Ubu Productions

Ubu Productions, Inc., is an independent production company founded in 1982 by television producer Gary David Goldberg. Ubu's notable productions include Family Ties (1982–1989), Brooklyn Bridge (1991–1993), and Spin City (1996–2002).^[1][2]

Ubu co-produced many of its shows with Paramount Television and in later years, DreamWorks Television.^[2]

Mascot dog

Ubu's mascot is Goldberg's dog Ubu Roi, a black labrador retriever which he had in college and subsequently traveled the world with.^[1][2] The closing tag for Ubu Productions is a photograph of Ubu Roi with a flying disc in his mouth, taken in the Tuileries Garden close to the Louvre Museum in Paris.^[3] Along with the picture is Goldberg's voice saying "Sit, Ubu, sit! … Good dog!", followed by the sound of a bark. The dog was named after Ubu Roi, an 1896 play by Alfred Jarry that is considered a precursor to the Theatre of the Absurd. Ubu the dog died in 1984.^[3]

In popular culture

The sequence was referenced and parodied in pop culture: for instance, in the Family Guy episode "Running Mates" (2000), Peter Griffin, after saying the opening theme of The Facts of Life as his opening statement, says the line "Sit, Ubu, sit! … Good dog!"; and in the Family Guy episode "Turban Cowboy" (2013), Peter Griffin, Ubu is mentioned, he is considered a good dog, even though he never sat; and in the Robot Chicken episode "Easter Basket" (2006), in the skit "Bad Dog" after the end credits, Seth Green says the line "Sit, Ubu, sit! … Bad dog!", followed by the sound of a gunshot and a dog whimper.^[4] In the television series Dharma & Greg, producer and show co-creator Chuck Lorre ended each episode with a briefly shown "vanity card" really only visible by recording the program and then pausing the playback in order to read it.^[5] With vanity card #7, shown at the end of Dharma & Greg episode "Dharma's Tangled Web" (1998), Lorre references the sequence "Sit, Ubu, sit" as a possible explanation for the secret of life.^[6]

In a 2010 episode of the cartoon Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Batman's sidekick, Robin, overcomes Ras al Ghul's head henchman, Ubu, and utters the line "Sit, Ubu. Sit". In a 2010 episode of Psych a character played by Mena Suvari said "Sit Ubu Sit" while holding the main characters Shawn and Gus hostage. The March 1, 2011 episode of Tosh.0 closed with Daniel Tosh saying "Sit, Ubu, sit. Good dog.". In the 1990s, the animated comedy show Animaniacs would always close their episodes with stingers after displaying the ending credits. One bit featured The Warner Bros. (and sister) closing by saying "Sit Ubu, sit." The closing tag for Radioactive Fishtank, producers of Cinemax late night series Femme Fatales, depicts a fish in an aquarium set to an ominous voice saying "Kill, Ubu, kill! … Good fish!". Also mentioned by Wayne Brady on Whose Line Is It Anyway? where Brad Sherwood imitates a rabid dog. ^[7] Additionally in Season 1, Episode 8 of "Bojack Horseman", Ubu is referred to as "the guy who sits". ^[8]

Goldberg's 2008 autobiography was titled, Sit, Ubu, Sit: How I Went from Brooklyn to Hollywood with the Same Woman, the Same Dog, and a Lot Less Hair.

References

External links

• Ubu Productions at the Internet Movie Database