Sponk!

Sponk! is a children's television game show produced by Sesame Workshop and Insight Productions for the Noggin channel. It was Sesame Workshop's first original production for Noggin.[1] It premiered on Noggin on September 10, 2001[2] and ended on March 4, 2002. The series reran on Nickelodeon on Sunday mornings, starting September 16.[3]

Sponk!
GenreSketch comedy, improvisational comedy, game show
Presented byJohnathan McClain
Starring
Narrated byKaren Fowler (as SID)
Theme music composerChris Phillips
Country of originUnited States
Canada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes26
Production
Executive producersJohn Brunton
Barbara Bowlby
Eileen Braun
ProducerKaren Fowler
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesSesame Workshop
Noggin LLC
Insight Productions
Release
Original networkNoggin
Original releaseSeptember 10, 2001 (2001-09-10) –
March 4, 2002 (2002-03-04)

The premise of Sponk! was improvisational comedy, similar to the show Whose Line Is It Anyway? Two teams of performers depicted suggestions in a variety of games. Viewers suggested their ideas by submitting them to the Noggin website. "SID" (Suggestion & Idea Distributor) was the name of the computer on the show that picked the ideas submitted by Noggin.com members. From 2002 to 2004, Noggin aired reruns of Sponk! as part of its nighttime programming block, The N.[4]

Cast

The cast included host Johnathan McClain, and announcer (as the voice of SID) Karen Fowler. The performers were all young actors. Among them were Julia Kay, Tim Dorsch, Scott Irby-Rainnar, Lori Wells, Miles Thompson (who later went on to star in the feature film Me and You and Everyone We Know and cameoed in Return To Sleepaway Camp), Allie Berdebes, Vanessa Lengies, and Louie Torrellas.[5]

Gameplay

It resembled a classic Nickelodeon game show, featuring young actors and a young studio audience. The performers were four boys and four girls but with two sitting out and six competing in a red team and blue team. The ideas for the improvisational and sketch contests were submitted by the home audience through Noggin.com. SID would then pick a submission and provide credit for the home audience (as their screen name). Later, She announced the winner of a small electronic device.

The studio audience participated as judges for the sketches. They disqualified a contestant by yelling out, "Sponk!". When time ran out, the audience voted the winner by raising the side of their "Spaddle" to vote for the red team or blue team. The "prize" that the performers competed for was the Sponk Trophy, a golden rubber chicken. Occasionally an audience member would be the sketch participant while the original performers acted as a celebrity panel, and won a small prize for participating.

References
  1. R. Thomas Umstead (June 11, 2001). "Noggin Adds Interactive Series". Multichannel News.
  2. "Noggin Goes Back to School With New Interactive Programming Beginning Monday, September 10". prnewswire.com. 8 August 2001. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  3. "FOR YOUNG VIEWERS; Spontaneous Reaction". The New York Times. 16 September 2001.
  4. "Noggin Is Enrolling in Junior High" Los Angeles Times.
  5. Christopher Martin (CMartin) (28 March 2002). "Sponk! (TV Series 2001– )". IMDb. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
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