Station Zero
Station Zero is an American daily adult animated/live-action series that aired on MTV for one season in 1999, airing Monday through Friday at 6:30 pm.[1] The show followed a group of four Bronx teenagers who ran a fictional public-access television show called Live from the Bronx, where they watched hip hop videos and critiqued them in a similar manner as that of Beavis and Butt-head.[2] It was based on A View From Da' Unda'Ground, a comic strip from the same team which ran in The Source from 1991 to 1994.[3]
| Station Zero | |
|---|---|
 The main cast of Station Zero. | |
| Genre | Adult animation Comedy Musical |
| Created by | Tramp Daly |
| Based on | A View From Da' Unda'Ground by Tramp Daly |
| Written by | Jason Centeno Don "Lava" Murphy Tramp Daly Carlito Rodriguez Quanzilla |
| Directed by | Michael Ferraro |
| Voices of | Carlito Rodriguez Riggs Morales Quanzilla Scratch |
| Theme music composer | Randall Lawrence |
| Opening theme | "We're On Station Zero" |
| Ending theme | "Station Zero Freestyle Rap" |
| Composer | Barry S. Bookhard |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original languages | English Spanish |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 20 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Tramp Daly Abby Terkuhle |
| Producers | Janine Cirincione Barry S. Bookhard Jody Milano Vanderputten Carlito Rodriguez Tramp Daly Merle Becker (supervising producer) John W. Lynn Jr (studio supervising producer) |
| Editor | Molly McEwan |
| Running time | 22 minutes |
| Production companies | Possible Worlds C-Traze Studios Upfront Entertainment MTV Animation |
| Animation services | Possible Worlds |
| Release | |
| Original network | MTV |
| Original release | March 8 – April 6, 1999 |
The entire series, however, has yet to premiere on Paramount+ yet.
Characters
- Chino: A 17-year-old Latino kid, who is the host of the show, the MC and the hip-hop purist and re-represents the underground such as Rakim and KRS-One. His catchphrase is "Oh man!", "Wha-what!", "Aw, come on, man!".
- Karaz: A 18-year-old African-American kid, who is very shy and timid, He is the co-host of the show, the pop-loving “hustler/politician” and Chino's rival. He is really get into the mainstream hip-hop such as Diddy and Jay-Z. His catchphrase is "Don't talk about my mom, Man."
- DJ Tech: A 18-year-old silent DJ, who speaks with his cuts using the turntables.
- Scooter: A 14-year-old black kid, who is Karaz's best friend and the self-proclaimed director and producer of the show. He's the smartest and intelligent kid in the Bronx. His catchphrase is "We're on the air here."
- The Man: He is the unseen character. His signature scare chord plays after the teenagers says "The Man".
Episodes
| No. | Title | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Pilot" | March 8, 1999 | 101 |
| Featured videos: "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)", "Jump Around", "Tha Crossroads", "I'll Never Break Your Heart", "Woo Hah!! Got You All in Check (Remix)" | |||
| 2 | "Balls-O-Meter" | March 9, 1999 | 102 |
|
The boys are watching "Blue Angels" video. Karaz is doing the spoken word while the boys watches the "On & On" video. During the "In My Bed (Remix)" video, Chino is annoyed by Da Brat. DJ Tech plays the Aerosmith's 1987 song before Karaz tells him that the song is not cool. In the end, Scooter breaks the camera after they disrespect his grandma. Featured videos: "Blue Angels", "On & On", "In My Bed (So So Def Remix)", "Summertime" | |||
| 3 | "Uptown, Baby" | March 10, 1999 | 103 |
|
The boys are doing the "Uptown, Baby!" freestyle rap. Chino, Karaz, DJ Tech and Scooter watches Mya's 1998 video called "It's All About Me". Chino thinks that Mya was Chino's wife. Karaz accidentally knocks out the power. DJ Tech plays Redman's 1997 song "Whateva Man" while Scooter fix the power. They watches Ginuwine's video "Same Ol' G" and Karaz sings the song off-key. Scooter is very angry when he tells the boys that The Man is not going to like this video. Chino swears at Scooter, causing the lights to go dim. The boys are having an interview with Method Man. Featured videos: "Déjà Vu (Uptown Baby)", "It's All About Me", "Same Ol' G", "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" | |||
| 4 | "Old-School Thursday" | March 11, 1999 | 104 |
| The boys watches 2 break dancing music videos, Karaz is moved by the video. | |||
| 5 | "Episode 5" | March 12, 1999 | 105 |
| 6 | "Episode 6" | March 15, 1999 | 106 |
| 7 | "Episode 7" | March 16, 1999 | 107 |
| 8 | "Episode 8" | March 17, 1999 | 108 |
| 9 | "Episode 9" | March 18, 1999 | 109 |
| 10 | "Episode 10" | March 22, 1999 | 110 |
| 11 | "Episode 11" | March 23, 1999 | 111 |
| 12 | "Episode 12" | March 24, 1999 | 112 |
| 13 | "Episode 13" | March 25, 1999 | 113 |
| 14 | "Episode 14" | March 26, 1999 | 114 |
| 15 | "Episode 15" | March 29, 1999 | 115 |
| 16 | "Episode 16" | March 30, 1999 | 116 |
| 17 | "Episode 17" | March 31, 1999 | 117 |
| 18 | "Episode 18" | April 1, 1999 | 118 |
| 19 | "Episode 19" | April 5, 1999 | 119 |
| 20 | "Episode 20" | April 6, 1999 | 120 |
Broadcast
In the United Kingdom, the show aired on MTV Base in 1999, being among the first shows to air on the newly created network.[4]
Reception
The show was eventually canceled after only one season of twenty episodes. While it was primarily canceled for its lower ratings, it's speculated that it was because the producers and writers knew of this show's quick demise because of low ratings, and the animated cast walks off into the sunset in the finale.[5]
References
- "POP NOTES". The Washington Post. 1999-03-07. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
- "We Watch Channel Zero". Vibe. 7 (3): 168. April 1999. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
- "Station Zero". Spin. 15 (3): 49. March 1999. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
- 1999-06-25T00:00:00 (1999-06-25). "MTV base kicks off with Station Zero animation | News | Broadcast". Broadcastnow.co.uk. Retrieved 2019-10-10.
- Leszczak, Bob (2018-08-31). Single Season Sitcoms of the 1990s: A Complete Guide. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-7077-5. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
External links
- Station Zero at IMDb
- Jump The Shark - "Station Zero" at the Wayback Machine (archived October 13, 2007)
- Station Zero at TV Guide