Even Stevens

This article is about the television series. For the racehorse, see Even Stevens (horse). For the Ray Stevens album, see Even Stevens (album). For Latter-day Saint composer, see Evan Stephens.

Even Stevens
File:Even Stevens.jpg Promotional poster of 'Even Stevens'
Created by	Matt Dearborn
Starring	Shia LaBeouf Christy Carlson Romano Nick Spano Tom Virtue Donna Pescow
Theme music composer	John Coda
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	65 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	David Brookwell Sean McNamara (both; entire run) Dennis Rinsler & Marc Warren (episode 10+) Matt Dearborn (season 3)
Camera setup	Film; Single-camera
Running time	approx. 22 minutes
Production companies	Brookwell McNamara Entertainment Disney Channel Original Productions
Original release
Network	Disney Channel
Release	June 17, 2000 (2000-06-17) – June 13, 2003 (2003-06-13)

Even Stevens is an American comedy television series that aired on Disney Channel with a total of three seasons and 65 episodes from June 17, 2000, to June 13, 2003. It follows the life of the Stevenses, a Jewish family living in suburban Sacramento, California, mainly focusing on the clashing personalities of its two younger siblings, Ren and Louis.

The series was produced by Brookwell McNamara Entertainment and Fireworks Entertainment. It is often cited as launching Shia LaBeouf's breakout career as an actor. The show features a fast motion photography, which features in every episode.

The feature-length Disney Channel Original Movie based on the series, The Even Stevens Movie, premiered on June 13, 2003, and serves as the series finale.

As of January 15, 2010, in America, Even Stevens has been removed from television syndication altogether, though The Even Stevens Movie continues to air on Disney Channel and Disney XD, and on Family Channel occasionally. However, in the UK, Even Stevens continues to air on CITV and now Pop Girl. From its launch on June 1, 2011 to late 2012, the series were shown as re-runs on Disney XD in Canada & US.

Characters

Main characters

"Louis Stevens" redirects here. For the British politician, see Lewis Stevens. For the American football player, see Louis Stephens. For the American singer, see Louis Stevenson.

• Louis Anthony Stevens (Shia LaBeouf) - Louis, the youngest Stevens sibling, is viewed as immature, rude, and selfish. His entire family is viewed as perfect next to him. He is always pulling jokes with Alan Twitty (his best friend), and is described as ruining everyone's lives. He never seems to change with time. His parents seem to favor his sister Ren and brother Donnie because of the great successes both have achieved, but his parents do love him dearly and try to defend him. Louis tends to do unattractive things (saying nasty things, picking nose, etc.), though everything is presented to the audience in endearing ways. Tawny Dean becomes his girlfriend at the end of the series.

• Renee "Ren" Stevens (Christy Carlson Romano) - An intelligent, well-behaved, perfectionist 8th-grader, Ren is the middle sibling. She is the classic overachiever, constantly running for hall monitor and class president while trying to keep Louis's schemes from becoming disasters. She is the head newscaster for "The Wombat Report", and spent a few weeks on her school's cheerleading squad. Ren is the editor of the school newspaper and the yearbook, a straight-A student, and Principal Wexler's highly-valued assistant. Despite her top-student ranking, Ren got sentenced to, and served, detention on at least one occasion. Ren's favorite color is purple.

• Donald "Donnie" Stevens (Nick Spano) - Ren and Louis' athletic big brother. Donnie is highly concerned with his appearance. His popularity, good looks, and superb athletic skills made him a heartthrob and a legend at their school, even after his graduation. Although he excels in many sports, he's an airhead.

• Steven "Steve" Stevens (Tom Virtue) - A quirky lawyer. He played college football for Michigan State University with the nickname "Stiffie" Stevens. He used to be a wrestler for his school. He is the father of Donnie, Ren, and Louis.

• Eileen Stevens (Donna Pescow) - A successful, no-nonsense, Jewish American State Senator who launched a campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002 and was narrowly defeated. She is the mother of Donnie, Ren, and Louis.

Recurring characters

• Alan Twitty (A.J. Trauth) - Louis' best friend who is similar to Louis but usually isn't as extreme and often has to get Louis out of situations. Referred to as "Twitty" by his friends. He is on the basketball team and the baseball team, plays guitar, and also has success with girls. Twitty's catch phrases are "Dude" and "Sweet".

• Tawny Dean (Margo Harshman) - Louis' other best friend, and eventually his girlfriend. Tawny at first has no friends and is an outsider, until she meets Louis. Tawny usually dresses in Goth clothing, unlike her classmates, and refuses to conform with others' trivial pursuits.

• Thomas "Tom" Gribalski (Fred Meyers) - Louis' nerdy friend. When Louis cooks up a scheme, Tom usually tries to talk Louis out of it and usually doesn't play along. Also, Tom speaks with a scientific philosophy intelligent slang. He is commonly the victim of many pranks by Louis and Twitty. He called his mother by her name (Doris). In season 3 Doris is seen playing the piano when Tom auditions for SACCY, a performing arts school.

• Ruby Mendel (Lauren Frost) - Ren's best friend who loves to gossip about news that goes around in school, usually involving crushes and students who are dating. She once had a crush on Louis (while under the spell of a lucky penny) and in that same episode she had a crush on the boy band BBMak.

• Monique Taylor (Kenya Williams) - Ren's other best friend Monique is a perky cheerleader. Monique takes many things to extreme limits. She has a strong Southern accent.

• Nelson Minkler (Gary LeRoi Gray) - Ren's childhood best friend who seems to be allergic to everything, as evident by his overprotection of himself when outside. He is usually with Ren, and at times Donny, but has only once ever talked to Louis. His fluent in French. Nelson was also Gray's character's name on The Cosby Show as a child.

• Bernard "Beans" Aranguren (Steven Anthony Lawrence) - The extremely annoying neighbor of the Stevens who comes into their home uninvited, makes himself at home, and refuses to leave. He has a love for bacon which is a recurring theme, in Little Mr. Sacktown he visits a Bacon Shack. He eventually turns into a sidekick for Louis's and Twitty's schemes usually double-crossing the two. In the episode Close Encounters with the Beans Kind, Louis thinks he may be an alien, which, at the end of the episode is proven true.

• Lawrence Anthony "Larry" Beale (Eric "Ty" Hodges) - Ren's nasty, equally-popular, charismatic, know-it-all rival in school. Larry hates Ren and always tries to destroy her reputation, but his schemes usually backfire. His favorite victim is Ren, but occasionally tries to ruin Louis as well. Larry is secretly jealous of Ren and considers Louis a threat, but will never admit it. Larry is an Army brat.

• Coach Terry Tugnut (Jim Wise) - The gym coach who is always tough on Louis but crazy about Donnie, Larry, and food. He loves to eat. Once he weighed over 300 lbs. He is frequently the victim of one of Louis' pranks. Coach Tugnut often serves as Wexler's enforcer/sidekick. He is obsessed with dodgeball and with the three "major points" (arm, head, stomach). A running gag throughout the series Coach Tugnut shouting, "Stevens!" when Louis causes trouble.

• Conrad Wexler (George Anthony Bell) - The principal of Lawrence Jr High. Principal Wexler favors Ren over the other students. They have had arguments, but they're good friends. Ren is his student assistant, while Louis drives him crazy. Usually makes Ren do his dirty work.

• Carla and Marla (Lisa Foiles and Krysten Leigh Jones) - Two girls who looks up to Ren. Carla and Marla are both on the newspaper staff with Ren and Ruby. After the episode "Quest for Coolness", Carla and Marla are never seen or mentioned again.

• Robert "Bobby" Deaver (Brandon Davis) - Ren's middle school boyfriend; he appeared in seven episodes. Ren broke up with Bobby after Louis told her that he was cheating on her by dating Mandy Sanchez, a rival of Ren's.

• Ivan (Eric Jungmann) - Sidekick and yes-man for Larry Beale in the first season, although he occasionally serves as a yes-man for other popular kids, such as Blake Thompson in the episode "Louis in the Middle".

• Jewel (Megan Miyahira) - Ren's best friend in the first season. She isn't seen or mentioned after the episode "Swap.com".

• Charlotte (Shannon Marshall) - Ren's best friend in the first season, not seen or mentioned again after the episode "All About Yvette".

Production

The show was originally produced as a show called "Spivey's Kid Brother". A pilot was filmed in late 1997, and was later picked up by Disney Channel as "Even Stevens". In the first episode Disney had to dub out the name "Spivey" to "Stevens". In fact, in the gym class scene, a banner is visible in the background reading, "Home of Spivey and the Wild Wombats."

In the theme song of the show, clay animations of Louis and Ren turn their remote controls into lightsabers, alluding to Star Wars. Prior to this, Ren reads a TV Guide with live-action photos of Christy Carlson Romano and Shia LaBeouf on the cover.

Although the show lasted three seasons, the timeline of the show is only one school year, since Louis and his friends remain in the 7th grade and Ren and her friends remain in the 8th grade. Ren finally graduates in The Even Stevens Movie.

Syndication

From September 2006 to January 2009, Even Stevens aired on Superstation WGN (now WGN America), along with Lizzie McGuire during the week originally airing after each other on weekday afternoons before moving to the late night hours when both shows' target audiences are generally not awake with Even Stevens airing Tuesdays and Thursdays and Lizzie airing the rest of the week. On July 2, 2007, Disney Channel aired eight episodes as part of their "Sometimes You Win, Sometimes You Louis" marathon to coincide with the release of Shia LaBeouf's film Transformers.

In Britain, Even Stevens was screened on BBC One, BBC Two and CBBC (unlike most Disney Channel Original Series, this has never been shown on Disney Channel UK - although the channel has shown The Even Stevens Movie). As of 2009, it is now shown on CITV.

The series was removed from the Disney Channel's schedule in late 2006. In 2009, Even Stevens returned to television after a three year absence on Disney XD, it was removed months later. It is currently only shown on CITV and Pop Girl.

In Canada, the series aired on Disney XD. It has been aired on weekend afternoons from its launch on June 1, 2011 to late 2012. As of December 2012, the series no longer airs on Disney XD Canada.

In Ireland the series aired on RTÉ Two as part of their children's strand, The Den (television) (now TRTÉ), it has been repeated on and off since its first airing, generally at the weekends as part of TRTÉ's Disney Club strand of programming.

Awards and nominations

• BAFTA Awards

2002 - Best International - Matt Dearborn, Sean McNamara & David Brookwell (Won)

• Daytime Emmy Awards

2003 - Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series - Shia LaBeouf (Won)

2003 - Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series - Donna Pescow (Nominated)

2003 - Outstanding Children's Program (Nominated)

2002 - Outstanding Children's Program (Nominated)

2002 - Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series - Donna Pescow (Nominated)

2001 - Outstanding Children's Program (Nominated)

2001 - Outstanding Performer in a Children's Series - Donna Pescow (Nominated)

• Directors Guild of America

2003 - Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs - Gregory Hobson for episode "Band On The Roof" (Nominated)

2002 - Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs - Sean McNamara for episode "Very Scary Story" (Nominated)

2001 - Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs - Paul Hoen for episode "Take My Sister... Please" (Nominated)

2001 - Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs - Sean McNamara for episode "Easy Way" (Nominated)

• Young Artist Awards

2004 - Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama): Supporting Young Actress - Margo Harshman (Nominated)

2003 - Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama): Supporting Young Actor - Steven Anthony Lawrence (Won)

2003 - Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama): Supporting Young Actress - Lauren Frost (Nominated)

2002 - Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series: Leading Young Actress - Christy Carlson Romano (Won)

2002 - Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama): Supporting Young Actress - Lauren Frost (Won)

2002 - Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series: Leading Young Actor -Shia LaBeouf (Nominated)

2002 - Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series: Leading Young Actor - A.J. Trauth (Nominated)

2002 - Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series: Supporting Young Actor - Steven Anthony Lawrence (Nominated)

2001 - Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series: Leading Young Actress - Christy Carlson Romano (Won)

2001 - Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series: Leading Young Actor - Shia LaBeouf (Nominated)

2001 - Best Performance in a TV Comedy Series: Guest Starring Young Performer - Ty Hodges (Nominated)

• Young Star Awards

2000 - Best Young Actor/Performance in a Comedy TV Series - Shia LaBeouf (Nominated)

Home media

The first season of Even Stevens was made available for the first on DVD on region 4 in Australia and New Zealand on July 25, 2006. To date, further seasons have not been released on region 4. Region 1 have not released any season of the series, however, the television film, The Even Stevens Movie was made available on June 28, 2005.

Season	First aired	Last aired
1	June 17, 2000	July 23, 2000
2	January 31, 2001	March 11, 2001
3	December 31, 2002	June 13, 2003

Ratings(CBBC Channel)

Sunday 26th May 2002- 50,000 (2nd most watched on CBBC that week)

External links

• Even Stevens at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show
• Even Stevens at PopGirl