Platypus Man
Encyclopedia
Platypus Man is an American
sitcom
that aired on UPN
in 1995. Starring comedian
Richard Jeni
, the television series was based on an hour-long HBO special of Jeni's filmed in 1992. The series lasted for only one season, with a total of thirteen episodes.
Platypus Man premiered January 23, 1995. The concept of a "Platypus Man" (a solitary male, like the male platypus), the concept of a "cooking show for guys" and the scenes involving the main character's social life were drawn from Jeni's stand-up routines.
The show, paired with Pig Sty
, followed Star Trek: Voyager
on UPN's Monday schedule. Both Pig Sty and Platypus Man were canceled in July 1995.
special on platypus
. In the routine, Jeni went on to describe how he found himself relating to the TV show, and the concept of a "platypus man" was expanded to become the theme behind Jeni's 1992 HBO comedy special.
The HBO special was taped in 1992 at the Park West Theater in Chicago
, Illinois
and covered topics such as news ("the bad news"), sports (including Jeni's "NFL Football
Referee
" routine), politics, music and sex. Executive producers on the project were Richard Jeni and Michael Rotenberg, it was produced by Tom Bull and Sandy Chandley, and post-production
was handled by Steve Sharp
and Juniper Recording Studios.
The set design for the special was created by Norm Dodge and included a checkered tile floor, a backdrop with painted-on palm trees, a refrigerator
and microwave
at one end of the stage (provided by Aronson Furniture, for a comedic bit entitled "Bill the Belching Gourmet"), and a black sofa at the other end of the stage. This design was reproduced in clay for the opening sequence of Platypus Man, in which art director Rick Toone of D&K Group/Claymagic used the process of claymation to introduce the show with the help of a duck-billed clay version of Richard Jeni and footage from the platypus exhibit at Taronga Zoo
in Sydney
.
The live-action portions of the opening sequence were shot inside and outside of Jeni's house in the Hollywood Hills
(in the bedroom, bathroom, hallway, driveway, balcony and pool area) and on the streets of West Hollywood, California
. The song "Platypus Man" that opened and closed the special was created with the combined efforts of Scott May
, Richard Jeni, and fellow comedian
Rondell Sheridan
, and sung in a blues
-like voice by Jeni.
played Paige, his sportswriter neighbor. David Dundara played Tommy, his bartending younger brother.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
that aired on UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
in 1995. Starring comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Richard Jeni
Richard Jeni
Richard John Colangelo , better known by the stage name of Richard Jeni, was an American stand-up comedian and actor.-Early life:...
, the television series was based on an hour-long HBO special of Jeni's filmed in 1992. The series lasted for only one season, with a total of thirteen episodes.
Platypus Man premiered January 23, 1995. The concept of a "Platypus Man" (a solitary male, like the male platypus), the concept of a "cooking show for guys" and the scenes involving the main character's social life were drawn from Jeni's stand-up routines.
The show, paired with Pig Sty
Pig Sty
Pig Sty is a sitcom that premiered on UPN on January 23, 1995 during that network's first season. Only 13 episodes were made. Pig Sty ran on Monday nights, after Star Trek: Voyager and Platypus Man...
, followed Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager
Star Trek: Voyager is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. Set in the 24th century from the year 2371 through 2378, the series follows the adventures of the Starfleet vessel USS Voyager, which becomes stranded in the Delta Quadrant 70,000 light-years from Earth while...
on UPN's Monday schedule. Both Pig Sty and Platypus Man were canceled in July 1995.
Origin
In the early 1990s, Jeni developed a comedy routine where he watched a National GeographicNational Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
special on platypus
Platypus
The platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young...
. In the routine, Jeni went on to describe how he found himself relating to the TV show, and the concept of a "platypus man" was expanded to become the theme behind Jeni's 1992 HBO comedy special.
The HBO special was taped in 1992 at the Park West Theater in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and covered topics such as news ("the bad news"), sports (including Jeni's "NFL Football
NFL Football
NFL Football is a 1989 football video game, developed by Enteractive and published by LJN exclusively for the Nintendo Entertainment System.- Gameplay modes :This game was the first to get an official National Football League license...
Referee
Referee
A referee is the person of authority, in a variety of sports, who is responsible for presiding over the game from a neutral point of view and making on the fly decisions that enforce the rules of the sport...
" routine), politics, music and sex. Executive producers on the project were Richard Jeni and Michael Rotenberg, it was produced by Tom Bull and Sandy Chandley, and post-production
Post-production
Post-production is part of filmmaking and the video production process. It occurs in the making of motion pictures, television programs, radio programs, advertising, audio recordings, photography, and digital art...
was handled by Steve Sharp
Steve Sharp
Steve Sharp is a former U.S. soccer forward who played in the Major Indoor Soccer League, Western Soccer Alliance and American Professional Soccer League. He also earned eight caps, scoring one goal, with the U.S. national team in 1984 and 1985....
and Juniper Recording Studios.
The set design for the special was created by Norm Dodge and included a checkered tile floor, a backdrop with painted-on palm trees, a refrigerator
Refrigerator
A refrigerator is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room...
and microwave
Microwave
Microwaves, a subset of radio waves, have wavelengths ranging from as long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently, with frequencies between 300 MHz and 300 GHz. This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF , and various sources use different boundaries...
at one end of the stage (provided by Aronson Furniture, for a comedic bit entitled "Bill the Belching Gourmet"), and a black sofa at the other end of the stage. This design was reproduced in clay for the opening sequence of Platypus Man, in which art director Rick Toone of D&K Group/Claymagic used the process of claymation to introduce the show with the help of a duck-billed clay version of Richard Jeni and footage from the platypus exhibit at Taronga Zoo
Taronga Zoo
Taronga Zoo is the city zoo of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Officially opened on 7 October 1916, it is located on the shores of Sydney Harbour in the suburb of Mosman...
in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
The live-action portions of the opening sequence were shot inside and outside of Jeni's house in the Hollywood Hills
Hollywood Hills
The Hollywood Hills is an affluent and exclusive neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the southeastern Santa Monica Mountains. It is bound by Laurel Canyon Boulevard to the west, Vermont Avenue to the east, Mulholland Drive to the north, and Sunset Boulevard to the south.-Hollywood Hills...
(in the bedroom, bathroom, hallway, driveway, balcony and pool area) and on the streets of West Hollywood, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The song "Platypus Man" that opened and closed the special was created with the combined efforts of Scott May
Scott May
Scott Glenn May is a retired American professional basketball player.May was a power forward on the 1976 Indiana basketball team that went undefeated and won the NCAA championship under coach Bobby Knight. May was named NCAA men's basketball national player of the year in 1976...
, Richard Jeni, and fellow comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Rondell Sheridan
Rondell Sheridan
Rondell Jerome Sheridan is an American actor, comedian and television director, best known for his seven-year portrayal of Victor Baxter, the goofy-yet-lovable father of a psychic teenager, in the Disney Channel sitcoms That's So Raven and Cory in the House. Sheridan is an alumnus of Marquette...
, and sung in a blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
-like voice by Jeni.
Synopsis
In the series, Jeni played himself and was host of a cooking show called Cooking with the Platypus Man. Ron Orbach played Lou, executive producer of his cooking show and his best friend since childhood. Denise MillerDenise Miller
Denise Miller was an American actress who appeared in television sit-coms Archie Bunker's Place, Fish, and the made-for-television movie Sooner or Later....
played Paige, his sportswriter neighbor. David Dundara played Tommy, his bartending younger brother.
Cast
- Richard JeniRichard JeniRichard John Colangelo , better known by the stage name of Richard Jeni, was an American stand-up comedian and actor.-Early life:...
as himself - David Dundara as Tommy Jeni
- Denise MillerDenise MillerDenise Miller was an American actress who appeared in television sit-coms Archie Bunker's Place, Fish, and the made-for-television movie Sooner or Later....
as Paige McAllister - Ron Orbach as Lou Golembiewski
- Dick Hogan as The Veterinarian
Episodes
| Episode # | Episode title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1-1 | Pilot | January 23, 1995 |
| 1-2 | "9½ Days" | January 30, 1995 |
| 1-3 | "The Apartment Show" | February 6, 1995 |
| 1-4 | "NYPD Nude" | February 13, 1995 |
| 1-5 | "Sweet Denial" | February 20, 1995 |
| 1-6 | "New York on $2,000 a Day" | February 27, 1995 |
| 1-7 | "Lou's the Boss" | March 6, 1995 |
| 1-8 | "The Crush" | March 13, 1995 |
| 1-9 | "Both Sides Now" | March 20, 1995 |
| 1-10 | "Without a Hitch" | April 10, 1995 |
| 1-11 | "Lower East Side Story" | May 1, 1995 |
| 1-12 | "Out of the Mouths of Babes" | May 8, 1995 |
| 1-13 | "Dying to Live" | May 15, 1995 |