Things Only Adults Noticed In Doug

Douglas Yancey Funnie is a shy, self-conscious kid. When he isn't drawing, playing his banjo, or working up the courage to talk to Patti Mayonnaise, he's daydreaming. Doug's world, and the cartoon that chronicles it, is hugely interior: Doug's journal, chock-full of superhero drawings and l'esprit de 'l'escalier comebacks, is the backbone of the show.

This deeply personal approach is by design: Doug was created by Jim Jinkins as a largely autobiographical take on adolescence. Jinkins tried to sell Doug as a greeting card line and children's book before a version of the character wound up in a grapefruit commercial. Ultimately, Jinkins' creation took root at Nickelodeon, in large part because of its honest, down-to-earth storytelling.

Executive Producer Vanessa Coffey had worked on cartoon giants like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for other networks, and had grown tired of their violence and commercialism. Jinkins' Doug was a breath of fresh air, and Coffey had a hunch kids would respond to it. She was right: 98% of a test group of 800 kids enjoyed Doug. "It's sad," Coffey expounded, "There are shows you can give children that are smart, that will appeal to them. Kids like to think. They don't want to be given guns and sugar." In that sense, Doug's down-to-earth spirit is something kids and adults appreciate. But only the latter group truly understands how daring the series is — especially at the time of its creation.