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Dexter's Laboratory
Dexter's Laboratory original title card in 1996.
Format	Animated television series, Comedy, Science fiction
Created by	Genndy Tartakovsky
Voices of	Christine Cavanaugh (Episodes 1-57) Candi Milo (Episodes 58-78) Kathryn Cressida (Seasons 1 and 2) Allison Moore (Seasons 3 and 4) Eddie Deezen Kath Soucie Jeff Bennett Tom Kenny Kevin Michael Richardson
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	78 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Cartoon Network/Boomerang
Original run	April 28, 1996 – November 20, 2003
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Dexter's Laboratory (Dexter's Lab for short) is an American animated series created by Genndy Tartakovsky. It was produced by Hanna-Barbera Cartoons for Cartoon Network from 1996 to 1999, and by Cartoon Network Studios from 2001 to 2002. The original pilot episode appeared as the second of Cartoon Network's World Premiere Toons (later called The What a Cartoon Show); the series was the first spin-off from that anthology program and Cartoon Network's first all-original program. The show aired in the United Kingdom in the spring of 1997, and half-hour compilations began to appear on Cartoon Network TOO, a Cartoon Network spin-off channel. It began airing on Boomerang in 2006. Directors and writers on the series included Genndy Tartakovsky, Rumen Petkov, Craig McCracken, Seth MacFarlane, Butch Hartman, Rob Renzetti, Paul Rudish, Mark O'Hare, John McIntyre and Chris Savino.

Contents 1 Premise 2 Characters 3 History 4 Album 4.1 Track listing 5 DVD Release 6 Other appearances 7 Voices 8 See also 9 External links

The series involves a boy genius named Dexter, who has a secret laboratory filled with highly advanced equipment, hidden behind a bookshelf in his bedroom. Access to this never-ending laboratory is achieved by saying various passwords or by activating hidden switches on the bookcase. Dexter is almost always in conflict with his ditzy older sister, Dee Dee, who delights in playing in her brother's lab, often destroying his inventions and creations. His name forms the root of the word dexterous, meaning one who is mentally adroit and skillful with the hands.

Dexter has an arch-nemesis, a boy named Mandark Astronominov. (In the later seasons where the production team was changed, "Mandark" was changed to his nickname, his new real name being Susan. This is never mentioned in the original seasons.) Often Mandark, through fraud or (rarely) by coincidence, attempts to take credit for Dexter's achievements. Mandark is also "secretly" in love with Dee Dee. In the later seasons, after the revamp, Mandark becomes significantly more evil, his laboratory dark-looking and spiky (instead of the bright, cartoony lab featuring the Death Star from earlier seasons) and his plans more diabolical and nasty.

The show's humor derives in part from Dexter's essentially one-sided and intense rivalry with his sister and from exaggerated stereotyping of his high intelligence and social awkwardness. A lot of absurdist and surrealist humour is used as well.

The show breaks the time-honored TV rule of returning the characters and situation to the status quo at the end of each episode; most episodes end in an unresolved state with no easy solution offered for returning the characters to normal-- i.e. Dexter is a mutated mass of protoplasm, a large tentacled monster attacks the house (this monster appears in a Cartoon Network bumper), there are multiple clones of Dexter and Dee Dee running around, the entire lab self-destructs and is completely gone, Dexter destroys the lab and is later turned into a sandwich, etc. However, each episode always begins from the accepted "normal" premise of the program.

An hour-long special, Ego Trip, aired on Cartoon Network in 1999, in which Dexter travels through time and meets several of his future selves. Ego Trip was originally supposed to conclude the series, but two additional seasons followed.

Main article: List of characters in Dexter's Laboratory

Dexter's Laboratory was inspired by one of Genndy Tartakovsky's drawings of a ballerina. In 1991, he made his first "Dexter" short. On February 20th, 1995, Dexter's Laboratory made its first run on the "What a Cartoon!" show. In March 1996, the first season sparked off. The episodes of the first half of Season 1 of the show had a Dial M for Monkey segment in between two Dexter shorts. The last half of Season 1 included a Justice Friends segment in between the two Dexter shorts. Dexter's Laboratory ended its initial run in 1999, but re-entered production in 2001.

The new episodes, which ran for two more seasons, had a different production team than the originals. The last two seasons were criticized by many fans for sporting altered character designs, altered background designs, storyline and character backgrounds, different sound effects (which were mostly all classic Hanna-Barbera sound effects) and changing character personalities, and there was very little to no appearance of The Justice Friends and Dial M For Monkey spin-offs. Also, some characters sounded different due to different voice actors being hired (most noticeably Dexter, who was voiced by Candi Milo instead of Christine Cavanaugh).

Genndy Tartakovsky had very little to do with the last two seasons, as he was busy working on Samurai Jack and Star Wars: Clone Wars.

The show currently airs on Cartoon Network's sister channel, Boomerang at 6:30 PST.

Dexter's Laboratory: the Hip Hop Experiment
Compilation album by Various Artists
Released	2002

Dexter's Laboratory: the Hip Hop Experiment, a compilation album featuring songs by various hip hop artists inspired by the series, was released in 2002.

1. "Dexter's Laboratory Opening Theme"
2. "Secrets" - will.i.am (from Black Eyed Peas)
3. "Dexter (What's His Name?)" - Coolio
4. "Love According To Dexter" - Phife Diggy, introducing Slick E. Rose
5. "Sibling Rivalries" - De La Soul
6. "Mandark's Plan" - YZ
7. "Back To The Lab" - Prince Paul

It has been announced that the complete first series will be released on 19/2/2008 in Austraila, on Region 4 DVD. It will be a two disc set, and contain the two pilot episodes "Changes" and "Big Sister", as well as a limited edition door hanger. No US or UK release has yet been announced.

• A mock-anime music video for this series was created for a They Might Be Giants song about the series, Dee Dee and Dexter, in 2002. It showed the characters in 1960s anime form, and had occasional airings between shows on Cartoon Network.
• The most common appearances of Dexter's Laboratory was a short cameo of Dexter himself in various cartoons (a very often seen style of the station). Dexter made cameo appearances in The Powerpuff Girls, I Am Weasel, Time Squad, and The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. He has also been seen as a balloon in Codename: Kids Next Door. A thinly disguised version of Dexter appears in the Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends episode Eddie Monster alongside a cameo of the Eds from Ed, Edd 'n' Eddy and a Pikachu like creature from Pokémon. Also, Mandark appeared in The Grim Adventures of the Kids Next Door in a crossover called My Gym Partner's a Mandark, replacing Adam as Jake's friend. Also in The Grim Adventures of the KND Some people from the cartoon can be seen coming out from the "delightful reaper"

• Chris Cavanaugh - Dexter (Episodes 1-57)
• Candi Milo - Dexter (Episodes 57-78)
• Allison Moore - Dee Dee (Seasons 1 and 3)
• Kathryn Cressida - Dee Dee (Seasons 2 and 4)
• Kath Soucie - Dexter's Mom/Dexter's Computer/Agent Honeydew/Oceanbird/Lee Lee/Lisa/Additional Voices
• Jeff Bennett - Dexter's Dad/Windbear/Additional Voices
• Eddie Deezen - Mandark
• Frank Welker - Monkey/Mr. Luzinsky/The Infraggable Krunk/Additional Voices
• Rob Paulsen - Major Glory/Puppet Pal Mitch/Additional Voices
• Tom Kenny - ValHallen/Narrator/Puppet Pal Clem/Additional Voices
• Kimberly Brooks - Mee Mee/Additional Voices

• List of Dexter's Laboratory episodes
• Dial M for Monkey segment
• Dexter's Laboratory: Chess Challenge
• The Justice Friends

• Official UK website
• Super Cartoon Network
• Dexter's Laboratory at the Internet Movie Database
• Dexter's Laboratory Dexter's Laboratory at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
• Dexter's Laboratory at the Big Cartoon DataBase

v • d • e Cartoon Network Original Series
Cartoon Cartoons
Codename: Kids Next Door · Courage the Cowardly Dog · Cow and Chicken · Dexter's Laboratory · Ed, Edd n Eddy · Evil Con Carne · The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy · Grim and Evil · I Am Weasel · Johnny Bravo · Mike, Lu & Og · The Powerpuff Girls · Samurai Jack · Sheep in the Big City · Time Squad · What a Cartoon! · Whatever Happened to Robot Jones?
Other Cartoon Network original series
Ben 10 · Camp Lazlo · Chowder · Class of 3000 · Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends · Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi · The Life and Times of Juniper Lee · Megas XLR · My Gym Partner's a Monkey · Out of Jimmy's Head · Squirrel Boy
Future Cartoon Network Series
The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack · The Secret Saturdays · Transformers: Animated