Comedy World Adventures

***Comedy World Adventures*** is a British-American GoAnimate-animated comedy series created by Eric Nagler and Brian Sharp (founders of Mouth Animation). The pilot episode premiered on November 8, 1997. The series was greenlit in 1998 and premiered on GoAnimate Network on November 26, 2001; and ended on April 18, 2008; it's currently airing reruns on Vyond Network.

The show is rated TV-PG, or, occasionally, TV-14.

## Episodes

*Main article: List of Comedy World Adventures episodes*

## Synopsis

Eric is a 14-year-old guy who is one of the main protagonists of the show. He's bold, optimistic, and curious, and always ready to start an expedition. Eric and his friends, Kimberly, Benjamin, Brian, and Kate, are part of Eric's Exciting Expeditionary Club, an organization dedicated to exploration and discovery. Together, they travel the world to face the unknown, exploring distant lands and exotic cultures interacting with solving the problems occuring; make new friends along the way; and most importantly, learn to believe in themselves and in others, trusting the unlimited capacity, all while using their vast imaginations.

## Characters

### Main Characters

All main characters are part of Eric's Exciting Expeditionary Club.

**NOTE**: All characters mentioned are on floating timelines, therefore they don't age. So, if a character has a birthday in an episode, he/she still won't age, and simply describe the age mentioned here.

#### Eric

**Eric** is a 14-year-old boy who's curious, and his love of expeditions makes him immerse in crazy situations; Eric is always open to all suggestions and tips from his friends. Also, he learns from his mistakes and applies his knowledge and wisdom to his new expeditions and destinations.

Eric is voiced by Eric Nagler in the pilot and Ezra Wellman in the series.

#### Kate

**Kate** is a 13-year-old girl who's an expert at mechanics. She's the co-pilot in all of the team's expeditions and is very intelligent; it depends on her knowledge and advice when things aren't going too well. She's very honest and always helps others when needed.

Kate is voiced by Jessica Sharp in the pilot and Julie Kohut in the series.

#### Brian

**Brian** is a 14-year-old boy who's the captain, conductor, and/or driver of any vehicle or transport method that the team uses in their expeditions. His confidence doesn't always fit with their skills, and his "perfect landings." Brian loves to change clothes, usually costumes and hats, and always travels with his friend, Kate. The two are the most qualified people in the team. Kate can easily fix what he breaks.

Brian won't always do this though; he also joins the rest of the team exploring, in which he is the most watched and intelligent. Trying to blend in with the others, he sometimes tends to daydream and get distracted by anything unusual. Though he is deeply sensitive, he has a spirit, who's open and adventurous. Eric admires and loves him as a captain to the point where he'll start to accompany him through the exploration.

Brian is voiced by Brian Sharp in the pilot and Leon Castleberry in the series.

#### Kimberly

**Kimberly** is a 13-year-old girl who's bright, energetic, and precocious. He has a very adult attitude, and often uses complex words that she sometimes doesn't understand. She has a great sense of humor and is brave, loyal, and stubborn when necessary; and very competitive. Despite her obvious maturity, she always hides a weakness: a tendency to believe that she is the best informed of the group, appearing insensitive to the feelings of others. Her great heart helps the salvation of all complicated situations.

Kimberly is voiced by Angela Nagler in the pilot and Josefa Workman in the series.

#### Benjamin

**Benjamin** is an 11-year-old boy who's always funny. He's always happy and is known for being affectionate and impulsive. He's impetuous and energetic, to the point of nearing hyperactivity. He's always confused and is easily distracted, and this situation usually leads to awkward and difficult living situations that put them in trouble. He loves risky activities, sports, and speed.

Benjamin is voiced by Eric Nagler in the pilot and Joshua Miller in the series.

### Episodic Characters

These characters only appear in one episode.

* **Fish**: Appears in "Catacomb Hunt." He mocks Brian after failing attempts to catch it, who can only be seen at the beginning of the episode. He's located on the *Nile River*, who is desperately seeking shelter from a sandstorm. He is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker.
* **Camel**: Appears in "Catacomb Hunt," when Eric, Kimberly, Benjamin, and Brian, go to the pyramids. He is voiced by Dee Bradley Baker.
* **Penguin**: Appears in "An Adventure on Ice." She's the one who discovers Benjamin when he's sent to Antarctica. Benjamin befriends her and teaches him everything about the place. She is voiced by Sascha Sharp.
* **Pamela**: Benjamin's mother, who appears on a picture in "An Adventure on Ice".
* **Lian**: Appears in "The Silkworm." She is voiced by Donna Milardo.
* **Valentina**: Appears in "Eric in Orbit." She is voiced by Toni Dayton.
* **Francisco**: Appears in "The Barracuda Ball." He is voiced by Jerome Patrick.
* **Zungboo**: Appears in "The Boundless Hike." He is voiced by Robert Hargrove.
* **Silvana**: Appears in "The Best Flavor in the World". She is voiced by Norma Parker.
* **Johana**: Appears in "Scorching Cheese."
* **Pepe**: Appears in "Anticyclones and Nadirs."
* **Miguel**: Appears in "Benjamin's Demitasse."

## History

### Development and Pilot

In March 1996, cartoonist Brian Sharp sketched a picture of a person named Keith wearing a backpack and doing a pose. Sharp wrote below the sketch "It's expedition time!" since he wanted to make a series about him going on expeditions with his friends, but wasn't interested in the concept and abandoned the thought of making a show for almost a year.

In February 1997, Sharp decided to create a series about the sketch for GoAnimate Network. So, he thought about creating the show called *Keith's Group*. Sharp eventually decided that Keith needed a group. He came up with the Exciting Expeditionary Club and came up with four people called Brian, Kate, Kimberly, and Dennis. During early work, Sharp decided that he wanted his best friend, Eric Nagler, to work on the pilot with him. Nagler quickly agreed and arrived at Sharp's workplace. Sharp even renamed Keith to Eric to surprise him, thus changing the show's working title into *Eric's Group*.

During an animation test on one of Sharp's tapes, Nagler jokingly mentioned that Dennis could be named Benjamin. This new name really appealed to Sharp, and this became Dennis' permanent name. Also around this time was a name change from *Eric's Group* to *Comedy World Adventures*.

They worked on the pilot for about nine months. The pilot was a success, and the show was greenlit on March 9, 1998.

### Writing and Storyboards

In October 1998, Sharp and Nagler storyboarded episodes 1a-5b. The very first storyboards were unusual; for example, some had the sight of blood. "We were out of our minds," Sharp said. "We were in my bedroom for three months. It was like being stranded on an island, and all we could do was draw and draw and draw and draw."

More TBA!

### Casting

The casting was a long, slow process.

More TBA!

### Premiere and Epilogue

The series finally premiered on November 26, 2001, to overall great ratings. It was renewed for a second season in November 2002, a third season in January 2005, and a fourth in August 2007. The show was abruptly canceled on March 28, 2008, though three specials aired in April of the same year.

## Reception

### Ratings

When the pilot aired, it started to attract a fair amount of viewers. Once it premiered in 2001, the number of viewers were impressive. It kept going up for each season premiere.

On weekdays, the time slot for *Comedy World Adventures* was 7/6pm central. On weekends, it was 10/9am central.

### Critical response

The show currently holds a rating of 8.6/10 on IMDb and a 7.8/10 on TV.com.

## Also see

* List of songs
* List of shorts