Kevin Spencer (subtitled "The Lovable Little Scamp" from seasons 3-4) is a Canadian adult animated black comedy television series created by Greg Lawrence that aired on CTV and The Comedy Network (now CTV Comedy Channel) from January 17, 1999 to November 6, 2005. It is based on the shorts of the same name that premiered on the Burly Bear Network in 1998. It also aired on Spike TV in the United States, and Cuatro in Spain. In April 2001, the original thirteen 1997–1998 shorts were remade and released on Mondo Media's flash cartoon site in the United States in 2002. Also around 2001 the shorts were remade on Canal 33, now called El 33.
The series follows 16-year-old silent protagonist Kevin W. Spencer(earlier Kevin E. Spencer), described by the show's theme song as a "chain-smoking alcoholic sociopath", as well as his parents Percy and Anastasia and his supposedly imaginary friend Allen the Magic Goose.
Plot and characters
The show revolves around the everyday happenings of the Spencer family within a town by the name of Cornolia (later called Landville). Kevin himself is a 16-year-old, sociopathic juvenile delinquent addicted to alcohol, cough syrup and tobacco. He lives with his parents, whom he often shows ambivalence towards. Kevin is also a student at a local high school, although he rarely attends school. It is demonstrated many times throughout the series that Kevin is mentally unstable, as he is prone to random outbursts of violence, even towards himself, shows signs of insanity, and has a complete disregard for life, including his own. It is also shown that Kevin is probably intellectually disabled, as he often has difficulties with performing the simplest of tasks, such as making himself a bowl of cereal, forgetting what he was talking about the instant after saying something, or even realizing that he was hungry, yet at times throughout the series, makes very well-articulated statements about certain aspects of society, culture, politics, and education, possibly indicating Kevin is a savant. Throughout the series, Kevin almost never speaks, aside from during dream sequences and occasional one-sentenced outbursts that the viewer only sees as speech or thought balloons. Instead, the show's narrator (voiced by Lawrence) speaks for Kevin; that is, he describes what Kevin is saying, thinking, and how Kevin reacts to the world around him. Kevin finally does speak in Season 2, Episode 17 (Dreamland), but only in his dreams, and he has a noticeably female-sounding voice. At the end of Season 4's finale "Beach Blanket Bloodbath", Kevin screams "FUCK OFF!!"; he also says "Goodbye Allen" in the series finale though is spoke over by Lawrence. Kevin is also based of a man who lived near Lawrence in Belleville, Ontario in a news interview. He is also mentioned to have other mental illnesses and physical problems than Antisocial Personality Disorder such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Nocturnal Enuresis(as mentioned in a blurry list in A First Time For Everything),Erectile Dysfunction(implied in’The Hooker’ 1998 short), chlamydia and psychosis. Kevin’s first signs of illness was a few weeks after his birthday seventh birthday of April 16th 1990 when he would murder is pet poodle Ollie after having a unbearable rage in his head. In the Invisible Sociopath his birthday is show as April 16th 1984 therefore the series taking place during the year 2000.
His parents, Anastasia (voiced by Thomasin Langlands) and Percy (voiced by Lawrence), are also alcoholic chain-smokers. Both are crude, stupid people who live off of welfare. Both parents neglect or otherwise use Kevin for their own selfish gains, and both show clear signs of sociopathic tendencies. Neither parent is faithful to the other, and Anastasia in particular is highly promiscuous. Their antics usually involve attempting to gain money or alcohol through illegal acts, which quite randomly succeed or fail. While both parents primarily show hatred and disgust towards one another, both occasionally demonstrate a small degree of lust for each other, though these moments rarely last longer than a scene of an episode. Anastasia Spencer (Née Blunt) was born in 1960 in a traveler family, she would start smoking at the age of nine to fit in with others around the same time she met a boy by the name of Derk of which she agreed to go around on a drive with him to a Lovers' Lane where he was murdered by a escapee of a mental institution nearby she started to drink alcohol after the incident, at the age of thirteen she would lose virginity to a clown. In 1978 her obsession with clowns continued until she would travel with ‘Large Mike’s Rodeo And Rope Trick Caravan’. After awhile clown by the stage name of Happy was injured by a bull, a day after the incident she had enough prostrating for clowns so Large Mike would get rid of her but before, Anastasia would have the last laugh by stealing his wallet and how Happy gave her syphilis. After hitchhiking she would she Percy driving away from the police after carjacking a chip truck, both eyes met before Percy then crashed, later in April 16th 1984 they would have two children Bradley and Kevin, though they didn’t have essentials to take care of both so the would put up Bradley for adoption since compared to Kevin, he made sounds which Percy found annoying and since Kevin was the first born. Throughout the show Anastasia prostates for multiple people including Charlie Plunt, Marty McMurphy (a bartender), Vivica Royd (a corporal) along with many others. Percy B. Spencer born 1960 was an overachiever at school and a descendant of 'blind inbred mountain people who had a long history of substance abuse', at the age of 7 and a half his father would take him out with his brother Lester for baseball, unfortunately, his brother accidentally swing the bat too hard and the ball would hit him straight in the forehead causing internal bleeding, Mr. Spencer was upset by the incident and understand his problem so he promised after his boss came to the house and give him a promotion he would work his hardest for medical treatment. Unfortunately once Mr. Spencer's boss arrived Percy would set fire to the house with a cigarette, his father would have his promotion rejected and was fired. After the incident he would physically abuse Percy and become a dedicated dog breeder and video rental shop owner. At the age of 12 he would bully classmates and beg stranger to by him a 12 pack of beer constantly. From 16 to 39 he would be arrest by Sergeant Jones 52 times. Throughout the age of 18 Percy would drift through Canada nearby his home town of Nashville, he was charged of vagrancy multiple times before the judge told him he would be arrested and put in jail if he doesn’t get a job, so he joined the Canadian Army, though later honorably discharged after assaulting multiple recruits and even the Drill Sergeant before attempting to escape though having a stroke, Percy was then put in the medical bay after, once he recovered he would steal morphine and percodan and sell the drugs to teenagers at an arcade and went on a free week drinking binge from the money, after Percy became broke he went back to the army base to sleep there and get more drugs, once he came back the drill sergeant told Percy that he was dishonorably discharged, Percy didn’t understand the term dishonorably discharged, incase the sergeant was flirting with in Percy would punch him in the larynx and stole some more pills and left. A few years later he would meet Charlie Plunt starting a rock band and keeping in contact after. In 1984 he would carjack a ‘chip wagon’ along with stealing 27 Canadian Dollars during the chase his eyes would meet with a woman by the name of Anastasia Blunt, it was love at first sight until he crashed, he would later have two sons children inside of a caravan, since they lacked the essentials of supporting two sons they had to put up one for adoption, both agreed on Bradley due to the fact he made sounds and wasn’t the first born. Throughout the series Percy tried to get Kevin to do jobs for him such as robbing a liquor store or lighting his cigarettes which usually he fails. He also takes him fishing in a contaminated river by a nuclear power plant and illegal hunting in forests with Plunt and Phillipe.
Another frequent character in the show is Kevin's imaginary friend, Allen the Magic Goose (voiced by Mike Wetmore). Allen often encourages Kevin's sociopathic nature, normally asking him to do illegal, indecent, and/or dangerous things simply for the sake of the thrill or for vengeance. However, Kevin often shows ambivalence towards Allen, sometimes threatening or intimidating the bird. During such times, Allen often reminds Kevin of the futility of these outbursts, since Kevin is simply imagining Allen's existence. However, in Season 2, Episode 12 (The Potted Goose), Kevin and Allen have a falling out and go their separate ways, and it's revealed that Allen and other "imaginary" friends can leave their hosts and "find another head to live in". Allen tries living in the heads of other humans (during which time Kevin can no longer see Allen), including Percy, one of Kevin's teachers, Charlie Plunt, and the Widow Coulson. Meanwhile, Kevin tries out new imaginary friends, including Hacky the Cigar-Smoking Rollerskating Monkey, Zoltron (a robot that doesn't know the difference between a transformer and a transvestite), and a pimple-faced nerd who's new to the imaginary friend game. Neither Kevin nor Allen can find a suitable replacement, and reconcile at the end of the episode. In ‘Fire Starter’ Allen was implied that he may have he was Satan though this is not proven. Axe Monkey is his arch nemesis, being the manifestation of Kevin's fears.
Charlie Plunt (voiced by Mike Wetmore) is Percy's friend, a truck driving cowboy wannabe and a weed farmer. Charlie is skinny with a handlebar mustache, sporting a “belt buckle thicker than canned ham.” He was abandoned as an infant by his pagan mother, offering Plunt as a sacrifice to her idol at the site of a mountain. A blind hermit would find the infant Plunt, and raise him as his own son. After dying from a fire set in their cabin, Plunt moved on to meet and be indoctrinated into a cult. Plunt was tasked with moving weapons, until he fled their campsite just in time to avoid the vast slaughter of the remaining members by local authorities. Plunt later took up disco dancing as a hobby in the 1970s, frequenting bars, and discotheques. It was this fading passion that led him to cross paths with local juvenile delinquent, and alcoholic, Percy B. Spencer. The two formed a punk rock band during the early 1980s. Both played heavy metal guitars as the only band members. Every time Percy was incarcerated, Charlie shacked up with Anastasia, while insulting and making fun of both Percy and Kevin at the same time. After countless setbacks, Plunt managed to pull through in receiving his grade 10 education. An amateur country music artist, and a "truckstop Casanova". Plunt was believed to be Kevin's biological father, though this was disproven later on. Plunt is known to also mock Kevin, and drink Percy's personal liquor. Charlie would overcharge Percy for selling drugs. Percy often viewed Charlie as a freeloader, with a drug habit.
Another frequent character is Shauna A. F. (voiced by Tori Hammond); Shauna is Kevin's love interest. Throughout the series, we see her slowly become more and more sociopathic and violent, eventually killing her mother. It is revealed that Shawna's cannabis smoking father, B. C. Bud broke up with her mother ever since she stabbed him in a violent, drunken rage.