Tutenstein is an Emmy Award winning animated television series, produced by Porchlight Entertainment for Discovery Kids. It also airs on Jetix in Turkey. It began broadcasting on November 1, 2003. The half-hour series features young mummy Tutankhensetamun (based on real-life Tutankhamun and usually called "Tutenstein" as in the title) who is awakened about 3,000 years after his accidental death and now has to face the fact his kingdom is gone. The series is based on an idea by Jay Stephens. The name is a portmanteau of Tutankhamun and Frankenstein . In October 11, 2008 a TV movie entitled Tutenstein: Clash of the Pharaohs aired on Discovery Kids. The production company, PorchLight Entertainment, based in Los Angeles, California, has won Emmys for the first and second seasons of the series. Irish TV production company Telegael, which is based in An Spidéal, Co Galway, also won an Emmy Award for the second season.
Characters
Tutankhensetamun ("Tut")
A very rude and egotistical mummy. He lived a spoiled and lazy life and had a best friend Nutka. The two would often trick the other children in Egypt or come up with scams to steal things such as honeycakes and toys. While it is unknown how he died, the introduction sequence portrays Tut playing with the Scepter and being plunged into darkness. However, he has mentioned on at least one occasion that he got sneezy before he died, showing he may have succumbed to disease. In the movie "The Clash of the Phaorohs" its revealed he died while saving Nutka from a tomb that was collapsing in which he was crushed to death. Tutankhensetamun died at the age of ten, reawakened about three thousand years later by Cleo. His nickname is Tutenstein (wordplay on Frankenstein), often shortened to Tut. He often has trouble with gods or ancient scripts. His only friends are Luxor and Cleo because everyone else he knew has died. When he's not doing something he shouldn't, Tut spends most of his free time in his sarcophagus because he must hide all day. He owns the Scepter of Was and he likes to play Senet with Cleo. Although he seems to ignore Cleo's warnings, he does seem to care for her very much. He even went to great lengths to try to protect her life in "Near Dead Experience" when he thought she was going to die, saying, "Cleo, I will do everything in my power to save you — even risk my own afterlife!" As he had died 3,000 years ago, his age in the current time is 3,010 years.
Tut is voiced by Jeannie Elias.
Cleo Carter
A 12 year old girl who enjoys Egyptology. After chasing her cat, Luxor, she accidentally brought Tut back to life. She tends to argue with Tut, complaining about his immaturity and selfishness. But it's clear that she'd prefer life with him than without him. Often Cleo is the one who has to help Tut set things right. She is very nice, smart, and kind. She always has her PocketPC, allowing her to gain instant access to facts about Egypt. Her first name references the female pharaoh, Cleopatra, while her last name references Howard Carter, who discovered Tutankhaman's tomb. It is often implied that she might be a descendant of the real Cleopatra. Cleo wants Tut to learn how to be a good pharaoh. Cleo looks like her mom, but she misses her dad very much. Cleo tries to get Tutenstein to do the right thing. Cleo has an attitude problem. Cleo's favorite color is Pink.
Cleo is voiced by Crystal Scales.
Luxor
Cleo's cat. Once considered an ordinary cat, when Tut was brought back to life, he was compelled to be ever loyal to his new "master" and gained the ability to talk. Luxor is often the voice of reason for Tut. He is voiced by David Lodge.
Walter Jacobs
Referred to as "Jacobs" by the professor, Walter is the security guard at the museum. He often is the one to notice strange things around the museum, only to be laughed at by others. He is often seen at his desk eating or listening to the radio. Walter has a twin brother named George who's a security guard at the mall.
Professor Horace Behdety
The haughty professor who works at the museum. Tends to boss around Walter and always tries to gain more publicity (primarily for himself and not the museum). A running gag in the series is the misspelling of his name to things such as "Bedwetty". Professor Behdety seems to think that Walter's crazy and needs professional help.
The Professor is voiced by Lex Lang.
Dr. Roxanne Vanderwheele
The Professor's colleague, an extremely bright young scholar and thoroughly modern archaeologist. Dr. Vanderwheele has devoted her life to researching the history and culture of ancient Egypt. In contrast to the Professor, she is open-minded and up-to-date on all technology related to the modern methods of archaeology, and she is also a mentor to Cleo. She also really seems fond of the Tutankhensetamun exhibit. Dr. Vanderwheele loves Luxor, and Cleo's nickname for her is "Dr. V".
Natasha
Natasha is Cleo's best friend. She doesn't really know much about Tut, but has seen him a few times, remaining oblivious to the fact that he's an actual mummy. Tut became infatuated with her and wanted to make her his queen, so he placed her under a love spell. The Boy King decided to remove it when he realized that the two really had nothing in common. Natasha has no recollection of this. Natasha also has the bad habit of lying, which often leads to her own undoing. Natasha has a little brother. Cleo's nick name for Natasha is "Nat". Natasha has a crush on Kyle.
Kyle
Kyle is another one of Cleo's friends and has a crush on Natasha. Like Natasha, Kyle is oblivious to Tut being a mummy, even after actually seeing him; he does, however, seem to consider Tut a loser.
Jake
Jake is one of Cleo's friends and her secret crush. Like Cleo's other friends, Jake knows virtually nothing about Tut, though he has seen him once.
Rosalie Rivara
Rosalie Rivara is a vain, publicity hungry TV news reporter. There's hardly anything she won't do to get a story, even going so far as to publicly humiliate Prof. Behdety on television. She is often summoned by Behdety, only to be aggravated with him when she sees there's nothing to report.
Set
The Egyptian god of chaos, destruction, and disorder, and the main antagonist of the series. For thousands of years, Set has been condemned to the darkest pit of the Egyptian underworld. The reason for this is for his assault on his brother, Osiris. He dismembered Osiris and scattered his body parts across the world. Although Osiris was brought back together by his wife Isis, Osiris' son, Horus, confronted Set and exiled him to the pits of the Underworld. But when Tut was brought back from the dead, Set saw his chance to gain the ultimate symbol of power, the Sceptor of Was. He dispatched three of his demonic servants; Khesef, Sekhem and Hemhety to retrieve it and was almost released. But with the help of Cleo and Luxor, Tut sent Set and his demonic minions back to the underworld. From that day on, Set has tried multiple attempts to gain the Sceptor and not only escape his imprisonment, but to conquer both the human world and avenge himself on the other Egyptian gods. But no matter what he does, Tut always seems to thwart him (though sometimes it's Cleo). Since he is unable to enter the "overworld", Set usually dispatches the demons and monsters at his command to do his dirty work. And as the series went on, Set also became obsessed with trying to destroy Tut as well as obtaining the sceptor (to achieve this goal, he even tried to get rid of Cleo). In the first 2 seasons, Set occasionally dispatched his 3 main minions: Khesef and Sekhem, a pair of Jackel-headed demons, and Hemhety, a large zombie-like demon. But in the 3rd season, Set has dispatched a variety of other demons, most of which seem to be mindless brutes, willing to serve their master in sincere devotion. However, in 3 episodes, it was revealed that Set had at least three minions who were competent at what they did; Pa-Hemu, Denwen and Telal. It is also inclined in the episode "Into the Past", that there might be some humans under Set's control as well. Set is always spying on Tut and everyone else in the over world. Set believes that ruling the world is his destiny and that his rightful place is ruler of the world. Set is voiced by David Lodge.
The Demons of the Underworld
The demons of the underworld often play a large role in the show. Sometimes Tut and Cleo go to the underworld and are menaced by them. But other times, the demons come to them and attack them in the human world. There seems to be all sorts of demonic creatures in the Egyptian underworld, most of which are at the command of Set and are often after the Sceptor of Was for their master. However, two baboon demons named "Marca" and "Hedgeware" are at the command of Thoth the god of wisdom and they seem benevolent. But two giant demons in the underworld, Wenamoo and Nahahair, both seem to be neutral, stupid, but neutral.
The Egyptian Gods
The almighty deities of ancient Egypt are often overseers of all the events of the human world and the underworld. Many of the ancient Egyptian gods have appeared in the series, either being disappointed in Tut's actions and punishing him for them or being summoned to assist him in his problems, be they minor or major. Osiris, the god of the dead, seems to be t