Dog City ( series ) Jim Henson ' s Dog City was a spin - off of the " Jim Henson Hour " special " Dog City " . The show included a combination of puppetry and cel animation , and was produced in collaboration between Jim Henson Productions and Canadian animation studio Nelvana , who handled all of the animated segments . In September 2007 , the series was released on Amazon . com Video On Demand . Series Overview . " Dog City " centers on Eliot Shag , a Muppet dog and animator , and his cartoon creation Ace Hart , an animated canine private eye . In each episode , Eliot translates his own dilemmas into Ace ' s more adventurous exploits in the tough , 1940s - style streets of Dog City . The frame sequences featured , in addition to Eliot , his admiring young neighbor Artie Springer , building superintendent Bruno , his assistant Bowser , and girlfriend Colleen Barker . Eliot , Bruno , and Bowser were all refurbished puppets , with new taxidermy eyes , from the original " Dog City " special , and Colleen recycled the same puppet , name , and voice . The animated segments , meanwhile , maintained the film noir - spoof atmosphere of the original special , with hero Ace Yu now Ace Hart , private eye dog , battling gangster Bugsy Vile ( Bugsy Them in the special ) and his gang , with the assistance of Eddie the newspup and the help or hindrance of by - the - book Chief Rosie O ' Gravy , all of whom had counterparts in the puppet segments . Each episode thus had roughly parallel plots running between the Muppets and the cartoon characters , with creator Eliot and creation Ace engaging in good - natured arguments about the storylines . The animated segments were often overt spoofs of famous gangster or detective films , with titles such as " The Big Squeak " and " The Great Dane Curse . " Season 2 . During the series ' second season , a few changes were made . Eliot ' s costume was updated from an argyle sweater over a striped , long - sleeved shirt to a " hipper " open Hawaiian shirt over a blue t - shirt . Colleen was dropped , replaced by Artie ' s mother , Terri Springer , and the occasionally seen Bowser was used more regularly , as was previously one - shot character Ms . Fluffé , the feline landlady . Season 3 . For the third and final season , " Dog City " underwent a major format change . The noir and detective spoofs and references were fewer and far between , with more science fiction or situation comedy elements as the main animated plot lines . Those plots were themselves now dissected , as several new short , more overtly slapstick segments were added as rotating elements . These included " Yves and Steven " ( in which a security guard dog battles a famed cat burglar ) , " His Master ' s Choice Theater " ( a " Masterpiece Theater " spoof hosted by Bugsy from his prison cell ) , " Quality Time with Rosie and Dot " ( in which Rosie O ' Gravy was joined by her niece , Dot ) , " The Adventures of Mister Moogie " ( animated segments starring Mr . Moogie , Artie ' s squeaky toy previously seen as a ) , and " The Woof Pack , " a superhero spoof starring The Watch Dog , a guest character from season 2 created as a take - off of Alan Moore ' s " Watchmen . " The third season was shorter than the previous two , and the series was canceled by Fox in January , but continued to air on YTV in Canada for several years Behind the Scenes . During the first season , veteran Muppet performer Kathryn Mullen served as a voice coach for the Canadian voice cast who played the cartoon characters , while the Muppet performers included hold - overs from the original special such as Kevin Clash and Fran Brill . Over the course of its three year run , " Dog City " was recognized by the Gemini Awards ( Canada ' s equivalent of the Emmy Awards ) , receiving Best Children ' s Television programming for 1993 - 1994 , nominations in that category for 1994 - 1995 and 1995 - 1996 , and a nomination for best writing in the 1994 - 1995 awards .