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Spot Helperman is the main protagonist of Teacher's Pet. Alongside his owner and best friend, Leonard Helperman, they go to school together at Fala D. Roosevelt Elementary School. While at school, Spot is known as Scott Leadready II.

Official Description []

"Spot’s raging enthusiasm for school- he loves all things fourth grade - is matched only by his unnaturally large vocabulary and an uncanny ability to quote everyone from Sun Tzu to Babe Ruth. All of Spot's doggie qualities - his friendliness, loyalty, keen hearing, and ability to smell danger and to smell danger and to catch a Frisbee in his teeth - make Scott a star in Mrs. Helperman's classroom." 

History[]

Early Life[]

Spot was born as the runt of the litter and separated from his siblings and mother by a cruel pet store owner, but on a cold winter day, Mrs. Helperman’s fourth grade class on a field trip found him and took him back to school with them.[1] He was adopted by the Helperman family and they bought him a squeaky burger toy on his first Christmas with them. Leonard had bought Spot’s tag and collar with his hard-earned allowance.

Teacher's Pet[]

Tired of staying at home all day and believing that he is wasting his potential, Spot decides to disguise himself as a human boy named, "Scott Leadready II" and after showing off his knowledge and doggy skills, he becomes quite popular, which makes Leonard jealous. In the bathroom, Scott tells Leonard the truth, and despite protesting it initially, Leonard agrees to allow Spot to stay as long as no one else finds out. Aside from Leonard and the other pets, the only other person aware of Scott's true identity is the principal's cat, Tallulah, who once tried to get him to confess his secret to her. Luckily, all the humans are too ignorant to be suspicious of him or tell that he's a dog.

In "Fifi", Spot falls in love with a circus poodle named Fifi (voice of fellow Broadway star Bernadette Peters) and he decides to leave home behind to go be with her. But he realizes that he can't leave his friends and family for a girl he barely even knows and changes his mind. The end of the episode reveals Fifi had already fallen in love with a lion by that time, ending their relationship.[2]

In "You Can't Bite City Hall", he finds out that the city is building a skate park where the dog park he used to play at is, so he's caught in a triangle. Pretty Boy even starts putting him on the spot, so the birds can have a place to hang out instead. At the end, he decides to compromise by keeping both parks and split them into different ones on different sides, as well as letting the birds have the park on Saturday.[3]

Teacher's Pet: The Movie[]

After masquerading as a boy for a whole year, Spot still doesn’t think his goal has been achieved and now thinks that the only way to do so is to become a real human boy. In the meantime, Mrs. Helperman is nominated for the best teacher of the year award by the N.E.A.T.O. organization in sunny side Florida. Principal Strickler lends the Helpermans his "wantawaygo" as a means of transporting themselves to the location of the award ceremony. However, the RV that the Helpermans are borrowing has one important rule: absolutely no dogs are allowed, leaving Spot, Pretty Boy, and Jolly all at home with a pet-sitter. Spot is extremely saddened by the two-week separation from Leonard and watches his master leave solemnly before joining the rest of the pets inside. While Mrs. Boogin, the pet-sitter is watching soap operas, Spot accidentally sits on the remote, turning it to the "Barry Anger show." Barry Anger interviews a "wacko" scientist by the name of Ivan Krank who claims he can transform animals into human beings, to Spot's delight. Spot finds out that Dr. Krank resides in Florida where Leonard and his mother were headed to, and immediately sets off to meet Krank to make his dream of becoming a real-life boy come true.

Spot manages to pick up on Leonard's scent and catches up to the RV. While driving on the road Leonard catches a glimpse of Spot out of the window struggling to get onto the RV, in haste he begs his mother to stop the car, landing them at a gas station for the time being. Spot reveals himself to Leonard and the two are happily reunited until Leonard remembers the reason why they left Spot at home in the first place, no dogs are allowed inside the RV. In order to tag along despite the rule, and fool Leonard's mother, Spot dresses up as Scott Leadready II and tries to get Mrs. Helperman to take him along for the ride. Mary Lou agrees on the condition that Scott's family is alright with the idea, Spot then proceeds to pose as his various "family members" to convince her, and succeeds. Once the family reaches Florida, Spot finally lets Leonard in on the real reason why he tagged along, to see Dr. Krank and have him make him a real boy. While disappointed that Spot had ulterior motives, Leonard agrees to assist his pal in finding Dr. Krank before having to meet his mother at the end of the day after the first round of the award ceremony.

Meanwhile back at home, Pretty Boy and Jolly happen to catch the "Barry Anger Show" again and see that the host has brought back the focus on Dr. Ivan Krank again a week after talking about the "wacko" scientist. The reason is to show what happened to the test subjects that Krank claimed he could transform into humans. It seems that he actually turned them into hideous mutants instead of humans. Horrified by the mutants shown on screen, Pretty Boy and Jolly set off to find Spot and warn him about Krank before the same fate befalls him. Jolly is scared at first, but Pretty Boy encourages him to brave.

The duo stumble upon Dr. Krank's dwelling in a swamp area and happen to peek in just in time to see the man at work, experimenting on a frog who he claims he will make a man. After the experiment ends in failure, Leonard tries to convince Spot that they are wasting their time and that the procedure won't work but Spot is insistent, he approaches the doctor with the proposition of becoming his next experiment subject. Convincing Krank that by using a mammal test subject (since mammals and humans both grow hair on their bodies), he has a better chance of making a man than his previous subjects which were amphibians, insects and reptiles; the other failure test subjects being a mutant mosquito by the name of Adele and a mutant alligator named Dennis, who now assist the scientist in his work. Krank and his "children" prep Spot for the procedure much to Leonard's dismay and soon Spot is transformed by Dr. Krank's machine. Upon returning back to consciousness, Spot excitedly goes to check his reflection to see what he looks like as a boy. Much to his shock, Spot finds out that he is not a boy at all, but a full-grown man. Having forgotten to account the concept of dog years, Spot is past his puppyhood and much older than a 10 year old boy like his master (possibly in his early 40s or late 30s). Despite not being what he had in mind; Spot is glad to finally be human. Dr. Krank, extremely happy with the results of the experiment, locks Spot and Leonard up in his lair so that his "dog man" doesn't escape while he prepares to show him off around the world (despite having no actual proof of Spot's previous dog heritage). However, Krank's nephew, Ian Waszelewski, arrives for a visit and sets the duo free after making an exchange for a slimy chew toy for his assistance in escaping. Krank finds out they have escaped and orders Dennis and Adele to go out and find his precious "dog man".

After escaping Dr. Krank's lair, Leonard and Spot wander about wondering how they can come across a meal and find Spot new clothes, without any sort of money on them. Upon finding a lost dog poster with an award sum of $100, the duo decides to try their luck at finding the lost pooch. Spot tries to utilizes the "twilight bark" (reference to 101 Dalmatians') in order to see if he can get some help on pinpointing the dog's location. Still seeming to have enough dog left in him, he is still able to communicate with his own kind and he and Leonard are successful in earning the sum of money they were after, and then some extra money for bringing puppies home with the lost dog resulting in a $500 reward instead.

With the reward money they earned, Spot takes Leonard out around town and buys things every adult can get when they have a ton of money to burn, such as buying himself some clothes that actually fit now due to his transformation and renting a car. Forgetting all about their previous agreement to meet Mrs. Helperman after the first day of the awards ceremony, Leonard and Spot rush to the trailer park they are currently staying at just in time for dinner, unfortunately forgetting how they’re going to explain why Spot is now an adult. Mary Lou immediately questions who he is forcing Spot to concoct a new fake alias, "Scott Manly-Manning" also a teacher like Mrs. Helperman herself who just so happens to be attending the N.E.A.T.O ceremony as well. Upon hearing that his name is "Scott", Mary Lou asks Leonard where Scott Leadready II is, resulting in Spot coming up with a lie on the spot about how "Scott Leadready II" had to leave suddenly and he, the ever helpful adult assisted the boy in returning home. Leonard pulls "Scott" aside to let him know he's going to blow his cover and reveal his secret, but "Scott" doesn't listen to him. Delighted with Scott Manly-Manning, Mrs. Helperman invites him in for coffee despite Leonard trying to kick him out. After brief conversation and Leonard still trying to kick Spot out of the RV, for fear that his mother will discover who "Scott" really is, he is sent to the bedroom in the RV while she and Scott have dinner.

While Pretty Boy and Jolly continue to try and make their way to Florida, and end up washed up on the shores of Cuba, "Scott Manly Manning" and Mrs. Helperman are really hitting it off after their little dinner "date". Realizing that Mrs. Helperman is falling for him, Spot gets the ingenious idea of how he and Leonard can stay together despite him now being a man instead of a dog, he'll marry Mrs. Helperman and become Leonard's step-father in the process, ensuring their family is able to stay together. Deciding that this is the last straw, Leonard is not okay with this and demands that Spot stop "liking" his mother at once and honor his wish that he does not want that plan to unfold. Angered by Leonard's negative attitude about the idea, Spot argues back that Leonard can no longer order him around since he's not a dog anymore meaning, Leonard is not his master and he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants as an adult. Leonard ends the fight by demanding Spot to leave his family forever and get out of his life. Heartbroken that his former master would kick him out, Spot tries to convince Leonard to let him stay, but to no avail. Before Spot leaves, Leonard orders Spot to relinquish his collar and license, since he paid for them, himself claiming he won't need them anymore because he's no longer his dog like Spot pointed out. Spot reluctantly hands over his collar and leaves torn with Leonard regretting his words.

Once Spot and Leonard have parted ways, Pretty Boy and Jolly finally arrive in Florida. They make to the RV and knock on the door. Leonard suspecting it to be Spot who has come back to apologize and beg him to let him stay, opens the door to find his other pets there instead. Leonard then beings to explain the current situation with Spot. Meanwhile, Spot has ended up in a rundown hotel since he had no place to go after leaving his boy. Saddened by the turn of events and seeing that being human isn’t what he hoped it would be, Spot begins to reconsider what he really wants in life and comes to the conclusion that his friendship with Leonard is far more important than any dream. With that in mind, he rushes back to the trailer park to make amends and try to rekindle the relationship he foolishly tarnished (not knowing that Leonard has left). 

Upon arriving at the RV, Spot finds Pretty Boy and Jolly there and questions them where Leonard has run off to. The pets in despair inform him that Leonard has run off to see Dr. Krank with the proposition of being transformed into a dog so that he and Spot can be together, since Spot won't be his dog, Leonard will have to be his. Fearful for what could become of their master, Spot, Pretty Boy and Jolly rush to save Leonard from Dr. Krank's clutches.

The pets arrive just in time to find Leonard strapped down on the operating table where the machine beaming at him ready to do its magic. Dennis and Adele capture the pet trio and Spot takes the opportunity he has to properly apologize to Leonard for all the trouble that he has caused before Krank tries to harm Leonard. Loyal as ever to his boy, Spot battles against Krank and ultimately uses Krank's device against him turning the wacko scientist into a mouse who Jolly then chases after. Having jammed the device with a nickel seeing as the device only accepts quarters, Spot unties Leonard and gets him to safety while the machine begins to overheat. Figuring this is the only chance he has to be turned back into a dog, Spot bravely stands in the machine's aim of fire as it explodes.

After the explosion, Leonard finds that Spot has been turned to a pile of blue dust from the machine's beam. Leonard kicks the machine in anger after he is certain is best friend is dead and upon kicking the device, it reactivates, zapping Spot again and turning him back into a dog. Spot and Leonard patch up their relationship and Spot learns to be proud of being a dog. They then hurry to the awards ceremony and Mrs. Helperman has won. Outside of the building, the pets wonder how they’re going to get home without letting Leonard’s mom know they’re in Florida. As part of his plan to get home, Spot disguises himself as Scott Leadready as a way to prevent Mrs. Helperman to find out about his Prescence in Florida, while Pretty Boy and Jolly hang on to the RV's ladder and they head home.

Appearance[]

Spot is a blue furred mutt with a white tummy, yellow eyes and a black spot on his back, which is how he got his name. As Scott, he sports a black beanie with yellow rings, a yellow short sleeved collared shirt, red shorts, black glasses, and gray sneakers. Whenever he blushes, his entire face turns pink.[4] As Scott Manly-Manning, he had pink skin, black slicked hair, wore a fancy black suit with a red tie, and had a five o'clock shadow, resembling Nathan Lane. 

Personality[]

Spot is an extremely competitive, enthusiastic, and highly intelligent pup who wants to be the top dog. A bit of a know it all, Spot is easily the "teacher's pet" in class. While somewhat arrogant at times, Spot is still man's best friend and often puts the needs of others, especially that of his master Leonard above of his own needs to ensure the boy's happiness. Extremely melodramatic, Spot is often succumbed to hamming things up and blowing things up to extreme proportions when things are not going his way. Nevertheless, he always has the best of intentions and is a good friend to all.

Relationships[]

Leonard Helperman[]

Spot and Leonard are best buddies. At school, they can fight and get overly competitive when it comes to a game or a test. Nonetheless, they are best friends through thick and thin. Spot really looks out for Leonard and gives him advice to help him with his everyday problems. Sometimes though, he does things that get Leonard in trouble, despite it not being his intention. In the movie, their friendship is put to the test, and is the main plot the film revolves around. When Krank turns Spot into a man, Mrs. Helperman falls in love with him, and Spot suggests he and Mrs. Helperman should get married so he can remain in Leonard's life. Appalled at this suggestion, Leonard loses his patience and they stop being friends. Later though, they both feel bad about their fight and reconcile after Spot is returned to normal.

Mrs. Helperman[]

Mrs. Helperman is very protective of Spot as much as she is of Leonard. At school, Spot tends to show-off his intellect to the teacher and really amazes her with his encyclopedic knowledge. In the movie, when Spot is temporarily turned into a human, she falls in love with him while on a date. After a serious, ugly fight with Leonard, Spot leaves her. Before Scott is a dog again, she seems to have gotten over being dumped. When Spot is changed back to normal, she becomes happy to lend him (dressed as Scott Leadready again) a ride back to East/Westland.

Pretty Boy and Mr. Jolly[]

Spot, Mr. Jolly, and Pretty Boy are good friends. Spot and Leonard always turn to them for help and are willing to do anything to help them in their time of need, and Mr. Jolly and Pretty Boy are willing to help them as well, even if they might be against Spot's double life or his plans in general.

Quotes[]

  • "I'm a boy, not a dog! A boy, not a dog..."
  • "I am going to school!" 

Gallery[]

To see more pictures and screenshots of Spot click here

Trivia[]

  • Spot was inspired by Hubcaps, Gary Baseman's dog. Baseman would often wonder what his dog would do when he went to work.
  • Spot had the perfect attendance out of the entire fourth grade class, despite being absent in two episodes
  • In the first half of the series and in the film, he voiced by Nathan Lane, while he was voiced by Kevin Schon in other episodes (who unsurprisingly is known for replacing Lane for his voiceover roles).[5]
  • Spot's human form was modeled after Nathan Lane.
  • After he turned into a human in the movie, Leonard tried to count up what Spot's age was in dog years, only for Spot to talk him out of it. Nathan Lane was 47 years old when the movie came out and if that was Spot's age in dog years, that would mean he was at least over 6 years old.
  • His eyes are revealed to be brown in the pilot episode.[1]

References[]

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