KaBlam!
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KaBlam! is an American animated television series that ran on Nickelodeon from 1996 to 2000. It features a collection of short films in several different styles of animation, bridged by the characters of Henry and June, who introduce the shorts, and have adventures of their own. It also was shown in the United Kingdom from 1997-2000, and in Poland from 1999-2002. It currently airs on Australia's Nickelodeon affiliate and on NickToons TV. The show is also currently broadcast in France on television channel GameOne (see Télévision Par Satellite), in a French-dubbed version.
Contents
Regular KaBlam! shorts
These shorts have at least one short per episode, save Sniz and Fondue and The Offbeats, only the former or the latter appeared in various episodes.- Henry and June - The hosts of KaBlam! who turn the pages of a comic book to reveal the next cartoon, as well as featuring in cartoons themselves.
- Sniz and Fondue - A pair of rodents, who often get on each other's nerves, but are ultimately united as brothers.
- Action League Now! - Filmed in Chuckimation, in which the characters/props are moved by unseen hands, or thrown from off camera, interspersed with occasional stop motion animation. Action League Now! featured a group of superheroes, played by custom-made action figures, who fight crime in suburbia despite being total idiots. The four superheroes are ThunderGirl, who has the ability to fly, Meltman, who has the ability to melt, The Flesh, described in the Action League Now! introduction as "super-strong and super-naked", and Stinky Diver, whose name derives from the fact that most of his diving takes place in toilets. Considered to be the best KaBlam! short, it briefly became a spin-off series in 2003. All the characters on the shorts were voiced by personalities from radio station WDVE in Pittsburgh.
- Prometheus and Bob - A Claymation segment featuring the video record mission logs of Prometheus, an alien who comes to Earth attempting to teach the local caveman, Bob, all manner of things. From the use of fire to the act of ice skating, the result is usually a failure.
- Life with Loopy - Followed the life of twelve-year-old Larry and his strange experiences with his imaginative but adventurous younger sister, Loopy. The characters were animated with stop-motion puppet bodies, but their heads were created with flat cardboard heads.
- The Offbeats - A group of unpopular friends who deal with problems caused by many different characters, including a popular clique, "The Populars."
Minor KaBlam! shorts
- Surpising Shorts - The only short that didn't have recurring characters, these shorts usually had nothing to do with any previous shorts inluded on the show. Includes shorts such as the Lava series, Garbage Boy, Emmitt Freedy, and Stewy the Dogboy, which became Disney's Teacher's Pet, among several others. This segment was usually introduced by June pulling down Henry's pants, revealing his unflattering and garishly colored boxer shorts.
- Angela Anaconda - A cutout-photo cartoon that was later spunoff into its own series on the Fox Family Channel, in the US. This series is about a girl named Angela who, along with her two friends, are social outcasts. They find themselves unpopular in school, and always seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Nanette, a fake-French girl who everyone loves and wants to be, always mocks Angela. During each episode, a poem-like story is narrated by Angela. She often gets her revenge on the antagonist of that particular episode.
- JetCat - A segment about a girl who has an identity as a cat-based superhero with a jet pack who saves her city. This is the only short that takes place outside of the comic book.
- Race Rabbit - A live-action show about a romantic rabbit racer who competes in races but there is usually trouble along the way caused by the Boolies, who are his human enemies. Race always wins the race, foiling the Boolies' plans along the way.
- Patchhead - This segment is about a barefoot kid with a watermelon for a hat, and she stops cheaters from winning competitions.
- The Brothers Tiki - A claymation segment about two extraterrestrials resembling vegetables, who come to earth in a ship bearing a striking resemblance to a Barbeque Grill.
- Fuzzball-A cartoon that only appears in one episode about a girl who tries to re-win her dad's trophy that she broke.
- Louie and Louie show- A cartoon that appears in one episode. Two neglected pets (a Hamster and a Lizard) try to get some attenion from their owners.*
- The Little Freaks- A cartoon that appears in one episode. Some superheros try to stop a villain from controlling fashion/clothing.
- Untalkative Bunny - Featured the uncomfortable life-situations encountered by a rabbit who is simply unable to speak. Later became a series on a Canadian animation-oriented network.
- Anemia and Iodine- A cartoon displaying the misadventures of a depressed gothic older sister and her skateboarding, hyperactive younger brother.
Secondary Plot
In addition to the shorts on the show, it also carried its own subplots, usually involving the hosts, Henry and June. In a memorable episode, the show's "crew" strikes, and submit's a list of demands, including "Tangy Buffalo Wings"Regular KaBlam! Characters
Henry & June
- Henry - Henry is the energetic male host of Kablam! He tends to behave foolishly, and believes that he looks good shirtless. He is more laid back than June, and seems to be disaster-prone, especially around Mr. Foot. He was voiced by Noah Segan.
- June - June is the show's more practical co-host. She has a sarcastic personality, and enthusiasm for her job. She has a tendency to find Henry's dilemmas quite humorous. She is rarely injured. She was voiced by Julia McIlvaine.
- Mr. Foot - Mr. Foot is a giant, ignorant Sasquatch who works on the show. His hobbies include sleeping, injuring Henry, and unexpectedly stealing the spotlight. However, under the rage and bluster, he is not a terrible creature. He never injures June.
- Mr. Stockdale - The elderly network executive in charge of KaBlam!. He acts rather senile, and will do anything to get Kablam! good ratings -- including firing someone or getting Henry into lots of physical accidents. He seems to be a parody of Admiral James Stockdale.
- Henry's Mom - She appeared twice and mentioned another time. Shows her love for her son in an exageratted way.
- Mr. McGee - He appeared twice as a co-host of June on KaBlam. He gets in fights with Henry's mom.
Action League Now!
- The Flesh - The Flesh is a naked man who happens to be very strong. He is also known as the "Nude Dude." The Flesh wished that one day he would become a superhero, and he did. He usually gets in the way when the Action League is trying to save the day, but he nevertheless fits perfectly with the team. His catchphrase is "Ouchies." He was voiced by Jim Krenn.
- ThunderGirl - Thunder Girl has the power to fly. She is usually seen flying around the city trying to find the Mayor, or some other bad guy causing trouble. ThunderGirl does not appreciate Meltman's crush on her, and usually whacks him in the face following his professions of love. She was voiced by Cris Winter.
- Stinky Diver - Stinky Diver is an English superhero, and is always in the toilet. He uses a harpoon to attack his foes. He loves his money quite a bit, and will not let anything happen to it. He is usually found next to Meltman, one of his best friends. He was voiced by Jim Krenn. The character itself is a G.I. Joe toy.
- Barry "Meltman" Meltfarb - Meltman has the power to melt, and is the weakest member of the Action League. He hangs out with everyone in the gang, especially his love, ThunderGirl. ThunderGirl hates Meltman, but he does not seem to care. Meltman is very unhelpful; he managed to be helpful only once. He is also the smallest member of the team. There was a running gag in the segment where he occasionally finds his original nose, usually immediately before being severely injured. He was voiced by Scott Paulsen.
- The Chief - The Chief hired the Action League members. He is very commanding, and will not let evil win. The Chief is in every episode of Action League Now!, and without The Chief, the Action League would be nothing. His main quote is, "Blast it!" He was voiced by Victor Hart.
- Justice - Justice is The Chief's loyal golden retriever, and probably the smartest member of the Action League. Justice makes appearances in many episodes. The dog's sounds were made by Alyssa Grahm.
- Bill the Lab Guy - Bill the Lab Guy tries to help the Action League by testing experiements and checking if the Action League has a disease. His main quotes are, "There's nothing I can do" and "I was afraid of this!" Bill the Lab Guy tends to become very annoying to the Action League and viewers. He was voiced by Scott Paulsen.
- The Mayor - The Mayor is the evil villain in Action League Now! He may be the mayor of the town, but he wants to take over the world. The Mayor always tries to get the Action League in danger. He was voiced by Jim Krenn.
- Quarky the Lab Girl - Bill the Lab Guy's daughter, who is taller than he is. she once became a superheroine herself, named Super Teen.
- Hodge Podge - The former accountant of the Action League. Due to a blender accident, and an operation from Bill the Lab Guy, he is now a mutated giant made of parts from other toys.
- Spotzilla - The Mayor's dog. Unlike Justice, Spotzilla is an actual dog, not made of plastic. He is often sent by the Mayor to wreak havoc.
- Big Baby - A gigantic baby doll trying to destroy the Action League, KISS (The band), and the general public.
- Smarty Pants - A genius villain that tries to get the world's knowledge by attacking The Flesh, because the Action League hid it inside The Flesh's head, since it's the last place anyone would think it is.
- The Narrator - He is in every episode and announces what is occurring in the episode, before and after commercial breaks.
Life With Loopy
- Loopy Cooper - Loopy is an imaginative, crazy little girl with a knack for discovering surreal things, such as a world under the sofa. While she is often discouraged by Larry whenever she goes out to adventure, she does not let that discourage her.
- Larry Cooper - Larry is Loopy's intelligent brother. Much like Lassie, Larry knows every detail of Loopy's adventures, although he is almost never there.
- Those Two Paper-Bag Guys - These two almost always show up on Life With Loopy at one point or another, each time as different people; "helping" Loopy with her latest escapade. Loopy does not appear to recognize them from episode to episode.
- Other People - Life With Loopy occasionally has various live-action interlopers.
- Loopy and Larry's Parents - They are Loopy and Larry's parents. They seem like caricatures of parents from 1950s sitcoms.
Sniz & Fondue
- Sniz - Sniz is a crazy little rodent who gets himself into trouble on a daily basis. Luckily, Fondue has ways to bail Sniz and himself out of ordeals. He was voiced by Rick Gomez.
- Fondue - Fondue is a frustrated, but intelligent teenage rodent who is also Sniz's brother. Like Sniz, Fondue has strange dialogue. Unlike Sniz, Fondue wears a sacred blue chef hat.
- Snuppa - Sniz's, Fondue's and Bianca's roommate. He is a late-teen rodent a bit older than both Sniz and Fondue, and he is Bianca's boyfriend. He was voiced by John Walsh (not the John Walsh of America's Most Wanted).
- Bianca - Sniz's, Fondue's and Snuppa's roommate who is also Snuppa's girlfriend. She is a teenage rodent who has a big, clownish blond hairstyle.
Prometheus & Bob
- Prometheus - This smart, skinny, purple alien is sworn to educate the stupid caveman, Bob. Prometheus is often injured due to Bob's low IQ.
- Bob - Bob is a babbling caveman. He once had hair, but now has none because of a laser incident in the first clip.
- Monkey - Monkey is a small chimpanzee with many different roles, sometimes helping Prometheus, other times making his life miserable.
- Animals - There are animals that occasionally appear. Most are one-timers, but one appeared twice, which was a prehistoric pet dog. Another was an orca who appeared in ice skating, which tried to tug Bob in and treated the Monkey like a toy ball. Other animal appearances included prehistoric cattle, which Prometheus used to instruct Bob on milking. A wooly mammoth was once featured as Bob's trumpet.
- Misc Cavemen - These cavemen were seen when Prometheus first met Bob. Together with Bob, they attempted to procure Monkey as dinner. The plot subsequently failed.
- The Narrator - He recites the opening to the short, and the introduction to the short's "tape", "Tape [insert number here]", and finally, "End."
The Offbeats Segments
- Betty Anne Bongo - Betty Anne Bongo is the un-official leader of The Offbeats. She's always helping Tommy, August, and Repunzil out of a jam. In the first few episodes, she was voiced by Mischa Barton.
- Tommy - Tommy loves his plaid coat and hat, and he loves being alone, and never goes indoors. Normally he's quiet, but he cannot handle his emotions very well, so sometimes he yells, which startles everyone, especially himself.
- Repunzil - Repunzil is the youngest and most excitable member of The Offbeats. She loves everyone and everything, even if they run away. Repunzil's long hair makes it very difficult for her to wear a hat.
- August - August is the one Offbeat that desperately wants to be liked by The Populars. However, none of his inventions, like the Suave-O-Matic 5000, or the Helicart, impresses anyone.
- September - August's talking dog. He often runs away, and gets paid to like August, but he seems to enjoy the Offbeats anyway.
- Grubby Groo - Grubby Groo is The Offbeats' friend. He is the only adult in the world who realizes that The Populars are really mean kids, despite the Populars always pretending to be nice when Grubby is around.
- Tina - Tina is the leader of the Populars, who rules them with an iron fist. If any of the Offbeats start thinking that they are cool, Tina's always around to set them straight.
- The Populars - The popular group at school that always travels in a clump. They are led by Tina (see above).
Minor KaBlam! Characters
Angela Anaconda Segments
- Angela Anaconda - This imaginative young girl looks average on the surface, but is in fact quite special and unique. Angela tries very hard to be good by obeying her elders, and doing her homework, but sometimes her active mind can get the best of her. In her imagination, Angela is usually thinking up ways to get back at the super mean Nanette Manoir.
- Gina Lash - Gina is Angela's best friend, and the smartest kid in her class. She always beats Nanette at spelling and math, which severely annoys Nannette. Gina loves to eat anything, even cherry-flavored lip balm and the Cinnamon Swirls at Mapperson's Bakery.
- Johnny Abatti - Angela also likes to hang out with her friend Johnny. Johnny and Angela can usually be found at Johnny's grandmother's pizza parlor.
- Nanette Manoir - Nanette has perfect golden locks, and is never seen in a dress that is wrinkled or stained. Nanette thinks she is way better than everyone else because she lives in a large house with a built-in pool. Nanette can be very mean and very snotty, which drives Angela's overactive imagination wild! She also pretends to be French.
- Gordy Rhinehart - Puny Gordy Rhinehart is one of Angela's friends. He has to use an inhaler to help him breathe. Gordy is almost as addicted to his inhaler as he is to Gina.
- Mrs. Brinks - Mrs. Brinks is Angela's mean teacher.
JetCat Segments
- JetCat - She is a girl named Jenny that also saves the day by being JetCat, a cat-based superhero. People know both her as a normal person and her as Jetcat, but the people think of Jenny and JetCat as separate people.
- Todd Johnson - He is Jetcat's best friend and only person who knows about her secret identity. Often needs to be rescued.
Race Rabbit Segments
- Race Rabbit - A bunny that is a racer. He will also help anybody in need, yet he always wins, even with the Boolies trying to catch him.
- The Boolies - They are two people that are the bad guys. One is the leader of the duo, who wants to catch and stuff Race Rabbit. The other is the sidekick who loves drinking tea. They always lose.
Trivia
Originally, DNA Productions intended to run their Johnny Quasar (Jimmy Neutron) segments on Kablam!, but Nickelodeon was so impressed by the pilot DNA created that they gave Jimmy his own series."Henry & June" is also the name of the 1990s film based on the book by Anaïs Nin. The Henry was writer Henry Miller and June was his wife. It was the first movie to receive the infamous NC-17 rating. However, there is no evidence that Kablam's hosts were named after the movie. For this reason, it may just be a coincidence.
Interestingly, there was an Action League Now! show that aired shortly after Kablam! was cancelled, but showed only reruns of already-been-seen episodes viewed on Kablam!. Unfortunately, it never took off.
The song used in the opening credits is "2-Tone Army" by the ska group The Toasters.
The song used in the ending credits is "Everything You Said Has Been a Lie" which is also by The Toasters.
The KaBlam! short Action League Now! was originally seen on All That, making KaBlam! a spin off of All That.
In one episode, Henry admits to having a crush on Kate Winslet. The episode aired at the time Titanic was in theaters.
Episode guide
For a complete listing of episodes, see List of KaBlam! episodes.
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