CityKids

**CityKids** is a 1993 American television series. It aired late Saturday mornings on ABC. The creator behind this was Jeffrey Solomon. It was co-produced by the New York-based non-profit organization, The CityKids Foundation and Jim Henson Productions.

## Plot

An ethnically-diverse group of seven teenagers and high schoolers (eight in the pilot episode) have misadventures somewhere in New York. As they come of age, each episode deals with at least one of them facing a problem and having to find the solution to it. They are represented by some muppets who act as their Greek Chorus, though neither the humans nor the muppets ever interact with each other.

## Why It Rocks

1. It's very original and different, as what sets it apart from other teen shows like Saved by the Bell, is this teen show also has muppets and musical numbers.
2. The production quality is professional-looking enough.
3. Strong storylines of the episodes' plots and writing that come off as being realistic and accurate.
4. The acting is also on such a professional level and seems genuine.
5. Both the human characters and the newer muppets are great and likable. The segments with the latter provide plenty of comic relief and entertainment.
6. Malik Yoba, who would star in New York Undercover the following year, co-composed the memorable theme song, which is rap-based, with Raleigh Neal III and other songs throughout the series. The other songs are just as memorable and eclectic, ranging from hip-hop to new jack swing to reggae to doo-wop, among others.
7. It covers deep, heavy topics and issues the main characters face such as racism (Susan in "Pilot"), credit card debt (Nikki in "The Curse of Ali Baba"), and an absentee parent (Snoopy in "Quality Time").
8. Some clever, funny lines of dialogue and great moments.
9. The character designs of muppets like Dread, Bird, Frankie Frank and the Footers, the other Hot Dogs, the green, mostly one-eyed Koozebanians, and both versions of the Inside the Head muppets, and the Dirt Sisters, are well-constructed while having a lot of originality, and imagination, put into them.
10. It is award-nominated and award-winning, like the pilot episode earning a Daytime Emmy Awards nomination for both Outstanding Children's Program and Outstanding Directing in a Children's Program.
11. Not only is it down-to-earth, but also possibly relatable.

## Bad Qualities

1. The series was dropped by ABC when it didn't do satisfactorily well in the ratings.
2. The songs were never released on a soundtrack.
3. Whenever one of the Dirt Sisters, Trish, shrieks or squeals when excited, some viewers may find that hard on the ears.

## Trivia

* The title card of "Pilot" is different from the one that would be used for the remainder of the series. The first title screen has the title logo in various colors, font styles, and designs while superimposed above a back silhouette of the New York backdrop. The second title screen has the logo in bold, white letters with most of a matching, rectangular outline surrounding it in a teal rectangle. Also, the intro of the pilot is different from other episodes by featuring the humans in it, but not the muppets.
* In "Pilot", the versions of the Inside the Head muppets and the Dirt Sisters have designs that differ from those in other episodes as these are the prototypes.
* Dread and Bird are absent from the pilot episode.
* The apple green, mostly one-eyed Koozebanians appear in the pilot episode only.
* "Rooftop Thanksgiving" is the only holiday-themed episode.
* Savage Steve Holland, who co-created Eek! the Cat and The Terrible Thunderlizards with Bill Kopp, directed the pilot episode.
* Kermit the Frog is given a shout out. In "Pilot", Susan's little sister goes up to her from behind, covers her eyes, and says, "Guess who?". Susan guesses, "Kermit the Frog?".
* There was an unnamed, black girl who appeared with the others in the circle of friends in "Pilot", but she isn't seen again afterwards.
* The Inside the Head muppets showed up in the minds of three of the main, human characters: David, Tito, and Snoopy.
* Bird would later appear in the Three Silly Bears segments on Nick Jr.
* Several muppets from this show would go on to appear in Puppet Up! and other Miskreant Puppet shows.
* One of the Dirt Sisters appeared in a courtroom parody sketch as a spectator in an episode of Muppets Tonight.
* The set of the Inside the Head segments was originally intended to be used in the pilot of a 1980s muppets-based pilot called Starboppers, but that never came to fruition.
* In "Pilot", the prototypical Libido is kept in a chain-linked cage but in other episodes, the redesigned Libido is kept in a steel cage with bars.
* In the last episode, "I A Woman", just before David changes the channel on the T.V., part of this show's theme song can be heard playing.
* Of all the main, human characters, Susan's last name, which is Ng, is the only one to be revealed.
* This series was the first for one of the main actors, Dule` Hill, who would later go on to appear in The West Wing, Psych, and most recently, The Wonder Years reboot.
* Dash Mihok appeared in an early role as one of the three guys who harassed Susan in "Pilot".
* Donald Faison of Scrubs fame appeared in the musical number, "Saturday," from the episode, "Quality Time", as a dancer.
* The Inside the Head muppets (the redesigned Captain playing keyboards, the prototypical Lieutenant on guitar or bass, and the prototypical Libido as the drummer) appeared as part of Cee-Lo Green's backup band during his performance of "Forget You" at the 2011 Grammy Music Awards.
* The prototypical Libido, recycled as The Wizard, appeared as a guest along with other members of an alien muppet band called The Weirdos on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
* The Koozebanians would later appear in Happy Fun Bake Time.