Weinerville
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nickelodeon's Weinerville | |
|---|---|
 Weinerville title card, as seen on the show's opening sequence. |
|
| Genre | Variety show |
| Running time | 30 minutes per episode |
| Starring | Marc Weiner |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| Original channel | Nickelodeon (USA) |
| Original run | 1993–1996 |
Weinerville was an American television series on Nickelodeon that was produced from 1993 to 1996. The show was based around a giant puppet stage which was designed to look like a city, called Weinerville. The show was hosted by Marc Weiner (a real person) and co-hosted by the Mayor of Weinerville, Dottie (Marc Weiner with a small puppet body). The show had numerous characters including Captain Bob, a sea pirate played by Weiner that couldn't stop making bad puns; Boney, a dinosaur who was beloved by children but hated them ("I'm Boney, I'm Boney, leave me aloney"); and Socko, who often liked to kick people, especially Marc (among others). The show also had Pops, the local chef; Louie, the local laundry owner; Baby Jeffrey (also played by Weiner) who introduced Marc at the beginning of each episode; and Schnitzel, a bird with a bad attitude (whose name was the other half of national hot dog brand Wienerschnitzel). Five-minute cartoons such as Mr. Magoo, Batfink and segments from The Alvin Show were also shown.
Members of the audience were also called down to participate in various activities during the main part of the show, such as helping to demonstrate items in the Weinerville General Store or climbing aboard Captain Bob's pirate ship, where the host would fling water on him before the "Tidal Wave" (a bucket of water thrown by a stage hand) soaked the participant.
The show always ended with Marc choosing two people from the audience to get "Weinerized" (turned into puppets). The participants would enter a contraption called the "Weinerizer", which appeared to then shrink them to the puppet size; these participants would then compete in one of various carnival-style games in "Playland" that tested the skill of operating their puppet bodies. The runner-up received the "Silver Hot Dog", with the winner receiving the "Golden Hot Dog" as well as the "Special Topping" (a small amount of green slime dumped onto the player's head.) Occasionally, both players received the Special Topping (especially in the second season), and if the game involved pies, both contestants would be hit with pies themselves instead of anyone getting the Special Topping. The Playland stage was enlarged and revamped the second season to incorporate more elaborate stunts; these frequently had the contestants facing each other and squirting water at some target, usually soaking the other contestant in the process.
A recurring joke on the show took place in the Weinerville General Store. Weiner would sell comedic props similar to those of Carrot Top. Nearly everything in the store sold for $13.50. Occasionally, the "$13.50" gag was used in other segments of the show, usually when Marc handed the participant anything.
The show also had a few "live" tours, in which the entire act was done on stage, including picking kids out to get "Weinerized".
[edit] E.A.G.A.H.B.E.D.D.
There was also a 13-minute educational VHS video made for the National Dairy Council called E.A.G.A.H.B.E.D.D. The title stands for "Eat A Good And Healthy Breakfast Every Day Day" and is done in the style of an abbreviated Weinerville episode, with the usual characters and sets but without the Playland segment.
