“Doug” Created by Jim Jinkins; Developed by Jim Jinkins and Joe Aaron; Starring Billy West, Constance Shulman, Fred Newman, Alice Playten, Doug Preis, Bruce Bayley Johnson, Greg Lee, and Doris Belack; Originally aired August 11, 1991; Run time 23 minutes.
“Doug” began in the sketchbook of Jim Jinkins as a sort of autobiographical alter ego. The character had a long evolution beginning in the 80s and culminating as an animated series on Nickelodeon in 1991. The series follows the titular character and his mostly mundane but relatable adventures in the town of Bluffington. Jinkins has indicated that while the show isn’t exactly autobiographical, it is emotionally honest to his own experiences growing up in Virginia.
Jinkins originally pitched “Doug” as a children’s book but was met with rejection from most publishers, Simon & Schuster expressed some interest but management changed before the deal was completed and the book was never made.
Jinkins was able to bring the character to life in a minor capacity, a prototype version of Doug and his dog Porkchop can be seen in a bumper spot for the USA Network and in a 1988 Florida Grapefruit Growers commercial.
Up to this point Nickelodeon had only been showing licensed animated content but was looking for original series to fill their animation slots. Jinkins had worked for the network previously when it was under the name Pinwheel and took in his “Doug” book to pitch the idea. Vanessa Coffey, an executive at Nickelodeon at the time allegedly ran out of the room to speak with her boss about buying the property immediately after meeting with Jenkins.
“Doug” premiered on August 11, 1991 as one of Nickelodeon’s three original Nicktoons along with “Rugrats” and “The Ren & Stimpy Show.” It ran for four seasons with a total of 52 episodes before Nickelodeon stopped production. Due to an unusual contract agreement, Jenkins retained the rights to the series and the option to take “Doug” to another network if Nickelodeon decided not to complete the run. As a result, “Doug” was picked up by The Disney Channel and continued its run there.
Nickelodeon had a two year window to reverse their decision and pick up production on “Doug” again, this meant that by the time the show moved to Disney a considerable amount of time had passed, this necessitated some changes in the show including replacement of Billy West as the voice of the main character mostly because Disney couldn’t afford to pay him. In the interim West’s reputation had grown due mostly to his involvement with “The Ren & Stimpy Show.”
In addition to 117 total episodes including 52 at Nickelodeon and 65 at Disney, “Doug” also spawned a theatrical movie titled “Doug’s 1st Movie” a live musical stage show at Disney World, and the character did eventually find his way onto the pages of books.
Nickelodeon has recently expressed interest in reviving some of their now classic animation titles and while no specific titles have been confirmed, it’s probably safe to say that as one of its most popular and successful titles, “Doug” was be considered for resurrection. It helps that Billy West has also stated his interest in returning to voice the character if Nickelodeon ever considered continuing production.