The Upside Down Show
The Upside Down Show is a Logie Award winning live action daytime children's show which airs on Noggin, Nick Jr. Australia and ABC. It features Shane Dundas and David Collins, who gained fame as physical comedians The Umbilical Brothers, as two brothers who live together in a strange house with a variety of unusual rooms. The show premiered on Nick Jr. Australia in August 2006 and Noggin in October 2006 with 13 episodes developed by the highly acclaimed Sesame Workshop.
On June 1, 2007, the Umbilical Brothers announced on their web site that Nickelodeon/Noggin USA were not interested in a second season of The Upside Down Show, despite its critical success.
Characters
- Shane — Shane Dundas plays "Shane", who is bald and wears cargo pants, sneakers, and a blue t-shirt featuring the symbol for "slow motion", as found on most electronic devices (although most people seem to think it's the "play" symbol).
- David — David Collins plays "David", who has unruly, dark, curly hair and wears either cargo shorts or capris, sneakers and a striped polo shirt. He has super-sensitive hearing (only functional when he makes a "do-do-do-do" sound effect at the same time).
- Mrs. Foil — The only other regularly appearing human character, Mrs. Foil is the boys' friendly neighbor. She is blonde and wears a bright pink ladies' business suit, orange stockings, pink shoes, and has been known to play a mean tuba. Mrs. Foil is portrayed by actress Amanda Bishop (who also appears in various segments, not necessarily as Mrs. Foil but as a 'lady').
- Puppet — Puppet is a mottled brown hand puppet representing no specific kind of creature. He lives with the brothers and often assists them in their antics. Puppet is performed and voiced by puppeteer Mat McCoy.
- The Shmuzzies — The Shmuzzies are a friendly bunch of fuzzy, furry ball-shaped creatures who pop up now and then in various places. They come in several different bright colors and speak a language called Shmuzzish ("Shmello, Shmuzzies!"). Shane seems to be apprehensive of the creatures, while David is friendly with them and is fluent in their language (which he says he studied for seven years, "part time").
- Fido, the Fly — Fido is Shane's pet fly, who lives behind a tiny door in the boys' apartment. Fido communicates to Shane by buzzing (voiced by Shane Dundas.)
- Action Fingers — Occasionally Shane and David have need to call upon the resources of two rough-and-tumble figures, Knuckles and Pointy. These two digit adventurers are performed by Shane and David when they "let their fingers do the walking" over props and scenery.
- Bob the Blanket - Bob is a small white "blanket" (more like the size of a hand towel) belonging to David (who also does his voice). He has a gravelly voice and a sardonic wit.
- The Voice — Every so often a melliflous male voice speaks to Shane and David. The Voice usually reminds the pair, in a kind and paternal tone, to perform some task or courtesy. Most often, he tells them, "Don't forget to knock", then says, "Come in", when they do so.
This show, however, has been cancelled by ABC, as announced by the Umbilical Brothers Shane and David themselves. The reason is inexplicable, but marketing potential seems to be a key role.
Episode Structure
Each episode begins with a "cold opening" in which the brothers, or usually just Shane, are in the middle of some activity. After greeting the audience, David introduces "The Remote" by pretending to be holding a remote control. He explains how The Remote can control the action on-screen by "pressing" various buttons and proceeds to control Shane's actions. For example, "Fast Forward" causes Shane to move and speak quickly, "Pause" causes him to freeze. Invariably David "discovers" a heretofore unseen button; this "Wild-Card Button", such as "Humongous" (and its opposite, the "Minute" button) causes some strange and/or undesired effect. David then offers to give The Remote to the viewer and then "hands it over" by reaching off-screen downward. The brothers direct the viewer to press some buttons, to comic effect, and finally request, "Just press 'play'", at which point the opening credits begin.
The central objective of every episode is for Shane and David to find a certain room or place. They do this by adventuring through the several red doors in their apartment, as well as other places (under a table, behind a bookcase, inside their sofa). The brothers occasionally ask for help from the viewers by asking them to press buttons on their Remote. Their journey takes them to several "Wrong Turn" rooms, and they always encounter, in at least one of the rooms, a child who teaches them something and sets them on the correct path. Eventually they locate their destination and experience a place, such as a Barbershop or an Airport "for the very first time."
The show ends with the boys back in their apartment.
Episode Guide
101--Movies
Shane and David make a movie (directed by Puppet), then search for the movie theatre to watch it.
WRONG TURNS: Laundry Room, Dancing Room, Chair Room
WILD-CARD BUTTON: Light/Dark
VOCABULARY: Stupendous
Action Fingers: In the Laundry Room, they rescue Barbara, a sock caught in a lint trap, and return her to her socky partner, Lefty. They also refold Mrs. Foil's laundry after crashing into it. This segment is unusual, in that the Action Fingers are clearly shown to be David and Shane's hands (Mrs. Foil is about to get angry at them for wrecking her laundry, until they use the Instant Replay button to prove the Action Fingers did it). In most other Action Fingers segments, David and Shane simply watch the Action Fingers take off, often not standing anywhere near the action.
Schmuzzies: They want to play a rhyming game before David and Shane can enter the Chair Room.
102--Barbershop
After visiting The Very Hairy room, Shane is apprehensive about getting a hair cut. David and his blanket, Bob, help him get to the barbershop.
WRONG TURNS: Very, Very Hairy Room, Hairbrush Room, Concert Room (featuring The Talking Hairheads)
WILD-CARD BUTTON: Up/Down
VOCABULARY: Apprehensive, stalling
Trivia Note: There is a girl featured in all three wrong turn rooms, as well as in the barbershop itself. Her name, as shown in the closing credits, is Jade Barber.
Schmuzzies: They move into Shane's long, bedraggled hair, thinking it's the Very Hairy Room.
103--Art Museum
After finding no place to hang his newly created masterpiece, Shane, along with David, search for the art museum to hang it.
WRONG TURNS: Sticky Room, Fog Room, Museum of Finger Painting
WILD-CARD BUTTON: Humongous/Minute
VOCABULARY: Porcupine, moat
Schmuzzies: They are part of the tour group at the Art Museum. When Shane despairs over not being able to hang his picture, he makes a reference to the Schmuzzy Art Museum, even though it never appears in the episode.
104--Petshop
Yearning for a relationship like that between Fido and Shane, David decides he needs a pet and looks for the pet shop.
WRONG TURNS: Puppy Room, Parrot Room, Moon Room
WILD-CARD BUTTON: Rotate
Other Buttons: Upside down, right side up, fast forward, ditty button.
Instant Replay: To see the dog rotate (roll over).
Featured Imaginary Item: Fido
Mrs. Foil Funny Expression: When holding her cat, she says, "His name is Elizabeth."
Schmuzzies: They sing backup for David when the Ditty Button is pressed.
Action Fingers: not featured.
Potential Cultural Reference: David and Shane sing after Puppet says he was on The Dark Side of the Moon.
105--Camping
After their bedrooms disappear, the boys search for another place to sleep.
WRONG TURNS: Sleeping Room, "Wake Up!" Room, Shapes Room
WILD-CARD BUTTON: Vertical/Horizontal
106--Picnic
Shane and David take Fido the Fly on his first-ever picnic.
WRONG TURNS: Sandwich Room, No-Room Room, Windy Room
WILD-CARD BUTTON: Inside/Outside
107--Airport
promotes "Early Reading Skills and Sign Language."
Shane and David volunteer to pick up Puppet's cousin (Mary Annette) at the airport, but have to find it first.
WRONG TURNS: Bird Room, Paper Airplane Room, Word Room
WILD-CARD BUTTON: "Shake", Vibration
Instant Replay: Action fingers ask to see a girl use sign language to sign the word "plane" again
Featured Imaginary Item: Binoculars
Mrs. Foil Funny Expression: "Jumbo Jets, Donkeys and Tigers."
Action Fingers: Two instances. First: Action Fingers crash-land on a paper airplane, search for Mary Annette inside, then refold it for its owner (Mrs. Foil). Second: They help to translate for a girl using sign language in the Word Room.
Schmuzzies: They first relay the message that Mary Annette is at the airport and needs to be picked up right away. Later, they attempt to sing backup for Puppet, but start out being too far in front, and then too far in the back of the puppet stage.
108--Beach
After losing the beach ball they were playing with, Shane and David search for the beach to find it.
WRONG TURNS: Underwater Room, Desert Room, South Pole
WILD-CARD BUTTON: Upside down/Right side up
Action Fingers: They rebuild Mrs. Foil's sand castle after David and Shane destroy it.
Schmuzzies: They see the beach ball rolling along the hedge outside the window, but David and Shane don't turn around in time. They yell "Schmeach schmall!" which David finally translates using a tiny Schmuzzish-English dictionary.
Mrs. Foil Funny Expression: "Every afternoon at three, bring your own milk. Which reminds me, did you check the teacup? Fiddle-dee-dee!"
VOCABULARY: Perplexed
109--Marching Band
Shane and David invent imaginary musical instruments and set out to join a marching band.
WRONG TURNS: Funny Musical Room, Marching Room, Sky Room
WILD-CARD BUTTON: Accelerate/Decelerate
Schmuzzies: They march behind Puppet, who initially wants to be bandleader, but get distracted by a dustball.
Cultural Reference: The bird in the Sky Room sounds like one of the Beatles, possibly Paul McCartney.
110--Birthday
Shane and David are invited to a surprise birthday party that turns out to be for them!
WRONG TURNS: No Fun Room, Surprise Room, Opera Room
WILD-CARD BUTTON: Celebration
Schmuzzies: They attend the "Schmirthday Schmarty," to which they travel via Mrs. Foil's purse.
Mrs. Foil Funny Expression: "Toodle Pip!"
Trivia Note: Many of the children featured in other episodes attend the party, including the boy from the Finger Painting Museum in Art Museum, the dancing girl from the dance studio in Movies, the boy with the jacket at the South Pole in Beach, one of the girls from the Marching Room in Marching Band.
111--Farm
Shane and David's band, the Talking Airheads, faces a setback when David's cowbell (which just so happens to be attached to an imaginary cow) disappears.
WRONG TURNS: Great Big Bell Room, Boat out at Sea Room, Bicycle Room
WILD-CARD BUTTON: Seesaw
Featured Imaginary Object: Clarabell the Clinking Clanking Cowbell Cow.
Schmuzzies: They play the marimba in Shane and David's band. This is one of the few episodes in which Shane does not appear to be apprehensive of them.
112--Ice Cream Truck
Shane and David seek to discover the delicious, delectable, and DEEE-LIIIGHT-FUUUUL! joys of the frozen treat known as ICE CREAM. They also need to get three imaginary pets out of their way: Evan the Pig, Helen the Baby Hippo, and Giorgio the Caterpillar.
WRONG TURNS: Frozen Room, This Way Room
WILD-CARD BUTTON: Heavy/Light
Schmuzzies: They eat two tubs of ice cream and engage in wild conversation with Shane, in which it is revealed that his uncle is a giraffe, but "only on Saturdays," and there is the implication that they use Schmuzzish profanity against him.
113--Mini Golf
Shane and David are baffled when a mysterious orange thingy appears in their living room. They use deductive reasoning to narrow down what it actually is, and where it belongs.
WRONG TURNS: Space Room, Orange Room, Basketball Room
WILD-CARD BUTTON: Irish Dancing
VOCABULARY: Baffled
Action Fingers: They use their Action Noses to locate the Orange Room.
Featured Imaginary Object: Fido the Fly, who puts the round non-planet thingy into the pocket of his tennis shorts. When trying to retrieve them, Shane pulls out a set of keys ("for his locker") and a calculator ("he's a high scorer").
Schmuzzies: Two of them play with the thingy, until David coaches Shane to say "Schmease" and "Schmank you." David then explains he studied Schmuzzish for seven years, "part time."
Cultural References: In the Basketball Room, David yells at the mini golf ball, "This is your home! You too good for your home?", a direct allusion to the Adam Sandler film Happy Gilmore, in which the title character yells, "Why you don't you just go home? That's your HOME! Are you too good for your home?" Also, during the closing credits, Shane and David present a barrage of mini items to the viewer, including Minnie Mouse, Minnie Driver, a miniskirt, Minnie Minor, Mini Major, Minnie the Moocher, and Mini Ha-Ha (a reference to Minnehaha).