Weekend at last! (The Weekenders) the 2000 animated series

April 20 2022

Weekend at last! (The Weekenders) is an American animated series created by Doug Langdale. The series tells the weekend life of four 12-year-old seventh graders: Tino, Lor, Carver and Tish. The series initially aired on ABC (Disney's One Saturday Morning) and UPN (Disney's One Too), but was later moved to Toon Disney. The Italian edition of the animated series was curated by Royfilm with the collaboration of Disney Character Voices International, while the Italian dubbing was performed at the SEFIT-CDC and directed by Alessandro Rossi on dialogues by Nadia Capponi and Massimiliano Virgili.

History

Weekend at last! (The Weekenders) details the weekends of four middle school students: Tino Tonitini (voiced by Jason Marsden), a fun-loving and entertaining Italian-American boy; Lorraine “Lor” McQuarrie (voiced by Gray DeLisle), a busty, hot-headed Scottish-American girl; Carver Descartes (voiced by Phil LaMarr), a self-centered, fashion-conscious African American boy of Nigerian descent; and Petratishkovna “Tish” Katsufrakis (voiced by Kath Soucie), a Jewish-American intellectual and bibliophile of both Greek and Ukrainian origins. Each episode is set over the course of a weekend, with little or no mention of school life. Friday prepares the conflict of the episode, Saturday intensifies and develops it and the third act takes place on Sunday. The implied "ticking of the clock" is used to indicate that the characters are running out of time and the problem must be solved before returning to school on Monday.

Tino serves as the narrator of each episode, providing his own insight into what he is experiencing and his friends, and will summarize the moral of the story at the end, always ending with a "Next Days" sign.

A recurring gag in every episode is that when the group goes out for pizza, the restaurant they go to has a different theme each time, like a prison, where each table is its own cell, or the American Revolution, where the waiters look like the Founding Fathers and deliver overwhelming speeches about pizzas.

The show was known for its distinctive animation style, similar to Klasky-Csupo produced shows such as Rocket Power and As Told by Ginger, and also for being one of the few animated series where characters' outfits change from episode to episode. other. The series takes place in the fictional city of Bahia Bay, which is based in San Diego, California, where the creator lived.

The show's theme song, “Livin 'for the Weekend,” was performed by Wayne Brady and written by Brady and Roger Neill.

Characters

Tino Tonitini (voiced by Davide Perino): he is the narrator of the episodes. He is blond and his round head vaguely resembles a pumpkin. Tino can be very sarcastic, slightly paranoid and sometimes even childish (for example when reading the adventures of his favorite superhero, Captain Dreadnaught). His parents are divorced but he maintains an excellent relationship with both: he lives with his mother, with whom he often confides in welcoming his precious and wise advice, but always hopes that his father will come to visit him in Bahia Bay.

Petratishkovna “Tish” Katsufrakis (voiced by Letizia Scifoni): she is a very witty girl, she loves Shakespeare and playing the dulcimer. She has red hair and wears glasses. Despite her remarkable intelligence and her extraordinary culture, many times she ends up lacking common sense by isolating herself from her friends. Tish is often embarrassed by her parents (especially her mother), not at all integrated with American culture. "Tish" is the diminutive of "Petratishkovna", a name which, as her father says, means "girl with a nose".

Carver Rene Descartes (voiced by Simone Crisari): he is a dark boy, with a head that resembles a pineapple seen from the front, while in profile (his exact words) resembles a brush. He has a real fixation for fashion in general and especially for shoes, in fact he aspires to become a shoe designer. Carver often forgets things and is a bit self-centered, in fact he thinks that every time his parents give him a task it is a very bad punishment and that when it rains the sky is angry with him, but in the end he manages to be forgiven for everything.

Lor MacQuarrie (voiced by Domitilla D'Amico): she has short orange-blond hair. She is very athletic, she loves sports (in which she is very strong) and hates homework, although in one episode it turns out that she can learn anything if she is taught to her in a playful way. Lor has a crush on Thompson, a high school boy who prefers her the way she is rather than a more feminine, mushy version of her. She has a very large family and has between 12 and 16 siblings (not even she knows exactly because they are always on the go) and is of Scottish descent, which she is very proud of.

Tino's mother: Tino's sarcastic mother who gives precious advice to her son by almost reading his mind. Tino does not understand how he can always know everything that happens to him, but every time he follows his mother's instructions, things work out the right way. He cooks very strange things that take on colors that are not a little worrying. She is engaged to Dixon.

Bree and Colby: the tough guys, adored and at the same time feared by all the guys, especially by Carver who has in his closet a Temple in their honor and to the Sacred Goddess of Toast. They spend all their time doing just two things: leaning against any vertical surface and making fun of all the other guys who are less tough than themselves. Bree and Colby can't even see other people except themselves except to mock them, but they will stop doing it when Bree realizes what it means to be insulted for no reason.

Bluke: an unusual guy who always appears in dungarees.

Frances: an old friend of Tish who is sometimes seen with Bluke. She likes pointy things.

Chloe Montez: a schoolmate of the boys that you always hear about because of her awkward situations. She has never seen herself in the series.

Mr. and Mrs. Descartes: Carver's parents. They are demanding people who demand a lot from their children according to Carver, but in reality they are not at all different from other parents, only that Carver considers a very bad punishment and any chore given to them.

Penny Descartes: Carver's sister. She often acts sour and uses rude tones towards her, but she still loves him.

Todd Descartes: Carver's nasty little brother.

Mr. and Mrs. MacQuarrie: Lor's Scottish parents. The father appears many more times than the mother in the series.

Lor's brothers: Lor's 14 brothers (the number is not certain ...)

Granny MacQuarrie: Lor's little grandmother.

Mr. and Mrs. Katsufrakis: Tish's parents. They love to tell the traditions of the Old Country (not specified in the series) from which they come. They have problems speaking the new language, in fact the kids often and willingly misunderstand what they say (miniborse = minicorse).

Dwarf Katsufrakis: Tish's grandfather who comes from the Old Country precisely because of his granddaughter's Mamatouche. As a pet he has a pet monkey named Oliver who is always resting on his shoulder wherever he goes.

Ms. Duong: Extracurricular Activities Consultant, constantly pregnant for all four seasons of the series. You work at the Assistance Center which assists the Patients.

Dixon: the boyfriend of Tino's mother whom the boy describes as "the toughest adult in the world". She is very skilled in building objects and means of transport and she has a very good relationship with Tino, behaving like a parent despite the fact that she is not married to his mother, at least for now.

Mr. Tonitini: Tino's father, practically the adult caricature of his son. He is afraid of spiders, water and anything slightly dirty is considered by him 'breeding ground for bacteria'. He has divorced his ex-wife since Tino was four.

Josh: Bahia Bay's most failed evil bully who is often defeated.

Murph: a guy who dislikes Tino for no reason and the same goes for Tino.

Christie Wilson: a very thin girl who hates Carver.

pru: the most popular girl in the school and as a popular girl she enjoys numerous privileges, she gets offended and dumps anyone who doesn't give her gifts for any holiday, even if the recurrence does not include gifts.

Nona: a thin and very tall girl who attends the third year. She has a crush on Carver which passes to her when she notices her head is shaped like a pineapple.

Pizzeria waiter: he is the waiter of the pizzeria in Bahia Bay. He dresses in strange costumes according to the theme of the day at the pizzeria.

Lady of the canteen: robust lady who serves at the self-service of the school canteen. Known for the recurring phrase “Feta, Greek soft cheese” in a singsong tone.

Technical data

Original title. The Weekenders
Original language. English
Country United States
Regia Doug Langdale
Studio Walt Disney Television Animation
Network ABC, Toon Disney
Date 1st TV 26 February 2000 - 29 February 2004
Episodes 78 (complete) in 4 seasons
Episode duration 30 min
Italian network Rai 2, Disney Channel, Toon Disney
Date 1st Italian TV. 2002 - 2006
Italian episodes. 78 (complete) in 4 seasons
Duration of Italian episodes. 30 mins
Italian dialogues. Nadia Capponi, Massimiliano Virgilii
Italian dubbing studio. SEFIT-CDC
Italian dubbing direction. Alessandro Rossi, Caterina Piferi (dubbing assistant)