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!Woman
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!''Poop or Scoop''
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Revision as of 14:56, 18 June 2022

Crashbox
Genre
Created by
  • Eamon Harrington
  • John Watkin
Directed byDave Thomas
Voices of
ComposerMatthew Morse
Country of origin
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes52
Production
Executive producers
Producers
  • Eamon Harrington
  • John Watkin
Production locations
Camera setupSingle-Camera
Running time25 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkHBO Family
ReleaseFebruary 1, 1999 (1999-02-01) –
April 1, 2000 (2000-04-01)

Crashbox is an educational children's television series co-created by Eamon Harrington and John Watkin for HBO Family that ran from 1999 to 2000 in the United States. It was HBO's second attempt (their first being Braingames 15 years earlier) at a show focused on educational skits.

Crashbox was one of the original programs for the relaunch of the HBO Family channel in February 1999.[1][2][3] Although it has never been released on physical media like DVD or VHS, it still reruns on HBO Family and is found on various streaming services.

Production

Crashbox was created by Planet Grande Pictures (consisting of Eamon Harrington and John Watkin) and is animated by Cuppa Coffee Studios, headed by Adam Shaheen. Planet Grande Pictures engaged Cuppa Coffee Studios 8 months to complete 13 hours of programming.[4][5]

Premise

The show takes place in the insides of a game computer where green game cartridges (which are sculpted out of clay) are created and loaded by rusty tin robots, occasionally with short sketches of them "repairing" damaged games. The format of each episode is The Electric Company-esque, with sketches not connecting to each other nor following a sequential plot. Each half-hour episode consists of seven 2-to-5-minute educational games, and occasionally an eighth bonus game.

Segments

The following are the games of the show listed in alphabetical order:

  • Captain Bones - A pirate skeleton named Captain Bones has the viewers solve math problems and other types of puzzles by having his bones form the numbers or objects and having the viewers move one of his bones to pull it off. Throughout the game, Captain Bones will openly mock and demean the viewers using several pirate-esque insults, eventually becoming so irate that he demands them to leave his sight, moving on to another game.
  • Dirty Pictures - In an art museum that is closed for cleaning, a maid dusts off a picture with the elderly security guard holding up cards that give the hints of the person in the picture. This is a non-speaking segment.
  • Distraction News - A cardboard cutout newswoman named Dora Smarmy tells the viewers about certain things as they watch to learn about them while not getting distracted of the things that appear during the broadcast.
  • Ear We Are* - A nervous, stubborn and grumpy left ear and his twin brother, who is a brash, goofy and oblivious right one, describe sounds for the viewers to guess what event or thing they refer to. The segment only appears in Episodes #1-25.
  • Eddie Bull - Eddie Bull gives viewers three hints at what animal at the Walla Walla Washington Zoo ate him. Once the animal is identified, Eddie is regurgitated and the game then ends.
  • Haunted House Party - A haunted house party hosted by the unseen Horrid One has ghosts attend as the viewer must identify the mystery guest of honor by listening to clues about them. When all the clues have been said, the Horrid One recaps them to the viewers before the historical figure is revealed in cardboard cutout form after a bright flash of lightning. In Episodes #40-52, the narrator does not speak until the gargoyles open the gate, and when the "mysterious mystery guest" is finally shown, the mouth movement is different from Episodes #1-37.
  • Lens McCracken* - An noir-styled detective named Lens McCracken develops zoomed-in and blurry pictures from a case he's working on, that viewers must solve by figuring out what the full image would be. The photos are then also be solved by his dark room's computer called the Solutionator one by one, and detective ends the segment by piecing together a story from the solved photos. The segment only appears in Episodes #4-38.
  • Mug Shots - Detective Verity has the viewers look at the interrogated testimony from the photographed suspects of a crime where they must find out who is telling the truth and which of the other three are lying as they each state where they were when the crime was happening. The viewer solves the puzzle by spotting the contradictions or factual inaccuracies in the testimonies. Each of the suspects are shown in live action, but dubbed over by a different actor. When the innocent one is identified, the game ends.
  • Paige and Sage* - An unseen valley girl talks through the pictures of identical Barbie doll twins Paige and Sage, where viewers must spot the differences in the pictures. The segment only appears in Episodes #3-19.
  • Poop or Scoop - The game's announcer gives facts about animals where they must guess if they are true or false.
  • Psycho Math - A robot named Professor Rocket gives the viewers long math problems for them to solve with countable pictures or descriptions of numbered things, such as the number of members on a baseball team qualifying for the number "9".
  • Radio Scramble - An anthropomorphic microphone named DJ Jumping Johnny Jumble has the viewers unscramble a word that is the title of the song that he plays at the KBOX radio station. He will sometimes also deliver traffic, sports, or weather reports that also are anagram puzzles.
  • Revolting Slob - A puppet sketch where a polite female voice uses the messy Revolting Slob to describe a three-choice answer vocabulary question. The sketch ends with another word of the final question having the Revolting Slob explode with the female narrator stating that "No slobs were harmed in the making of this show." In Episodes #2-39, the revolting slob is grumpy and gluttonous, and the scenery takes place in his living room. But in Episodes #40-52, the revolting slob is silly and exuberant, and the scenery takes place in his kitchen. He always does a revolting action in each segment.
  • Riddlesnake - An unseen raj reads the riddles from a riddle snake that the viewers must solve.
  • Sketch Pad - A beatnik named Sketch Pad draws pictures of some things happening in a riddle-like scenario, as the viewers must solve the reason why these specific things are happening. The goal of the game is to try to guess the event or outcome that Sketch Pad did not mention.
  • Ten Seconds - A supercomputer gives the viewers ten seconds to solve each of four in Episodes #1-39 or five in Episodes #40-51 rebus puzzles and guess the answer. At the end of the game, the announcer signs off, moving to another game.
  • Think Tank - Inside a fish tank, a Jamaican submarine captain named Captain Bob has the viewers figure out a word that explains what each of three things that appear have in common.
  • Word Shake* - An artificially intelligent French-accented chef in a black-and-white motion picture device named Chef Word Shake demonstrates two or three letters, words or phrases that are to be used by the viewers to combine into one word or phrase, such as the letters "D" and "K" to form "decay" and the words "disturb" and "honey" to make "the Easter Bunny". The sketch usually ends with the kitchen exploding with flour. The segment only appears in Episodes #2-25.

Near the end of each episode, the robots recap and review most of the games to the viewers in a "Crashbox Rewind". Segments marked with an asterisk (*) do not appear in Season 2.

Cast

Major voice cast
Segment Character Actor Notes
(framing) Robots John Watkin, Peter Lurie, Mari Weiss, Nancy Cartwright
Captain Bones Captain Bones S. Scott C. Jones Uncredited in episode 35
Distraction News Dora Smarmy Shannon Anderson
Ear We Are Left Ear Mike Perez
Right Ear Matthew Fulford
Eddie Bull Eddie Bull Josh Anyiwo Mr. Jay Uncredited in episode 35
Haunted House Party Horrid One Dr. Chris Vail Uncredited in episode 35
Butler Sean Sullivan Uncredited in episode 35
Woman [Amber Bastian]] Uncredited in episodes 27-39, replaced by Butler
Lens McCracken Lens McCracken Sylvester Freeman
Mug Shots Detective Verity Marley McCarthy
Paige and Sage Valley Girl Stephanie Underwood
Poop or Scoop Announcer [] Pearce&Sauer ]] Credited in episode 35
Psycho Math Professor Rocket Brent Nieter Uncredited in episodes 1-39
Radio Scramble DJ Jumping Johnny Jumble Sean Gamboa
Revolting Slob Polite Female Voice Heather DeJute
Revolting Slob [ Keith Dublin]] Dub of a puppet controlled by Tom Vandenburg and Johan Vandergun
Riddlesnake Riddlesnake Raj Joyce Hartman
Sketch Pad Sketch Pad Jay McCraw Uncredited in episode 35
Ten Seconds Announcer Brant Powell Credited in episode 35
Think Tank Captain Bob Gabe Vogle
Word Shake Chef Word Shake Trenton Berminster Dub of unknown live-action actor
Minor voice cast
Episode Segment Character Actor Notes
1 Haunted House Party Harry Houdini Carlos Alazraqui
Mug Shots Muscles Stankowski Alan Schlaifer
Knuckles Stankowski John Watkin
Elbows Stankowski S. Scott Bullock
Stanley "Deuces" Stankowski
2 Haunted House Party Paul Revere John Watkin
5 Haunted House Party William Shakespeare John Watkin
6 Mug Shots Sleepy Eyes McGee S. Scott Bullock
Checkers Larue
Billy Crimp
Mickey "The Goat" O'Grady Alan Schlaifer
10 Haunted House Party Benjamin Franklin Carlos Alazraqui
11 Mug Shots Dr. Cleanpick Alan Schlaifer
Chatty Cathy
"Stinky" John John Watkin
Sam Spit
15 Haunted House Party Richard Nixon Carlos Alazraqui
16 Mug Shots Viola Hardcase Dawn Maxey
Bass Henderson Greg Eagles Credited in episode 19
Willow Reed
Fingers Weinstock Peter Lurie
17 Haunted House Party Abraham Lincoln John Watkin
18 Haunted House Party Eleanor Roosevelt Maggie Baird
18 Haunted House Party Coquettish Woman Maggie Baird Uncredited in episode 30, replaced by Butler
19 Mug Shots Honey Lemon
Candy Lemon
Sugar Lemon
Puddin' Lemon
20 Haunted House Party Albert Einstein John Watkin
Mug Shots "Lug Nut" Muldoon John Watkin
Sammy "Sixtoes" Bixby Greg Eagles
Scooter Hayes
Larry "The Lump" Coolridge Alan Schlaifer
21 Mug Shots Lois Carnegie
Morgan "Applesauce" Pike
Mitch Vanderbilt
Mellon Ball Jones
22 Haunted House Party Christopher Columbus Carlos Alazraqui
23 Haunted House Party Jackie Robinson Greg Eagles
Mug Shots Dean DeLuca
Gilbert Sullivan
Louis Clark Alan Schlaifer
Roger Hammerstein John Watkin
25 Haunted House Party Thomas Edison Carlos Alazraqui
Mug Shots Baby Face MacGuire Alan Schlaifer
Leo "The Lion" Lawrence
Danger Jones Greg Eagles
Slippery Fingers Ferguson
26 Haunted House Party Leonardo da Vinci S. Scott Bullock Uncredited in episode 35
27 Haunted House Party Jackie Robinson Greg Eagles
Mug Shots Baby Face MacGuire Alan Schlaifer
Leo "The Lion" Lawrence
Danger Jones Greg Eagles
Slippery Fingers Ferguson
28 Haunted House Party Paul Revere John Watkin
Mug Shots "Lug Nut" Muldoon John Watkin
Sammy "Sixtoes" Bixby Greg Eagles
Scooter Hayes
Larry "The Lump" Coolridge Alan Schlaifer
29 Haunted House Party William Shakespeare John Watkin
Mug Shots Lois Carnegie
Morgan "Applesauce" Pike
Mitch Vanderbilt
Mellon Ball Jones
30 Haunted House Party Eleanor Roosevelt Maggie Baird
30 Haunted House Party Coquettish Woman Maggie Baird Uncredited in episode 30, replaced by Butler
31 Mug Shots Sleepy Eyes McGee S. Scott Bullock
Checkers Larue
Billy Crimp
Mickey "The Goat" O'Grady Alan Schlaifer
32 Haunted House Party Abraham Lincoln John Watkin
34 Mug Shots Dean DeLuca
Gilbert Sullivan
Louis Clark Alan Schlaifer
Roger Hammerstein John Watkin
35 Haunted House Party Leonardo da Vinci S. Scott Bullock Uncredited in episode 35
36 Haunted House Party Albert Einstein John Watkin
Mug Shots Viola Hardcase Dawn Maxey
Bass Henderson Greg Eagles Credited in episode 19
Willow Reed
Fingers Weinstock Peter Lurie
37 Haunted House Party Benjamin Franklin Carlos Alazraqui
Mug Shots Honey Lemon
Candy Lemon
Sugar Lemon
Puddin' Lemon
38 Mug Shots Muscles Stankowski Alan Schlaifer
Knuckles Stankowski John Watkin
Elbows Stankowski S. Scott Bullock
Stanley "Deuces" Stankowski
40 Haunted House Party Thomas Jefferson Dee Bradley Baker
41 Mug Shots Mildred Postley Edie McClurg
Irv Goldberg Alan Schlaifer
Rupert Brindle
Sergio Corleone
42 Haunted House Party Noah Peter Lurie
Mug Shots Buttons Ha-Ha Peter Lurie
"Pecs" Armstrong Greg Eagles
Ivana Flipova Veena Bidasha
Gilberto Whiplash Alan Schlaifer
43 Haunted House Party Cleopatra Veena Bidasha
45 Haunted House Party Isaac Newton S. Scott Bullock
46 Haunted House Party Julius Caesar S. Scott Bullock
Mug Shots Montgomery Cleft Peter Lurie
B.B. Graw Alan Schlaifer
Lollipop Greene
Sir Percival St. John John Watkin
47 Haunted House Party Amelia Earhart Christy Noonan
Mug Shots "Bean Ball" Ballou
"Spitter" Sykes
"Lumber" Jack Lang
Edgardo Polonia
49 Mug Shots Dusty Rhodes
Indy Pitts Alan Schlaifer
Axel Schmidt
Tranh Long
50 Mug Shots Gertrude Simsbury Dawn Maxey
Elaine Kieserman Veena Bidasha
Mathilda Hudson-Billingsley
Constance Appleby Edie McClurg
51 Haunted House Party George Washington S. Scott Bullock
Southern Lady Hope Kaplan-Biller
Mug Shots Noseless Calhoun Dee Bradley Baker
"Three Eyes" Oppenheimer
Harry "The Hairy" Huang Alan Schlaifer
"Big Noggin" Simms John Watkin
52 Haunted House Party Henry Ford Dee Bradley Baker

Episodes

Season 1 (1999)

Episode Airdate Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7 Game 8
1 Feb 1, 1999 Distraction News Sketch Pad Psycho Math Ear We Are Haunted House Party Eddie Bull Ten Seconds Riddlesnake
2 Feb 2, 1999 Radio Scramble Captain Bones Poop or Scoop Ten Seconds Haunted House Party Revolting Slob Word Shake —
3 Feb 3, 1999 Mug Shots Distraction News Psycho Math Ear We Are Paige and Sage Eddie Bull Ten Seconds Riddlesnake
4 Feb 4, 1999 Poop or Scoop Captain Bones Distraction News Paige and Sage Think Tank Dirty Pictures Lens McCracken —
5 Feb 5, 1999 Haunted House Party Revolting Slob Think Tank Poop or Scoop Ear We Are Psycho Math Ten Seconds —
6 Feb 6, 1999 Radio Scramble Eddie Bull Captain Bones Sketch Pad Mug Shots Think Tank Ear We Are —
7 Feb 7, 1999 Lens McCracken Captain Bones Revolting Slob Dirty Pictures Sketch Pad Poop or Scoop Ten Seconds —
8 Feb 13, 1999 Lens McCracken Distraction News Sketch Pad Dirty Pictures Eddie Bull Psycho Math Riddlesnake Ten Seconds
9 Feb 14, 1999 Radio Scramble Distraction News Psycho Math Dirty Pictures Lens McCracken Eddie Bull Ear We Are —
10 Feb 20, 1999 Radio Scramble Eddie Bull Sketch Pad Paige and Sage Haunted House Party Psycho Math Lens McCracken Riddlesnake
11 Feb 21, 1999 Mug Shots Sketch Pad Psycho Math Dirty Pictures Distraction News Riddlesnake Word Shake —
12 Feb 27, 1999 Revolting Slob Think Tank Poop or Scoop Riddlesnake Psycho Math Paige and Sage Lens McCracken —
13 Feb 28, 1999 Revolting Slob (Non-Rewind) Think Tank Poop or Scoop Ear We Are Psycho Math Dirty Pictures Lens McCracken —
14 Mar 6, 1999 Revolting Slob (Non-Rewind) Think Tank Poop or Scoop Riddlesnake Psycho Math Dirty Pictures Paige and Sage —
15 Mar 7, 1999 Captain Bones Distraction News Haunted House Party Radio Scramble Riddlesnake Eddie Bull Lens McCracken Paige and Sage
16 Mar 13, 1999 Captain Bones Distraction News Mug Shots Ear We Are Poop or Scoop Paige and Sage Riddlesnake —
17 Mar 14, 1999 Radio Scramble Revolting Slob Poop or Scoop Ten Seconds Captain Bones Haunted House Party Paige and Sage —
18 Mar 20, 1999 Think Tank Distraction News Radio Scramble Haunted House Party Poop or Scoop Captain Bones (Non-Rewind) Lens McCracken —
19 Mar 21, 1999 Think Tank Mug Shots Captain Bones Paige and Sage Eddie Bull Word Shake Riddlesnake —
20 Mar 27, 1999 Radio Scramble Mug Shots Sketch Pad Psycho Math Haunted House Party Ten Seconds Word Shake —
21 Mar 28, 1999 Eddie Bull Radio Scramble Dirty Pictures Mug Shots Ear We Are Psycho Math Word Shake —
22 Apr 3, 1999 Haunted House Party Sketch Pad Radio Scramble Revolting Slob Riddlesnake Eddie Bull Word Shake —
23 Apr 4, 1999 Mug Shots Word Shake Haunted House Party Lens McCracken Poop or Scoop Captain Bones Riddlesnake —
24 Apr 10, 1999 Radio Scramble Sketch Pad Eddie Bull Word Shake Captain Bones Dirty Pictures Lens McCracken —
25 Apr 11, 1999 Haunted House Party Think Tank Ear We Are Mug Shots Poop or Scoop Word Shake Riddlesnake —
26 Apr 17, 1999 Revolting Slob Haunted House Party Eddie Bull Captain Bones Radio Scramble Ten Seconds Lens McCracken —
27 Aug 1, 1999 Distraction News Captain Bones (Non-Rewind) Sketch Pad Haunted House Party Poop or Scoop Ten Seconds Mug Shots Riddlesnake
28 Aug 7, 1999 Captain Bones (Non-Rewind) Revolting Slob Mug Shots (Non-Rewind) Distraction News Haunted House Party Poop or Scoop Lens McCracken Riddlesnake
29 Aug 8, 1999 Haunted House Party Revolting Slob Think Tank (Non-Rewind) Poop or Scoop Captain Bones (Non-Rewind) Ten Seconds Mug Shots Riddlesnake
30 Aug 14, 1999 Revolting Slob Psycho Math (Non-Rewind) Distraction News Haunted House Party Radio Scramble Ten Seconds Poop or Scoop Riddlesnake
31 Aug 15, 1999 Radio Scramble Revolting Slob Poop or Scoop Dirty Pictures Mug Shots Psycho Math Sketch Pad (Non-Rewind) Ten Seconds
32 Aug 21, 1999 Captain Bones (Non-Rewind) Revolting Slob Poop or Scoop Haunted House Party Distraction News Ten Seconds Think Tank Riddlesnake
33 Aug 22, 1999 Revolting Slob Sketch Pad (Non-Rewind) Distraction News Dirty Pictures (Non-Rewind) Poop or Scoop Psycho Math (Non-Rewind) Think Tank Riddlesnake
34 Aug 28, 1999 Mug Shots Distraction News Captain Bones (Non-Rewind) Dirty Pictures Sketch Pad Eddie Bull Lens McCracken Riddlesnake
35 Aug 29, 1999 Radio Scramble Distraction News Sketch Pad (Non-Rewind) Haunted House Party Captain Bones Revolting Slob Eddie Bull (Non-Rewind) Riddlesnake
36 Sep 4, 1999 Revolting Slob (Non-Rewind) Mug Shots Sketch Pad Psycho Math Haunted House Party Radio Scramble Poop or Scoop Ten Seconds
37 Sep 5, 1999 Think Tank Mug Shots Captain Bones (Non-Rewind) Sketch Pad (Non-Rewind) Haunted House Party Eddie Bull Lens McCracken Ten Seconds
38 Sep 11, 1999 Mug Shots Sketch Pad (Non-Rewind) Distraction News Dirty Pictures (Non-Rewind) Psycho Math Think Tank Eddie Bull Lens McCracken
39 Sep 12, 1999 Revolting Slob (Non-Rewind) Distraction News Psycho Math Dirty Pictures Poop or Scoop Radio Scramble Ten Seconds Riddlesnake

Season 2 (2000)

Episode Airdate Game 1 Game 2 Game 3 Game 4 Game 5 Game 6 Game 7 Game 8
40 Feb 19, 2000 Revolting Slob Distraction News Psycho Math Ten Seconds Sketch Pad (Non-Rewind) Poop or Scoop (Non-Rewind) Haunted House Party Riddlesnake
41 Feb 20, 2000 Distraction News Psycho Math Mug Shots Think Tank Captain Bones (Non-Rewind) Dirty Pictures Radio Scramble —
42 Feb 26, 2000 Mug Shots (Non-Rewind) Revolting Slob Sketch Pad (Non-Rewind) Psycho Math Haunted House Party Poop or Scoop Riddlesnake —
43 Feb 27, 2000 Revolting Slob Captain Bones (Non-Rewind) Sketch Pad Poop or Scoop Haunted House Party Radio Scramble Ten Seconds —
44 Mar 4, 2000 Distraction News Revolting Slob (Non-Rewind) Psycho Math Eddie Bull Think Tank Dirty Pictures (Non-Rewind) Mug Shots (Non-Rewind) Ten Seconds
45 Mar 5, 2000 Distraction News Captain Bones Revolting Slob (Non-Rewind) Poop or Scoop Sketch Pad (Non-Rewind) Haunted House Party Ten Seconds —
46 Mar 11, 2000 Haunted House Party Mug Shots (Non-Rewind) Eddie Bull Think Tank Psycho Math Radio Scramble Riddlesnake —
47 Mar 12, 2000 Haunted House Party Captain Bones (Non-Rewind) Mug Shots (Non-Rewind) Distraction News Eddie Bull Psycho Math Ten Seconds —
48 Mar 18, 2000 Revolting Slob Poop or Scoop Distraction News Captain Bones Dirty Pictures Radio Scramble Riddlesnake —
49 Mar 19, 2000 Mug Shots (Non-Rewind) Sketch Pad Radio Scramble Dirty Pictures Psycho Math Poop or Scoop Riddlesnake —
50 Mar 25, 2000 Mug Shots Revolting Slob Captain Bones (Non-Rewind) Distraction News Eddie Bull Think Tank (Non-Rewind) Dirty Pictures Riddlesnake
51 Mar 26, 2000 Mug Shots Psycho Math Sketch Pad (Non-Rewind) Radio Scramble Haunted House Party Eddie Bull Ten Seconds —
52 Apr 1, 2000 Revolting Slob Haunted House Party Poop or Scoop Distraction News Captain Bones (Non-Rewind) Sketch Pad Think Tank (Non-Rewind) —

Reception

The series received generally positive reviews from audiences and parents on Common Sense Media, with a 4 out of 5 star rating.[6]

References

  1. ^ "HBO nabs kid eyeballs with sked-centric Web content". Kidscreen. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  2. ^ Richard Katz, "HBO in Family way with heavy push of new fare", Variety, September 9, 1998.
  3. ^ Lynne Heffley, "HBO Launches Spinoff With Pair of Excellent Kids' Shows", Los Angeles Times, February 1, 1999.
  4. ^ "Crashbox has British sensibility". Playback. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  5. ^ Eichhorn, P: "Cuppa Coffee brews up a special blend of animation Take One Magazine, Summer, 1999, No. 24
  6. ^ "Parent reviews for Crashbox - Common Sense Media". Archived from the original on 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
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