| Sea-Dog | |
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Gender |
Male |
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Status |
Deceased |
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Affiliation |
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First Appearance |
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Played by |
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Sea-Dog is the Laughingstock Crew's janitor who only appeared in Candle Cove's earliest episodes.
Appearance
He is a short, shaggy brown hound-dog with googly eyes. He wears a sailor's cap, a tattered olive green scarf, a striped shirt, and blue pants.
Unlike most of the marionette puppets, Sea-Dog was a hand-puppet, which led to frustrations with the puppeteers because their arms constantly appeared in frame and the scene(s) had to be re-shot over and over again until the take was perfect, which may have contributed to the decision to have him killed off rather early in the show.
Personality
In the handful of episodes he has appeared in, Sea-Dog would be usually seen scrubbing the poop deck of the Laughingstock, mumbling under his breath, occasionally delivering one-liners which led to him being the show's comedic relief. He would usually call Janice "sugar cookie".
He is overall less superstitious than the other crew members. In his earliest appearances, Sea-Dog believed that the Skin-Taker is nothing more than an urban legend, which is best displayed in the Second episode, Getting Under My Skin, when he told everyone they were "chasing an old wive's tale" and that he would be waiting for them at The Salty Sea since he wanted no part in what he perceived as "a wild goose chase" and thus was absent for most of Getting Under My Skin and The Battle of Little Bedford. However in the fourth episode, The Birthday Party, in the scene where the Skin-Taker shows up at Janice's birthday party, Sea-Dog can be heard saying "I can't believe it! He's REAL!"
Episodes
After his first appearance in the pilot episode, he appeared in a few season one episodes, until he was killed off in the episode, Ship Crash.
He was hit by a cannonball whilst he was cleaning the Laughingstock's kitchen area, crashed through a window and drowned in the shallow seas. He later appeared in The Death of Milo as a rug in The Skin-Taker's lair.
Removal From Show
Series director Emerson Grimes disliked the character because Sea-Dog's "Comedic buffoonery clashed with the show's dark tone". Some crew members felt that Sea-Dog had no point to the show and was a complete nuisance. After filming of the episode "Ship Crash" finished, Grimes took the Sea-Dog puppet, tore it in half and tossed the puppet remains into the trash.
When filming of The New Ship, began, one of the writers noticed the tattered and torn puppet in the garbage and proposed an idea to Emerson Grimes involving Sea-Dog getting kidnapped by The Skin-Taker and turned into a rug. Grimes liked the idea and told the writer to incorperate the idea into the show. This idea wouldn't be used until The Death of Milo.
Trivia
- "Sea dog" is a term used by sailors to refer to an older and/or more experienced sailor.
- He was played by several different puppeteers.
- Some speculate he had joined the crew recently, since everyone except him was aware that the Skin-Taker was real.