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CityKids

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CityKids
GenreFamily Entertainment
Created byJeffrey Solomon
Written byJeffrey Solomon
Directed byRick Friedberg, Randall Miller
Starring

Puppeteers:

Voices ofCenophia Mitchell
Elizabeth Regen
Theme music composerRaliegh J Neal II
Opening themeMalik Yoba & Raliegh J Neal II
ComposerRaliegh J Neal II
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producersBrian Henson
Laurie Meadoff-Hill
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesJim Henson Productions
The CityKids Foundation
Original release
NetworkABC
ReleaseSeptember 18, 1993 (1993-09-18) –
January 29, 1994 (1994-01-29)

CityKids is an American television series that aired late Saturday Mornings on ABC from 1993 to 1994. The show consists primarily of live action performances, interspersed with Muppet segments, courtesy of Jim Henson Productions. These Muppets are composed of original characters designed specifically for the show, not ones taken from Sesame Street or The Muppet Show. These original characters often serve as the Greek chorus for the show, commenting on the situations of the human characters, but not actually interacting with them.

Unlike most shows airing on ABC Saturday Mornings and produced by the Jim Henson Company at the time, CityKids was primarily targeted to a teenage audience, not to mention an urban one. However, the show failed to generate desirable ratings from any demographic, especially the teenage one, and the show was cancelled by ABC after one season.

The show's main theme song was composed by Malik Yoba & Raleigh J Neal II, both also composed other songs for the series[1] and served as Musical Creative Supervisor for the show.

Plot

Characters

Human

  • Angelica (portrayed by Cyndi Cartagena)
  • Snoopy/Christian (portrayed by Hassan Elgendi)
  • John (portrayed by Dulé Hill)
  • Susan (portrayed by Anne Ho)
  • Tito (portrayed by Renoly Santiago)
  • Nikki (portrayed by Diana Smith)
  • David (portrayed by Brad Stoll)
  • Frida (portrayed by Audrey Ince)
  • Mr. Lester (portrayed by Don Chastain)
  • Unknown Character (portrayed by Dash Mihok)
  • Unknown Character (portrayed by Michelle Ingkavet)

Puppets

  • Dread (performed by David Rudman) - A Rastafarian philosopher.
  • Bird (performed by Joey Mazzarino) - A pigeon who is Dread's sidekick.
  • Hot Dogs - A bunch of Hot Dogs that would perform songs. Their sketch would begin with a zoom in on the container they are being served in. The sketch ends with a bunch of tongs taking one of the hot dogs.
    • Frankie Frank (performed by David Rudman) - An anthropomorphic hot dog rapper that is the lead singer of the rap group Frankie Frank and the Footers.
  • Captain (performed by Joey Mazzarino) - A character who works "Inside the Head" with Libido and Lieutenant. In newspaper promotions of CityKids, the Captain was shown to have originally been depicted as a red bespectacled monkey before they went with the puppet design that appeared in the show.
  • Libido (performed by John Henson) - A character who works "Inside the Head" with Captain and Lieutenant.
  • Lieutenant (performed by David Rudman) - A character who works "Inside the Head" with Captain and Libido.
  • Koozebanians (performed by Noel MacNeal and David Rudman) - Three aliens from the planet Koozebane. Two of them have two eyes while one of them has one eye.
  • Dirt Sisters - Trish (performed by Joey Mazzarino, voiced by Elizabeth Regen) and Toya (performed by David Rudman, voiced by Cenophia Mitchell) are two gossipy girls that talk to each other on the phone and talk about the episode's main plot. Trish is from Staten Island while Toya is from Brooklyn.

Episodes

No.TitleOriginal air date
1"Pilot"18 September 1993 (1993-09-18)
2"Becoming a Man"25 September 1993 (1993-09-25)
3"Get a Job"2 October 1993 (1993-10-02)
4"The Curse of Ali Baba"9 October 1993 (1993-10-09)
5"Bye, Bye Reputation"16 October 1993 (1993-10-16)
6"The Mural"23 October 1993 (1993-10-23)
7"Alterations with Attitude"30 October 1993 (1993-10-30)
8"Quality Time"13 November 1993 (1993-11-13)
9"Rooftop Thanksgiving"20 November 1993 (1993-11-20)
10"Pack of Lies"4 December 1993 (1993-12-04)
11"Love Letters on the Hudson"11 December 1993 (1993-12-11)
12"All My Trials"18 December 1993 (1993-12-18)
13"I Am Woman"29 January 1994 (1994-01-29)

Cast

Puppeteers

Later appearances

  • The puppet for Bird later appeared in Muppet Time where he is the straight man for the Three Silly Bears in their segments. This pigeon was also performed by Joey Mazzarino.
  • The puppets for Dread, Captain, Lieutenant, Libido, the Hot Dogs, the Koozebanians, and the prototype Captain later made appearances in the Puppet Up! shows and other Henson Alternative projects.

References

  1. ^ "Malik Yoba". Yahoo! TV. Retrieved 5 December 2007.
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