Thursday, February 18, 2010

THAT'S ALL OF 'EM (almost)



We're getting down to the last days of KND here! And what did Season Six bring to the table?

THE SPINACH INQUISITION!
PLANET OF THE RAINBOW MONKEYS!
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED IN GUATEMALA!
THE 2x4 TECHNOLOGY CONVENTION!
A TANKER OF ILLEGAL SODA!
A TREATY BETWEEN THE KND AND TEENS!
A BREAK UP!
AND THE SPLINTER CELL REVEALED!

And who did we get to meet?

NUMBUH 2x4!
THE AMISH KND!
NUMBUH 10 SPEED!
THE HONOR ROLL WEREWOLVES!
NUMBUH ELEVENTEEN OF SECTOR PHD!
THE POORLY DRESSED!
NUMBUH INFINITY!

So let's get to telling some tales about the making of these episodes, shall we?

Yes, we shall?

Operation: SPINACH - We were always asking the crew to pitch us story ideas, and as I've mentioned before, sometimes all it would take was a couple words to sell me on an idea. Blake Lemons (aka the BEST worst assistant EVER) pitched 3 words: 'The Spinach Inquisition'--- and I dove on it. Of course the FIRST thing I thought was-- what if we get Mel Brooks? After all, you can't think of the Spanish Inquisition without thinking of THIS.

Soooooooooo I did a bit of research and called his production company. A woman answered the phone and it went kinda like this:

ME: Hi, I'm the creator of a show on Cartoon Network called Codename: Kids Next Door and we're doing an episo-
WOMAN: Mel's very busy and doesn't help people get shows.
ME: No, I already HAVE a show and-
WOMAN: Is it on the air?
ME: Ye-
WOMAN: What's it called?
ME: Codename: Ki-
WOMAN: I've never heard of it.
ME: It's-
WOMAN: Do you have money?
Me: Um, yes. But I don't know-
WOMAN: Mel's very busy.
ME: I understand but-
WOMAN: Look! I don't have time for this. I'm busy, Mel's busy. I can't be bothering him about things like this. I can't! He's in New York shooting The Producers and he's very busy. He can't just-
ME: Excuse me, miss... you're YELLING at me.
WOMAN: What do you want?
ME: Nothing. Thanks.
(I hang up)

So no Mel Brooks. I've never heard anything but NICE things about him personally, but WOW that woman working for him was a nasty one. Maybe her dog died that day (or committed suicide).

So we did a song of our own, with lyrics by me and Mr. Rheingold, perfectly cheesy Broadway music by Steve Rucker, wonderful storyboarding by Kim Arndt, and beautifully timed out by Karen Villareal! Here it is, but the sync is a bit off as youtube vidoes tend to be:



Operation: MESSAGE and CRIME - These were both stories that started out as a comic in DC's Cartoon Network Action Pack and graduated to full-on TV episodes! Kinda like 'I'm Just a Bill'!


Operation: TRICYCLE - I think the KND's Bicycle Hub might be one of my favorite treehouses of all time. I named it after a bicycle shop that used to be across the street from my apartment on East 3rd Street in Manhattan... I think it's in Soho now.

Operation: GIRLFRIEND - Lizzie was ALWAYS one of the most polarizing characters of the show. Either you LOVED her, or you HATED her with all your soul. And it split pretty much right down the middle. I got tons of fan mail DEMANDING that Numbuh One dump Lizzie. And I got just as many threatening my life should Nigel and Lizzie ever break up. But no one ever told me not to have Lizzie dump Numbuh One!
Part of the story came from Guy Moore and Quack Leard -- They wanted an episode where the Treehouse computer fell in love with Numbuh One. So I took it one better and had it be the last straw that sends Lizzie packing. The break up sequence is beautiful... Grey DeLisle and Ben Diskin know how to slather the emotion on toast-- and I ate it up!


Operation: AMISH - We had mentioned Dr. Time Space and the Continuums in a couple episodes before, but who would have thunk that storyboard genius Jesse Schmal actually played Dr. Time Space?


Operation: SCIENCE - This might have been one of the most fun episodes to make. A series of commercials for assorted 2x4 tech gear? Sign me up! We came up with a ton of great ones. Some made it in, like Alison Wilgus' CHEEK TAZER. Some didn't, like this live action commercial:

We start with a close up of a live action boy (Ricky). Sad music plays as he somberly intones, “I had a HUGE spelling test on Thursday but I stayed up late playing video games instead of studying. There was no way I could go to school!”
We cross dissolve to another boy (Carl) as he says quietly, “I tried telling my Dad I was ALLERGIC to lima beans and that I’d puke if he made me eat them. I rolled around on the floor and made gross sounds but he just wasn’t buying it.”
We cross dissolve to a girl (Diane) as she whimpers, “After mistakenly sitting in her seat at the cafeteria Jamie Fatanzaro said she was gonna beat me up and run my pants up the flagpole after school! I HAD to find a way to get out early!” She leans in and says seriously, “And then a friend told me about Barf-Ex.”
We cut back to the Ricky as he says, “My Sector Leader told me to try something called Barf-Ex.”
We cut to Carl as he says, “I said, Barf-Ex? What’s that?”
We cut to a shot of a hand holding up an enormous blue pill with nails, screws and mushrooms sticking out of it as a soothing announcer croons, “Developed in the KND Deep Sea Science Lab, Barf-Ex is the enormous and hard to swallow pill that’ll get you out of ANYTHING!”
We cut back to Ricky as he says, “After just one Barf-Ex, I started puking uncontrollably! I thought I was going to DIE!”
We cut to Diane. “The STOMACH PAIN was HORRIBLE! I would have been better off getting beat up by Jamie Fatanzaro!”
We cut to Carl. “Sure, I didn’t have to eat my lima beans, but I was in the hospital for 17 weeks! Once I got out I went to my Sector Leader and told him to keep his stupid Barf-Ex!”
We cut to a split screen of the three kids as they all angrily growl, “THANKS A LOT, BARF-EX!”
Cut to a serene beach scene during sunset. The Barf-Ex logo dissolves on as the announcer says pleasantly, “Barf-Ex. We’re really sorry.”
The announcer then adds a disclaimer at a million MPH: Caution: People who need to breath should not use Barf-Ex. Side effects include uncontrollable vomiting, internal organ failure, unbelievable pain, blindness, extended hospitalization, and near death experiences.”
We immediately truck out to the judges as Numbuh 2x4 bellows, “THAT’S HORRIBLE! YOU GUYS HAVE TO STOP MAKING THAT STUFF IMMEDIATELY!” “We did,” mutters 71.562 (Operation: FERAL) sheepishly, “But we had already finished the commercial and didn’t have time to make anything else.” He suddenly cheers up and says, “But did you see Sector C’s new Smoke Tarts! They’re AWESOME!” He points OS and we zip pan to a new commercial:



Operation: PARTY - I've always been a big fan of a band called The Upper Crust. They dress in powdered wigs and play loud AC/DCish songs like Let Them Eat Rock. What's not to love?
So when we were trying to think of a band to play at the Delightful Children's house, I figured they'd be PERFECT. The DCFDTL would THINK they'd be a nice quiet chamber quartet... but instead they got an earful. As an added bonus, the band was awesome to work with and was even kind enough to play at the KND rap party! LONG LIVE ROQUE!


Operation: CARAMEL - I always wondered what had happened to Heinrich in Guatemala, but I never would have expected he was really a...

Oh, I'm not gonna give it a away. Some folks might now have seen that episode!

Operation: TREATY - My phone rang one afternoon and an excited voice blurted out, "What if Numbuh 274 never REALLY betrayed the KND? What if he was always working behind the scenes to help them, but then never gets the credit for it?"
Yup... even from the grave Mo Willems could sell me a story. Brilliant.

And there ya go! They'll even be airing Kenny and the Chimp/CAKED/No P in the OOL on Friday, too! Which reminds me, I never did a post about the first season, so I'll go back and reminisce on that for ya soon!

For the schedule, just head on over HERE!

A big KND salute to all of you watching and hopefully next week we'll talk about INTERVIEWS and the GRIM ADVENTURES OF THE KND!

Oh, and don't forget to watch the sooper gihoogic KND movie Operation: ZERO on Tuesday at 9am! I'll post some awesome tidbits about that movie soon!


14 comments:

  1. Ha! The Spinach Inquisition video I uploaded got featured on Warburtons blog! One stop closer to world domination.

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  2. Oh no! After this week there will be no more KND on when I get home from school! Im so sad. Plus, Im totally gonna cry when Operation INTERVIEWS comes on on Friday! But, at least I finished construction of my SPLANKER! And I even built the classic KND armor! (kind of like what Numbuhs 92 and 93 wear. also kinda like the KNDefense guys on FusionFall.)
    I wish I could put up a picture.

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  3. NOO!!! DON'T CANCEL KND AGAIN!!! PLEASE!?!


    By the way, Mr. W, as stated in your bolg, many fans requestied Nigel and Lizzie to break up and the Treehouse to fall in love with him, but why put Numbuh 362?

    Was it because to hint Rachel's feelings towards Nigel after what happened in Operation: I.T.?

    Also, please tell me the Numbuhs and postions of Sector Z, because the KND Code Module and I have a big fight over which is which.

    Also...Please premire Operation: Z.E.R.O on Saturday and not when we have school!

    By the way, do you still go by this e-mail address Write an email kndsupersecretmaildrop@curiouspictures.com?

    I want to ask you a few questions because you don't answer me here in your blog.

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  4. that mean lady on the phone sounds very rude. she should just put a sock in it and calm herself! :D operation interviews is gonna be playing on tuesday at 9am?! ahhh man! i have to go to school at that time!! maybe if i just get myself some Barf-Ex, i won't have to go to school!

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  5. Dont you mean Operation ZERO? that was on today. Operation Interviews is on on Friday normal time.

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  6. whoops! sorry, thats what i mean! sorry. i was just thinking about operation interviews because i want to see it. :)

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  7. It will be sad as it is all over. But hopefully CN will think this is a good show and maybe request more lol
    I loved Op Interviews even though I did cry as it was so sad at the end.
    One thing I love in some of episodes is the mirrors on the cars esspecially Op Six where there is somethig writen on it saying 'Seriously you don't want to know how big this object really is' it makes me laugh everytime as well as the truck horn lol
    I look forward to trivia on zero and interviews cause I want to know how you thought of these amazing ideas!

    Laura

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  8. Hey, Mr. Warburton. I sure hope you cover the official Numbuhs of Sector Z when you make the post about Operation: Z.E.R.O.. That is, if they have official Numbuhs...

    Agh, I loved Operation: P.A.R.T.Y.. The Delightfuls have always been part of my favorite villains ever.

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  9. if mr.warburton ever sees this i just want to thank him for having the knd come back on cartoon network. i am so thankful of that, but i have one more question for him. will he please get together with cartoon network and see if they will allow him to create a season 7 of knd ???? i think it would be the greatest comeback of an animated tv series ever. i love how numbuh 3 & 4 are married in interveiws and had a weird moment in op. zero but i wanna no what happend in the teenage yrs.

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  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  11. Mr.Warburton are you aware of the petition for "Real Rainbow Monkey" stuffed animal toys? You should really consider merchandising them. This would really sell for many kids and make "True Fans", I'm one. Please consider for real spreading the joy and love of a Rainbow Monkey stuffed toy your KND fans around the world. Make a Dream come true Mr.Warburton.

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  12. Dear Mr. Warburton,

    Could you please help the RKND, Kids Next Door Module, Ki, and all such groups join forces to become just the Kids Next Door? I'm really sick and tired of friends fighting because of their membership in rivaling groups. The Ki threatened the KND a while back. Please help!!

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  13. Dear Mr Warburton,

    Will you ever consider making like some of the actual weapons? like im not talking dangerous here just like the basic weapons the the bubblegum gun in operation z.e.r.o.. Those would really sell to all KND fans . Please make more episodes!! I love KND!!

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  14. Dear Mr.Warburton ,
    I think you are one of the most creative person in he WORLD !!!! I know it has been a long time since KND , but I record almost all of them and my list is like full . The first thing I see is " Codname: Kids next door 10 full episodes " OMG 10 episodes . At school , all me and my friend talk about is KND . We sound like totall goofballs and most of our friends say ," What are you talking about ????" But we just say ," Somthin amazing " And continue talking . We love you and KND . God Bless you . - Numbuh 51 and Numbuh 30 ( Me and my friend

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