Stressed Eric

The British Cartoon Where Stress Became a Throbbing Neck Vein

Forgotten TV & Film · 1998

Archived on

Associated With

Carl Gorham / BBC Two - creator or production company

Defining Feature

Eric Feeble’s stress vein

Status

Discontinued - Ended after two series

Overview

Stressed Eric was a British adult animated black-comedy sitcom created by Carl Gorham for BBC Two.

Mark Heap voiced Eric Feeble, an overwhelmed divorced middle-class father in London. When the pressure became too much, a throbbing neck vein could emerge and strangle him.

The programme ran across two series in 1998 and 2000. NBC later broadcast a substantially adapted American version of the first series.

Why It Mattered

Stressed Eric turned mounting family pressure into an exaggerated physical gag. Its American localisation was notable for changing Eric’s nationality and voice, altering material for US broadcast standards and fitting episodes to a commercial-network format.

BBC Two Transmission

  • “Nativity” was first transmitted on BBC Two at 10 p.m. on Monday 20 April 1998.
  • The two series comprised 13 episodes in total.

NBC Adaptation

  • NBC debuted its adapted US version on 12 August 1998.
  • Hank Azaria replaced Mark Heap as Eric’s voice.
  • NBC aired three episodes before removing the programme from its schedule.

DVD and Audio Releases

  • Stressed Eric: The Complete Collection, BBCDVD3317, was issued as a three-disc Region 2 DVD on 2 May 2011.
  • The DVD catalogue lists all 13 episodes, commentaries, an animatic, BBC trails and storyboard material.
  • BBC Digital Audio catalogued Stressed Eric’s Guide To Stress Management, credited to Carl Gorham and Michael Hatt.
Sources & Records

Gallery

Animated image of Eric, a red-haired cartoon man with bulging eyes and clenched teeth, standing with both hands raised against a cloudy grey sky; coloured triangular bunting appears at right.
Source
Credit

MUBI

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

Stressed Eric’s alarmed expression embodies the programme’s central joke: everyday life repeatedly overwhelms its animated lead.

Close-up portrait of a smiling man with short dark hair wearing a striped collared shirt against an orange background.
Source
Credit

Hank Azaria portrait supplied via Plex; photographer not identified

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

Hank Azaria's portrait accompanies the American adaptation of Stressed Eric, for which he provided the lead character's voice.

Photograph of a DVD case titled “The Complete Stressed Eric Collection,” showing an animated red-haired man at a desk covered in papers while holding a telephone.
Source
Credit

Stressed Eric programme and DVD artwork; product photograph supplied via eBay, photographer not identified

Licence

Historical Ephemera

Displayed for commentary, criticism, research and historical documentation where permitted by applicable law. No permission for reuse is granted.

Caption

A complete-series DVD gathered Stressed Eric's episodes into a home-video release, preserving a short-lived adult cartoon beyond its original broadcasts.