The Bremen Avenue Experience



""5,6,7,8!""

- Tanner

The Bremen Avenue Experience is an Animated Show whose five episodes were made by writer Steve Patrick and director Adam Fuchs in 2008 for Cartoon Network's "Wedgies" program. It's a modern adaptation of "The Bremen Town Musicians", a Fairy Tale from Germany popularized by The Brothers Grimm.

The titular characters are four Funny Animals who have formed a Garage Band. The series revolves around the group's rehearsals, where they deal with each other's quirky personalities while trying to make music together (and sometimes succeeding). The band members are Barrett the donkey, the keyboardist who's (more or less) in charge; Simon the dog, the enthusiastic guitarist; Jessica the Catgirl, the bassist who's a little more sensible than the others; and Tanner the rooster, the lovably eccentric drummer.

Since it didn't get picked up as a series, the show remains undeservedly obscure, but thanks to its unique and heartwarming storylines, it became something of a Cult Classic. All five episodes can be watched on the Cartoon Network website.

Tropes:

 * Adobe Flash
 * All Drummers Are Animals: Literally, in Tanner's case.
 * Amazingly Embarrassing Parent: In "Tanner's Story", Tanner's dad seems to be one at first, but turns out to be a Cool Old Guy after all.
 * Bare Your Midriff: Jessica.
 * Barefoot Cartoon Animals: Jessica and Tanner.
 * Cell Phone: In "Jessica's Story", the incessant ringing of Jessica's mobile phone disrupts a rehearsal--until the band starts incorporating it into the song they're playing.
 * Cloudcuckoolander: Tanner is kind of spacey.
 * Control Freak: Barrett tries hard to keep the BAE focused on music--sometimes, a little too hard.
 * Fake Band
 * Fake Brit: In "Barrett's Story", Barrett tries singing a ballad with a Cockney accent because "A lot of classic rock music came from England! The Beatles, The Stones...". However, the others aren't thrilled with it. As Tanner says, "English guys don't sing with that accent!"
 * Flash Back: Used in "Simon's Story" to illustrate that the band members have known each other since childhood.
 * Four-Fingered Hands: Simon and Tanner have them. However, Jessica doesn't have thumbs, and Barrett has hooves instead of hands. How can these two play their instruments? Rule of Funny.
 * Funny Animal
 * Garage Band
 * Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: The first episode is titled "Introducing The Bremen Avenue Experience." The other four are titled "Simon's Story", "Jessica's Story"...you get the idea.
 * Lions and Tigers and Humans, Oh My!: A borderline example; the "London Town" sequence in "Barrett's Story" includes a human British Royal Guard and the human Giant Foot of Stomping from the Monty Python's Flying Circus Title Sequence. Other than that, the show takes place in a World of Funny Animals.
 * Mad Artist: Simon, and it's Played for Laughs. In "Tanner's Story", he tries to get the others to wear costumes and makeup. In "Simon's Story", he attempts to put "the wow factor" in the band's act by shooting off fireworks during a rehearsal. Hilarity Ensues.
 * Minimalist Cast: The series has exactly one guest star (Pete Donnelly from "Tanner's Story").
 * The One Who Wears Shoes: Or sandals, in Simon's case.
 * Only One Name: The entire cast, except for Tanner and his father Pete; in "Tanner's Story", their last name is revealed as Donnelly.
 * The Power of Rock
 * Retired Badass: Pete Donnelly is a former roadie--and a pretty good drummer in his own right.
 * Short Runners: Not only did the show last only five episodes, each episode is a little over two minutes long. You can watch the whole series in about 11-12 minutes.
 * Shout-Out: Several. For starters, the band/series name is a tribute to The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
 * In "Barrett's Story", the "London Town" video includes Shout Outs to Doctor Who, William Shakespeare, The Office (British version), Harry Potter, Wallace and Gromit, Monty Python and The Beatles (specifically, an Abbey Road Crossing).
 * Also, Tanner's unique countdown on the drums (quoted above) may be a reference to all-female Japanese Power Trio The 5-6-7-8's (of Kill Bill fame).
 * Stock Footage: Each episode begins with the same Establishing Shot of the house where the band rehearses. Also, a shot of three of the band members as seen over Barrett's shoulder appears fairly often.
 * To Be a Master: In the Pilot Episode, Barrett says he wants the BAE to become "one of the truly great bands".
 * Women Are Wiser: Jessica is usually the Only Sane Woman among the group, valiantly trying to keep the peace when her bandmates argue or otherwise get out of hand.
 * World Limited to the Plot: The band rehearses in a room inside a suburban house. The entire series is set within that room.