Nicktoons Network was awesome, that's something I will always maintain. The initial concept of the network, re-airing classic Nickelodeon shows, had been retained, but in the mid-late 2000s they began bringing in shows and shorts from around the world, along with their own originals. While otherwise flawed, they were very enjoyable, at worst tolerable.
It's hard to say what their worst show at the time was, and though I had otherwise accepted them all, one may be in the running.
Background
Ricky Sprocket Showbiz Boy was created by the husband and wife team Alison Snowden and David Fine. Both are best known for their early short films, one of them being Bob's Birthday, which would gradually develop into Bob and Margret, still one of their better known works, well for the most part. It's a good series though.
Also, interesting trivia, aside from sharing the surnames of a famed leaker who uncovered various surveillance programs and an anti-Vietnam radical, they're the parents of the initial voice actor for Peppa Pig.
After a six year break from television programs (and by that I mean them creating or helming television shows of their own.), they came out with this.
Ricky Sprocket debuted on Teletoon in Canada and Nickelodeon UK in 2007 before coming to Nicktoons Network time after. While Bob and Margaret was initially a Canadian-British co-production until budget concerns and Canadian broadcast guidelines led the latter to break off, this was produced straight up in Canada.
The show was recorded in Vancouver, a first for Snowden Fine who ordinarily operated out of Ontario. It starred Jillian Michaels, who Nicktoons Network fans will recognize as Ellen from Edgar and Ellen, but others may recognize her as the other voice of Gohan in DBZ's Ocean dub. Otherwise we have our usual alphabet soup here, Kathleen Barr, Tabitha St. Germain, Ashleigh Ball around the time she was becoming more prevalent, Scott McNeil, Andrea Libman, Chiara Zanni (okay maybe I just recognize her). At least three of them voice half of the mane 6, can you guess?
In spite of recording in Vancouver, this show does have two actors from Ontario, though not necessarily belonging to a voice acting union from there. From it we have Jeff Lumby, who appeared in The Red Green Show and had a role in the initial Sailor Moon dub and Sailor Moon S, and around the time George of the Jungle shifted production to Toronto took on the role as the narrator for it. The other is Jayne Eastwood, who had previously played two characters on Bob and Margaret and it seems that's how she got on board.
The show was co-produced by Bejuba Entertainment, a mostly prominent company who would go on to produce Wishfart, which Jeff Lumby ironically appeared in as well, and this is the first time we see Snowden Fine credited to their own vanity card. Must've been real proud here.
Animation
The animation was produced at Studio B Productions. Around 2002 their shows adopted a particular style, which is often floaty flash animation with some occasionally abstract visuals. While not much to write home about, it's actually kinda distinctive, and works with differing art directions. For a better visual aid, check out an episode of this show and compare it to something like Yakkity Yak, George of the Jungle (preferably season 1), Being Ian, those early Edgar and Ellen shorts and, for the most part, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (season 1 that is).
I can understand the budget was reasonably low for this show, and it could've been a hell of a lot worse.
Visually, while Snowden and Fine has a specific art style, it looked like they were trying to branch out a bit. Some look human-esque, others... not so much, not that it's a bad thing. It translated well enough, I guess.
The Show
Ricky Sprocket centers on, well I already said his name, a child actor who... well I'd like to say balance his celebrity life with his normal one, but that's not always the case. At times either life is mutually exclusive to certain episodes and are dependent on the plot. There was only one time the balance was explored, and it was the ever classic "trying to be two places at once without upsetting the other person, but oh wait it turned out they're more understanding than the protagonist would assume."
Those of you expecting this to explore the darker side of Hollywood, don't. This is basically a kid fantasy series, it's not here to squash a kid's dreams, that's what high school is for. But in most shows, the kid actor is either a sociopathic snot or target practice for that creepy director.
You're not gonna find anything too complicated or interesting with this show, is anything even that original anymore? Unfortunately, this would mean at times the bad suffices over the good, and that comes in the form of Ethel.
She is Ricky's younger sister and, how do I describe her? She's basically a cross-breed of Megan from Drake and Josh and Mandy from The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy. This isn't some crazed summary; the younger sibling who likes to antagonize her elder brother(s) for the hell of it (and has black hair) and a similar attitude and disposition to Mandy, albeit Mandy from the first season of her own show.
Aren't they the same thing?
No there's a distinction.
Let me make this clear, this wasn't a sudden realization, I distinctly remember watching this show as a kid and hating episodes where Ethel came out on top. Hell, the same sentiment extended to Drake and Josh. It's one thing to hate it as an adult, but to pick up on this when you see it for the first time as a kid says a hell of a lot more. My hangup with this is that it's not satisfying, and half the time there's no deeper reason for it, beyond just messing with the older sibling. At best she's just annoying, and while she doesn't always quash Ricky, even those aren't much to write home about.
I feel like she's only around to get the plot going. One time when Ricky agreed to helm a business where he sells his stuff on account of them being more valuable as they belong to a celebrity, Ethel sells Ricky's prized childhood relic, seemingly for the hell of it. Okay granted he gets it back, but still. There's "What? And ruin the plot?", and then there's "Because plot."
I go on about this because... that's really the biggest takeaway I got from this. Every other character is frankly ordinary, the bumbling but well-meaning dad, the mother who isn't all about that Hollywood jizz, and Ricky has quite a bit of friends. Fat nerd, token, boy with much wrong with him (but colorblind is a first for me, I'll give them that), and tomboy, back when that wasn't taken to a big extreme.
Also a co-star whom Ricky has a rivalry with and a mostly crusty... agent? Manager? Studio owner? There's an answer but I forgot it.
When it came to finding an episode to give me a taste, I wanted to find one that played against what I brought up, that way I won't base my overall opinion on that. At its best, is the show at least tolerable?
Episode
The episode I picked is one where Ricky is framed for eating a valuable piece of food belonging to his father, around the time he was set to appear in a new movie that's probably kid Superman. If this will end better than The Loud House's Sleuth or Consequences, then so be it. Also this was written by both Snowden and Fine (lest they handled every episode.) so this is what they wanted of their show, at least that's what I assume.
Anyhow, at times Ricky can be relatively basic, but at times he incorporates some method acting into his life, where he takes on the Superman/Clark Kent guise. Kid has commitment, I'll give him that. There is also a plus to this, I mean you can guess Ethel is behind the framing, but since his frequent rehearsal for the role is seemingly getting on the nerves of his family, you can assume Ethel did it for the sake of shutting him up about it.
For whatever I said about Ethel, at her best she has better motivations than Megan. Also they establish why the parents are quick to blame Ricky for this, he had borrowed things from his family without asking and seemingly put himself before others. Also back on Ethel, if there's a deeper meaning to her motives, in that she wants to knock her brother off his high horse and remind him of where he once belonged, forget what I said about her before, at worst the writing doesn't portray that well.
Still find it interesting that Ricky's parents are apathetic to the Hollywood business and go on as if it isn't that much of a part of Ricky's life. But we got a nice jab at child labor laws the first time this was implied, so fair enough, it was his time to go.
Anyway, on the crime, I can understand Ricky's dad being upset over it being eaten since he sent away for it in the mail. I can say that Ethel didn't do the crime to frame Ricky, rather she just ate it without knowing who it belonged to. Sucks for Leonard (the dad's name) who left it in the open and didn't put it away before going in the shower, but if Ethel runs with the allegation then there'd be some purpose.
So Ricky holds the wrapper, and eats what pieces remain on the wrapper just as Leonard comes in. So, Ricky holding the wrapper and eating the remaining morsels on it, around the time it was established that Ricky was inconsiderate to his family helped to make a convincing case for the plot. They could've had it where they assumed right away, but they didn't.
They do wind up playing favorites and assume Ethel couldn't have done it, but that puts it at like, what? A 75? A C+ is reasonable in some areas. I like how they mention alcohol here, like Vancouver is looser when it comes to the mention of it, even Ed, Edd n' Eddy mentioned it once in some context. They do have it where Bunny (the mother) questions whether or not Leonard was too harsh, important to establish to avoid making this over the top.
As Ricky is held in a relatively high regard at the studio, the higher ups do seek to try and get Ricky out of it long enough to finish a movie in progress. I do see a reporter that pops up from time to time, most interesting thing about her is that it looks like her mouth is stuck in a perpetual smile, kinda reminds me of The Flea from Mucha Lucha where most of the time he speaks it looks like he's smiling because they didn't have enough mouth movements to work with.
So Ricky immediately assumes Ethel at it, but to be fair it's not a forced realization. The family consists of Ricky, the two parents, Ethel and a dog. Leonard was in the shower, Bunny and Ricky entered the kitchen around the same time and Ethel came in first, Roy was with Ricky before the wrapper was found, and it had been established that Ethel is against Ricky. She would play the farce just for the sake of ensuring Ricky is miserable, so if she gets caught it'd help make for a good ending.
How does he prove himself or at least get back at Ethel? Apparently Leonard keeps a case of sweets in the basement. I gotta ask, how can food in a basic containment unit still be hot enough to admit smoke? I'll give it this, it plays on a weakness of Ethel, her love for sweets, which compelled her to eat the treat in the first place.
Needless to say, it works. She would've been grounded regardless since she was caught in the act, at the very least the parents were willing to listen this time.
Overall
To clarify, spoiler warning, Sleuth or Consequences had Lincoln take the fault for clogging the toilet just for the sake of protecting his younger sister. It was unsatisfying as all hell. With that in mind, I can conclude that this was a better episode compared to that, at least the motivations were believable enough.
The show itself is mediocre at best, there are some episodes I may not return to, but I don't consider them objectively bad, maybe I just remembered them differently. It's only technically on the lower end of Nicktoons Network's original programs, but it's still bearable to watch, with minimal expectation.
I'd go back to this sooner than other shows, but I'm in no hurry for it honestly. Sad to say Snowden and Fine didn't bother with their own efforts after this, for this didn't seem like a career killer.
By the way, they don't go for that many movie references, but seeing how it was handled in Being Ian, surface level parodies seemed preferable.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZfwL0QZbU8
No comments:
Post a Comment