Remember that one day when you could wake up without an alarm? When you would get your favorite bowl of cereal and sit between the hours of 8 and 12? This is a blog dedicated to the greatest time of our childhood: Saturday mornings. The television programs you watched, the memories attached to them, and maybe introducing you to something you didn't realize existed. Updated every weekend.
The weekend. That oasis at the end
of the week. Two days free from work and school. 48 hours to do whatever you
want: go out, play sports, hang out, or just veg. Yes, the weekend is beloved
by adults and kids alike (unless you’re someone who also works on the weekends,
then it’s just another day for you). Doug Langdale
decided to take this love and freedom of the weekend and make a show about it.
Tish, Tino, Lor and Carver chilling with some Chug-a-Freezes.
The
Weekenders followed four seventh graders and their adventures from Friday
afternoon through Sunday night (and sometimes another weekday, typically
Monday, as a story required) in the fictional California town of Bahia Bay. The
lead character was the neurotic Tino Tonitini (Jason Marsden), who often served
as the show’s on-screen narrator and talked directly to the audience (indicated
by the background behind him gaining gray saturation in its coloring). Usually
in his company was Lorraine “Lor” McQuarrie (Grey DeLisle), a sports-obsessed
tomboy; Carver Descartes (Phil LaMarr), a self-centered fashionista who
believed himself cooler than he actually was and had an unhealthy love of
sneakers; and Petratishkovna “Tish” Katsufrakis (Kath Soucie), an intellectual
that idolized William
Shakespeare.
Sometimes you just have to do homework.
The
show had numerous running gags throughout its run: the pizza place the kids
hung out at had a different theme every time it’s seen (because Langdale couldn’t
decide what he wanted to call it); Lor’s many brothers and her inability to
recall exactly how many; Tino’s mother (Lisa Kaplan)
serving questionable food-like items; Tino relaying stories about the unseen
character Chloe Montez and all her antics; Tish translating for her immigrant
mother (Kerri
Kenney) when she ultimately mixed up words, followed by her
mother affirming “Is what I say”; Tino’s mother’s seeming omniscience about his
problems; and a host of others. Sometimes, school would intrude on the weekend
in the form of homework or a project due on Monday.
Tish gets a makeover.
The
Weekenders premiered on February 26, 2000 as part of Disney’s One Saturday Morning
programming block on ABC.
The series was based on Langdale’s own childhood growing up in San Diego (many
of the locations, including Tino’s house, came from Langdale’s recollections),
and wasn’t even the show he planned to do. While pitching to Disney, his
selection of planned-out ideas was bombing and, as a last-ditch effort, he
vamped by telling stories about his childhood based on the simple written note “kids on the weekend”.
Disney executives, including then-head Michael Eisner, loved the pitch
and greenlit the show. However, one thing that wasn’t loved was the name
The Weekenders, which someone wrote down as a placeholder name that Langdale
never got around to changing.
The pizza place getting one of its many rebrandings.
Although
it was a cartoon and the kids involved often overdramatized their problems and
blew trying to solve them out of proportion, the show was kept fairly grounded
as it dealt with issues like getting older; trying to get tickets to see their
favorite band, Chum Bukket; being respectful of others’ feelings; dealing with
fears; surviving the climb of the social ladder; being true to yourself; and
more. Episodes typically featured two story segments, but a few presented a
single story. The stories usually ended with Tino (or, occasionally, someone
else) summing up the events that transpired to the audience and signing off
with a “Later days”. The series was written by Langdale with Evan Gore,
Heather Lombard,
Brian Palermo,
David Warick,
Peter Gaffney,
Steve Atinsky,
Dan
O’Connor, Rachel
Powell , Sean Henry Kass,
Jonathan
Goldstein, and Jonahtan
Rosenthal.
The cool kids. You totally wanna be like them, right?
The
series’ theme was written by Wayne Brady
and Roger Neill
and performed by Brady. Neill handled the rest of the series’ music. Ginny Hawes
and Steven
Lyons served as the lead character designers, with
additional designs by Brent Gordon,
Bonnie Griggs
and Kenny
Thompkins. A unique decision was made to give the characters an actual
wardrobe, which meant that in every episode they typically wore something
different unlike normal characters who could go entire series in the same
outfit. Lyons also directed every episode, which were animated by Wang Film Productions.
Being a good friend means sometimes doing things you don't want to do.
The
Weekenders ran for three seasons on ABC, as well as in syndicated reruns on
Sundays on UPN’s
Disney’s
One Too programming block. The show was
well-received; at one point briefly beating out Pokémon, its direct competitor, in the ratings. However, its fate
was sealed as Disney had just purchased Fox
Family Worldwide and would rebrand One Saturday Morning as ABC Kids
in light of declining overall ratings; loading up the channel with reruns of their
previous shows. In 2001, it ended its initial run and was replaced by an
expanded hour of Recess, moving to Toon Disney for
reruns and an abbreviated fourth and final season.
The DVDs.
The
Weekenders ran for three seasons on ABC, as well as in syndicated reruns on
Sundays on UPN’s
Disney’s
One Too programming block. The show was
well-received, at one point beating out Pokémon,
its direct competitor, in the ratings. In 2001, it ended its initial run
and was replaced by an expanded hour of Recess.
It began airing on Toon Disney
in reruns, and it was there an abbreviated fourth and final season aired from
2002-04. In 2013, Disney made the complete series available on DVD in two
volumes through the Disney Movie Club,
and later offered more widely. It became the first show by Walt Disney Television Animation
and from One Saturday Morning to be
completely released to home video. It was also one of Disney’s shortest,
clocking in at 39 episodes whereas most Disney programs tended to run until
they reached 65, the number needed for syndication. It was
announced in 2019 that The Weekenders would be coming to the streaming
service Disney+. However, it ultimately only became available in the United Kingdom.
EPISODE GUIDE:
Season 1:
“Crush
Test Dummies / Grow Up” (2/26/00) – Carver thinks Lor has a crush on him. /
Getting caught in a bouncy house has Tino vow to become more mature.
“Shoes
of Destiny / Sense and Sensitivity” (3/4/00) – Carver gets new shoes so that he
can stand with the cool kids on picture day. / Lor tries to be nice to make up
for disappointing her friends.
“The
Perfect Weekend / Throwing Carver” (3/11/00) – Tino’s friends bail on his plans
for the perfect weekend. / Tish’s friends try to spare her feelings when she
makes an ugly statue of Carver.
“Home@work
/ To Be or Not to Be” (3/18/00) – Lor needs help passing a test or she’ll get
sent to military school. / Tish stops hanging out with her friends when they
make fun of Shakespeare.
“Sitters
/ Band” (3/25/00) – Carver has to babysit his little brother. / Carver tells a
lie that Chum Bukket will dedicate their next show to him and his friends.
“Makeover
/ The New Girl” (4/1/00) – Two girls give Lor a makeover when she’s asked out
by Thompson. / Tish’s mom hangs out with her friends to try and become
Americanized.
“Party
Planning / Pudding Ball” (4/22/00) – The gang gets invited to a clown-less
party. / A pudding throwing contest brings out the worst in the gang.
“Dead
Ringer / Carver the Terrible” (5/6/00) – Tino tries to look cool playing
horseshoes. / Carver’s perceived as a bully when he’s seen tripping Laird.
Season 2:
“Radio
Drama / The Tradition” (9/9/00) – A radio contest makes Tish bossy. / Tish must
study for a coming-of-age ceremony.
“To
Each His Own / The Invited” (9/16/00) – Everyone wants to do something that
only they like to do. / Tino and Tish get ready for a costume party Carver and
Lor weren’t invited to.
“Diary
/ Real Fake” (9/23/00) – After accidentally reading her diary, the gang thinks
Tish is moving. / The gang adopts TV character personalities when they think
they’re too boring to be on film.
“Super
Kids / Crevasse of Dreams” (11/4/00) – A seminar has the gang trying to do
something meaningful with their weekends. / Tino is the only one who remembers
a great hangout spot.
“Dixon”
(11/11/00) – While the gang concerns themselves with getting tickets to an
amusement park reopening, Tino worries about his mother’s upcoming date.
“Taking
Sides / To Tish” (1/13/01) – Tino and Carver’s fight splits the group in half.
/ Tish is annoyed when her name becomes a slang term.
“Tickets
/ Vengeance” (1/27/01) – Tino has a hard time deciding which friend to take to
the Chum Buckket concert with his extra ticket. / Carver seeks revenge when a
girl tricks him at school.
“Murph
/ Uncool World” (2/3/01) – Tino worries that nobody likes him. / The gang helps
one of the cool kids get used to being uncool.
“My
Punky Valentine / Brain Envy” (2/10/01) – The gang tries to get Tino over his
crush on a punk girl. / Lor gets jealous when her crush pays attention to Tish.
“Tish’s
Hair / I Want to Be Alone!” (2/17/01) – The gang doesn’t want to tell Tish her
new haircut is ugly. / Tish wants to spend the weekend alone and the gang wants
to uncover why.
“Baskets
for Bucks / Pru” (3/3/01) – Lor needs to sink three baskets to win money, and
if she fails she fears she’ll lose her friends. / A popular girl makes the gang
popular to get back at her friends.
“Talent
Show / Relative Boredom” (3/10/01) – Lor tries out for the talent show. /
Tino’s cousin is visiting when he planned to see Chum Bukket.
“New
Friends / The Awful Weekend” (3/17/01) – After meeting his mom’s former best
friend, Tino believes his friendships will end badly. / The gang experiences a
terrible weekend.
Season 3:
“Crushin’
Roulette / Lucky Shoes” (9/9/01) – Tish feels left out not having a crush. /
Carver loses his lucky shoes and his confidence.
“Cry
/ The Perfect Son” (9/16/01) – Tino vows to give up emotions after being teased
for crying during Romeo and Juliet. /
Carver gets jealous when it seems like his parents like Tino better.
“Listen
Up / Never Say Diorama” (9/23/01) – Carver has trouble with their volunteer
work to help kids transition to middle school. / Tish and Tino help Lor and
Carver finish their diorama.
“Secret
Admirer / The Lone Wolves Club” (9/30/01) – Carver tries to find out who his
secret admirer is. / Tino gets invited to join a super-secret club.
“The Most Dangerous Weekend / Charity Case”
(10/7/01) – After he gets hurt, Tino becomes overly cautious and paranoid. /
Tish convinces the gang to help out a girl that seems to be unpopular.
“Best
/ Broken” (10/14/01) – Tino tries to get labeled “Best” in the yearbook. / Tino
worries how he’ll be perceived if he reminds Carver to fix the scooter he
broke.
“Father’s
Day / Follow the Leader” (10/21/01) – Tino wonders what to do for Father’s Day
since his doesn’t live with him. / Unable to decide what to do, the group lets
just one friend decide for them all.
“Careers
/ Tutor” (10/28/01) – The group ponders their career test results. / Lor needs
a tutor to help save her grades.
“The
Tao of Bluke / An Experimental Weekend” (11/4/01) – The group engages in a team
challenge. / Tish wants to win a psychology prize.
“Celebrity”
(11/11/01) – Carver teaches Tish how to act like a celebrity after she appears
on TV.
“Clown
/ Testing Dixon” (11/18/01) – Tino tries to get over his coulrophobia. / Tino
wants to test Dixon to see if he’d be a good stepfather.
“Croquembouche
/ Imperfection” (11/25/01) – The gang goes to a food festival. / Tish tries to
stop being such a perfectionist.
“The
Worst Holiday Ever” (12/2/01) – The gang heads to Lor’s grandmother’s farm for
the holidays, but their RV gets stuck in a blizzard.
Season 4:
“Nevermore”
(10/19/02) – Tino wants revenge when his friends think they’re “too old” to go
trick-or-treating.
“Brain
Dead / Lor’s Will” (11/7/03) – Tish gets a B on a test. / Believing her injury
to be fatal, Lor writes a will—and leaves Tish out.
“Radio
Free Carver / Dinner Party” (11/14/03) – Carver’s turn as a DJ ends in disaster.
/ Tish “invites” her friends and Bluke to a salon party.
“Laundry
Day / Penny McQuarrie” (11/21/03) – Lor gets her friends to help with her
family’s laundry. / Carver and Lor get involved when their siblings start
dating.
“Tino’s
Dad” (2/29/04) – Tino plans the perfect weekend to bond with his dad, who
finally comes for a visit.
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