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# We 786 Kings (1/26/1996)Eddy messes up Leon's arm and Ben puts bandages on him again.
# We 786 Kings (1/26/1996)Eddy messes up Leon's arm and Ben puts bandages on him again.
# Hello, Zoey (1/29/1996)Kiki,Leon,Skye and Julie compete in the Superjail Grand Prix while Zoey babysits Ben and Jody.
# Hello, Zoey (1/29/1996)Kiki,Leon,Skye and Julie compete in the Superjail Grand Prix while Zoey babysits Ben and Jody.
# Off the Track (1/30/1996)Ben, Leon,The contestants on [[Total Drama Revenge Of The Island]],all the main characters from [[iParty With Victorious]], and all the characters from [[Susan Strong]] and all the characters from [[Mr.Frumble's New Cars]] race against each other in Japan with physical violence to win the [[Nakamura Grand Prix]].
# Off the Track (1/30/1996)Ben, Leon,The contestants on [[Total Drama Revenge Of The Island]],all the main characters from [[iParty With Victorious]], and all the characters from [[Susan Strong]] and all the characters from [[The Art Of Being Uncute]] race against each other in Japan with physical violence to win the [[Nakamura Grand Prix]].
# Beautiful Doll (1/31/1996)Julie messes up Kiki's arm and Jody puts bandages on her.
# Beautiful Doll (1/31/1996)Julie messes up Kiki's arm and Jody puts bandages on her.
# Tattle Tales (2/1/1996)The police arrest [[Kicker Koga]] for drinking dog poop.
# Tattle Tales (2/1/1996)The police arrest [[Kicker Koga]] for drinking dog poop.

Revision as of 00:35, 24 June 2011

The Puzzle Place
StarringAlice Dinnean-Vernon
Carmen Osbahr
Jim Martin
Noel MacNeal
Peter Linz
Matt Vogel
Allison Mork
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes75
Production
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesLancit Media
KCET Los Angeles (1994-) and Hollywood (1997-1998)
Original release
NetworkPBS
ReleaseSeptember 15, 1994 (official premiere on January 16, 1995) –
December 4, 1998

The Puzzle Place is an American children's television series produced by KCET in Los Angeles, California and Lancit Media in New York City, New York. It officially premiered on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) on Monday January 16, 1995, (although it had already first premiered on two Los Angeles PBS stations, KCET and KLCS on Thursday September 15, 1994), and ran for just under four years, airing its final new episode on Friday December 4, 1998, however the show would continue in reruns until 2000. The show followed a multi-ethnic group of kids (puppets) from different parts of the United States who hung out at "the Puzzle Place", which is a teen hangout themed around jigsaw puzzle pieces. In each episode the characters were confronted with an everyday conflict usually encountered in childhood and even early teenagerdom, such as making moral decisions, sharing, racism, sexism, etc.

Characters

Julie Woo
A Chinese-American girl from San Francisco, California. She is very sensitive and caring of her personal possessions and she sometimes tries a little too hard. She is puppeteered by Alice Dinnean-Vernon.
Kiki Flores
A Mexican American girl from San Antonio, Texas. She is very outgoing and has a temper. She once pretended to be a homeless alien after being teased about her "accent" . She also is a great chili cook and has a Spanish-speaking cousin who helped everyone to learn about acceptance. She is puppeteered by Carmen Osbahr, the same woman that plays the similar character Rosita, Monstrua de las Cuevas on the program Sesame Street.
Ben Olafson
A boy of German and Norwegian descent from a farm near Renner, South Dakota. He is good at difficult puzzles and is a talented dancer. He is puppeteered by Jim Martin.
Leon MacNeal
An African American boy from New York City. He wears dreadlocks and gets jealous easily and sometimes does not think before he acts. Leon is a fan of hip-hop music (as in Gotta Dance) and loves basketball. He is puppeteered by the same puppeteer of Bear from Breakfast with Bear and Bear in the Big Blue House, Noel MacNeal (in fact, the puppet's first name is the puppeteer's first name spelled backwards, and the last name is the same).
Skye Nakaiye
An Apache boy from an Indian reservation in Arizona who always wears a bandana, a raincoat, and a feather necklace. He's very curious and always sticks to his values and his culture. He also falls in love for Julie Woo. He is puppeteered by Peter Linz. In Season 3, the puppet role of Skye was taken over by Matt Vogel [1].
Jody Silver
A Lithuanian-Jewish girl from Cincinnati, Ohio. She does not like to be called names and is very gullible but is very enthusiastic. She is puppeteered by Allison Mork.
Sizzle and Nuzzle
The anthropomorphic pet dog and cat at the Puzzle Place. They are seen mostly in the basement, talking to each other and act as animals around the Puzzle Place kids. They are usually involved in a subplot. Sizzle and Nuzzle were played by the same puppeteers as the ones who played Julie and Skye, Alice Dinnean-Vernon and Peter Linz. However, in Season 3, the role of Nuzzle was taken over by Matt Vogel [2].
The Piece Police
Multicolored inhabitants of the Puzzle Place. The Piece Police don't speak, communicating amongst themselves using grumbling noises, although they understand the English language. It has been hinted in some episodes that they all know what both Sizzle and Nuzzle are saying.

Reception

In the weeks after its debut, The Puzzle Place won a great deal of acclaim and "enjoyed an average audience-per-viewing second only to 'Barney and Friends' among shows in the popular PBS daily children's block."[1] It received a citation of excellence from UNIMA-USA for its use of puppetry.[2] In 1997, ten more episodes of the show were "in the works".[3] Toys "R" Us, Sears, and Payless Shoe Source all announced that they would carry merchandising from the series and showcase that merchandise in its own separate "boutique" rather than integrating it with the other products.[4]

Funding

Episode guide

Season one

  1. Tippy Golf(1/16/1973)Julie stabs Skye with a needle.
  2. Car Playin' Kids (1/17/1995)The kids play with the cars of the Superjail Grand Prix after Jody wins them in a wrestling tourament then, Chris and his friends steal the cars and keep them in their house and put it with a bunch of bizarre prehistoric animals.
  3. Rip Van People (1/18/1995)Julie needs a glass of water,Kiki needs happy music,Leon wants his 3,478 stuffed animals and Skye needs quiet and nature sounds.Nuzzle and Sizzle have sex with Leon after a failed attempt to make wild animal friends.
  4. Accentuate the Hyena (1/19/1997)The gang holds a tongue twister contest Ben says rubber baby buggy bumpers incorrectoly and loses.Skye tries Peter Piper and loses too.Kiki/Hoobie tries Peter Piper also and wins a smile shaped trohpy and a big box of 327 wrestlers and begins acting like Rufus Hyena and saying "Haha" and 5 teens worked with her and one day she thinked she was going to run around and grab kids and she was put in time out and Juile takes the crayons away. On April 6th,2011,the 5 did all their work! But a few days later,they were gonign AHHH WAHHH!
  5. Gotta Wrestle (1/20/1995)Ben and Jody discover a map to Japan and see all the 327 wrestlers but when Onryo beats up all the 326 of them it's up to Ben and Jody to defeat Onryo and save the show!
  6. Susan Strong (1/23/1956) Susan messes up Julie's arm with a shard of glass and Leon puts bandages on her# Butterfighters (1/24/1999) Ben loses and Leon loses in a relay race and some wrestlers from Tohoku recall a scence where Ben punches the winners.
  7. Rock Punchies (1/25/1995)Skye joins PRIDE and fights Fedor,Gary Goodridge and Ernesto Hoost.
  8. Gothdeliantics (1/26/1995)Gwen and Duncan mess up Leon's arm with a shard of glass and Skye puts bandages on him.
  9. Spud Puppy (1/27/1995)Leon invents super t.v. him,Ben,Julie,Kiki and Jody watch it and he wants to watch Yikes! so he puts it on a BJW match from June 7th, 1997 where Tarzan Goto messes up Nakamaki's arm with a shard of glass and Nakamaki and Yamakawa win and the medical worker put's bandages on nakamaki. and Julie changes it to a Japanese game show called MXC and she changes it to Trading Places and Skye comes and tells them that they're missing a party so a show named Pinks All Out comes on and all the wrestlers are hurt and Jody changes it toTotal Drama:Revenge Of The Island where Spongebob and Patrick fight over hygiene.Later,Yikes comes on and Leon 3000 and Skye 3000 battle Heather Suzuki and Harry Kawasaki and Heather messes up leon's arm with a shard of glass and a chair and Skye crashes Harry through a thumbtack table and a medical worker puts a bunch of bandages on him and Leon and the others realize it was all a dream.
  10. Different Wrestlers (1/30/1995) Leon and Skye go to Japan and wrestle Mask De Panther,Shido,Ryuji Nito and Daiki Edo for $50,000.
  11. I Love Terry Funk (1/31/1995)The Puzzle Place kids go on iPsycho and fight Nora and Gibby and kill Carly and Freddie and Sam messes up Leon's arm.
  12. True Girls Pro Wrestling (Japan) (2/1/1995)Leon sings Toto's Africa song. and enters the race and wins it and messes up Skye's arm with a shard of glass and Ben puts bandages on him.
  13. Cute Is as Cute Does in the mud (2/2/1964) Penny Candy was sent to northern Japan to play in the mud with 45 students after she messed up Julie's arm.
  14. Leon's Eating! (2/3/2006)Some people recall Leon eating the other kid's foods and them geting sad and angry at Leon.
  15. Real Pro Wrestling (2/6/1995)Susan and her freiends smash cars to mess up Leon's arm.
  16. Going by the Boobs! Not For Kids! (2/7/1986)Susan and her friends have sex with the kids.
  17. Mad Music Madness (2/8/2005) Kiki wants to be Tarzan Goto.She wants to fight to reform Total Drama:Revenge Of The Island so she gets Finn and Jake to help win some Wipeout games.
  18. Party of 13(2/9/1995)Leon says he's Tarzan Goto and messes up Julie's arm with a shard of glass and the piece police put bandages on her.
  19. Dancing Dragon girl (2/10/1995)Julie becomes a luchador and wrestles Panther Copy and Kiki tells her to leave him alone.
  20. Picture Perfect Babies (2/13/1995)Ben and Jody try to take a picture of Ryuji Nito and Daiki Edo but Hunter Gojo smashes their camera.
  21. Manly Voyages (2/14/1995)Sizzle and Jody compete in a boat race to Japan.
  22. Donuts and Piunishment (2/15/1995)Leon becomes a cop.
  23. Japanese Wrestlers for Jody (2/16/1995) Jody gets her arm messed up by Master Togoh.
  24. Ben's Bad Deathmatch Wrestling Day (6/7/1997)Jack Rabbit messes up Ben's arm with a shard of glass and Jody puts bandages on him.
  25. All Muddy Girl Friends (2/20/1999) Leon runs into a stuffed animal pile.
  26. Yapping It (2/22/1995)Leon brags about the Superjail Grand Prix,Susan Strong and Total Drama:Revenge Of The Island and his friends mess up his arm.
  27. Champion Ben (2/23/1995)Jack messes up Ben's arm again!.
  28. Practice Makes Perfect Babies! (2/24/1997) Mr.Frumble steals a monster truck,stock car,race car, go kart,ATC and other vehicles because he wants to see his people.
  29. Finders Sleepers (2/27/1997) (First,Bessie takes Richie's nose and she gets Bessie's eyeballs,Next,Richie Rebel splatters brain juice on Grace and she dies! Then, Lance polishes Richie's toenails and he blows his morning breath on him,Then Portia brushes his teeth and Richie puts her on a pit sickness diesese clalled Clamorisis,Next Otis sprays deordant on him and he picks his nose and puts a booger on him and he sneezes and coughs! Gwen throws Richie out of the Lupa Zoo and into a dumpster and he picks it up and gwen has soap bubble water and Gwen winds up dirty and Richie clean. ) The kids compete on Wipeout against 77 other people to win 13 teens over.
  30. You Say Potato of mud!(2/28/1997)Some wrestlers recall Ben eating the potato and dreaming he's playing Fire Pro Wrestling Returns.
  31. At the End of Our Ropez! (3/1/1999) They play the tug of war game at Total Drama:Revenge Of The Island.
  32. Just Kidding (3/2/1995) Skye gets teased by 13 teens.
  33. Everything in Its Place (3/3/1995)The kids put the stuff in Ryuji Nito's locker and he begins punching the kids and they put the stuff in Hunter Gojo's bathroom and he messes up Leon's arm and they put the stuff in the earthquake.
  34. Big Boys Don't Cry (3/6/1995)Leon cried when he lost Wipeout.
  35. Here's to the Winner (3/7/1995)Mask De Panther and a bunch of other wrestlers compete in The superjail Grand Prix.
  36. A World of Difference (3/8/1995)The world's annual mud race with goth boys and girls and juvenile delinquents compete for prizes.# Willing and Able (3/9/2006) Kyle squishes Ben's foot.
  37. It's Magic (3/10/1995)Kiki poofs out Marvel Rondo and he pops her with a stop sign and Kiki says "Arthur does not make an apperance" and she drags Heather and Leon says " Keep your hands to yourself".

===Season two:The Superjail Grand Prix Stories

  1. Deck the Halls (1/15/1996) Leon destroys the christmas tree and steals the presents.
  2. Watching Havoc 6 is Hard to Do (1/16/1996)The kids watch Havoc 6 and steal some Formula Fords and other single seater cars and spin them out and crash them but Leon accendently crashes into Susan's world and Celina messes up his arm with a shard of glass and Ben puts bandages on him.
  3. One Way (1/17/1996)Blondie sings to the kids about Lube In Love.
  4. Oldies But Goodies (1/18/1996) Some people recall Julie killing her grandmother and throwing her into Hunter Gojo's yard.
  1. Helping Hands (1/19/1996)Kyle dies in this episode.
  2. Yellow Belt (1/22/1996)Jody joins the MMA.
  3. The Mystery of the Fabulous Hat (1/23/1996)Jody steals a lucha mask and says she's Super Grande and meses up Dark Ox's arm and the police put bandages on him.
  4. How Much is That Doggie in the Window? (1/24/1996)Nuzzle dies from falling out the window.
  5. The New Adventures of Julie Woo (1/25/1996)Julie has a date with the piece police and 13 teens kidnap her.
  6. We 786 Kings (1/26/1996)Eddy messes up Leon's arm and Ben puts bandages on him again.
  7. Hello, Zoey (1/29/1996)Kiki,Leon,Skye and Julie compete in the Superjail Grand Prix while Zoey babysits Ben and Jody.
  8. Off the Track (1/30/1996)Ben, Leon,The contestants on Total Drama Revenge Of The Island,all the main characters from iParty With Victorious, and all the characters from Susan Strong and all the characters from The Art Of Being Uncute race against each other in Japan with physical violence to win the Nakamura Grand Prix.
  9. Beautiful Doll (1/31/1996)Julie messes up Kiki's arm and Jody puts bandages on her.
  10. Tattle Tales (2/1/1996)The police arrest Kicker Koga for drinking dog poop.
  11. Those Ears, Those Eyes (2/2/1996)Julie scares Ben and Jody while pretending to be Hunter Gojo.
  12. That's Weird (2/5/1996)Ben takes a Norwegian dance class and his friends tease him about it and he seeks revenge by destroying Kiki's Mexican party oranaments,throwing Leon's rocks at passing cars and destroying Julie's Jinghu.
  13. The Ballad of Davy Cricket (2/6/1996)Ben and Jody win a wrestling tournament against Hunter Gojo and Panther Copy,Gwen and Duncan,Marvel Rondo and 4 Rough Dolly and Ryuji Nito and Daiki Edo for their dead pet cricket.
  14. Little Leon vs. Big Ben (2/7/1996) Leon wants to be part of New Japan, NOAH, All Japan, Pancrase, PRIDE, K-1,Toryumon and Dragon Gate. # I Scream, You Scream (2/8/1996)Jody steals an ice cream truck.
  15. Skye's Coat (2/9/1996)Skye's coat is actually a Tarzan Goto/Terry Funk coustume.
  16. It's Mine (2/12/1973)Nuzzle and Sizzle chase thier giant meatball throught the program and finally make wildlife friends all over the world.
  17. One Big, Happy Family (2/13/1996)Jody and her family compete in the Superjail Grand Prix.
  18. Leon's New Cars (2/14/1996)Leon becomes Mr.Frumble and goes to Vice City and goes to the Downtown part of it and swipes a Lotus Sport Elise then crashes it into Little Haiti then he steals the Voodoo and then goes to Africa and steals all the animals for Nuzzle and Sizzle and swipes a Plymouth Barracuda Funny Car (1994) then he goes to Japan and destroys the country and steals all the passerines for Nuzzle and Sizzle and he enters the Superjail Grand Prix and wins and messes up Ben's arm with a shard of glass and Julie puts bandages on him.
  19. Cowpokes (2/15/1996)Leon pokes Otis and he chases him to the Superjail Grand Prix.
  20. Racin' Julie (2/16/1996)Julie enters the Superjail Grand Prix and wins it and gets $10,000 and gift certificates.

Season three

  1. Family Fun (10/19/1998)Jody's family plays Superjail Grand Prix and they get injured and the other kids but bandages on them.
  2. Anything She Can Do (10/20/1998)Julie challenges Helen to a fight in Japan and the earthquake kills Helen and her mom adopts 13 teens and Julie runs away to Africa and eats all the antelopes and gets killed by a baboon and a chimp.
  3. You Don't Match (10/21/1998)Leon is watching Everybody Hates Chris and cries for 7 minutes.
  4. To Have and Have Not (10/26/1998)A video game helmet,Skye worries his friends won't wanna play with him. Skye wants an expensive toy.Expensive new toy and he swins it in a contest against 13 teens and messes up Julie's arm with a shard of glass and Ben puts bandages on her.
  5. Fiesta Follies (10/27/1998)Kiki destroys her party and Julie messes up her arm again!.
  6. Between You and Me (10/28/1998)Leon and Skye go to Japan and get the puzzle place destroyed by an earthquake but Julie and Kiki and Nuzzle and Sizzle and thier wild animal friends escape and join them there.
  7. A Star is Burned (10/29/1998)Julie loses Wipeout to Jody.
  8. Spooky (10/30/1956)The kids dress up as luchadors from Japan.
  9. Up! (12/3/1998)Ben and Jody go to the sky.
  10. Memories (12/4/1998)Ben and Jody die,Leon begins stealing cars,Skye gets killed by Leon,Julie is in jail and dies for killing a lion, and Kiki passes away,The Piece Police retire and Nuzzle and Sizzle get killed by their wild animal freinds.The Puzzle Place is destroyed again! Weebus is dead!

Ending

After 3 seasons and 75 episodes, the show ended its run in December 1998, but it was seen on repeats until 2000.

Home Video Releases

For some time after the show's airing, a few, particular, mostly regular episodes were brought to VHS by Sony. There was even a tape compiling songs from various episodes that was also released. They have long since been out of print. Recently, no plans for the show to be brought to DVD have been announced yet. Titles include:

  • Accentuate The Positive
  • Rock Dreams
  • Tuned In
  • Rip Van Winkle
  • Party Of One
  • Deck The Halls
  • Sing-Along Songs

Returning Characters

Kiki Flores returns for Hands On A Hard Body where she is ten-years-old. She also returns for The Fresh Beat Band where she is all grown up. Julie guest stars on The Mighty B as her name changed to Gwen. Ben goes to his mother's wedding and works at a Fire Pro Wrestling Returns store in Japan. Leon guest stars on Drake And Josh. Skye guest stars on Victorious. Jody works at a store in New York.

References

  1. ^ "Lancit Media sees domestic "Puzzle Place" licensing guarantees approaching $12 million; CEO reports "highly promising" early ratings for Lancit/KCET Series at Alex. Brown Media/Communications seminar in NYC ([[Business Wire]], April 4, 1995)". BNET. CNET Networks, Inc. 1995-04-04. Retrieved 2008-06-25. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  2. ^ "Citations of Excellence Recipients (1996) RECORDED MEDIA CATEGORY". UNIMA-USA. Retrieved 2008-06-25. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ Michaelson, Judith (1997-09-05). "KCET Chief Leads Station Into Expansion Era". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-02-06. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  4. ^ "PBS' The Puzzle Place has apparel solved". Discount Store News. 34 (16). accessed through Proquest. 1995-08-21. ISSN 0012-3587. Retrieved 2009-02-06. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
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