The Spungi Club (2007 TV series)

**The Spungi Club** is an American-Canadian-Scottish live-action children's television educational comedy music show that aired on Spungi Network from 2007 to 2009 and Nick Jr. from 2007 to 2015. The show bills itself as "with a cult-like following", explaining that hipsters without children watch the show. There is a single topic in each episode, e.g. "Adventure", "Friends" and "Dance", through songs and short storylines in the half-hour program. Additionally, the show teaches children life and social skills, such as sharing and trying new foods. It also encourages viewers to move along with and dance with the characters in the program. The show is noted for its indie-culture guest stars and bands, and for drawing visual inspiration from 8-bit video games and H.R. Pufnstuf, among other television shows. Created by Christian Jacobs (lead singer of the Aquabats) and Scott Schultz, the show's learning process has parents, older siblings, and younger kids watch the show together rather than letting it act as a babysitter. The television program has spawned a touring live stage show, various toys and branded clothing. Trademarks relating to The Spungi Club and its characters are held by Spungi CaDabra, LLC in partnership with the Magic Store and W!ldBrain. Unlike the Teletubbies, the characters on the show are well developed and are able to communicate.

## Plot

Hosted by a DJ named Maddie Fretz, the series featured a mix of live-action segments featuring Kermit the Frog, Alex Winters, Kylie Michaels, Kate Sneddon, and Steven Gordon, — and many short animated sketches and musical numbers.

The language spoken in The Spungi Club is more developed than some of the younger pre-school programmes. The stories are more complex, and the spoken language 'drives' them. The language in  The Spungi Club is structured to allow children to engage with, and better understand, their feelings and motivations.

The Spungi Club is set in 4 realms of a land and deals with dilemmas, challenges and issues common to very young children, such as biting your friends, or not owning up. Story lines provide a non-threatening context within which such issues can be discussed and resolved simply. These characters move like real children; they laugh at the same things they do; sing the same songs; play the same games and see the world in the same way.

The characters are well developed and children are able to predict what their responses might be. The mixture of story, song and creative activity provides excellent opportunities for children to learn through play [according to whom?]. Music plays an important part in the programme and children are encouraged to join in with songs and actions. The Spungi Club is basically TRL for kids because of its rip-rollicking music videos. Tune in, and you'll get a who's who of indie punk rock music today, including Simple Plan, Gotye, Kimbra, The Flaming Lips, Belle & Sebastian, Billy Joel, Alanis Morrisette, Justin Timberlake, Bob Fretz, Mary J. Bilge, The Killers, and Bruno Mars!

## History

The Spungi Club was developed by two Greater Los Angeles parents, Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz, who first started working together as teenagers, producing and directing skateboarding videos. Both had no previous experience writing for television, let alone children's broadcasting or education. In developing the show they took inspiration from a number of sources including Sesame Street, The Electric Company, Pee-wee's Playhouse, ZOOM, as well as Sid and Marty Krofft Puppet shows Banana Splits and H. R. Pufnstuf.

In 1999, after becoming fathers, Christian Jacobs and Scott Schultz started playing around with children’s television and produced a pilot independently financed by small loans from friends and family. The Spungi Club did not get much attention until it started circulating on the Internet. Jared Hess (Writer and Director of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre) saw the pilot online and recommended it to Brown Johnson, the executive vice president and executive creative director of Nickelodeon preschool entertainment. The Spungi Club premiered on Nickelodeon on August 20, 2007.

## Episode Structure

The episode features four main segments (shortened to three after the first season) that are connected to each other as a plot. They involve Maddie and the gabbas doing an activity. After each main segment, a short clip is shown that shows a kid dancing around. The kid says his or her name, followed by "I like to dance!".

Between the main segments, there is another segment called "Today’s Music Video", which features a performance by a band about the episode's topic. Other small segments include "Mark's Magic Pictures" and "Bob’s Beat of the Day".

Near the end of each episode, Maddie and the Spungis do a mix-like song about what had occurred during the main segments. After it is finished, Maddie shouts "YOOOO Gabba Gabba!" once again, and then Alex, Steven, Kate, Kylie, and Kermit turn back into toys. One-by-one, Maddie puts them back in the radio, closes the radio, and then walks off carrying it. The credits then roll.

## Segments

All episodes follow a similar format. In the opening scene of the episode, Maddie Fretz is shown walking on a plain white background while holding a gray radio with colorful buttons. She then arrives at a table with four different colored lands and a gray cloth underneath it. She then places down the radio, and then she shouts "YOOOO Gabba Gabba!" and opens the radio, and inside it are 5 toy figures: Kate Sneddon, Steven Gordon, Kylie Michaels, Kermit the Frog, and Alex Winters. She places down the figures one-by-one, and then they become alive.

* Jingles, each episode has animated music videos featuring music by a guest musician and animation by guest artists, designers, and animators. They often happen after the first segment in an episode. (One episode does not have the segment.)
* Mark's Magic Pictures, featuring Mark Mothersbaugh, drawing simple pictures that often come alive at the end of the segment.
* Bob's Beat of the Day, starring Bob Fretz, demonstrating new beatboxing beats.
* Today’s Music Video, featuring musical guests and introduced by Jay Schertzer as "The Music Swami" and Matt Chapman as the announcer.
* Spungi Dance, featuring celebrity guests performing dance moves with the characters. It is rarely used after season one.
* Numbers, live action music video similar to the jingles, usually with counting up numbers or back.
* Cool Tricks, in which a child or adult demonstrates a special talent (e.g., gymnastics, breakdancing, playing a theremin, cup stacking or another cool trick.)
* Storytime, where a child narrates a story (e.g., Goon Fishin', Goodnight Moon or another story.)
* Human Torch, featuring a helpful comic book-style superhero who saves the day, but only solves extremely contrived misunderstandings of ignorant citizens, instead of battling crime. (Season 1 only)
* Fun To..., a solo segment in which Kermit the Frog teaches basic daily skills like brushing your teeth, making lemonade, putting on pajamas, etc. (three times by saying "it's fun to" do whatever he is teaching) in chants, using four repeated steps. (Season 1 only)
* Play Pretend, in which Steven Gordon encourages viewers to pretend along with him, as he imagines himself as various creatures and objects. (Season 1 only)
* Listen to Sounds, in which Kate Sneddon listens to sounds and encourages the viewer to help her identify them. (Season 1 only)
* Colors with Alex, in which the viewer guesses what color Alex Winters is thinking of by the examples he gives. (Season 1 only)
* Play Games, in which Kylie Michaels solves simple puzzles, such as mazes and matching games, and encourages the viewer to help her find the solution. (Season 1 only)
* The Maddie Dance, in which Maddie Fretz teaches the viewers a different dance.
* Funny Faces, in which Maddie Fretz encourages viewers to make funny faces.
* Knock Knock Joke Segment, a segment where Jack McBrayer and Paul Scheer tell knock-knock jokes. This segment first appeared in season two.
* Look Back At Today, each episode ends with a music video recap of that episode, featuring special effects, and a remix of every song featured in that episode. (Season 2 onward has Maddie remembering the things she and the gang did in that episode before the music video starts.)