Where men are men...and sheep are nervous.

Let me take a moment to assure you that, despite the similarity in titles, Sheep in the Big City is in no way related to "Sex and the City". Different plots, different characters, different networks, and exceedingly different reviews - or so I would hope. I've never actually seen "Sex and the City," but I'm assuming that Sarah Jessica Parker et al leave some societal taboos alone.

The series focuses on the urban adventures of a sheep named (appropriately - albeit simply - enough) Sheep. Sheep's life was one of pastoral comfort and weekly catharsis, thanks to the frequent livestock group therapy sessions hosted by Farmer John, his owner and easily the most emotionally attuned thing on two legs. At the other end of the feel-good spectrum is General Specific, who needs Sheep to complete construction on his sheep-powered ray-gun. Quite literally, no other sheep will do. The ray-gun is sporting a sheep-sized gap, and Sheep is the only sheep in the explored universe that will properly fill it. With the help of his ever-suffering lackey, Private Public, Specific attempts to kidnap Sheep. Sheep realizes that the farm is no longer a safe environment for him and heads for the big city. That's as far as the first episode takes us, but it's a pretty safe bet to assume that future episodes will focus on the travails of this bleating Everyman as he tries to come to grips with his new surroundings.

Sheep in the Big City is the latest cartoon geared primarily at entertaining the kids with one style of humor while keeping their older siblings and/or parents engaged with another level. It's an all-inclusive style that helped The Animainiacs carve out a rather healthy following back when nobody else (save The Simpsons, who are their own category altogether) seemed to be doing it. The artwork is...well...let's call it idiosyncratic. When seen in profile, Sheep's eyes appear stacked one on top of the other, and appear jaundiced. Still, the colors are bright and no character looks even remotely like anybody else, so I won't fault them a few odd peepers.

Sheep in the Big City is the brainchild of Mo Willems (creator/writer/director), an Emmy winner for his work on Sesame Street. Willems is no novice to the world of animation, having made more than 70 short films for such venues as HBO, MTV, Spike & Mike's Festival of Animation, and both the Hiroshima and Cardiff Animation Festivals. "Sheep in the Big City follows the 10-year rule," said Willems. "We try to make it funny for a 10-year-old, but also so it will be funny in 10 years."

By and large, they succeeded, if their premiere episode is indicative of what we should expect from the series. The humor was a bit inconsistent, but since the show hits the audience with punchlines and visual gags at a pretty healthy clip, they can afford to be a little hit-and-miss.

Sheep in the Big City premiered on the Cartoon Network on Friday, November 17. Check local listings for current airtimes.

D. Patrick Seitz is an actor and writer living in Los Angeles.

Got a problem? Email Patrick at filmmonthly@hotmail.com