Crashbox
Crashbox is a Canadian-American educational children's television show that airs on the HBO Family digital cable television channel in the United States and Asia and ran from 1999 to 2000. It aims to educate grade-school children in history, math, vocabulary, and other various subjects.
| Crashbox | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | Science fiction Variety |
| Created by | Eamon Harrington John Watkin |
| Directed by | Dave Thomas |
| Voices of | Maggie Baird Veena Bidasha S. Scott Bullock Greg Eagles Arif S. Kinchen Peter Lurie Dawn Maxey Edie McClurg Michael McShane Ritchie Montgomery Alan Schlaifer John Watkin Mari Weiss Danny Wells |
| Composer(s) | Matthew Morse |
| Country of origin | Canada United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 52 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Adam Shaheen Eamon Harrington John Watkin |
| Producer(s) | Eamon Harrington John Watkin |
| Camera setup | Single Camera |
| Running time | 25 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Planet Grande Pictures Cuppa Coffee Animation HBO |
| Release | |
| Original network | HBO Family |
| Picture format | 480i (4:3 SDTV) |
| Original release | February 1, 1999 – April 1, 2000 |
Crashbox was one of the cornerstone programs for the relaunch of the HBO Family channel in February 1999.[1][2]
Creation team
Crashbox was created by Planet Grande Pictures (consisting of Eamon Harrington and John Watkin) and is animated by Cuppa Coffee Studios, headed by Adam Shaheen. Planet Grande Pictures engaged award-winning Cuppa Coffee Studios 7 months to complete 13 hours of programming.[3]
Plot
The show takes place in the insides of a game computer where green game cartridges (which are sculpted out of clay) are created and loaded by rusty robots. The format of each episode is The Electric Company-esque. Each half-hour episode consists of at least seven 2-to-5-minute educational games.
Games
The following games appear in this show:
- Distraction News - A cardboard cutout newswoman named Dora Smarmy (voiced by Mari Weiss) tells the viewers about certain things as the viewers watch to learn about them while not getting distracted of the things that appear during the broadcast.
- Sketch Pad - A beatnik (voiced by Greg Eagles) draws pictures of some things happening in a riddle-like scenario, as the viewers must solve the reason why these specific things are happening.
- Psycho Math - Professor Rocket (voiced by Arif S. Kinchen) gives the viewers long math problems for them to solve with countable pictures.
- Ear We Are - A right ear (voiced by John Watkin) and a left ear (voiced by Alan Schlaifer) help viewers identify different sounds to let people know where they are.
- Haunted House Party - A haunted house is the setting of a house party hosted by an unseen Horrid One (voiced by John Watkin) that ghosts attend as the viewer must identify the historical "ghost of honor" by listening to clues about them. When all the clues have been said, the Horrid One recaps them to the viewers before the historical figure is revealed in cardboard cutout form.
- Eddie Bull - Eddie Bull (voiced by Ritchie Montgomery) gives viewers three hints at what animal at the Walla Walla Washington Zoo ate him. Once the animal is identified, Eddie is regurgitated.
- 10 Seconds - The game's announcer (voiced by Alan Schlaifer) gives the viewers 10 seconds to solve each of three rebus puzzles and guess the answer.
- Radio Scramble - An anthropomorphic microphone named DJ Jumpin' Johnny Jumble (voiced by Peter Lurie impersonating Wolfman Jack) has the viewers unscramble a word that is the title of the song that he plays at the KBOX radio station. He will sometimes also deliver traffic, sports, or weather reports.
- Captain Bones - A pirate skeleton named Captain Bones (voiced by S. Scott Bullock) has the viewers solve math problems and other types of puzzles by having his bones form the numbers or objects and having the viewers move one of his bones to pull it off.
- Poop or Scoop - The game's announcer (voiced by Danny Wells) gives facts about animals where they must guess if they are true or false.
- Revolting Slob - A puppet sketch where a polite female narrator (voiced by Edie McClurg) uses the Revolting Slob (performed by Tom Vandenberg and Johan Vandergun, voiced by Michael McShane) where she gives a three-choice answer to a question that describes what the Revolting Slob is doing. The sketch ends with the other word of the final question having the Revolting Slob explode with the female narrator stating that "No slobs were harmed in the making of this show."
- Wordshake - A live-action American-French cook named Chef Wordshake (voiced by John Watkin) in a black-a-white movie setting cooks up two words that can be used by the viewers to form one word like the words "drag" and "in" to form "dragon" and the words "disturb" and "honey" to make "the Easter Bunny." The sketch usually ends with the kitchen exploding with flour.
- Mug Shots - Detective Verity (voiced by Maggie Baird) has the viewers look at the interrogated testimony from the photographed suspects of a crime where they must find out who is telling the truth and which of the other three are lying as they each state where they were when the crime was happening. Each of the suspects are shown in live action. When the innocent one is identified, Verity arranges for the guilty party to be locked up.
- Paige and Sage - An unseen valley girl (voiced by Dawn Maxey) walks the viewers through the pictures of identical Barbie doll twins Paige and Sage where they must spot the differences in the pictures.
- Think Tank - Inside a fish tank, a Jamaican submarine captain named Captain Bob (voiced by Greg Eagles) has the viewers figure out what each of the three things that appear has in common.
- Dirty Pictures - In a museum that is closed for cleaning, a maid dusts off a picture with the elderly security guard holding up cards that give the hints of the person in the picture. This is a non-speaking segment.
- Lens McCracken - An ace photo snoop named Lens McCracken (voiced by S. Scott Bullock) develops pictures from a case he is working on in a puzzled way that the viewers must solve which would also be solved by his dark room's computer called the Solutionator.
- Riddle Snake - An unseen raj (voiced by Veena Bidasha) reads the riddles from the Riddle Snake that the viewers must solve.
Near the end of each episode, the robots recap and review most of the games to the viewers in a "Crashbox Rewind". The credits then roll.
Episodes
Season 1
| Title | Airdate | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 | Game 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Episode 1" | February 1, 1999 | Distraction News | Sketch Pad | Psycho Math | Ear We Are | Haunted House Party | Eddie Bull | 10 Seconds | Riddle Snake |
| "Episode 2" | February 2, 1999 | Radio Scramble | Captain Bones | Poop or Scoop | 10 Seconds | Haunted House Party | Revolting Slob | Wordshake | |
| "Episode 3" | February 3, 1999 | Mug Shots | Distraction News | Psycho Math | Ear We Are | Paige and Sage | Eddie Bull | 10 Seconds | Riddle Snake |
| "Episode 4" | February 4, 1999 | Poop or Scoop | Captain Bones | Distraction News | Paige and Sage | Think Tank | Dirty Pictures | Lens McCracken | |
| "Episode 5" | February 5, 1999 | Haunted House Party | Revolting Slob | Think Tank | Poop or Scoop | Ear We Are | Psycho Math | 10 Seconds | |
| "Episode 6" | February 6, 1999 | Radio Scramble | Eddie Bull | Captain Bones | Sketch Pad | Mug Shots | Think Tank | Ear We Are | |
| "Episode 7" | February 7, 1999 | Lens McCracken | Captain Bones | Revolting Slob | Dirty Pictures | Sketch Pad | Poop or Scoop | 10 Seconds | |
| "Episode 8" | February 13, 1999 | Lens McCracken | Distraction News | Sketch Pad | Dirty Pictures | Eddie Bull | Psycho Math | Riddle Snake | 10 Seconds |
| "Episode 9" | February 14, 1999 | Radio Scramble | Distraction News | Psycho Math | Dirty Pictures | Lens McCracken | Eddie Bull | Ear We Are | |
| "Episode 10" | February 20, 1999 | Radio Scramble | Eddie Bull | Sketch Pad | Paige and Sage | Haunted House Party | Psycho Math | Lens McCracken | Riddle Snake |
| "Episode 11" | February 21, 1999 | Mug Shots | Sketch Pad | Psycho Math | Dirty Pictures | Distraction News | Riddle Snake | Wordshake | |
| "Episode 12" | February 27, 1999 | Revolting Slob | Think Tank | Poop or Scoop | Riddle Snake | Psycho Math | Paige and Sage | Lens McCracken | |
| "Episode 13" | February 28, 1999 | Revolting Slob | Think Tank | Poop or Scoop | Ear We Are | Psycho Math | Dirty Pictures | Lens McCracken | |
| "Episode 14" | March 6, 1999 | Revolting Slob | Think Tank | Poop or Scoop | Riddle Snake | Psycho Math | Dirty Pictures | Paige and Sage | |
| "Episode 15" | March 7, 1999 | Captain Bones | Distraction News | Haunted House Party | Radio Scramble | Riddle Snake | Eddie Bull | Lens McCracken | Paige and Sage |
| "Episode 16" | March 13, 1999 | Captain Bones | Distraction News | Mug Shots | Ear We Are | Poop or Scoop | Paige and Sage | Riddle Snake | |
| "Episode 17" | March 14, 1999 | Radio Scramble | Revolting Slob | Poop or Scoop | 10 Seconds | Captain Bones | Haunted House Party | Paige and Sage | |
| "Episode 18" | March 20, 1999 | Think Tank | Distraction News | Radio Scramble | Haunted House Party | Poop or Scoop | Captain Bones | Lens McCracken | |
| "Episode 19" | March 21, 1999 | Think Tank | Mug Shots | Captain Bones | Paige and Sage | Eddie Bull | Wordshake | Riddle Snake | |
| "Episode 20" | March 27, 1999 | Radio Scramble | Mug Shots | Sketch Pad | Psycho Math | Haunted House Party | 10 Seconds | Wordshake | |
| "Episode 21" | March 28, 1999 | Eddie Bull | Radio Scramble | Dirty Pictures | Mug Shots | Ear We Are | Psycho Math | Wordshake | |
| "Episode 22" | April 3, 1999 | Haunted House Party | Sketch Pad | Radio Scramble | Revolting Slob | Riddle Snake | Eddie Bull | Wordshake | |
| "Episode 23" | April 4, 1999 | Mug Shots | Wordshake | Haunted House Party | Lens McCracken | Poop or Scoop | Captain Bones | Riddle Snake | |
| "Episode 24" | April 10, 1999 | Radio Scramble | Sketch Pad | Eddie Bull | Wordshake | Captain Bones | Dirty Pictures | Lens McCracken | |
| "Episode 25" | April 11, 1999 | Haunted House Party | Think Tank | Ear We Are | Mug Shots | Poop or Scoop | Wordshake | Riddle Snake | |
| "Episode 26" | April 17, 1999 | Revolting Slob | Haunted House Party | Eddie Bull | Captain Bones | Radio Scramble | 10 Seconds | Lens McCracken |
Season 2
| Title | Airdate | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 | Game 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Episode 40" | February 19, 2000 | Revolting Slob | Distraction News | Psycho Math | 10 Seconds | Sketch Pad | Poop or Scoop | Haunted House Party | Riddle Snake |
| "Episode 41" | February 20, 2000 | Distraction News | Psycho Math | Mug Shots | Think Tank | Captain Bones | Dirty Pictures | Radio Scramble | |
| "Episode 42" | February 26, 2000 | Mug Shots | Revolting Slob | Sketch Pad | Psycho Math | Haunted House Party | Poop or Scoop | Riddle Snake | |
| "Episode 43" | February 27, 2000 | Revolting Slob | Captain Bones | Sketch Pad | Poop or Scoop | Haunted House Party | Radio Scramble | 10 Seconds | |
| "Episode 44" | March 4, 2000 | Distraction News | Revolting Slob | Psycho Math | Eddie Bull | Think Tank | Dirty Pictures | Mug Shots | 10 Seconds |
| "Episode 45" | March 5, 2000 | Distraction News | Captain Bones | Revolting Slob | Poop or Scoop | Sketch Pad | Haunted House Party | 10 Seconds | |
| "Episode 46" | March 11, 2000 | Haunted House Party | Mug Shots | Eddie Bull | Think Tank | Psycho Math | Radio Scramble | Riddle Snake | |
| "Episode 47" | March 12, 2000 | Haunted House Party | Captain Bones | Mug Shots | Distraction News | Eddie Bull | Psycho Math | 10 Seconds | |
| "Episode 48" | March 18, 2000 | Revolting Slob | Poop or Scoop | Distraction News | Captain Bones | Dirty Pictures | Radio Scramble | Riddle Snake | |
| "Episode 49" | March 19, 2000 | Mug Shots | Sketch Pad | Radio Scramble | Dirty Pictures | Psycho Math | Poop or Scoop | Riddle Snake | |
| "Episode 50" | March 25, 2000 | Mug Shots | Revolting Slob | Captain Bones | Distraction News | Eddie Bull | Think Tank | Dirty Pictures | Riddle Snake |
| "Episode 51" | March 26, 2000 | Mug Shots | Psycho Math | Sketch Pad | Radio Scramble | Haunted House Party | Eddie Bull | 10 Seconds | |
| "Episode 52" | April 1, 2000 | Revolting Slob | Haunted House Party | Poop or Scoop | Distraction News | Captain Bones | Sketch Pad | Think Tank |
Cast
- Carlos Alazraqui - Harry Houdini, Benjamin Franklin, Richard Nixon, Christopher Columbus, Thomas Edison, Sam Spit
- Maggie Baird - Detective Verity, Woman in Haunted House Party, Eleanor Roosevelt, Chatty Cathy, Honey Lemon, "Bean Ball" Ballou, Dusty Rhodes, Constance Appleby
- Dee Bradley Baker - Noseless Calhoun, Thomas Jefferson, Henry Ford, "Big Noggin" Simms, Montgomery Cleft
- Veena Bidasha - Riddlesnake Raj, Ivana Filpova, Cleopatra, Willow Reed, Candy Lemon, Hossenpfeffer Floog, Lollipop Greene
- S. Scott Bullock - Captain Bones, Lens McCracken, Irv Goldberg, "Lug Nut" Muldoon, Morgan Pike "Applesauce", Dean De Luca, Julius Caesar, Leonard da Vinci, Sir Isaac Newton, George Washington
- Greg Eagles - Captain Bob, Sketch Pad, Jackie Robinson, Sammy Bixby "Six Toes", Bass Henderson, Danger Jones, "Lumber Jack" Lang, Jimmy Hudsucker "The Geek", "Pecs" Armstrong
- Arif S. Kinchen - Professor Rocket, Sergio Corleone
- Peter Lurie - Jumpin' Johnny Jumble, Roger Hammerstein, Knuckles Stankowski, Green Robot, Noah
- Dawn Maxey - Valley Girl Voice in Like Totally Paige and Sage, Lois Carnegie
- Edie McClurg - Female Polite Voice in Revolting Slob, Sugar Lemon
- Mike McShane - The Revolting Slob, Jean Pierre Le Saux "Frenchie", Edgardo Polonia
- Ritchie Montgomery - Eddie Bull, Checkers Larue, Baby Face MacGuire, Scooter Hayes, Buttons Ha-Ha, Fingers Weinstock, "Spitter" Sykes, Axel Schmit, "Three Eyes" Oppenheimer
- Christy Noonan - Amelia Earhart, Elaine Kieserman
- Alan Schlaifer - Ten Seconds Announcer, Butler in Haunted House Party, Ghost in Haunted House Party, Right Ear, Gilbert Sullivan, Muscles Stankowski, Indy Pitts, Slippery Fingers Ferguson, “Stinky” John, Gilberto Whiplash, Stanley Deuces, Billy Crimp, Louis Clark, B.B. McGraw, Tranh Long
- John Watkin - Horrid One, Left Ear, Radio Scramble singer, Wordshake Chef, Paul Revere, William Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Dr. Cleanpick, Sir Percival St. John, Leo "the Lion" Lawrence, Larry Coolridge "the Lump", Mellon Ball Jones, Mickey O'Grady "the Goat", Stu Rumplitz "The Peeper", Elbows Stankowski, Mitch Vanderbilt, Harry "The Hairy" Huang
- Mari Weiss - Dora Smarmy, Viola Hardcase, Puddin' Lemon, Mildred Postley, Gertrude Simsbury, Mathilda Hudson-Billingsley
- Danny Wells - Poop or Scoop Announcer, Sleepy Eyes McGee, Rupert Brindle
gollark: Er, it is copied in along with the rest of the `os` table.
gollark: Do I need to just throw out all the code or something?
gollark: I don't know why, but for some reason `load(stuff, stuff, environment table)` does not appear to do anything to `os.run`, which sticks to the environment of outside the sandbox as its default.
gollark: Invent a new piece of jargon and write a blog post on it.
gollark: Anyway, how am I meant to:- have the sandbox not muck with the environment of stuff running outside- have the sandbox *not* end up broken horribly by `os.run`, `load(string/file)` and `dofile` and anything else using FS stuff internally or whatever?
References
- Richard Katz, "HBO in Family way with heavy push of new fare", Variety, September 9, 1998.
- Lynne Heffley, "HBO Launches Spinoff With Pair of Excellent Kids' Shows", Los Angeles Times, February 1, 1999.
- Eichhorn, P: "Cuppa Coffee brews up a special blend of animation Take One Magazine, Summer, 1999, No. 24
External links
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