June 26, 2005
Bob passes a phone to Mario.
July 5, 2005
As the contestant Jolette Hernandez of the tv show "La Academia" (something similar to American Idol) sings, Bob's contact lenses break.
October 27, 2005
After Mario says that Bob specialices on "desperate singles" while reviewing the movie Wedding Crashers, Bob pushes Mario and lets him fall down. Mario breaks his right arm, and during the following two shows he uses a bandage on it.
August 29, 2006
During the interview with Andrés Manuel López Obrador, they play a sad song due to the way he lost the elections, Bob's eyes become glassy and almost sheds a tear.
July 27, 2007
After Mario refers to sentimental Harry Potter fans being moved by Harry's first kiss, Bob sheds a tear.
