Nickelodeon Stars Explain It All - Ooze News - September 1996

 
 

Ooze News - September 1996

Nick Stars Explain It All

You might spend afternoons watching your favorite shows on Nick in the Afternoon. Ever wonder how Nickelodeon stars spend their afternoons? Cheryl Family kicked back with Larisa, Danny, Michael, and Melissa to find out.

Nick in the Afternoon, hosted by Stick Stickly, airs weekdays from 3 to 5 pm.*

Name: Danny Tamberelli, age 14
Show: The Adventures Of Pete and Pete
Character: Little Pete Wrigley
Favorite Snack: Cookies and milk

Name: Michael Maronna, age 19
Show: The Adventures Of Pete and Pete
Character: Big Pete Wrigley
Favorite Snack: Fluffernutter sandwiches and chocolate milk

Nickelodeon Magazine: What do you like to do on weekday afternoons?

Danny Tamberelli: After work, I go home and listen to music, play my bass, or visit friends.

Michael Maronna: I come home from work, plop down in bed, and put on the TV.

NM: Do you ever take afternoon naps?

DT: Only when I have a really rough day.
MM: I'm not much of a napper.

NM: Do you watch any Nickelodeon shows?

DT: I watch all the cartoons. I also watch The Secret World of Alex Mack.
MM: I like watching The Ren & Stimpy Show a lot.

NM: What Nickelodeon character are you like?

DT: I'm like Doug, except I'm a little more carefree than he is.

NM: Have you ever been able to change your scripts?

DT: Little Pete always says things like "blowhole" or "jerkweed." But I sometimes change that kind of stuff. I'll ask the writers, "Can I say this instead of that?" And they say, "Yeah, sure."

NM: How far from the Pete and Pete set in New Jersey have you traveled to film a episode?

MM: Not too far. The farthest we ever went was the Vince Lombardi rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike.

NM: What's the weirdest thing you've ever found in your dressing room?

MM: Danny Tamberelli [Little Pete].

Name: Larisa Oleynik, age 15
Show: The Secret World of Alex Mack
Character: Alex Mack
Favorite Snack: Cookies and milk

Nickelodeon Magazine: What do you like to do on weekday afternoons?

Larisa Oleynik: If I don't have school, then I usually just come home and watch TV or read. And sometimes I go swimming.

NM: Do you ever take afternoon naps?

LO: Oh yeah, all the time. Sometimes I eat lunch in about five minutes, and then I'll go into my dressing room and take a nap on the couch.

NM: Who decides when you can get a haircut?

LO: I have to ask the producers if I want to change anything about my appearance. I just cut my hair about three inches. I wanted to cut it more, but the producers wouldn't let me. Now, I want to get my ears pierced. I'm talking to them about it.

NM: What are your favorite Nickelodeon shows?

LO: I watch All That right after Alex Mack because I know all the kids. They're just as hilarious in real life as they are on the show - maybe even more so. I watch Rugrats, too.

NM: What Nickelodeon character are you most like?

LO: I'm a combination of Alex and Clarissa. The part of me that's like Clarissa is the part of me that loves to be different and isn't afraid to express herself. The part of me that's like Alex is a little more reserved.

Name: Melissa Joan Hart, age 20
Show: Clarissa Explains It All
Character: Clarissa Darling
Favorite Snack: Cheerios

Nickelodeon Magazine: What do you like to do on weekday afternoons?

Melissa Joan Hart: I'm hardly ever home, but if I am, I like to watch old movies and clean my room.

NM: Do you watch any other Nickelodeon shows?

MJH: I like Rugrats. I like the way the animation is seen from a kid's point of view. Everything is really low to the ground.

NM: How did you memorize your lines for Clarissa Explains It All?

MJH: I would memorize scripts half at a time. I'd learn about twenty-five pages on Wednesday nights and about twenty-five pages on Thursday nights. But, of course, it had to be after [Beverly Hills] 90210.

NM: If you could play any other Nickelodeon character, who would it be and why?

MJH: I'd like to be Stimpy because he's cute, innocent, and lovable. And sometimes he's an idiot.

* All times are for eastern and Pacific time zones. Shows air one hour earlier in the central time zone. Shows subject to change. Check your local listings for details.

Hey, Herb!

Where you ask the president of Nickelodeon, Herb Scannell, anything you want.

What are you favorite sports teams?

I'm a die-hard New York sports fan, probably because I've lived in New York my whole life. I like the Mets for baseball and the Knicks for basketball.

What was your favorite subject in school?

My favorite subject was history. In college, I studied history and English. I know so much history that when I watch Jeopardy!, I can answer many of the questions. I like being able to do that.

Do you like to talk on the phone?

I'd rather talk in person. I like to see how people react to what I'm saying. When I was a kid, I never really called anyone except girls and whenever I did, I would get nervous. That's probably why I don't like talking on the phone.

Do you have any questions for Herb? Send them to ->

Hey Herb!
Nickelodeon Magazine
1515 Broadway, 41st Floor
New York, NY 10036

Help Is On Its Way

You know what it means to help, but what's The Big Help? It's Nickelodeon's way of getting kids to change the world through volunteer work. Help can be anything from tutoring a friend to organizing a recycling campaign. Last year, kids pledged more than 54 million hours to The Big Help. How much time can you give this year?

Tune into Nickelodeon's Big Help-a-Thon on Sunday, September 29, to pledge some time. Then, on Saturday, November 23, The Big Help Day, millions of kids across the country will begin to fulfill their pledges.

You don't have to stop there. You can keep on giving throughout the year.

For more information on how to get involved, write to:

The Big Help
P.O. Box 929
New York, New York 10108

Or, check out The Big Help on Nickelodeon Online on America Online (keyword: Nick).

Nick Off the Old Block

You asked for More Nickelodeon, and now you'll be getting it. Beginning October 7, Nickelodeon stays tuned in until 8:30 PM,* weeknights and Sundays. (Saturdays is SNICK as usual.)

Cut out this handy guide so you'll know which show is on which night.

Nickelodeon - All shows air at 8pm*

Monday: Hey Arnold!
Tuesday: The Secret World of Alex Mack
Wednesday: Hey Arnold!
Thursday: The Secret World of Alex Mack
Friday: KABLAM!
Sunday: The Wubbulous World Of Dr. Seuss

* Eastern and Pacific time zones. Shows air one hour earlier in central time zone. Shows subject to change. Check your local listings for details.

Nickelodeon UK - Ooze News - November 1995

Ooze News - November 1995

Nick UK

Once upon a time, Nickelodeon just took over schools - now it's taking over the world.

Nickelodeon has been on the United Kingdom since 1993, where it's known as Nick UK. Although Nick UK is very similar to Nickelodeon in America, there are some differences. NICKELODEON MAGAZINE found out about them when we visited Nick UK in London, England.

The most unusual part of Nick UK is NickAlive. Between shows, hosts do live broadcasts from two studios. One studio is in a London shopping mall called the Trocadero. It has glass walls, so the crowds at the mall can walk by, look in, and even end up on TV. It's the kind of place where alnmost anything can happen.


The rest of the time, NickAlive works out of the UK's first-ever Virtual Studio. Computers and fancy camera work are used to create three-dimensional backgrounds, such as a Gak cave and kitchen. The hosts can interact with these backgrounds.

In both settings, NickAlive involves lots of kids. Every weekend (and each Wednesday during school vacations), kids vote by phone for their favorite show. The show that gets the most votes airs, usually within the house. For Coast to Coast, eight kids were chosen to travel across America, from New York to California, in a motor home. They were given camcorders to tape whatever they wanted during the month-long journey, which took place in August. Short segments of the trip will air this fall.


Kids also call and fax in jokes, pictures, and more. When we were there, one kid called up and played his trumpet over the phone. Another gargled the theme to The Flintstones.

All of this kookiness is led by seven human hosts and a orange fish called Bert.



"It's so spontaneous," says Yiolanda Ttokkallos, one of the hosts. "We can decide to do something and then do it - just like that!"


Nick UK isn't always live TV. It also airs show you can see in the U.S., like Clarissa Explains It All and Rugrats. But others are special to Nick UK. One is called School of the Week, where Nickelodeon visits a British school and wreaks havoc. Each week a different school is invaded. Teachers are forced to dress up in chicken suits, kids get to tell the truth about school lunches, and a student's romantic crush is exposed.


One of the most popular shows on Nick UK is Family Values, where a host travels across Britain and surprised families by dropping in on them at home. Then he gets them to reveal secrets about one another, like who has the messiest room in the house. So far, Family Values has not gotten in to see the Queen, but that doesn't mean they won't.

Bert the Fish

Perhaps the only fish on a call-in show, Bert the Fish hates everything. Especially kids. He thinks they smell like milk, and this bothers him. Other fish bother him, too. They always seem to open their mouths, yet they never say anything. This animated creation can be found complaining on NickAlive where he hosts with a human sidekick.

The Presenters

NICKELODEON MAGAZINE spoke with some of the presenters (as hosts are called in England) of NickAlive.

Nigel Mitchell

At 16, Nigel is the youngest of all the presenters.

NM: What is the worst thing about being on a live show?

Nigel: Things can go wrong. Once, I was left there looking like a complete lemon because I thought we weren't on the air anymore. I just sat there staring.

Lucy Alexander

Lucy trained as a dancer before becoming an actress.

NM: Have you ever gotten the hiccups while on the air?

Lucy: Yes, and once, I got a big hair in my eyeball - it felt like it was wrapped around it. I had to start the segment with my eye closed, tears streaming down my face.


James Gilbey

Before coming a presenter on NickAlive, James was a star on a British soap opera called EastEnders.

NM: What has been your most embarrassing moment on the show?

James: I do a part of the game show Family Values, where I talk to a parent and a viewer on the phone every morning for a whole week. We've done all sorts of research on the family, so I know all these silly secrets. I've got a reputation for being quite mischievous. Well, one family decided to get me back. I was talking on the phone with them when suddenly they hung up. I was baffled - I hadn't said anything rude to them. Suddenly, they burst through the studio door and covered me in custard pies. I thought I was talking to them at home, but they were in the back room of the studio the whole time. That was the moment I wish had never happened.

Yiolanda Ttokkallos and Mounya Khamlichi

Yiolanda and Mounya were sales assistants when they found out about an audition at Nickelodeon one Friday. They were on TV a week later.

NM: What's one of your favorite things you get to do on the air?

Mounya: We do a segment called "The Love Doctor." Kids phone in with their love problems, and we offer big sister advice. The funniest question we ever got was from a guy who was dating a set of twins, and didn't know which one to go out with.

Rick Adams

Rick was so nervous before his first time on live TV that he threw up.

NM: Do you ever wish you weren't doing a live TV show?

Rick: Sometimes. Yesterday, kids were voting by phone for which show they'd like to watch. Lucy (my co-host) and I always bet on which show is going to be chosen, and the winner gets to do something to the loser. I lost, and Lucy dropped two glasses of ice down my trousers. I sang soprano all afternoon.


Sarah Cawood

NickAlive is Sarah's first-ever TV job.

NM: Describe your first moment on live TV.

Sarah: It wasn't too bad because I'm a dancer and I'm used to seeing 3,000 people in front of me. When you've only got a camera, you're not actually aware that there are people watching you, unless you stop and think about it.

You Speak English?

You may think Brits and Americans speak the same language, but can you understand the following sentence?

Hey, mate, I hope those crisps choccy biccies, and ice lollies I ate while watching telly don't make me guff. Otherwise, I'll have to put on trainers and run to the loo.

Here's a little glossary to help you understand the sentence and make up sentences of your own.

British English - American English

telly - TV

loo - bathroom

ice lollie - popsicle

guff - pass gass

rubber - eraser

crisps - potato chips

chips - French fries

trainers - sneakers

choccy biccies - chocolate cookies