The Cramp Twins

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The Cramp Twins
Genre Comedy
Format Animated series
Created by Brian Wood
Developed by Brian Wood
Richard Liebmann-Smith
Written by Brian Wood
Andrew Brenner
Ian Carney
Sean Veder
Peter Cocks
Directed by Becky Bristow
Frank Gesham
Starring US/Canadian version:
Tom Kenny
Kath Soucie
Terry Klassen
Jayne Paterson
Tabitha St. Germain
Nicole Oliver
Ian James Corlett
Colin Murdock
Cathy Weseluck
Lee Tockar
Ellen Kennedy
Iris Quinn
Jay Brazeau
Theme music composer Hélèn Muddiman
Composer(s) Hélèn Muddiman
Country of origin United Kingdom
United States
Canada
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 4
No. of episodes 51 (102 segments) (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Peter Wölkle
Ken Olshansky
Carole Weitzman
David Ferguson
Marion Edwards
Producer(s) Jodey Caminski-Cashman
Denise Green
Editor(s) Michael Geisler
Jim Andrews
Darren Jones
Running time 20 minutes (2–10 minute segments)
Production company(s) TV-Loonland AG
Sunbow Entertainment
RG Prince Films[1]
Cartoon Network Europe
Broadcast
Original channel Cartoon Network
Original run February 8, 2002 (2002-02-08) – August 12, 2006 (2006-08-12)

The Cramp Twins is a British/Canadian/American animated series created by cartoonist Brian Wood. The show was produced in association with Cartoon Network Europe. It is about Wayne Cramp (Tom Kenny) and Lucien Cramp (Kath Soucie), not-so identical twins who live with their hygiene-obsessed mother (Nicole Oliver) and their Western-obsessed father (Ian James Corlett) in the fictional town of Soap City. Wayne and Lucien's personalities clash, and they rarely get along. Wayne has a friend called Dirty Joe (Lee Tockar), who owns a dump, and neighbour Wendy Winkle (Jayne Peterson) has a crush on him, but he hates her. Wayne's and Lucien's teacher is Miss. Hillary Hissy (Demi Buchanan, who also plays Tony's mom Lily and Mrs. Winkle). Lucien's friends include environment-friendly Tony Parsons (Terry Klassen, who also plays Tony's dad, Seth) and Mari and Luke Harrison (Adam Little).

The Season 1 premiered in the United Kingdom in September 2001 on Cartoon Network UK and on February 2, 2002 on CBBC and BBC One respectively and has reached high popularity with children; the season ended on 21 June 2002. The Season 2 premiered in Summer 2003 and finished in Autumn of the same year. The Season 3 started in 2004 and ended in 2005. The Season 4 (also finale) began in 2006 and ended that same year but still airing in the UK. The show is currently licensed to Cartoon Network. It also showed in some parts of Africa.

The show was originally cancelled in the US in February 2005, when Mew Mew Power (aka Tokyo Mew Mew) was airing in its slot February 19, 2005, and it was originally intended to be a sneak peek for the series to air September 2005 with The Cramp Twins continuing to air there, but 4Kids TV decided to cancel The Cramp Twins to put Mew Mew Power in its slot. A press release went out about a possible 3-part finale answering any unanswered questions, but the show returned in the summer of 2006, and later with more new episodes.

Main characters

  • Wayne Archibald Cramp (voiced by Tom Kenny) is the blue-skinned protagonist of the series. He is the younger of the twins, but he is taller than Lucien, very destructive, and the least intelligent of the two. Wayne hates his older twin brother Lucien, but he is not above joining forces with him whenever they have a problem that neither of them handle too well. Wayne is obsessed with junk, which he collects and hides in his room; he spends most of his time at the junkyard, owned by his only friend, Dirty Joe. Unlike Lucien, who loves the swamp, Wayne is terrified of the place, and also has a fear of frogs. Wayne is constantly annoyed by Wendy Winkle who has a crush on him. Wayne's only love is anything sugary, his main source of energy, and if he is deprived from it, he becomes tired and speaks nonsense. Wayne likes to give the impression that he's the best-behaved of the twins to his mother, and sometimes Miss Hissy, but in truth, he likes to manipulate to achieve his goals. Sometimes Lucien is the one who gets in trouble for Wayne's behavior, although in many episodes, somehow the tides turn and Wayne is punished by pure coincidence. Wayne also dislikes Lucien's best friend Tony Parsons, because Tony often helps Lucien out of situations Wayne causes.
  • Lucien Cramp (voiced by Kath Soucie) is Wayne's older twin brother, as the opening credits indicate. Lucien is the smarter of the twins, but also considered the 'eco-loser'. Despite being the older twin, Lucien is often bullied by Wayne, who hates Lucien greatly and will often resort to calling Lucien names; Wayne often addresses Lucien as "Girlpants" because of his gentle demeanor and sensitivity, but he also sometimes calls him a "nerd", as Lucien enjoys science, nature and is a vegetarian. Lucian longs for a pet,either a cat or a dog, but due to his mother's extreme cleaniliness rules, he cannot have either one. To combat this, Lucien secretly keeps a worm farm under his bed, that only Toni, Mari, Wayne and Wendy know about; his mom and dad are unaware that he has it. It is shown in many episodes that Lucien has a fear of clowns. He has many skills, including knitting, and has shown interest in playing the harp. Lucien likes going to Soap City's only swamp (the only place he gets peace from Wayne, who is afraid of the place) where Tony lives.
  • Dorothy Cramp (voiced by Nicole Oliver), is the yellow-skinned mother to the twins, and wife of Horace Cramp. She is a complete germaphobe and neat freak. Her love of cleaniess is a major joke in the show. She once raided the twins' rooms and husband's storage to check their cleaniess, which resulted in her kicking them out of the house due to Wayne's junk, Lucien's mud for his worms, and Horace's Rodeo Rita picture. She is something of a scientist by way of cleaning products, for she often mixes home-made cleaning formulas to seek out the strongest germ-killer. Dorothy loves both her sons, yet often wrongly believes that Wayne is like an angel and Lucien is a troublemaker (this really stems from Lucien's pro-eco views colliding with her very hygienic views), but she has caught Wayne in wrongdoing many times. It is revealed in a number of episodes that her first name is Dorothy, or as Wayne puts it in one episode, 'sometimes Dot, never Dotty'. She has a crush on fellow clean-freak Agent X, who is suspected by Lucien, to be an alien.
  • Horace Neville Cramp (voiced by Ian James Corlett) is the green-skinned father of Wayne and Lucien and husband of Dorothy Cramp. He works at the local soap and cleaner products factory. He is also a third-rate cowboy, being obsessed with "cowgirl" Rodeo Rita, much to his wife's disapproval. He is always fruitlessly trying to impress his boss, Mr Winkle, although is quite incompetent, and hated by his mother-in-law
  • Tony Parsons (voiced by Terry Klassen) is Lucien's best friend (although they have been known to fall out) and a swamp child. He possesses a vast knowledge about the swamp, its people's traditions, and natural history. He has many brothers and sisters. Tony's dad's name is Seth and his mom's is Lily. Tony is extremely short (about 1 ft tall) and finds it hampers his day to day life, e.g. riding a bicycle, but uses equipment to aid him, e.g. he wears a flag-meet-helmet whilst riding his specially-designed bike so other road users can see him. Apart from this, Tony's height doesn't seem to effect his self-esteem. He and Mari are Lucien's only friends. Tony dislikes Wayne and often helps Lucien out of situations Wayne's causing trouble in. A running gag in the show is Tony's belief in supernatural things, like magic.
  • Wendy Winkle (voiced by Jayne Paterson) is the only daughter of Walter Winkle, rendered a spoiled brat by her lifestyle. Wendy is extremely demanding of anything that can be attained by her parents' wealth, and is a tyrant feared by many due to her power. She is also very rude to everyone, except Wayne, who she has an obsessive crush on. This is a major theme in the series and she tries everything to win his heart. Unfortunately, she is always unsuccessful, and Wayne always hates her. Wendy loathes Lucien, and usually joins in when Wayne bullies him. During one episode, Wayne fell in love with Mr. Winkle's hired mechanic, Joanne, and Wendy sabotaged Wayne's and Joanne's date. Sometimes, Wendy threatens other kids at school by asking her father to sack their parents. She hates the swamp, even though her family are descended from Swamp Folk.
  • Mari Phelps (voiced by Tabitha St. Germain) is Lucien's other friend. She often co-operates with Lucien on his environment-conserving efforts, but often can't help desiring a bit of power. She is a foster child and is looked after by a happiness-obsessed, brown-haired family with strange customs. She is the black sheep of her foster family and is often embarrassed by their habits. Lucien briefly had a crush on Mari when she felt sorry for him during a time he felt certain he would never have a girlfriend, but nothing came of it. However, they remained good friends. (Alternative spelling: Marie.)

Major characters

  • Dirty Joe Muldoon: An middle-aged man who lives in a trailer and Wayne's friend. He is an unseen character (except for a hand and part of his clothes). According to an episode, he has never bathed or showered in his life, but he showers for the first time in his life when he comes to live with the Cramps.
  • Walter Winkle: Mr Cramp's boss and Wendy's father. He owns the city's soap-producing factory. He is a very unlikeable man who practically owns the town, since many of the residents work for him and don't dare to cross him. The only person he obeys is his spoiled-brat of a daughter. He is (as is hinted in many episodes) the brother of Mr. Parson and therefore descended from the swamp.
  • Hillary Hissy: Hillary (Miss Hissy) is Wayne's, Lucien's, Wendy's and Mari's oversized teacher. She hates Wayne and a friend of Dirty Joe. They were thought to be dating once, but it turned out she was only tutoring him. Miss Hissy has also been shown to have a crush on Mr Cramp (Wayne and Lucien's father). She is very unlikeable and her teaching methods usually involve bullying her students. Her catch-phrase is "toute suite". In one episode it is revealed she was a Karate expert and does Martial Arts. She owns a long stick with bells on it (called 'The Crank') and threatens students into behaving by shaking it in an aggressive manner, inevitably to hit them.
  • Seth Parsons: Toni's dad and a swamp person. He and the Parson family live near the swamp. His wife is Lily (who did not appear until later episodes). In the 3rd episode, "The Bad Seed", it is shown that, in the western era, he was the outlaw Bad Seed's sidekick Little Hat in his childhood (he looked like and was the same size as Toni, Little Hat wears a cowboy outfit and has a hat that covers his head, The Bad Seed wears a cowboy outfit and a mask). It is also shown The Bad Seed is someone who looks like Lucien - possibly Mr Cramp or an ancestor of the Cramps.
  • Mr. Pretty: A "friend" of Wayne and Lucien's. He is also known as a bully (his mom bullied Dorothy Cramp, his father bullied Horace Cramp). In the European version he is the overly peppy principal of the school, whose methods to an extent annoy the Cramps. He is often quick to blame Miss Hissy for his own incompetence.
  • Lillian "Lily" Parsons: Seth's wife and the mother of Toni and his siblings. Lucien once had a crush on her, much to Tony's annoyance.
  • Horace Phelps: Mari's dad. He worked as a barber in his first appearance and then as the vice principle of the school (he is neither in the European version, instead an optician).
  • Principal Earlington Richard Quartermaine: Earlington is the principal of the school and Hillary's boss. He was Mrs. Phelps' ex-boyfriend. He is absent from the European version, and has never appeared.
  • Agent X: is a mysterious cleaning agent. There is evidence to support he is an undercover spy, e.g/ he gave Mr Cramp a suitcase containing "spy protection gear". Episode "Alien Glow" also suggests he is an alien.

Minor characters

  • Mrs. Winkle: Wendy's mother and Walter Winkle's wife. She behaves more or less like her husband, but ignores the fact they're related to Swamp People.
  • Barber: The barber who replaced Mr. Phelps. Mrs Cramp takes Lucien and Wayne to see him, and due to a number of circumstances, ends up shutting down his shop entirely. He appears to dislike and to be scared of Tony, as Tony did not pay his hair shaving fees.
  • Rodeo Rita: A bull rider and country yodeler who turns out to be a fraud. Mr. Cramp is a big fan of hers, and has a crush on her.
  • Big Baby: The boys' female cousin. Although she is five years old, she cannot speak or walk. According to Mrs. Cramp, she "puts all her energy into growing".
  • Marsha and Tandy: Dorothy Cramp's friends. They are usually seen in town but their names are not always given. Marsha is voiced by Ellen Kennedy and Tandy is voiced by Iris Quinn. They are often seen arguing or insulting each other.

The Winkles

There is various evidence from sources that the Winkles are "swamp folk" and relations of Tony's ancestors. In the episode where the toilet is clogged Tony and his father cites "the deeper you go, the more you know" in realization that their basement links to Mr. Winkle's mansion's foundations, where his "ancestors left for a pure and earthy existence". In hearing this, he decided to pay Mr. Parsons the sum for cleaning the house that he before refused, otherwise their secret link would be revealed. Other sources are when the swamp was to be replaced with Wendy's "Sweet Dream Valley", Mr. Parsons pays a visit to Mr. Winkle reminding him "you can take the man out of the swamp but you can't take the swamp out of the man", reminding him they used to race with his swamp name "Eely". Mr. Winkle is almost always present and knows all swamp phenomenon, such as the mystery egg which, by swamp tradition, gave good luck. He also frequently visits the swamp to eat dumb radishes. Furthermore, he knows about the "crested marsh swallow", a swamp resident, and ordered them to be delivered to his residence when Tony told Lucien they are "delicious". In the episode "Soap Day" where it rains soap, Tony tells that the people of Soap City have an immunity to soap that outsiders, and Swamp Folk, don't. Later, Tony is seen delivering a package to Mr. Winkles house, where Mr. Winkle and Wendy were coughing. Mr. Winkle and Parsons become friends in the episode (Wendy Boy) where they camp out in the night. Mr. Winkle pays a visit to "old man Parsons" to prepare his food for him, suggesting he did this in the past. Mr. Winkle's office is full of various swamp objects, and in a number of episodes, Mrs. Winkle refers to the office as "the ugly room." In the episode "Cow Son", when Lucien yells "Ukyuba" on the animal sounds contest, the eagle appeared and Mr. Winkle hits it like Mr. Parsons did.

Agent X

Agent X is a mysterious and charismatic character portrayed as an FBI Agent (or similar). He has neat, black hair, and always wears a black suit, a white shirt, and a black tie. It is suggested in episode 'Alien Glow', that he is an alien, and in episode 'Agent W', a spy. While neither of these suspicions are confirmed, Agent X does have a talent for vanishing in fast and silent ways, impossible for normal people to perform. He appears to have an obsession for cleanliness, like Mrs. Cramp, who has a crush on him because of this, and because she likes his deep voice. However, Agent X often manipulates to achieve his goals, e.g. he gives Wayne sweets in return for information about Mrs. Cramp. Clever and articulate, Agent X always appears when something mysterious is happening in Soap City. During episode 'Alien Glow', Wayne believes aliens are landing. He tries to convince others the same by painting himself green and frightening the neighbours. At the end of the episode, Agent X finds traces of green paint on Wayne, and declares it the mark of alien abduction. Whether or not Agent X truly thought this isn't verified, but Agent X takes Wayne away, against Wayne's will, "for tests and deprogramming". The true nature of his 'abducting' Wayne is never revealed. It is unclear what Agent X's motive for coming to Soap City is. His name, place of residence, and who he works for, are all unknown.

Episodes

Main article: List of The Cramp Twins episodes

In total there are four seasons of The Cramp Twins. In the USA, the Season 1 aired as two separate seasons, and did not get the show until long after it aired in its home country. Note: All episodes are listed chronologically in order of occurrence within the Cramp Twins universe. All episodes were aired 2–3 years earlier in the UK leaving one episode from Season 3 unaired.

Award nominations

  • BAFTA Children's Awards 2002
    • Nominated for Best Animation[2]

The Cramp Twins in other languages

Ratings (CBBC Channel)

  • Wednesday 20th February 2002 - 60,000 (2nd most watched on CBBC that week)
  • Friday 15th March 2002 - 40,000 (8th most watched on CBBC that week)
  • Thursday 21st March 2002 - 40,000 (3rd most watched on CBBC that week)
  • Thursday 28th March 2002 - 60,000 (most watched on CBBC that week)
  • Tuesday 26th March 2002 - 40,000 (6th most watched on CBBC that week)
  • Monday 15th April 2002 - 30,000 (4th most watched on CBBC that week)[3]

References

  1. ↑ Cartoons on the Bay Picks Winners | Animation Magazine
  2. ↑ "Past Winners and Nominees - Children's - Awards - 2002". BAFTA. Retrieved 3 July 2010. 
  3. ↑ http://www.barb.co.uk

External Links

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