Tutenstein

Tutenstein
Format	Animated series
Created by	Jay Stephens
Directed by	Bob Richardson Norton Virgien Rob LaDuca
Starring	Jeannie Elias David Lodge Crystal Scales
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	40 (1 TV film) (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	William T. Bauman Paul Cummins Jessica Hanlon Bruce D. Johnson
Running time	22 minutes
Production company(s)	Porchlight Entertainment Discovery Kids Original Productions
Broadcast
Original channel	Discovery Kids
Original run	November 1, 2003 (2003-11-01) – October 11, 2008 (2008-10-11)

Tutenstein is an animated television series, produced by Porchlight Entertainment for Discovery Kids based on the comic by Jay Stephens which was published in Oni Press' JetCat Clubhouse. This cartoon also airs on Jetix in Europe and Maxi TV in Turkey. It began broadcasting on November 1, 2003. The half-hour series features young mummy Tutankhamen (based on real-life Tutankhamun and usually called "Tutenstein" as in the title) who is awakened about 3,000 years after his accidental death and now must face that his kingdom is gone. The series is based on an idea by Jay Stephens. The name is a portmanteau of Tutankhamun and Frankenstein. On October 11, 2008 a TV movie entitled Tutenstein: Clash of the Pharaohs aired on Discovery Kids.

The production company, PorchLight Entertainment, which is based in Los Angeles, California, has won Emmys for the first and second seasons of the series. Irish TV production company Telegael, which is based in An Spidéal, Co Galway, also won an Emmy Award for the second season.

The Hub aired the show after the closure of Discovery Kids.

Characters

Tutankhansetamun

A very rude and egotistical young mummy. He lived a spoiled and lazy life and had a best friend Nutka. The two would often trick the other children in Egypt or come up with scams to steal things such as honeycakes and toys. While it is unknown how he died, the introduction sequence portrays Tut playing with the Scepter and being plunged into darkness. However, he has mentioned on at least one occasion that he got sneezy before he died, showing he may have succumbed to disease. Other sources indicate he may have been assassinated. In the movie "The Clash of the Pharaohs" its revealed he died while saving Nutka from a tomb that was collapsing in which he was crushed to death. Tut-Ankh-An-Set-Amun died at the age of 10, reawakened about three thousand years later by Cleo. His nickname is Tutenstein (wordplay on Frankenstein), often shortened to Tut. He often has trouble with gods or ancient scripts. His only friends are Luxor and Cleo because everyone else he knew has died. When he's not doing something he shouldn't, Tut spends most of his free time in his sarcophagus because he must hide all day. He owns the Scepter of Was and he likes to play Senet with Cleo. Although he seems to ignore Cleo's warnings, he does seem to care for her very much. He even went to great lengths to try to protect her life in "Near Dead Experience" when he thought she was going to die, saying, "Cleo, I will do everything in my power to save you--even risk my own afterlife!" As he had died 3,000 years ago, his age in the current time is 3,010 years. Tut got punished by Isis for cheating at the game of Senet. He is considered by many people to be a Sagittarius, Taurus, or Aquarius. The museum is believed to be located in Brooklyn, New York City or Manhattan, New York City because of the way the landscape looked when the ground shook in the episode when the Crown of Geb was stolen and Geb shook the ground with his laugh. Interestingly, despite the god Set's antagonism toward Tut, the Pharaoh's name references him. Tut is voiced by Jeannie Elias.

Cleo Carter

A 12 year old African American girl who enjoys Egyptology. After chasing her cat, Luxor, she accidentally brought Tut back to life. She tends to argue with Tut, complaining about his immaturity and selfishness. But it's clear that she'd prefer life with him than without him. Often Cleo is the one who must help Tut set things right. She is very nice, smart, and kind. She always has her pocket computer, letting her gain instant access to facts about Egypt. Her first name references the female pharaoh, Cleopatra, while her last name references Howard Carter, who discovered Tutankhaman's tomb. It is often implied that she might be a descendant of the real Cleopatra. She wants Tut to learn how to be a good pharaoh. Cleo looks like her mom, but she misses her dad very much. Typically, she tries to get Tutenstein to do the right thing but even Cleo has an attitude problem. Her favorite color is pink.

Cleo Carter is voiced by Crystal Scales.

Luxor

Cleo's cat. Once considered an ordinary cat, when Tut was brought back to life, he was compelled to be ever loyal to his new "master" and gained the ability to talk. Luxor is often the voice of reason for Tut. He is very guilible sometimes. He is voiced by David Lodge.

Walter Jacobs

Referred to as "Jacobs" by the professor, Walter is the security guard at the museum. He often is the one to notice strange things around the museum, only to be laughed at by others. He is often seen at his desk eating or listening to the radio. Walter has a twin brother named George who's a security guard at the mall.

Professor Horace Behdety

The haughty professor who works at the museum. Tends to boss around Walter and always tries to gain more publicity (primarily for himself and not the museum). A running gag in the series is the misspelling of his name to things such as "Bedwetty". Professor Behdety seems to think that Walter's crazy and needs professional help. The Professor's name is a parody of the falcon god Horus, who was also called Behdety.

The Professor is voiced by Lex Lang.

Dr. Roxanne Vanderwheele

The Professor's colleague, an extremely bright young scholar and thoroughly modern archaeologist. Dr. Vanderwheele has devoted her life to researching the history and culture of ancient Egypt. In contrast to the Professor, she is open-minded and up-to-date on all technology related to the modern methods of archaeology, and she is also a mentor to Cleo. She also really seems fond of the Tut-Ankh-An-Set-Amun exhibit. Dr. Vanderwheele loves Luxor, and Cleo's nickname for her is "Dr. V".

Natasha

Natasha is Cleo's best friend. She doesn't really know much about Tut, but has seen him a few times, remaining oblivious to his being an actual mummy. Tut became infatuated with her and wanted to make her his queen, so he placed her under a love spell. The Boy King decided to remove it when he realized that the two really had nothing in common. Natasha has no recollection of this. Natasha also has the bad habit of lying, which often leads to her own undoing. Natasha has a little brother. Cleo's nickname for Natasha is "Nat". Natasha has a crush on Kyle. In the episode "The Truth Hurt's", she is portrayed as a liar and somehow gains Cleo's trust again. Natasha seems to be one of the main friends in the picture, though Tutenstein is Cleo's other main friend.

Kyle

Kyle is another one of Cleo's friends and has a crush on Natasha. Like Natasha, Kyle is oblivious to Tut being a mummy, even after actually seeing him; he does, however, seem to consider Tut a loser.

Jake

Jake is one of Cleo's friends and her secret crush. Like Cleo's other friends, Jake knows virtually nothing about Tut, though he has seen him once.

Set

The Egyptian god of chaos, destruction, and disorder, and the main antagonist of the series. For thousands of years, Set has been condemned to the darkest pit of the Egyptian underworld. The reason for this is for his assault on his brother, Osiris. He dismembered Osiris and scattered his body parts across the world. Although Osiris was brought back together by his wife Isis, Osiris' son, Horus, confronted Set and exiled him to the pits of the Underworld. But when Tut was brought back from the dead, Set saw his chance to gain the ultimate symbol of power, the Scepter of Was. He dispatched three of his demonic servants (Khesef, Sekhem, and Hemhety) to retrieve it and was almost released. But with the help of Cleo and Luxor, Tut sent Set and his demonic minions back to the underworld. From that day on, Set has tried multiple attempts to gain the Scepter and not only escape his imprisonment, but to conquer both the human world and avenge himself on the other Egyptian gods. But no matter what he does, Tut always seems to thwart him (though sometimes it's Cleo). Since he is unable to enter the "overworld", Set usually dispatches the demons and monsters at his command to do his dirty work. And as the series went on, Set also became obsessed with trying to destroy Tut as well as obtaining the scepter (to achieve this goal, he even tried to get rid of Cleo). In the first 2 seasons, Set occasionally dispatched his 3 main minions: Khesef and Sekhem, a pair of Jackel-headed demons; and Hemhety, a large zombie-like demon. But in the 3rd season, Set has dispatched a variety of other demons, most of which seem to be mindless brutes, willing to serve their master in sincere devotion. However, in 3 episodes, it was revealed that Set had at least three minions who were competent at what they did; Pa-Hemu, Denwen and Telal. It is also inclined in the episode "Into the Past", that there might be some humans under Set's control as well. Set is always spying on Tut and everyone else in the over world. Set believes that ruling the world is his destiny and that his rightful place is ruler of the world. Set is voiced by David Lodge.

The Demons of the Underworld

The demons of the underworld often play a large role in the show. Sometimes Tut and Cleo go to the underworld and are menaced by them. But other times, the demons come to them and attack them in the human world. There seems to be all sorts of demonic creatures in the Egyptian underworld, most of which are at the command of Set and are often after the Scepter of Was for their master. However, two baboon demons named "Maka" and "Hedj-Wer" are at the command of Thoth the god of wisdom, and they seem benevolent. But two giant demons in the underworld, Wenamoo and Nahahair, both seem to be neutral, stupid and dumb, but they are violent.

The Egyptian Gods

The almighty gods of ancient Egypt are often overseers of all the events of the immortal world and the underworld. Many of the ancient Egyptian gods have appeared in the series, either being disappointed in Tut's actions and punishing him for them or being summoned to assist him in his problems, be they minor or major. Osiris, the god of the dead, seems to be the leader of the Egyptian Gods. While Horus, the god of the sky, is their champion. Unlike Set, the other gods do not need to wait for a portal to be opened to enter the human world. All they require, is to either be summoned by Tut or anyone else, or if they simply wish to teleport themselves or someone from the Underworld to the Overworld and vice verca.

Iris Carter

Cleo's mother is a construction engineer and a loving parent. She isn't aware of Cleo's friendship with Tutenstein, or that Luxor can talk. She has seen Tut once, but only knew him as the person Cleo told her he was, which is a student from the school play in costume. She also doesn't seem to know what happened to her husband. Her name, Iris, is similar to Isis and fits with the name reference of her daughter Cleo, named after Cleopatra who called herself the "Daughter of Isis".

Cleo's Father

A well experienced Egyptologist and Cleo's loving father. He disappeared a while before the show began and has remained gone without any real answers. Though his disappearance is hinted to have something to do with the "Mirror of Isis", in which it is possible that he is trapped in the mirror when the mirror showed him lost in an unknown area (possibly a labyrinth in the mirror). He was very interested in Egyptology and passed that knowledge down to his daughter, Cleo, who became interested in Ancient Egypt as well.

Thomas

Thomas is Cleo's 5 year old cousin. Thomas is very impressionable. When he first met Tut, he started to dress like him and wanted to hang out with him, which eventually led to Thomas getting sent to Underworld and right into Set's hands. Thanks to Tut and Cleo, however, he made it out alive. Thomas has a hamster named Sponge Cake.

Nutka

Nutka is Tut's best friend from ancient times. The two of them loved pulling pranks on people, especially their friend Kapta. After Tut was mummified, Nutka kept scamming people and lost more friends. When he died, his punishment was to spend eternity as a ghost without a soul and to never be allowed into the Afterlife. When Tut cheated Isis, the goddess of wisdom, in a game of Senet, she sent Nutka to show Tut visions on his past, present, and future (a la A Christmas Carol). To help save his future, Tut played Isis in a rematch of Senet. When he lost, it turned out the real test was to see if he would cheat; since he didn't, he was safe from Nutka's fate. For helping Tut mend his ways, Nutka was freed as well and was granted entrance into the Afterlife. He continued to play pranks on kids and adults.

Nutka is voiced by Jason Marsden

Katie

Katie is Cleo's childhood enemy and briefly became a rival for Jake's attention. Ever since they were both little kids, Katie has gone after every boy Cleo has ever liked. When she turned her sights to Jake, Cleo had Tut do what he could to help win Jake's affection. But the problem is, Tut went a bit too far, first by making Cleo irresistible to all boys, then by trying to remedy that situation, turning her into a griffin. When Cleo started acting more vicious, Jake became more worried about her and went back for her. Katie, on the other hand, was all for running for her life; she even offered up Jake to Cleo as a snack and ran away. She hasn't been seen since.

El Zabkar

El Zabkar is an old man who summoned Ammut. He thought that Tut had a curse but soon realised that he was wrong after Tut saved him from Ammut.

Ammut

Ammut is one of the evil Gods of the underworld who was summoned by El Zabkar to eat Tut's heart. She then tried to kill El Zabkar so she could eat his heart, but Tut risked his heart to save El Zabkar and passed the test. Ammut looks like a mixture of a big cat and a crocodile.

Historical accuracy

Many of the gods portrayed in the series resemble their historical portrayals and all the Egyptian myths mentioned in the show are genuine.^{[citation needed]} The Scepter of Was being portrayed as an all-purpose magic wand is fictional, though the Was itself is a genuine Egyptian symbol. Unlike Tutankhamun, who died at the age of 18, this Tut (Tutahnkensetamun) died when he was 10. On the other hand, Tutenstein is drawn with a cleft lip, just like the real Tutankhamun. The ancient game senet did exist, but the rules shown in the series are not accurate.^{[citation needed]}

Seasons

Season 1: 2003–2004

Series #	Season #	Title	Original Airdate	Production Code
1	1	"The Awakening"	November 1, 2003 (2003-11-01)	101
As lightning strikes in the museum, Cleo Carter, a pre-teen girl, brings a mummy back to life after chasing her cat, Luxor. Luxor acquires his power of speech here, and says that it's his duty to protect and aid the mummy, Tut. This is where they all become friends.
2	2	"The Curse of the Pharaoh"	November 9, 2003 (2003-11-09)	102
A stranger named El Zabkar summons a crocodile god to go after Tut. Tut, Cleo, and Luxor have to stop the stranger and the Ammut (the god) before it's too late.
3	3	"Clash of the Shabitis"	November 16, 2003 (2003-11-16)	103
Cleo has some chores to do and she wants Tut to help. Tut, being lazy, decides to get shabitis (which are supposed to help the mummy in the Afterlife) to help her. The little mummy-helpers go out of control and Tut must stop them.
4	4	"I Did it My Way"	November 23, 2003 (2003-11-23)	104
Tut doesn't like the modern world. He finds it very uncomfortable.So Tut changes modern world back into ancient egypt. As usual, nothing goes as planned and everything gets out of control. Tut finds out that this Egypt doesn't work for him, either.
5	5	"The Boat of Millions of Years"	November 30, 2003 (2003-11-30)	105
Tut wants to stay up late and watch movies with Cleo, so he asks an egyptian god to delay the sunrise. Then the god, Ra, gets into trouble, and time stops. Tut must save him because he asked Ra to do it in the first place.
6	6	"The Powerful One"	December 7, 2003 (2003-12-07)	106
When Tut gets angry after not getting his own pyramid, an egyptian god is automatically summoned, and goes on a rampage. Cleo and Tut have to stop her because she's kind of a danger.
7	7	"There's Something About Natasha"		107
Tut has a crush on Cleo's best friend, Natasha, so he summons Bess, the protector of children to put a love spell on her. The spell goes wrong and Tut must choose whether he really loves her or it's just a small crush.
8	8	"The King of Memphis"		108
Tut wants to go to Memphis, Tennessee. While there, he gets angry when he sees other statues. He decides to leave from his body his parts of his body named Ka and Ba (his soul), but he must bring them back to his body by sun set.
9	9	"Roommates"		109
Tut moves in with Cleo, but Cleo starts to dislike it. Tut cheats her out of stuff she owns and bothers her. Meanwhile, Iris's father is baby-sitting Cleo while she's out of town.
10	10	"Ghostbusted"		110
Tut is caught cheating a game with an Egyptian god named Isis, so she summons a ghost to punish him. The ghost was a past friend of Tut's.
11	11	"Near Dead Experience"		111
Tut is worried that Cleo might die from Bronchitis. Because of this, he decides to get his own doctor to preserve her, the way he'd been preserved. (Tut doesn't get the concept of the cold.) This could have gone better.
12	12	"The Unsafety Zone"		112
A new alarm system in the museum wakes Tut up, but after he breaks it, he lets two thieves get away. They steal the Crown of Geb because that artifact's alarm was annoying, thus switched off.
13	13	"Happy Coronation Day, Tutenstein"		113
Tut feels unappreciated for all the good deeds he is doing, so Cleo throws him a Coronation party. A slave of Set's comes to the party and steals something, thinking it was the Scepter of Was, which it was not. Tut had to go to the Underworld to get it back.

Season 2: 2004–2005

Series #	Season #	Title	Original Airdate	Production Code
14	1	"Friends"		201
Tut befriends a couple of punks, and starts doing mischief around public. Cleo and Luxor tell him not to, but he does anyway. Because of this, he's brought to the Hall of Two Truths.
15	2	"Green-Eyed Mummy"		202
Tut becomes jealous of the new mammoth exhibit, so he sends it to the underworld.
16	3	"The Shadow Gobbler"		203
The shadows run free when Tut accidentally uses a scroll, this allows a shadow demon from the underworld to come to the overworld to eat the shadows, and Tut, Cleo, and Luxor have to get them back before the sun sets.
17	4	"Tut, Jr."		204
Tut meets Cleo's little cousin Thomas, while he is responsible for him at Cleo's house, he loses him in the underworld.
18	5	"Something Sphinx"		205
Luxor feels left out when Tut brings in a new baboon servant named Hedgewere.
19	6	"The Supreme Tut"		206
Tut convinces the higher ups to turn him into a god.
20	7	"Old Man Tut"		207
Tut hates being young, so when he breaks his ankh, the next day he turns into a teenager, then the next day he turns into an old man!
21	8	"Cleo's Catastrophe"		208
Tut uses a scroll which accidentally switches Cleo's and Luxor's body.
22	9	"Queen for a Day"		209
Cleo must take Tut's place when he gets kidnapped by the underworld demons, and now it's up to Cleo and Luxor to save him.
23	10	"Day of the Undead"		210
When Tut learns about Trick or Treating, he decides to join Cleo and her friends, while the event, Tut summons a demon from the underworld to scare Cleo's friends.
24	11	"Procras-Tut-nation"		211
Tut his having so much fun on Cleo's skateboard, that he'll miss the sed festival in the underworld.
25	12	"Behdety Late Than Never"		212
Tut raises the heat at the museum, raising expenses, so Behdety calls a salesperson to save money, little does he know that he is was stealing the museum artifacts, allowing Behdety to be framed and sent to jail.
26	13	"Walter the Brain"		213
Tut enchants a spell that allows Walter to become smarter. However, this angers Thoth, who believes Walter used his scrolls.

Season 3: 2006–2007

Series #	Season #	Title	Original Airdate	Production Code
27	1	"The Comeback Kid"		301
Tut uses the Egyptian ankh to make him flesh and blood again, but the spell backfires and the dinosaur in the museum is brought back to life.
28	2	"The Truth Hurts"		302
Tut insults some ancient gods, causing him to be cut-off.
29	3	"Was Not Was"		303
Tut misplaces his Scepter.
30	4	"Rest in Pieces"		304
Tut separates his body parts to do many activities at once, but his body part gets dispersed into many places and now it's up to Luxor and Cleo to find him.
31	5	"Tut the Defender"		305
Tut bring two vikings back to life to battle them.
32	6	"Irresistible You"		306
Cleo's childhood enemy, Katie, comes back to take Jake. So Tut asks Isis to cast a love spell, but it goes out of control.
33	7	"Fearless"		307
Tut tries to prove that he is fearless, but he leaves a portal to the Underworld open, allowing a fire demon to escape and go on a rampage.
34	8	"Sleepless in Sarcophagus"		308
Tut gets a snake named Fang to make him sleep again, but it is a demon from the underworld that is possessing the snake.
35	9	"Spells and Sleepovers"		309
Tut dresses as a girl to enter Cleo's slumber party.
36	10	"UnPharaoh"		310
A scorpion bracelet possesses Dr. Vanderwhelle and Cleo tries to prove that Tut was a pharaoh after his title has been changed.
37	11	"Tut's Little Problem"		311
After using a scroll to make himself big, Tut shrinks and must find a way to make himself big.
38	12	"Keep Your Wandering Eye to Yourself"		312
Tut gets jealous of Cleo's life outside the museum so he plans to spy on her.
39	13	"Into the Past"		313
Cleo uses the mirror of Isis to go back to ancient Egypt to find out what really happened to her father.

Telefilm

Episode #	Title	Original Airdate	Production Code
Special	"Tutenstein: Clash of the Pharaohs"	October 11, 2008	400
Tut has nightmares about his death so he uses the mirror of Isis to go back to ancient Egypt to prevent his death from happening, but the artifact is stolen by a thief. Cleo, Luxor and Tut go back to Egypt only finding out that it is a thousand years after Tut's death so he, Luxor, and Cleo get followed by a stranger named Kwmonwati, who crowns Cleo after mistaking her for a pharaoh. Kwmonwati plans to take the mirror of Isis with him but fails. Cleo meets the real Cleopatra and Luxor, Cleo, and Tut finally gets home. Tut now knows how he died.

See also

• Tutankhamun
• Discovery Kids

External links

• Official website
• Tutenstein at Discovery Kids
• Tutenstein at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Tutenstein at the Internet Movie Database
• Tutenstein at TV.com