Line #63 Series/Mongrels


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mongrels_3_5925.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:"It's a puppet show... for adults."]]
3	->''"They may be furry, they may be feathered, they may be feral, but scratch their hairy surfaces and they're just a group of messed-up little creatures struggling with life, love, dreams and what happens when your Parisian pen-friend turns up [[BreadEggsMilkSquick with a chronic case of rabies]]."''
4	-->--Official Series 1 DVD Blurb
5
6	''Mongrels'' is a [[Creator/TheBBC BBC Three]] production that started airing in 2010, which is, as it says in the ads, [[{{Muppet}} 'a puppet show for adults']]. It was created by Adam Miller, who claims he wants 'to do for puppetry what American shows like ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' have done for animation'.
7
8	Set in Millwall, on the Isle of Dogs in [[UsefulNotes/{{London}} London's East End]], the show follows the misadventures of five animals who congregate behind the bins of The Lord Nelson pub. The protagonist is Nelson, a fox who lives a [[TheDandy metrosexual middle-class lifestyle]] despite being a wild animal. He has a massive crush on Destiny, a [[ItsAllAboutMe self-absorbed and pretentious Afghan hound]] and pet to the pub's landlord, Gary - but Destiny has absolutely no interest in Nelson whatsoever. Best friend to Nelson is Marion, a [[TheDitz good-hearted but idiotic cat]] who's been abandoned by a lot of owners and views Nelson as a father figure. Rounding out the cast is Kali, a spiteful and sarcastic pigeon who is quick to [[RevengeBeforeReason dole out revenge for the slightest wrong against her]], and Nelson's "friend" Vince, a violent, foul-mouthed sociopath who considers himself a "proper ***ing fox".
9
10	The show's first season ran for eight episodes from June through August 2010, and the second season of nine episodes began with a double bill on the 7th of November 2011. It was not renewed for a third season.
11
12	There were some controversial claims that it was plagiarizing the Creator/Channel4 programme ''Series/{{Pets}}'', but those have pretty much been found to be without basis as the two shows don't really share much beyond a broadly similar concept and a few shared backroom staff.
13
14	The pitch reel can be seen [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl4UIfwVOA4 here.]] Part 1 of the pilot can be seen [[https://www.facebook.com/WatchMongrelsOnline/videos/625419697488106/ here.]] Part 2 can be seen [[https://www.facebook.com/WatchMongrelsOnline/videos/625435804153162/ here.]]
15
16	Now has a [[Recap/{{Mongrels}} recap page]]
17
18	----
19	!!''Mongrels'' contains examples of:
20
21	* AbusiveParents: Vince has eaten at least five of his kits and caused another one to become roadkill.
22	* AllGirlsWantBadBoys: Destiny.
23	* AllJustADream: Used twice in the final episode of series one [[spoiler: and subverted just as quickly when the dreams are shown to be about things that actually happened]].
24	* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler:The Guide Dog at the end of episode 3.]]
25	* AnimalTalk: Why Nelson couldn't talk to the humans on ''Springwatch''.
26	** Though strangely a number of celebrities in the cutaway scenes seem to understand the animals.
27	** Deconstructed when No human character can understand the animals, and the animals understand their roles in the food chain. For example; the animals decide to attack the humans as part of a protest... only for the humans to defeat and kill them with ease because the animals are just a composition of woodland and urban creatures, while the humans are ''adults''. In other cases; the animals are amoral and will hunt each other or have indiscriminate sex.
28	* ArtisticLicenceBiology: None of the foxes or dogs ever experience a coital tie when mating.
29	** When the tortoise uses a dog whistle to get Destiny's attention, none of the other characters can hear it. Cats and foxes can both hear higher pitches than dogs - if she could hear it, they could.
30	* ArtisticLicenceMedicine: In Destiny's song 'Ugly Women Are Beautiful Too,' one of the lyrics refers to her fat friend having a thyroid gland that's "clearly over-active." An overactive thyroid would actually make you thin - it's an ''under''-active thyroid that makes you fat.
31	* AscendedExtra: Season 2 saw some background characters getting some characterisation and more speaking roles.
32	* AxCrazy: Vince is a violent fox who freely murders and beats people.
33	* BerserkButton:
34	** Nelson and [[GrammarNazi poor grammar]], see [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ltb_14CWqDA here]].
35	Also, Vince if anyone ever so much as insinuates that he may be a c*, or insults his mother.
36	*** However, if [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qUNFnjmP4o this lovely song]] is anything to go by, Vince is perfectly fine calling HIMSELF the c-word, doing so at the start and end of the song.
37	** Another berserk button for Vince is chickens. And yes, he sings all about it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72zLHGCOm-0 right here]].
38	** Comparing Morgan Freeman Lamb to Creator/LaurenceFishburne is sure to piss him off, and if a certain CutawayGag is anything to go by, in-universe, the real Creator/MorganFreeman does ''not'' like being told he's using the wrong pronunciation.
39	* BitchInSheepsClothing: Destiny somewhat fits the bill, though she's not very good at the 'pretending to be nice' part.
40	* BlackComedy:
41	** Literally, Vince EatsBabies (the first time his own) in at least two episodes.
42	** Seemingly averted in the episode where Nelson marries his sister:
43	--->'''Marion:''' ''(after Nelson's wife dies)'' Sorry about the ah, kids.
44	--->'''Nelson:''' No, turns out it's impossible to get pregnant if she penetrates ''you''.
45	** But played straight less than a minute later when Destiny uses powder on her fleas:
46	--->'''Flea:''' "MY BABY! SHE'S MELTING! I'M CRADLING A MELTING FLEA BABY, AAAAHHHHHH!"
47	* BlackComedyRape: When Vince and his bride-to-be first met, she "felt an instant spark". Namely, he tased her, then raped her while she was unconscious.
48	** Vince has threatened to rape Nelson a few times, and it's implied he has done so in the past. This is treated as if it were humorous.
49	* BritishBrevity: Though at eight episodes a series it's over by two episodes as opposed to the usual six but under US season lengths by a lot.
50	* BrotherSisterIncest: Nelson marries his sister in episode six.
51	* BusbyBerkeleyNumber: The show has one OnceAnEpisode. Subverted once though, when Nelson attempts to sing a love song to Destiny and she walks off as the number begins.
52	-->'''Nelson:''' [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall But...it's this week's song]]!
53	* CampStraight: Nelson, kind of. And particularly Destiny's "gay best friend" (who is neither).
54	* CartwrightCurse: Nelson's lovers seem to have rather short life expectancies (probably to ensure he's [[StatusQuoIsGod back to pining for Destiny by the next episode]]). The chicken in the first episode [[spoiler: turned out to be psycho, head cut off]]; his sister [[spoiler: was squashed by an overweight Kali]]; Vince's mother [[spoiler: had a heart attack when Nelson proposed]]; Destiny's double [[spoiler: was killed by the real one for stabbing her guy of the week]].
55	* CatUpATree: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Marion:
56	-->'''Marion:''' Oh, God, Kali! I'm a cat and I'm stuck up a tree! I'm such a cliché.
57	-->'''Kali:''' You totally are.
58	* CatchPhrase:
59	-->'''Vince:'''"Did you just call me a c***?"
60	* CatsHaveNineLives: Parodied in the third episode
61	* ClusterFBomb: Vince, although [[SoundEffectBleep censored.]]
62	* ConspiracyTheorist:
63	-->'''Partially-Seen Familiar-Sounding Fox:''' [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust 6 Million Dead! Not a single gas chamber!]]\
64	'''Nelson:''' Yes, yes. Alright, [[Series/TheBasilBrushShow Basil]]. [[LookBehindYou Look! A gray heron!]]\
65	''(Nelson flees)''
66	* CouchGag: Every episode (much in the vein of ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'') has a soundbite played over the production date after the credits.
67	* CountryMatters: Vince's favorite word.
68	* CrapsackWorld: Best summarized in Nelson's "Estate Agent's Song", where he goes to great pains to claim that Millwall ''isn't'' a rough place to live, even while robberies, domestic arguments and drive-by shootings are going on [[FunnyBackgroundEvent right behind him]].
69	* CutawayGag: Lots and rather frequently. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools Not that that's a bad thing of course.]]
70	* CuteKitten: Subverted with Marion, and parodied with his barely legal girlfriend.
71	** Played straight with Marion's young son in "Nelson and the Human". He is cute enough that Nelson chooses him as a gift for Neil the human to give to the girl he's pursuing.
72	* CyanidePill: The foxhunting beagles end up committing suicide that way.
73	* DeadpanSnarker: Kali, and sometimes Nelson and Destiny.
74	* DeadlyDoctor: A badger attends to the medical needs of the surrounding animals. His method of testing for rabies is to inject some of the subject's blood into a guinea pig and wait to see if it dies.
75	* DepravedBisexual: Possibly Marion, especially after offering a circle stroke to Nelson, and later in the episode looking forward to being [[NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization gang stroked]], not to mention what he did with the [[spoiler:scare(lesbian)crow at the end]], and the CutawayGag with George Best.
76	** And Vince claimed that the "circle stroke" was only the ''second'' gayest thing he'd seen Nelson (aka the [[WholesomeCrossdresser "Divine Miss Vulpine"]]) do in the last 10 days.[[note]]What he saw Nelson do was dress as Music/FreddieMercury.[[/note]] Though Nelson's also the least depraved member of the cast, so he'd just be bi.
77	** [[spoiler: Archie the stud Afghan hound, how he got rabies]]
78	** Vince is generally just depraved, though in episode 7 he threatened to [[DoubleStandardRapeMaleOnMale bum Nelson to death]] if he messed up his territory. He also apparently regularly rapes the male cat in his territory.
79	*** [[SituationalSexuality What happens on the island, stays on the island]]
80	* DisproportionateRetribution: Double subverted in episode 10. Basically, a cyclist runs over Kali's dinner (a badger, if you're interested), and she swears to get revenge upon him. She builds it up to be something huge and then... it turns out that she merely crapped on his seat. However, about five seconds later, the bicycle explodes - it turns out that Kali had planted a bomb there all along.
81	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Does this a lot, though not in a very subtle way.
82	** [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]]/parodied in Episode 3, with petting as an equivalent of sex.
83	--->'''Nelson:''' We are being stroked day in, day out, whether we consent to it or not! How could it be any worse?!\
84	'''Marion:''' Well, we could literally be being forced into having sex with people.\
85	'''Nelson:''' Oh, that's right, you just blow the whole subtext!
86	* DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale: Parodied in episode 9 - after Destiny is brushed off by a dog she fancies, she starts hitting him and generally treating him like crap... and it works. It even ends up being the topic of [[OnceAnEpisode that episode's]] [[BusbyBerkeleyNumber song]].
87	* [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Dropped A]] [[StealthPun Pigeon]] [[DroppedABridgeOnHim On Her]]: At the end of episode 6, Sandra (Nelson's [[BrotherSisterIncest sister/wife]]) runs away. As she does so, [[ItMakesSenseInContext an incredibly overweight Kali is dropped out of the window]], and ends up killing her.
88	* [[DudeShesLikeInAComa Dude He's Like In A Coma]]: Destiny becomes... attached to Vince when he's knocked unconscious in episode seven.
89	* EasyEvangelism: Deano the dove in the second episode manages to convert Marion and Vince to Christianity with little trouble.
90	* EnfantTerrible: Vince's first evil act was shooting his grandmother for her pension book.
91	* EvenBadMenLoveTheirMamas: [[spoiler:Vince]] certainly acts like a puppy dog around his... [[BerserkButton until someone insults her]]
92	** Kali also went nuts on Harry Hill for killing her mom on tv.
93	* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Kali's boyfriend and mother, both killed by people.
94	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Vince might be an unrepentant racist, thief, murderer, and rapist, who assaults and mutilates other animals for kicks, but he draws the line at joining the BNP, as [[HypocriticalHumor hypocritical as it sounds.]]
95	** Also, Kali actually cried for a man that she killed,[[spoiler: when it was revealed he had a pregnant wife and child.]]
96	* FakeBand: Vermin, a group of random animals who always play the songs in every episode.
97	* FantasticRacism: Vince is racist against chickens. He even sings an upbeat song about how much they suck.
98	* FemaleFelineMaleMutt: Inverted - Destiny is a female dog, and Marion is a male cat.
99	* FlockOfWolves: Sneaking into an office, Nelson [[ItMakesSenseInContext dresses up as a human]] in a moment of desperation to hide from an oncoming office worker, who turns out to be Tim the Badger...also dressed up as a human.
100	* FourthWallMailSlot: [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcthree/2010/07/mongrels-vince-and-nelson-answer-your-questions.shtml Here]].
101	* FoxChickenGrainPuzzle: In the first episode where Nelson takes Wendy (a chicken) on a date, 'wins' a bag of grain then takes her to a lake where a sign says "Two Occupants per Boat" and gives a [[MediumAwareness tired look to camera.]]
102	** Nelson "solves" it by throwing the grain at the boat owner's head, knocking him out.
103	* FunnyAnimal: Yes and yes.
104	* FurryReminder: Not frequently as the characters are usually played close to their species' traits but happens to Nelson and Destiny on occasion.
105	* GeniusBonus combined with PunnyName: "Kali Pigeon" = "Callipygian" (which means having a nice ass).
106	* GirlOnGirlIsHot: The song "Everybody loves a Lesbian"
107	* GoldDigger: In the episode "Nelson and the Human", Destiny marries an old, mean-spirited and half-blind dog for his squeaky toy pig.
108	* TheGrimReaper: Makes an appearance in Episode 3.
109	* GuyOnGuyIsHot: Both Destiny and Kali seem ''very'' interested in [[HoYay what happened between Nelson and Vince]] when they were stuck on the island.
110	* HairTriggerTemper: Vince.
111	* HeadTiltinglyKinky: Almost the second Marion's underage girlfriend Lollipop [[JailbaitWait comes of age]] [[{{Squick}} (four weeks old)]] he proceeds to make out with her while Destiny, Nelson, and Kali all tilt their heads.
112	-->'''Nelson:''' Is it just me, or is that technically legal, yet still really very creepy?\
113	'''Destiny:''' Still creepy.\
114	'''Kali:''' Oh, yeah!
115	* HelpingGrannyCrossTheStreet: Nelson the Fox helps an elderly chicken across the street. He takes the time to also ask the question of "Why did the chicken cross the road?"[[note]]The answer is: she saw a black man walking along the street and thought he might mug her, turns out she was just a casual racist[[/note]]
116	* HeroicComedicSociopath: Kali.
117	* HighOnCatnip: Marion is introduced to catnip at a nightclub in the second episode of series 1.
118	--> '''Male cat:''' Go on, Marion! Just try it!\
119	'''Female cat:''' Don’t be such a square, man! It’s only a bit of catnip!\
120	'''Marion:''' Guys, I don’t never mess with that stuff. It screws you up. [[TemptingFate And nothing anyone can say will]] ''[[TemptingFate eeeeever]]'' [[TemptingFate change my mind!]]\
121	'''Male cat:''' All the cool cats do it!\
122	''[[InstantlyProvenWrong Cue intense drug-crazed dancing time lapse]]''
123	** This scene seques to the CatUpATree moment above.
124	* HollywoodTourettes: Vince claims such in the second episode of series 2 [[spoiler: except when singing karaoke]].
125	* HumansAreBastards: Not that the animals (except maybe Nelson) [[UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist are any better.]]
126	* IdenticalStranger: Nita to Destiny in "Kali and the Urinary Infection".
127	* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: All episodes so far have the pattern "<character> the <adjective>" i.e. Kali the Genetic Engineer or Marion the [[LampshadeHanging Superfluous Feed Character]].
128	* ImagineSpot: Used liberally
129	* InterspeciesRomance: A lot. Nelson is chasing after Destiny, in the first episode Nelson got involved with a chicken, Kali once almost got involved with a [[spoiler: female]] crow, Kali's attempts to breed the "pigeox", and what Destiny did with Vince while he was in a coma.
130	* JailbaitWait: In one episode; Marion gets a girlfriend called "Lollipop", who is a 3-week old kitten, ''nobody'' supports this relationship and are rightly disgusted by it. Eventually, the couple decide to wait until Lollipop reaches 4 weeks old to have sex. When Lollipop does finally reach the age of consent and the two can finally have sex legally... everyone is still disgusted by it due to the significant age gap between Lollipop and Marion, especially since Lollipop was still underage a few seconds ago.
131	* {{Jerkass}}: Everyone at some point or another - the most consistent Jerkasses are Destiny, Kali and Vince. This can sometimes be taken even further based on RuleOfFunny.
132	* JustFollowingOrders: One of the [[ANaziByAnyOtherName hunting beagles]] invokes this defence when Nelson confronts them for killing foxes. However, when questioned further, he admits that they probably wouldn't have been punished if they'd refused to hunt.
133	* LowerClassLout: Kali and Destiny have many characteristics of the "chav" stereotype.
134	* LyricalDissonance: More often than not for the songs. Examples include Nelson's "Breaking Up Is Such a Faff", a Music/MeatLoaf-style power ballad about how he hates his wife but is too lazy to divorce her, and Rob's sensitive ballad about wanting to murder Music/JustinBieber.
135	* {{Malaproper}}: During a CutawayGag, Morgan Freeman is shown to be prone to these including "Nelson Mandola," and the Cumberbatch-esque "peng-wines."
136	* MamaBear: Little Lollipop's mother shows up when Marion is making the moves on her underage daughter. The next time we see Marion, [[GroinAttack he's wearing bandages around his crotch.]] (FridgeLogic sets in when you consider that he actually got castrated in the first episode.)
137	* MayDecemberRomance: Nelson with Vince's mother.
138	-->'''Nelson:''' Before we start, do you have any brittle bones I should know about?
139	-->'''Eileen:''' No. ''(they proceed to get dirty)''
140	* MediumAwareness: Destiny finds a treasure map and says she's going to search for treasure, but is taken off by her owner before she can. Nelson turns to the camera and says, "Shame, sounds like it would've made a good storyline."
141	* MercyKill[=/=]DyingAsYourself: Parodied in the Rabies episode when Nelson asks Marion to kill him if he goes mad but Marion's a bit too keen to kill.
142	** In Season 2, a terminally ill beagle asks Nelson to mercy kill him. [[spoiler: Surprisingly, Nelson actually succeeds.]]
143	* MurderSuicide: [[spoiler:In the ending of "Nelson and the Human", Nelson's romantic comedy-inspired attempts to pair Neil up with the woman he's stalking ends with Neil killing the woman, her boyfriend, and himself.]]
144	* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: "Oh crap, I'm part of the problem..."
145	** Also when Kali kills a delivery boy with a bomb and experiences genuine remorse [[spoiler: when she finds out he had a family.]]
146	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: It's probably not a coincidence that Kali is named for the Hindu goddess of destruction.
147	* {{Narcissist}}: Destiny falls in love with the smell of her own ass.
148	* ANaziByAnyOtherName: Apparently foxhunting beagles, even if they were just following orders, according to them.
149	* NegativeContinuity: In the final episode of season 1, Destiny dies, yet in season 2 she's alive and well once again.
150	** She doesn't conclusively die. She flatlines, and Marion is seen trying to revive her as the credits roll. Since she appears in the next series, we must conclude that he succeeded.
151	* NoAnimalsWereHarmed: Parodied in the Season 2 finale, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLtp2cP3O68 with a montage of all the characters who have died on the show.]]
152	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Completely and utterly averted with a few C-list celebrities appearing as themselves.
153	** Played straight with Morgan Freeman Lamb, a lamb that talks like Creator/MorganFreeman.
154	* NonIndicativeTitle: None of the main characters are actually mongrels.
155	** The episode "Kali and the Urinary Infection" is about pretty much everything other than the aforementioned illness. This gets lampshaded.
156	* NonMammalMammaries: Mainly PlayedForLaughs and appear on quite a few female characters but averted for [[spoiler:birds whose the lack of external genitalia is a plot point for an episode]].
157	* OneShotCharacter: Lollipop is central to Marion's story in episode three, but is never seen again after this (although her [[YouLookFamiliar puppet gets recycled in episode eight]])
158	** Sandra as well, though her disappearance makes sense because she was killed at the end of the episode.
159	* OneWordTitle
160	* OrphanedPunchline: "...and nailed it to her face!"
161	* OverlyLongGag: When Nelson's French pen pal comes to stay, he goes through a lot of thinking noises before comes up with the English word he wants. Lampshaded by Marion.
162	* PinkIsErotic: Archie, one of Destiny's many lovers, has his ears dyed pink and it's revealed that he's actually a prostitute that Gary hired in an effort to make Destiny pregnant.
163	* ProductPlacement: Parodied in [=S2E5=] when Vince shoves a bottle of his "Cillit C***" kitchen spray right in front of the camera.
164	* RacistGrandma: With Nelson and an elderly chicken.
165	--> "Why did the chicken cross the road?"\
166	"There was a black man coming and I was afraid he might mug me."
167	* ReadTheFinePrint: Nelson mistakes the intention of one of those "Adopt an endangered animal" campaigns and when explained exactly what it actually meant he comments that he should know better by now. Cue cutaway to Nelson agreeing to an iTunes update EULA and the GrimReaper demanding his firstborn.
168	* RefugeInAudacity: 98% of all jokes will hide in the refuge and never come out.
169	* RepressedMemories: Nelson of his grandfather getting torn apart by beagles.
170	* {{Retirony}}: Barney the police horse had only one day left before being put out to pasture. [[spoiler: Then Vince cut him up.]]
171	* ReusedCharacterDesign: Several puppets external to the main cast get re-used in different roles, either as a OneShotCharacter or as extras. This is probably down to budgeting, mind.
172	* RuleOfThree: In one bit during Series 2 Episode 9, they take a moment to pay their respects to animals that have died over the course of the series. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLtp2cP3O68 Vince comes up three times successively.]]
173	* RunningGag:
174	** Kali not thinking things through. For example, in episode 6, she makes a protest against the way humans treat pigeons, and thus she decides to [[MartyrWithoutACause sacrifice herself]] by throwing herself onto some pigeon spikes that have been set up. Immediately afterwards she realises that this is exactly what they would have wanted her to do...
175	** Marion making a statement, then adding the complete opposite of that statement behind his hand. Example: "[[Theatre/{{Hamlet}} To be or not to be, that is the question.]]" behind hand "That is ''not'' the question."
176	* SadistShow: A lot of humour is derived from over-the-top miserable things happening to the characters, such as Destiny getting infected with fleas, Marion tripping out on catnip or Nelson being terrified he might have rabies.
177	* SelfAbuse: Rob compulsively masturbates when stressed, which isn't a good trait in a performing chimp.
178	* SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Nelson is the Sensitive Guy to Vince's Manly Man.
179	* ShadyRealEstateAgent: Nelson becomes one to save his den. To say he messed up would be a spectacular understatement.
180	* ShoutOut: The second episode in season two has Nelson and Marion as Creator/SimonPegg and Nick Frost in ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead''. Also, name of the Creator/RichardOBrien-voiced dog doing the "[[Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow Time Warp]]" parody was Riff Raff.
181	** Marion was once flatmates with [[Series/BeingHumanUK a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost]].
182	** When Nelson goes to the petting zoo, we see a dead rabbit being carried away while Art Garfunkel's "Bright Eyes" plays, a la ''WesternAnimation/WatershipDown''.
183	** The pitch reel appears to have been heavily influenced by the Muppets' own pitch reel. For the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SBAiyJOfIs comparison.]]
184	** Vince claims that his HollywoodTourettes cost him a role on a spin-off of ''Series/TheBrittasEmpire'', complete with a brief recreation of the show.
185	* SituationalSexuality: Whatever happened between Nelson and Vince when stuck on that traffic island, it's not something to be mentioned in Vince's wedding speech.
186	* SoundEffectBleep: Zig-zagged throughout the series. Most consistently done with Vince's favorite word.
187	* StalkerShrine: In "Nelson and the Human", Neil has one for the blonde girl, including a half-eaten biscuit she's bitten. [[spoiler:It also turns out that Nelson has one of Destiny.]]
188	* StalkerWithACrush: Nelson is one to Destiny to various extents, from being more like a DoggedNiceGuy to being especially creepy like when it's revealed he keeps track of her ovulation cycles.
189	* StalkingIsLove: Used in-universe in the episode "Kali and the Psychological Warfare": Nelson considers Neil's obsession to be the stuff of romantic comedy and tries to get Neil and the girl together. [[MurderSuicide It doesn't end well.]]
190	* StatusQuoIsGod: Almost played literally straight as in the first episode Marion is [[FateWorseThanDeath neutered]] the next episode he is told that if he converts to Christianity [[EasyEvangelism Jesus himself will sew his testicles back on with golden thread.]]
191	** Though characters that change Nelson's life significantly have a way of dying before the episode is over: [[spoiler: Kieran (adopted son), the pigeox (biological offspring), Sandra (wife/sister), Vince's mother (Fiancee), and Nita (his one-shot girlfriend)]].
192	* SubvertedKidsShow: Played straight if you feel [[Franchise/TheMuppets puppetry is]] [[Theatre/AvenueQ something that can]] [[AnimationAgeGhetto only appeal to kids]] otherwise there's little analogous to a kids show besides puppets.
193	* SuicideAsComedy: In the pilot episode, there was another character called Debbie. She was a suicidal chicken who was always considering ways in which she might kill herself. The producers decided that the character wasn't deep enough for a full series, and thus she was axed.
194	* TakeThat:
195	** -->'''Kali:''' You can achieve a hell of a lot in life without any testicles!\
196	''(cut to concert)''\
197	'''Announcer:''' Ladies and gentlemen, Music/MichaelBuble!
198	** ''Film/QuantumOfSolace'' gets one when Nelson tries to picture himself in "the iconic scene" from that film. He ends up remembering the card game from ''Film/CasinoRoyale2006'' instead.
199	* TrainingMontage: Spoofed in episode three:
200	-->'''Destiny:''' This isn't a training montage, it's a trip to the opticians set to music!
201	* TwinThreesomeFantasy: Presumably the subject of Nelson's erotic short story.
202	* UnrequitedLove: Nelson/Destiny.
203	* UnsettlingGenderReveal: Marion's Siamese "wife" turns out to be a neutered tomcat.
204	* VillainousBSOD: Kali, of all characters, goes through one after killing a delivery boy, [[spoiler: that had a family.]]
205	* VillainSong:
206	Vince gets one in "Vince and the Cs Speech", singing about how much of a "c**" he is.
207	** Parodied in "Kali and the Rickshaw Inferno". The episode's song is sung by the leader of the "zombies", but he spends the entire song trying to clarify that they're not really zombies as the mongrels beat him and the others to death.
208	* VorpalPillow: Subverted when a beagle with lung cancer asks Nelson for a MercyKill and he tries smothering with a pillow. It takes a massive pile of pillows to kill him.
209	* WhatDidIDoLastNight: The Series 2 finale.
210	-->'''Marion:''' It would seem, that we got drunk, and fell asleep in a rubbish barge, on the Thames.
211	* WholesomeCrossdresser: Nelson, also known as The Divine Miss Vulpine.
212	** Though exactly how wholesome is an open question. When asked about it in an [[https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcthree/2010/07/mongrels-vince-and-nelson-answer-your-questions.shtml online Q&A]] Nelson got a bit defensive.
213	--->'''Nelson:''' Basically, right, I did it one time, for a laugh, for a couple of mates. Next thing you know, I'm being asked to do corporate events, private functions, hotel visits...Look, I was young, I was naïve, it was Blair's Britain! The boom years! Things were different back then! I mean, 'let he cast the first stone who hasn't dressed up as a woman and performed a private burlesque show for a lonely Taiwanese fund manager!' Right?
214	* XDaysSince: Episode four has a petting zoo whose sign is "days free of E.Coli 3", then later someone altering the sign to zero.
215	* {{Yandere}}: Nita in "Kali and the Urinary Infection" obsesses over Nelson and gets downright murderous towards anyone who might possibly be a rival for his affections.
216	* YouNoTakeCandle: Subverted. Nelson uses this to communicate with Rob the chimpanzee when they first meet, leading Rob to think that Nelson doesn't know normal English and respond in the same way.
217	* ZombieApocalypse: Parodied in one episode, only instead of "zombies", read "male dogs driven crazy by Destiny's pheromones".

Context Series / Mongrels