Dexter's Laboratory

Dexter's Laboratory, also known as Dexter's Lab, is an American animated sci-fi/fantasy comedy TV series produced by Hanna-Barbera (seasons 1-2) and Cartoon Network Studios (seasons 3-4) for Cartoon Network. It ran from 1996 to 2003, airing 78 episodes that spanned four seasons. A TV movie titled Dexter's Laboratory: Ego Trip aired in 1999.

Underneath his ordinary suburban house, boy genius Dexter lives a secret life in his laboratory, creating new inventions the world has never seen before. However, they all fall prey to his intrusive older sister, Dee Dee, who despite meaning well, acts rather foolish and clumsy.

There are two other segments set within the world of Dexter's Laboratory: Dial M for Monkey, which starred Dexter's superhero pet, Monkey; and The Justice Friends, a trio of superheroes, who after saving the world together, go home under the same apartment roof.

Development
After being transferred from Columbia College Chicago to the California Institute of Arts in 1990, Genndy Tartakovsky wrote, directed, animated, and produced two student short films; one of them of which was the basis to the television pilot for "Dexter's Laboratory". The short was included in a university screening for the producers of Batman: The Animated Series, who were impressed and hired Tartakovsky.

Later, Tartakovsky joined Hanna-Barbera in the production team of 2 Stupid Dogs. The co-workers on that series—Craig McCracken, Rob Renzetti, Paul Ruddish, and Lou Romano—were classmates of his at CalArts and went on to collaborate with him on Dexter's Laboratory.

While he worked as a sheet timer on The Critic, Tartakovsky received a phone call from Larry Huber, a producer on 2 Stupid Dogs. Huber had shown Tartakovsky's unfinished student film to the recently-emerging Cartoon Network and wanted Tartakovsky to develop its concept into a seven-minute storyboard. Unhappy with is position on The Critic, Tartakovsky accepted his proposal, and the resulting project was produced as part of Cartoon Network's showcase series, World Premiere Toons. The pilot, "Dexter's Laboratory", made its debut on February 26, 1995.

The concept originated with one of Tartakovsky's designs at CalArts, where he drew a tall, skinny girl dancing and decided to pair her with a short, blocky scientist who's the opposite. The drawing of these two would become the characters of Dee Dee and Dexter, respectively.

Segments

 * Dexter's Laboratory
 * Dial M for Monkey (1996-97)
 * The Justice Friends (1996-98)

Music
The music and main/end title themes were composed by Thomas Chase and Steve Rucker. Additional music was provided by Gary Lionelli. The end credits featured lyrics written by Pamela Phillips Oland. Bodie Chandler was the director of music production.

Episodes
There was also the never-aired episode, "Rude Removal," which was produced during season two. It eventually was uploaded to YouTube by Adult Swim on January 22, 2013.

Cast

 * Christine Cavanaugh (seasons 1-3) and Candi Milo (seasons 3-4) as Dexter
 * Allison Moore (seasons 1 and 3) and Kat Cressida (seasons 2 and 4) as Dee Dee
 * Kath Soucie as Dexter's Mom and Computer
 * Jeff Bennett as Dexter's Dad
 * Eddie Deezen as Mandark
 * Frank Welker as Monkey and Krunk
 * Paula Tiso as Agent Honeydew
 * Rob Paulsen as Major Glory
 * Tom Kenny as Van Halen

Celebrity guests

 * Dom DeLuise
 * Paul Williams
 * Gary Owens
 * Fred Willard
 * Martin Mull
 * Mark Hamill