Fox announced this one in March 1989 and promised the high-tech combination of live action mixed with animation as they told the story of an animated dog who works as a low-level Hollywood talent agent. Yup, the water supply must have been tainted badly that year. To be fair, this was actually a comic by R. P. Overmyer that appeared in LA Weekly, so no Hollywood exec or writer can take credit for the concept. However, they can take credit for this terrible pilot. Believe it or not, it took four (FOUR!!!) people to write the teleplay. And the plot is no great shakes as it tells the story of an aspiring singer (Tim Ryan) moving from Nebraska to L. A. to make it big and he falls right into Hollywood Dog's hands...er, paws. It was directed by William Dear (Harry and the Hendersons), so the technical aspects are handled alright. But the 2D animation is so bad, looking more like something to be featured in a 30-second pizza ad as opposed to Who Framed Roger Rabbitt. Speaking of the latter, it helps land the show's one joke I laughed at. When Hollywood Dog (everyone calls him that) says he can do impressions, he is asked if he can do Roger Rabbit. "Not on this budget," he replies as he looks toward the audience. Knowing they had to wow the audience with a celebrity cameo, the filmmakers wrangled Shannon Tweed to appear in one scene as herself. Perhaps the only notable thing about the show is that Hollywood Dog is voiced by Hank Azaria. It premiered on July 25, 1990 and did a 2.9 rating before being taken to live the rest of its life on a farm. I'd say it would have been ridiculed as the worst concept of that year, but the infamous Cop Rock premiered just a few months after this.
