The Secret Show
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| The Secret Show | |
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| Format | Action, Comedy |
| Developed by | Andrea Tran & Tony Collingwood |
| Theme music composer | Roger Jackson |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 30 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Christopher O'Hare |
| Running time | 13 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC Two, CBBC Channel, Nicktoons Network |
| Original airing | 16 September 2006 - present |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Secret Show is an animated show commissioned by BBC Children's in partnership with BBC Worldwide. First debuted in 2006, it currently airs on CBBC, ABC, BBC One, BBC Kids and MBC3. It debuted on the American Nicktoons Network on January 20, 2007 at 8:30 pm ET.
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Details
The show stars two secret agents, Anita Knight and Victor Volt as they try to save the world from the latest threats to civilization. They work for the secret organization, U.Z.Z, run by their commanding agent, whose name is routinely "changed daily" for reasons of security, always to an unusual or ridiculous phrase. U.Z.Z also comprises Professor Professor, whose inventions and scientific background frequently save the day; Unit Commander Agent Ray who often runs missions behind the scenes; and a large team of standard agents.
They frequently counter threats from their main enemy, T.H.E.M. - The Horrible Evil Menace. T.H.E.M is headed up by the evil antagonist in the series, Doctor Doctor, who is intent on taking over the world, and has her own crack team of agents who wear billiard ball-style helmets. However, some episodes do feature a different set of enemies, such as the alien Floaty Heads or Changed Daily's nanny as a child, who has world domination plans of her own.
The show never starts as "The Secret Show", but rather as "The Fluffy Bunny Show", which features Sweet Little Granny in a rocking chair, with a banjo and six fluffy, pink bunnies. As she begins to sing the intro for her show, agents for U.Z.Z. appear, headed by Agent Ray, and commandeer the show, always using a different method of dispatch. The Secret Show then begins, much to Sweet Little Granny's dismay. The bunnies, however, frequently appear throughout the show in unexpected places.
Characters
U.Z.Z.
- Anita Knight is one of the two main protagonists; with blonde hair that ends in a cute little curl, wearing a purple suit, and riding a green skybike, she is partnered with Victor Volt. Somewhat more intelligent than Victor, she often has to save the day when Victor lands them in a sticky situation. After rescuing Victor underwater Anita finds, much to surprise, that she is in fact a mermaid, after initially being told by her parents that she is allergic to salt water. Voice: Kate Harbour
- Victor Thomas Jefferson Volt is the second of the two main protagonists; wearing a blue suit, and riding a purple skybike, he is partnered with Anita Knight. An American, he was recruited by U.Z.Z at a comic book convention, and is easily distracted and often acts childishly, sometimes getting the two agents into trouble or causing a crisis that requires further intervention by U.Z.Z. Victor's level of competence generally changes depending on the situation; in some cases he acts incompetently, whereas only scenes later he may manipulate the situation brilliantly. He was initially unaware that his mother, Mildred Volt, was once a secret agent. Victor's father, Lionel Volt, was also an agent for U.Z.Z, but became stranded in another dimension known as Dimension 10. Voice: Alan Marriott
- Professor Professor is a brilliant scientist from Germany, and the only other member of U.Z.Z apart from Victor and Anita who sit in the main meeting room with Changed Daily. He has a bald head and red glasses, and speaks with a German accent. Although something of a mad scientist, his inventions are often brilliant, although occasionally some may backfire (which is why he calls most of his inventions "totally untested und highly dangerous") and create a threat, such as a baldness cure that threatens to consume the earth with hair. He once was a student at "The School for the Chronically Gifted", and a classmate of the show's antagonist, Doctor Doctor. His mother is named Frau Frau, and he has a brother, Maestro Maestro. Voice: Rob Rackstraw
- Changed Daily – real name unknown – is the Commander of U.Z.Z., with a strong British accent, a moustache and a classy suit. He always has a new name at the beginning of every episode; he will mention that "For reasons of security, my name is changed daily. Today, you may call me..." before then using his hand-held machine to get his latest codename (see List of The Secret Show episodes for a list). This always turns out to be ridiculous, much to the short-lived amusement of Victor, Anita and Professor Professor. Prior to becoming the commander, Changed Daily was once a top agent occupying the role that Victor now has; he was partnered with Lucy Woo, Anita's counterpart, and she is the only one who knows what Changed Daily's real name is. Whilst he excels as the leader of U.Z.Z, real field work is no longer his strong point, since he apparently has not done much of it in many years. Voice: Keith Wickham
- Special Agent Ray is the Unit Commander for U.Z.Z. and provides back-up for Victor and Anita in the field. He is good at keeping his cool under fire and very loyal to U.Z.Z. Ray has a British accent, Elvis-styled hair, an official blue suit, head phone communicator in his left ear, and wears sunglasses. Often running missions behind the scenes, he is seen at the beginning of the show when he and his agents clear out the set of the "The Fluffy Bunny Show" as "this time slot is needed urgently". Voice: Martin Hyder
- Agent Kowalski is the only other female U.Z.Z agent seen in The Secret Show, besides Anita. Little is known about her, except that she is the rank of a standard U.Z.Z agent, she is an American, and is new to U.Z.Z.
Other Regulars
- The World Leader is the leader of the world, although no-one but her husband understands what she says, since she is actually speaking Ancient Aztec. She lives in the World Leader's Palace and is re-elected as World Leader every year unfailingly – apart from one year when an evil clown is accidentally elected.
- Stacey Stern is the news reporter on The Secret Show, often seen reporting the mission currently being investigated by U.Z.Z. She usually ends her report with the catchphrase, "You may be you, but I'm Stacey Stern".
- Sweet Little Granny is the host of The Fluffy Bunny Show, played before The Secret Show "steals" its time slot for television. She is exactly 138 years old and started The Fluffy Bunny Show when she was 38 (then known as Sweet Little Girl). She is married to Sweet Old Grandpa, who once hosted The Fluffy Bunny Show when Sweet Little Granny was having a hip replacement operation.
- Alphonse is an artist, though he is seen producing an U.Z.Z. training film, entering a musical piece in the world anthem competition and commenting on illegeal monument racing as Stacey Stern's "architectural correspondant". He is also a secret admirer of Anita and reguarly shuns Victor, much to his distress.
Villains
T.H.E.M.
T.H.E.M. – The Horrible Evil Menace – is headed up by the evil antagonist in the series, Doctor Doctor, who is intent on taking over the world, and has her own crack team of agents who wear billiard ball-style helmets.
- Doctor Doctor is the main antagonist of The Secret Show and head of the evil organization, T.H.E.M - The Horrible Evil Menace. Intent on taking over the world, she is the cause of many of U.Z.Z.'s problems, but always fails. She is also known for her bad eyesight and bad teeth.
- Kent B. Trusted is a double agent seen once in every episode. He supposedly works for U.Z.Z., fooling even Anita, Victor and Changed Daily despite his occasionally obvious mistakes, but secretly reports to T.H.E.M. He can be identified by his blonde hair and rounded glasses. His name is an obvious pun on the words "can't be trusted".
Impostors
The Impostors are extremely dangerous villains that live 90 miles below the surface of the Earth and can "impost" humans using "Hologrammatic Replication". They like the cold and are allergic to penguins. Inside their suits they are small one eyed maggot-like creatures, and they can change size to look like giant Maggots. Their leader is known as Red Eye and has one eye and an eye-shaped symbol on its chest.
Reptogators
The Reptogators live 60 miles below the surface of the Earth, and are naturally stupid; they have terrible eye sight, so they track people down by the smell of dirty teeth. They only become intelligent by sucking out the brainwaves of other creatures. They are able to run at 83 miles per hour.
The Floaty Heads
The Floaty Heads are aliens from the planet Zabulon III, and are helium-based life forms, whose helium-filled heads float above their bodies. Their leader is 12-year-old Prince Spong, who is extremely afraid of his mother. The Floaty Heads have never forgiven Victor for lying to them about The Ball of Spong, and Prince Spong has never forgiven Changed Daily for eating it. The Floaty Heads call humans "Sticky Heads". Also Spong's little sister is Princess Ping. For some strange reason the sound of impending doom is heard when they come.
The Chef
The Chef is a villain who tried to bake Anita in a pie, but failed. His right arm is a mechanical spatula.
Vehicles and Equipment
Skybike
The Skybike is the standard-issue flying vehicle for U.Z.Z. Agents, similar in appearance to a jet ski, with a single jet or rocket motor at the back for propulsion, and two smaller retro-boosters on the front. Skybikes are capable of vertical take off and landing, as well as being able to hover and fly backwards and have retractable tripod-style undercarriage. Most U.Z.Z. skybikes are blue, but Anita Knight's is green, and Victor Volt's is purple. Skybikes are equipped with many gadgets and equipment suitable for a large number of situations, including a Bike Cannon laser, retractable glass dome for use in outer space or underwater, claw-grips and magnets for grabbing, and even an 'Anti-Meteorite Force Field Deflector' to provide protection against space debris.
Recurring Themes
There are several themes that appear in every episode of the series. One such item is The Secret Thing, the subject of several episodes including the first, is a cylindrical orange tube whose purpose is never revealed to the viewer. Another is a black spider that can be found in odd places. (It is later revealed the "spider" is actually a disguised vehicle for extremely small aliens who observe the UZZ organization and teams, who at one point actually save the planet.) In addition, the six fluffy bunnies from The Fluffy Bunny Show can also be found in every episode, often found peeking their heads out in unusual situations, such as on Anita's skybike or behind a chair in the briefing room. Also, a four-digit code can be spotted in each episode, such as on a wall or carved into a stone. This code can be entered into the official site to reveal secrets.
The show also has several catchphrases that are repeated every episode. One of these is by Professor Professor who contacts Victor at inopportune moments to ask, "Victor – are you still alive?", to which the usual response is an exasperated, "Yes! I'm still alive!". Changed Daily's "For reasons of security, my name is changed daily. Today you may call me..." is also a stalwart.
Production and Awards
In 2007, The Secret Show won two Children's BAFTA Awards, one for the show itself (as Best Animated Show) and one for its web site (in the Best Interactive category).
The Secret Show has had several notable guest stars, including Tom Baker as Robert Baron, Stephen Fry as Lucky Leo, Penelope Keith as Nana Poo-Poo, and Felicity Kendall as Lucy Woo.[1]
References
- BBC & Nicktoons Onboard for Collingwood O’Hare’s The Secret Show, Animation World Network Headline News, 8 August 2006.
- Uncovering the Mysteries of The Secret Show, Joe Strike, Animation World Magazine, 22 October 2007.
External links
- The Secret Show at the Internet Movie Database
- Nicktoons Network: The Secret Show
- Official Site
- Collingwood O' Hare: The Secret Show
- CBBC game
- Complete Control - Creators of the Secret Show Game and the Official web site
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