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Action League Now! was a children's television series that was originally part of All That and KaBlam! on Nickelodeon, and was later spun off into its own short-lived show. It was made using "chuckimation" (a combination of stop-frame animation and live-action shots where things are simply thrown or dropped into frame or wiggled around to simulate talking). The series follows the adventures of a superhero league, composed of various action figures, toys, and dolls. The show was created by Will McRobb, Robert Mittenthal, and Albie Hecht.
Every figure, toy, and doll seen on the show was modified from its original look in order to give originality to the respective characters. Some of these changes were drastic (such as Meltman), while others simply required some repainting (Stinky Diver).
A large majority of the characters on the shorts were voiced by personalities from radio station WDVE in Pittsburgh.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Protagonists
- The Flesh — "He's super strong and super naked!" - A blond, muscular, dim-witted bodybuilder who never wears clothes. His catch phrases include simple, immature terms such as "ouchies", "oopsies", and "yummers". Flesh usually gets in the way of the Action League when they're trying to save the day (by injuring them), but does not mean any harm. Undoubtedly the dumbest member of the team. His name is likely a parody of The Flash and is a reference to his constant nudity. The mold used for Flesh was a modified Conan the Adventurer action figure. Voiced by Jim Krenn.
- Thundergirl — "She flies—like thunder!" - The only female member of the team, as well as the only one with the ability to fly. She usually accompanies her flight with a song similar to the tune of John Williams' Star Wars theme. Thundergirl does not appreciate Meltman's crush on her, and usually ignores him completely following his professions of love. Does not seem to think of herself as an equal to the rest of the League, thinking of herself as superior, instead. For the show, the figure used was a Sindy (British equivalent of Barbie) doll's head on a superheroine action figure body. Voiced by Cris Winter.
- Stinky Diver — "A former navy commando with an attitude as bad as his odor!" - A mustachioed diver who is often seen in or around toilets. He speaks with an Australian-type accent, even though an episode title ("Mad Dogs and Englishmen") suggested him being English. As his name makes obvious, Stinky has a foul odor, but the Action League seems to have gotten used to it and don't mind it most of the time. Owns a beach house (in reality, a life-size portable toilet) and a vast collection of toilet paper, which come in many different colors. He is the most frequent driver of the Action Mobile, the League's official transportation device (a big, red remote-control car). Stinky is a barely-altered 1994 G.I. Joe Shipwreck action figure. Voiced by Jim Krenn.
- Meltman — "With the power to... melt!" - Meltman has the power to melt, and is the smallest and weakest member of the Action League. He has a long-running crush on Thundergirl, but she does not return his feelings for her. Since his only power is to melt, Meltman is very unhelpful and a borderline burden. Is considered by the rest of the League to be their personal servant, often fulfilling such chores as getting them sodas and donuts. For this reason, Meltman is always looking for ways to get the League to appreciate him. In two different episodes, it is revealed that his full name is Barry Meltfarb, although he claims to have changed the surname to his superhero name.He is the most often destroyed by the others because of his status as their servant. Voiced by Scott Paulsen.
- The Chief — The boss of the Action League, The Chief is an angry, frustrated man who frequently yells at the Action League for their mistakes and unintended back-talking. Once got a heart transplant from Bill the Lab Guy, most likely due to his constant stress. Once woke up from a coma (induced by The Flesh's carelessness) after having to listen to all of the incidents in which the League had injured him during his extended sleep. Voiced by Victor Hart for a majority of the short's run, even though Collin McGee provided the voice in the first few episodes.
- Bill the Lab Guy — A scientist who often messes up his experiments and predicaments. During every appearance, he is guaranteed to be heard saying, "There's nothing I can do," or, "I was afraid of this!" Bill has a monotone voice and takes himself very seriously as a scientist, even though his experiments almost always go awry. Bill's name is possibly a takeoff on the title character on Bill Nye the Science Guy. Appears to have a love for oldies music and is a personal friend of late musician Lou Rawls. Voiced by Scott Paulsen.
- Justice — The Chief's beloved Golden Retriever. He is usually considered the smartest member of the Action League (he once passed a written test conducted by Bill the Lab Guy, guiding the pencil with his mouth). Justice has a minor role in just about every episode he appears in, usually being given the Lassie role of notifying the League of trouble with from time to time. Justice's barking sounds were made by Alyssa Grahm.
- Quarky the Lab Girl — Bill the Lab Guy's teenage daughter, who is much taller than he is. Wants to become a scientist like her father, even though Bill usually dismisses her advances to help out. She once became a superheroine herself ("The Quarky Syndrome") and saved the day—and the world—from the hands of The Mayor, but her powers only lasted for one episode. She is a secondary character during the second season, never again being seen or mentioned afterwards.
- The Narrator — The narrator of the program, using various alliterations and overreactions often before and after the short's commercial bridge. Sometimes breaks the fourth wall during an episode. Has a deep, monotone voice, not unlike Bill the Lab Guy's. Never seen, only heard. Voiced by Scott Paulsen.
[edit] Antagonists
- The Mayor — The show's main and most commonly-seen villain. The reasons for his dislike of the Action League are unknown, but his hatred is obvious. Instances in which Mayor has attempted to rid of the League include sucking them up with a massive vacuum cleaner, blowing them away with a giant fan, and forcing them into cloning themselves in order to distract them while he steals all of the "incredibly breakable fine China" in the world. Often tries ways of making fast money, even though he is the town mayor and should have plenty. In one episode, his pseudonym was revealed to be "Louis D. Mayor", a possible reference of his real name. Voiced by Jim Krenn.
- Hodge Podge — The Action League's former accountant, Hodge Podge was accidentally thrown into and chopped up in a blender (thanks to The Flesh's stupidity), then horribly rebuilt by Bill the Lab Guy against his will, making him a visual freak with parts of random toys and household objects making up most of his body (examples include a claw for a hand taken from a crab toy and the top portion of a fork attached to his chest). The second most frequent villain in Action League Now! history, Hodge Podge appears to be more hands-on and successful than The Mayor with his initial tactics, even though neither of them ever get their way.
- Big Baby — A gigantic, annoyed baby trying to destroy everything in its path. Originally woken up by Kiss during a concert, Big Baby was later used by The Mayor as a carnival act to make him money. Has a very limited vocabulary and mostly depends on moans and groans and crying in order to express itself. The Action League's physical attempts to stop Big Baby always result in them getting hurt. Only appears in two episodes. Voiced by Harry Connick, Jr. in "Rock-A-Big-Baby".
- Spotzilla — A million-year-old monster (in reality, a Border Collie) who is woken up by Meltman and goes on a rampage, going as far as eating up Stinky Diver (sitting on a hot dog bun) during a televised interview. Spotzilla was the main antagonist in two title episodes of season one, never to be seen after that. Its name is an obvious reference to Godzilla.
- Smarty Pants — A bald, four-eyed, bowtie-wearing, brainy villain who tries to get a hold of the hidden knowledge stored inside The Flesh's brain after Bill the Lab Guy places it there via electrocution. Challenging Flesh to a game of chess when he requests the freedom of the Action League, Smarty Pants, by sticking to his word once his foe has won, is portrayed as arguably the fairest of all troublemakers the League has ever had to face, as he is arrested and jailed afterwards. One-time villain.
- Danger Society — Not specifically villains, but become the top rivals to the Action League once they begin to help around the community than the League has ever done. They soon replace the League as the top superhero team in town, inadvertently causing the League to lose their jobs. Composed of three males and a female, the Society's main transportation device is a helicopter. One-time "villains".
- Red Ninja — Stinky Diver's arch-nemesis from his days training at Kung Fu High. Wreaks havoc all over Action Headquarters (which is located under a boy's bed) when the Action League are gone, signifying his return to Stinky. Training under Master Pu, Stinky gets himself ready to do battle with the Red Ninja, whom he claims was always a "sore loser". His trademark is a ninja star bearing his name. One-time villain.
- Smelly — A canine that Stinky Diver befriends during his depression after being ratted out in the Gulf War by his own mother. Stinky and Smelly become the best of friends, but Smelly soon starts to harm the rest of the Action League. It is soon discovered that Smelly was trained by The Mayor to turn on Stinky once it was done with injuring everyone else. Smelly is the second real-life dog to appear on the show (after Spotzilla). One-time villain.
- Andrea — Meltman's pushy and controlling girlfriend, who wants him to separate from the Action League and prove them wrong after seeing how they constantly make fun of him. This results in Meltman becoming an independent superhero and calling himself Dr. Melt, even going as far as buying an outfit (which includes a cape) and a transportation device to officialize the change. Meltman soon realizes that he needs the League more than he needs Andrea. One-time villain.
The Action League have had various other villains during the show's run, including (but not limited to) imposters pretending to be The Flesh's parents in order to get rich, a large trophy bass devouring swimmers at a local pool, a giant jumping spider who wants her offspring back from Meltman, and visitors from outer space who turn on the League after a several mishaps. Sometimes, even the League themselves cause problems, mainly because of how stupid they collectively are.
[edit] Episodes
- There were a total of forty-seven (47) episodes of the short that aired on KaBlam!, making it the only short in that show's history to air once with each new episode.
- However, before KaBlam!, two different, drastically shorter and different-quality episodes were shown on the kids' television show All That. These noticeably cheaper episodes contained some different voices and a laugh track.
- Once KaBlam! came to an end, Action League Now! became its own show for a short amount of time, showing four old episodes as one programming block, with little shorts and quizzes thrown in-between (though the answer was always c). Each episode would have a theme, such as showing four episodes that were movie spin-offs in one programming block. Near the end of this run, three brand-new episodes were shown, making the grand total of Action League Now! episodes fifty-two (52).
- For a detailed, summarized listing of every single episode, please see this comprehensive list of episodes.
[edit] Guest appearances
- There have been numerous guest appearances during the history of the show, including superstars from the National Football League, the rock band Kiss, musician/actor Harry Connick, Jr., pop singer Robyn, and late musician Lou Rawls. All of these personnel voiced themselves on the program (with the exception of Robyn, who voiced "Blandi").
- However, Action League Now! has sometimes had real celebrities (in action figure form, of course) on the show, with a sound-alike doing the voices. Such instances include Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. Certain real people have also been parodied, such as the character "Lola", whose TV show was made to parody programs that deal with family issues, such as Maury or The Oprah Winfrey Show.
[edit] External links
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Nicktoons |
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| 1991-1995 |
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| 1996-2000 |
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| 2001-2005 |
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| 2006-present |
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| Future |
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United States
