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Me: (getting the mail and coming back into the house with it) Okay, let's see what we got here. Fan letters..."Dear Dandy Andy, you look good with a beard." Next. "Dear Dandy Andy, you don't look good with a beard." Next. "Dear Dandy Andy, when is the next episode of JUMP?" Well, I guess that's all the mail for today.
Alexis: Now, I wouldn't say that. (hands me another letter)
Me: What's this?
Galleom: From something called an FCC.
Me: What? Give me that? (reads it)
Dear Dandy Andy,
It has come to our attention that your account does not match the educational standards that we require. Unless you can provide your viewers with educational content, we will be forced to shut you down.
Signed,
The FCC
Me: Uh-oh...
(Enter Ruben AKA Brainstormer623)
Ruben: Hey, Andy, I heard you were doing a collab month, and I figured it would be a great honor if-
Me: Oh, Ruben, ol' buddy! Am I glad you're here! You're just the man I need to help me get the FCC off my back!
Ruben: Have you been hitting the cola again?
Me: Come on! There's only one thing to do! And that is confess our love of educational shows!
Ruben: Yep. He's been hitting the cola again.
DandyAndy1989 Intro
Me: Aloha, everybody! It is I, Dandy Andy! And welcome to the fourth installment of Collaboration Month!
Me: Now, some of you may have noticed the title of the journal in question here, but yes, I am going to talk about something a little differently for once. And to get me started with that, I invited the biggest and most educational guy I know, Ruben AKA Brainstormer623!
(Enter Ruben)
Ruben: Hey, all you Raspberry Soccer Balls out there! How's it going?
Me: I also call him Captain Falcon because of his last name being Falcon. And we're way ahead of you on the F-Zero and Smash Bros jokes.
Ruben: Yeah, we beat you to it without even trying.
Me: So, we're here to talk about educational shows today.
Alexis: BUT DANDY BOY! AND MALTESE FALCON! WHY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT EDUCATIONAL SHOWS?! THAT STUFF'S FOR BABIES! YOU SHOULD BE WATCHING REAL SHOWS LIKE ADVENTURE TIME! AND THE BLACKLIST! AND LAW AND ORDER! AND FAMILY FEUD! I WANT MORE FAMILY FEUD ON MY SCHEDULE! FAMILY FEUD 24/7, PLEASE!
Ruben: What...was that?
Me: Oh, just Alexis trying to sound like some kind of whiny viewer.
Alexis: It's my thing.
Me: Now, yes, I'm sure some of you are wondering why we're trying an educational motif for this review.
Ruben: That's because these kinds of shows aren't just for kids. They can be entertained by us adults, too.
Me: Yeah! I mean, look at what happened to My Little Pony! It went from being a sugary girly toy market for young ladies to being a universal phenomenon for not just girls and boys, but for women and men of all ages! And in a way, the same can be said for some educational shows we grew up with or the ones of today.
Ruben: While they do teach younger viewers still developing their minds some things they can adapt to when getting ready for school, they can also be viewed by adults for their unique adventures and special environments.
Me: And no better network, or block could possibly do it any better than Nick Jr.
Nick Jr.
Me: Ah, Nick Jr. It is definitely something that takes the two of us back quite a bit.
Ruben: You said it, buddy. It seems like only yesterday I was searching for three blue shaded paw prints all over the place and jotting down the three items they were on to try to figure out what they meant.
Me: A little into the 90's, Nickelodeon had made a decision to make a block that would help benefit the younger generation with a little bit of important values to learn about the world and all sorts of fun adventures. This is where shows like Blue's Clues, Franklin, and especially Dora the Explorer came to be. And we're looking back on its very first host of the franchise, FACE.
FACE: Hi, there! FACE here!
Ruben: Oh, FACE. That's a character I never forgot about. He was originally the main host of when the block was about to go to commercial or come back and introduce the next segment. He was just a big smiling face in a different colorful background. And when a show was about to come on next, he do his own little fanfare.
(FACE makes a fanfare with his lips and giggles)
Me: Never got tired of that little jingle. FACE tended to all sorts of things like have fruit fall on his head to have a fancy fruit hat, get his jumbled up in a puzzle, sing the letters of his name, act like a superhero, drink a drink until the background was the same color as his drink as it filled up, and so much more.
Ruben: And if you notice, whenever Blue's Clues was about to start, Blue's Paw Print would show up on the screen as an indication. And let me tell you, Blue's Clues was definitely one of my favorite shows growing up, and still is today.
Blue's Clues
Ruben: Yes, to me, Blue's Clues was always the definitive genesis to the whole network or block, however you would look at it. It was a show about a blue dog living with her owner. Yes, her owner. Blue is a girl, for those of you who don't know.
Me: I'm sure some people got confused by that overtime. The series focused on what looked like an animated neighborhood starring a live action man named Steve who lived with his pup named Blue who always wanted to do something special on a certain day, and when Steve asks what it is, Blue would challenge him, and the viewers, to a game of Blue's Clues.
Steve: We're gonna play some Blue's Clues, 'cause it's a really great game! Yeah!
Ruben: I always loved the way the paw print got stuck on the screen and Steve needed to think of a way to remove it in some comedic ways. Steve's house had all of the necessary furniture and items actually be living breathing sentient beings. There was Side Table Drawer, who kept the notebook for jotting down the clues, Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper, two french condiment dispensers, Mailbox, who delivered the mail naturally, Tickity Tock the alarm clock, Slippery the bar of soap, Shovel and Pail the outside toys, and some other items laying around for one shots.
Me: Also, have you ever noticed that throughout the house, there was some snail lurking about? What was up with that snail? Why was it there? Was it trolling us?
Ruben: I doubt it. But, anyway, the formula for the show was pretty great. A scavenger hunt in searching for three different objects in order to find out what they would make to come together. When they are all gathered, Steve would retreat to his Thinking Chair to think about what the clues meant. And early on, he would make a guess so nonsensical and over-the-top impossible, it just comes off as just a big laugh from us.
Me: Yeah, I missed it and didn't think it was the same when he stopped doing that. And how about we talk about the ol' 23 Skidoo?
Ruben: Skidooing was a big part of the show. Sometimes, the third and final clue would be found there, but more importantly, this is where they would come to a world that helped focus on the subject at hand, such as a Felt world with some Felt Friends, a fairytale land, and many other worlds that could be made by just jumping into a new world. Blue would skidoo right in and Steven would follow.
Me & Ruben: Blue Skidoo, we can too!
Ruben: Never gets old.
Me: One of my favorites was this one where they jump into a story book and all the sentences were jumbled up and came off wrong. Especially the last one.
puppy snack. The and the ate a girl
Me: Had me cracking up every time it came up. Of course, their job in the Skiddo universe was to fix any problems that came about and set it straight. After which, they would find their third clue either before or after skidooing back home.
Ruben: And you know, the viewers at home would often be the ones finding all the clues with Steve having no idea what or where they are. They were there plain as day and it was up to us to do all the work.
Me: Out of so many clues, he only found one. But at least it was a grand day for him. The show also had neighbors and other characters that appeared to be one shot but eventually grew and developed into being Blue's friends.
Ruben: There was Magenta, a dog that looked just like Blue but was the shade of magenta, given her name. A lot of animals were based on shades of colors there were, like Periwinkle the cat, Purple Kangaroo, Orange Kitten, Green Puppy...the names weren't really that original, but they were likable, and that's what matters. Sometime after about 6 or 7 years on the show, Steve was going to be leaving the show due to severe hair loss and going bald, so they hired a new guy named Joe to take Steve's place, being passed down as Steve's brother while Steve, in the show, was going off to college. The only time we ever saw Steve again was at the end of the 100th episode. After that, he was really never seen again. Both Steve and Joe were very good hosts, and I think that this show was very revolutionary for its time.
Me: Yes, I remember those days too, old buddy. After Blue retired, Dora the Explorer became the new flagship series for Nick Jr. It was fun at first, but soon enough, the show just started doing all sorts of crazy things that just didn't seem natural for a Hispanic little girl going off into the world without adult supervision where everything was alive.
Ruben: Starts off fresh, then gets hammered in too much. We don't think we need to talk about this.
Me: Or the sequel it spawned. There was also another show that I was a bit fond of in my childhood, and that was little Bear based on the books by Else Holmelund Minarik.
Little Bear
It was about a bear living in a house in the woods with his mom and dad and having all sorts of fun adventures. The animals were just named after their species, except for Mitzi the Monkey who was introduced into the second season, and they did all sorts of things like fishing, playing games, going for walks, letting their imaginations run wild...etc.
Ruben: I remember when Emily had to go away after the summer ended. That was a pretty heart string tug there. But at least they managed to bring her back for good by having her move into a cabin in the woods with her grandma and little french dog.
Me: It looks like a Chihuahua, but I don't think it is. I'm not sure what kind of breed of dog Tutu was supposed to be, but I know she wasn't a chihuahua. There was also Emily's doll, Lucy, who was practically the Plank to Emily's Jonny.
Alexis: You gonna put a quarter in the jar?
Me: No, I'm just making a comparison, not a reference. One thing I never got though is why the so-called goblins that were rumored to lurk in the woods looked more like gnomes. I mean, usually, goblins are supposed to be sinister and creepy looking. These guys? Not so much.
Ruben: Probably didn't wanna scare the young 'uns.
Me: Well, they should have been called gnomes. That would have made more sense. Overall, the show was a nice little quiet piece of mind that always had its own adventures. Nothing too bad. There was also the show Franklin.
Franklin
Ruben: How could I forget about that little turtle and his friends? It was also a TV show based on another series of books. And this one may be one of the more underrated gems out there.
Me: You said it. I liked the characters there and the many different forms of the community it could teach us at young ages. Franklin at the time was the only character who actually had a name while the others, like in Little Bear, were just named after their species. There was Franklin's best friend Bear, his 2nd best friend Snail, and others like Beaver, Fox, Rabbit, Goose, you know the drill.
Ruben: At least you wouldn't have trouble remembering who was who. That much we can give them. Still makes you wonder why he wasn't just called Turtle.
Me: I guess Turtle doesn't roll off the tongue like Franklin does. This show was co-produced in Canada and was definitely one of the better shows at the time. Not knocking on Canada's entertainment at all. They have their gems, too. Just saying, this was my favorite educational show Canada made. Franklin and his friends would play Soccer, learn about different things in the community, run into some problems that they think are different but turn out to be a misunderstanding, and the like. Whenever there's a problem, they know what they have to do in order to fix it.
Ruben: In the movie, the Green Knight, no relation to Batman whatsoever, Franklin got a new baby sister named Harriet, which would help him learn the fundamentals of being an older sibling.
Me: Since she was still developing at a young age, we can let them pass on it as she didn't have much to go by. Franklin would always be a helpful big brother to her, even if at times she would tend to get in the way. But that's how siblings work.
Ruben: Another great show that has been more forgotten than it should have been.
Me: And then came along the sequel...
Franklin and Friends
Ruben: Yeah, we'll stick with the original, thank you very much. Next came a show that I think is still remembered and helped be a big part in my imagination. That show was the Backyardigans.
The Backyardigans
The Backyardigans was a show about 5 anthropomorphic animals playing in their backyard. But every adventure they have starts with their backyard transforming into the setting for their adventure; outer space, under the sea, a jungle, and beyond that. Way beyond that. The characters were a penguin named Pablo, a moose named Tyrone, a hippo named Tasha, a kangaroo named Austin, and a...uh...thingy named Uniqua. The Backyardigans was made by the same folks who brought us the Bubble Guppies. And boy, does it show. Because both shows have weird creative situations that could probably be made with a mad lib that uses a normal situation and a fantasy situation. For example; the Bubble Guppies had postmen in outer space, mad scientists making frog monsters and super hero waiters. The Backyardigans had ping-pong playing cowboys, intergalactic trash collectors and pizza deliverers giving pizza to a Mayan king. The show was full of imaginative situations that would really entertain. And just like the Bubble Guppies, the Backyardigans was full of wonderful songs. Each episode had songs that were all one type of genre: jazz, country, polka, junk band. The characters were nicely diverse and developed, even if each of them played different roles in the story; like one character could be the hero in one episode and the villain in another. But still, there isn’t a character in this series you would hate, even the one girl that was supposedly a girl of attitude in the first season. All in all, Backyardigans was a great show.
Me: Never really watched much of it myself, but the episodes I did see I think worked just fine there. But just what was Uniqua supposed to be? I mean, Pablo's a penguin, Tasha's a hippo, Austin's a kangaroo, and Tyrone's a moose.
Ruben: I guess Uniqua was...just unique. It fits her name. (his stomach starts to rumble a bit)
Me: Alexis, are you using your Sonic Booms to make thunder noises to scare off the neighbors again?!
Alexis: No!
Ruben: Nah, that was just my stomach. Every episode of the Backyardigans ended with one of them getting hungry and going back to one of their places for a snack.
Me: We'll get some lunch after the review's over. What other shows did you like?
Ruben: There was The Wonder Pets.
The Wonder Pets
The Wonder Pets was a TV show about 3 classroom pets. When the class was over, the pets would get a call from an animal in trouble and would set out to rescue it. The show centered on teamwork, music and going to different places all around the world to see different places. Kinda like the Little Einsteins. Expect while only one person on the Little Einsteins sang, pretty much everyone on the Wonder Pets sang. It was an opera. And opera doesn’t just mean Viking helmets and long braided hair; opera just means a story where everyone sings most of the words, despite the genres. The only thing I disliked about the show was the fact that it basically introduced me to the clichéd story format where there’s 2 versions of the same problem and the characters solve the 2nd version of the problem by realizing how they solved the 1st. For example, one of the very first episodes involved getting a unicorn unstuck from a tree. The Pets solve that by unscrewing the horn (and the unicorn) from the tree, the same way they screwed in a screw for their Flyboat; the flying sailboat vehicle they usually use to get to the animal in trouble. While this formulaic format was freaking frustrating, it was fairly forgettable.
Me: I can see your problem with that. I guess I can say that Linny was a good leader, but not much else was to be said about her. I wouldn't call her bland, I just don't see much else about her. Tuck was a nice little turtle there who was a bit of a little worry-wart. As for Ming Ming...well, she had a little bit of an ego that I didn't think was very likable.
Ruben: Every mission often ended with them basking in a treat of celery, sometimes done in different ways to cultivate the environment they were in.
Me: While I do understand that the show was to teach kids the importance of working together as one, it also knocked on the idea of doing things yourself. I cannot recall a single episode where one of them had to do something themselves without the help of the others. There are times in life where you'll have to go alone in order to complete the task at hand. Otherwise, if you rely on others, you will not be able to take care of solo tasks.
Ruben: It was a good show that taught the values of teamwork, and yet, something about this show seemed similar to another that aired around the same time.
Me: You mean the spin-off Dora's cousin Diego got?
Ruben: That's the one. And now, finally, how about a more recent show: Zack and Quack.
Zack and Quack
Which was a bit of an underrated gem in my opinion. And in my opinion, I hate to use the term “underrated” because it makes me feel pretentious. The show takes place inside of a popup book where everything is made out of paper and is either flat cardboard cutouts or, rarely, paper crafts. Each page is a different setting, from the Arctic to the Zoo. And each adventure causes the characters to get creative and use what's ever around them to make things. Seriously, in this world, you could take a box, add a few doughnuts on either end, stick a paper plate inside and boom! Instant racecar. Each world is full of tags and levers that can cause anything to pop up. But what I like about this show is that it makes kids want to be creative and shows them to use their imagination. Loving my imagination is what made me the man I am today, so seeing shows like this to make kids more imaginative and creative in the future kinda makes me feel like I'm seeing new baby artists being born.
Me: That actually sounds pretty interesting. I should give it a try sometime.
Ruben: You don't know what you're missing, buddy.
Me: Now then, how about we talk about the network's history?
Ruben: That's right. Nick Jr. isn't just a block for Nickelodeon's educational motives. There's also a cable network for it.
Me: And it started off under an alternate name known as Noggin, and it used to be hosted by a little moose named Moose A. Moose...seriously, what up with the uncreative names?
Ruben: ...and his bird bud Zee. Moose did all the talking and Zee just blinked every now and then. They had their own little universal at the time and were working on problems and puzzles in their neighborhood with their friends and neighbors. You know, get a little something going before the next show would start. There were many different things like trying to find the way to someone's apartment for a birthday party, repairing shapes in toys, following a path to a pirate's treasure chest on certain shaped stone paths, it was pretty good there.
Me: But a few years ago, the network dropped Moose and Zee and put them onto a new app named after the channel's original name for kids to learn from. They may not be on TV anymore, but they can be found on mobile.
Ruben: Now, the network, now called Nick Jr., has all of the characters living in a utopia of their own, crossing over together with different activities.
Me: Sorta like what Cartoon Network used to do. There were many other shows we grew up with and we're just gonna give a quick brief recap of them.
Oswald
A show about an octopus and his pet hot dog living in a city as part of their community and tackling the subjects of day to day life. Oswald was also voiced by Fred Savage.
Max and Ruby
Ruben: Two bunny siblings living on their own get along together and have all sorts of problems coming at times. There are times when Max has an idea and it turns out to be a good idea. Ruby doesn't seem to get the hint as often as she should.
Maggie and the Ferocious Beast
Me: A little girl who created a world of her own and brought it to life and has all sorts of adventures in said world with her gigantic beastly creature and piggy pal, the latter who lives in a special cardboard box. They meet all sorts of faces and have all sorts of fun adventures.
Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!
Ruben: A forgotten gem about a kid with a curly bent tail and his friends living in a city together. One is an inventor, one is a genius, and the other, introduced in the second season, is a gardener who loves cute things. The adventures are always creative, and the songs and intermission segments are enjoyable.
Me: Loved the story arc they did with special guest Beyonce.
Yo Gabba Gabba!
A show about all sorts of fun and diverse activities involving a DJ and his magical friends playing together, learning to get along and learn new things. They have all sorts of songs to listen to, problems to solve together, special guests to teach them new dances, and even little intermission gags based on video games.
Ruben: Some people give this show a little flack for its zaniness, but it wasn't that bad.
Me: Especially when they had one of the Brothers Chaps, famous for making Homestar Runner, work as one of the writers there.
So, that's basically some shows we grew up with and how the network has evolved. You know what I always wondered?
Ruben: What?
Me: Why is it that when the characters gave us the choice on whether or not to do something with them, we say no, and yet they take it as a yes? Like Molly from the Bubble Guppies asks us if we wanna go with them to someplace and we don't want to but she drags us along anyway.
Ruben: Either that is how it was filmed, or they have ways of changing our minds!
Alexis: Ooh! They are powerful ones, aren't they, Andy?
Me: They just might be. Well, we're almost done here. There's just one last thing to talk about for this.
Ruben: And that would be about their musical group known as The Fresh Beat Band.
The Fresh Beat Band
This is the musical group that is basically like a human version of The Banana Splits made by Hanna-Barbera.
Me: Only, you know, not so frightening looking. They consist of four friends having made a band together. They are the pianist Shout, the guitarist Kiki, the drummer Marina, and the DJ Twist. They live in their town trying to embrace the beauty of music while also getting themselves caught into some strange scenarios, like one of them getting stuck to the back of the other during a paint job, getting a new car that doesn't seem to work right, getting a physical case of their legs starting to go crazy over anticipation over a big dance, and having to clean up a littered town. There is also a running gag where Twist would have an idea on how to solve their conundrum, thinking it would be a cool idea, but it would come off as a little convoluted.
Ruben: And it would be cool to do it, but they'd prefer to do things a bit more simplistic.
Twist: Sure. If you wanna do it the easy way.
Me: But, in a little twist of irony, there was one time where they actually went with one of Twist's crazy ideas, and it actually worked!
Ruben: Quite a sight to behold. During the course of the show, the actress who played Marina quit the band under unknown circumstances and was replaced with a look-a-like of her to fill the void. But even that was not enough for them to get a new season, thus making the Fresh Beat Band go out of TV and hit the live stages. That is until recently, of course.
Me: That's right. Their show may be over, but they did get a new show in the form of a cartoon. And how do you do that?
Ruben: You turn them into a group of super sleuthing rock and rolling kick butt music loving secret agents! This is the Fresh Beat Band of Spies!
Fresh Beat Band Of Spies
Me: That's right. After their original show came to an end due to not having their contract renewed, the staff at Nick and...I'm guessing an indie animation company called Six Point Harness decided to create a new show in new animated adventures where they take on a new life in espionage.
Ruben: Think of it like Totally Spies mixed with a little bit of Josie and the Pussycats with a hint of Scooby-Doo.
Me: So, now, apparently, not only are they big shot music stars, they're also top secret agents. How did this happen?
Me & Ruben: We have no idea!
Ruben: But hey, anything could possibly work. They even added in a new character in the form of a monkey.
ProJared: Farm Keeper...MONKEY!
Me: His name is Bo Monkey, and he acts as the group's animal companion and the Scooby to Twist's Shaggy. Is he gonna be a good character?
Ruben: As long as he isn't an annoying one. So, the show has finally premiered, leaving viewers to check it out and see if this new approach for the Fresh Beats will stick. And to test it, we are going to review the first episode of the show. It was up on the Nick Jr. website as part of a sneak peak at the series. Now, let's see how the opening plays.
Opening plays
Ruben: Okay, it's already winning me over.
Me: Anywho, now that Ruben has been dazzled and wowed by the show's intro, here is the first episode of the show, "The Wow Factor."
The Wow Factor
Me: So, we get started and...we're suddenly in 1929, where all the houses were bouncing up and down?
Cut to Animaniacs
Dot: Ooh, creepy! Everything's alive!
Back to episode
Ruben: Twist is having a music party with all the animals in his...crib, I guess you could call it that, when there is some breaking news reporting of several mysterious incidents on the latest hit TV show, the Wow Factor.
Me: Yeah, I don't think anyone's gonna miss the reference.
News Reporter: Boy Band Three Directions was disqualified from the competition. During their hit song, "Always Here For You", the Three Directions sped up and spun off stage in...well, three directions.
Me: Three Directions? Really? I get that you can't actually use the real group's name and had to make a parody of it, but no one's gonna miss it!
News Reporter: Audiences around the world reacted in shock!
Family at home: Gasp!
City viewers: Gasp!
French viewers: Le gasp!
Ruben: Suddenly, Twist's fridge is ringing and...just roll with it.
Me: So, does this mean the phone is running instead of the fridge?
Twist: Hello! Twist on the frozen fridge phone. The frone.
Me: Hey! Making cheesy portmanteaus is my job!
Ruben: Relax, buddy. For some reason, he put his phone in the freezer.
he accidentally left his phone in the freezer.
Me: Just like when Homestar left his hat in the fridge next to the milk and the Cold Ones.
Homestar: There my hat is at!
Me: Anyway, Marina called Twist to tell him to meet up at Kiki's Salon, as she has a big surprise for them. I haven't watched the original show all too much, so I don't remember if Kiki ever had a dream of being a hairdresser.
Kiki: I scored us tickets to tonight's big finale of The Wow Factor!
Shout: Wow! (beat) What else am I supposed to say?
Ruben: Just as they're heading out the door to the show, a customer walks in and...
Sindy: HELL-OOOOOOOOOO!!!
Me: Oh no...
Ruben: She's gonna be one of those characters apparently...reveals to be a familiar face. This is Sindy Sauernotes.
Me: They used to go to school with her when they were kids. Back then, whenever the Fresh Beats would perform, Sindy would supposedly sabotage their performances and upstage them. And I just gotta say, the Fresh Beats were so friggin' adorable when they were young. And that shouldn't go as a surprise. In the original show, there was a group of younger versions of them known as the Junior Beats. They were just mainly there hanging out in the background from what I have noticed, and if they used the models of the band when they were younger for an animated version of the Junior Beats, I would hug the Kiki one so much.
Ruben: The Fresh Beats always assumed Sindy was behind their failures, but they couldn't prove it.
Me: It turns out Sindy is going to appear as a contestant on The Wow Factor and wants Kiki to do something with her hair to, for lack of a better word, wow the audience. And as a running gag, she constantly screws up Kiki's name.
Sindy: Fifi!
Kiki: It's Kiki!
Sindy: Didi!
Kiki: It's Kiki!
Sindy: Whatever.
Me: You know, I would just love to see Kiki do something like that to Sindy. Or better yet, punch her in the face. Now THAT would have been a "wow" moment to allow that on a Nick Jr. show. You know, without a "hitting someone else is wrong" message to go with it. So, she gives her old frenemy a new do that satisfies her vision.
Sindy: Time to take a "wow" pic with my MePhone!
Me: I bet she likes Nintendo's Mii concept.
Ruben: And her favorite song is "Let Me Take a Selfie".
Me: And worst of all...
Sindy: MememememememeMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
(Glass shatters)
Ruben: I was wearing headphones when she did that! HEADPHONES!
Marina: She's right. She certainly has that..."wow" factor.
Shout: More like the ow factor.
Me: Suddenly, Reed, the old music store owner from the original show now turned into one of those scientific geniuses that Ruben here could relate to, calls them and reports to them the incidents of contestants getting spun off stage at the Wow Factor and being disqualified. And it's up to them to find out who's causing all of this.
Marina: This is a mission for The Fresh Beat Band!
FBB: ...of Spies!
Shout: Time to Spy it up!
Me: Eh...could use a little work. And they suddenly turn into the intro to the original Smash Bros for N64 and activate their modes of transportation.
Kiki: Kiki on...Scooter!
Shout: Shout on...Hover Board!
Marina: Marina on...Turbo Wheeler!
Twist: Twist on...Double Pogo-A-Go-Go!
Ruben: And Bo Monkey takes off without him! If that becomes a running gag, Twist is not gonna be getting anywhere with that thing, but I gotta admit it's a sweet and funny ride. So, they head off to the competition and look around for anything suspicious.
Marina: Everything seems pretty normal.
Me: Just hope it doesn't get pretty hard. Unless you're an experienced player, you're a goner.
Announcer: And the next contestant on the Wow Factor is...Baby Goo Ga!
(Enter a baby with a funky hairdo and angel wings while on roller skates)
Me: Holy crap! Is that even legal?!
Twist: Wow! That baby's got skills!
Marina: So cute!
Kiki: I'm rooting for the baby!
Me: Are you sure you wouldn't wanna root for someone else?
???: Naptime, Baby Goo Ga! (zaps a laser)
Me: (sarcastic) Oh, gee! I wonder who that could be?
Ruben: (sarcastic) It must be a total mystery to us! We'll never figure it out! And as expected, after what happened, they have to disqualify Baby Goo Ga.
Audience: OH NO!
Judges: Shh!
Audience: Oh no...
Me: Well, at least he won't be picked the winner. So, they go undercover as a last-minute entry and get zapped and spun off themselves.
Judge: CAN ANYBODY STAY ON STAGE TO FINISH THEIR SONG?!
Me: Apparently not. So, what's their next strategy?
Twist: Try not to get zapped headfirst into a tuba. Because that makes your hair all pointy.
Me: Like Ryder's.
Ruben: They know that the perpetrator is using a ray to speed up the competition, literally, and Reed comes in with a new invention that I swear looks so wrong on so many levels.
Reed: I have the perfect super spy gadget for you! (suddenly starts talking ridiculously fast)
Shout: Whoa! Reed! You got zapped, too?!
Reed: No! Just kidding! (snorts)
Ruben: I think the editor is playing a dumb joke!
Reed: But I do have the perfect super spy gadget for you. The Super Sniffy Sniffer Sniff-o-matic 3000!
Me: Great! I don't know which joke to go with! Either the "try saying that three times fast" one, or the one where Widget from Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! has copyright claims on the whole "3000" invention labeling motif! I'm torn between them! Anyway, it'll help them sniff out the culprit and their ray. Twist puts it on and he is sniffing out more than a pig does for truffles.
Ruben: And, boy, does it look so wrong.
Shout: The Zappy Ray came from a hot dog cart?
Twist: No. I just had an urge for a hot dog. You can't solve mysteries on an empty stomach!
Ruben: See how he's the Shaggy of the group?
Me: And is it just me, or does that hot dog vendor look like she didn't get a wink of sleep last night?
Twist: (eats both hot dogs) Thank you!
Me: Hey, man! They're 2 bucks each! You owe me 4 bucks!
Ruben: They find the laser's source and see that the user is speeding up not only the acts, but the process by eliminating them before they even get a chance!
Me: And what's even worse, Sindy's on next! And after having to hear that cacophony earlier, we know it can't be good. Ruben, take the headphones off.
Ruben: I'm already stuffing a pile through my ear canal for this.
Sindy: Everyone will be like, "Wow. You are so...WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!"
Me: And that's just the appetizer. Here's the main course.
Sindy: BLAH BLAH BLAH! THIS IS MY SONG! LA DEE DAH! IT'S LOUD ENOUGH TO WIN! YOU CAN'T STOP THE QUEEN OF POP!
Shout: Wow! Sindy Sauernotes still really lives up to her names!
Me: YOU THINK?! And it comes to their realization that upon noticing that Sindy hasn't been zapped yet, she must be the culprit and, like in the past, they have no proof!
Kiki & Marina: So not fair!
Sindy: YOU KNOW I'VE GOT THE WOW FACTOR! I'M THE QUEEN OF POP! THE GIRL WITH THE...WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooowwwww...
Ruben: Is it over?
Me: Yes, Captain Falcon. The nightmare is over.
Ruben: (takes pillow out of ear canal) Thank dog. That made Rebecca Black's Friday seem like Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.
Me: If this was a parody of America's Got Talent, the judges would buzz her in a heartbeat. But since Sindy is the only contestant who actually finished her performance, she is going to win by default.
Ruben: However, Twist sniffs out the ray and blows Sindy's cover.
Marina: Proof that Sindy is the cheater!
Fresh Beats: AGAIN!
Shock Horror starts playing, but at the third long note, the music dies out
Me: Eh, we knew it was her all along.
Ruben: Yeah. It wasn't that surprising. She takes off trying to escape, but Shout activates his awesome anti-gravity sneakers and Twist stops her with his...
Twist: BANANARANG IN THE HOUSE! (tosses Bananarang and knocks the ray out of Sindy's hand)
Me: This time, with actual proof, they can expose her for her cheat code. But with her ray, she can alter all sorts of speed, grabs the crown...
Sindy: Because I have THE WOW FACTOR!
(Cue different shots of people saying "Wow!" about her victory and her face immortalized in different landmarks)
Me: Wow. This is probably the first time I ever saw a Nick Jr. show feature a character with such an inflated ego. ...and starts blasting the band with her ray, proving to be a worthy opponent.
Ruben: But Marina reflects the ray with her cymbal shield back at Sindy, speeding her up and trapping her in a jump rope. That'll learn ya, you little word-that-rhymes-with-witch.
Twist: Your cheating days are over, Sindy! You can't run from the Fresh Beat Band...of Spies!
Bo: (points out Sindy's predicament)
Twist: Especially all tangled up in a jump rope like that.
(Kiki takes the crown from Sindy)
Sindy: NO! THE CROWN WAS ALMOST MINE! ALL MINE! (starts sobbing)
Me: Come on, Kiki! Give her a taste of her own medicine when she screwed up your name!
Ruben: They may have gotten the crown back, but with all the contestants disqualified, the Wow Factor will have to be canceled. But Twist has another idea.
Twist: Is there time for one last act?
Female judge: Yes. Just barely.
Twist: Okay. Wouldn't it be cool if there was one more act to perform and win the crown?
Me: A little nod to his running gag in the old show when he had some bizarro idea in mind that would be cool, but gets turned down with doing it the easy way. They decide to get Bo and the DJ pig from the beginning of the episode to perform a little duet together which, being the only ones left, wins them the crown.
Ruben: Diddy and Waddles ain't got nothin' on them!
Kiki: What a beautiful crown...you won.
Me: Kiki...were you thinking of...
Ruben: Anyway, Commissioner Goldstar sends Sindy off to a farm to work as a farmhand as part of her community service.
Sindy: I'm not the queen of pop...I'm the queen of slop. This is so now Wow! (sob)
Me: If she ever comes back, I'll get the earplugs ready. Pacifica Northwest would have a field day with her.
Ruben: And thus, they end on their mission accomplishment to the commissioner, who has confiscated the ray and accidentally zaps himself for one last chuckle.
Shout: What a great mission!
Twist: What a great Wow Factor!
Marina: What a great day!
Me: And no, they don't end it on singing "We Had A Great Day" in a last minute dance number like in the old show. There's just a little remix for that during the credits.
Ruben: And we'd challenge you to take a sip of coffee every time someone said "Wow" in this episode, but that would just damage your regularity and make you take off like a rocket. So, that was the first episode of Fresh Beat Band of Spies. Was it good?
Ruben: ...I think it was pretty good.
Me: A couple of flaws here and there, but I'm sure they can iron them out.
Verdict
This new show that focuses on a beloved children's band now in an animated world and fighting crime undercover may sound a little done before, but it's doing something fresh with it. Take characters that kids know and love and put them in a new scenario. It's one of those animated adaptations of a show that is known by a certain audience given a new coat of paint.
Ruben: The adventures look promising, the gadgets they use are absolutely nonsensically brilliant, there are a lot of good jokes here and there, and I can imagine them going on all sorts of adventures they couldn't in the old show.
Me: Sure, they use stock tracks from their old show and career before this, but Puffy AmiYumi did the same thing with their Cartoon Network show, so it's justified a bit. It may not get newer audiences into the old show or the band's music, but as long as it stays true to the old show and takes some creative liberties, it just might end up getting a cult following from veteran fans of the band and old show and newcomers alike. Plus...Kiki is so hot!
Ruben: And that Marina! Yowwee-wow-wow!
(awkward beat)
Me: But, yeah. You may say what you want about our opinions, but we stand by it!
Ruben: Because educational shows are...
Me & Ruben: AWESOME!
(Montage of these shows playing)
Me: Because, beaver dam it, the kids need shows like these! And they are also able to adapt a cultural viewing from us adults, too! We may be too old to learn from them, but we are there for the sake of the fun and adventures they have!
Ruben: If My Little Pony was the start of something like that, then these shows are definitely a step up from it! PAW Patrol, Team Umizoomi, Bubble Guppies, they are all just the kinds of shows that kids need to watch and learn from as they're getting ready for school! They'll have fun watching them in their sheer beauty and helpful lessons.
Me: Anyone can watch anything they feel like. They don't have to be restricted to certain shows in their age range. We grew up with some of these shows and we still like them even to this day. If you remember some of these shows yourselves, you ought to follow along with it.
Ruben: They were a start for us in getting ready for the classroom and learning from them in the way that only they could. Your kids should be more than happy to get their lessons from Nick Jr. before and during their early years in school. And if the cards are played right, they'll still be willing to come back to it even when they are all grown up. After all, these shows were made for kids, but by adults. And there's nothing wrong with loving a show aimed at a certain target audience.
Me: They can gain a fanbase that they didn't expect, making it even more popular and memorable than they expected. And that is the beauty of shows like these.
Ruben & Me: With that in mind guys, these shows get our recommendation rating of...Recommend It!
Me: And that does it for this installment of Collaboration Month! I wanna thank Ruben AKA Brainstormer623 again for coming on here. I love ya, man!
Ruben: I love ya, too, buddy! I was happy to get it out. These shows just need to be known better.
Me: So true. So true. If you could have your own show, what would you teach?
Ruben: Well, I think I could start by teaching kids to use gelatin to keep monkeys from swarming into their fireplaces.
Me: Okaaaaay. That's one lesson. Now, how about that lunch? What do you wanna have?
Ruben: Well...dun dun dun! Dun dun DUN! (hits a stamp on the screen with his Brainstorm logo on it)
Me: Aw, I don't wanna play Brainstorm to figure out what you want for lunch! (cut to me figuring it out) Okay, so you wanna get a Reuben, Ruben?
Ruben: That's correct!
Me: Okay, we'll have sandwiches. That sounds good to me.
Alexis: Next time, a collaboration with a big fan of the Sonic series in commemoration for Sonic's 24th birthday!
Me: I think this time...I'll go back a little bit.
Ruben: See ya later, everybody! (waves to the viewers)
Little Kids: Bye, Andy and Ruben!
Me: Who said that? There's no one else here.
Ruben: Oh, they're there, buddy. You just gotta look hard enough.
DeviantArt
Sindy: Fifi!
Kiki: It's Kiki!
Alexis: Now, I wouldn't say that. (hands me another letter)
Me: What's this?
Galleom: From something called an FCC.
Me: What? Give me that? (reads it)
Dear Dandy Andy,
It has come to our attention that your account does not match the educational standards that we require. Unless you can provide your viewers with educational content, we will be forced to shut you down.
Signed,
The FCC
Me: Uh-oh...
(Enter Ruben AKA Brainstormer623)
Ruben: Hey, Andy, I heard you were doing a collab month, and I figured it would be a great honor if-
Me: Oh, Ruben, ol' buddy! Am I glad you're here! You're just the man I need to help me get the FCC off my back!
Ruben: Have you been hitting the cola again?
Me: Come on! There's only one thing to do! And that is confess our love of educational shows!
Ruben: Yep. He's been hitting the cola again.
DandyAndy1989 Intro
DandyAndy1989
Me: Aloha, everybody! It is I, Dandy Andy! And welcome to the fourth installment of Collaboration Month!
Collaboration Month
Me: Now, some of you may have noticed the title of the journal in question here, but yes, I am going to talk about something a little differently for once. And to get me started with that, I invited the biggest and most educational guy I know, Ruben AKA Brainstormer623!
(Enter Ruben)
Ruben: Hey, all you Raspberry Soccer Balls out there! How's it going?
Me: I also call him Captain Falcon because of his last name being Falcon. And we're way ahead of you on the F-Zero and Smash Bros jokes.
Ruben: Yeah, we beat you to it without even trying.
Me: So, we're here to talk about educational shows today.
Alexis: BUT DANDY BOY! AND MALTESE FALCON! WHY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT EDUCATIONAL SHOWS?! THAT STUFF'S FOR BABIES! YOU SHOULD BE WATCHING REAL SHOWS LIKE ADVENTURE TIME! AND THE BLACKLIST! AND LAW AND ORDER! AND FAMILY FEUD! I WANT MORE FAMILY FEUD ON MY SCHEDULE! FAMILY FEUD 24/7, PLEASE!
Ruben: What...was that?
Me: Oh, just Alexis trying to sound like some kind of whiny viewer.
Alexis: It's my thing.
Me: Now, yes, I'm sure some of you are wondering why we're trying an educational motif for this review.
Ruben: That's because these kinds of shows aren't just for kids. They can be entertained by us adults, too.
Me: Yeah! I mean, look at what happened to My Little Pony! It went from being a sugary girly toy market for young ladies to being a universal phenomenon for not just girls and boys, but for women and men of all ages! And in a way, the same can be said for some educational shows we grew up with or the ones of today.
Ruben: While they do teach younger viewers still developing their minds some things they can adapt to when getting ready for school, they can also be viewed by adults for their unique adventures and special environments.
Me: And no better network, or block could possibly do it any better than Nick Jr.
Nick Jr.
Me: Ah, Nick Jr. It is definitely something that takes the two of us back quite a bit.
Ruben: You said it, buddy. It seems like only yesterday I was searching for three blue shaded paw prints all over the place and jotting down the three items they were on to try to figure out what they meant.
Me: A little into the 90's, Nickelodeon had made a decision to make a block that would help benefit the younger generation with a little bit of important values to learn about the world and all sorts of fun adventures. This is where shows like Blue's Clues, Franklin, and especially Dora the Explorer came to be. And we're looking back on its very first host of the franchise, FACE.
FACE: Hi, there! FACE here!
Ruben: Oh, FACE. That's a character I never forgot about. He was originally the main host of when the block was about to go to commercial or come back and introduce the next segment. He was just a big smiling face in a different colorful background. And when a show was about to come on next, he do his own little fanfare.
(FACE makes a fanfare with his lips and giggles)
Me: Never got tired of that little jingle. FACE tended to all sorts of things like have fruit fall on his head to have a fancy fruit hat, get his jumbled up in a puzzle, sing the letters of his name, act like a superhero, drink a drink until the background was the same color as his drink as it filled up, and so much more.
Ruben: And if you notice, whenever Blue's Clues was about to start, Blue's Paw Print would show up on the screen as an indication. And let me tell you, Blue's Clues was definitely one of my favorite shows growing up, and still is today.
Blue's Clues
Ruben: Yes, to me, Blue's Clues was always the definitive genesis to the whole network or block, however you would look at it. It was a show about a blue dog living with her owner. Yes, her owner. Blue is a girl, for those of you who don't know.
Me: I'm sure some people got confused by that overtime. The series focused on what looked like an animated neighborhood starring a live action man named Steve who lived with his pup named Blue who always wanted to do something special on a certain day, and when Steve asks what it is, Blue would challenge him, and the viewers, to a game of Blue's Clues.
Steve: We're gonna play some Blue's Clues, 'cause it's a really great game! Yeah!
Ruben: I always loved the way the paw print got stuck on the screen and Steve needed to think of a way to remove it in some comedic ways. Steve's house had all of the necessary furniture and items actually be living breathing sentient beings. There was Side Table Drawer, who kept the notebook for jotting down the clues, Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper, two french condiment dispensers, Mailbox, who delivered the mail naturally, Tickity Tock the alarm clock, Slippery the bar of soap, Shovel and Pail the outside toys, and some other items laying around for one shots.
Me: Also, have you ever noticed that throughout the house, there was some snail lurking about? What was up with that snail? Why was it there? Was it trolling us?
Ruben: I doubt it. But, anyway, the formula for the show was pretty great. A scavenger hunt in searching for three different objects in order to find out what they would make to come together. When they are all gathered, Steve would retreat to his Thinking Chair to think about what the clues meant. And early on, he would make a guess so nonsensical and over-the-top impossible, it just comes off as just a big laugh from us.
Me: Yeah, I missed it and didn't think it was the same when he stopped doing that. And how about we talk about the ol' 23 Skidoo?
Ruben: Skidooing was a big part of the show. Sometimes, the third and final clue would be found there, but more importantly, this is where they would come to a world that helped focus on the subject at hand, such as a Felt world with some Felt Friends, a fairytale land, and many other worlds that could be made by just jumping into a new world. Blue would skidoo right in and Steven would follow.
Me & Ruben: Blue Skidoo, we can too!
Ruben: Never gets old.
Me: One of my favorites was this one where they jump into a story book and all the sentences were jumbled up and came off wrong. Especially the last one.
puppy snack. The and the ate a girl
Me: Had me cracking up every time it came up. Of course, their job in the Skiddo universe was to fix any problems that came about and set it straight. After which, they would find their third clue either before or after skidooing back home.
Ruben: And you know, the viewers at home would often be the ones finding all the clues with Steve having no idea what or where they are. They were there plain as day and it was up to us to do all the work.
Me: Out of so many clues, he only found one. But at least it was a grand day for him. The show also had neighbors and other characters that appeared to be one shot but eventually grew and developed into being Blue's friends.
Ruben: There was Magenta, a dog that looked just like Blue but was the shade of magenta, given her name. A lot of animals were based on shades of colors there were, like Periwinkle the cat, Purple Kangaroo, Orange Kitten, Green Puppy...the names weren't really that original, but they were likable, and that's what matters. Sometime after about 6 or 7 years on the show, Steve was going to be leaving the show due to severe hair loss and going bald, so they hired a new guy named Joe to take Steve's place, being passed down as Steve's brother while Steve, in the show, was going off to college. The only time we ever saw Steve again was at the end of the 100th episode. After that, he was really never seen again. Both Steve and Joe were very good hosts, and I think that this show was very revolutionary for its time.
Me: Yes, I remember those days too, old buddy. After Blue retired, Dora the Explorer became the new flagship series for Nick Jr. It was fun at first, but soon enough, the show just started doing all sorts of crazy things that just didn't seem natural for a Hispanic little girl going off into the world without adult supervision where everything was alive.
Ruben: Starts off fresh, then gets hammered in too much. We don't think we need to talk about this.
Me: Or the sequel it spawned. There was also another show that I was a bit fond of in my childhood, and that was little Bear based on the books by Else Holmelund Minarik.
Little Bear
It was about a bear living in a house in the woods with his mom and dad and having all sorts of fun adventures. The animals were just named after their species, except for Mitzi the Monkey who was introduced into the second season, and they did all sorts of things like fishing, playing games, going for walks, letting their imaginations run wild...etc.
Ruben: I remember when Emily had to go away after the summer ended. That was a pretty heart string tug there. But at least they managed to bring her back for good by having her move into a cabin in the woods with her grandma and little french dog.
Me: It looks like a Chihuahua, but I don't think it is. I'm not sure what kind of breed of dog Tutu was supposed to be, but I know she wasn't a chihuahua. There was also Emily's doll, Lucy, who was practically the Plank to Emily's Jonny.
Alexis: You gonna put a quarter in the jar?
Me: No, I'm just making a comparison, not a reference. One thing I never got though is why the so-called goblins that were rumored to lurk in the woods looked more like gnomes. I mean, usually, goblins are supposed to be sinister and creepy looking. These guys? Not so much.
Ruben: Probably didn't wanna scare the young 'uns.
Me: Well, they should have been called gnomes. That would have made more sense. Overall, the show was a nice little quiet piece of mind that always had its own adventures. Nothing too bad. There was also the show Franklin.
Franklin
Ruben: How could I forget about that little turtle and his friends? It was also a TV show based on another series of books. And this one may be one of the more underrated gems out there.
Me: You said it. I liked the characters there and the many different forms of the community it could teach us at young ages. Franklin at the time was the only character who actually had a name while the others, like in Little Bear, were just named after their species. There was Franklin's best friend Bear, his 2nd best friend Snail, and others like Beaver, Fox, Rabbit, Goose, you know the drill.
Ruben: At least you wouldn't have trouble remembering who was who. That much we can give them. Still makes you wonder why he wasn't just called Turtle.
Me: I guess Turtle doesn't roll off the tongue like Franklin does. This show was co-produced in Canada and was definitely one of the better shows at the time. Not knocking on Canada's entertainment at all. They have their gems, too. Just saying, this was my favorite educational show Canada made. Franklin and his friends would play Soccer, learn about different things in the community, run into some problems that they think are different but turn out to be a misunderstanding, and the like. Whenever there's a problem, they know what they have to do in order to fix it.
Ruben: In the movie, the Green Knight, no relation to Batman whatsoever, Franklin got a new baby sister named Harriet, which would help him learn the fundamentals of being an older sibling.
Me: Since she was still developing at a young age, we can let them pass on it as she didn't have much to go by. Franklin would always be a helpful big brother to her, even if at times she would tend to get in the way. But that's how siblings work.
Ruben: Another great show that has been more forgotten than it should have been.
Me: And then came along the sequel...
Franklin and Friends
Ruben: Yeah, we'll stick with the original, thank you very much. Next came a show that I think is still remembered and helped be a big part in my imagination. That show was the Backyardigans.
The Backyardigans
The Backyardigans was a show about 5 anthropomorphic animals playing in their backyard. But every adventure they have starts with their backyard transforming into the setting for their adventure; outer space, under the sea, a jungle, and beyond that. Way beyond that. The characters were a penguin named Pablo, a moose named Tyrone, a hippo named Tasha, a kangaroo named Austin, and a...uh...thingy named Uniqua. The Backyardigans was made by the same folks who brought us the Bubble Guppies. And boy, does it show. Because both shows have weird creative situations that could probably be made with a mad lib that uses a normal situation and a fantasy situation. For example; the Bubble Guppies had postmen in outer space, mad scientists making frog monsters and super hero waiters. The Backyardigans had ping-pong playing cowboys, intergalactic trash collectors and pizza deliverers giving pizza to a Mayan king. The show was full of imaginative situations that would really entertain. And just like the Bubble Guppies, the Backyardigans was full of wonderful songs. Each episode had songs that were all one type of genre: jazz, country, polka, junk band. The characters were nicely diverse and developed, even if each of them played different roles in the story; like one character could be the hero in one episode and the villain in another. But still, there isn’t a character in this series you would hate, even the one girl that was supposedly a girl of attitude in the first season. All in all, Backyardigans was a great show.
Me: Never really watched much of it myself, but the episodes I did see I think worked just fine there. But just what was Uniqua supposed to be? I mean, Pablo's a penguin, Tasha's a hippo, Austin's a kangaroo, and Tyrone's a moose.
Ruben: I guess Uniqua was...just unique. It fits her name. (his stomach starts to rumble a bit)
Me: Alexis, are you using your Sonic Booms to make thunder noises to scare off the neighbors again?!
Alexis: No!
Ruben: Nah, that was just my stomach. Every episode of the Backyardigans ended with one of them getting hungry and going back to one of their places for a snack.
Me: We'll get some lunch after the review's over. What other shows did you like?
Ruben: There was The Wonder Pets.
The Wonder Pets
The Wonder Pets was a TV show about 3 classroom pets. When the class was over, the pets would get a call from an animal in trouble and would set out to rescue it. The show centered on teamwork, music and going to different places all around the world to see different places. Kinda like the Little Einsteins. Expect while only one person on the Little Einsteins sang, pretty much everyone on the Wonder Pets sang. It was an opera. And opera doesn’t just mean Viking helmets and long braided hair; opera just means a story where everyone sings most of the words, despite the genres. The only thing I disliked about the show was the fact that it basically introduced me to the clichéd story format where there’s 2 versions of the same problem and the characters solve the 2nd version of the problem by realizing how they solved the 1st. For example, one of the very first episodes involved getting a unicorn unstuck from a tree. The Pets solve that by unscrewing the horn (and the unicorn) from the tree, the same way they screwed in a screw for their Flyboat; the flying sailboat vehicle they usually use to get to the animal in trouble. While this formulaic format was freaking frustrating, it was fairly forgettable.
Me: I can see your problem with that. I guess I can say that Linny was a good leader, but not much else was to be said about her. I wouldn't call her bland, I just don't see much else about her. Tuck was a nice little turtle there who was a bit of a little worry-wart. As for Ming Ming...well, she had a little bit of an ego that I didn't think was very likable.
Ruben: Every mission often ended with them basking in a treat of celery, sometimes done in different ways to cultivate the environment they were in.
Me: While I do understand that the show was to teach kids the importance of working together as one, it also knocked on the idea of doing things yourself. I cannot recall a single episode where one of them had to do something themselves without the help of the others. There are times in life where you'll have to go alone in order to complete the task at hand. Otherwise, if you rely on others, you will not be able to take care of solo tasks.
Ruben: It was a good show that taught the values of teamwork, and yet, something about this show seemed similar to another that aired around the same time.
Me: You mean the spin-off Dora's cousin Diego got?
Ruben: That's the one. And now, finally, how about a more recent show: Zack and Quack.
Zack and Quack
Which was a bit of an underrated gem in my opinion. And in my opinion, I hate to use the term “underrated” because it makes me feel pretentious. The show takes place inside of a popup book where everything is made out of paper and is either flat cardboard cutouts or, rarely, paper crafts. Each page is a different setting, from the Arctic to the Zoo. And each adventure causes the characters to get creative and use what's ever around them to make things. Seriously, in this world, you could take a box, add a few doughnuts on either end, stick a paper plate inside and boom! Instant racecar. Each world is full of tags and levers that can cause anything to pop up. But what I like about this show is that it makes kids want to be creative and shows them to use their imagination. Loving my imagination is what made me the man I am today, so seeing shows like this to make kids more imaginative and creative in the future kinda makes me feel like I'm seeing new baby artists being born.
Me: That actually sounds pretty interesting. I should give it a try sometime.
Ruben: You don't know what you're missing, buddy.
Me: Now then, how about we talk about the network's history?
Ruben: That's right. Nick Jr. isn't just a block for Nickelodeon's educational motives. There's also a cable network for it.
Me: And it started off under an alternate name known as Noggin, and it used to be hosted by a little moose named Moose A. Moose...seriously, what up with the uncreative names?
Ruben: ...and his bird bud Zee. Moose did all the talking and Zee just blinked every now and then. They had their own little universal at the time and were working on problems and puzzles in their neighborhood with their friends and neighbors. You know, get a little something going before the next show would start. There were many different things like trying to find the way to someone's apartment for a birthday party, repairing shapes in toys, following a path to a pirate's treasure chest on certain shaped stone paths, it was pretty good there.
Me: But a few years ago, the network dropped Moose and Zee and put them onto a new app named after the channel's original name for kids to learn from. They may not be on TV anymore, but they can be found on mobile.
Ruben: Now, the network, now called Nick Jr., has all of the characters living in a utopia of their own, crossing over together with different activities.
Me: Sorta like what Cartoon Network used to do. There were many other shows we grew up with and we're just gonna give a quick brief recap of them.
Oswald
A show about an octopus and his pet hot dog living in a city as part of their community and tackling the subjects of day to day life. Oswald was also voiced by Fred Savage.
Max and Ruby
Ruben: Two bunny siblings living on their own get along together and have all sorts of problems coming at times. There are times when Max has an idea and it turns out to be a good idea. Ruby doesn't seem to get the hint as often as she should.
Maggie and the Ferocious Beast
Me: A little girl who created a world of her own and brought it to life and has all sorts of adventures in said world with her gigantic beastly creature and piggy pal, the latter who lives in a special cardboard box. They meet all sorts of faces and have all sorts of fun adventures.
Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!
Ruben: A forgotten gem about a kid with a curly bent tail and his friends living in a city together. One is an inventor, one is a genius, and the other, introduced in the second season, is a gardener who loves cute things. The adventures are always creative, and the songs and intermission segments are enjoyable.
Me: Loved the story arc they did with special guest Beyonce.
Yo Gabba Gabba!
A show about all sorts of fun and diverse activities involving a DJ and his magical friends playing together, learning to get along and learn new things. They have all sorts of songs to listen to, problems to solve together, special guests to teach them new dances, and even little intermission gags based on video games.
Ruben: Some people give this show a little flack for its zaniness, but it wasn't that bad.
Me: Especially when they had one of the Brothers Chaps, famous for making Homestar Runner, work as one of the writers there.
So, that's basically some shows we grew up with and how the network has evolved. You know what I always wondered?
Ruben: What?
Me: Why is it that when the characters gave us the choice on whether or not to do something with them, we say no, and yet they take it as a yes? Like Molly from the Bubble Guppies asks us if we wanna go with them to someplace and we don't want to but she drags us along anyway.
Ruben: Either that is how it was filmed, or they have ways of changing our minds!
Alexis: Ooh! They are powerful ones, aren't they, Andy?
Me: They just might be. Well, we're almost done here. There's just one last thing to talk about for this.
Ruben: And that would be about their musical group known as The Fresh Beat Band.
The Fresh Beat Band
This is the musical group that is basically like a human version of The Banana Splits made by Hanna-Barbera.
Me: Only, you know, not so frightening looking. They consist of four friends having made a band together. They are the pianist Shout, the guitarist Kiki, the drummer Marina, and the DJ Twist. They live in their town trying to embrace the beauty of music while also getting themselves caught into some strange scenarios, like one of them getting stuck to the back of the other during a paint job, getting a new car that doesn't seem to work right, getting a physical case of their legs starting to go crazy over anticipation over a big dance, and having to clean up a littered town. There is also a running gag where Twist would have an idea on how to solve their conundrum, thinking it would be a cool idea, but it would come off as a little convoluted.
Ruben: And it would be cool to do it, but they'd prefer to do things a bit more simplistic.
Twist: Sure. If you wanna do it the easy way.
Me: But, in a little twist of irony, there was one time where they actually went with one of Twist's crazy ideas, and it actually worked!
Ruben: Quite a sight to behold. During the course of the show, the actress who played Marina quit the band under unknown circumstances and was replaced with a look-a-like of her to fill the void. But even that was not enough for them to get a new season, thus making the Fresh Beat Band go out of TV and hit the live stages. That is until recently, of course.
Me: That's right. Their show may be over, but they did get a new show in the form of a cartoon. And how do you do that?
Ruben: You turn them into a group of super sleuthing rock and rolling kick butt music loving secret agents! This is the Fresh Beat Band of Spies!
Fresh Beat Band Of Spies
Me: That's right. After their original show came to an end due to not having their contract renewed, the staff at Nick and...I'm guessing an indie animation company called Six Point Harness decided to create a new show in new animated adventures where they take on a new life in espionage.
Ruben: Think of it like Totally Spies mixed with a little bit of Josie and the Pussycats with a hint of Scooby-Doo.
Me: So, now, apparently, not only are they big shot music stars, they're also top secret agents. How did this happen?
Me & Ruben: We have no idea!
Ruben: But hey, anything could possibly work. They even added in a new character in the form of a monkey.
ProJared: Farm Keeper...MONKEY!
Me: His name is Bo Monkey, and he acts as the group's animal companion and the Scooby to Twist's Shaggy. Is he gonna be a good character?
Ruben: As long as he isn't an annoying one. So, the show has finally premiered, leaving viewers to check it out and see if this new approach for the Fresh Beats will stick. And to test it, we are going to review the first episode of the show. It was up on the Nick Jr. website as part of a sneak peak at the series. Now, let's see how the opening plays.
Opening plays
Ruben: Okay, it's already winning me over.
Me: Anywho, now that Ruben has been dazzled and wowed by the show's intro, here is the first episode of the show, "The Wow Factor."
The Wow Factor
Me: So, we get started and...we're suddenly in 1929, where all the houses were bouncing up and down?
Cut to Animaniacs
Dot: Ooh, creepy! Everything's alive!
Back to episode
Ruben: Twist is having a music party with all the animals in his...crib, I guess you could call it that, when there is some breaking news reporting of several mysterious incidents on the latest hit TV show, the Wow Factor.
Me: Yeah, I don't think anyone's gonna miss the reference.
News Reporter: Boy Band Three Directions was disqualified from the competition. During their hit song, "Always Here For You", the Three Directions sped up and spun off stage in...well, three directions.
Me: Three Directions? Really? I get that you can't actually use the real group's name and had to make a parody of it, but no one's gonna miss it!
News Reporter: Audiences around the world reacted in shock!
Family at home: Gasp!
City viewers: Gasp!
French viewers: Le gasp!
Ruben: Suddenly, Twist's fridge is ringing and...just roll with it.
Me: So, does this mean the phone is running instead of the fridge?
Twist: Hello! Twist on the frozen fridge phone. The frone.
Me: Hey! Making cheesy portmanteaus is my job!
Ruben: Relax, buddy. For some reason, he put his phone in the freezer.
he accidentally left his phone in the freezer.
Me: Just like when Homestar left his hat in the fridge next to the milk and the Cold Ones.
Homestar: There my hat is at!
Me: Anyway, Marina called Twist to tell him to meet up at Kiki's Salon, as she has a big surprise for them. I haven't watched the original show all too much, so I don't remember if Kiki ever had a dream of being a hairdresser.
Kiki: I scored us tickets to tonight's big finale of The Wow Factor!
Shout: Wow! (beat) What else am I supposed to say?
Ruben: Just as they're heading out the door to the show, a customer walks in and...
Sindy: HELL-OOOOOOOOOO!!!
Me: Oh no...
Ruben: She's gonna be one of those characters apparently...reveals to be a familiar face. This is Sindy Sauernotes.
Me: They used to go to school with her when they were kids. Back then, whenever the Fresh Beats would perform, Sindy would supposedly sabotage their performances and upstage them. And I just gotta say, the Fresh Beats were so friggin' adorable when they were young. And that shouldn't go as a surprise. In the original show, there was a group of younger versions of them known as the Junior Beats. They were just mainly there hanging out in the background from what I have noticed, and if they used the models of the band when they were younger for an animated version of the Junior Beats, I would hug the Kiki one so much.
Ruben: The Fresh Beats always assumed Sindy was behind their failures, but they couldn't prove it.
Me: It turns out Sindy is going to appear as a contestant on The Wow Factor and wants Kiki to do something with her hair to, for lack of a better word, wow the audience. And as a running gag, she constantly screws up Kiki's name.
Sindy: Fifi!
Kiki: It's Kiki!
Sindy: Didi!
Kiki: It's Kiki!
Sindy: Whatever.
Me: You know, I would just love to see Kiki do something like that to Sindy. Or better yet, punch her in the face. Now THAT would have been a "wow" moment to allow that on a Nick Jr. show. You know, without a "hitting someone else is wrong" message to go with it. So, she gives her old frenemy a new do that satisfies her vision.
Sindy: Time to take a "wow" pic with my MePhone!
Me: I bet she likes Nintendo's Mii concept.
Ruben: And her favorite song is "Let Me Take a Selfie".
Me: And worst of all...
Sindy: MememememememeMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
(Glass shatters)
Ruben: I was wearing headphones when she did that! HEADPHONES!
Marina: She's right. She certainly has that..."wow" factor.
Shout: More like the ow factor.
Me: Suddenly, Reed, the old music store owner from the original show now turned into one of those scientific geniuses that Ruben here could relate to, calls them and reports to them the incidents of contestants getting spun off stage at the Wow Factor and being disqualified. And it's up to them to find out who's causing all of this.
Marina: This is a mission for The Fresh Beat Band!
FBB: ...of Spies!
Shout: Time to Spy it up!
Me: Eh...could use a little work. And they suddenly turn into the intro to the original Smash Bros for N64 and activate their modes of transportation.
Kiki: Kiki on...Scooter!
Shout: Shout on...Hover Board!
Marina: Marina on...Turbo Wheeler!
Twist: Twist on...Double Pogo-A-Go-Go!
Ruben: And Bo Monkey takes off without him! If that becomes a running gag, Twist is not gonna be getting anywhere with that thing, but I gotta admit it's a sweet and funny ride. So, they head off to the competition and look around for anything suspicious.
Marina: Everything seems pretty normal.
Me: Just hope it doesn't get pretty hard. Unless you're an experienced player, you're a goner.
Announcer: And the next contestant on the Wow Factor is...Baby Goo Ga!
(Enter a baby with a funky hairdo and angel wings while on roller skates)
Me: Holy crap! Is that even legal?!
Twist: Wow! That baby's got skills!
Marina: So cute!
Kiki: I'm rooting for the baby!
Me: Are you sure you wouldn't wanna root for someone else?
???: Naptime, Baby Goo Ga! (zaps a laser)
Me: (sarcastic) Oh, gee! I wonder who that could be?
Ruben: (sarcastic) It must be a total mystery to us! We'll never figure it out! And as expected, after what happened, they have to disqualify Baby Goo Ga.
Audience: OH NO!
Judges: Shh!
Audience: Oh no...
Me: Well, at least he won't be picked the winner. So, they go undercover as a last-minute entry and get zapped and spun off themselves.
Judge: CAN ANYBODY STAY ON STAGE TO FINISH THEIR SONG?!
Me: Apparently not. So, what's their next strategy?
Twist: Try not to get zapped headfirst into a tuba. Because that makes your hair all pointy.
Me: Like Ryder's.
Ruben: They know that the perpetrator is using a ray to speed up the competition, literally, and Reed comes in with a new invention that I swear looks so wrong on so many levels.
Reed: I have the perfect super spy gadget for you! (suddenly starts talking ridiculously fast)
Shout: Whoa! Reed! You got zapped, too?!
Reed: No! Just kidding! (snorts)
Ruben: I think the editor is playing a dumb joke!
Reed: But I do have the perfect super spy gadget for you. The Super Sniffy Sniffer Sniff-o-matic 3000!
Me: Great! I don't know which joke to go with! Either the "try saying that three times fast" one, or the one where Widget from Wow! Wow! Wubbzy! has copyright claims on the whole "3000" invention labeling motif! I'm torn between them! Anyway, it'll help them sniff out the culprit and their ray. Twist puts it on and he is sniffing out more than a pig does for truffles.
Ruben: And, boy, does it look so wrong.
Shout: The Zappy Ray came from a hot dog cart?
Twist: No. I just had an urge for a hot dog. You can't solve mysteries on an empty stomach!
Ruben: See how he's the Shaggy of the group?
Me: And is it just me, or does that hot dog vendor look like she didn't get a wink of sleep last night?
Twist: (eats both hot dogs) Thank you!
Me: Hey, man! They're 2 bucks each! You owe me 4 bucks!
Ruben: They find the laser's source and see that the user is speeding up not only the acts, but the process by eliminating them before they even get a chance!
Me: And what's even worse, Sindy's on next! And after having to hear that cacophony earlier, we know it can't be good. Ruben, take the headphones off.
Ruben: I'm already stuffing a pile through my ear canal for this.
Sindy: Everyone will be like, "Wow. You are so...WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!"
Me: And that's just the appetizer. Here's the main course.
Sindy: BLAH BLAH BLAH! THIS IS MY SONG! LA DEE DAH! IT'S LOUD ENOUGH TO WIN! YOU CAN'T STOP THE QUEEN OF POP!
Shout: Wow! Sindy Sauernotes still really lives up to her names!
Me: YOU THINK?! And it comes to their realization that upon noticing that Sindy hasn't been zapped yet, she must be the culprit and, like in the past, they have no proof!
Kiki & Marina: So not fair!
Sindy: YOU KNOW I'VE GOT THE WOW FACTOR! I'M THE QUEEN OF POP! THE GIRL WITH THE...WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooowwwww...
Ruben: Is it over?
Me: Yes, Captain Falcon. The nightmare is over.
Ruben: (takes pillow out of ear canal) Thank dog. That made Rebecca Black's Friday seem like Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik.
Me: If this was a parody of America's Got Talent, the judges would buzz her in a heartbeat. But since Sindy is the only contestant who actually finished her performance, she is going to win by default.
Ruben: However, Twist sniffs out the ray and blows Sindy's cover.
Marina: Proof that Sindy is the cheater!
Fresh Beats: AGAIN!
Shock Horror starts playing, but at the third long note, the music dies out
Me: Eh, we knew it was her all along.
Ruben: Yeah. It wasn't that surprising. She takes off trying to escape, but Shout activates his awesome anti-gravity sneakers and Twist stops her with his...
Twist: BANANARANG IN THE HOUSE! (tosses Bananarang and knocks the ray out of Sindy's hand)
Me: This time, with actual proof, they can expose her for her cheat code. But with her ray, she can alter all sorts of speed, grabs the crown...
Sindy: Because I have THE WOW FACTOR!
(Cue different shots of people saying "Wow!" about her victory and her face immortalized in different landmarks)
Me: Wow. This is probably the first time I ever saw a Nick Jr. show feature a character with such an inflated ego. ...and starts blasting the band with her ray, proving to be a worthy opponent.
Ruben: But Marina reflects the ray with her cymbal shield back at Sindy, speeding her up and trapping her in a jump rope. That'll learn ya, you little word-that-rhymes-with-witch.
Twist: Your cheating days are over, Sindy! You can't run from the Fresh Beat Band...of Spies!
Bo: (points out Sindy's predicament)
Twist: Especially all tangled up in a jump rope like that.
(Kiki takes the crown from Sindy)
Sindy: NO! THE CROWN WAS ALMOST MINE! ALL MINE! (starts sobbing)
Me: Come on, Kiki! Give her a taste of her own medicine when she screwed up your name!
Ruben: They may have gotten the crown back, but with all the contestants disqualified, the Wow Factor will have to be canceled. But Twist has another idea.
Twist: Is there time for one last act?
Female judge: Yes. Just barely.
Twist: Okay. Wouldn't it be cool if there was one more act to perform and win the crown?
Me: A little nod to his running gag in the old show when he had some bizarro idea in mind that would be cool, but gets turned down with doing it the easy way. They decide to get Bo and the DJ pig from the beginning of the episode to perform a little duet together which, being the only ones left, wins them the crown.
Ruben: Diddy and Waddles ain't got nothin' on them!
Kiki: What a beautiful crown...you won.
Me: Kiki...were you thinking of...
Ruben: Anyway, Commissioner Goldstar sends Sindy off to a farm to work as a farmhand as part of her community service.
Sindy: I'm not the queen of pop...I'm the queen of slop. This is so now Wow! (sob)
Me: If she ever comes back, I'll get the earplugs ready. Pacifica Northwest would have a field day with her.
Ruben: And thus, they end on their mission accomplishment to the commissioner, who has confiscated the ray and accidentally zaps himself for one last chuckle.
Shout: What a great mission!
Twist: What a great Wow Factor!
Marina: What a great day!
Me: And no, they don't end it on singing "We Had A Great Day" in a last minute dance number like in the old show. There's just a little remix for that during the credits.
Ruben: And we'd challenge you to take a sip of coffee every time someone said "Wow" in this episode, but that would just damage your regularity and make you take off like a rocket. So, that was the first episode of Fresh Beat Band of Spies. Was it good?
Ruben: ...I think it was pretty good.
Me: A couple of flaws here and there, but I'm sure they can iron them out.
Verdict
This new show that focuses on a beloved children's band now in an animated world and fighting crime undercover may sound a little done before, but it's doing something fresh with it. Take characters that kids know and love and put them in a new scenario. It's one of those animated adaptations of a show that is known by a certain audience given a new coat of paint.
Ruben: The adventures look promising, the gadgets they use are absolutely nonsensically brilliant, there are a lot of good jokes here and there, and I can imagine them going on all sorts of adventures they couldn't in the old show.
Me: Sure, they use stock tracks from their old show and career before this, but Puffy AmiYumi did the same thing with their Cartoon Network show, so it's justified a bit. It may not get newer audiences into the old show or the band's music, but as long as it stays true to the old show and takes some creative liberties, it just might end up getting a cult following from veteran fans of the band and old show and newcomers alike. Plus...Kiki is so hot!
Ruben: And that Marina! Yowwee-wow-wow!
(awkward beat)
Me: But, yeah. You may say what you want about our opinions, but we stand by it!
Ruben: Because educational shows are...
Me & Ruben: AWESOME!
(Montage of these shows playing)
Me: Because, beaver dam it, the kids need shows like these! And they are also able to adapt a cultural viewing from us adults, too! We may be too old to learn from them, but we are there for the sake of the fun and adventures they have!
Ruben: If My Little Pony was the start of something like that, then these shows are definitely a step up from it! PAW Patrol, Team Umizoomi, Bubble Guppies, they are all just the kinds of shows that kids need to watch and learn from as they're getting ready for school! They'll have fun watching them in their sheer beauty and helpful lessons.
Me: Anyone can watch anything they feel like. They don't have to be restricted to certain shows in their age range. We grew up with some of these shows and we still like them even to this day. If you remember some of these shows yourselves, you ought to follow along with it.
Ruben: They were a start for us in getting ready for the classroom and learning from them in the way that only they could. Your kids should be more than happy to get their lessons from Nick Jr. before and during their early years in school. And if the cards are played right, they'll still be willing to come back to it even when they are all grown up. After all, these shows were made for kids, but by adults. And there's nothing wrong with loving a show aimed at a certain target audience.
Me: They can gain a fanbase that they didn't expect, making it even more popular and memorable than they expected. And that is the beauty of shows like these.
Ruben & Me: With that in mind guys, these shows get our recommendation rating of...Recommend It!
Recommend It
Me: And that does it for this installment of Collaboration Month! I wanna thank Ruben AKA Brainstormer623 again for coming on here. I love ya, man!
Ruben: I love ya, too, buddy! I was happy to get it out. These shows just need to be known better.
Me: So true. So true. If you could have your own show, what would you teach?
Ruben: Well, I think I could start by teaching kids to use gelatin to keep monkeys from swarming into their fireplaces.
Me: Okaaaaay. That's one lesson. Now, how about that lunch? What do you wanna have?
Ruben: Well...dun dun dun! Dun dun DUN! (hits a stamp on the screen with his Brainstorm logo on it)
Me: Aw, I don't wanna play Brainstorm to figure out what you want for lunch! (cut to me figuring it out) Okay, so you wanna get a Reuben, Ruben?
Ruben: That's correct!
Me: Okay, we'll have sandwiches. That sounds good to me.
Alexis: Next time, a collaboration with a big fan of the Sonic series in commemoration for Sonic's 24th birthday!
Me: I think this time...I'll go back a little bit.
Ruben: See ya later, everybody! (waves to the viewers)
Little Kids: Bye, Andy and Ruben!
Me: Who said that? There's no one else here.
Ruben: Oh, they're there, buddy. You just gotta look hard enough.
DeviantArt
DandyAndy1989 Productions
Sindy: Fifi!
Kiki: It's Kiki!
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Now entering the second half of Collaboration Month, I am joined by my buddy 
to talk about the network Nick Jr. and its many different shows, starting with its history, and even admitting that we like these educational shows even as adults for not being just able to teach kids new things, but also for being able to have exciting adventures and concepts only they can make. We love these shows and defend them for having grown up with them.
All shows belong to Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Viacom, the Canadian broadcasting system, and their subsidiaries
to talk about the network Nick Jr. and its many different shows, starting with its history, and even admitting that we like these educational shows even as adults for not being just able to teach kids new things, but also for being able to have exciting adventures and concepts only they can make. We love these shows and defend them for having grown up with them.All shows belong to Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., Viacom, the Canadian broadcasting system, and their subsidiaries
© 2015 - 2024 DandyAndy1989
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Glad I wasn't the only one who considered Zack And Quack underrated.