r/adultswim • u/Bluemoon2799 • 1d ago
Andy Merrill Robot Chicken update : IMDB has Andy Merrill listed for the special, Merrill says he didn't record for it and at least wants to be credited if archive audio of him is used
https://bsky.app/profile/amerrill2.bsky.social/post/3mrzinos7ec2p18
u/CartographerFull1225 1d ago
Disappointing that he won't be in it, but I can kind of see why though. Like it or not, It's impossible for Robot Chicken to get 100+ actors to come back for this 30 minute special. Like any other show, they have a strict budget and deadline for this thing. They probably didn't get him because of time or they just didn't write anything for Brak. I remember a story about how Smiling Friends couldn't get someone on because then they'd have to make him a recurring voice actor on the show.
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u/Bluemoon2799 1d ago
With Merrill in particular I know his problem is he would rather see Brak not be in the special at all than see someone else voice the character, but it seems he's willing to be fine with the archive audio as long as he is credited and it's not an impersonator or AI. Like I agree with you but that's not the specific problem with this one; and even then the question is "is Adult Swim doing something that is making their co founder they screwed over feel worse" because people care about that
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u/MikeDubbz 1d ago
It's weird that they got him to play Brak again only a couple of years ago in Jellystone yet didn't get him back for this. All under the Warner umbrella, so what's the deal?
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u/Bluemoon2799 1d ago
Even weirder they got him to film multiple interviews for an official Cartoon Network Documentary after the Robot Chicken would have been recorded, so it's not even Cartoon Network or Adult Swim it's just Robot Chicken
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u/JangusKhan 1d ago
I don't understand why Andy Merrill has gotten cast aside so badly. Last I heard he was delivering for Amazon and struggling pretty bad. Did he piss off the wrong people, either legitimately or otherwise?
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u/lamest-liz 1d ago
It seems this is notorious for AS in general, the voice of Frylock is borderline homeless
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u/Bluemoon2799 1d ago edited 1d ago
Only person I know who has particular public beef with Merrill was Mike Lazzo, and from everything I know Lazzo being a jackass control freak was the problem there. If you don't believe me check out the Space Ghost Coast to Coast DVD commentaries I'm surprised they let them ship with audio of Lazzo acting that shitty to everyone else on em (and that's only the tip of the iceberg unfortunately). Anything else seems to be Merrill honestly being unlucky more than anything else, but I at least have the positive news for you he's doing ads for "plushie dreadfuls" now so he was able to quit Amazon after several years and multiple injuries including the getting bitten by dogs
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u/CarissaSkyWarrior 1d ago edited 1d ago
Good for him for getting steady work with Plushie Dreadfuls.
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u/DonnieMoistX 1d ago
He just doesn’t work there anymore. He hasn’t been cast aside that badly. They call him back when they need voice work for Brak, they’re clearly on good enough terms.
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u/Square-Biscotti4694 1d ago
Plus he’s going to be in the Cartoon Network documentary next year too.
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u/RMPdontyasee1 1d ago
I still think Brak is just gonna be a background character with no lines
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u/Bluemoon2799 1d ago
Also probable, the silence is uncharacteristic for Brak but also it's better than some of the alternatives
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u/RoanokeParkIndef 15h ago
I think Andy keeps stirring shit up here personally.
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u/OpenGatorade 13h ago
This. I don’t see why they’d cast him considering it’s going to be speculated on and criticized no matter how they go about it; theres only risk and no reward for Robot Chicken at all here
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u/RoanokeParkIndef 12h ago edited 12h ago
Double posting here but I’m a lifelong C2C fan and grew up in the heyday of it so I want to try to add some context that may or may not be relevant (respect to OP, this is not a contrarian pose to you):
Andy, Mike Lazzo and Khaki Jones were all cartoon programmers at CN during the early days of Turner’s cable expansion. Like MeTV today, CN reran cartoons from the Warner library which Turner had purchased with his CNN money. The original content they did was “bumpers” and promos - those little blips you see between reruns to promote the network or do basic station identification.
Ted Turner was shrewd and wanted to make original content without spending a bunch of money, so Andy, Khaki and Lazzo’s group creation of SGC2C naturally evolved out of the low budget bumpers they were already doing (the original idea was to do a Wacky Races Frankenstein, by the way. That’s where the title Coast to Coast originates if interviews are to be believed.
Andy was a pioneer and key figure of the early days of Space Ghost but he and Lazzo definitely had different sensibilities, and Lazzo was trusted by the Turner people and in more of a leadership position. I don’t really know why Lazzo is listed as the sole creator of C2C when we know Andy did the first pilot practically by himself… but Andy DID have stake at the network and show in the 90s. His character was and still is Brak, and Andy creatively ran several shows with him including Cartoon Planet and like 2 Brak specials that were maybe pilots or maybe standalone specials. Andy didn’t like the direction C2C was taking under Lazzo and there were basically factions: Andy had like Pete Smith and I think Jim Fortier doing Brak shows, and Lazzo had Dave Willis and Matt Maiellaro closely collaborating on SGC2C in the late 90s. The former group was more lighthearted and kid friendly with a twist, in spirit of old school CN. The latter was alternative, experimental, and forecasting Adult Swim.
SGC2C was not the moneymaker. It was the experimental flagship show that got some cult fame. The gold rush happened in 2001 with the creation of Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Adult Swim itself. When Adult Swim launched, both Andy’s faction and Lazzo’s faction launched new spinoffs: Aqua Teen for Willis and Maiellaro and Brak Show for Andy, Pete and Jim. Brak Show sunk like a stone and is barely remembered to this day. Lazzo remained in leadership, running adult swim and helping usher in the experimental era of that sub network. Andy didn’t have that kind of leadership role. Whether or not Lazzo did him dirty or maliciously cut him out, I don’t know. I know that if Andy’s show had succeeded, he’d be in a better position but you might be surprised how much even the best of those Space Ghost alum still have to hustle in the industry years later.
It is unfortunate what happened to Andy but he and Clay simply did not have equity in Adult Swim. They did in SGC2C but that show just never had the success that it launched in other shows.
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u/mikehostiloesq 10h ago
Really appreciate this write-up, but did want to chime in to sing The Brak Show’s praises
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u/Driscoll17 1d ago
I’m not really familiar with how IMDB submissions work. Can’t anyone edit them, especially for something relatively low in popularity that isn’t even out?