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KaBlam!
KaBlam Logo
Genre: Animation
Sketch comedy
Created By: Robert Mittenthal, Will McRobb, Chris Viscardi
Starring: Noah Segan
Julia McIlvaine
Bert Pence
Rick Gomez
Oscar Riba
Jim Krenn
Scott Paulsen
Cris Winter
Danielle Judovits
Mischa Barton
Executive Producers: Robert Mittenthal
Will McRobb
Chris Viscardi
Albie Hecht
Seasons: 4
Episodes: 48
Original Run: October 11, 1996 — May 27, 2000
Produced By: Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Flying Mallet Inc. (season 4)
Distributed By: MTV Networks
Related shows: A Very Special Action League Now! Special
Life with Loopy Birthday Gala-Bration
An Off-Beats Valentine's
The Henry and June Show
Kids love cartoons and that's a scientific fact. We are just giving kids more cartoons in a half-hour than they are used to getting and we are giving them stories in a way that's fresh and new.
~ Will McRobb, on the premise of KaBlam! in an interview with the Chicago Tribune[1]

KaBlam! (stylized as KaBLaM!) is an American animated sketch comedy series created by Robert Mittenthal, Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi for Nickelodeon.

Each episode, co-hosted by two animated, preteen-aged characters named Henry and June, takes place inside a comic book and features a collection of short films with alternate styles of animation.

Production[]

Nickelodeon's Herb Scannell, prior to being named president of the network, was interested in the creation of "live-action cartoons." Several short film ideas that had a cartoon sensibility were then pitched and one of them was Action League Now! where a group of toy dolls come to life (something that children could imagine on their own while playing). Featured originally in the sketch comedy series All That as a recurring short, Action League Now! co-creator Robert Mittenthal (known before for co-creating the network's version of game show Double Dare and creator of comedy series Welcome Freshmen) wanted to do more with it, so a show containing all short films came to fruition. Pitched by Mittenthal, Will McRobb and Chris Viscardi (the latter two having created The Adventures of Pete & Pete) with a rough title of "KaBlam Theater," they would work with production companies all over the world to present these short films. As they were put together, Mittenthal, McRobb and Viscardi were in search of an anchor segment. Their experience only with live action programming led to them bringing in Mark Marek, an independent artist who had done illustration work beforehand for numerous clients, to design the hosts, Henry and June. The two characters, in an animated comic book, would turn the pages to each short and typically get involved with their own storylines in between.

KaBlam! premiered October 11, 1996, and ended May 27, 2000, running for 48 episodes over four seasons. Besides that, three specials involving segments from the show were aired on Nickelodeon (some of the segments' short films were later presented as interstitials on Nicktoons under the label "KaBlam! Presents"). Henry and June were also spun off into their own half-hour show (although, a pilot aired on Nickelodeon only once and the series never came to be), used in promotions during commercial breaks or hosted programming blocks on the network.

The theme song and background music on KaBlam! was provided by the Moon Ska Stompers, a supergroup of King Django, Victor Rice, members of The Toasters and the New York Ska-Jazz Ensemble. The opening theme song is a re-recorded version of The Toasters' song "2-Tone Army", while the bulk of the soundtrack was re-recorded instrumentals of songs from The Toasters' album D.L.T.B.G.Y.D. Tracks from the Associated Production Music library notably heard before in The Ren and Stimpy Show as well as later in SpongeBob SquarePants were also utilized.

Segments[]

Each episode of KaBlam! featured segments with different animation styles, lengths and story-telling techniques. This way, the show creators could fit all the pieces under a comprehensive, comic book-like setting. The following categories of segments are:

The Main Story[]

This is the main part of the show, from where the other segments are launched during an episode.

Created by Mark Marek and Crank! It! Out! Inc., Henry (voiced by Noah Segan) and June (voiced by Julia McIlvaine) are the animated, preteen-aged co-hosts of KaBlam! who turn the pages of a comic book — its theme changing in each episode — to reveal the next segment, as well as being involved in subplots of their own. Occasionally, other characters in these subplots appear, most notably Mr. Foot, a giant Sasquatch who is hired as a stagehand.

Regular Shorts[]

These were segments seen most of the time on the show.

Created by Robert Mittenthal, Albie Hecht and Will McRobb, this segment was featured twice on Nickelodeon's All That in 1995 before running for all four seasons of KaBlam!, and appearing in all 48 episodes. It is filmed in "chuckimation," where characters/props are moved by unseen hands — wiggled around to simulate talking (interspersed with occasional stop motion animation) — or thrown from off-camera ("chucked"). Action League Now! features four superheroes played by custom-made action figures — The Flesh, Thundergirl, Stinky Diver and Meltman — who fight crime in suburbia. After KaBlam! ended in 2000, Action League Now! became a spin-off series in late 2001, where its past short films were combined to fill a half-hour time slot, but the series was canceled in early 2002 after only airing 12 episodes.

Ran on the first three seasons of KaBlam!. Formed from a pilot titled "Psyched for Snuppa," the traditional animation segment created by cartoonist Mike R. Brandon features a pair of ferret/cat-like best friends. Sniz Bronkowski is the shorter one with green hair that is very hyperactive, and quite a troublemaker of the two, while Squeaky Fondue is the taller one with a blue chef hat, who is nervous, yet more intelligent. Snuppa Doojers and his girlfriend, Bianca Lo Bianca, share a house with Sniz and Fondue, and are seen in select episodes. Sniz and Fondue ended during the middle of KaBlam!'s third season; Brandon had left beforehand and he had no involvement in the segment's short films during it. He had been offered a time slot for a spinoff show, but declined; the slot was later given to Stephen Hillenburg, creator of SpongeBob SquarePants.

Ran for all four seasons of KaBlam!. Originally packaged with a live-action short film (as a contract signed at the time required both) titled "We Are the Shrimpskins" which ran as an interstitial, this mixed media segment created by artist Stephen Holman features 12-year-old Larry Cooper narrating his adventures with his imaginative, younger (7-year-old) sister Lupicia "Loopy" Cooper. The characters were animated with stop-motion puppet bodies, but their heads were created with cardboard. When a character has to grab and/or manipulate an object, live-action hands were used (a technique first applied by Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation shows in the 1960s). Live-action characters and hand puppets were also seen.

Ran for all four seasons of KaBlam!. A stop motion animation segment created by artist Cote Zellers features the camera-recorded mission logs of Prometheus, an alien who comes to Earth attempting to teach a caveman, Bob, modern-life things such as playing music, watching television or even celebrating a birthday. The result is usually a failure by either Bob himself, or the mischievous third cast member, who was a simple monkey. The introduction, done in a mock government file format, describes the events as having occurred "900,000 years ago." A live-action film was planned, but later canceled after the production stalled out.

Ran on the first two seasons of KaBlam!. A traditional animation segment created by author Mo Willems where a group of misfits deal with constant problems, some caused by their rival clique, the Populars. The Off-Beats was the first of the regular segments to end after the Season 2 finale "KaBlam! James KaBlam!" due to Willems going to Cartoon Network to create Sheep in the Big City and later becoming head writer for Tom Warburton's Codename: Kids Next Door.

Mini Series[]

These had between four to five appearances on KaBlam!, thus having aired longer than the short stories.

A traditional animation segment by writer and director Federico Vitali, seen on Season 1 episodes "Comics for Tomorrow Today!", "Not Just for People Anymore!", "All Purpose KaBlam!", "KaBlam! Gets Results" and Season 2 episode "Better Than A Poke In The Eye!". Under its original title Guano!, the series aired in 1991 with a total of 50 short films (it was later broadcast for syndication in other European countries under the same name). Each one features animals partaking in cartoonish situations.

A traditional animation segment produced by PorchLight Entertainment, based off the character created by cartoonist Jay Stephens that first appeared in the weekly comic strip Oddville! and later as the star of the Dark Horse Comics mini-series The Land of Nod. It is featured four times on the last two seasons; two episodes in Season 3 ("More Happiness than Allowed By Law!" and "Holdeth The Pickle, Holdeth The Lettuce") and two episodes in Season 4 ("Timeless!" and "The KaBlair! Witch Project"). A girl named Melanie McKay has an identity as the superhero Jetcat, where she "flies like a jet and fights like a cat." The music was composed by Pat Irwin — a former member of The B-52s — who also worked on the scores for Rocko's Modern Life and Pepper Ann.

A live-action segment by television producer, writer and director Scott Fellows, who later created the Nickelodeon show Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide. It was featured five times on the last two seasons; two episodes in Season 3 ("Great for Paper Training!" and "You'll Love Our Selection!") and three episodes in Season 4 ("A Nut in Every Bite!", "Now With More Flava'!" and "Just Chillin'"). A secret agent rabbit with an English accent named Race competes in rallies, but there is usually trouble caused by his human enemies, the Boolies (Zit and Winston). Other times, there are distress calls to deliver a new jar of food prior to a baby's feeding or rescuing the Prince from a kidnapping by a dingo. However, Race always wins the rallies despite these obstacles.

Two-Parters[]

Aired twice on KaBlam! to see how the episodic or serialized structure of a show would work out.

A cutout-photo animation segment co-created by Joanna Ferrone and Sue Rose, featured in the Season 1 episodes "Untitled (Why June Refuses to Turn the Page)" and "Comics of Champions," and then spun off into a series, airing on Fox Family Channel in the United States and Teletoon in Canada. An 8-year-old girl named Angela lives in the fictional town of Tapwater Springs, finding herself unpopular in school and always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A segment combining live-puppetry and acting, stop motion animation and computer-based 2D and 3D animations, created by Gordon Clark and produced by WildBrain Entertainment. It is seen on the Season 2 episodes "Get Sam Donaldson's Mystery Bag" and "Cramming Cartoons Since 1627." Two tiki astronaut siblings ("tikinauts") from outer space land on Earth after responding to a distress call, and they now try their best to escape the planet while keeping their cover from a girl who thinks they're puppets. The tikinauts can stack on top of one another to become stronger, and their spaceship looks like a grill.

A live-action/green screen segment created by Greg Harrison. It appears on the episodes "KaBlam! James KaBlam!" (in Season 2) and "The New Class" (in Season 3). Patch Head, a young boy who wears a watermelon shell on his head, lives in a southern community with many zany inhabitants. The segment has become known for starring Nick Offerman (prior to his later fame as Ron Swanson in NBC's Parks and Recreation) as its antagonist, Kudzu. Although only two aired on KaBlam!, Harrison made five installments in total.

Pilots[]

Pilots pitched from independent creators to Nickelodeon so that they could be realized as a full series.

A traditional animation segment created by artist Gary Baseman and directed by Tom McGrath. It appeared in the Season 1 episode "Built for Speed!." A chameleon and hamster, both named Louie, try to get their owners' attention back from the other pet, a dog. While it was only seen once on KaBlam!, another episode aired later by itself on Nickelodeon, where the Louies' adversaries are an anthropomorphic dog, Bubbles, and Scruffy, an anthropomorphic cat.

A traditional animation segment created by animator and illustrator Graham Falk, appearing on the Season 3 episode "KaFun!". Each episode focuses on a rabbit named Bunny and the problems of modern life in the big city (closely based on Ottawa, Ontario, Canada). The show covers topics of modern life elements, such as dieting, vegetarianism, racism, and environmentalism. A full series would air on the Canadian network Teletoon from April 15, 2001, to July 4, 2003, with 39 episodes (195 short films, five per episode) over three seasons.

A traditional animation segment created by illustrator Dennis Messner, seen in the Season 4 episode "Under New Management." A dog named Stewy wishes to go to school, so he dresses up like a boy and hopes to be treated as a human to fit right in. Although a series was planned, it was later canceled because it had a storyline similar to Disney's Teacher's Pet.

Short Stories[]

Animated short stories, which aired once on KaBlam!. Many of them were made by artists working for Nickelodeon, MTV Networks, Viacom or were independent contractors.

A traditional animation segment created by alternative comics artist, painter, writer and performer Krystine Kryttre, and directed by Robert Scull (a former crew member on Rocko's Modern Life). It was seen in the Season 1 episode "What the Astronauts Drink!". Anemia, a teenage goth, and her hyperactive tomboy friend, Iodine, venture to a haunted house in hopes of finding paranormal activity. Anemia's noisy brother, Dropsy, tags along.

An animation segment by filmmaker Emily Hubley, shown on the Season 2 episode "Hand Cranked For Your Enjoyment!". A girl named Alice has a crush on a boy, Elvin, but he prefers hanging around with another girl named Sedona Haze, thus making Alice envy. Like other animations by Hubley, it was drawn with a minimalistic, yet colorful style. Although it was only shown once on KaBlam!, other installments of it ran as interstitials on Nickelodeon.

A traditional animation segment co-created by writers/directors Mike de Seve and Brian Mulroney, featured on the Season 2 episode "Art + Science = Fun!". A circus led by ringmaster Randall Flea comes to the town of Trouble, which is protesting the performance of Bravado, a "boastful blue lion." However, as Bravado performs unintentionally, the crowd loves him after all.

A stop motion animation segment created by artist Tom Megalis, seen on the Season 4 episode "Sasquatch-ercise!". Emmett gets a piece of cereal on his head but everyone thinks he has lice, leading to the entire city of Akron, Ohio demanding his quarantine out of panic.

A traditional animation segment created by cartoonist Kevin Dougherty, featured on the Season 4 episode "Takes a Knockin' and Keeps Tick-Tockin'". A tomboyish girl, who goes by the name Fuzzball, lives in West Valley, Pennsylvania (although the scenery surrounding it resembles Wilkes-Barre, where Dougherty was from). She accidentally breaks a bowling trophy won by her father, and now has to win another one for him, despite not knowing how to bowl very well.

A 2.5D-animation segment created by illustrator Stephen Kroninger, seen on the Season 4 episode "In It To Win It!". A boy named Danny makes a pet dog with the garbage that he collects in an attempt to fight back against a bully whose pet snake is known for eating up other pets. This was loosely based on Kroninger's experiences with his father's trash-hauling business.

A computer-generated imagery (CGI) segment that is shown on the Season 4 episode "The Best of Both Worlds." A boy named Brutus McGrutus and his shizzagee, named Shiz, head to the Amazon to see another shizzagee, to prove that they aren't all extinct. While on their way, they are ambushed by the biologist Clive Khaki, who hosts his own show in the Amazon about "splendid species." This was the only CGI-rendered segment to be presented on KaBlam!.

A traditional animation segment co-created by Aaron White and Joe Russo, where it appears in the Season 4 episode "Going the Extra Mile!". Three mutated, teen-aged superheroes try to stop a fashion villain from making everyone wear jumpsuits, which control their minds.

A traditional animation segment created by Mark Marek and his animation studio Crank! It! Out!, Inc., where it appears on the Season 4 episode/series finale "Just Chillin'". It is considered to be a spiritual successor to Marek's 1986 paperback Hercules: Amongst the North Americans. A preteen-aged boy, Dave, is embarrassed by the destructive antics of his father, the legendary Hercules (the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles).

Music Videos[]

During the third and fourth seasons of KaBlam!, music videos with different animation styles were featured.

"Hockey Monkey" is a song co-authored by James Kochalka (under his stage name Jimminy Kroekel) and indie rock band The Zambonis. It can be found on James Kochalka Superstar's 1997 album Monkey vs. Robot and The Zambonis' 1999 album More Songs About Hockey...and Buildings and Food. A music video was produced by animation studio The Ink Tank, and featured in the Season 3 episode "You May Already Be a...KaBlammer!." A group of adults are in search of a monkey. Unbeknownst to them, the monkey plays ice hockey with a group of kids on a frozen pond.

"Pizza Rocket" is a song by James Kochalka (under his stage name Jimminy Kroekel). It appears on James Kochalka Superstar's 1997 album Monkey vs. Robot. A music video was produced by Mark Marek and Crank! It! Out! Inc., seen in the Season 3 episode "KaFun!". An astronaut in space tries to reach a large pizza with the help of a rocket.

"Doctor Worm" is a song by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants. It first appeared on the 1998 primarily live album Severe Tire Damage, one of only three studio-recorded songs on it. Even though a music video had already been created for the song (directed by TMBG co-founder John Flansburgh, shot in black and white, featuring the band performing the song in an apartment office surrounded by medical paraphernalia), a new music video produced by animation studio The Ink Tank was featured in the Season 4 episode "Going the Extra Mile!" where an actual worm in medical attire seeks the respect of a musical group who is searching for a percussionist.

"Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun Is A Mass Of Incandescent Gas)" is a song co-written by Hy Zaret and Lou Singer, first performed by folk singer-songwriter Tom Glazer on his 1959 album Space Songs. It was then covered by alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, appearing on their 1993 EP of the same name. A music video (that uses TMBG's version from their 1998 primarily live album Severe Tire Damage) produced by animation studio The Ink Tank was featured in the Season 4 episode "Under New Management" where a group of students learn about the sun from a scientist.

Episodes[]

List of all KaBlam! episodes, including the specials: List of KaBlam! episodes

Season 1[]

KaBlam! started with mostly regular segments on its episodes, which were Sniz and FondueAction League Now!Prometheus and Bob, and Life with LoopyThe Off-Beats was also another regular segment that was shown (it filled in for Sniz and Fondue, Prometheus and Bob or Life with Loopy). Other cartoon segments, such as Surprising ShortsAngela Anaconda, and The Louie and Louie Show were featured.

At the beginning of the intro, a voice-over of a man shouts "Wake up the masses!" and the opening starts out with a hawk crashing into the camera while the camera pans through a forest and goes underwater (during this, announcer Bert Pence says "Assume the crash position. Hold on tight, take a deep breath, for a new kind of cartoon show.") Then the camera travels to Egypt where Egyptians dance and the Great Sphinx swipes at the camera. The camera then heads up to space where two kids in a rocket, the planets, stars, asteroids, and UFOs are seen. After the U.S. Capitol gets destroyed by two UFOs, it then pans to Godzilla destroying a city. It then pans to an open street comic book store and lands on the KaBlam! comic book, featuring the Flesh, Stinky Diver, Sniz, Fondue, and Loopy on it (Pence then says "It's KaBlam!, where cartoons and comics collide. Now to take you inside and turn the pages, here are your hosts, Henry and June."). The book is then opened by Henry and June, in hand-drawn animation. After they do a bunch of random dances, they flip into the comic book and the episode starts. The ending theme to the show in the majority of the episodes is a quirky, upbeat tune similar to The Toasters' song "Skaternity," otherwise on episodes "Not Just For People Anymore!" and "All Purpose KaBlam!," it is an extended version of the intro theme song, similar to The Toasters' song "2-Tone Army."

Season 2[]

After seven more episodes of The Off-Beats, it was taken off KaBlam!, the first of the regular segments to end. The Brothers Tiki, a segment combining live-puppetry and acting, stop motion animation and computer-based 2D and 3D animations, appears twice. One-time segments were brought in such as The Girl with Her Head Coming Off and Randall Flan's Incredible Big Top. The Adventures of Patchhead, a live-action/green screen segment, appears once as well. Henry and June are now drawn differently (cel-shaded/computer-generated imagery) and their voices are deeper.

The opening to the show is not changed, however, when the camera pans on the KaBlam! comic book, the cover is different from Season 1 (Thundergirl, Stinky Diver, Prometheus, Bob, Loopy, Sniz, and Fondue are seen). Henry and June dance the macarena and then arm-in-arm. The ending theme to the show is changed (it is similar to The Toasters' song "Everything You Said Has Been A Lie") and is used for every episode from now on, with the exception of Season 2 episode "Tastes Like Paper!" and Season 4 episode "Sasquatch-ercise!."

Season 3[]

After four more appearances of Sniz and Fondue, it is the second of the regular segments to end its run on KaBlam!JetCat and Race Rabbit are introduced and appear infrequently. The Adventures of Patchhead makes its second and final appearance. Songs by comic book artist, writer and rock musician James Kochalka called "Hockey Monkey" and "Pizza Rocket" also appear. Henry and June are drawn a little differently and their voices are slightly deeper.

The opening intro has a number of changes. After the camera comes up out of the water, it goes directly to the White House scene. After the Godzilla scene, the camera pans toward a school instead of the comic book stand. The camera scares a bird off that is perched on a window as it enters a classroom. It pans by a frightened teacher and through a number of students. It stops as it hits a student reading a KaBlam! comic book. On the cover of the comic book, it shows a child who is ecstatic. Henry and June then open the comic book, dance, and the episode starts. Announcer Bert Pence's line, as he introduces the show, is slightly changed, saying "Hold on tight, take a deep breath, for a cartoon cramaganza!". The ending theme is not changed from Season 2.

Season 4[]

Most episodes of KaBlam! in its fourth and final season were premiered at a Saturday midday time slot after its first three seasons on Friday night primetime. Regular segments Life with Loopy and Prometheus and Bob, as well as minor segments JetCat and Race Rabbit all air their last episodes. Action League Now! ends too, but is spun off into a standalone series in 2001 (it would be canceled the following year). One-off segments frequently appeared such as Emmett Freedy, FuzzballGarbage Boy, The Shizzagee, The Little FreaksStewy the Dog Boy and Dave, Son of Hercules. Music videos appear twice in two separate episodes; they were "Doctor Worm" and "Why Does the Sun Shine? (The Sun is a Mass of Incandescent Gas)," songs performed by They Might Be Giants.

The opening intro is not changed, along with the ending theme.

Special Episodes[]

Four television specials based off of segments from KaBlam! aired, but these did not count as actual episodes of the show.

All times below are in Eastern.

  • The Henry and June Show premiered during the Nickel-O-Zone block at 8 p.m. on June 25, 1999, in an attempt to get KaBlam! hosts Henry and June out of the comic book world and into their own stand-up comedy show with a studio audience, a live band and special guests. They also go to school to tackle hard subjects.

Syndication, Home Media and Streaming in the USA[]

Reruns of KaBlam! continued to show on Nickelodeon until 2001. On May 1, 2002, the channel Nicktoons was launched, and the channel began airing reruns, though not all episodes were aired due to copyrights with certain segments or new standards and practices that had gone into effect on the network.

During commercial breaks on Nicktoons, various segments from the show would play under the "KaBlam! Presents" label, not including Henry and June or some of the music videos. In August 2005, Nicktoons changed its appearance and schedule, by removing many shows in the process including KaBlam!, although the interstitials remained until late 2007. The show made an appearance in November 24, 2007 on The 100 Greatest Nicktoons Episodes, a countdown voted on by viewers on Nick.com, featuring "Your Real Best Friend!."

In an August 2016 promo for The Splat, snippets of Action League Now! as well as Henry and June were seen, which gave the viewer the idea the show could possibly air again. KaBlam! made a return to television for the first time in almost 10 years on The Splat during the week of October 3, 2016 (October 8-9). Reruns then appeared on TeenNick from October 8, 2016, to August 19, 2017.

KaBlam! has been one of Nickelodeon's most concealed programs, with the exception of one episode released on VHS as part of a promotion with Tombstone Pizza, there have been no other physical media releases of the show.

In August 2018, KaBlam! could be streamed on NickSplat via VRV, with 37 episodes made available until August 29, 2020, when Nick discontinued the service to prepare for CBS All Access. Since March 24, 2021, 37 episodes of KaBlam! are available for streaming on Paramount+, an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top service and on Amazon Prime Video through the Paramount+ subscription.

Syndication, Home Media and Streaming in other Territories[]

Main Article: KaBlam! in other countries

A French-dubbed version was broadcast in France on television channel GameOne (Télévision Par Satellite), and other versions of the show were on other Nickelodeon channels around Europe. It also was shown in the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2000, and in Poland from 1999 to 2002. The show played on YTV in Canada.

References[]

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