Spy Groove is a satirical Canadian cartoon focusing on the lives and work of two spies, Agent #1 and Agent #2. They are sent by their boss, Helena Troy, to investigate strange and bizarre circumstances happening in the world.
Aired for one season on Teletoon, and a few episodes aired on MTV. Known for its fast-paced dialogue and extremely bizarre characters. The animation was directed by Glen Hanson, and as such, was colorfully brilliant with dark borderlines.
This animated series provides examples of:
- Action Girl: Helena Troy, Jo, Ashley Perelips.
- Bad Boss: Julio Blanco is one to his family.
- Baddie Flattery: Inverted. Agent #1 praises Professor Nackenheimer's plot to use the Tiki to gather a cult of surfers, calling it "outside the box." He still thwarts the bad guy, though.
- Bathe Her and Bring Her to Me: Inverted, as Champagne Du Jour has Agent #2 brought to her chambers and bathed.
- Beauty Equals Goodness: Each episode's Girl of the Week are downright gorgeous and are the ones that act as allies to the agents. Only Sierra Nevada and Mimi are hard Subversions.
- Big Damn Heroes: The agents often get rescued when they are caught in the villain's trap. At one point, they are rescued by Kathie Lee Gifford.
- Boisterous Bruiser: Agent #2.
- Big, Screwed-Up Family: The Blanco family. Their father, a bullfighter, died, and the family used the fame from the tragedy to start a family band. Before their first performance, the elder brothers decided to kill one of the lead singers, either Julio or Margarita, so that there could be another tragedy and the fame would continue. Margarita created a fake kidnapping and disappeared in order to save their lives. Afterwards, Julio fakes his own death and strings his family along with the scheme to make money off of fake miracles and donations.
- Brick Joke: A number of them. "Greek Freaks" gives us a portable fog device that creates fog, which is demeaned by Agent #2 and the Xerxes brothers as useless. Traci uses it to save her life.
- Career Resurrection: In-Universe, Champagne Du Jour attempts this with a scheme to put her in the spotlight posing as the descendant of Cleopatra, then inviting music's biggest stars to a party in order to drown them all.
- Casual Danger Dialogue: The agents sometimes engage in this, often when they are being slowly lowered into something that will kill them.
- Cloud Cuckoolander: Dandelion Splenderface, who only seems to properly function in her own mind, Doctor Skitsoplex, who randomly interjects television characters into his dialogue, and Madre Blanco, who gushes wildly about sexy men and cannot be composed for a single second.
- Control Freak: One episode is titled this, in which Agent #2 accuses Agent #1 of being one. Sierra Nevada is revealed to be one.
- Damsel in Distress: The Ultra Super Models were kidnapped by the Contessa as part of her Kill and Replace scheme to take over the fashion industry. Agents #1 and #2 were able to rescue them on time.
- Dating Catwoman: Agent #1's relationship with Sierra Nevada, although they never actually date.
- Department of Redundancy Department: The Vegas Vegas Casino.
- Distaff Counterpart: One mission partners the agents with two B.I.A. (Beverage Intelligence Agency) operatives: A smart blonde named Sonya and an energetic brunette named Lovely Glamour.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: Sierra and Agent #1 discuss the internal machinations of her robots, with the banter almost perfectly reminiscient to that of condoms.
- Dumb Blonde: Averted, for the most part with Agent #1, Sonya and Sierra Nevada, all blond and smart. There are other blondes, like Peck Roidass, Dandelion Splenderface, Madre Blanco, and Bunny van Schnickle, who play it straight to exaggerated levels.
- Enemy Mine: Sierra Nevada attempts to pull this on Agent #1, but fails. Later in the same episode, they do team up to save the day.
- Mr. Fish attempts to pull this on Agent #2. When sweet-talk doesn't work, he tries hypnotism.
- Erudite Stoner: Nick Nack is like this, serving as font of wisdom to the technical and straight-laced Agent #1, who points out that, due to the agent's reliance on a flashlight, he didn't notice a cliff. It's subverted when Nick Nack reveals it's all an act.
- Everything Sounds Sexier in French: Averted with the Marquis de Guy, but played straight with Mimi LaVerve.
- Evil Genius: A number of evil characters are quite brilliant: Rock Debris, a mercenary geologist who could create earthquakes and make a volcano erupt. Also Dr. Nicholas Nackenheimer, a professor of hydraulics, also known as Nick Nack. Sierra Nevada is another, so is Dr. Ken. And finally, Mimi LaVerve
- Expy: The Agent's look were based on Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.
- Doctor Ken is a obvious one of a Ken doll.
- Faking the Dead: For profit on the part of Julio Blanco.
- Freudian Slip: Agent #2 asks Jo to join him on an underwear...err...underwater investigation.
- Gadget Watches: Both agents have watches with an incredible amount of gadgets inside them.
- Genius Bruiser: Agent #1.
- Genre Refugee: Every villain relies on cartoonish Zany Schemes, has an outlandish motive and ridiculous Freudian Excuse, and acts comically over the top. That is except for hired goon Rock Debris, who does none of these things and is instead a fairly mundane villain who would be right at home in Die Hard or the Bourne series, being an unremarkable gaunt man in a suit who sets explosives for money. The closest thing he has to a Freudian Excuse is he's good at what he does and enjoys his job, and the closest thing he has to a quirk is being The Comically Serious in an insane world.
- Girl of the Week: A few of them show up as love interests for the agents, never showing up more than once except for Sierra Nevada.
- Godiva Hair: Windy La Tete.
- Go-Go Enslavement: Champagne Du Jour kidnaps the agents and forces them to wear thongs.
- Gut Feeling: One episode revolves around Agent #2's gut feelings when the agents don't know who their contact is. When his gut is consistently wrong, Agent #1 suggests they do what his gut tells them is the last thing they should do. It works.
- High-Heel–Face Turn: Averted. Sierra clearly regrets hurting Agent #1 and regrets they can't be together, but she never gives up her life of crime for him.
- Impossible Hourglass Figure: Just about every female in this show has proportions close to a literal hourglass.
- Incredibly Lame Pun: The constant "fog" puns between the Xerxes brothers and Traci when she uses a fog machine to save her life.
- Intrepid Reporter: Jo, who shoots for surfing magazines. She often rides out on the waves with her subjects.
- It's Not You, It's Me: The reason why Agent #2 and Jo could never be, despite her hypercompetence on his mission with her. It still doesn't stop Jeffy from getting the wrong impression.
- Just Add Water: Mr. Fish creates a robotic killer sea monkey by just adding water to a package. It so happened that he was in a bar known as the Aqua Lounge: the whole place is knee-high in Evian water.
- Lady Drunk: Madre Blanco, who downs an entire pitcher of sangria in under a minute.
- Large Ham: Many, but "LEO MACHO GRANDE" takes the cake.
- Love Redeems: Jeffy comes around and rescues the agents and Jo from being lowered to their death in a volcano solely due to his love for Jo. Doesn't redeem him from being cheesy throughout.
- Mad Scientist's Beautiful Daughter: Sierra Nevada, the daughter of Johnny Nevada. Turns out to be subverted, as she was the mad scientist, and Daddy was just a robot.
- Mercy Kill: Connie considers what she is doing to Dandelion as this, as only an enemy would let her live in her current state.Dandelion: California?
- Mission Control: Helena Troy, although she does show up to kick ass one time.
- Ms. Fanservice:
- Mack, the voluptuous cocktail waitress who appears in every episode. Doesn't add to the plot; she just speaks to the Agents while wearing low cut clothes. She did however play a role in the last episode where she became a Damsel in Distress, being completely naked with her bindings being the only things covering her naughty bits.
- Then there's the Girls of the Week who are this as well. In particular, Bunny was completely nude at one point, while Tracy was topless when she met Agents #1 and #2.
- The Ultra Super Models, as the name suggests, are incredibly beautiful models.
- The Napoleon: The appropriately named Napoleon Pushkin is one. While he never mentions that he's short, Agent #2 does.
- Noodle Incident: An incident between Mimi LaVerve and Agent #2 he won't talk about one summer when Agent #1 had mono.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Nick Nack does this. His slow-witted normal attitude is a complete act, he's actually exceedingly intelligent and brilliant.
- Older Than They Look: Connie Lola Andrea La Tete. A plastic surgeon disguised her as a younger version of herself, and she posed as an imaginary daughter named Windy.
- Only in It for the Money: Kyoko, the geisha servant of the Agents when they stay at the Neo-Nippon Palace. As long as they pay, she'll take them to Grandmama-san. Toshi, Grandmama-san's spoiled grandson, is also like this however, he's subverts it, as he's the evil mastermind and leads Agent #1 to his doom.
- Overt Operative: The agents never seem to disguise the fact they are secret agents, and often are even known by their enemies to be spies. They went undercover only three times, Agent Number #1 only doing it once.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Agent #2 disguises himself as Trey Stone, a Hollywood movie director, to film Julio Blanco's funeral. The family is convinced, but the very much alive Julio is not fooled.
- Product Placement: Both played straight and parodied. Coca-Cola and Skechers are named in some of the agent's gadgets, but proper names and companies are given to implausible things that don't exist.
- Professional Killer: Rock Debris, an infamous mercenary and geologist.
- Punny Name: Nick Nack, Sierra Nevada, Lovely Glamour, Helena Troy. Just to name a few.
- Red Herring: A deadly female insect is stolen by an incredibly acrobatic thief when the Marquis de Guy purchases the male half of the species. While investigating him, the agents meet Antoinette, his incredibly acrobatic maid who is quickly believed to be assisting him. Turns out the Marquis did have it stolen, but Antoinette is innocent: Mimi is the culprit.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Agents, Agent Number 1 being blue, Agent Number 2 being red.
- Ridiculously Human Robots: The creations of Sierra Nevada, who are very human-like, except for when they kiss. She overcomes that with mind-altering pheromones to control the world's wealthiest bachelors.
- The Rival: The Xerxes brothers consider themselves these to the Agents, and that they are superior.
- Running Gag: At least one an episode, often involving the agents' random chatter.
- "Malibooboo" is chock full of them, including Ashley's line about how something "might look bad", and the response "You've heard of him/her?" followed by "Who hasn't?" whenever a celebrity's name is mentioned.
- Sassy Black Woman: Helena Troy, Champagne Du Jour.
- Seinfeldian Conversation: Happens at least twice an episode between the agents: Once at the Maxi Bar in the beginning, and at the end while the credits roll. Mack and Helena sometimes join in.
- Single Tear: Sierra gives these in both of her appearances, when she attempts to kill Agent #1.
- Dandelion Splenderface does this when Connie Lola Andrea La Tete disappears.
- Jeffy Wilson does this when he thinks he's lost Jo to Agent #2
- Slap-Slap-Kiss: The relationship between Agent #1 and Sonya, and Agent #2 and Lovely Glamour.
- A Spy at the Spa: One episode involves the two spies investigating a spa that targets fashion models for kidnapping and replacement.
- Spicy Latina: Margarita Blanco.
- Stage Magician: Mr. Fish was one of these, working on the Sonny and Cher show. He uses hypnotism in his schemes.
- The Stoic: Rock Debris. He laughs a total of once in all of his appearances. Most of the time he's sour and taciturn. Steve is also one.
- Surfer Dude: Jeffy "The Flip" Wilson.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Carlo, Helena's assistant. Is his only purpose to actually being in the show.
- A Threesome is Manly: Mimi LaVerve proposes this between the two agents.Agent #1: What happened between the two of you?Mimi: Nothing that couldn't happen between the three of us.
- Too Dumb to Live: Bunny van Schnickle. Seriously, who signs their name when they are writing warnings?
- Too Kinky to Torture: The Marquis de Guy.Marquis: I wish they used the heavier manacles. It is my birthday.Helena: Shut up, before I stick a cork in it.Marquis: Promise?
- Upper-Class Twit: Dandelion, who can't get any of the actors' names she knows right except for Nick Nolte and her friend Connie Lola Andrea La Tete.
- Also Mama Mamapapadopolis, who believes sweatshop labor was just arts and crafts on a cruise ship.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: The Agents, at times, are this in times of crisis. This also seems to be the relationship between Sonya and Lovely Glamour.
- Viva Las Vegas!: The episode "Control Freaks" takes place in Las Vegas, almost entirely in one casino. No one has a gambling problem, but Wayne Newton shows up as a robot.
- What the Hell, Hero?: The Marquis de Guy pulls this on the Agents, as the only reason he's pulling his scheme is because they blew off his celebration for the new Millennium. The agents are actually to blame, opting to go to the Bermuda Triangle instead.
- World of Buxom: Perhaps the only girl with a small chest is Antoinette. She's at least a D-cup.
- World of Ham: As a parody of a spy series, this is a given.
- World of Snark: The Agents are the worst offenders, but everyone mouths off at one point.
- Wrap Around Background: This is lampshaded when the Agents are in Miami, when they repeatedly pass "a palm tree and a juice bar."
- Zany Scheme: All of the villains' schemes, while pretty fiendish, are outlandish to boot. They include building a new city of Miami to become popular (destroying the old one), controlling a fashion season, and becoming the god to a cult of surfers.
