The Secret Show
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| The Secret Show | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developed by | Andrea Tran & Tony Collingwood |
| Theme music composer | Roger Jackson |
| Country of origin |  United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 30 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer | Christopher O'Hare |
| Running time | 13 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC Two, CBBC Channel, Nicktoons Network |
| Release | 16 September 2006 - 2008 |
The Secret Show is an animated show commissioned by BBC Children's in partnership with BBC Worldwide. First debuted in 2006, it currently airs on CBBC, The Den, ABC, BBC One, BBC Kids, MBC3 and TSR 2. It debuted on the American Nicktoons Network on January 20, 2007 at 8:30 pm ET.
Details
The show stars two secret agents, Anita Knight and Victor Volt as they try to save the world from the latest threats to civilization. They work for the secret organization, U.Z.Z, run by their commanding agent, whose name is "changed daily" for reasons of security, always to an unusual or ridiculous phrase. U.Z.Z also comprises Professor Professor, whose inventions and scientific background frequently save the day; Unit Commander Agent Ray Rocket who often runs missions behind the scenes; and a large team of standard agents.
They frequently counter threats from their main enemy, T.H.E.M. - The Horrible Evil Menace. T.H.E.M is headed up by the evil antagonist in the series, Doctor Doctor, who is intent on taking over the world, and has her own crack team of agents who wear billiard ball-style helmets. However, some episodes do feature a different set of enemies, such as the alien Floaty Heads or Changed Daily's nanny as a child, who has world domination plans of her own.
The show never starts as "The Secret Show", but rather as "The Fluffy Bunny Show", which features Sweet Little Granny in a rocking chair, with a banjo and six fluffy, pink bunnies. As she begins to sing the intro for her show, agents for U.Z.Z. appear, headed by Agent Ray, and commandeer the show, always using a different method of dispatch. The Secret Show then begins, much to Sweet Little Granny's dismay. The bunnies, however, frequently appear throughout the show in unexpected places. And in one episode grandpa appears instead of grandma. When the show gets inturupted he picks up the bunnies and runs from the agents who appears many times in that episode. The US version sometimes edits this opening out of the broadcast.
Characters
U.Z.Z. Agents
- Anita Knight is one of the two main protagonists; with blonde hair that ends in a cute little curl, wearing a purple suit, and riding a green skybike, she is partnered with Victor Volt. Somewhat more intelligent than Victor, she often has to save the day when Victor lands them in a sticky situation.In the episode "The Abyss" After rescuing Victor from a giant squid Anita finds, much to surprise, that she is in fact a mermaid, after initially being told by her parents that she is allergic to sea water then at the end of 'The Abyss' 'Professor Professor' splashes her with water, agien trining her into a mermaid. Voice: Kate Harbour
- Victor Volt is the second of the two main protagonists; wearing a blue suit, and riding a purple skybike, he is partnered with Anita Knight. An American, he was recruited by U.Z.Z at a comic book convention, and is easily distracted and often acts childishly, sometimes getting the two agents into trouble or causing a crisis that requires further intervention by U.Z.Z. Victor's level of competence generally changes depending on the situation; in some cases he acts incompetently, whereas only scenes later he may manipulate the situation brilliantly. A running gag is that whenever Victor suffers massive damage, Professor Professor calls and asks him whether he is "still alive." He was initially unaware that his mother, Mildred Volt, was once a secret agent. Victor's father, Lionel Volt, was also an agent for U.Z.Z, but became stranded in another dimension known as Dimension 10, and was prevented from returning to Earth ever again, because Lionel explained that he became a "wobble man". In one episode it was revealed that in the Future Victor is the leader of U.Z.Z, and like Changed Daily, his name was changed Daily, but unlike Changed Daily's name Victor's are actually cool, receiving the name "Jet Strong", something Changed Daily was annoyed by. Voice: Alan Marriott
- Professor Professor is a brilliant scientist from Germany, and the only other member of U.Z.Z apart from Victor and Anita who sit in the main meeting room with Changed Daily. He has a bald head with some green hair in the back, and wear red glasses. He speaks with a German accent. Although something of a mad scientist, his inventions are often brilliant, although occasionally some may backfire (which is why he calls most of his inventions "totally untested und highly dangerous") and create a threat, such as a baldness cure that threatens to consume the earth with hair. He once was a student at "The School for the Chronically Gifted", and a classmate of the show's antagonist, Doctor Doctor. Changed Daily is under the impression he is French. His mother is named Frau Frau which is actually German for Mrs., she lives in a cabin in the mountains she seems to be a very good jumper as she is seen continuously jumping from rock to rock when Victor and Anita first meet her. Professor Professor also has a twin brother, Maestro Maestro. Voice: Rob Rackstraw
- Changed Daily – real name ... – is the Commander of U.Z.Z., with a strong British accent, a moustache and a classy suit. He always has a new name at the beginning of every episode; he will mention that "For reasons of security, my name is changed daily. Today, you may call me..." before then using his special cell phone to get his latest codename (see The Secret Show#Episodes for a list). This always turns out to be ridiculous, much to the short-lived amusement of Victor, Anita and Professor Professor. Prior to becoming the commander, Changed Daily was once a top agent occupying the role that Victor now has; he was partnered with Lucy Woo, Anita's counterpart, and she is the only one who knows what Changed Daily's real name is. He always travels with his fireplace at his side. Whilst he excels as the leader of U.Z.Z, real field work is no longer his strong point, since he apparently has not done much of it in many years, but in one episode he and Professor Professor are demoted when ackindantaly falling into a training sestion. A. Voice: Keith Wickham
- Special Agent Ray is the Unit Commander for U.Z.Z. and provides back-up for Victor and Anita in the field. He is good at keeping his cool under fire and very loyal to U.Z.Z. Ray has a British accent, Elvis-styled hair, an official blue suit, head phone communicator in his left ear, and wears sunglasses. Often running missions behind the scenes, he is seen at the beginning of the show when he and his agents clear out the set of the "The Fluffy Bunny Show", hosted by Sweet Little Granny, by saying "this time slot is needed urgently". He also has a nephew named Roy. Voice: Martin Hyder
- Agent Kowalski is the only other female U.Z.Z agent seen in The Secret Show, besides Anita. Little is known about her, except that she is the rank of a standard U.Z.Z agent, she is an American, and is new to U.Z.Z.
Other Regulars
- The World Leader is, as the name implies, is the leader of the entire world, and is a target for many villains. Her speech appears to be nothing but gibberish, her husband is able to interpret her supposed babbling. However, the official site implies that the World Leader is speaking ancient Aztec language, though in a very discordant manner.
- The World Leader's Husband is small in height,and wears some sort of armour-type outfit. He has a quiet voice and seems to be the only person who can understand what the world leader says.
- Stacey Stern is the news reporter on The Secret Show, often seen reporting the mission currently being investigated by U.Z.Z. Her catch-phrase sign-off is 'You may be you, but I'm Stacy Stern!', lampooning a common TV news reporter style of self-introduction.
- Sweet Little Granny is the host of The Fluffy Bunny Show, played before The Secret Show "steals" its time slot for television. She is exactly 138 years old. She is married to Sweet Old Grandpa, who once hosted The Fluffy Bunny Show when Sweet Little Granny was having a hip replacement operation.
- Alphonse is an artist, though he is seen producing an U.Z.Z. training film, entering a musical piece in the world anthem competition and commenting on illegal monument racing as Stacey Stern's "architectural correspondent". He is also a secret admirer of Anita and regularly shuns Victor, much to his distress.
- Kent B. Trusted is a double agent, no U.Z.Z. agents know this but T.H.E.M. do indeed know about this. He earned the highest medal you can get as an U.Z.Z. agent when he tried to help Doctor Doctor get the Secret Thing and failed. The identity of what exactly the Secret Thing is, is yet to be found out.
Villains
T.H.E.M.
T.H.E.M. – The Horrible Evil Menace – is headed up by the evil Doctor Doctor, who is intent on taking over the world, and has her own crack team of agents, known as "Expendables" who wear billiard ball-style helmets.
- Doctor Doctor is the main antagonist of The Secret Show and head of the evil organization, T.H.E.M - The Horrible Evil Menace. Intent on taking over the world, she is the cause of many of U.Z.Z.'s problems, but always fails. She is also known for her bad eyesight and bad teeth that seem to vibrate whenever she talks above a whisper.
Impostors
The Impostors are extremely dangerous villains that live 90 miles below the surface of the Earth and can "impost" humans using "Hologrammatic Replication". They like the cold and are allergic to penguins. Inside their suits they are small one eyed maggot-like creatures, and they can change size to look like giant Maggots. Their leader is known as Red Eye and has one eye and an eye-shaped symbol on its chest. When not imposting humans, they speak in gibberish, though they can be heard to make out the phrase "ding ba-doo."
Reptogators
The Reptogators live 60 miles below the surface of the Earth, and are naturally stupid, and make terrible pets due to their foul stench. They only become intelligent by sucking out the brainwaves of other creatures. They are able to run at 83 miles per hour. Victor and Anita's belts ring every time they're in the vicinity.
The Floaty Heads
The Floaty Heads are aliens from the planet Zabulon III, and are helium-based life forms, whose helium-filled heads float above their bodies. Their leader is 12-year-old Prince Spong, who is extremely afraid of his mother. The Floaty Heads have never forgiven Victor for lying to them about The Ball of Spong, and Prince Spong has never forgiven Changed Daily for eating it. The Floaty Heads call humans "Sticky Heads". Also Spong's little sister is Princess Ping who might have a small crush on Victor. For some strange reason the sound of impending doom is heard when they come.
The Chef
The Chef is a villain who tried to bake Anita in a pie, but failed. His right arm is a mechanical spatula.
Others
The Kid
The Kid A highly intelligent child who is the actual leader of U.Z.Z.
The Secret Man
The Secret Man The top U.Z.Z. agent (next to the "Secret Woman").
Professor Zoomottle
Professor Zoomottle is a one-time character appearing in Monument Racers. He is Professor Professor's old teacher from the School for the Chonically Gifted. His top students, twin geniuses Aaron and Darren, were causing havoc by racing monuments across the globe using Weird Little Motor Thingies, but after U.Z.Z. stopped the monument racing, they took off with a jelly-fier.
Vehicles and Equipment
Skybike
The Skybike is the standard-issue flying vehicle for U.Z.Z. Agents, similar in appearance to a jet ski, with a single jet or rocket motor at the back for propulsion, and two smaller retro-boosters on the front. Skybikes are capable of vertical take off and landing, as well as being able to hover and fly backwards and have retractable tripod-style undercarriage. Most U.Z.Z. skybikes are blue, but Anita Knight's is green, and Victor Volt's is purple. Skybikes are equipped with many gadgets and equipment suitable for a large number of situations, including a Bike Cannon laser, retractable glass dome for use in outer space or underwater, claw-grips and magnets for grabbing, and even an 'Anti-Meteorite Force Field Deflector' to provide protection against space debris.
Recurring Themes
There are several themes that appear in every episode of the series. One such item is The Secret Thing, the subject of several episodes including the first, is a cylindrical orange tube whose purpose is never revealed to the viewer-though the most likely object it contains would be a top secret document of some sort rolled into a scroll, given its shape, although it rattles when shaken, eliminating that possibility. Another is a black spider that can be found in odd places. (It is later revealed the "spider" is actually a disguised vehicle for extremely small aliens who observe the UZZ organization and teams, M who at one point actually save the planet.) In addition, the six fluffy bunnies from The Fluffy Bunny Show can also be found in every episode, often found peeking their heads out in unusual situations, such as on Anita's skybike or behind a chair in the briefing room. Also, a four-digit code can be spotted in each episode, such as on a wall or carved into a stone. This code can be entered into the official site to reveal secrets.
The show also has several catchphrases that are repeated every episode. One of these is by Professor Professor who contacts Victor at inopportune moments to ask, "Victor – are you still alive?", to which the usual response is an exasperated, "Yes! I'm still alive!". Changed Daily's "For reasons of security, my name is Changed Daily. Today you may call me..." is also a stalwart.
Episodes
Season 1
- The Secret Thing: Impostors attempt to steal the Secret Thing and get Anita fired. UZZ must protect the Secret Thing at all costs. But what is this the Secret Thing? Will Victor ever find out? And will he be able to tell the difference between Anita and the Impostor?
- Fun with Pause: Passageway features palm check (Victor is enclosed in an elevator tube), bellybutton check (Victor is given positive), nostril check (Anita is given positive), foot check (Victor is positive again) and Mummy check. It ends at a location with a green armchair, where Anita gives a pass with the UZZ logo on it.
- Who Stole Switzerland?: In order to have "fallingdown" parties, Martains steal Earth's gravity. Mars becomes so gravitational that Switzerland, Russia and Earth's other countries are being sucked towards Mars in a collision course! Can Victor and Anita get Earth's gravity back?
- Bogie Ball: After stealing UZZ intellingence that the World Leader eats her bogies, Doctor Doctor invents an Oscillator that makes bogies explosive.
- Wedgie Attack!: Victor and Anita are on a run for an wedgie on the World Leader's husband. Wearing fake faces, UZZ base moves to Victor's mom's house temporarily. Could it be an Impostor attack? And is Changed Daily safe?
- Commando Babies: Nanny's Commando Babies are kidnapping important people such as the Pope, President of the United States and planned World Leader across the world and using a Babyizer ray to turn them into babies for world domination, to avoid bombing. Unfortunantely, Professor Professor invented a Mega Burpulator to outwit the Huggy-Huggy Bear, Pillow Cannons and pacifier launchers!
- Fun With Pause: Pictures include a church, a stoned cross and World Leader.
- Bad Hair Day: Doctor Doctor makes UZZ believe there is a wig craze so she can download UZZ's secrets.
- And That's For Helinski!: Helinski-Man is trying to kill Victor and Anita. He drops them off a plane, fires them out of a cannon and feeds him to a giant sea monster, each time shouting "And That's For Helinski!". What's his problem? UZZ have never been to Helinski! Or have they? And was THEM there as well?
- The Ball of Spong: Aliens demand either the Ball of Spong, or else seive the Earth. The ball and Changed Daily are whisked into a survival pod, making Changed Daily believe that he is the last known example of terrestrial life.
- Bad Hair Day: Doctor Doctor gives UZZ wigs that download information. But when Changed Daily's wig goes missing, Victor
Production and Awards
In 2007, The Secret Show won two Children's BAFTA Awards, one for the show itself (as Best Animated Show) and one for its web site (in the Best Interactive category).
The Secret Show has had several notable guest stars, including Tom Baker as Robert Baron, Stephen Fry as Lucky Leo, Penelope Keith as Nana Poo-Poo, and Felicity Kendall as Lucy Woo.[1]
References
- BBC & Nicktoons Onboard for Collingwood O’Hare’s The Secret Show, Animation World Network Headline News, 8 August 2006.
- Uncovering the Mysteries of The Secret Show, Joe Strike, Animation World Magazine, 22 October 2007.
External links
