The Weird Al Show facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Weird Al Show |
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The Weird Al Show: The Complete Series DVD cover
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| Created by | "Weird Al" Yankovic |
| Presented by | "Weird Al" Yankovic |
| Starring | Brian Haley Gary LeRoi Gray Judy Tenuta Paula Jai Parker Danielle Weeks |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 13 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Dick Clark "Weird Al" Yankovic Jay Levey |
| Production location(s) | NBC Studios Stage 11, Burbank, CA |
| Running time | 23 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Ear Booker Productions Dick Clark Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Picture format | 480i (4:3 SDTV) |
| Audio format | Stereo) |
| Original release | September 13 – December 6, 1997 |
The Weird Al Show was a fun American TV show hosted by the famous musician "Weird Al" Yankovic. It was made with Dick Clark Productions and filmed at NBC Studios. The show aired on Saturday mornings on the CBS TV network. It ran for just one season, from September to December 1997. Later, the whole show was released on DVD on August 15, 2006.
The show was set up like a "show-within-a-show." Weird Al played himself, living in a cool underground home while also hosting his own TV show. It mixed live-action skits with many guest stars, short animated cartoons, and musical performances by Al and other bands. CBS wanted the show for its special Educational/Informative programming block, similar to Pee-Wee's Playhouse. This meant Al and his writers had to work hard to create content that was right for kids, but still had Al's unique funny style.
Contents
What the Show Was About
Each episode of The Weird Al Show started with a narrator (Billy West) telling viewers what the day's lesson would be. Then, Al would be in a funny situation in his "mancave" (his underground home) and talk about it to the audience.
After that, he would watch TV, showing funny fake shows and commercials that were connected to the day's topic. Often, Al's friend Bobby the Inquisitive Boy would visit and ask him a question. Al would then show Bobby an old-fashioned educational film to help answer his question. Sometimes, the show also featured an animated cartoon called "Fatman," which was about Weird Al as a superhero. At the end of the show, there was usually a fake commercial, followed by a band performing a song. Al would sometimes review the day's lesson before saying goodbye.
Music in the Show
The Theme Song
The catchy theme song for The Weird Al Show can be found on Weird Al's 1999 album, Running with Scissors. It's called "The Weird Al Show Theme."
The song tells a funny story about how Al ended up living in a tree and getting his own TV show. It includes silly details from a fake life story he once made up, like working in a factory that made nose spray. It also mentions playing on a company bowling team, which might be a nod to his song "Generic Blues".
The visuals for the show's theme song were made in three different styles: traditional animation, 3D computer animation, and claymation. The claymation parts were created by Mark Osborne and Scott Nordlund. They had also worked on Weird Al's music video for his song "Jurassic Park".
The "Bite Me" Sound
After the credits of each episode, when the "Ear Booker Productions" logo quickly flashes on the screen, you can hear a very short, three-second sound clip called "Bite Me." This sound originally came from Weird Al's 1992 album, Off the Deep End. On the CD version of that album, "Bite Me" was a six-second hidden track that played after a long silence following the last song ("You Don't Love Me Anymore"). Weird Al included it as a joke, making fun of a hidden track on the band Nirvana's album Nevermind. It was also meant to surprise listeners!
Meet the Cast
- "Weird Al" Yankovic as himself, Fred Huggins, Tony Malone, Fatman, and other characters
- Eddie Deezen as The Guy Boarded in the Wall
- Donavan Freberg as Baby Boolie
- Stan Freberg as Papa Boolie, J. B. Toppersmith
- Gary LeRoi Gray as Bobby the Inquisitive Boy
- Brian Haley as The Hooded Avenger
- Harvey the Wonder Hamster as himself
- Ed Marques as Varna the Squirmese Cook
- Paula Jai Parker as Val Brentwood, Gal Spy
- Patricia Place as Mrs. Fesenmeyer
- Jack Plotnick as Uncle Ralphie
- Judy Tenuta as Madame Judy the Psychic
- Danielle Weeks as Cousin Corky
- Billy West as the show's narrator/announcer, and the voice of Harvey the Wonder Hamster in "Fatman" cartoons
- Mary Yankovic as Mom (herself)
- Nick Yankovic as Dad (himself)
Some actors from The Weird Al Show also appeared in Weird Al's movie, UHF. For example, Gedde Watanabe played his character Kuni in both the show and the movie. Other actors from the movie who appeared in the show included David Bowe, Victoria Jackson, Kevin McCarthy, and Emo Philips.
Episode Guide
Here's a list of the episodes of The Weird Al Show, in the order they first aired.
| # | Title | Guest Stars | What Happens | Original Airdate |
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| 1 | Bad Influence |
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Al meets a new friend named Spike who tries to get him to do silly things to join his "cool club." Al soon realizes it's all a trick. | September 13, 1997 |
| 2 | Promises, Promises |
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Al tells his friends he's buddies with John Tesh. To pay Tesh's high fee, Al tries to sell useless stuff on TV infomercials. | September 20, 1997 |
| 3 | Mining Accident |
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Some coal miners accidentally dig into Al's underground house, and he has to learn to get along with them. | September 27, 1997 |
| 4 | Back to School |
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Al decides he wants to become super smart, but he quickly finds out it's not as great as he thought. | October 4, 1997 |
| 5 | Time Machine |
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Al forgets Harvey the Wonder Hamster's birthday present. He uses his new time machine to go back and get one. | October 11, 1997 |
| 6 | One for the Record Books |
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Harvey the Wonder Hamster becomes huge and sets a world record. Al gets jealous and tries to set his own record. | October 18, 1997 |
| 7 | Because I Said So |
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Al has to babysit Huey, his TV producer's very demanding nephew. | October 25, 1997 |
| 8 | Talent Show |
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It's the day of the annual "Weird Al talent show," but Cousin Corky gets nervous about performing. | November 1, 1997 |
| 9 | Al Plays Hooky | Al decides to take a vacation, leaving Cousin Corky to host the show all by herself. | November 8, 1997 | |
| 10 | He Ain't Heavy, He's My Hamster |
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Al teases Harvey about doing a dangerous stunt and then has to make things right with him. | November 15, 1997 |
| 11 | The Competition |
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Al competes against Fred Huggins and Uncle Ralphie to see who is the best TV show host. | November 22, 1997 |
| 12 | The Obligatory Holiday Episode |
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Al celebrates the holidays with all his friends. | November 29, 1997 |
| 13 | Al Gets Robbed |
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Al comes home from a trip and finds that all his belongings have been stolen from his cave. | December 6, 1997 |
In the "Al Gets Robbed" episode, the Hooded Avenger brings Al his tabloid papers. The paper is called "Midnight Star," which is also the name of a song by Weird Al about tabloids from his album "Weird Al" Yankovic in 3-D. The main headline on the paper, "Incredible Frog Boy on the Loose," is also a line from that song.
