My Dad the Rock Star

My Dad the Rock Star
Created by Gene Simmons
Voices of Lawrence Bayne
Joanne Vannicola
Don Francks
Sarah Gadon
Martin Villafana
Kathy Laskey
Stephanie Anne Mills
Rob Stefaniuk
Country of origin Canada
France
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 26
Production
Running time 30 minutes
Production company(s) Nelvana
Carrere Group
Release
Original network Teletoon (Canada)
Nickelodeon (U.S.)
Original release September 1, 2003 (2003-09-01) – July 5, 2004 (2004-07-05)

My Dad the Rock Star is a Canadian/French animated television series that was created by KISS bassist Gene Simmons. The series was a Canada-France co-production between Nelvana and Carrere Group for the Canada-based channel Teletoon. The show aired on Nickelodeon in the U.S.

The show focuses on Willy Zilla, an ordinary timid teenage male just trying to be a normal person despite being the son of a flamboyant, rich, lively celebrity rock star named Rock Zilla.

Production

Gene Simmons wanted to create a cartoon series with a loud rock star for his kids. The idea of the cartoon started off when Gene's son, Nick in his kindergarten days, brought in a picture of Gene drooling blood and spitting fire for a project of what his parents do, which may have influenced the character of Willy Zilla.

Before becoming a series, it became a book called "My Dad the Rock Star: Rebel without a Nose Ring" in 2001. Because Gene loved Nelvana shows, he called them for a cartoon idea. It was originally supposed to be about the band KISS itself, but it was later changed to a family of rock-star parents, which were based on Gene's family. Rock Zilla is actually a fictionalized version of Gene Simmons himself, counting his signature "long-tongue". Willy is based on Gene's son, Nick, and Serenity was based on Gene's daughter, Sophie. Crystal was also based on Gene's wife, Shannon Tweed, who, being Canadian, helped Gene to get Nelvana to make the show. Gene served as the executive producer and creator, while the rest of the production was done in Canada.

The series went on hiatus after the episode "Blind Date", until it was announced that the show ended, despite popular ratings, possibly for Gene to continue his music career. Also, there was an unaired episode that showcases Alyssa's true rapping skills, named "Silent Springs' Most Wanted" (which is a reference to the movie Malibu's Most Wanted), but it never got the chance to air. It was never revived in time to air a third season.

Cast

Other characters

Episodes

Teletoon air dates[1] in parentheses:

Season 1

1. Welcome to Silent Springs (09/01/2003)

Rock and his family move to Silent Springs. Willy disguises himself as "Willy Zillowsky" but he is forced by Buzz to steal Rock's gold record.

2. Zilla's House of Horrors (09/08/2003)

Willy hears Buzz claim that the house is haunted due to being built on a graveyard.

3. Mr. Zilla's Opus (09/15/2003)

Rock reveals to everyone in school that Willy is his son, when he becomes the schools new band teacher. *Note*: "Mr. Zilla's Opus" is a parody of Mr. Holland's Opus.

4. High Infidelity (09/22/2003)

Crystal opens a Psychic Wellness Centre next to Willy's school earning Willy some ribbing over his flakey Mom.

5. Angela D'Angelo (09/29/2003)

When Willy meets a new student named Angela, she invites him to a pre-date with her parents who dislike Rock Zilla.

6. The Candidate (10/06/2003)

Willy plans to be the candidate for class representative, but Buzz keeps stealing all of his plans and bullies everyone into voting for him. Willy eventually wins even with the chaos caused by asking his parents to act normal.

7. Willy Unplugged (10/13/2003)

Willy is going to play his trumpet at the school talent night, but when Rock finds out, he tries to "help" by adding over-the-top theatrics to Willy's show. Alyssa and Q try to get in on Willy's act with less-than-musical results.

8. Dance Party (10/20/2003)

Willy joins the dance committee, but the teacher, Ms. Zachwiss, doesn't want the dance to change from the boring theme it had for the past 15 years.

9. Psychic Convention (10/27/2003)

Crystal asks Willy to come with her to the Psychic Convention to meet Madame Persenchia, but he has to study for a math test and Mosh goes missing.

10. Call of the Wild (11/03/2003)

The Zillas go on a camping trip with Willy's friends but something goes horribly wrong.

11. Mr. Big (11/10/2003)

When Sally Raptor, the most popular girl in school, offers Willy a coveted spot in the "in crowd", Willy gets a taste of what it's like to be extremely popular and it rocks! But complications arise when Sally tries to get Willy to abandon Alyssa and Q. Meanwhile, Serenity is terrorizing the neighbourhood by practicing to get her driver's license.

12. Rebel Without A Nose Ring (11/17/2003)

Buzz sets Willy up to experience a series of unfortunate encounters with Mr. Malfactor after which he labels Willy a Rebel and seizes the opportunity to restore order upon the student body by implementing a dress code.

13. Going for Broke (02/02/2004)

When the Zilla's go broke, Q's father invites them to stay at their house.

Season 2

14. Meet the Zillas (December 1, 2003)

Rock decides that TV is boring so he starts his own reality show. But later as they play pranks on Willy, they change the show to "Meet Willy Zilla."

15. Rock Is From Mars, Willy Is From Venus (February 9, 2004)

Willy and Rock try to spend some quality time together but things don't go as Willy intended.

16. The Sound of Zilla (February 16, 2004)

Willy's school is celebrating International Students Week.

17. Home for the Holly Daze (December 22, 2003)

It's the Zilla's first Christmas in Silent Springs and when they inadvertently cause a famous Broadway director to lose his job, misery befalls them when he tries to get even.

18. What's the Scoop? (March 15, 2004)

Scoop keeps on sneaking out on Rock; Buzz puts Willy in detention after he arrives late. So Scoop and Willy concoct a plan to prove his innocence.

19. Rock Bottom (March 22, 2004)

It's Rock's birthday but things get chaotic when Rock gets depressed, Serenity lands herself in the slammer, and she ends up serving community service at a senior's home, with Rock as her newest patient!

20. Saving Sawchuck (May 3, 2004)

After Willy saves Buzz from drowning, he has to let Buzz save him from harm; Serenity falls in love with the Lifeguard, so she has lifeguard lessons.

21. King of the Desert (May 10, 2004)

Willy, Q, and Alyssa take on a band trip, but end up in the middle of the desert: Serenity and Crystal have to hide Rock's concert t-shirt (which he refuses to wash) before he comes back.

22. Big Willy on Campus (May 17, 2004)

Rock is given an honorary doctorate by his old college, Cere Bellum University, but someone has it in for Rock.

23. Metamorphic Rock (June 20, 2004)

Willy, Q, and Alyssa are assigned a group project in Science class but with his mom missing in action, the house gets chaotic.

24. Kant Buy Me Love (June 20, 2004)

Willy and his friends help their neighbor, Mr. Kant throw a silent party.

25. Chip Off the Old Rock (June 20, 2004)

Rock's parents come to visit him, but they became mortal enemies; Serenity and her grandmother have a day off.

26. Blind Date (July 5, 2004)

Willy and Alyssa become attracted to each other after a night at the movies. When Willy realizes that he is now dating her, he becomes a wreck, as he is afraid of how Q will react, and what this will mean for the trio's friendship. Meanwhile, Rock is trying to celebrate his 20th anniversary with Crystal, but each of his plans only seem to upset her.

DVD

On September 20, 2006, the series released, "Dad's Debut", which contained the first six episodes of the first season: "Welcome to Spirit Springs", "Zilla's House of Horrors", "Mr. Zilla's Opus", "High Infidelity", "Angela D'angelo", and "The Candidate".

On April 7, 2009, a second volume was released, "Off The Hook", which contained the next 5 episodes of the first season: "Willy Unplugged", "Dance Party", "Psychic Convention", "Call of the Wild", and "Mr. Big".

References

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