The Mighty B! season 1
| The Mighty B! | |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | |
 The Mighty B! "We Got the Bee" DVD cover | |
| No. of episodes | 20 (39 segments) |
| Release | |
| Original network | Nickelodeon |
| Original release | April 26, 2008 – June 12, 2009 |
| Season chronology | |
The first season of The Mighty B! originally aired in the United States on Nickelodeon between April 26, 2008, and June 12, 2009. The season was produced by Nickelodeon Animation Studios, Paper Kite Productions and Polka Dot Pictures, and series co-creators Amy Poehler, Cynthia True and Erik Wiese served as executive producers.
The series focuses on Bessie Higgenbottom (Poehler), an ambitious Honeybee scout with a dream of earning more badges than any other Honeybee, and turning into her superhero alter-ego The Mighty B. The season consisted of 38 eleven-minute segments, and one half-hour final titled "Dragonflies". Poehler, True and Wiese had been developing the series several years before its premiere.[1] They talked about making a "female-driven" animated series,[1] and it was picked up by Nickelodeon in early 2006 under the name of Super Scout.[2]
The season received generally positive reviews. One reviewer called Bessie the "female answer to SpongeBob SquarePants".[3] 1.92 million viewers among Kids 2–11 watched the series premiere,[4] and the series averaged 3.1 million viewers each episode during the season.[5]
Episodes
Note: All episodes in Season 1 were directed by Erik Wiese & Larry Leichliter
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Written by | Storyboarded by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1a | 1a | "So Happy Together" | Cynthia True & Erik Wiese | Erik Wiese | April 26, 2008 |
| 1b | 1b | "Sweet Sixteenth" | Jessica Chaffin | Chuck Klein | April 26, 2008 |
| 2a | 2a | "Bee My Baby" | Will Berson | Chuck Klein | April 27, 2008 |
| 2b | 2b | "Bee Afraid" | Cynthia True & Erik Wiese | Erik Wiese | April 27, 2008 |
| 3a | 3a | "Artificial Unintelligence" | Dani Michaeli | Piero Piluso & Andy Suriano | May 3, 2008 |
| 3b | 3b | "We Got the Bee" | John Ross Bowie & Dannah Feinglass | Fred Gonzales | May 3, 2008 |
| 4a | 4a | "Li'l Orphan Happy" | John Ross Bowie & Dannah Feinglass | Sherm Cohen & Louie del Carmen | May 10, 2008 |
| 4b | 4b | "Body Rockers" | Jessica Gao | Ken Boyer & Louie del Carmen | May 10, 2008 |
| 5a | 5a | "Bat Mitzvah Crashers" | Jessica Chaffin | Sherm Cohen | May 17, 2008 |
| 5b | 5b | "Super Secret Weakness" | Dani Michaeli | Octavio Rodriguez | May 17, 2008 |
| 6a | 6a | "An I See Bee" | Jessica Chaffin | Ray Angrum & Piero Piluso | May 31, 2008 |
| 6b | 6b | "Woodward and Beesting" | Dannah Feinglass | Fred Gonzales | May 31, 2008 |
| 7a | 7a | "Doppelfinger" | Will Berson | Louie del Carmen | June 7, 2008 |
| 7b | 7b | "Little Womyn" | Jessica Chaffin | Fred Gonzales & Chuck Klein | June 7, 2008 |
| 8a | 8a | "The Apprentice" | Jessica Chaffin | Sherm Cohen & Fred Gonzales | June 23, 2008 |
| 8b | 8b | "Beenedict Arnold" | Jessica Gao | Ken Boyer | June 24, 2008 |
| 9a | 9a | "Boston Beean" | Jessica Gao | Octavio Rodriguez | June 25, 2008 |
| 9b | 9b | "Penny Hearts Joey" | Dannah Feinglass | Lynne Naylor | June 26, 2008 |
| 10a | 10a | "Ten Little Honeybees" | Jessica Gao | Chuck Klein | June 27, 2008 |
| 10b | 10b | "Toot Toot" | Cynthia True & Erik Wiese | Ken Boyer, Piero Piluso & Bernie Petterson | November 29, 2008 |
| 11a | 11a | "Night Howl" | Jessica Chaffin | Eddie Trigueros & Sherm Cohen | September 9, 2008 |
| 11b | 11b | "Hat Trick" | Jessica Chaffin | Ken Boyer & Fred Gonzales | September 10, 2008 |
| 12a | 12a | "Apoxalypse Now" | Jessica Gao | Chuck Klein | September 11, 2008 |
| 12b | 12b | "Hive Jacked" | Jessica Gao | Lynne Naylor | September 12, 2008 |
| 13a | 13a | "Something's Wrong With This Taffy" | Jessica Chaffin, Jessica Gao & Cynthia True | Chris Graham | October 25, 2008 |
| 13b | 13b | "Name Shame" | Jessica Gao | Eddie Trigueros | October 25, 2008 |
| 14a | 14a | "Bee Patients" | Jessica Chaffin | Eddie Trigueros & Sunil Hall | September 8, 2008 |
| 14b | 14b | "To Bee or Not to Bee" | Jessica Gao | Lynne Naylor | October 25, 2008 |
| 15a | 15a | "Eye of the Honeybee" | Jessica Chaffin | Chris Graham & Ian Graham | January 9, 2009 |
| 15b | 15b | "Thanksgiving Beenactment" | Jessica Chaffin, Jessica Gao & Cynthia True | Sunil Hall | November 29, 2008 |
| 16a | 16a | "Blindsided" | Jessica Chaffin, Jessica Gao & Cynthia True | Eddie Trigueros | January 5, 2009 |
| 16b | 16b | "Hen and Bappy" | Jessica Chaffin | Chris Graham & Sunil Hall | January 6, 2009 |
| 17a | 17a | "Ben Appetit" | Cynthia True, Jessica Chaffin, & Jessica Gao | Louie del Carmen & Sherm Cohen | January 7, 2009 |
| 17b | 17b | "Dang It Feels Good to Bee a Gamester" | Jessica Gao | Chris Graham | January 8, 2009 |
| 18a | 18a | "Portrait of a Happy" | Jessica Chaffin | Sunil Hall | June 8, 2009 |
| 18b | 18b | "O Say Can Bess See" | Jessica Gao | Sunil Hall, Justin Ridge & Ian Graham | June 9, 2009 |
| 19a | 19a | "Macro Mayhem" | Mike Bell | Sherm Cohen, Sunil Hall & Ian Graham | June 10, 2009 |
| 19b | 19b | "Ben Screams for Ice Cream" | Jessica Chaffin, Cynthia True, & Jessica Gao | Lynne Naylor | June 11, 2009 |
| 20 | 20 | "Dragonflies" | Jessica Chaffin, Jessica Gao, Cynthia True & Erik Wiese | Louie del Carmen, Fred Gonzales & Ian Graham | June 12, 2009 |
Production
Conception
Several years before The Mighty B! premiered, co-creator Amy Poehler and her friends at Nickelodeon talked about making a "female-driven" animated television series. Poehler stated; "where this girl is at that great age [...] where you're not boy-crazy and you're not mean to other girls".[1] She found that enthusiasm "fascinating" and wanted to "bottle it and take it like a pill".[1] Bessie is loosely based on a character Poehler had played during her time at improvisational comedy troupes Second City and Upright Citizens Brigade as well as girls she looked up to when she was younger.[2] She described Bessie as a "feisty, plucky, bossy, Honey Bee scout".[6]
The Mighty B! was picked up for a pilot in early 2006 under the name of Super Scout.[2] It was co-created by Poehler, Cynthia True and Erik Wiese.[7] Brown Johnson, president of animation at Nickelodeon, was "absolutely thrilled to have a comedy team of the caliber of Amy, Erik and Cynthia create this iconic character for a new generation".[8]
Cast
Amy Poehler voices Bessie Higgenbottom, a 9¾ year old Honeybee scout.[1] Poehler describes her as "superoptimistic and a super spaz"[9] and "a bit bossy, but with good intentions".[2] She is based on a character Poehler had played during her time at improvisational comedy troupes Second City and Upright Citizens Brigade, but also girls Poehler looked up to when she was younger, which she called "the leaders".[2] Poehler provides the voice of Bessie only, but for the episode "Boston Beean", she provided the voice of Sissy Sullivan, a foreign Honeybee scout from Boston whose voice sounded exactly like Bessie's. Dee Bradley Baker voices Happy, Bessie's dog which she found at the harbor in the first episode "So Happy Together". Andy Richter voices Ben Higgenbottom, Bessie's younger brother. Richter is also the voice of Mort on the Nick show The Penguins of Madagascar.[10] Richter talked about The Mighty B!, quoting: "[...] another dream come true, to be able to do cartoon voices! And, also, to get to do cartoon voices for [Ben and Mort] two really funny, cool cartoons that my kids love and that I'm proud to have them love. It's pretty great."[11] Dannah Feinglass voices Penny, Bessie's sidekick. Feinglass is also a writer for the show. Grey DeLisle voices Portia Gibbons, a Honeybee scout, Megan Cavanagh voices Hilary Higgenbottom, Bessie and Ben's single mother, Sarah Thyre voices Mary Frances Gibbons, Portia's mother, and Jessica DiCicco voices Gwen, Portia's friend.[12]
Reception
Critical reception
The season received generally positive reviews from television sources and critics. Brian Lowry of Variety said that the show "has the kind of crazed energy and inventiveness that isn't associated often enough with girl-oriented children's fare [...] The Mighty B! opts for a more elevated approach – like that aforementioned roller-coaster jaunt, taking a free-spirited jump off the tracks and trusting its audience to hang on for the ride."[12] David Hinckley of Daily News gave the show four stars, stating: "The Mighty B! has a decent shot at becoming a pre-tween fave."[13] Aaron H. Bynum of Animation Insider called the show a "good, brainless cartoon [...] Viewers shouldn't ever be bored with Bessie [but] the comedy really doesn't try to do too much, which may ultimately work against it when the story calls for the characters to do too little.[14]
Joanne Ostrow of the Denver Post called Bessie the "female answer to SpongeBob SquarePants".[3] Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media gave the show three stars out of five, saying: "The show maintains a chaotic pace, and there are no real attempts to teach strong positive lessons [...] Young tweens will likely enjoy Bessie's outlandish, fantasy-fueled adventures – which are fast-paced and, on the surface, entertaining."[15] Ed Liu of Toon Zone called The Mighty B! a show that he admires more than he "truly love[s]", stating: "There is prodigious talent behind it and its wonderfully energetic, boisterous comedy. It's clearly trying very, very hard to be entertaining and largely succeeds [...] I almost feel bad for not liking The Mighty B! more than I do, and I'm still not sure why I don't enjoy it more". He also said that it was worth pointing out that more recent episodes of the show seem "more assured and funnier" than the eight episodes on the We Got the Bee DVD.[16]
Ratings
The Mighty B! premiered at 10:30am on April 26, 2008, and scored "above average for Nickelodeon programming" in the Nielsen ratings.[4] It ranked in the top ten of all programming for combined broadcast and basic cable shows, with 1.92 million viewers in the Kids 2–11 demographic and a rating of 5.2/23.[4] The Mighty B! had double the viewership as Bakugan Battle Brawlers, a show that aired simultaneously on Cartoon Network.[4]
In September 2008, the show had an average of 3.1 million viewers, and in the second quarter of 2008, the show ranked among the top five animated programs on television.[5] During the third quarter of 2009, it averaged 2.6 million viewers, and was number-one in its timeslot in the kids 2–11 and kids 6–11 demographics.[17]
DVD releases
A DVD called We Got to Bee was released on February 24, 2009.[18] It contained 8 episodes, behind the scenes footage, an animatic version of the episode "Bat Mitzvah Crashers" and a karaoke music video for "Running with the Rainbow Unicorn".[19] A second DVD called BEEing Bessie Higgenbottom was released on December 8, 2009.[20]
References
- ^ a b c d e Murray, Rebecca (2008-04-23). "Amy Poehler Interview – Baby Mama and The Mighty B!". About.com. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
- ^ a b c d e Martin, Denise (2006-02-15). "Poehler scouting Nick gig". Variety. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
- ^ a b Ostrow, Joanne (2009-04-25). "Hot-hot Amy Poehler a "Mighty" voice". Denver Post. Retrieved 2010-01-07.
- ^ a b c d H. Bynum, Aaron (2008-05-02). "The Mighty B! Premiere ratings". Animation Insider. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ a b Ball, Ryan (2008-09-18). "Mighty B! will buzz again". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ Parsley, Aaron (2009-10-24). "Amy Poehler can't believe her son is turning 1". People. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
- ^ Roberts, Sheila. "Will Arnett & Amy Poehler interview Blades & Glory". Movies Online. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
- ^ Barrett, Larry (2008-04-08). "The Mighty B! buzzes its way into Nick lineup". Multi Channel. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ Itzkoff, Dave (2009-03-08). "Please don't tell her she's funny for a girl". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
- ^ La Gorce, Tammy (2009-10-13). "Andry Richter interview". Babble. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
- ^ Harris, Will (2009-11-16). "A chat with Andy Richter". Bulls-Eye.com. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
- ^ a b Lowry, Brian (2008-04-23). "The Mighty B! Review". Variety. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
- ^ Hinckley, David (2008-04-24). "New Poehler expedition: 'Mighty B' is a real honey". NY Daily News. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ H. Bynum, Aaron (2008-04-08). "The Mighty B! Review". Animation Insider. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ Ashby, Emily. "The Mighty B! Review". Common Sense Media. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ Liu, Ed (2009-04-03). "The Mighty B! is more admired than loved". Toon Zone. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
- ^ Liu, Ed (2009-09-12). "Nickelodeon is buzzing with new episodes of The Mighty B!". Nickelodeon. Toon Zone. Retrieved 2009-12-31.
- ^ Lambert, David (2008-12-01). "The Mighty B! DVD announcement". TV Shows on DVD. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ "The Mighty B!: We Got the Bee". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ "The Mighty B! BEEing Bessie Higgenbottom". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
External links
- Season 1 at TV.com
- Season 1 at the Internet Movie Database