Original title
Rex the Runt
Released
12/21/1998
Origin country
GB
Genre
Animation, Comedy
Production companies
Aardman
Status
Ended
Number of seasons
2
Number of episodes
26
Rex the Runt is an animated claymation television show produced by Aardman Animations for BBC Bristol in association with EVA Entertainment and Egmont Imagination. Its main characters are four plasticine dogs: Rex, Wendy, Bad Bob and Vince. The series began with a short, Ident, in 1989 directed by Richard Goleszowski. After a long gestation period this developed into two unaired shorts and then thirteen ten-minute episodes that first aired over two weeks on BBC2 from December 1998. A second thirteen episode series aired from September 2001 on the same channel. As well as the core cast guest voices included Paul Merton, Morwenna Banks, Judith Chalmers, Antoine de Caunes, Bob Holness, Bob Monkhouse, Jonathan Ross, Graham Norton, Arthur Smith, June Whitfield, Kathy Burke, Pam Ayres and Eddie Izzard.
The gang miniaturise a submarine and go on a fantastic journey through Vince's brain.
Short of cash again, the gang form a band and enter Stinky Basil's "Search for a Star" competition.
Attempting to reach New Zealand by helicopter, the gang crash on a tiny island. Rex is abducted by aliens.
The gang's house has disappeared. They attempt to recover it using Bad Bob's "Go-Back-In-Time-O-Tron".
The gang wins the National Lottery but the prize - the City of Birmingham - is not at all what they expected.
After Bad Bob shoots the TV set, the gang are ordered to go on exciting adventures by the man who runs Television.
The gang journey to the North Pole, and drill a hole to find out what's at the centre of the Earth.
Lost in space, the gang stumble on a branch of 'Poultry Pantry', the interstellar fast-food chain.
Wendy is put on trial for shooting Vince (who is unharmed except for a large bullet hole). She is acquitted and becomes a huge TV star.
Rex, Wendy and Bob spend a weekend at Aunty Brenda's University of Love learning about "the mysteries of the bedroom".
Bob discovers he has a genius for curing hiccups and the gang temporarily become very rich.
Wendy is brainwashed by TV evangelist heart-throb Johnny Saveloy, leader of the "chemicalology" cult.
While looking around in Bob's shed, Rex accidentally gets run through a meat grinder. Bob runs off to ask Dr. Dog's opinion, but Rex has an even bigger problem, when Vince mistakes the ground-up Rex for spaghetti.
Rex arrives home to find that there's a mouse in the kitchen. But this is no ordinary mouse, he is preternaturally strong, extremely aggressive and refuses to be kicked out. The Gang even resort to getting Tiddles the Cat round to sort him out. Then the mouse reveals that he was once Rex's pet mouse, Morris, who Rex sold to Dr Dogg for animal experimentation. A tearful reunion ensues.
Wendy's on heat and the Gang's house is besieged by amorous hounds. The Gang draw down the blinds and prepare to repel borders, but one dog, Handsome Rex catches Wendy's eye and she agrees to go out on a date with him. Vince and Rex insist on chaperoning her. By the end of the evening Rex has made a new friend, Vince has fallen in love with a lobster, Arthur Dustcart's had his underpants cleaned and Wendy's in a very bad mood.
Rex and his friends are in the process of fixing up the patio behind the house. But a group of ants who live in the backyard are not about to go without a fight.
After a row about whether to spend the bank holiday at the beach, the Gang end up at Gordons Garden Centre where Vince is taken hostage by a talking carnivorous plant. Things go from bad to worse when the whole place turns out to be a giant spaceship controlled by a deranged alien plant-pot called Gordon, bent on kidnapping all earthlings named Gordon.
Bob's eating is growing out of control. Rex suggests that Bob needs to watch what he eats and exercise, but Bob has a better plan: plastic surgery courtesy of Dr Dog.
Bored with her humdrum life, Wendy decides to enlist in the Army. Rex, Bob & Vince join her as well, but Bob and Rex are rejected. Vince on the other hand, has the mental capacities to quickly climb up in the ranks, and is put in charge of monitoring the button that could launch World War III.
Rex finds his birthday present that Bad Bob has been working on: a working rocket pack like his childhood hero's, "Rocket Raymond." Rex eagerly tries it out, and gets sent on quite an adventure into space.
Rex goes to Dr Dog, and returns home missing an ear. The gang returns to Dr Dog's to investigate, and find that the physician has now begun to shift his focus to genetic engineering.
Wendy has been nominated for the Nobel Prize for Science for the truth serum she's been working on in the spare room. The dress code on the invitation to the award ceremony says Scientific yet sexy: no white coats and Wendy decides to get her hair done. While she's out Bob and Rex consume the serum, which makes for a revealing afternoon particularly when Wendy returns and they tell her she's bald.
Rex has been taking culinary lessons, but all his foodstuffs are largely inedible. While Rex goes off to pursue his career of becoming a gourmet chef, Arthur and Bob decide to try and pass off Rex's foodstuffs as new age art sculptures.
In this homage to Rebel Without a Cause Bob joins a gang of delinquent youths. He takes to wearing a single glove and one of Wendy's earrings. Wendy, Rex and Vince are worried by the change in Bob's character. When he gets arrested they hope he will see the error of his ways, but it only makes a life of delinquency seem more glamorous to him.
Rex takes a much-needed holiday, and leaves Bad Bob in charge of the adventure for this week. The story involves 'The Beast of Granite Moor,' to which Bob, Wendy and Vince cast a 'rather wooden' Zebra for the role of the Beast. Luckily for them, the Zebra had played the role of 'The Beast of Granite Moor' in a previous production.
The Gang discover a prototype hover mower whilst clearing out Bob's shed. The major design fault is obvious when it burrows into the ground, creating a tunnel that leads all the way from the back garden to Australia. A shouting match with some dingos follows, at the end of which an enraged Bob accidentally throws Vince down the hole, precipitating an adventure of global proportions.
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