Stressed Eric

Stressed Eric
Genre Dark comedy
Created by Carl Gorham
Written by Carl Gorham
Michael Hatt
Gavin Rodgers
Directed by Season 1:
Steve Ressel
Steve Loter
Cathy Malkasian
Season 2:
Peter Western
Roger Mainwood
Kim Burden
Composer(s) Peter Baikie
Mat Clark
Jason McDermid
Country of origin United Kingdom
Original language(s) English
No. of series 2
No. of episodes 13
Production
Executive producer(s) Arlene Klasky
Gábor Csupó
Miles Bullough (season 2)
Claire Jennings
Producer(s) Carl Gorham
Hank Azaria
Mitch Watson
Editor(s) John Bryant
Running time 30 Min
Release
Original network BBC Two, MTV, TVNZ 2, NBC[1]
Original release 20 April 1998 – 11 October 2000, 11 October 2003 (New Zealand)
External links
Production website

Stressed Eric is a British adult animated television series that was produced by Absolutely Productions for the BBC Two television channel in the United Kingdom and Television New Zealand. The series revolves around Eric Feeble, a middle class man who is always stressed because of his family, work, co-workers, etc.

Overview

40-year-old Eric Feeble is still upset over his divorce two years before. He lives in a middle-class London house and is always kept under extreme amounts of pressure and stress from all aspects of life, which is represented by a throbbing vein in his temple. His two children, Brian and Claire, plague him with fear and worry daily. Claire is a frail 6-year-old who is allergic to virtually everything, including wheat, ponies, and spices; 10-year-old Brian has learning problems and has been kept back three straight years in school, and has an oral fixation and pica. The family's au pair housekeeper, Maria, is an 18-year-old Portuguese woman with a serious drinking problem; despite Eric's frequent attempts to keep her under control and focused, she stays passed-out drunk for hours at a time. His ex-wife Liz left him for a Buddhist but phones him up incessantly, which merely adds to his stress level. The next-door neighbours, the wealthy, successful, snobbish Perfect family, provide him a constant and painful view of what his life could have been.

Eric's workplace is absolutely no escape from his everyday problems. His boss, Paul Power (known as PP), is loud, rude and demanding; he has demoted Eric from Assistant Manager to a low-level clerk in an office sandwiched between the janitor's closet and the men's toilets. His secretary Alison is completely useless, spending all her "working hours" making and taking personal phone calls and shrilling rudely at Eric when he requests her attention.

At the end of almost every episode, as the climax of events cause Eric's stress to reach breaking point, the throbbing vein emerges from his temple and wraps itself around his neck, strangling him.

Characters

Main

  • Eric Feeble - Stressed out divorced father of two children. Eric is a kind, well-meaning man who loves his children. Although bitter and sarcastic about many aspects of his life, Eric genuinely tries to make the best out of situation and deeply loves his children, going to great lengths to make them proud. However, he normally fails due to no fault of his own, and the rare times he actually does well, something always happens to ruin it.
  • Claire Feeble - Daughter of Eric; allergic to just about everything, but an intelligent, curious, playful little girl. Her allergies require her to eat special regulation food, but she is always sneaking ordinary food which immediately swells her up.
  • Brian Feeble - Son of Eric; has been held back in school for 3 years straight. He has pica and as a result, is always putting things in his mouth.
  • Maria Gonzalez - The Feeble family's punk-looking live-in au pair; she is Portuguese and always drunk or hungover. In "Potato," she uses alcohol as perfume.

Supporting

  • Liz - Eric's eccentric ex-wife.
  • Ray Perfect - Snobbish and "perfect" next-door neighbour of Eric. Shares Eric's workplace, but is senior and consistently praised for his fine work.
  • Mrs. Perfect - Snobbish wife of Mr. Perfect. Catchphrase: "How art thou, Eric?"
  • Heather Perfect - Snobbish daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Perfect.
  • Paul Power, a.k.a. P.P - Boss of Eric who is usually very angry. Catchphrase: "Double arseburgers, Eric!"
  • Alison Scabie - Eric's useless secretary who spends all her time on the telephone gossiping to friends.
  • Doc - Eric's dementedly relaxed doctor, more interested in chasing women than treating Eric. He is the closest thing Eric has to a best friend.
  • Mrs. Wilson - An old lady who slowly tries in vain to post a letter which always falls from her hand and into a drain, sometimes with Eric to blame. Catchphrase: "Morning, Mister Eric. Just off to the post..."

Voice cast

The US broadcast of the series on NBC replaced Mark Heap's voice with that of Hank Azaria, repurposing Eric as an American expatriate.[2]

TV history

The show was first broadcast on BBC2 in April 1998 and ran for two series.[3][4]

Stressed Eric continued when Hibbert Ralph produced the second series. The second series was animated by Varga Studio instead.

List of episodes

Series 1

  1. Nativity - 20 April 1998
  2. Sex - 27 April 1998
  3. Pony - 11 May 1998
  4. Hospital - 18 May 1998
  5. Potato - 1 June 1998
  6. Tidy - 8 June 1998

Series 2

  1. Cricket - 31 August 2000
  2. Bursting - 6 September 2000
  3. Team - 13 September 2000
  4. Tent - 20 September 2000
  5. Crush - 27 September 2000
  6. Au Pair - 4 October 2000
  7. Drool - 11 October 2000

DVD release

The Complete Stressed Eric Collection was released on DVD in the UK on 2 May 2011, with the following special features:

  • The Story of Stressed Eric
  • Drawing the Characters with Stig Bergqvist
  • Audio Commentaries
  • Animatic of Nativity Episode
  • BBC Trails
  • Storyboard Excerpt from Pony Episode

References

  1. ↑ https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTfInohjreiePqO8CkmCXoOWFUHrPiWbMff0PyGJQI3iFOFnlYCQQ
  2. ↑ Barraclough, Leo (1998-08-03). "Azaria lends voice to 'Stressed Eric'". Variety. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
  3. ↑ "Nbc Yanks Up 'Stressed Eric'". NY Daily News. 1998-08-12. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
  4. ↑ "Entertainment | Stressed Eric goes Stateside". BBC News. 1998-08-11. Retrieved 2013-08-24.
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