Comic:Nothing comes naturally
From CGWiki
| nothing comes naturally | |
|---|---|
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| Artist: | P. Maloney |
| Writer: | C. Casso, P. Maloney |
| Characters: | Fred (rabbit), Cerine (skunk), Corasyn (weasel), Chicken (tuna) |
| Updates: | 2 times/week irregularly |
| Began: | June 2, 2006 |
| Ended: | |
| Art style: | Four-panel comic strip |
| Rating: | Web-14 |
| Website | Website |
nothing comes naturally is a Canadian sitcom television program, produced by Canadian Comic Broadcasting, about a group of misfits and their attempts, often disastrous, to face reality head-on and give it a noogie. It is common, even among the CCB, to see the show's title abbreviated in the much-more-easily-digestible form, nocona, although purists consider this to be incorrect. It broadcasts once a week... although when new episodes exactly happen is never clear until just before broadcast.
Contents |
Seasons
Each season has been given a production title for internal use by the producers and directors. As of this writing, two seasons of episodes have been broadcast, one additional season has been tentatively approved, and at least three other seasons are rumored to exist in the "nothing comes naturally masterplan".
***The following may contain spoilers for nothing comes naturally. If you don't like spoilers, then kweh.***
Season 1 : "Two Furs and a Warehouse"
June 2, 2006 - January 21, 2008
The initial season brought together Fred and Cerine as a pair of best friends working on establishing a life for themselves. Unfortunately for them, things (in front of and behind the scenes) got out of hand rather quickly.
It was hailed as "pure comic genius" (by the one resident of the Yukon who saw a random episode). In truth, a lot of turmoil behind the scenes made season 1 look more than a bit haphazard on screen, with an entire full-length version of "West Side Story" attempted very early on with a budget slightly larger than that for a good meal at a Chinese restaurant. Turnover in both budget and production team resulted in some very odd things making it into production, including several mistakes[1] that ended up becoming canon.
The continuation of season 1 was ordered in January 2007 after a good Nielsen report. (Leslie thought it was his brand of humor.) While the episodes did not always come together in time, the story has settled down to telling the life and times of Fred the straight rabbit and Cerine the chaotic skunk, even going so far as to devote more than half a year's episodes to the pursuit of getting groceries, telling us more about their characters along the way. And it was just when they finished getting the groceries that a desperate cliffhanger was hatched to attempt to leave the audience in suspense.
Season 2: "Like Sandblasting a Soup Cracker"
January 25, 2008 - October 6, 2008
On January 11, 2008, after a first season that rivaled the Sopranos for length of time involved, it was announced that a second season of nothing comes naturally would be commissioned, which would look remarkably like the first season, except with more explosions. It was at this time that the name for the season was revealed, to much puzzlement. ("It demonstrates our committment to more explosions." -Cube) A date was not set at that time, though, only that it was "soon."
Soon turned out to be January 25th, 2008.
Season 2 was praised early on for its coherence, relatively straightforward plotline, and attention to the little details of the workings of InterCity, the hometown of nothing comes naturally. This caused no end of trouble for the producers, as all of this went completely against their founding credo. The main focus of Season 2 was the loss of Cerine's weirdness and the consequences thereof, including trying to define how exactly it is that one can a) lose weirdness and b) get it back. It included a rather intricate detour showing the origins of the Shiny Gang that was well-received as an accurate portrayal of the Shiny subculture.
Unfortunately, tragedy struck when the Producer's Hand Guild, in negotiations for better pay, started a series of work slowdowns which led to a temporary agreement that soon fell apart and led to a painful strike by the Hand Guild just as nothing comes naturally was reaching the pinnacle of its coherence to date. (And, in fact, the strike occurred in the middle of the filming of the episode "one meep over the cuckoo's nest", leaving the production crew with a Shada-like dilemma of what to do with the missing episode - eventually resolved by airing the exact amount of footage available for production and leaving the rest as a "cliffhanger".)
Season 3: "The Search for Weird" (tentative title)
Promo;
March 3, 2009 -
Negotiations between the Hand Guild and the producers of nothing comes naturally (which were rumored to include the use of adolescent weirdo stealthy reptiles as strikebreakers) eventually concluded with a second tentative agreement in February 2009. By this point, nothing comes naturally had become a cult hit in some corners of the world, spread by the use of a new tool which some call "the Internet". Unfortunately, the producers had hit on bad times since the strike: the economic downturn had forced both Moment and Cube into seclusion and economic hardship. (This later resulted in on-air telethons in the middle of nothing comes naturally - a lean production made even leaner as a result of the dual crises.)
The new season, after some argument, was numbered as "Season 3." Previously rumored seasons have been renumbered as a result of the strike. The current future of nothing comes naturally is still unclear as of this writing.
Season 4 (rumored): "Morbius"
A handful of details have leaked out about what is on board for Season 4. There has been mention that the Chicken has a starring role this season (although the Chicken was supposed to have a starring role in previous seasons as well). There was also some mention of the words "digital rights management".
Season 5 (rumored): "Spaaace Maaaagic"
Even less is known about Season 5. Cube has said, however, that the entire season was originally intended to utilize the budget that a show like nothing comes naturally would have in its fourth popular season (back when it was supposed to be Season 4).
Season 6 (rumored): "The Ducks"
Almost nothing is known about this season, which may not even exist. Moment has said that "No matter what, it all ends in 2012." (citation needed). Given the current pace of the show's seasons, it is quite possible that Season 5 or 6 would be the last.
Regular and Guest Stars
Main Cast
| Character | Actor/Actress | Appearance | Bio/description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cerine Skunk | Cerine A. Mephit |  | A skunk biochemist/mad scientist/diva/dilettante who has taken a few too many of her own concoctions. The troublemaker of the group, there are very few things that she thinks couldn't be made better by her getting completely involved in them. She has been portrayed in nothing comes naturally as the Chaosbringer, but nothing she does ever seems to matter, and she seemingly remains completely unaware... |
| Fred Rabbit | Robert J. Snow |  | A cynical snowshoe hare, loyal to his friends but not above making snarky comments about them. A computer and electronics geek, Fred has an inventive, creative mind - which is often put to use in finding ways of making coffee. Fred is also the most likely to be able to save the crew when the chips are down. Fred's relationship with Cerine seems to lie somewhere between "observer" and "friend", although slash fanfiction says otherwise. |
| Corasyn | Nicholas Diwij |  | It is a nondescript magenta weasel from an advanced civilization posing as a psychoanalyst. It is difficult for it to assimilate to local culture or its residents. Its exact intentions are unclear, although ruling the world does seem to be useful. Its speech patterns are strange, but somehow persuasive. It is pleasurable to ignore the weasel. |
Supporting Cast
| Character | Actor/Actress | Appearance | Bio/description |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Chicken | Cho Takahashi |  | A mysterious giant chicken that has an amazing, almost supernatural sense of timing. Unfortunate that he only squawks. Cube has mentioned that the Chicken was meant to have a much greater role in nothing comes naturally, but he hasn't been seen much in several episodes. |
| Maria diNova | Pat Meloier | Originally (and likely still) a member of the androgynous Shinies gang, Maria is street-smart and doesn't take guff from anyone. We think. | |
| Male Shiny | Ron Alyn | Best known in the series for not actually having a name. Remarkably, the producers have suggested that he may never have one. | |
| Dos Chansons | Arnold Tolbin | In Season 2, Dos has been revealed as an administrator for a city agency dealing in weird events. He seems to have sinister intentions toward the crew... | |
| The Minions | (CGI) | Created by Cerine as (another) method to demonstrate her greatness, the mini-skunk minions are known to a) only say 'meep', and b) seemingly have more endurance than the rest of the characters of nothing comes naturally combined. |
Producers
nothing comes naturally has been at the forefront of innovative comedy by not only putting its producers before the camera, but also putting them in front of the camera as the show's producers - thus thoroughly confusing anyone who doesn't know who these people are or what they're doing in the middle of the show.
| Producer | Appearance | Bio/description |
|---|---|---|
| Moment Rabbit | The arteest/director/secondary writer for nothing comes naturally. At least in the program itself, he has been shown working long hours or, alternately, completely spazzing out. How far this is from reality is unclear. | |
| Cube Otter | The "head writer" of nothing comes naturally. Generally portrayed as being down-to-earth, Californian, and/or quite bewildered. (He also seems to have a love of geometry and shiny objects, portrayed at one point as wearing a set of Necker cube-bedecked latex pyjamas.) Rumors suggest that his job is a sinecure on a television station where actors mostly ad lib their lines anyway. |
Background
In the growing wake of popularity around American tongue-in-cheek television shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, it was thought by the producers at the CCB that the time was ripe for more satirical sitcoms, as an attempt to distinguish its programming from the more plain, standard fare of its competition. Although the ideas for nothing comes naturally were developed as early as October 2005, the CCB decided to hold back the premiere of the program until June 2006 to serve as a trial balloon for this new strategy for its fall and winter seasons.
The comedy team of Casso and Maloney had actually produced material as far back as 1999, mostly for advertising and the lower-tier comedy club circuit. (There are rumors that another sitcom idea was pitched in 2002, but was turned down as being too avant-garde.) Although choosing them was a bit of a risk for the CCB, it was thought that some of their edgier club material could be used to form the backbone for the new show.
Infrequently Asked Questions
- When will it be updated? Unfortunately, we're mostly dependent on Moment here; although we did originally create a backlog, we've been running without one for more than a year now. It happens when it happens.
- What was Rule #1? No cameos. This unfortunately fell through near the later stages of Season 1 as the producers sold out for cold, hard cash. (For camera equipment, they said. Rumors say otherwise...) This unfortunately had the net result of making nothing comes naturally even more incomprehensible, as it was impossible for the casual viewer to understand who the main characters were.
- Is any of this supposed to make sense? There is a long explanation for this, but the short answer is a definite no. Cube supposedly has adopted the slogan nothing comes naturally: we don't understand it either as a centerpiece for the show's philosophy.
- Was there ever an attempt to broadcast the programme in colour? Yes, but the pre-screen reaction for the episode recalled a certain scene in Star Trek: the Motion Picture.
- Is there actually a nothing comes naturally masterplan? Yes, but it was thrown away the minute the programme was first broadcast. Supposedly it contained a coherent, well-thought-out five year arc.
- Doesn't the chicken look like a... No.
- Where did the chicken come from? Kweh.
- What is this rumor of an annotated nothing comes naturally? "The idea of putting out a DVD release with commentary is really hard to pass up. Unfortunately, we have a feeling that in order to explain it, we'd have to put the two of us in front of a blackboard and teach it lecture-style, picture-in-picture. And frankly, I think neither of us wants to see a blackboard again." -Cube, 1/12/2008
Links
Stuff They Like
A set of links related to sites who don't want to admit they inspired nothing comes naturally.
- Sluggy Freelance - aka The Mothership
- Ozy and Millie - Any resemblance in character roles is purely coincidental...
-
Mystery ScienceCinematic Titanic - Excel Saga The Jeopardy answer is: "What were they smoking?"
- Sythyry's Vacation - An example of the sort of coherent dramatic slice-of-life story that you will not find on nothing comes naturally.
