Ricky Sprocket: Showbiz Boy

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Ricky Sprocket: Showbiz Boy
Ricky Sprocket Showbiz Boy logo.svg
Also known asRicky Sprocket
Genre Comedy
Sitcom
Created by David Fine
Alison Snowden
Written byRussell Marcus
David Fine
Alison Snowden
Bill Motz
Bob Roth
Shane Simmons
Steven Sullivan
Alicia Sky Varinaitis
Directed byJosh Mepham
Alison Snowden
David Fine
StarringJillian Michaels
Tabitha St. Germain
Ashleigh Ball
Jayne Eastwood
Jeff Lumby
Kathleen Barr
Dorla Bell
Andrea Libman
Scott McNeil
Ian James Corlett
Jamie Watson
Brian Drummond
Peter Kelamis
Richard Newman
French Tickner
Dave Ward
Cathy Weseluck
Dale Wilson
Chiara Zanni
Opening theme"Ricky Sprocket!"
ComposerHal Beckett
Country of originCanada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes26
Production
Executive producersDavid Fine
Alison Snowden
Chris Bartleman
Tatiana Kober
Blair Peters
ProducerAshley Ramsay
Running time30 minutes
Production companiesBejuba! Entertainment
SnowdenFine Animation
Studio B Productions
Original release
Network Teletoon (Canada)
Nicktoons (United States)
ReleaseAugust 31, 2007 (2007-08-31) 
May 4, 2009 (2009-05-04)
Related
Bob and Margaret

Ricky Sprocket: Showbiz Boy is a Canadian animated sitcom produced and owned by Studio B Productions (now as WildBrain). It aired on Teletoon in Canada, Nickelodeon in the United Kingdom and Nicktoons in the United States. Its first airing was as a sneak peek on August 31, 2007, [1] with regular airings in the country beginning on September 8, 2007. [2] The final episode was aired on May 4, 2009. 26 episodes were produced with two seasons.

Contents

Production

The series was created by a London native Alison Snowden and David Fine, who also created the prime-time animated series Bob and Margaret as well as the Oscar-winning short Bob's Birthday . They co-directed the series along with Josh Mepham.

The series was produced at Studio B Productions in Vancouver, BC and was a production of Studio B, Snowden Fine, and Bejuba Entertainment. There are 52 11-minute episodes which air as half hours with two segments in each show. It was produced using Flash animation, which was done partly at Studio B and partly in the Philippines at Top Draw Animation.

Writers on the series included Russell Marcus (who also served as an executive story editor), Louise Moon, Bill Motz, and Bob Roth, Brandon Sawyer, Shane Simmons, Ian Boothby, Roger Fredericks.

Voices were recorded in Vancouver and Toronto.

Summary

Ricky Sprocket is the world's biggest child star in film. He works for Wishworks studio (a parody of DreamWorks) and for Mr. Louie Fischburger, his boss. Despite the fact that Ricky stars in some of his favorite movies, lives in a mansion, and sometimes performs brain surgeries for actor patients, otherwise he is a normal kid who doesn't let celebrity fame go to his head. He likes to hang out with his friends and shares a rivalry with spoiled female child star Kitten Kaboodle. Still, Ricky has chores and homework to do when he isn't battling animatronic props.

Characters

Episodes

Season 1 (2007)

No.TitleOriginal air date
1"The Screen Kiss"
"The Boy King"
September 8, 2007 (2007-09-08)
Ricky is shocked when he learns he must deal with his first on-screen kiss; Ricky and his family travel to a Polynesian island so he can research a new role, The Boy King.
2"Great Bowls of Ricky"
"Burptacular"
September 9, 2007 (2007-09-09)
Ricky learns that a cereal is launching with his face on the box; Ricky tries to learn the art of belching.
3"We Are Not Amused"
"Being Leonard"
September 15, 2007 (2007-09-15)
Ricky opens an amusement park; Leonard brings Ricky to work with him.
4"Oh Hap-Pee Day"
"Ricky for Sale"
September 16, 2007 (2007-09-16)
After Ricky's sister spills her drink on him at an awards show, the press believes that Ricky wet his pants on stage; Ricky's friends urge him to sell his unwanted knickknacks online.
5"Perfect Pitch"
"In the Drink"
November 3, 2007 (2007-11-03)
Ricky learns that he cannot sing; Ricky's inability to swim jeopardizes the movie that he is shooting.
6"Ethel's New Friend"
"Vicky Sprocket"
September 22, 2007 (2007-09-22)
Ricky's parents want him to help find Ethel some friends; Ricky disguises himself as a girl to get a big role.
7"Double Crossed"
"Monkey See, Monkey Do"
September 23, 2007 (2007-09-23)
The Studio Boss insists that Ricky has a stunt double for his upcoming movie; Ricky co-stars with Chico the talking monkey.
8"Runaway Ethel"
"Freezer Burn"
September 29, 2007 (2007-09-29)
Ethel drives Ricky's motor home through the set and onto the freeway; Ricky and his friends hear a rumor about Fischburger's cryogenically-frozen pet bunny.
9"Roy vs. Roy"
"Dueling Birthdays"
November 4, 2007 (2007-11-04)
After being cast in a movie with Ricky, Roy is replaced when he cannot follow directions; Ricky must work with his friends to attend birthday parties thrown by his parents and Mr. Fischburger.
10"The Lie Detector"
"Leonard's Groove"
November 10, 2007 (2007-11-10)
Ricky tries out a lie detector on his family and friends; Ethel and Ricky discover that Leonard was in an '80s glam band.
11"The Big Sleepover"
"I Want to Direct!"
November 11, 2007 (2007-11-11)
Ricky invites his friends to the set of his new movie; Ricky tries to write and direct his own movie.
12"The Real Sprocket"
"A Book for Bedtime"
November 18, 2007 (2007-11-18)
Ricky visits his cousin Leonard's farm as research for an upcoming movie; Kitten tries to sabotage Ricky by sending him a book that he is unable to stop reading.

Season 2 (2008–09)

No.TitleOriginal air date
13"A Boy and his Bodyguard"
"Ricky Who?"
September 1, 2008 (2008-09-01)

"A Boy and his Bodyguard": Mr. Fischburger hires a bodyguard to protect Ricky.

"Ricky Who?": Ricky finds a town where no one knows his name.
14"Space Family Sprocket Part 1+2"September 8, 2008 (2008-09-08)
"Space Family Sprocket": Ricky's family gets the opportunity to live in space.
15"The Survivors"
"Ricky is History"
September 15, 2008 (2008-09-15)

"The Survivors": Ricky and Kitten get lost on a remote island.

"Ricky is History": Ricky has a school history project about show business.
16"The Highest Bidder"
"Write for the Part"
October 6, 2008 (2008-10-06)

"The Highest Bidder": Larry Knish bribes Ricky for a contract.

"Write for the Part": Rick's autobiography is full of lies he must correct.
17"Where Wolf"
"Ricky Spook-it"
February 2, 2009 (2009-02-02)

"Where Wolf": Ricky stars in a werewolf movie and borrows the costume to go out with his friends on Halloween.

"Ricky Spook-it": Ricky and Kitten are shooting a vampire movie on location. Ricky thinks that the actor who plays Dracula is a real live vampire.
18"Ethelebrity"
"Ricky Rolls Over"
February 9, 2009 (2009-02-09)

"Ethelebrity": Ethel becomes Hollywood's newest darling.

"Ricky Rolls Over": Ricky gets hypnotized which causes him to act like a dog on cue.
19"Fan Club"
"Face Lift"
February 16, 2009 (2009-02-16)

"Fan Club": Ricky's fan club is overloaded, so the mail is redirected straight to Ricky. He insists on answering every letter, but when it starts to get in the way of studio business, Fischburger insists he hires help.

"Face Lift": Kitten sees face lift as a fantastic opportunity. In disguise, she manages to get the job and sabotage Ricky's fanbase.
20"Ricky Inc."
"Relative Discomfort"
March 2, 2009 (2009-03-02)

"Ricky Inc": Ricky's summer off is filled with odd jobs for his neighbors.

"Relative Discomfort": Ricky and Kitten compete on a game show with their families.
21"Grounded"
"Bush League"
March 9, 2009 (2009-03-09)

"Grounded": Ricky must prove his innocence while grounded.

"Bush League": Benny and Ricky swap roles in the school play.
22"The Perfect Family"
"Moby Rick"
March 16, 2009 (2009-03-16)

"The Perfect Family": Ricky's fake family is interviewed on The Family Famous Channel.

"Moby Rick": Ricky tries to prove that a sea monster is real.
23"Who's Your Daddy?"
"Test Audience"
April 6, 2009 (2009-04-06)

"Who's Your Daddy?": Leonard emberrasses Ricky in front of an action star.

"Test Audience": Ricky and Kitten sabotage each other's films.
24"Ricky the Ringleader"
"Mind Games"
April 13, 2009 (2009-04-13)

"Ricky the Ringleader": Ricky helps save Chico the monkey's circus.

"Mind Games": Ricky stars in a new video game, which Kitten sabotages.
25"Ho-Ho Hollywood"February 19, 2009 (2009-02-19)
"Ho-Ho Hollywood Part 1+2": When Ricky and the crew find out they have to work through Christmas, they aren't merry, especially Ricky's co-star, who claims that he is the real Santa and can't possibly work over Christmas. Ricky humors the man and encourages him to go back to the North Pole, which he promptly does. Fischburger freaks out: the film and the entire studio could go down the drain unless Ricky can get Santa back.
26"Head Over Heels"
"When Life Gives You Lemonade"
May 4, 2009 (2009-05-04)

"Head Over Heels": Ricky falls in love with an Austrian actress.

"When Life Gives You Lemonade": Ricky tries to help his friend's lemonade stand. (Series Finale)

Telecast and home media

Ricky Sprocket: Showbiz Boy aired on Teletoon in Canada, Nickelodeon in the United Kingdom and Nicktoons in the U.S. Its first airing was as a sneak peek on August 31, 2007, [3] with regular airings in the country beginning on September 8, 2007. [4] The final episode was aired on May 4, 2009 with repeats until the early 2010s.

The first season was released on DVD in the U.S. with eight episodes. A Canadian DVD was released on March 2009.

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References

  1. Gazette, The (2007-08-25). "Boogie Beebies to Zula Patrol". Canada.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-15. Retrieved 2013-11-30.
  2. "Watch for these new shows". City Parent. 2007-09-07. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
  3. Gazette, The (2007-08-25). "Boogie Beebies to Zula Patrol". Canada.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-15. Retrieved 2013-11-30.
  4. "Watch for these new shows". City Parent. 2007-09-07. Retrieved 2013-08-13.