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Well....I am a double graduate of Sheridan College's animation program. I took both traditional animation ( drawing) and then later 3D digital animation. Eek was my firs job right out of school! I always loved cartoony cartoons like Mr. Magoo, Bugs Bunny and Deputy Dawg etc, and never had any real passion to work on Disney style stuff, so when I knew they were doing Eek I applied directly for that show. Almost immediatley I knew it was meant for me to be on that show. Right off the bat I became best friends with Steve Daye. We drew very similiar and both loved Van Halen, and had twisted senses of humor! We got along great, which came out in the show! Since Eek, I have worked on about 15 cartoon series here at Nelvana, and briefly left to work in LA on the live action movie Dr.Dolittle 2. After that, I realized that cartoons were where I belonged and came back to Nelvana where I have happily been ever since. Currently I am the Supervising Technical Director on a new 3D series and I am loving it! Ironically, I am working with an ex Eek comrade ( the very talented Derek Prout) for the first time since Eek ended in 1996. It's a blast, we laugh all day....but we do miss Steve's daily joking about! It's almost criminal that we get paid for doin this stuff!

ECTN: How did you get involved with Eek the Cat? 

Well...I applied for season 2 and they just brought me on board! I was nervous as hell, and I was trying so hard to fit in. Steve Daye was wary of my talent, (or if I even had any) at first, but he soon made me part of the team and we joked all through 3 more seasons! It was the 'golden years' of our careers, and the best part was that we knew it and enjoyed it for all it was worth!

ETCN: What did you do on the show?

I was first a prop designer and location clean up artist. That meant that anything a character in the show touched or picked up, I had to design. When I was wasn't doing that, I was cleaning up Steve Daye's location designs. I learned alot from just doing that as well! Steve is a great guy and very talented. He just created his own series in which he asked me to help out! It was a treat! It was like the old days!

ETCN: What was it like working with this cartoon? 

Ok.....this answer could fill a book! And don't think a book on this hasn't crossed my mind! Maybe someday.... All I can say was that working on Eek was like a sitcom on TV. Nothing but constant jokes, put-downs....we'd even draw out each other doing crazy or rude things! I'd be sitting there working away, then a over the side of my cubicle would float a drawing....I'd pick it up, and it was always a drawing of me in some insane situation that steve drew me in!! I'd die laughing! Then quickly skecth a funny picture of Steve in another crazy idea! One time a theif broke in and stole all his CD's, but left his Billy Joel ones, and that turned into WEEKS of ridicule and drawings! I have so many stories I really should write a book! Steve is right...we'd go for crazy long lunch breaks and still manage to get our work done. I eventually graduated to location and character design and in the 5th season me and Steve and Derek basically took over the look of the show! So many family names of eahc of us made it inot the backgrounds! If you watch close the number 5150, and favourite Van HAlen cd of Steve and I's, appeared everywhere! My girlfriend at the time Robin, had her name everywhere as well. Hard to believe it's almost 10 years ago! wow....

ETCN: Did you get any ideas into any episodes? 

YES! One time we did a Museek concert and I added EC-Top instead of ZZ top, and that made it into the show! If you look close, the front row was me and Steve and our girlfriends!

ECTN: Did you get the chance to work with Savage or Bill Kopp?

No... these guys were in LA and being in Toronto, we never saw them. Occasionally we'd have storyboard meetings and we'd hear them tell our producer stuff, but no real contact. What was it like working with Savage and/or Bill?

ECTN: What is your fondest memory of working on Eek? 

Got to be the people I met and the friendships forged at that time. We were all in our early 20's and having a blast! Another was having William Shatner perosonally pick my design I did of him for an episode. I still have the fax saying " Mr.Shatner likes the one Mr. Bristow did!"

ETCN: Which was your favorite episode and Why?

 I personaly liked " The sound of Museek" because I appear in it with Steve and my then girlfriend Robin. AND because they used my ZZ top idea. Another band whose cd's fuelled a 1000 Eek designs! the Fugeektive was cool because I designed Weird AL Yankovic, who lended his voice to the show.Oh! and the episode that Sean Connery lent his voice to as well. It was a spoof on Dragonheart!

ETCN: Who was your favorite Character?

 Probably Sharkey...such a cool design!

ETCN: What could have been done different?

 hmmmmmmmm..in my opinion - nothing! I got to do everything I wanted on that show and I have never, until now, worked on a show with such a fun, talented crew!

ETCN: There was an episode where Eek conducted an Behind
the scenes expose on Eek. Rumor circulated that it hit
pretty close to the truth. Any comments on that?

Right on the money! We actually got paid to have that much fun!

ETCN: What have you done since then? 

I have worked on almost every cartoon Nelvana has done since 1996! An episode I tech directed won an Emmy....that was pretty cool! I am most proud of the book I illustrated that has just come out. I love the detective show " the Rockford Files" and I got the chance to do all the artwork in the book! It's called " 30 Years of: the Rockford Files" It's very 'Eek' in design. Fans of eek will no doubt see the similiarities.James Garner personally signed it to me and I do think I've been blessed in this industry so far. If it all came crashing down tomorrow, I'd say I've had a great run!

ETCN: Thanks Darin for taking the time with us. Good to know that the show was as much fun to work on as it was to watch.

Ask me more stuff! This has been fun! thanks!