Kidd Video, the show, followed the adventures of Kidd Video, the band, fronted by Kidd Video, the singer. Get that? Produced by DIC, the show aired on Saturday mornings on NBC. As you can see by the intro, the gimmick was that Kidd Video, a real band, got sucked into the acid trip dimension known as The Flip Side by The Master Blaster, assisted in his schemes by The Copycats. The show featured actual hit songs of the day played in the background as well as real music videos spliced into the episodes. (The idea was that The Master Blaster had "kidnapped" these real artists as he had Kidd Video.) Usually, the videos were used as distractions to throw The Copycats off Kidd Video's trail.
Every episode ended with an original live-action music video featuring the band Kidd Video.
Kidd Video played by Bryan Scott
Ash played by Steve Alterman
Carla played by Gabrielle Rozzi
Whiz played by Robbie Rist (Cousin Oliver from the Brady Bunch!)
They were assisted by Glitter, a fairy with super sneezing powers.I remember liking this show instantly and it seemed popular with other kids, but it only lasted two seasons. (It had to have run for a few more in reruns. I remember it being on for years!) In subsequent airings, the "real" songs and videos were edited out due to musical rights. Usually it was replaced with generic instrumental music or original Kidd Video songs. NBC heavily pushed it, calling it a cutting edge new type of programing, a hybrid of animation and live action! Yeah... it was no Roger Rabbit. The live-action was limited to the intro and the video at the end. And here's the problem... the actual cartoon was awful!
The main appeal, I think was the Kidd Video BAND. I think I just liked them and their music! They could have left out the crappy cartoon altogether! It was only 1984. There had been live-action shows on Saturday mornings before. Some like Shazam! and Isis had done extremely well, but no one had had the idea to do something older-skewing, like Saved By The Bell. That wouldn't come for several years. I think had they done just a sitcom type show about Kidd Video, it would have been more successful.
Where Did Our Love Go:
It's Over When The Phone Stops Ringing:
A Little TLC:
We Should Be Together:
Come Back To Me:
You Better Run:
Video Romeo:
Time:
Turn Me Up:
Easy Love:
The production on the videos was actually really good! Comparable to those on MTV! And I just really like the songs. There was a Kidd Video album released on vinyl:
The main appeal, I think was the Kidd Video BAND. I think I just liked them and their music! They could have left out the crappy cartoon altogether! It was only 1984. There had been live-action shows on Saturday mornings before. Some like Shazam! and Isis had done extremely well, but no one had had the idea to do something older-skewing, like Saved By The Bell. That wouldn't come for several years. I think had they done just a sitcom type show about Kidd Video, it would have been more successful.
Where Did Our Love Go:
It's Over When The Phone Stops Ringing:
A Little TLC:
We Should Be Together:
Come Back To Me:
You Better Run:
Video Romeo:
Time:
Turn Me Up:
Easy Love:
The production on the videos was actually really good! Comparable to those on MTV! And I just really like the songs. There was a Kidd Video album released on vinyl:
In Israel. Seriously. It was only sold in Israel. From what I can tell, Kidd Video's videos were aired on Israeli TV as "real" music videos and they took off! A slew of additional merchandising was produced and sold only there and the cast even went on tour there!I found this great fan site: Kidd Video Flipside. You can download the entire album there. They also had some clippings and such from the time. You can tell the actors really wanted this to work and they talked about getting ready to release the album and go on tour, but I guess for whatever reason NBC didn't feel the show was successful enough to warrant it. I would have gladly bought the album if they'd put it out here! They also talked about wanted the show to skew older and for there to be more live action. I think that might have worked!
At any rate, NBC did promote them a couple of times. The cast appeared on their Saturday Morning TV preview and performed on Dance Fever:
Oh well. After I downloaded the music from the Flipside website, that was all I listened to for like a month! I really enjoy it, even to this day! So, it only took like 25 years, but I got the album I always wanted as a kid!
Oh one last odd note, the KV song "It's Over When The Phone Stops Ringing" was also performed by a real band, Eighth Wonder, who shortened the title to just "When The Phone Stops Ringing."
Their version has some tweaked/added lyrics, but it's the same song!
REMIX! Thanks to Avenjer for the tip regarding Agnetha Faltskog's version of "We Should Be Together!" For archival sake, here is that video:
I remember this show too, and loved watching it back then. I had not seen the intro since it originally aired--and after a few seconds some hidden window in my brain opened up and I was singing the lyrics from sudden memory right along with the song. I do remember the plots being silly even then but, it was all just fun. There was something about them in the opening credits with them all waking up in different places and coming together, and young, fresh and happy---I don't know. I think back then I thought that was how being young and single adult would be--just fun days with your friends and adventures with fairies in areobic outfits. By the way, just realized that "we should be together" was done by former ABBA member Agnetha Faltskog for her 1985 CD "eyes of a woman" and here's a video of her version...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYzWIclCbwo