Jul 28 2008
Why we love Noggin’s The Upside Down Show
The Upside Down Show (shown on Noggin) is one of the Handley family’s favorite television programs. I don’t know who likes it more–mommy or the boys. When it first aired I scratched my head and said: What the heck is this show about and who are these two annoying guys and this oddold fashioned lady who is always dressed in pink? The lady’s name is Mrs Foil who will obviously play the tradition “foil” to the main characters. I wasn’t sure if I liked it, if I wanted to watch it till the end, or if I ever wanted to see it again. I have since changed my opinion-I love it. Head Writer Belinda Ward is, in my opinion, one of the most imaginative writers of this generation. Together with her co-writers, she has created a winner. David Collins and Shane Dundas are her co-writers and appear as the main characters of the show. They play two brothers and they play off of one another wonderfully. The show is intelligent, playful and funny enough for kids and still manages to be witty enough to be appreciated by parents.
The show usually begins with brothers Shane and David (one bald guy and one with oodles of intense curls atop his head) on a quest for something–be it knowledge, the airport, a pet shop, a puppet named Mary Annette. The quest begins in their house which has minimal furniture as props and lots and lots of doors which the boys jump through into imaginary worlds such as the “This way room” (a room in which you can only walk in one direction), the very hairy room in which everyone has rock and roll long hair, and “the very serious room” where no one can smile, laugh, dance or have parties. The show invites your child to participate by having one of the brothers hand your child an imaginary remote control with which they can pretend to fast foward, rewind, stop, pause, and even rotate the actions of the characters. For example, They will say: “Would you help Shane and David lift the giant imaginary Elephant by pressing the “light” button on your remote?” Your child will then pretend to push the button and the brothers who are pretending to hold a large elephant will react saying: “Oh no you pressed the heavy button!” and their arms will sink to the floor from the weight of the elephant. The show gets its title The Upside Down Show from the remote control concept–many times the brothers will say: “Would you press the pause button?” and then they will appear upside down on the tv screen with arms hanging and say: “Oh no, you’ve pressed the Upside Down Button. Would you be kind enough to press the right side up button.” My kids never get tired of it. They love pushing “the wrong buttons”. It is just the cutest show. The writing is so inventive. I really can’t even explain how sharp the writers and the actors are, nor can I explain in words how great the premise of the show is. You really just have to watch it to appreciate it. Those of you who have kids and have not checked it out yet, do yourself a favor and look into it. You will thoroughly enjoy it.
Thank goodness for Noggin! We just got it back after changing cable providers, and I don’t know who is happier - me or my kids! I feel safe letting my kids watch any of the shows. They recently came home from a relatives house where they apparently got to watch hours of Sponge Bob. I had to spend waaaay too much time explaining why certain things were not appropriate to say. No worries about this with Noggin.