Edward the Less
Encyclopedia
The Adventures of Edward the Less, better known simply as Edward the Less, is a 2001
animated
miniseries
fantasy
comedy
created by the former cast of the popular show Mystery Science Theater 3000
for SciFi.com, the Sci Fi Channel
website. It tells the story of Edward, a Pudge who reluctantly embarks on a quest to destroy a magic token before it falls into the hands of the evil Dark Person.
, performers and writers from the show Patrick Brantseg
, Bill Corbett
, Kevin Murphy
, Michael J. Nelson
and Paul Schersten
conceived and created Edward the Less. The miniseries is a parody of the fantasy genre in general, but most especially of J. R. R. Tolkien
's The Lord of the Rings
; Edward the Less was inspired in large part by the release of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
, the first film of which was also released in 2001. The story structure, as well as specific characters and elements of Edward the Less, are directly inspired by The Lord of the Rings, including the Pudges, which are spoofs of Hobbit
s, and the Dark Person, which is inspired by the Dark Lord Sauron
.
Michael Nelson created the music, much of which is comical music Nelson considers "a parody of real music." Some of the music was composed on ACID Pro
, a digital audio workstation
by Sony Creative Software
. Mystery Science Theater 3000 alum Mary Jo Pehl
joined the creators in voicing the characters, and Mike Dodge, who served as an MST3K writer for a few seasons, was cast as the voice-over narrator. Kevin Murphy said producing and recording Edward the Less went very smoothly because the whole crew had worked together before and quickly found their old sense of comedic timing again.
Artists Rich Larson and Steve Fastner, who have worked together on several works of fantasy art
including comics and book cover illustrations, created the animated drawings for Edward the Less. Larson worked with the show creators on Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
and was looking forward to animating Edward the Less because he was often critical of Lord of the Rings animations and looked forward to spoofing it.
Edward the Less was written in three parts, in part because fantasy epic stories are usually structured as trilogies similar to The Lord of the Rings. Kevin Murphy said it was also structured this way so that the story could be easily continued if Sci.Fi.com wanted more episodes beyond the original 13 they ordered. Murphy felt Edward the Less could work well in other media, including a book or a radio series
in the style of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
.
2001 in film
The year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
animated
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
created by the former cast of the popular show Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
for SciFi.com, the Sci Fi Channel
Sci Fi Channel (United States)
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
website. It tells the story of Edward, a Pudge who reluctantly embarks on a quest to destroy a magic token before it falls into the hands of the evil Dark Person.
Plot
Edward the Less is a Pudge, a race of short and merry people who spend their days in the Pudgelands dancing, eating horrible food, singing inane songs and whistling. But Edward is frustrated with the overly merry lifestyle and dreams of seeking out a magical city island he has read about, which includes tall people, skyscrapers, pizza and people who ride around in yellow cars and push each other around. Edward decides to leave his hamlet of Pushington Downs, along with his faithful sidekick Soapwort McFuggletoes. During their journey, the duo come into possession of a magic token, which they are forced to destroy so it will not fall into the hands of the evil Dark Person.Cast
- Bill CorbettBill CorbettBill Corbett is an American writer and performer for television, film and theatre. He was a writer and performer on the cult television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 , for which he voiced the robot Crow T. Robot during the show's later seasons on the Sci Fi Channel and played the character...
as Edward - Kevin MurphyKevin Murphy (actor)Kevin Wagner Murphy is an American actor and writer best known as the voice and puppeteer of Tom Servo on the Peabody Award-winning comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000.- Early career :...
as Soapwort McFuggletoes - Michael J. NelsonMichael J. NelsonMichael John Nelson is a U.S. comedian and writer, most famous for his work on the cult television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 . Nelson was the head writer of the series for most of the show's 11-year run, and spent half of that time playing the on-air host, also named Mike Nelson...
as The Noble One - Paul ScherstenPaul ChaplinPaul Chaplin is a U.S. writer and comedian, best known for his work on the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, for which he wrote and played the recurring characters of an Observer, Ned the Nanite, Pitch the Demon, and Ortega, along with several other bit roles.- Biography :After...
as Primatene - Mary Jo PehlMary Jo PehlMary Joseph Pehl born February 27, 1960 in Circle Pines, Minnesota, is an American writer, actress and comedienne. She is best known for her various roles on the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000.-Mystery Science Theater 3000:...
as Ariadrina and The Lorekeeper - Patrick BrantsegPatrick BrantsegPatrick Brantseg was the Art Director and puppeteer for "Gypsy" on Mystery Science Theater 3000, taking over the character from Jim Mallon, the show's producer, mid-way through the show's eighth season. He began his career at Best Brains, Inc. as an intern in 1992. In that same year he was hired to...
as Walt - Mike Dodge as The Narrator
Production
Following the cancellation of the cult comedy Mystery Science Theater 3000Mystery Science Theater 3000
Mystery Science Theater 3000 is an American cult television comedy series created by Joel Hodgson and produced by Best Brains, Inc., that ran from 1988 to 1999....
, performers and writers from the show Patrick Brantseg
Patrick Brantseg
Patrick Brantseg was the Art Director and puppeteer for "Gypsy" on Mystery Science Theater 3000, taking over the character from Jim Mallon, the show's producer, mid-way through the show's eighth season. He began his career at Best Brains, Inc. as an intern in 1992. In that same year he was hired to...
, Bill Corbett
Bill Corbett
Bill Corbett is an American writer and performer for television, film and theatre. He was a writer and performer on the cult television show Mystery Science Theater 3000 , for which he voiced the robot Crow T. Robot during the show's later seasons on the Sci Fi Channel and played the character...
, Kevin Murphy
Kevin Murphy (actor)
Kevin Wagner Murphy is an American actor and writer best known as the voice and puppeteer of Tom Servo on the Peabody Award-winning comedy series Mystery Science Theater 3000.- Early career :...
, Michael J. Nelson
Michael J. Nelson
Michael John Nelson is a U.S. comedian and writer, most famous for his work on the cult television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 . Nelson was the head writer of the series for most of the show's 11-year run, and spent half of that time playing the on-air host, also named Mike Nelson...
and Paul Schersten
Paul Chaplin
Paul Chaplin is a U.S. writer and comedian, best known for his work on the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, for which he wrote and played the recurring characters of an Observer, Ned the Nanite, Pitch the Demon, and Ortega, along with several other bit roles.- Biography :After...
conceived and created Edward the Less. The miniseries is a parody of the fantasy genre in general, but most especially of J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
's The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
; Edward the Less was inspired in large part by the release of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
The Lord of the Rings is an epic film trilogy consisting of three fantasy adventure films based on the three-volume book of the same name by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. The films are The Fellowship of the Ring , The Two Towers and The Return of the King .The films were directed by Peter...
, the first film of which was also released in 2001. The story structure, as well as specific characters and elements of Edward the Less, are directly inspired by The Lord of the Rings, including the Pudges, which are spoofs of Hobbit
Hobbit
Hobbits are a fictional diminutive race who inhabit the lands of Middle-earth in J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction.Hobbits first appeared in the novel The Hobbit, in which the main protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, is the titular hobbit...
s, and the Dark Person, which is inspired by the Dark Lord Sauron
Sauron
Sauron is the primary antagonist and titular character of the epic fantasy novel The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien.In the same work, he is revealed to be the same character as "the Necromancer" from Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit...
.
Michael Nelson created the music, much of which is comical music Nelson considers "a parody of real music." Some of the music was composed on ACID Pro
ACID Pro
Sony ACID Pro is a professional digital audio workstation software program. It was originally called "ACID pH1" and published by Sonic Foundry, but is now developed and sold by Sony Creative Software....
, a digital audio workstation
Digital audio workstation
A digital audio workstation is an electronic system designed solely or primarily for recording, editing and playing back digital audio. DAWs were originally tape-less, microprocessor-based systems such as the Synclavier and Fairlight CMI...
by Sony Creative Software
Sony Creative Software
Sony Creative Software is a subsidiary of Sony, focused primarily on their line of media production software...
. Mystery Science Theater 3000 alum Mary Jo Pehl
Mary Jo Pehl
Mary Joseph Pehl born February 27, 1960 in Circle Pines, Minnesota, is an American writer, actress and comedienne. She is best known for her various roles on the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000.-Mystery Science Theater 3000:...
joined the creators in voicing the characters, and Mike Dodge, who served as an MST3K writer for a few seasons, was cast as the voice-over narrator. Kevin Murphy said producing and recording Edward the Less went very smoothly because the whole crew had worked together before and quickly found their old sense of comedic timing again.
Artists Rich Larson and Steve Fastner, who have worked together on several works of fantasy art
Fantasy art
Fantasy art is a genre of art that depicts magical or other supernatural themes, ideas, creatures or settings. While there is some overlap with science fiction, horror and other speculative fiction art, there are unique elements not generally found in other forms of speculative fiction art...
including comics and book cover illustrations, created the animated drawings for Edward the Less. Larson worked with the show creators on Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie is a 1996 theatrical adaptation of the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000, produced and set between seasons 6 and 7 of the show. It was released by Gramercy Pictures and Best Brains with distribution held by Universal Pictures...
and was looking forward to animating Edward the Less because he was often critical of Lord of the Rings animations and looked forward to spoofing it.
Edward the Less was written in three parts, in part because fantasy epic stories are usually structured as trilogies similar to The Lord of the Rings. Kevin Murphy said it was also structured this way so that the story could be easily continued if Sci.Fi.com wanted more episodes beyond the original 13 they ordered. Murphy felt Edward the Less could work well in other media, including a book or a radio series
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
in the style of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy radio series written by Douglas Adams . It was originally broadcast in the United Kingdom by BBC Radio 4 in 1978, and afterwards on global short wave radio on the BBC World Service, National Public Radio in the U.S. and CBC Radio in...
.