Pets was a British adult puppet sitcom created by Andrew Barclay and Brian West and originally broadcast on Channel 4 from 2001 to 2002. It was shown late at night on Channel 4, and developed a cult following of fans who asked for the show to be released on DVD on the official website. This eventually happened, and the series was for a time made available as a free podcast on iTunes. There was some controversy as the creators of Pets alleged that the BBC3 show Mongrels had plagiarised Pets.
The situation is similar to a flatshare comedy. The four pets, a red setter dog named Hamish, a bulldog named Trevor, a persian cat named Davina and a featherless parrot named JP, live together in a house. All the events take place within the house, but these events are often supernatural.
This work provides examples of:
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: In the Halloween episode, JP has three masks. Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula and... Tony Blair.
- Big Eater: Trevor eats large amounts of food every few minutes, mainly sandwiches. He justifies it with the fact that he has had tapeworms living in his stomach for decades.
- Big "NO!": Trevor does one of these when he realizes that he had drug-fueled sex with JP the night before rather than Davina.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: In most episodes, JP monologues to the audience talking about the theme of the episode, and Davina talks directly to the camera about receiving letters from her boyfriend Vince. However, these have both been suggested to be Fourth Wall Psych in other episodes. In Davina's case that her monologues are actually entries from her diary, and in JP's case he is just talking to nobody because he's, well, weird. It's also common for Hamish to give an Aside Glance and an Aside Comment, and generally there is dialogue that is Leaning on the Fourth Wall, usually regarding the show's low budget and strange plots.
- Bottle Episode: More like Bottle Series. The flat is the only location in the entire series. Also includes a Minimalist Cast.
- Cats Are Magic: Davina claims this. She frequently says she and all other cats possess psychic powers and advanced knowledge of the Black Arts. It's debatable how much of this is true, however, as one time she tries in vain to reverse an ancient Egyptian mummy curse.
- Cats Are Snarkers: Davina, very much so.
- Cats Are Superior: Davina, again.
- Cloudcuckoolander: JP
- Cluster F-Bomb: Swearing is the norm on this show, but Hamish manages to get one in after getting cut off from a phone call while he has been waiting on hold for days.Hamish: The fucking line has gone dead and the fucking music has stopped! 93 FUCKING HOURS AND THE FUCKING LINE HAS GONE FUCKING DEAD!!!
- Dogs Are Dumb: Played with. Hamish and Trevor both do plenty of stupid things, but are fairly intelligent.
- Female Feline, Male Mutt: The show has a female cat character and two male dog characters.
- Flat-Earth Atheist: The Pets are aware of all the strange things that go on in their house, but whenever any of them suggests that they might be dealing with something supernatural the others dismiss it as nonsense, even though it usually turns out to be true.
- Human Popsicle: Well, Dog Popsicle really. Hamish tries to freeze himself and wake up in the distant future using an ordinary fridge freezer. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't work.
- Inhuman Resources: Trevor says that the worst level of Hell is reserved for unrepentant serious sinners "and people who work in H.R departments".
- Interspecies Romance: Implied with Trevor and Davina, although mostly it's Trevor sleazily propositioning Davina and her violently rejecting him. JP also has unrequited love for Davina. Not to mention the Pets have frequently ended up sleeping together under the influence of drink and/or drugs.
- Kangaroo Court: The entire episode "Presumed Very Guilty". Hamish is accused of murdering Davina, and Trevor acts as a Hanging Judge AND the prosecuter, where he outright makes things up. JP is an incompetent defence, a witness for the prosecution and is on the jury, where he finds Hamish guilty because Trevor bribed him. After Hamish is hung for the crime it is revealed that Davina wasn't dead after all.
- Large Ham: Hamish.
- Minimalist Cast: The main four characters are the only character in the series that have ever been seen onscreen.
- Oh Wait, This Is My Grocery List: Subverted in "Hostage" Davina thinks a list of Hamish's demands is going to be this trope. It turns out the list of groceries he gave them really is his list of demands. Played straight in "Reincarnation" when a grocery list is mistaken for Hamish's suicide note.
- Only a Flesh Wound: Trevor tries to dismiss Hamish having a bullet lodged in his brain as this.
- They Killed Kenny Again: The Pets have all died at some point and turn up alive in the next episode. Sometimes, they die and come back in some form in the same episode.
