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Bobby's World

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TV Series

The Resume

    (September 8, 1990-February 23, 1998)
    Animated comedy series
    Originally aired on FOX Kids
    Created by Howie Mandel
    Produced by Mandel, Phil Roman, and Lee Mendelson
    Howie Mandel as Bobby/Howard Generic
    Gail Matthius as Martha Generic
    Tino Insana as Uncle Ted
    Debi Derryberry as Jackie
    Charity James as Kelly
    Kevin Smets as Derek (1990 - 1997)
    Edie McClurg as Aunt Ruth
    Frank Welker as Roger
    Theme song composed by John Tesh with Michael Hanna
    Plot: Focuses on the overactive imagination of 4-year old Bobby and how it perceives his family and everyday life
    Originated as a popular stand-up comedy routine during Howie Mandel's entertainment acts

Why Bobby's World might be annoying:

    Ah, the days of Howie Mandel's curly-cropped mullet...
    The running joke was that Bobby's family name was pronounced 'generic' when it really sounded something like 'jenerick.'
    Howie Mandel apparently came up with the idea for the title character's voice by choking on a piece of cake.
    Very few of the opening segments featuring Mandel and Bobby were all that funny (not unlike Howie's stand-up routine).
    Most of the show's target audience didn't have a clue who the hell Howie Mandel was, and as such usually didn't make the connection that the guy at the start of the program was the same person as Bobby's animated father.
    The Uncle Ted character wasn't based on <2362>Rodney Dangerfield,<2362> as is commonly suggested, but rather on popular voice actor Tino Insana, who eventually ended up getting cast in the role.
    The Bobby/Jackie relationship has inspired many obscene, often inappropriate, pieces of fan art depicting them doing it.
    It did a genuinely creepy spoof on the 'Misery' film with Kathy Bates, only with a kids' sleepover theme instead ('Misery Loves Company').
    It was revealed in a later season that Bobby's overbearing, cheek-pinching Aunt Ruth had once been a world champion lady wrestler by night.
    Bobby tended to veer off into long-winded and bizzarre day-dreams after taking something one of his parents said literally (more often than not derailing the storyline).
    Howie Mandel continues to tease out the possibility of rebooting it in a modern setting, but it never happens.
    A local news segment went viral after it responded to an email from a viewer reading 'OMG, every time I hear Sarah Palin speak, I keep thinking of one person - the mom from Bobby's World' by remixing the voice of Bobby's 'fer corn sakes' accented mom and the then-Vice Presidential candidate giving an assortment of speeches (Oct. 14, 2008).

Why Bobby's World might not be annoying:

    Uncle Ted was da man! (Two words: Noogie Time!)
    It was the most successful animated series based on a standup routine since Bill Cosby's 'Fat Albert' cartoon in the '70s and '80s.
    Bobby was too adorable even for a cartoon toddler (Mitch Schauer used his own son as the model).
    It countered the argument that Howie Mandel’s entertainment didn’t have broad appeal beyond nightclubs – markedly softening his wild frat-boy image.
    At the same time, the show’s writing could be quite clever; often featuring adult references and satirizing popular films (like ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ – ‘Mrs. Noogiefire’) and television shows ( Murphy Brown, Miami Vice).
    The Bobby character was brought back to make cameos during Howie Mandel's stints on America's Got Talent and Deal or No Deal.
    Well fer cryin' in the mud if Bobby's mom didn't MILF it up like crazy, don'tchya know!
    It was the first major kids' animated show since The Flintstones to feature one of the main characters (Martha Generic) going through the stages of a pregnancy.
    The voices of Kelly and Martha Generic were based on two recurring SNL characters Gail Matthius played when she was a cast member (Vicky the Valley Girl and Roweena the Midwestern hairdresser), both times working with Denny Dillon.
    It was like a more wholesome kid-oriented cross between Family Guy and The Simpsons (the latter which precedes it only by one year).
    Pauly Shore had a memorable recurring role as Kelly’s deadhead stoner boyfriend, George.
    Ernest Borgnine, Mickey Rooney, Phil Hartman, Casey Kasem, Jon Lovitz, Milton Berle, Charles Nelson Reilly, Liza Minnelli, and Tim Conway all provided guest voices in various episodes.
    Kathy Ireland made a guest appearance as herself, showing up at the end of the show after her hands figured prominently into a dream of Bobby's (later kissing Bobby and snubbing Howie).

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 124 Votes: 54.84% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 77.78% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 35 Votes: 74.29% Annoying