Celebrity Deathmatch

File:Celebrity Deathmatch Opening**Celebrity Deathmatch** is an American claymation television series that depicts celebrities fighting against each other in a wrestling ring, almost always ending in the loser's gruesome death. It is known for its excessive amount of blood used in every match and exaggerated physical injuries (one person cuts off a participant's foot, living through decapitations, impalement).

The series was created by Eric Fogel; with the pilots airing on MTV on January 1 & 25 1998. The initial series ran from May 14, 1998 to October 20, 2002, and lasted for a 75-episode run. There was one special that did not contribute to the final episode total, entitled "Celebrity Deathmatch Hits Germany", which aired on June 21, 2001. Professional wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin gave voice to his animated form as the guest commentator. Early in 2003, a film based on the series was announced by MTV to be in the making, but the project was canceled by the end of that year.

In 2005, MTV2 announced the revival of the show as part of their "Sic 'Em Friday" programming block. Originally set to return in November 2005, the premiere was pushed back to June 10, 2006 as part of a new "Sic'emation" block with two other animated shows, *Where My Dogs At* and *The Adventures of Chico and Guapo*. The show's fifth and sixth seasons were produced by Cuppa Coffee Studios and the premiere drew over 2.5 million viewers, becoming MTV2's highest rated season premiere ever.

## Plot

Each episode of *Celebrity Deathmatch* presents three full matches between clay renderings of the hottest and most notorious celebrities pitted against each other in the ring. *Celebrity Deathmatch* also features all the pre-game and grizzly post-game activities of fight night, such as one-on-one interviews, press conferences and hilarious moments in the locker room. For those special moments, celebrity death experts Johnny Gomez, Nick Diamond and Referee Mills Lane, as well as resident interviewers Stacey Cornbread, Debbie Matenopoulos and Tally Wong provide commentary.

## Characters

**Johnny Gomez** (voiced by Maurice Schlafer (1998-2002); Jim Thornton (2006)) — One of the two joint commentators on the Celebrity Deathmatches, Johnny is the more professional one, and a loyal friend of Nick's despite his constant blunders. Johnny's hair noticeably changed from black to brown in the fifth season and judging by a comment made by interviewer Tally Wong during one episode, he may be wearing a hairpiece. Johnny harbors an intense hatred for her akin to Nick and Debbie, but tries to maintain his professionalism. He was born in Illinois.

**Nick Diamond** (voiced by Len Maxwell (1998-2002); Chris Edgerly (2006)) — Johnny Gomez's co-host, a perceived alcoholic and divorced father of one, he is always screwing up. He harbors an intense hatred for interviewer Debbie Matenopoulos, and has also participated in, and won, several matches by himself. Nick is apparently so hopeless that when he mentions having an uneventful weekend, Johnny spends the show preparing for the inevitable disaster to befall his co-commentator. He was born in Virginia.

**Mills Lane** (voiced by himself (1998-2002); Chris Edgerly (2006)) — The official referee of the Deathmatch ring; he always starts matches by saying "Let's get it on!" Another catch phrase is used when there is a disputable move by either fighter, he exclaims "I'll allow it!", implying that just about anything is legal in the ring. After he suffered a stroke in 2002, the real Mills Lane stopped providing the voice of his own character but gave his replacement Edgerly his blessing.

**Stacey Cornbred** (voiced by Mz. L) — The first interviewer on *Celebrity Deathmatch*, Stacey maintained a more professional air than Tally and Debbie. She kept her interviewing job until her untimely demise from spontaneous human combustion. Though she exploded, she briefly returned in a Halloween episode as a demon to challenge Debbie in the ring only to be soundly (and messily) defeated.

**Debbie Matenopoulos** (voiced by herself) — The interviewer that succeeded Stacy Cornbred after her death. She hates Nick and doesn’t prepare for any interviews, usually just asking whatever she feels like. Debbie often believes herself to be smarter than she really is, and is also self-centered and unprofessional. Debbie left the show late in the last season on maternity leave.

**Tally Wong** (voiced by Masasa Moyo) — The new interviewer for Season 5 and 6. Before most of the matches, she interviews the combatants in a segment called "Tally's Korner." Like Debbie, Tally is very self-centered and unprofessional. She usually spends most of her interviews insulting the celebrities rather than asking questions. She often makes rude remarks about the celebrities, and at times Nick and Johnny, during matches. Whenever Nick or Johnny gets mad at her for it, she taunts them by daring them to "bring back Stacey Cornbred." Tally harbors an intense hatred toward Johnny Gomez, which proves to be mutual.

## History

*Celebrity Deathmatch* started on MTV's *Cartoon Sushi* as a short that featured convicted murderer Charles Manson and shock rocker Marilyn Manson fighting to the death. *Deathmatch* was brought back in 1998 for MTV's Super Bowl XXXII halftime special. Just three months later, *Celebrity Deathmatch* had entered MTV's main lineup. The show was popular enough for show creator Eric Fogel to be named one of the most creative people in the TV industry by Entertainment Weekly.

During the next four seasons, *Celebrity Deathmatch* became more popular in other countries and gained viewers from all over the world, but four seasons and 75 episodes later in 2002, MTV decided to cancel the show.

New episodes of the show, which began production in 2005, were produced by Cuppa Coffee Studio as opposed to MTV's now-defunct animation department. The show featured an all-new voice cast and a new look. Johnny, Nick, and Mills Lane returned, albeit with new voices. Mills Lane, who formerly voiced himself, was played by Chris Edgerly due to the real Mills Lane's 2002 stroke. Debbie Matenopoulos was replaced by Tally Wong. Eric Fogel chose not to get very involved with the new seasons due to his involvement on his show *Starveillance* on the E! network. The show was directed by Jack Fletcher and Dave "Canadian" Thomas. During the 2006 season, fans were able to vote on MTV2.com for future matches by choosing one of three matches and by sending a write-in request. However, due to the second cancellation of the show, these matches would not come to fruition.

## Episodes

*Celebrity Daethmatch* has a total of 93 episodes spread over 6 seasons that were produced from May 1998 to March 2007.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Celebrity Deathmatch' back. *Chicago Tribune* (2005-06-22). Retrieved on November 21, 2010.