NEW YORK, Dec. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- NOGGIN, the commercial-free, educational network for preschoolers, has commenced production in Sydney, Australia, on the new, original live-action series, The Upside Down Show. Developed by Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street and Dragon Tales, the 13-episode preschool series will feature the world renowned comedy duo, The Umbilical Brothers (David Collins and Shane Dundas). The Upside Down Show is slated to premiere in Fall 2006 on NOGGIN.
"Play is the work of children," said Brown Johnson, Executive Creative Director, Nickelodeon Preschool Television. "Exercising kids' imaginative brainpower and engaging in pretend play turns kids into more skilled creative problem solvers. Playing with the Umbilical Brothers is actually educational. And they're so funny! Adults are going to love this as much as their kids."
"How wonderful that a program this funny is also deeply educational," said Liz Nealon, Sesame Workshop's Executive Vice President/Creative Director. "Kids are going to love using the imaginary remote control to wreak havoc with buttons like Humongous and Minute, or Horizontal and Vertical. And they will be learning complex relational concepts at the same time. We believe this is 'next generation interactivity' for young children."
Set in a fantastical living room with more doors than walls, The Upside Down Show stars David and Shane, two brothers who live with their fun-loving sidekick Puppet, their invisible pet fly Fido, and The Schmuzzies, adorable fluff balls who speak "Schmuzzish" and love to rhyme.
Each episode begins as the brothers hand an imaginary remote control to the viewers at home so they can "control" the duo's physical motion by fast forwarding, rewinding or pausing their movement. Breaking "the fourth wall" of the television set, the brothers encourage their audience to participate in their antics and accompany them on their excursions. Every week, the duo embarks on a journey to explore new worlds as well as everyday destinations like the laundromat, the airport or the movies. But Shane and David need help from their friends and viewers at home. Along the way, they take detours through magical doors in their apartment which allow them to discover exciting new places. Viewers never know what might materialize behind one of the doors. They may land in the Very Hairy Room, the Wind Room or even in the Puppy Room!
The Upside Down Show provides a fresh new way for preschoolers to interact by learning language, math and life skills through pretend play. The series elevates the concept of imaginative play to a new platform in which children build valuable reasoning skills, develop creative problem solving abilities and enhance their understanding of and joy in the world around them. The remote control featured on The Upside Down Show becomes a fun tool to help children learn unique vocabulary and relational concepts, as well as to play along with these completely original, imaginary stories.
The Upside Down Show was co-created by The Umbilical Brothers and veteran Sesame Street writer, Belinda Ward. The Executive Producer is Michael Bourchier of Blink Films in Sydney.
As the world-renowned Australian comedy duo The Umbilical Brothers, David Collins and Shane Dundas have traveled internationally, including New York, Europe, South Africa, and Australia with their original hit shows Thwak, Heaven by Storm, and Speed Mouse. Also making their mark on the small screen, they are the creators of the voices and sound effects of Nickelodeon's Maisy (which currently airs on NOGGIN) and have appeared in numerous high profile TV commercials in Australia.
Sesame Workshop is a nonprofit educational organization making a meaningful difference in children's lives around the world. Founded in 1968, the Workshop changed television forever with the legendary Sesame Street. Today, the Workshop continues to innovate on behalf of children in 120 countries, using its proprietary research methodology to ensure its programs and products are engaging and enriching. Sesame Workshop is behind award- winning programs like Dragon Tales, Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat, Pinky Dinky Doo and ground breaking multimedia productions in South Africa, Egypt and Russia. As a nonprofit, Sesame Workshop puts the proceeds it receives from sales of Sesame Street, Dragon Tales, Sagwa, and Pinky products right back into its educational projects for children around the world. Find the Workshop online at http://www.sesameworkshop.org/.
NOGGIN, the commercial-free, educational network for preschoolers owned by Nickelodeon, currently reaches 45 million households via cable, digital cable and satellite TV. NOGGIN, which airs from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (ET), is like preschool on TV, with educational programming both on-air and online at http://www.noggin.com/. NOGGIN and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom International Inc.
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