Cheez TV

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Cheez TV was an Australian children's cartoon show that aired on weekday mornings on Network Ten. It first began broadcasting in July 1995 and it finished in August 2005 after being cancelled. Initially competing against Agro's Cartoon Connection on the Seven Network, the 'hipper' look and (then) younger youth hosts, not to mention a larger focus on showing cartoons, allowed Ten to take the early morning children's TV crown off Seven, a situation that continues to today (Seven has long since replaced its children's programming on weekday mornings).

The two presenters, Jade Gatt and Ryan Lappin, editorialized and presented small variety segments in between cartoons. It aired a number Marvel based cartoons such as X-Men and Spider-Man plus several anime series, including Teknoman, Eagle Riders and in more recent years Pokémon, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptors, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Digimon and Yu-Gi-Oh. Other shows that have aired include the 2003 series of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Count Duckula, Inspector Gadget, Jimmy Neutron, Dangermouse and Rugrats.

Cheez TV also aired during Saturday morning under the moniker of The Big Cheez and featured such cartoons as Bruno the Kid, C.O.P.S., Jackie Chan Adventures, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Zoids. For a period on The Big Cheez Gatt and Lappin were joined by another presenter, Lenka Kripac (member of Australian band Decoder Ring).

During the show's run Ryan Lappin was once nominated for Cleo Magazine's Bachelor of the Year only to lose to Australian swimmer Geoff Huegill. Jade Gatt also hosted late night music show Ground Zero.

During the later years of the show Lappin and Gatt's editorials were quickly becoming notorious for their use of more adult-orientated humour which often flew above the heads of their young audience. Lappin reputedly constantly slid hidden "anti-Rove McManus" commentary in his editorials, which is rumoured to have been the deciding factor which nailed the coffin on the show. While Jade Gatt was a more subservient but less imaginative co-host, his career on Cheez TV was not immune to scrutiny when he would pose as a news reporter called "Dick Wadd" in one of their segments.

Saturday, 20th August 2005 was the last episode of Cheez TV broadcast after 10 years on the air, though Lappin and Gatt's final on-air appearance took place during Friday, 31st December 2004. It was replaced with another new children's show, Toasted TV in the same timeslot, which continues to screen series such as All Grown Up and One Piece.

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