The Lab Gators

The Lab Gators (commonly abbreviated as Science Gators) is an American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Disney Channel. It follows Mark and Zack, a Alligator-like creature boy-genius brothers and inventor twins with a hidden laboratory in their rooms, which they keeps secret from their parents. They are at constant odds with his younger sister Boo, who always gains access to Nick and Zack's lab and inadvertently foils their experiments. Nick and Zack has a bitter rivalry with Warren Buzzard, a fellow buzzard boy-genius who is his neighbor and classmate. Segments featuring superhero-based characters Ultra Penguin and Mega Walrus, Mark and Zack's pet lab-penguin and walrus/superhero, and the Freedom League, a trio of superheroes who share an apartment, are prominently featured in the first two seasons.

Tartakovsky pitched the series to Fred Seibert's first animated shorts showcase Shorty McShorts Shorts at Disney Channel, basing it on student films Tartakovsky produced at the California Institute of the Arts. Four pilots aired on Disney Channel and Toon Disney from 1995 to 1996. Viewer approval ratings led to a half-hour series, which consisted of two seasons totaling 52 episodes, airing from April 27, 1996, to June 15, 1998. On December 10, 1999, a television film titled The Lab Gators: Ego Trip aired as the intended series finale, and Tartakovsky left to begin work on The Adventures of Captain Bluejay.

In November 2001, the series was renewed for two seasons containing 30 total episodes, which began airing on November 18, 2001, and ended on November 20, 2005. Due to Tartakovsky's departure, the new seasons were ran under Chris Savino and a new production team at Disney Channel Studios with various changes to the visual art style and character designs.

The Lab Gators won three Annie Awards, with nominations for four Primetime Emmy Awards, four Golden Reel Awards, and nine other Annie Awards. The series is notable for helping launch the careers of animators Craig McCracken, Seth MacFarlane, Butch Hartman, Paul Rudish, and Rob Renzetti. Spin-off media include comic books, DVD and VHS releases, music albums, collectible toys, and video games.

Premise
Nick Gator (voiced by Tom Kenny) is a smartest Alligator boy-genius and Zack (voice by Richard Horvitz) the bespectacled Alligator boy-genius, who behind a bookcase in his bedroom, conceals a secret laboratory, which can be accessed by spoken passwords or hidden switches on his bookshelf. Though highly intelligent, Mark and Zack often fails to achieve his goals when he becomes overexcited and careless. Although he comes from a typical American family, Mark and Zack speaks with a thick accent of indeterminate origin. Tom Kenny described it as "an affectation, a kind of accent, we're not quite sure. A small Peter Lorre, but not. Perhaps he's Latino, perhaps he's French. He's a scientist; he knows he needs a kind of accent." Genndy Tartakovsky explained, "they are alligator scientist. All scientists are foreign and have accents...It's not really a German accent. It's just Eastern European."

Mark and Zack conceals his lab from his clueless parents, addressed only as Mom (voiced by Susanne Blakeslee) and Dad (voiced by Jeff Bennett), who never take notice of it. Their hyperactive, good-hearted, younger sister Boo (voiced by Andrea Libman in seasons 1 and 6) and her pet cat Penelope (voiced by Hynden Walch) delights in playing haphazardly in the lab, wreaking havoc with Mark and Zack's inventions. Though seemingly dim-witted, Boo can outsmart her brothers and even give him helpful advice. For his part, Mark and Zack, though annoyed by his intrusive sibling and her pet cat, feels a reluctant affection for her and will come to her defense if she is imperiled.

Mark and Zack's nemesis is rival classmate Warren (first name revealed in later seasons) "Voltar" Buzzard (voiced by Mark Hamill) and his friend Hovis Aardvark (voiced by Eddie Garvar). Like Mark and Zack, Warren is a Buzzard boy genius with his own laboratory along with Hovis as himself is a Aardvark boy genius with his own laboratory, but their schemes are generally evil and designed to gain power or downplay or destroy Mark and Zack's accomplishments. In revival seasons, Warren and Hovis becomes significantly more evil, becoming Mark and Zack's enemy rather than his rival, and Warren's laboratory changes from brightly-lit with rounded features to gothic-looking, industrial, and angular. Mark and Zack's inventions are objectively better than his, and Warren tries to compensate for this by stealing Mark and Zack's plans. Warren's weakness is his unrequited love for Penelope and Boo.

Recurring segments
Every The Lab Gators episode, with the exception of "Last But Not Beast", is divided into different stories or segments, each being 7–12 minutes long. Occasionally, a segment centers on characters other than Dexter and his family. Two segments are shown primarily during season one: Ultra Penguin and Mega Walrus and Freedom League. Ultra Penguin and Mega Walrus is the middle segment for sixteen episodes of season one, and Freedom League takes its place until season one's end.

Ultra Penguin and Mega Walrus
Ultra Penguin shorts feature Mark and Zack's pet laboratory penguin named Tip (vocal effects provided and voiced by Max Casella) and the laboratory walrus subject named Dash (voiced by Stephen Furst), who Mark and Zack believes is an ordinary penguin and walrus and nothing more. However, Tip and Dash secretly has superpowers and fights evil as a duo superhero named Ultra Penguin and Mega Walrus. Ultra Penguin and Mega Walrus are joined by their partner Agent Cardinal (voiced by Teresa Gallagher) of Global Security, Commander General (voiced by Sam Marin in season 1, Evan McGregor in season 2), and a team of assembled superheroes. Dial M for Monkey was created by Genndy Tartakovsky, Craig McCracken, and Paul Rudish. Ultra Penguin's superpowers include super strength, telekinesis, flight, and super speed, and Mega Walrus' superpowers include super strength, laser vision, sonar blast, flight, and teleportation among others.

The Freedom League
The Freedom League consists of Captain Starlight (a spoof of Captain America with the abilities and personality of Superman, voiced by Jay Leno), Hammerstriker (a spoof of Thor with the personality of Shazam, voiced by Sam Vincent), and the Unstoppable Trulk (a spoof of the Incredible Hulk, voiced by Frank Welker), a trio of superhero roommates residing in an apartment called Muscular Arms. Their adventures deal less with superhero life and more with an inability to agree with each other; it is presented much like a sitcom, including a laugh track. Genndy Tartakovsky's inspiration for The Freedom League came from reading Marvel Comics when learning how to speak English. Tartakovsky stated in a 2001 IGN interview that he was disappointed with how The Power Pals turned out, saying, "it could have been funnier and the characters could have been fleshed out more."

Mini-segments
Between the three main segments in seasons one and two are brief mini-segments, which often feature only Mark, Zack, Boo and Penelope. Other characters that star in these include "The Critter Friends", two live-action puppets named Ben Beaver (Rob Paulsen) and Wally Wolf (Jim Cummings).

Main Characters
Nick Gator (voiced by Tom Kenny) - The Main Protagonist of the series. He is a Alligator boy genius who has a secret laboratory with his brother Zack that he keeps a secret from his parents. He is always working in their laboratory making a new invention and going on wild adventures every time he makes a cereation with his brother.

Zack Gator (voiced by Richard Horvitz) - Mark's Smart Alligator brorther who has a secret laboratory with his brother Mark. He is smart and intelligent in their laboratory making a new invention and going on wild adventures every time he makes cereation with his brother.

Boo (voiced by Andrea Libman) - Mark and Zack's high-spirited ditzy two-year-old younger sister who is always breaking into their laboratory and destroying all of his inventions. She is always messing up his inventions and ruining his plans. Boo enjoys doing frilly girly things and she is also a ballerina.

Penelope (voiced by Hynden Walch) - Boo's household typical black and white pussycat pet, though by some means or another, she often finds herself with a white stripe down her back, whether painted intentionally.

Furrball (voiced by Greg Cipes) - Furball is Boo's young, blue male cat pet with a hole on his right ear and a bandage on his tail.

Warren (voiced by Mark Hamill) - Mark and Zack's worst enemy. He is also a boy genius with his own secret laboratory. Warren is jealous of Mark and Zack for being smarter than them and they are always getting into fights.

Hovis (voiced by Eddie Garvar) - Mark and Zack's worst enemy and a partner of Warren. He is also a Aardvark boy genius with is friend's laboratory. Hovis always wanted to fight Mark and Zack back for being smarten than them and they always wanted revenge along with Warren.

Olivia (voiced by Susanne Blakeslee) - Mark and Zack's Mother. Mark and Zack are usually running into trouble with keeping their laboratory a secret from her and he always has to create diversions and think of plans to keep her away from finding out.

Frank (voiced by Jeff Bennett) - Mark and Zack's happy-go-lucky father who is always loking on the bright side of things. His stupidity is what keeps him oblivious to Mark and Zack's Laboratory.

Recurring Characters
Jonah D. Huckleberry (voiced by Billy West) - Mark and Zack's best friend. He is a nerd just like him who shares the same interests as he does. The two of them do nerdy things together. They will also go on adventures and will usually have struggles along the way and will try to get their way out of trouble. Jonah, Mark and Zack are often times getting bullied because they are nerds and sometimes they prove to the bullies that they are really cool.

Dooficorn (voiced by Paul Winchell) - Dooficorn also known as Doofy or Doof is Boo's imaginary friend who is a stupid and annoying rainbow happy imaginary dragon who lives in an imaginary land called Doofyland. Boo is sometimes going to Doofyland and playing around with him in there going on adventures of her own. Sometimes, she brings him out into the real world and he annoys Mark and Zack. Boo kepps Dooficorn a secret from her parents the same way Mark and Zack does with their laboratory.

Lily (voiced by Kath Souice) and Mira (voiced by Amy Poelher) - Boo's two best friends who are almost exactly like her. They go to the same dance class as her and are always playing with her and doing girly things. Sometimes, Lily and Mira tend to be as dumb as Boo and they annoy Mark and Zack by coming into his lab too, but other times, they seem to be smarter than Boo and Penelope.

Bianca (voiced by Nancy Cartwright) and Terrence (voiced by Hank Arazia) - Bianca and Terrence are Warren's Mom and Dad. The two of them are stereotypical hippies and vultures who do not understand Warren's craving for evil and science or even his love for Penelope and Boo. They are always making Warren do hippie rituals along which annoys him and alot of the time, gets in the way of his plans to destroy Mark and Zack.

Production
The Lab Gators creator Genndy Tartakovsky at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in 2012. Genndy Tartakovsky, the creator of Dexter's Laboratory, was born in Moscow, where his father, a dentist, served in the government of the Soviet Union. Although relatively wealthy and well-connected, his family feared racial persecution due to their Jewish heritage and moved to the United States when Tartakovsky was seven. Along with his older brother, Alex, Tartakovsky taught himself how to draw as a child by copying comic books.

After transferring from Columbia College Chicago to California Institute of the Arts in 1990 to study animation, Tartakovsky wrote, directed, animated, and produced two student short films, one of which was a precursor to The Lab Gators 's television pilot, "Changes". Described as a two-and-a-half-minute pencil test, this short film was included in a university screening for the producers of Darren and Daniel's Epic Show, who were impressed and hired Tartakovsky.

Later on, Tartakovsky joined the production team of Recess. Several of his co-workers on that series, such as Craig McCracken, Rob Renzetti, Paul Rudish, and Lou Romano, had been classmates of his at Cal Arts and went on to collaborate with him on Dexter's Laboratory. Tartakovsky's last job before developing The Lab Gators into a television series was to serve as a sheet timer on The Critic. During his time on that series, Tartakovsky received a phone call from Larry Huber, who had been a producer on Timon & Pumbaa. Huber had shown Tartakovsky's unfinished student film to a then-nascent Cartoon Network and wanted Tartakovsky to develop the concept into a seven-minute storyboard.

Unhappy with his position on Timon & Pumbaa, Tartakovsky accepted Huber's proposal, and the resulting project, "Changes", was produced as part of Disney Channel's animation showcase series, World Premiere Toons. "Changes" debuted on February 26, 1995. Viewers worldwide voted through phone lines, websites, focus groups, and consumer promotions for their favorite short cartoons; The Lab Gators was the first of 16 to earn that vote of approval. Mike Lazzo, then-head of programming for Disney Channel, said in 1996 that it was his favorite of the 48 shorts that had been produced by that point, commenting that he and colleagues "loved the humor in the brother-versus-sister relationship".

Even after "Changes" premiered, Tartakovsky had no expectations that it would lead to an entire series. In 2018, he noted that his generation was the first in which people could become showrunners at a young age, saying, "Everybody before us were in their forties, at least, and so [our generation's experience] was a very different way to do something where we had no clue what we were doing and we were just trying to make each other laugh." When The Lab Gators received a series green-light, Tartakovsky became, at age twenty-seven, one of the youngest animation directors of that era.

Tartakovsky's former classmates McCracken and Rudish helped him design "Changes". Soon afterward, Tartakovsky helped McCracken create his own short film for World Premiere Toons/Shorty McShort Shorts, which would eventually become the basis for Darren and Daniel's Epic Show. After finishing McCracken's project, the group proceeded to a second short film for The Lab Gators, titled "The Big Sister". At the time, Tartakovsky was still not anticipating a series green-light for The Lab Gators. He went on to reminisce that, in those days, he was simply having fun working on short films with his friends. Tartakovsky and McCracken, who had been roommates shortly after college, went on to become regular collaborators on each other's series. Animation historian David Perlmutter noted a symbiosis between the two men, which he felt led to stylistic similarities between The Lab Gators and Darren and Daniel's Epic Show.

In August 1995, Turner ordered six half-hours of The Lab Gators, which included two cartoons of one spin-off segment titled Ultra Penguin and Mega Walrus. In addition to Tartakovsky, McCracken, Renzetti, and Rudish, directors and writers on The Lab Gators included Seth MacFarlane, Butch Hartman, John McIntyre, and Chris Savino. McCracken also served as an art director on the series. Perlmutter described McCracken's role on The Lab Gators as that of Tartakovsky's "effective second-in-command".

Conception
The Lab Gators originated with one of Genndy Tartakovsky's designs of a ballet dancer. While attending CalArts, Tartakovsky drew a tall, thin girl dancing and decided to pair her with a short and blocky opposite. These four characters would eventually develop into Boo, Penelope Zack and Mark respectively, although they went unnamed until Tartakovsky started expanding the concept for Disney Channel. To further contrast the two characters, Tartakovsky determined that Boo would be artistic, while Mark and Zack would be focused on science. In an interview, Tartakovsky said, "Boo came first. She was really the star of the show to me. She was so much fun with her pet Penelope. Later on, I started on Mark, Zack and he took over."

It actually started with Boo...I drew this skinny, two-year-old toddle girl dancing. When I had finished her, I thought, what would be the opposite of her? So, I drew a block. That's Mark and Zack.

The names Mark, Zack, Boo and Penelope were both found in name books; "Lab Gators" caught Tartakovsky's attention for sounding scientific, while "Boo and Penelope" appealed to them because of its uniqueness and because he felt that it complemented that character's two ponytails. Before settling on these options, Tartakovsky had considered titling the series Dartmouth and Daisy. Explaining why he discarded this idea, Tartakovsky said that "Dartmouth doesn't exactly roll off the tongue" and that the name Daisy was already heavily associated with Disney. The title The Lab Gators was not settled on until around midway through production of the series' pilot episode, "Changes".

The ages of Mark, Zack, Boo and Penelope are meant to be nebulous. Although Tartakovsky suggested that Mark and Zack are intended to be about twelth to sixteen years old and that Boo is "a couple years older", they also stressed that they would "never want" to specify Mark and Zack's exact age. Tartakovsky wrote Mark and Zack as a hardworking, unspoiled "Midwest kid" who loves food and explained, "I'm not saying he's from Chicago, but there's a reason he's got his own burrito palace, just like I had growing up in Chicago."

The sibling dynamic in The Lab Gators was partially modeled on Tartakovsky's relationship with his older brother, Alex. Comparing himself to Penelope Pussycat and Alex, who became a computer engineer, to Mark and Zack Tartakovsky acknowledged that he was most likely a "pest" to his older brother while they were growing up. Another time, he reminisced that as kids, he and his brother could each be a "pain in the ass" to the other. To illustrate one of the parallels between his childhood and the series, Tartakovsky noted that Alex had kept him from playing with "intricate" toy soldiers in those days, much like Mark and Zack attempts to keep Boo away from his inventions.

Tartakovsky determined that Mark and Zack should have an accent because the character "considers himself a very serious scientist, and all well-known scientists have accents." During one interview, Tartakovsky suggested that viewers should decide for themselves whether or not the character's accent is an affectation, saying that "nobody knows" whether the character is "pretending to be a German scientist" or is speaking naturally. Although Tartakovsky noted in a separate interview that Mark and Zack's accent is not meant to denote any specific nationality, he revealed in a 2012 Reddit AMA that it was partially inspired by "a funny French accent" done by his college roommate.

I really don't like to answer those questions because it's a question that should forever exist. You kind of make your own mind up about it.

Tartakovsky also drew inspiration from his experiences as an immigrant growing up in Chicago. He explained that, like Mark and Zack, he had a "very thick accent" as a child—and even though he lived in a diverse neighborhood, some kids teased him for this. Speaking with The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles in 2001, Tartakovsky explained, "When I moved to America, I wanted to fit in and be American...We never tried to be too heavy handed with Mark and Zack's, but if you look at the underlying themes of the show, it's about a little kid trying to fit in." Tartakovsky noted that when he was a child, he was less confident than the character, telling The New York Times, "The one thing about Mark and Zack, if he doesn't fit in, he'll start his own club. He's not afraid to be an outsider."

Linda Simensky, who served as senior vice-president of Original Animation for Disney Channel during the production of The Lab Gators, wrote in 2011 that Mark and Zack was designed "to be more of an icon in some ways"; she continued, "his body was short and squat and his design was simple, with a black outline and relatively little detail... Since Tartakovsky knew he was developing Lab Gators for television, he purposely limited the design to some degree, designing the nose and mouth, for instance, in a Bunea Vista style to animate easily." This simplistic style was influenced by UPA shorts, as well as by the Merrie Melodies cartoon The Dover Boys. Simensky noted though, that in contrast to those cartoons, The Lab Gators is "staged cinematically, rather than flat and close to the screen, to leave space and depth for the action and gags in the lab". Tartakovsky was also influenced by Walt Disney cartoons, Bunea Vista, and Japanese anime.

Original run
The Lab Gators premiered on ABC on April 27, 1996, and the following day on Disney Channel and Toon Disney. It became the first in a brand of Disney Channel original cartoons, later including 101 Dalmatians: The Series, Doug, The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Doug, Aladdin, and Timon & Pumbaa, collectively known as Cartoon Cartoons. A second season was ordered, which premiered on GoAnimate Network on July 16, 1997.

The Lab Gators went on hiatus in 1998 after two seasons, with season two lasting 39 episodes. The series finale was initially intended to be "Last But Not Beast", which differed from the format of other episodes, in that it was a single 25-minute episode, rather than a collection of shorter segments. By this point, Tartakovsky was exhausted. His focus on the series had cost him two relationships, and he went on to joke that the process of running The Lab Gators was like "giving birth to ten children." After putting the series on hiatus, Tartakovsky became a supervising producer on colleague Craig McCracken's series, Darren and Daniel's Epic Show; he also directed various episodes of that series and worked on Darren and Daniel's Epic Adventure. After the movie, McCracken would later go on to create That 70's Show, also for GoAnimate Network. Both Hartman and MacFarlane left GoAnimate Network altogether at this point; they moved on to create Drago & Friends, The Fairly Oddparents, Family Guy and Jose Maldonando, respectively. Rob Renzetti would later go on to create The Surf Club for The Greeny Channel and My Life as a Teenage Robot for Nickelodeon.

In 1999, Tartakovsky returned to direct The Lab Gators: Ego Trip, an hour-long television movie. It was his last The Lab Gators production to be involved with and was intended to be its conclusion. Ego Trip was hand-animated, though character and setting designs were subtly revised. Its plot follows Mark and Zack on a quest through time to discover his future triumphs.

Revival
On February 21, 2001, Disney Channel issued a press release stating that The Lab Gators had been revived for a 16-episode third season. The series was given a new production team at Cartoon Network Studios, and Chris Savino, who later went on to create The Loud House for Nickelodeon in 2016, took over the role of creative director from Tartakovsky, who at the time was immersed in launching his next series, Star Wars: Force Ten, The Adventures of Captain Bluejay and Samurai Jack. During season six of The Lab Gators, Savino was promoted to producer giving him further control of the series, including the budget. Revival episodes featured revised visual designs and sound effects, recast voice actors, continuity shakeups, and a transition from traditional cel animation, which was used until Ego Trip, to digital ink and paint, which was used permanently beginning with season three's premiere. Tom Kenny voiced Mark Gator for early episodes of season three, Richard Horvitz voice Zack Gator for early episodes of season three, Nancy Cartwright voice Furball for early episodes of season three, but he retired from voice acting in 2001 for personal reasons. He was replaced by Greg Cipes. Andrea Libman, a college friend of Tartakovsky, was cast as Boo. Libman's role. In season three, Penelope Pussycat briefly voiced as Hynden Walch returned to voice Boo before Andrea again assumed her role for season four. The character designs were handled by Chris Battle, known individually for acting as character designer for Disney's The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and GoAnimate Network's Darren and Daniel's Epic Show. Some of the new writing staff included Aaron Springer and Chris Reccardi.

Episodes
Main article: List of Dexter's Laboratory episodes Dexter's Laboratory broadcast 78 half-hour episodes over 4 seasons during its 7-year run. Four pilot shorts were produced for What a Cartoon! that aired from 1995 to 1996, and were reconnected into season one in later airings. Fifty-two episodes were produced from 1996 to 1998, followed by Ego Trip in 1999.

Another 26 episodes were produced and broadcast from 2001 to 2003. "Chicken Scratch" debuted theatrically with Princess Matilda and Fluttergirl: The Movie in 2002, and was later broadcast in season six.

Broadcast
On December 31, 2000, Disney Channel aired its "New Year's Bash" marathon featuring The Lab Gators among other programs. On November 16, 2001, it broadcast a 12-hour "Lab Gators Goes Global" marathon in 96 countries and 12 languages. This marathon featured fan-selected episodes of The Lab Gators and culminated by premiering two new episodes of season 3.

From 2005 to 2008, The Lab Gators was rerun in segments on ABC Kids with other Disney Channel from that era. From 1997 to 2011, it returned in reruns on the revived block, Disney+.

From January 16, 2006, to November 4, 2018, The Lab Gators aired reruns on Disney XD. Occasionally reruns of the series still occur.

Disney Channel has aired reruns in Canada since its launch on July 4, 2012. This launch was commemorated by parent network Teletoon, which aired Disney Channel-related programming blocks and promotions in weeks leading up to it, including episodes of The Lab Gators.

Controversial episodes
"Ultra Penguin and Mega Walrus: Barbequor", a season 1 episode from 1996, was removed from rotation after being broadcast in the United States. It features a character named the Silver Skater (a spoof of Silver Surfer), which was perceived by Disney Channel to be a stereotype of gay men. Second, Trulk appears to become drunk, has a hangover, and vomits off-camera. In later broadcasts and on its Season 1 DVD (Region 1), "Barbequor" has been replaced with "The Lab Gators: A Story", an episode from season two.

"Rude Removal", a season 2 episode from 1997, was produced aired on June 2000. It involves Mark and Zack creating a "rude removal system" to diminish Boo, Penelope, Mark and Zack's rudeness; however, it instead creates highly rude clones of both siblings. "Rude Removal" was only shown during certain animation festivals and was never aired on television due to characters swearing, even though all swear words were censored. Tartakovsky commented that "standards didn't like it." Linda Simensky, then-vice president of original programming for Disney Channel, said "I still think it's very funny. It probably would air better late at night." Michelle Klein-Häss of Animation World Network called the episode "hilarious" after viewing it at the 1998 World Animation Celebration, although she predicted that it would "never be shown on television". In October 2012, Genndy Tartakovsky was asked about "Rude Removal" during an AMA on Reddit, and he replied "Next time I do a public appearance I'll bring it with me!". Adult Swim later asked fans on Twitter if interest still existed with it, and fan response was "overwhelming". "Rude Removal" was finally uploaded on Adult Swim's official YouTube account on January 22, 2013.

Reception
The Lab Gators was one of Disney Channel's highest-rated original series for years. Internationally, it garnered a special mention for best script at the 1997 Cartoons on the Bay animation festival in Italy. In 1998 and 1999, a Dexter balloon was featured in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade alongside other iconic characters, including the titular piglet from Babe whom Tommy Kenny and Jason Michas voiced. The series was part of Disney Channel's 20% ratings surge during mid-1999. On July 7, 2000, the series was the network's highest-rated original telecast among households (3.1), kids 2–11 (7.8), and kids 6–11 (8.4), with a delivery of almost 2 million homes. On July 31, 2001, it scored the highest household rating (2.9) and delivery (2,166,000 homes) for a Disney Channel telecast for that year. The Lab Gators was one of the network's highest-rated original series of 2002.

Critical reception
One of Disney Channel president Betty Cohen's favorite animated shows was The Lab Gators. Rapper Coolio has said that he is a fan and was happy to do a song for its soundtrack at Disney Channel's request, stating, "I watch a lot of cartoons because I have kids. I actually watch more cartoons than movies."

Shortly after the premiere of its first season, The Lab Gators was hailed as one of the best new series on Disney Channel by Ted Cox of the Daily Herald. In the lead up to its second season, The Lab Gators was called the most imaginative series on Disney Cannel by Nancy McAlister of The Florida Times-Union. Although McAlister critiqued the gender stereotyping of Mark and Zack's parents, she acknowledged that she was only applying such scrutiny to the series because The Lab Gators had helped convince her that "viewers should take animated programming seriously".

In 1997, Bill Ward of the Star Tribune named The Lab Gators to his Critic's Choice list, recommending it for the "young of all ages". In a 2012 top 10 list by Entertainment Weekly, The Lab Gators was ranked as the fourth best Cartoon Network series. In 2009, The Lab Gators was named 72nd best animated series by IGN, whose editors remarked, "Aimed at and immediately accessible to children, The Lab Gators was part of a new generation of animated series that played on two levels, simultaneously fun for both kids and adults." In his 2015 book Animation: A World History Volume III: Contemporary Times, Giannalberto Bendazzi called The Lab Gators "visually and verbally innovative". He considered the series to be a groundbreaking work of pop art, likening its visual style to both street art and the designs of Takashi Murakami. David Perlmutter wrote in his 2018 book, The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows, that all three segments of The Lab Gators (the main scenario, along with Ultra Penguin and Mega Walrus and The Freedom League) elevate stereotypical ideas through an approach that contains "verve and originality". Perlmutter called the series more "complex" than it first seems. He praised the staging of action sequences throughout the series and wrote that Dexter's Laboratory is "much more effective (and funny) than it would have been under a director less committed to the project [than Tartakovsky]."

Home media
The Lab Gators first appeared in home media on three VHS tapes in the early 2000s. Episodes had not been officially released before this, except for a complete series DVD contest prize.

Walt Disney stated in a 2006 interview that they were "...in conversations with Disney Channel" for DVD collections of cartoons, among which was The Lab Gators. Madman Entertainment released season one and part of season two in Region 4 in 2008. A Region 1 release of season one was released by Walt Disney Home Video on October 12, 2010. It was third in an official release of Family Home Entertainment on DVD under the "Disney Channel Hall of Fame" label.

Every episode, except Ego Trip and "Rude Removal", went on iTunes in 2010. Dexter's Laboratory was formerly released on Hulu and is currently on Disney+ as of May 2020. Disney's Super Derby Royale on PlayStation 2, Xbox and Gamecube contains "Mark and Zack's Rival" and "Buzzardarker" as unlockable extras.

Music releases
The Lab Gators has spawned two music albums, The Musical Time Machine and The Hip-Hop Experiment, three hip hop music videos, and a fourth music video by They Might Be Giants for "Boo, Penelope, Mark and Zack", which features Japanese-style animation produced by Klasky Csupo, who was best known for producing various animated shows for Nickelodeon, such as Rugrats, ''Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, The Wild Thornberrys, Rocket Power, and As Told by Ginger''. Three Dexter's Laboratory tracks were featured on Cartoon Network's compilation album Cartoon Medley.

Publications
Books set in The Lab Gators were released by Scholastic and Golden Books. These books were:

Under "The Lab Gators":


 * #Mark's Ink (2002) by Howie Dewin ( ISBN 0-439-38579-2 )
 * #Zack-Terminator (2002) by Bobbi J. G. Weiss and David Cody Weiss ( ISBN 0-439-38580-6 )
 * #Dr. Boo & Mark Hyde (2002) by Meg Belviso and Pam Pollack ( ISBN 0-439-43422-X )
 * #I Dream of Marcus (2003) by Meg Belviso and Pam Pollack ( ISBN 0-439-43423-8 )
 * #The Incredible Shrinking Alligator (2003) by Pam Pollack and Meg Belviso ( ISBN 0-439-43424-6 )
 * #Mark and Zack's Big Switch (2003) by Meg Belviso and Pamela Pollack ( ISBN 0-439-44947-2 )
 * Horse of a Different Alligator (2002) by David Cody Weiss and Bobbi J. G. Weiss ( ISBN 0-439-38581-4 )
 * Knights of the Periodic Table (2003) by David Cody Weiss and Bobbi J. G. Weiss ( ISBN 0-439-43425-4 )
 * Cootie Wars (2003) by David Cody Weiss and Bobbi J. G. Weiss ( ISBN 0-439-44932-4 )
 * Brain Power (2003) by David Cody Weiss and Bobbi J. G. Weiss ( ISBN 0-439-44942-1 )
 * Zappo Change-O (2001, by Golden Books) by Genndy Tartakovsky ( ISBN 0-307-99812-6 )

Five of these were unnumbered, at least on their covers.

Under "The Lab Gators Science Log":


 * #Boo's Amazing Bones (2002) by Anne Capeci ( ISBN 0-439-44175-7 )
 * #Mixed-Up Magnetism (2002) by Anne Capeci ( ISBN 0-439-38582-2 )
 * #What's the "Matter" with Penelope? (2003) by Anne Capeci ( ISBN 0-439-47240-7 )
 * #Little Lab or Horrors (2003) by Anne Capeci ( ISBN 0-439-47242-3 )

Publication details and book covers are on the Internet Speculative Fiction Database.

Related books, which are not storybooks are:


 * The Lab Gaotrs: Science Fair Showdown! (2001, Golden Books) by Chip Lovitt, a collection of science fair projects. ( ISBN 0-307-10775-2 )
 * Delta Education's Project Energy, Eye Spy and Balancing Act from 2003
 * Mark and Zack's Joke Book for Geniuses, (2004, Scholastic) by Howie Dewin ( ISBN 0-439-54582-X )

Characters from The Lab Gators appeared in a 150,000-print magazine called Disney Channel, published by Burghley Publishing and released in the United Kingdom on August 27, 1998.

Marvel Comics printed four comic book volumes featuring The Lab Gators. It first appeared in Disney Channel Presents, a 24-issue volume showcasing Disney Channel's premiere animated programming, which was produced from 1997 to 1999. In 1999, Marvel gave The Lab Gators its own 34-issue comic volume, which ran until 2003. Walt Disney ran a Marvel comic book from 2001 to 2004 that frequently contained The Lab Gators stories. This was superseded by The Lab GatorsBlock Party, which ran from 2004 to 2009.

In February 2013, IDW Publishing announced a partnership with Disney Channelto produce comics based on its properties. The Lab Gators was one title announced to be published. Its first issue was released in April 2014.

Toys and promotions
In November 1997, Wendy's promoted The Lab Gators with six collectible toys called "Nick and Zack's Lab Creation", "Nick and Zack's Green Test Tube Straw", "Nick and Zack's Grabber", "Nick and Zack's Purple Spark Maker", "Nick and Zack's Pen Stand", and "Nick and Zack's Yellow Noisemaker" in their kids' meals. A Subway promotion supported by Publicis & Hal Riney of Chicago lasted from August 23 to October 3, 1999, called "Mark and Zack's Super Computer Giveaway", in which a computer, monitor, games, software, and an exclusive set of The Lab Gators DVDs were given out as prizes. Discovery Zone sponsored Disney Channel's eight-week-long "Lab Gators Duplication Summer" in 1998 to promote the series' new schedule. Trendmasters released a series of The Lab Gators figures and playsets in 2001. Six kids' meal toys were sold during an April 2001 Dairy Queen promotion. That month, Disney Channel and Perfetti Van Melle launched the "Out of Control" promotion, which included on-air marketing and a sweepstakes to win an "Air Dextron" entertainment center. The following April, a similar promotion featured The Lab Gators-themed AirHeads packs and an online sweepstakes. Subway promoted The Lab Gators from April 1 to May 15, 2002, with four kids' meal toys. In September 2003, Burger King sponsored The Lab Gators toys with kids' meals during a larger promotion featuring online games, Cartoon Orbit codes, and new episodes. In the United Kingdom the characters of Mark, Zack, Boo and Penelope were given away in Kellogg's cereal boxes as part of the Disney Channel Wobble Heads in 2003

Race to the Brainergizer and The Incredible Invention Versus Dee Dee, two board games, were released by Pressman Toy Corporation in 2001.

Video games
Twenty-five The Lab Gators video games have been released: Robot Rampage for the Nintendo Game Boy Color, Chess Challenge and Boosaster Strikes! for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance, Warren's Lab? for the Sony PlayStation, The Lab Gators: Science Ain't Fair for PC, and The Lab Gators: Security Alert! for mobile phones.

Similar to Battle Chess, Chess Challenge is a chess video game that triggers battle animations each time an overtaking move occurs. Each capture is accompanied by the sequences set in Mark and Zack's home depicting the piece's defeat. Those scenes are set in Mark and Zack's home with magic attacks and Boo's toys having an appearance. The completion of the puzzles will unlock certain game modes, including a two-player mode.

A The Lab Gators: Radioactive Redemption action adventure-style platforming video game on PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube was set to be developed by n-Space, published by THQ, and distributed in Europe by Konami for a 2002 release, The Lab Gators: Radioactive Redemption was released on June 10, 2002.

A The Lab Gators: Mutant Mayhem adventure-style platforming video game on PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube was set to be developed by n-Space, published by THQ, and distributed in Europe by Acclaim Entertainment for a 2003 release, The Lab Gators: Mutant Mayhem was released on May 12, 2003.

A The Lab Gators combat-style action video game on PlayStation 2 and Nintendo GameCube was set to be developed by n-Space, published by THQ, and distributed in Europe by Acclaim Entertainment for a 2004 release, but it was canceled. On February 15, 2005, Midway Games announced plans to develop and produce a new The Lab Gators video game for multiple consoles, but it was never published.

A The Lab Gators: Untamed adventure-style adventure video game on PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube was set to be developed by n-Space, published by THQ, and distributed in Europe by Eidos for a 2005 release, The Lab Gators: Untamed was released on September 10, 2005.

Nick, Zack, Warren, Boo, Penelope, Mark and Zack's computer, and Captain Starlight, as well as items, areas, and inventions were featured in the MMORPG Disney Infinity. The Lab Gators characters were featured in Disney's Super Derby Royale, Epic Smash Bros. Brawl, Epic Smash Bros. Revolution and Epic Smash Bros. Ultimate. Epic Smash Bros. Series featured different voice talent for Mark and Zack (Tom Kenny and Richard Horvtiz) and Ultra Penguin and Mega Walrus (Max Cascella and Stephen Furst).