Family Dog (TV Series) - Original Episode

Original Episode

In the original Amazing Stories episode, which aired in the show's second season in 1987, a dog (a Bull Terrier simply called "the dog") is the main character, portrayed in three stories: The first story involves general misadventures in the house, with him being both ignored and somewhat mistreated by his owners, originally named the Binfords. The second part is a "home movie" showing their Christmas (in which the family narrates), that culminates with the dog eating the ham. In the third, final and elongated segment of the episode, a couple of robbers break into the family's house twice (the first time was when the Binfords had to go out to see a movie at a movie theater, and the dog was given one more chance before the second time), so the father sends the dog to Gerta LaStrange's Dog Obedience School, so he can learn how to become a "quivering, snarling, white-hot ball of canine terror" in order to fend off the robbers. However, when they return to try to rob the house the third time, they run away from it to try avoid and escape from the dog, but when they return to their hideout, which is full of their stolen stuff (they came back with nothing from their third robbery), the second, shorter-bodied robber discovers the dog attached to his arm, with his teeth. Time passes, and the dog is still stuck to his arm. A policeman investigating the robberies approaches the door, burst in and the dog attacks him. The villains praise the dog, and decide to use him as a weapon in a crime spree (featuring the dog and his attacks and robberies). Later the robbers threaten to get a cat when the newspaper refers to them as "The Dog Gang". Already angered by this annoying humiliation, the dog becomes too much for the robbers to take, as he turns on them, causing an auto accident in which the robbers hit a cop car and are busted. The dog is returned to the Binford family, who consider him their hero. The story ends with a catch-up gag, with the father stuck outside the house, as he tries to whisper to his wife to let him in. He then sneaks behind the house into the backyard, only to be attacked, beaten and wounded by the still-quivering, snarling, white-hot ball of canine terror.

Written and directed by Brad Bird, with music by Danny Elfman and Steve Bartek, it was one of the most popular episodes of the Amblin/Universal Television weekly anthology television series, Amazing Stories. The story was animated by Dan Jeup, Ralph Eggleston, Chris Buck, Sue Kroyer, Gregg Vanzo, David Cutler, Rob Minkoff, Alan Smart and Darrell Rooney from an animation production design by Tim Burton. The animation production was outsourced to Hyperion Pictures (then under The Kushner-Locke Company).

• Skip Binford (the father) was voiced by Martin Mull.
• Bev Binford (the mother) was voiced by Annie Potts
• Billy Binford (the son) was voiced by Zak Huxtable Epstein.
• Buffy Binford (the daughter) was voiced by Cassie Cole.
• The Family Dog (the main character) was voiced by Danny Mann.
• Gerte LeStrange (the dog trainer) was voiced by Mercedes McCambridge.
• The two robbers were voiced by Marshall Efron and Stanley Ralph Ross.
• The Mahoneys, Trish and Martin, were voiced by Bruce McGill and Deanna Oliver
• Plus, an additional voice was given to Jack Angel for the security guard of the dog school.

The first half of the special was attached to another Spielberg-produced project, The Land Before Time, because of the film's short length of over-an-hour.