The Upside Down Show

The Upside Down Show
Genre
Created by
Directed by
  • Peter Cudlipp
  • Julie Money
Starring
Voices of
  • Emma de Vries
  • Virginia Goodfellow
  • Mat McCoy
  • Alice Osborne
  • Adam Smillie
ComposerDavid Chapman
Country of origin
  • Australia
  • United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producers
  • Michael Bourchier
  • Kurt Mueller
ProducerWendy Gray
CinematographyIan Jones
EditorSimon Martin
Camera setupBoth single-camera and multi-camera
Running time24 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkNickelodeon (Australia)
Noggin (United States)
ReleaseOctober 13 (2006-10-13)[4] –
November 13, 2006 (2006-11-13)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

The Upside Down Show is a children's television series produced by Blink Films and Sesame Workshop. It was made for Noggin, a channel co-founded by Sesame Workshop. The series is set in a strange apartment building where the doors lead to a variety of unusual rooms. It is presented by brothers David and Shane (played by the Umbilical Brothers), who live in the apartment building with their sidekick Puppet, their neighbor Mrs. Foil, and a group of fuzzy creatures called the Schmuzzies. In each episode, David gives the viewers an imaginary remote control that affects the characters and their surroundings.

The series was inspired by the Umbilical Brothers' adult-oriented comedy act SpeedMouse,[5] which was also based on the idea of an imaginary remote. Producers from Sesame Workshop saw SpeedMouse and ordered a pilot episode based on it, which became The Upside Down Show. The pilot was successful, and in 2005, Noggin ordered a season of 13 episodes. The show was written and produced in New York, and it was filmed in Sydney, Australia. The cast and crew featured a mix of Australian and American talent. While creating the series, the writers intentionally included jokes for adults as well as children;[5] Shane Dundas likened The Upside Down Show to making "an adult show for kids."[3]

In 2010, the Umbilical Brothers announced that they had completed a script for a special-length episode titled The Upside Down Movie,[6] which would act as a proper finale for the series. The movie had been in development since 2008.[7] Nickelodeon Australia provided funding for the movie's scriptwriting,[6] but the project needed support from outside investors to start filming, which never occurred. As recently as March 2017, the Umbilical Brothers have stated that they are still interested in making the movie and are trying to find support for it.[8]

  1. ^ Stewart, Susan (October 16, 2006). "Press Play to Control the Grown-Ups". The New York Times. Their dialogue ranges from cutely inane to delightful and dovetails beautifully with their physical comedy.
  2. ^ Cooper, Marnie (16 September 2006). "TV shows aplenty for the juice-box kids -- Networks put on their thinking caps to develop quality programs". The Commercial Appeal. Memphis, TN: Gannett.
  3. ^ a b Kaplan, Don (December 27, 2006). "Quitting Kids TV – 'Upside' Duo Talk About Getting Out Just As Hit Series Is Getting Started". New York Post. Bald-headed Shane Dundas and frizzyhaired David Collins who play brothers and use slapstick
  4. ^ "Television Schedule, Week of October 09". NickJr.com. October 9, 2006. Archived from the original on October 10, 2006.
  5. ^ a b "The Umbilical Brothers – Speedmouse: The Return Of The Roadie at Royalty Theatre – Adelaide Fringe Interview". The Clothesline. February 25, 2016. Archived from the original on February 28, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Collins, David (January 30, 2010). "Grab Your Remotes and Click for an Upside Down Movie!". Facebook. Archived from the original on August 16, 2020. This petition will show investors with insight and imagination that there is a great love of the show and they should join forces with Nickelodeon Australia (who by the way has been hugely supportive of trying to get the film made and have been partially funding the script development, but I digress).
  7. ^ Low, Lenny Ann (November 21, 2008). "Brothers grin". The Sydney Morning Herald. Nine Entertainment Co. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Next year the Umbies will begin filming their first feature film, The Upside Down Movie, a spin-off from their hit children's television series The Upside Down Show.
  8. ^ Collins, David (March 9, 2017). "The Umbilical Brothers on Facebook". Facebook. Archived from the original on August 16, 2020. Out of curiosity - How many of you would like to see an Upside Down Show Movie? I have 2 hrs to collate likes and shares. Aaaand go.


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