The Cramp Twins

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The Cramp Twins

The Logo for The Cramp Twins Show, Featuring Lucien(left) Wayne(Right)
Format Animated series
Created by Brian Wood
Starring Tom Kenny
Kath Soucie
Terry Klassen
Jayne Paterson
Tabitha St. Germain
Nicole Oliver
Ian James Corlett
Colin Murdock
Cathy Weseluck
Lee Tockar
Ellen Kennedy
Iris Quinn
Jay Brazeau
Country of origin United Kingdom
Production
Running time 15 minutes for each episode, 4 episodes shown in one hour meaning, 60 minutes.
Broadcast
Original channel Cartoon Network Worldwide

The Cramp Twins is an animated series created by cartoonist Brian Wood. The show was produced in association with Cartoon Network Europe. It is about Lucien Cramp (Kath Soucie)and Wayne Cramp (Tom Kenny), not-so identical twins who live with their hygiene-obsessed mother (Nicole Oliver) and their Western-obsessed father (Ian James Corlett) in the fictional town of Soap City. Sadly, but obviously, neither get along. Wayne's friend is Dirty Joe (Lee Tockar) and the girl that has a crush on him is Wendy Winkle (Jayne Paterson), though he hates her. His enemies are Miss. Hillary Hissy (Cathy Weseluck, who also plays Tony's mom, Lily, and Mrs. Winkle) and Lucien's friends are Tony Parsons (Terry Klassen who also plays Tony's dad, Seth) and Mari (Tabitha St. Germain).

The series season one premiered in the UK on February 2, 2002 on Cartoon Network (UK) and CBBC on BBC One respectively and has reached high popularity with children. Season one ended on 21 June 2002. A second season premiered in Autumn 2003. Season 2 finished in 2003. Season 3 started in 2004 and ended in 2005. Season 4 began in 2006 and ended that same year. A fifth season is upcoming. The show is currently licensed to Cartoon Network.

This show was originally cancelled in the US in February 2005, when Mew Mew Power was airing in its slot February 19, 2005 and it was originally intended to be a sneak peek for the series to air September 2005 with Cramp Twins continuing to air there, but 4Kids TV decided to cancel The Cramp Twins to put Mew Mew Power in its slot. A press release went out about a possible 3-part finale answering any unanswered questions, but the show returned in the summer of 2006, and later with more new episodes. However despite this, Season 5 is upcoming announced by Cartoon Network.

Contents

[edit] Main characters

  • Lucien Cramp: Lucien is the smarter out of the two twins, but also considered the 'eco-loser' . He likes to go to the swamp of Soap City, his home town, with his friend Tony. Lucien is technically the oldest one of the two twins as he was born first in the opening credits.
  • Wayne Cramp: The taller and less intelligent of the two brothers. Normally spending time thrashing/beating up his older brother, he also likes to collect various things he scavenges from the junkyard. He is constantly annoyed by Wendy Winkle, who has a crush on him. He also frequently uses insults that have the suffix "-pants", EG "Girlpants", His Middle Name is Archibald. He likes to give the impression that he is the little angel of the twins to his mother but he is the troublemaker and often it is Lucien who gets blamed for the trouble. He collects Godzilla action figures, in one episode saying "Mothra loses again!"
  • Mrs. Cramp (Dorothy Cramp): Mrs Cramp is mother to the twins and wife of Mr. Cramp. She is a clean freak, someone who cannot abide the sight of dirt. It is revealed in a number of episodes that her first name is Dorothy, or as Wayne puts it in one episode, 'sometimes Dot, never Dotty'. She has a crush on Agent X.
  • Mr. Cramp (Horace-Herman-Neville Cramp): Mr Cramp works at the local soap and cleaner products factory. He is also a 3rd-class cowboy(and is obsessed with Rodeo Rita), and is always fruitlessly trying to impress his boss, Mr Winkle. His first name was revealed to be Horace in the episode where Wayne is ordering cereals and ends up unleashing space poppers into the swamp.
  • Tony Parsons: Best friend of Lucien (sometimes argues with him) and a swamp kid. He possesses a vast knowledge about the swamp and his kin's traditions. He has many brothers and sisters. His dad's first name is Seth and his mom's first name is Lily. He is very short and often finds trouble because of this.
  • Wendy Winkle: Wendy is the daughter of Walter Winkle, rendered a spoiled brat by her lifestyle. Wendy is ruthless in her demanding of anything that can be attained within her parents' immense wallet. She is also tremendously rude to all except Wayne. It is possible that Wendy is Half-Swamp due to her Father's swamp descent. She has an obsessive crush on Wayne, and does anything she can to win his heart (unfortunatley she has been unsuccessful, since Wayne hates her)
  • Mari Phelps: Mari is Lucien's other friend. She often co-operates with Lucien on his environment-conserving efforts, but often can't help desiring a bit of power. She is a foster child and is looked after by a happiness-obsessed, brown-haired family with odd customs. She is like the black sheep of her foster family. (Alternative spelling: Marie.)

[edit] Major characters

  • Dirty Joe Muldoon: An middle-aged man who lives in a trailer and Wayne's friend. He is an unseen character (except for a hand and part of his clothes). According to an episode, He has never bathed or showered in his life, but he showers for the first time in his life when he comes to live with the Cramps.
  • Walter Winkle: Mr. Cramp's boss and Wendy's father, CEO and "Grand Bubba" of the Haskem corporation. He lives in a mansion and is suggested to be a swamp person, probably by descent (as hinted at in many episodes.), but vehemently denies it.
  • Hillary Hissy: Hillary (Miss Hissy) is Wayne's, Lucien's, Wendy's and Mari's large teacher. She hates Wayne and she is a friend of Dirty Joe. They were thought to be dating once, but it turned out she was only tutoring him. Miss Hissy has also been shown to have a crush on Mr Horace Cramp (Wayne and Lucien's father). She is a bully and a strong teacher, In one episode it is revealed she was a Karate expert and does Martial Arts. She was shown to be practising Parkour.
  • Seth Parsons: Tony's dad and a swamp person. He and the Parson family live near the swamp. His wife is Lily (As of the episode "Is Mr. Winkle a swamp folk?" Lily did not even appear).in episode 3 "The bad seed" it is shown that ,in the western era, he was the outlaw Bad seed's sidekick Little hat in his childhood.(he looked like and was the same size as Tony, Little hat wears a cowboy outfit and has a hat that covers his head,the Bad seed wears a cowboy outfit and a mask)it is also shown the Bad seed is smeone who looks like Lucien possibly Mr Cramp or an ancestor of the Cramps.
  • Mr. Pretty: A "friend" of Wayne and Lucien's. He is also known as a bully (his mom bullied Dorothy Cramp, his father bullied Horace Cramp.) In the European version he is the overly peppy principal of the School, whose methods to an extent annoy the Cramps. He is often quick to tell Miss Hissy off.
  • Lillian "Lily" Parsons: Seth's wife and the mother of Tony and his siblings. Lucien once had a crush on her, much to Tony's annoyance.
  • Horace Phelps: Mari's dad. He worked as a barber in his first appearance and then as the vice principle of the school. (he is neither in the European version, instead an optician).
  • Principal Earlington Richard Quartermaine: Earlington is the principal of the school and Hillary's boss. He was Mrs. Phelps' ex-boyfriend. He is absent from the European version, and has never appeared.
  • Agent X:he is a cleaning agent,there are evidence that he is an undercover spy such as when he gave Mr Cramp a suitcase containing "spy protection gear",which probably he wanted to have Mr Cramp test the suitcase.

[edit] Minor characters

  • Mrs. Winkle: Wendy's mother and Walter's wife. She behaves more or less like her husband, but ignores the fact he may be a swamp person. In one of the episodes she appeared to have the same dress as Mrs. Cramp.
  • Grandma Cramp: Dorothy Cramp's mother and Wayne and Lucien's grandmother. She acts more like Wayne then Lucien and obviously prefers him. She also hates her son-in-law and was easily deceived into thinking Tony was Horace Cramp 'shrunk.'
  • Barber: The barber who replaced Mr. Phelps. Mrs Cramp takes Lucien and Wayne to see him, and due to a number of circumstances, ends up shutting down his shop entirely. He appears to dislike and to be scared of Tony, as Tony did not pay his Hair shaving fees.
  • Rodeo Rita:She is a bullrider,country yodeler,but later turns out to be a fraud,Mr Cramp

is a big fan of her.

[edit] The Winkles

Is Mr Winkle Swamp Folk? There seems to be various evidence from sources that Mr. Winkle is actually a "swamp folk" and a relation of Tony by ancestors. In the episode where the toilet is clogged Tony and his father cites "the deeper you go, the more you know" in realisation that their basement links to Mr. Winkle's mansion's foundations, where his "ancestors left for a pure and earthy existence". In hearing this he decided to pay Mr. Parsons the sum for cleaning the house that he before refused to pay. Other sources are when the swamp was to be replaced with his Wendy's "Sweet Dream Valley", Mr. Parsons pays a visit to Mr. Winkle reminding him "you can take the man out of the swamp but you can't take the swamp out of the man", reminding him they used to race and they won a prize, with his name as "eely", again, suggesting that he was a swamp folk. Mr. Winkle is almost always present and knows all swamp phenomenon such as the mystery egg which gave good luck, a swamp tradition. He also frequently visits the swamp to eat dumb radishes. Furthermore, he knows the "crested marsh swallow" and knows they were rare and orders them to be delivered to his residence, Tony Parsons beforehand telling Lucien they are "delicious". Mr Winkle shows he wants to eat them by his order. In the episode of "Soap Day" where it rains soap, Lucien stated that soap folk have an immunity that outsiders and swamp folk don't have to it. Later, Tony is seen delivering a package to Mr. Winkles house, where Mr. Winkle and his daughter Wendy were coughing because they lacked immunity. In compiling all of this data it can be argued Mr. Winkle is a swamp folk even though he repeatedly denies it to the public, though The Parsons have kept this secret. Mr Winkle and Parsons are friends, in the episode where they camp out in the night Mr. Winkle pays a visit to "old man Parsons" to prepare his food for him, perhaps like he did in his past. Also his office full of various swamp objects and in a number of episodes Ms. Winkle refers to the office as "the dirty room."

[edit] Episodes

In total there are four seasons(fifth upcoming this year) Note: All episodes are listed chronologically in order of occurrence within the Cramp Twins universe. Listed below are the American airdates. All episodes were aired 2-3 years earlier in the UK.

[edit] Season 1: 2002

No Title Original airdate
01 Walk Like a Man / Bouncy Bob 02/08/2002
02 Food Fight / Mari Mania 02/15/2002
03 The Bad Seed / Rodeo Rita 02/22/2002
04 Great Bowl of Fear / Mud Crush 03/01/2002
05 Pizza Control / Ice Scream 03/08/2002
06 Grandma's Piano / Guide Games 03/15/2002
07 The Great Lucioni / Wendy Boy 03/22/2002
08 Fashion Passion / Small Wonder 03/29/2002
09 Chameleon Chaos / Weedkiller 04/05/2002
10 Swamp Fever / Kung Foolish 04/12/2002
11 Twin Studies / Birthday Blues 04/19/2002
12 Friend Fight / Miss Kissy 04/26/2002
13 Petrified Poodles / Harp Wars 05/03/2002
14 Date Dupe / Agent X 05/10/2002
15 Room Rage / Dirty Monkey 05/17/2002
16 Mr. Winkle's Monkey / Wicked Wendy 05/31/2002
17 Haircut Horrors / Nostalgia Nast 06/07/2002
18 No Means Yes / Spy's Pies 06/21/2002

[edit] Season 2: 2003

No Title Original airdate
01 Home on the Range / Holesome 09/13/2003
02 Picket, Picket / Sick Daze 09/20/2003
03 Big Baby / Ad Bad 09/27/2003
04 Workout / 6th Senselessness 10/04/2003
05 Hotel Hysteria / Alien Glow 10/11/2003
06 Worm Funeral / One Sock Wonder 10/25/2003
07 Wolfman Wayne / Shed Dead 11/01/2003
08 Silence Please / Fur Fungus 11/08/2003

[edit] Season 3: 2004-2005

No Title Original airdate
01 Weepy Wayne / First Crusher 09/18/2004
02 Pantaloonacy / Girl Gang 09/25/2004
03 Triker Trouble / Heart Wrench 10/02/2004
04 Little Watchers / Egg Bound 10/09/2004
05 Little Big Man / Flag Boy 10/16/2004
06 Hankenstein / Cricket Slayer 10/23/2004
07 Count Crampula / Naughty Nuptails 10/30/2004
08 Bully for Wayne / Agent W 11/06/2004
09 Wendy House / Cramp vs. Cramp 11/13/2004
10 Webcam Wayne / Swamp Curse 11/20/2004
11 Lice-ence to Kill / Army of Wayne 11/27/2004
12 Swampless / Mummy Mania 12/04/2004
13 Wendy Wear / Homeless Joe 12/11/2004
14 Dance Pants / Bestest Brother 12/18/2004
15 Film Fad / Spit Collector 01/22/2005
16 News Whale / Twisted Ending 01/29/2005
17 Tattoo Boy / Cow Son 02/05/2005
18 Goosenapped / Rotten Romance 02/12/2005
19 Sugar Zombie / Swamp Squid Unaired

[edit] Season 4: 2006

No Title Original airdate
01 Lion Worrier / Grandma Dearest 07/08/2006
02 Mister Congeniality / Get Greedy 07/15/2006
03 Slave Mart / Cool for Cramp 07/22/2006
04 Just Desserts / Pirate Pants 07/29/2006
05 Neigh Means Neigh / Miner Mishaps 08/05/2006
06 Happy Gas / Twin Toys 08/12/2006

[edit] Season 5: 2008

Episodes TBA, Season confirmed to air this year.

[edit] Trivia

  • In the USA, season 1 aired as two separate seasons, and did not get the show until long after it aired in its home country.

[edit] Controversy

The only known controversy about the series was due to a scene in the episode "Count Crampula". In the scene, Mr. Pretty tells the class to respect culture and individuality. Shortly afterwards he shouts at Lawrence Yaku (a Sikh student) for wearing a Turban. In the CBBC viewing of the episode, the scene has been edited out, however it is available in the UK version of Cartoon Network. In the BBC version viewing of the episodes, it has been edited instead it shows Mr. Pretty begging down to his parents for forgiveness.

[edit] The Cramp Twins in other languages

[edit] External Links