Pepper Ann

Pepper Ann
Format	Animated series
Created by	Sue Rose[1]
Starring	Kathleen Wilhoite Clea Lewis Danny Cooksey Pamela Adlon April Winchell Cree Summer Candi Milo
Composer(s)	Pat Irwin
Country of origin	United States
Language(s)	English
No. of episodes	65 (112 individual episodes) (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	30 minutes with commercials (mostly two 11-minute segments, with some double-length 22-minute segments)
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC (1997-2000) UPN (2000) Disney Channel (2001)
Original run	September 13, 1997 (1997-09-13) – November 30, 2001 (2001-11-30)

Pepper Ann is an American animated series created by Sue Rose and aired on ABC. It debuted on September 13, 1997.

Pepper Ann starred cartoon adolescents and charted their ups and downs at Hazelnut Middle School. It aired as part of the Disney's One Saturday Morning block. The character originated in a comic strip published in YM magazine.^[2]

Description

The show centers on the titular character, Pepper Ann Pearson, a 12-year-old girl whose emotions come out in fantasies. The show was designed to be a "different sort" of girl's cartoon, and features many strong-willed female characters who aggressively reject the idea of passive femininity.^{[citation needed]}

Pepper Ann's best friends are Milo Kamalani, a very eccentric, highly dramatic artist; and Nicky Little, a soft-spoken, overachieving aspiring violinist. Other fellow students at Hazelnut Middle School include rich and spoiled Trinket, German boy Dieter Liederhosen, popular airhead Cissy, gossipy twins Tessa and Vanessa, Nicky's boyfriend, the RC car-racing "nerd" Stewart Walldinger, and the cool 8th-grader, Craig Bean. Pepper Ann has no real enemies except Principal Hickey, a tough disciplinarian with zero tolerance for Pepper Ann's shenanigans, Wayne Macabre, an annoying radio DJ, and Alice Kane, an uppity snob who refers to her as "P. Ann". As well, Pepper Ann usually receives advice from her conscience in the form of her reflection. She gets into mild vocal quarrels with her reflection and her feminist mother, Lydia Pearson, although Lydia usually gives the moral at the end. Pepper Ann's father is seen only in a few episodes in his entirety. We know, however, that he was English, and divorced Lydia (although the two remain on good terms) when the girls were young. Lydia, in turn, embraces her divorcee, single-mom identity with great gusto, and encourages Pepper Ann to be as proudly independent as she is, although she does keep a curfew on Pepper Ann. Further support is given by Lydia's sister, Janie Diggety, an ex-Green Beret, and Pepper Ann's tomboyish deep-voiced younger sister, Moose.

The show's plots were generally typical of the developing format that has risen out of federal E/I requirements: Pepper Ann is presented with a moral dilemma, chooses the wrong decision, faces the consequences and learns a moral lesson. The series was mostly rated TV-Y. However, the Season 1 finale, "In Support of," raised controversy.^{[citation needed]} In the episode, Pepper Ann is told she would need "support" to jump on the trampoline. Thinking the teacher meant "breast support," a paranoid, still flat-chested and seemingly unready Pepper Ann is convinced she now needs a bra. When at the trampoline, and asked where her "support" was, Pepper Ann flashes the class, (her bra) although it is only seen in shadow. (The gag is that by "support," the instructor meant a "support buddy.") That episode was rated TV-Y7.

At the end of the opening sequence, she always finds something different under her desk (similar to The Simpsons' couch gag), such as a mood ring or maracas (also the letter Q in the episode "Vanessa Less Tessa", a glowing green stick in the episode "Hazelnut's Finest", a singing Dieter doll in the episode "Presenting Stewart Waldinger", Mardi Gras beads, and her [Pepper Ann's] remote control in the episode "Radio Freak Hazelnut".) ; in season one, she always finds "five bucks".

One of the original segments of "One Saturday Morning", Pepper Ann was a hit with audiences. Pepper Ann was formerly shown on Toon Disney.

Pepper Ann and Lydia make a cameo appearance at the House of Mouse episode The Stolen Cartoons. They are the only Walt Disney Television Animation characters to ever appear on House of Mouse, who only used characters from Disney's features and classic shorts (and sometimes comics). Lydia says "Don't touch the villain, dear," to Pepper Ann after Pete falls out of the sky after being kicked out of the club.

Voice actors

• Kathleen Wilhoite: Pepper Ann Pearson, the protagonist of the series
• Clea Lewis: Nicky Little, Pepper Ann's best friend
• Danny Cooksey: Milo Kamalani, the other Pepper Ann's best friend
• April Winchell: Lydia Pearson / Grandma Lilly / Ms. Stark
• Pamela Segall: Margaret Rose "Moose" Pearson, Pepper Ann's young sister
• Don Adams: Principal Hickey
• Susan Tolsky: Aunt Jainie Lilly Diggety
• Tino Insana: Uncle Jo Jo Diggety
• Jeff Bennett: Dieter Lederhosen /Pink-Eyed Pete/ Craig Bean
• Jenna von Oy: Trinket St. Blair
• Kath Soucie: Cissy Rooney / Mrs. Little
• Cree Summer: Tessa & Vanessa James
• Tara Charendoff-Strong: Brenda
• Cam Clarke: Stewart Waldinger
• Kimmy Robertson: Gwen Mezzrow
• Candi Milo: Constance Goldman
• Adam Wylie: Crash
• Karen Duffy: Sketch
• Jim Cummings: Mr. Carter
• Don Lake: Mr. Finky
• Kathy Najimy: Coach Doogan
• James Avery: Mr. Clapper
• Maurice LaMarche: Chuck Pearson
• Brittany Murphy: Tank the 8th grader

Episodes

Season 1: 1997-1998

• Ziterella (Originally Aired 9/13/1997) - Pepper Ann has been noted for bad pictures every picture day. Worse, she gets a big zit on her face before picture day and is too embarrassed to even buy pimple cream.

• Romeo and Juliet / Food Barn (Originally Aired 9/20/1997)

• Old Best Friend / Crunch Pod (Originally Aired 9/27/1997) Pepper Ann's old best friend visits, but she realizes they have nothing in common anymore.

• Psychic Moose / Doll and Chain (Originally Aired 10/4/1997)

• Megablades of Grass / Family Vacation (Originally Aired 10/11/1997)

• The Big Pencil / Sani-Paper (Originally Aired 10/18/1997)

• Uniform Uniformity / Snot Your Mother's Music (Originally Aired 10/25/1997)

• The Environ Mentals (Originally Aired 11/8/1997)

• Crush and Burn / Soccer Season (Originally Aired 11/15/1997)

• Thanksgiving Dad (Originally Aired 11/22/1997)

• Sketch 22 / Manly Milo (Originally Aired 1/10/1998)

• Have You Ever Been Unsupervised / The Unusual Suspects (Originally Aired 1/17/1998)

• Nicky Gone Bad / In Support of (Originally Aired 11/1/1997 / 1/24/1998) / Pepper Ann gets a bra after being told to have support on the trampoline.

Season 2: 1998-1999

• Quiz Bowl / License to Drive (Originally Aired 9/12/1998)

• Cocoon Gables / Green-Eyed Monster (Originally Aired 9/19/1998)

• Hazelnut's Finest / Cat Scan (Originally Aired 9/26/1998)

• An OtterBiography / GreenSleeves (Originally Aired 10/3/1998)

• Vanessa Less Tessa / Peer Counsellor P.A. (Originally Aired 10/10/1998)

• A 'Tween Halloween / Mash into Me (Originally Aired 10/31/1998)

• Presenting Stewart Waldinger / Pepper Ann's Life in a Nutshell (Originally Aired 11/14/1998)

• Like Riding a Bike (Originally Aired 11/28/1998)

• Radio Freak Hazelnut / Framed (Originally Aired 11/7/1998 / 12/5/1998)

• Portrait of the Artist as a Young Milo / The Sisterhood (Originally Aired 12/12/1998)

• Impractical Jokes / Cold Feet (Originally Aired 12/26/1998)

• Doppelganger Didi / Pepper Ann's Day Off-Kilter (Originally Aired 1/9/1999)

• A No Hair Day / That's My Dad (Originally Aired 1/16/1999)

Season 3: 1999-2000

• You Oughta Be in Musicals (Originally Aired 9/11/1999)
• Dances with Ignorance / Girl Power (Originally Aired 9/18/1999)
• Beyond Good and Evel / One of the Guys (Originally Aired 9/25/1999)
• The Wash-Out / Def Comedy Mom (Originally Aired 11/6/1999)
• The First Date Club / Unicycle of Life (Originally Aired 11/13/1999)
• A Kosher Christmas (Originally Aired 12/18/1999)
• Effie Shrugged / Mom Knows What P.A. Did Two Nights Ago (Originally Aired 1/15/2000)
• The Spanish Imposition / Single Unemployed Mother (Originally Aired 1/22/2000)

Season 4: 2000

• Burn, Hazelnut, Burn / Career Daze (Originally Aired 2/6/2000)
• G.I. Janie / Miss Moose (Originally Aired 2/7/2000)
• Pepper Shaker / Flaw and Order (Originally Aired 2/8/2000)
• Baggy Bean Buddies / The Beans of Wrath (Originally Aired 2/9/2000)
• The Velvet Room (Originally Aired 2/10/2000)
• One Angry Woman (Originally Aired 2/11/2000)
• The Sellout / The Telltale Fuzzy (Originally Aired 2/13/2000)
• A Valentine's Day Tune (Originally Aired 2/14/2000)
• Sammy's Song / Permanent Record (Originally Aired 2/15/2000)
• Live and Let Dye (Originally Aired 2/16/2000)
• Remote Possibilities / Considering Constance (Originally Aired 2/17/2000)
• To Germany with Love (Originally Aired 2/18/2000)
• Bye, Bye Trinket / P.A.'s Pop Fly (Originally Aired 2/20/2000)
• My Mother, Myself (Originally Aired 2/21/2000)
• The Amazing Becky Little (Originally Aired 2/22/2000)
• The Untitled Milo Kamalani Project / Guess Who's Coming to the Theater (Originally Aired 2/23/2000)
• The Great Beyond / Jaybirds of a Feather (Originally Aired 2/25/2000)
• The Way They Were (Originally Aired 2/27/2000)

Season 5: 2000-2001

• The One with Mr. Reason / Sense and Senselessness (Originally Aired 9/9/2000)
• Dear Debby / Reality Bytes (Originally Aired 11/15/2001 / 9/16/2000)
• Complementary Colors (Originally Aired 11/4/2000)
• Searching for Pepper Ann Pearson / Forging Ahead (Originally Aired 11/19/2001 / 9/16/2000)
• Carmelo / Too Cool to Be Mom (Originally Aired 9/23/2000 / 11/20/2001)
• The Merry Lives of Pepper Ann (Originally Aired 11/5/2000)
• Strike It or Not / Moose in Love (Originally Aired 9/23/2000 / 11/23/2001)
• Two's Company / A is for Average (Originally Aired 11/26/2001 / 11/6/2000)
• The Spice of Life / Alice Kane Went Down to Calcutta (Originally Aired 11/12/2000 / 11/6/2000)
• T.G.I.F. / Zen and the Art of Milo (Originally Aired 11/12/2000 / 11/30/2001)
• The Word / The Perfect Couple (Originally Aired 11/21/2001)
• That's My Mama Destructo / Unhappy Campers (Originally Aired 11/27/2001)
• The Finale (Originally Aired 11/28/2001)

Reruns

While appearing on Disney's One Saturday Morning, Pepper Ann was syndicated on UPN's Disney's One Too programming block in 2000. It then moved to the Disney Channel, and eventually moved to Toon Disney, now called Disney XD. This is the last time Pepper Ann has been seen on any cable channel in the US. It returned to Disney Channel Portugal on April 11th, 2011. It is unknown at this time if it will return in the US. Disney currently has no intention to release "Pepper Ann" on DVD.

References

1. ^ "Move Over, Old Men". The Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2000/mar/19/entertainment/ca-10274. Retrieved 2010-11-11. 
2. ^ Gerston, Jill (November 23, 1997). "SIGNOFF; A Spunky Heroine Navigates Adolescence" (in English). The New York Times (USA). http://nytimes.com/1997/11/23/tv/signoff-a-spunky-heroine-navigates-adolescence.html?pagewanted=all. Retrieved 12 August 2011. 

External links

• Pepper Ann at the Internet Movie Database
• Pepper Ann at TV.com