September 14, 2002 (2002-09-14) – January 30, 2004 (2004-01-30)
Fillmore! is an American animated television series created by Scott M. Gimple[1] for ABC and, later, Toon Disney. It originally ran for two seasons from 2002 to 2004. A parody of popular police dramas of the 1970s, Fillmore! is centered on reformed juvenile delinquent Cornelius Fillmore and his new partner, Ingrid Third, members of the Safety Patrol at X Middle School.[2] The series was aimed at children, but also attracted an older audience with its '70s references.[citation needed]
Seventh grader Cornelius Fillmore (voiced by Orlando Brown), a juvenile delinquent with a record, was caught raiding the school's new chalk shipment. He was "arrested" and given a choice by the safety patrol officer who caught him: either help him solve another case or spend the rest of middle school in detention. Fillmore decided to help out and he eventually decided to join up with the safety patrol.
The show is based around him and his partner Ingrid Third (voiced by Tara Strong) at X Middle School, which is located in the suburbs of Minneapolis and Saint Paul in Minnesota. The show's format parodies that of hard-boiled police dramas.[3] X's safety patrol is much more actively involved in student behavior than a typical school's safety patrol, and officers often seem to spend more time patrolling than normally attending class, although they can be seen attending at times.
As part of the Safety Patrol at X Middle School, Fillmore and Ingrid solve crimes and mysteries. The series usually presents kid-friendly versions of common crimes, such as stolen scooters, smuggling tartar sauce, holding illegal frog races, and counterfeiting collector cards.
Cornelius C. Fillmore (voiced by Orlando Brown) is a seventh grader at X Middle School and the main protagonist of the series. He is a member of the Safety Patrol. His middle name is never revealed in the series. Fillmore was a juvenile delinquent; his crimes included "chalk boosting", "milk counterfeiting", and "back talkery". Fillmore's life changed when Safety Patrol member Wayne Liggit gave him a choice: spend the rest of middle school in detention or help him solve another case. Said choice came after he got busted for boosting a chalk shipment a few months after a world record bowl of custard sabotage attempt when the head of the Home Economics Department, Mr Geary, had called him "a lost cause" in class a few days beforehand which made Fillmore want to prove him right. Fillmore was recruited into the Safety Patrol as a result of his helping out. It is revealed in the episodes "A Forgotten Yesterday" and "Immune to All but Justice" that during in his days of being a juvenile delinquent, he was partners-in-crime with Sonny Lombard and Penny Madrid, both of whom are still delinquents. This, along with his own criminal history, brought him into close contact with Student Council Representative Peabody causing them to have history which still continues to this day. It is shown that he's an only child, has a pet dog and a pet fish, which died in "Next Stop, Armageddon" causing him to get a replacement. In "The Nineteenth Hole is a Shallow Grave" Fillmore is shown to be skilled at mini golf and always was. So he decided to try for the X Middle School mini golf team during his delinquent days. But because of his discipline problems he was not allowed in. So he challenged the whole team to a match as retribution for not letting him play. There, he beat them so badly and completely for everything that they had, that they never played the game again and neither did he. It is revealed that he kept the golf club that he used in said match with six notches etched into it as a representation of the six lives that he ruined. At the end of the episode, he makes amends and gives back the team his ill-gotten winnings along with the trophy he won as interest. After which he once again challenges the team to a match, only this time just for fun. He is known for going above and beyond the standards of other Safety Patrol officers. He almost never loses a target even if it means destroying school property, which he happens to do a lot, much to the dismay of Jr. Commissioner Vallejo. Before moving to X Middle School, he lived in Cleveland, Ohio.
Ingrid Third (voiced by Tara Strong) is Fillmore's goth best friend and partner on the X Middle School Safety Patrol. Before her arrival at X Middle School, Ingrid was sent to a reform school in Nepal for an incident involving a stinkbomb and a piñata. Ingrid, another former delinquent and a certified genius due to her photographic memory, arrives at X Middle School and partners with Fillmore after he helped her clear her name in "Ingrid Third, Public Enemy #1". Her father is a professor and she has an older sister named Ariella. Her mother is seen but never mentioned. It is revealed in "The Unseen Reflection" that she played Little League for two years.
Horatio Vallejo (voiced by Horatio Sanz) is the junior commissioner of the Safety Patrol and Fillmore's immediate superior. Vallejo has had some rough experiences in the Safety Patrol as an officer: losing his friend and fellow safety patrol officer Malika to the Red Robins, a distorted girl scout troop after she went undercover and went bad leaving the force, and unintentionally betraying his partner and best friend, Frank Bishop, after he refused to speak out against his expulsion from the force, believing it would threaten his chances of becoming commissioner. Vallejo has issues with drinking too much cocoa, which is a kid-friendly version of issues with excessive caffeine or alcohol. Vallejo is often put at odds against Fillmore, such as when he is forced to take Fillmore off a case even though he does not want to, or Fillmore is close to solving it. He also often refuses Fillmore for his reckless destruction of school property, which usually allows Fillmore to catch the criminal, but makes both him and the safety patrol look bad. The only thing that gets Vallejo more mad is when he sees how much it is going to cost to repair the damages, caused by Fillmore. Vallejo's catchphrase is yelling "Fillmore!", which he does in almost every episode when he hears of something Fillmore broke, like a waxer, or ordering expensive walkie talkies by tricking him into signing his signature. Another running gag is that his first name is either unknown or covered up throughout the series.
Karen Tehama (voiced by Lauren Tom) is the crime scene investigator on the Safety Patrol who has a keen interest in forensics and can usually be counted on to know the word on the street. Although she appears in almost every episode, she is more of a background character.
Joseph Anza (voiced by Danny Tamberelli) is the partner of Karen Tehama, known for his bodyguarding training and like Tehama, tends to know the word on the street. Although he appears in almost every episode, he is more of a background character.
Danny O'Farrell (voiced by Kyle Sullivan) is the crime scene photographer for the Safety Patrol, though it is often joked that he should not be qualified to be a Safety Patroller by Vallejo. He has a tendency to get on other people's nerves and has some deep thoughts, overreacting, and weird ideas. O'Farrell serves as the comic relief on the show. He is also able to develop film with common household items as seen in "Masterstroke of Malevolence". His name, red hair and kilt characterize him as Scottish.
Dawn S. Folsom (voiced by Wendie Malick) is the principal of X Middle School, though she acts like a District Attorney or a mayor figure in crime shows or is similar to M from the James Bond series. In context of the show's police drama parody theme, she represents the overstressed, image-conscious mayor archetype, where in every episode she threatens to turn the Safety Patrol office into something else if they are unable to solve the case. Tough on the outside with looks that can stop any student in their tracks, she runs her school with a strong presence – but she does it for pride and honor. She does have a kind heart on the inside and does much for her students and staff, sometimes anonymously. It is stated that she is about 40 years old, as in "Next Stop, Armageddon" it is her birthday, and Vallejo mentions that "this year, it starts with a 4".
Vice Principal Raycliff (voiced by Jeff Probst) is the school's vice principal and Folsom's right-hand man. Though he acts like a secretary or as a vice mayor in crime shows, he never really says much, but can be counted on to gush out school facts, figures and catchy metaphors at the drop of a hat. It is possible that he attended school with Folsom, according to an old school album. It is revealed in "Two Wheels, Full Throttle, No Breaks" that he gets seasick.
Recurring
Mr. Collingwood (voiced by Kyle Gass) is one of the teachers at X Middle School.
Augie Sansome (voiced by Frankie Muniz in "Test of the Tested", Kiel Holmes in "This Savior, a Snitch"): In the former, he was suspected by Fillmore and Ingrid of stealing the answer sheets to the S.A.T.T.Y. 9 test, but what he really stole turned out to be packets of tartar sauce. In the latter, he wound up being a witness to a set up on Filmore and is asked to testify at a student council meeting to clear Fillmore's name.
Mrs. Cornwall (voiced by Holland Taylor) is the algebra teacher at X Middle School and a student in 1956. She strongly believes in the school's honor code. In "A Cold Day at X" she places the answer key to one of her tests out in the open to prove her belief in the code.
Librarian Lendrum (voiced by Brian George) is X Middle School's librarian.
Cheri Shotwell (voiced by Debi Derryberry) is the lively, bubbly, blonde-haired cheerleader who also serves as a reporter or interviewer. She also frequently hosts parties and sleepovers.
Philsky (voiced by Michael Welch) is the school's reporter, who usually co-anchors with Cheri.
Vern Natoma (voiced by Marcus Toji): Editor-in-chief of the school's newspaper.
Professor Third (voiced by Anthony Head): College professor and the father of Ingrid and Ariella.
Jamie Townsend (voiced by Chris Marquette) is a smart student, who wears glasses.
Proper Kid (voiced by Shaun Fleming) is a blonde-haired boy dressed like a sea captain, which is appropriate, considering that he is a member of the Paddle Boat Club. He is so called due to his always pointing out what is fit.
Lab Coat Kid #1 (voiced by Chris Marquette): As his title suggests, he is one of the kids who wear lab coats and often involved in the lab or science class.
Wade (voiced by Michael Welch) is another blonde X Middle School reporter.
Wayne Ligget (voiced by Lukas Behnken) is Fillmore's original Safety Patrol partner before he eventually moved away and was replaced by Ingrid when she came to X. He is best friends with Fillmore, and before Ingrid became Filmore's partner, Filmore refused to have any partners because he was still greatly affected by Wayne's departure. He has light brown hair. As such, little is known about him and his background, but he is referenced a few times. However, he and Fillmore would meet up again in "South of Friendship, North of Honor", when the latter went to Tennessee where the former is based and resides currently to take on a case there. Fillmore helps Wayne take down the schools distorted patrol sheriff and Wayne is subsequently named as his school's new safety patrol sheriff.
Frankie Polk (voiced by Lukas Behnken) is a blonde-haired boy who has an affinity for sketching and painting, and as such, is president of the Art Club.
Sarah Beel (voiced by Mae Whitman) is one of several students at X Middle School who either bear malice to the school mascot, Lobstee the Lobster, or to anything else associated with lobstering, in Sarah's case, being the latter. She was accused of damaging the "Lobsterman at Port" painting at an art museum in Masterstroke of Malevolence
Production
The theme song for the show was written and performed by filk band Ookla the Mok. It appears on their album Super Secret, as the intro to the song "Das Über Tüber, or the Mystery of Mr. P."
The announcer of the series was voice actor Don LaFontaine, best known for his catchphrase "In a world..."
X Middle School's bathroom renovation project teeters on the brink of disaster as the new tagger "STAINLESS" strikes at will. Out of leads, Fillmore and Ingrid turn to Randall "the Vandal" Julian, another tagger called "FLAVA SAVA", currently in solitary detention. His help puts them back on the trail, but Randall escapes, forcing Fillmore and Ingrid to catch both "STAINLESS" and "FLAVA SAVA" before they strike again.
The student body is in an uproar when the controversial S.A.T.T.Y. 9 tests are stolen by an assailant dressed as X's beloved mascot, Lobstee the Lobster. The suspected thieves are a student who panicked during the test or Enid Quintara, the outspoken anti-S.A.T.T.Y 9 activist. Fillmore and Ingrid are under pressure – they have only 48 hours to find the tests or Principal Folsom will have the entire school retake the tests.
The Library's books have disappeared, and Tony Clementina, X Middle School's local heavy, is all too eager to take credit for it. Meanwhile, an empty bottle rocket made from a can of Carbee Cola leads Ingrid back to the biggest custard spill in X Middle School history, an incident that disturbingly points to Fillmore from back during his days as a delinquent.
Someone has stolen X Middle School's beloved mascot Lobstee the Lobster. Time is running out for both Lobstee and the Bocce Team, and the key to finding him before time runs out might be X's resident psychic, Alistair Greystone. It is up to Alistair and the Safety Patrol find Lobstee before it is too late.
Parodied crimes: attempted assassination of a political leader and kidnapping, as well as the use of psychics in law enforcement.
5
5
"Red Robins Don't Fly"
Christian Roman
Madellaine Paxson
October 12, 2002 (2002-10-12)
During an undercover sting operation, boxes of band candy were accidentally discovered in the lake. The candy is traced back to the Red Robins – seemingly a school club in the same manner as Girl Scouts who make record sales of their award-winning taffy. In reality, the Robins strong arm their competition (stealing candy and cookie dough, cheating in selling taffy, messing up signs of competitors), and the Safety Patrol have been trying to catch them in the act for a long time. Ingrid goes undercover as a Red Robin, but she fits the role all too well and becomes the prime contender for becoming the leader of the Robins when Malika, the current leader, graduates. Fillmore discovers that Malika used to be Vallejo's partner who also infiltrated the Robins, but was seduced and overcome by darker purposes. Ingrid must locate the secret Vault of stolen goods and shut down the Robins for good, or turn to darker purposes as Malika did.
Parodied crimes: The Mafia and the dangers of undercover operations.
6
6
"Next Stop, Armageddon"
Christian Roman
Laura McCreary & Mark Myers
November 2, 2002 (2002-11-02)
After accidentally destroying Folsom's birthday party, Fillmore and Ingrid are asked to do convention duty, but the train convention experiences sabotage, leaving the entire convention to be ruined. Fillmore and Ingrid first suspect the RC Car Club to be behind it, but Oscar, the best model railroad engineer at X, seems to be coping extremely well to the tragedy. He is suspected of being the saboteur.
Parodied crimes: sabotage
7
7
"Nappers Never Sleep"
Christian Roman
Scott M. Gimple
November 9, 2002 (2002-11-09)
Duappy, a virtual pet, has been stolen, and it is up to Fillmore and Ingrid to find X's pride and joy before a reporter comes to X to do a story on Duappy and before Duappy dies. They soon discover that Duappy may have been stolen not to harm, but to help.
Fillmore's partner moves away to Tennessee, and he is partnered up with Brad Parnassus, the smartest kid at X Middle School. Rebellious and super-smart new student Ingrid Third does not take her introduction to X student body well at all, and a giant stink bomb explodes in the hallways. The case turns out not to be as simple as it originally seemed.
Note: The episode is largely told in flashback and thus mostly takes place before the series' start.
Parodied crimes: Detonating an explosive device in a public area, chemical terrorism, and frameup
9
9
"A Cold Day at X"
Christian Roman
Eddie Guzelian
November 23, 2002 (2002-11-23)
Mrs. Cornwall's Pre-Algebra final exam looks like it is going to be a tough one, but four of her students have decided to take more extreme measures beyond studying. Fillmore sleeps over in the school to safeguard the exam, but an unexpected blizzard and officer Third's head cold leaves him standing alone to face a desperate gang of determined exam thieves.
Parodied crimes: burglary and taking of hostages, along with Die Hard's "lone cop vs. gang of villains" plot
10
10
"Masterstroke of Malevolence"
Christian Roman
Madellaine Paxson
February 15, 2003 (2003-02-15)
Mrs. Lawson's field trip to the Modern Contemporary Natural History, Art, Science and Miniature Museum takes a horrifying turn as someone draws a mustache on the priceless painting "The Lobster Man at Port". Fillmore, Ingrid, and O'Farrell work to find the culprit and save the painting, but the time is running out and everyone is a suspect.
Scooter thefts are up, and the Safety Patrol faces a challenge from student activist Derek Minna, who establishes B.A.G.A.S.T. (Boys And Girls Against Scooter Theft), a scooter and rollerblade equipped task force that he intends to ultimately replace the safety patrol. Fillmore and Ingrid trace the thefts to the Metal Shop and infiltrate the gang. They discover the mysterious "Stingray", and who has plans for the stolen scooters.
Parodied crimes: motor vehicle theft, with many of the scenes of the episode parodying the film Gone in 60 Seconds, Guardian Angels, criminal enterprises
12
12
"Of Slain Kings on Checkered Fields"
Christian Roman
Eddie Guzelian
May 10, 2003 (2003-05-10)
X Middle School's best hope to break a losing streak in the chess tournament is Checkmatey, a flamboyant rapper who is X's finest chess player, but somebody is out to get him. The suspects are Tyson Pelarez, leader of the Society of the Preservation of Ethics in Chess, or Nelson Kelloch, Checkmatey's biggest rival. Fillmore and Ingrid are on the case – but the clock is ticking down to the championship match and Checkmatey is nowhere to be found.
Parodied crimes: attempted murder, kidnapping, gambling, and drinking
13
13
"A Forgotten Yesterday"
Christian Roman
Eddie Guzelian
May 17, 2003 (2003-05-17)
The heat is on from Student Council Representative Peabody to find a stolen case of computer disks holding information on term papers off the street, but the perps always seem one step ahead of the Safety Patrol. After a botched raid and the sabotage of his bike, Fillmore turns to Sonny Lombard, his old partner from his bad-boy days. They track the disks back to Rudy Teravall, the Kingpin of Home Economics, Fillmore learns where the disks are, but just as Fillmore and Ingrid get ready to move in on Rudy's gang, Peabody gets tipped off about bootleg hall passes in Fillmore's desk. Fillmore gets suspended from the force – and has to prove that he has not gone bad again. Meanwhile Sonny appears to have a mysterious agenda.
Tina and Toby are the stars of the school at both dancing and smoit-collecting. Smoits are tokens found on dairy bars and packets of chips used to buy basically anything a kid could want once enough of them are saved up. The smoit stash goes missing, and Fillmore and Ingrid go undercover in X's steamy underground casino scene. They discover Toby's gambling debts, and he becomes the prime suspect, which destroys his dance partnership with Tina, but the case is not as simple as it appears. Meanwhile, Fillmore is having a little too much trouble obsessing over his damaged sash (that is, until it dissolves in a vat of chili).
Vallejo's nearing his second term test for Junior Commissioner, and in the meantime, a crime crops up involving 'The Shredder'- an anonymous criminal who shreds people's pet projects. The catch is that not a single one of the victims saw the Shredder's face. This seems like a job for Vallejo's old profiler partner, Frank Bishop, who was driven from the Safety Patrol in disgrace (due to a threatened lawsuit against the school by parents whose son was caught doing a game scam by being stopped by Frank with gazpacho, which the boy was allergic to). He deduces that the Shredder is hitting students from the Drama Club in alphabetical order – and his own sister, Francine, is next on the list, but these shredding incidents are not all they appear to be.
Parodied crimes: police brutality, serial killing, and conspiracy
16
3
"Foes Don't Forgive"
Christian Roman
Matthew Negrete
October 4, 2003 (2003-10-04)
Reformed thug Linus Santiago impresses the crowd at the X Middle School Talent Show with his magic act, but his disappearing trick with Dewey Hubble's robotic dog Barcode goes horribly wrong – it will not reappear. Santiago refuses to tell the Safety Patrol how he did the trick due to the Magician's Code, but by doing so, he makes himself the prime suspect. Dewey is anxious to get it back as it is a stepping stone to getting a real dog; when Barcode's collar is found in the lake, all hope could be lost – for both Dewey and Santiago.
Parodied crimes: kidnapping
17
4
"South of Friendship, North of Honor"
Christian Roman
Madellaine Paxson
October 11, 2003 (2003-10-11)
Spring Break has arrived, so Fillmore is taking the time to visit his former partner, Wayne Liggett. In Wayne's new school, something about the Safety Patrol stinks – so much that Wayne's partner Emily had to quit. The prize pralines of the school have been stolen, and the prime suspect is Patrol Sheriff Thrift – who just so happens to be the son of their principal.
X Middle School has become obsessed with Canada – and the ambassador's son is staying over, along with his assistant Penny Madrid, who happens to be an old partner in crime with Fillmore. Winston Kotter, the Canadian ambassador, turned Penny around just as the Safety Patrol turned Fillmore around – but Fillmore cannot help but suspect something is up, especially as a huge supply of counterfeit baseball cards appear. For Fillmore's dismay, Winston has full diplomatic immunity and plans to pin the crime on Penny. Without the power to officially apprehend him, Fillmore and the Safety Patrol do not know what to do.
Something is down at the X Middle School Open – professional golfers are failing at games, and foul play is suspected. Normally, Fillmore would be eager for an undercover job like this, but something in his past – something involving mini-golf – is making him hesitate.
Parodied crimes: bribery, intimidation, match fixing, and point shaving
20
7
"Links in a Chain of Honor"
Christian Roman
John Cervenka & Sean Whalen
November 8, 2003 (2003-11-08)
Rookie Officer Peter Chestnut is the latest of four brothers to join the Safety Patrol. He has a lot to live up to – his older brother Robert was a highly decorated Safety Patroller and is now the Student Council President. When a shipment of stolen X Middle School foam spirit lobster claws is tracked back to also-ran Oscar Mabini, it looks like Peter has closed his first case, but all is not what it seems, and family honor has everything to do with it.
Parodied crimes: theft and bribery
21
8
"The Unseen Reflection"
Christian Roman
Madellaine Paxson
November 15, 2003 (2003-11-15)
Vampirita, a series of novels about an astronaut vampire, has attracted a huge following at X – and none more so that Torrey and Terri. The next installment of the series will be released in a fortnight, and until then, fans can audition to star in the next book. Terri and Torrey start to build projects to win the auditions, but every time one is finished, it gets sabotaged. Naturally, the main suspects are two members of a rival novel's fanclub – TQ, a mysterious and riddle-talking guy with an affinity for multicultural cuisine, and Trace, a girl who never seems to be happy with the color of her hair, but evidence points to neither. It must be determined who could have enough knowledge about the projects to find the perfect way to sabotage them.
Parodied crimes: sabotage, religious bigotry (between rival fanclubs)
22
9
"Codename: Electric Haircut"
Christian Roman
Matthew Negrete
January 2, 2004 (2004-01-02)
Fillmore and Ingrid have to investigate the mysterious vanishing of a student named Alexis, only to find that all records of her have vanished from the school, and she has even been taken out of pictures. At the same time someone is working on a computer virus called Electric Haircut which could cause some major reputation damage to the popular students. Meanwhile, Vallejo deals with his hot cocoa intake, a spoof of police officers' caffeine addiction.
The Ultrabox, the hottest new game system on the market, makes its debut at X, and everyone wants one – including "The Maestro", a gaming mastermind who will stop at nothing to get it. Fillmore and Ingrid track him down, but the Ultrabox is stolen while he is in custody. It looks like a copycat is on the loose, but there is more to this case than meets the eye.
Parodied crimes: theft, vandalism, and copycat crime
24
11
"This Saviour, a Snitch"
Christian Roman
Christian Roman
January 16, 2004 (2004-01-16)
Facing expulsion under Principal Folsom's new 'Three Strikes, You're Expelled' rule, Fillmore must protect the only person that can clear his name to a crime he has been framed for: the destruction of a giant Folsom statue made out of 12,000 pieces of macaroni.
Four victims and four bullies: Rochelle and Bryan who physically bully Wilbur and Grover, and Fiona and Horace who verbally bully Becca and Stella. Someone can no longer stand people being made to feel helpless and scared and is targeting each victim's bully in turn. Despite not wanting to help bullies, Fillmore sets up a bodyguard system for some of the bullies and starts to work on who would want to have scared the bullies so much. The main suspects are obviously the four victims, but the victim of each bully has an alibi for when their tormentor was terrorized.
Guildenstern, the Science Department's tarantula mascot, has been poisoned, and the prime suspect, Eric Orben, has escaped into the city. Fillmore is given authority to go out into town and catch Eric, but he has to contend with a relentless opponent from his bad-boy past and a case that is not as obvious as it seems.
Fillmore! premiered on ABC's Saturday morning programming block, ABC Kids, on September 14, 2002.[1] The show continued to air on the block through the next two seasons. On March 8, 2003, Disney Channel added the series to their lineup, beginning with a three-hour marathon in primetime. Reruns continued until September 2 of the same year, when the series (alongside The Legend of Tarzan and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command) was pre-empted in favor of a 90-minute showing of Recess.[6]
On September 2, 2003, reruns began airing on Toon Disney,[7][8] and the final five episodes aired on the channel in January 2004.[9] It also aired on Disney XD until August 2009. It was briefly shown again on April 19, 2018.
As of June 2024, like with Buzz Lightyear, The Legend of Tarzan, Aladdin: The Series, and many other late 1990s animated series, Fillmore! has yet to be added to Disney+ in the United States.
Home media release
While the series has never been released on VHS or DVD, all 26 episodes are available (for digital download) dubbed in German from iTunes Germany[10] and Amazon Germany.[11] It also appears on Google Play but is currently unavailable to buy.[12]Fillmore! was released on streaming via Disney+ in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland on July 27, 2022.[13] It is also advertised on Apple TV.[14]
^Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 205–206. ISBN978-1538103739.
^Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. pp. 258–260. ISBN978-1476665993.
