THE OSMONDS

 

THE OSMONDS
(ABC, September 9-December 23, 1972)
 
Rakin/Bass Productions, Halas and Batchelor

 

 

MAIN CAST:
Donny Osmond – Himself
Jimmy Osmond – Himself
Alan Osmond – Himself
Wayne Osmond – Himself
Jay Osmond – Himself
Merrill Osmond – Himself
Paul Frees – Fuji, Hortense Bird, various
Iris Rainer – Various

 

 

            The Osmonds were an American family musical group that were very popular in the 1970s. George Virl Osmond Sr. and Olive Osmond resided on a farm in Ogden, Utah, and were musicians within their church. They had nine children: Virl, Tom, Alan, Wayne, Merrill, Jay, Donny, Marie and Jimmy.

            In 1958, Alan (9), Wayne (7), Merril (5) and Jay (3) began singing as a barbershop quartet around the town and during church services as a way to earn money for hearing aids for their brothers Virl and Tom, both born with severe hearing impairments, and to finance future church missions. Their talent and stage presence encouraged their father to take them to an amateur barbershop singing competition in California. While there, the family took a trip to Disneyland where the Osmonds performed with the park’s own barbershop quartet, The Dapper Dans. Having been seen by Tommy Walker, Director of Entertainment and Customer Relations, they were hired to perform at the park the following summer. It also landed them minor roles in the Kurt Russell television series The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters and an appearance during a segment of the “Disneyland After Dark” episode of Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color, where Walt Disney himself took viewers around Disneyland at night and showed off the nighttime entertainment; complete with numerous entertainment guest stars.

            When singer Andy Williams’ father Jay saw them at the park, he encouraged his son to book the Osmonds on his show, The Andy Williams Show. The Osmond Brothers became regulars on it from 1962-67, earning the nickname “one-take Osmonds” amongst the staff due to their professionalism and constant rehearsing. Donny would join the group in 1963, with Marie and Jimmy making appearances later on and Jimmy eventually joining in 1967 (Marie would be the last to join up a few years after in 1973). When the show ended in 1967, the Osmond Brothers were signed to The Jerry Lewis Show until it was cancelled in 1969; at which point they rejoined The Andy Williams Show for its second run.

Osmonds LP sleeve featuring The Osmond Brothers and Donny in the middle.

            Deciding they wanted to get away from variety shows and perform as a rock and roll band, The Osmond Brothers recorded and released their first single, “Flower Music” with the B-side “I Can’t Stop”, in 1967 for UNI Records. Record producer Mike Curb saw the Osmonds perform and recognized their talent. He signed them to MGM Records and paired them with producer Rick Hall. Now known as The Osmonds, they released their first hit single, “One Bad Apple” written by George Jackson, in November of 1970, along with their first MGM album, Osmonds. It hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for five weeks in early 1971. The album itself hit #14 on the Billboard Top Lps chart and was certified gold later that year. Their second album, Homemade, was recorded in just 6 days and released in August of 1971; with the single “Double Lovin’” peaking at #14 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was certified gold in early 1972.

Osmonds Greatest Hits album featuring Jimmy with the group.

            With their third MGM album, Phase III in 1972, the Osmonds began writing and performing their own music, gravitating towards a rock sound. Their fourth album, Crazy Horses, went even harder on the rock; going over into heavy metal territory. They wrote all the songs, played all the instruments, and sang all the vocals. Merrill and Donny were the co-lead vocalists—with Donny mostly singing the chorus of the songs—until Donny’s voice began to change, forcing him to drop back to largely instrumental contributions. The band compensated by progressively lowering the key until his voice finished changing. While still working with his brothers, Donny had also engaged on a solo career; releasing his own albums alongside the group’s. Jimmy would follow suit with his own solo work beginning in 1972.

Rankin/Bass' caricatures of The Osmonds: Jimmy, Donny, Jay, Wayne, Merrill and Alan.

            Rankin/Bass Productions partnered with MGM to bring the Osmonds to Saturday mornings for ABC; similarly to how they had The Jackson Five the year prior. In fact, both cartoons were very much identical in their structure and presentation. The Osmonds would follow the brothers as they embarked on a world tour after winning a contest to become musical goodwill ambassadors. They traveled on a provided psychedelic jet plane piloted by Alan, accompanied by their anthropomorphic dog, Fuji (Paul Frees in 4^th wall-breaking internal monologues, using a Japanese accent). Unlike The Jackson 5ive where a touring schedule kept the Jacksons too busy to participate in the show, the Osmonds provided all of their own voices; with Frees and Iris Rainer doing all the rest. Along with the interesting characters they met in each new location, trouble usually followed the brothers due to Jimmy’s immaturity and impetuousness and Donny’s tendency to be girl-crazy. One girl Donny wasn’t crazy about was his self-proclaimed #1 fan: Hortense Bird (Frees), an old lady with missing teeth who decided to follow the Osmonds on their tour.

Dancing through the streets.

            The Osmonds debuted on ABC on September 9, 1972, airing right after The Jackson 5ive. The series was a showcase for the music of the Osmond brothers, with two songs being worked into every episode accompanied by a music-video like sequence. All of the songs--with the exception of “Getcha Goin’ My Way”, which wouldn’t be released until 2012--were taken from the albums Osmonds, Homemade, Phase III and Crazy Horses; the Donny solo albums The Donny Osmond Album, To You with Love, Donny, Portrait of Donny and Too Young; and the Jimmy solo album Killer Joe. “One Bad Apple” was used as the series’ theme, with episode titles appearing at the end of the intro in an apple shape. Maury Laws provided the rest of the music, and Curb served as an executive producer. The show was written by Rainer, Earle Doud, William J. Keenan, Claire Merrill and Romeo Muller, and animated by Halas and Batchelor. This was the second—and last—series to feature Rankin/Bass’ new and improved laugh track; which had better modulated laughs than their previous one and benefitted from better timing by the sound engineers. It only ran a single season of new episodes, with a second season comprised entirely of reruns on Sunday mornings. Several episodes would be released to VHS in the early 1990s by The ABM Group, and Donny would release a DVD compilation of 5 episodes through his website in 2007. While the complete series has never been released, episodes have been uploaded to YouTube by fan accounts.

            The Osmonds’ popularity began to decline following the release of their ambitious 1973 album, The Plan, which carried a strong religious message and a progressive rock sound. Within three years, the band put out music in a variety of genres including bubblegum pop, hard rock and easy listening, giving them an inconsistent sound and took them away from the pop music that made them popular in the first place. Not helping matters was Donny’s voice change taking away their younger fans and his tendency to cover oldies on his solo albums. Alan, Wayne and Merrill had all gotten married between 1973 and 1974, which led to the band reducing their touring schedules to spend more time with their families. Finally, the Osmond brand had gotten diluted with Donny, Marie and Jimmy emerging as solo artists, and Donny and Marie recording duets together. By 1976, album sales were slumping and The Osmonds had only one last Top 40 hit with “The Proud One”, a cover of a Frankie Valli minor hit.

Donny & Marie billboard during their residency at the Flamingo.

            Donny returned to television with Marie for The Donny & Marie Show, with their siblings working in supporting roles. After its cancellation in 1979 and with the family in debt, the Osmonds switched from MGM successor Polydor to Mercury Records and released the unsuccessful album Steppin’ Out. An attempt was made to get Marie back on TV with a sitcom pilot that never aired and a variety show that only ran 7 episodes. Marie carved out a successful career singing country music and starring in the Broadway revivals of The King and I and The Sound of Music. She starred in the short-lived sitcom Maybe This Time and hosted the talk show Donny & Marie with Donny. Donny returned to pop music in 1989, sang “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” for Disney’s Mulan, starred as Gaston in the Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast, and toured as the title role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Donny also had a turn as a game show host and won the 9^th season of Dancing with the Stars. In 2008, Donny and Marie had a residency at the Flamingo Las Vegas that was originally supposed to run for 6 months, but kept being extended until it finally ended in 2019 after 11 years. Donny went on to have a solo residency at Harrah’s Las Vegas while Marie continues to tour and do commercials.

The Osmonds all together for Marie's 60th birthday.

            Alan, Wayne, Merril and Jay returned to The Osmond Brothers to earn money for their debts. A handful of their songs just missed breaking the top 40, and their record sales were reduced by their unwillingness to tour and desire to only promote their music through music videos, but they were able to pay off their debts by 1983. They continued to perform with various line-ups, including their children, as well as independently with other performers. Alan retired from the group in 2007 and Wayne in 2012 after a stroke left him unable to play guitar; although they played one more performance with them in 2018 and again in 2019 for Marie’s 60^th birthday. Merril planned to retire in 2022, but continued on for a limited run in 2024. Jay continues to perform with Alan’s son, Nathan, and they plan to begin a residency in Branson, Missouri in October of 2024. Jimmy suffered a second stroke in 2018 and had dropped out of showbusiness to recover, with Merril hoping he’d eventually return to the group.

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

“And Away They Go” (9/9/72) – The Osmonds have a chance to audition for a world tour, but Jimmy and Fuji ruin their chances.

Songs: “One Bad Apple” & “Go Away Little Girl”

 

“China” (9/16/72) – While Jimmy and Fuji are fighting, the brothers must play a ping pong game for America against China.

Songs: “Don’t Panic” & “Sweet and Innocent”

 

“Jimmy and James in London” (9/30/72) – In London, Jimmy is mistaken for a prince that he resembles.

Songs: “In the Rest of My Life” & “Why”

 

“Sir Donald of Bavaria” (9/30/72) – In Bavaria, Donny dreams that he, Jimmy and Fuji are sent back to Medieval times.

Songs: “Do You Want Me (We Can Make It Together)” & “Business”

 

“Paris” (10/7/72) – The brothers must save a restaurant from closing wile a government minister conspires to make them lose a contest to a local band.

Songs: “Promise Me” & “Shuckin’ and Jivin’”

 

“Monte Carlo” (10/14/72) – While in Monte Carlo, Jimmy makes a hit film while Donny falls for the wrong girl.

Songs: “Wake Up Little Susie” & “Getcha Goin’ My Way*”

*Unreleased until 2012.

 

“Denmark” (10/21/72) – Donny must stop some undersea bullies in order to get a sea witch’s spell reversed and change Jimmy’s fin back to legs.

Songs: “Love Me” & “Hold Her Tight”

 

“India” (10/28/72) – Jimmy befriends a genie in India.

Songs: “And You Love Me” & “Hey Girl”

 

“The Yukon” (11/4/72) – Jimmy accidentally sends the brothers to the Yukon.

Songs: “All I Have to Do Is Dream” & “My Drum”

 

“The Black Forest” (11/11/72) – A whole town may sleep forever if the brothers can’t fix a special clock.

Songs: “Going Going Gone (To Somebody Else)” & “Girl”

 

“Italy” (11/18/72) – A girl dates Donny as a ploy to get the valuable coin Jimmy found.

Songs: “What Could It Be” & “This Guy’s in Love With You”

 

“Australia” (11/23/72) – Jimmy gets a new admirer: a kangaroo.

Songs: “It’s You Babe” & “Lonely Boy”

 

“Transylvania” (11/25/72) – The Osmonds are invited to a birthday party held by a vampire.

Songs: “Killer Joe” & “We All Fall Down”

 

“Rio” (12/2/72) – Jimmy ends up getting lost during a costume contest in Rio.

Songs: “Prety Blue Eyes” & “Hey Mr. Taxi”

 

“Don Osmondo in Spain” (12/9/72) – Donny takes up bullfighting in order to impress a girl.

Songs: “Puppy Love” & “Yo-Yo”

 

“Luck of the Osmonds” (12/16/72) – Jimmy gets mistaken for a leprechaun in Ireland.

Songs: “Down by the Lazy River” & “Long Haired Lover from Liverpool”

 

“Coming Home to Utah” (12/23/72) – The brothers return to Utah to a fairly lackluster homecoming.

Songs: “Utah” & “Too Young”

BUTCH CASSIDY

 

BUTCH CASSIDY
(NBC, September 8-December 1, 1973)
 
Hanna-Barbera Productions

 

MAIN CAST:
Lloyd “Chip” Hand II – Butch Cassidy
Micky Dolenz – Wally
Kristina Holland – Stephanie
Judy Strangis – Merilee
John Stephenson – Mr. Socrates
Frank Welker – Elvis, various

 

            Surprisingly, this wasn’t Hanna-Barbera’s attempt to adapt the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid into a kid-friendly animated romp—heck, it wasn’t even a western. No, instead this was another Scooby-Doo clone—with mystery-solving teenagers and a pet sidekick—and a dash of Josie and the Pussycats.

Meet the band: Stephanie, Merilee, Butch, Wally and Elvis.

        Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids were a teenaged rock band that worked as secret government agents for the World-Wide Talent Agency; solving crimes as they toured around the world with the help of local agents (although you’d think being famous musicians would make keeping a low profile for investigating difficult). The band was comprised of lead singer and guitarist Butch Cassidy (Lloyd “Chip” Hand II), tambourine player Merilee (Judy Strangis), bass guitarist Stephanie (Kristina Holland), and drummer Wally (Micky Dolenz), as well as Wally’s trusty anthropomorphic (though non-speaking) dog, Elvis (named after The King, voiced by Frank Welker). They were given assignments and advised by a giant supercomputer named Mr. Socrates (named for the Greek philosopher, voiced by John Stephenson using a stereotypical robotic voice), who was housed inside the WWTA and could communicate with Butch, codenamed “Sundance 1”, through the device in the ring he wore. Despite being an artificial intelligence, somehow Mr. Socrates had a strong allergy to dogs which meant Elvis had to be kept out of the lair. A running gag featured Elvis managing to find his own way in or Wally forgetting about Socrates’ allergy and bringing Elvis in with them. The characters were designed by Takashi Masunaga.

Mr. Socrates.

        Butch Cassidy (also known as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kids) debuted on NBC on September 8, 1973, running only a single season of 13 episodes. The series was written by Bill Raynor, Fred Fox, Seaman Jacobs, Bernie Kahn, Myles Wilder, Norman Hudis, Ed Jurist, Sam Roeca and Dick Wesson, with story direction by Joe Bruno, Earl Klein, Paul Sommer, Carl Fallberg, Don Sheppard and Ken Southworth. Similarly to Josie, Butch Cassidy featured a musical number in each episode performed by the band. These songs were produced by Universal Presentations, with Buddy Buie as executive producer. Four of these songs were released as singles by Romar Records. A full album was announced, but never materialized. The rest of the series’ music was composed by Hoyt Curtin.  

Hanna-Barbera Fun-In #11.

        The episode “The Pearl Caper” was adapted into comic form for Gold Key Comics’ Hanna-Barbera Fun-In #11 in 1974 (with Elvis given a “voice” in the form of thought bubbles). In 2013, Warner Archive released the complete series to DVD as part of their Hanna-Barbera Classics Collection. It’s also been made available to stream on Prime Video and iTunes. 

The Hex Girls poster in Scoob! baring the Sundance Kids' name (among others).

The characters would go on to make appearances in several episodes of Sealab 2021: playing as a band in “All That Jazz”; as residents of SeaLab Pod Six in “Let ‘Em Eart Corn!” (with Butch and Wally sporting mustaches); “Butchslap”, where the character of Marco (Erik Estrada) was revealed to have been a Sundance Kid; and the character models for Butch and Wally were recycled for the appearances of writer John Miller and creator/writer Adam Reed, respectively, in the episodes “Swimming in Oblivion” and “Return to Oblivion”. The band was also listed as a featured act for the Hex Girls—the fictional goth female group within the Scooby universe—on a poster in the 2020 film, Scoob!

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

“The Scientist” (9/8/73) – The band must smuggle a scientist out of a foreign country without being discovered.

 

“The Counterfeiters” (9/15/73) – The band investigates a Latvanian baron for his connection to a counterfeiting ring.

 

“One of Our Ships is Missing” (9/22/73) – The band ride on a cruise ship that’s targeted by a group of boat thieves.

 

“Double Trouble” (9/29/73) – The band must expose an imposter prince put in place to hide his kidnapping.

 

“The Pearl Caper” (10/6/73) – The band heads to Honolulu to search for pearl thieves and their stolen loot.

 

“The Gold Caper” (10/13/73) – The band goes to London to uncover a gold smuggling ring.

 

“Road Racers” (10/20/73) – A diamond theft coincides with The Grand Prix Cross-European race that begins in Venice.

 

“Hong Kong Story” (10/27/73) – The band deals with both their fan club and the theft of a priceless jade statute.

 

“Operation G-Minus” (11/3/73) – An anti-gravity device is stolen from a Munich toy expo.

 

“Orient Express” (11/10/73) – Mr. Socrates is taken over by an enemy agent while the band is off delivering an important document.

 

“The Parrot Caper” (11/17/73) – The band escorts a parrot that memorized an important formula to Switzerland.

 

“The Super Sub” (11/24/73) – The band sets out to retrieve a stole experimental submarine.

 

“The Haunted Castle” (12/1/73) – Wally inherits a castle that appears to be haunted.

MISSION: MAGIC!

 

MISSION: MAGIC!
(ABC, September 8-December 22, 1973)
 
Filmation Associates

 

 

MAIN CAST:
Rick Springfield – Himself
Lola Fisher – Miss Tickle
Howard Morris – Socks, Vinnie, Mr. Samuels
Erika Scheimer – Kim, Carol
Lane Scheimer – Harvey, Franklin

  

A spin-off of The Brady Kids and a precursor in concept to The Magic School Bus, Mission: Magic! was the fulfilment of producer Lou Scheimer’s desire to show how important a teacher could be to children. The series would center around a teacher with magical powers named Miss Tickle (a play on “mystical”, voiced by Lola Fisher) that had a special rapport with her small yet diverse class of kids—The Adventurers Club comprised of the quirky Socks, word-confusing Vinnie (both Howard Morris), their leader Kim, lovestruck Carol (both Erika Scheimer), nerdy Harvey and athletic Franklin (both Lane Scheimer)—and her cat, Tut-Tut, who could turn to and from a statue via a magical incantation. Her lessons would become enhanced adventures as she was able to open a portal through her blackboard, with Tut-Tut’s help and transport them all to magical worlds beyond such as a world ruled by magic, one where everyone did things in reverse, or even an underwater city. Filmation sold the idea to ABC’s Michael Eisner, however there was a catch: they wanted the series to feature Australian musician Rick Springfield.

Miss Tickle and The Adventurers Club: Harvey, Carol, Kim, Franklin, Vinnie and Socks.

After learning to play the guitar at age 13, Springfield joined various bands in England and Australia before winding up with pop rock band Zoot as a backing vocalist; eventually becoming the lead guitarist and vocalist in 1969. Zoot’s gimmick, wearing head-to-toe pink satin, earned them significant attention and numerous teenaged female fans, but cost them being taken seriously as musicians. After the band broke up in 1971, Springfield signed with Sparmac Records and his debut single, “Speak to the Sky”, peaked at number 5 on the Go-Set singles chart and at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. His debut album, Beginnings, became the first of seven of his top 40 albums on the Billboard 200. Springfield moved to the United States in 1972 and signed with Capitol Records until a scandal broke out that Capitol was paying people to buy his albums, resulting in a radio station boycott. Springfield moved to Columbia Records in 1973 where he recorded his second album, Comic Book Heroes. His looks and style had earned him the status as the next teen pop idol.

The psychedelic sounds of Rick.

ABC had entered into an arrangement to help promote Springfield and felt that the cartoon would be a good showcase for his music. It was decided that while Miss Tickle would be the children’s steward, Springfield would be their guide once they went through the portal with his owl Ptolemy (named for the Greek mathematician and astronomer and playing with Tut-Tut on the nonsensical poem “The Owl and the Pussycat” by Edward Lear); either filling them in on the goings on or actively calling for their help through a magic gramophone in dealing with situations like thieves, despots and disasters. Springfield would go on to write and perform a song in each episode related in some way to the story, albeit in truncated form to accommodate episode runtimes, and the series’ theme. Fisher, an accomplished singer herself, was able to perform a song of her own in an episode—not written by Springfield—as well as some melodic spell casting. According to Scheimer in the book Creating the Filmation Generation, she likely would have had more opportunities had Springfield not been involved. Carol was depicted as having a crush on Rick, not unlike the legion of his young female fans.

Drawing the magic door.

Mission: Magic! debuted on ABC on September 8, 1973, airing alongside The Brady Kids. This was one of the few Filmation series to not rely heavily on stock footage, making it one of the more expensive they produced. Outside of the main characters, each new world they visited necessitated new designs for both them and their related characters. It was a way to give the series a different look, compared by Scheimer to a Peter Max painting or the designs for Yellow Submarine, and to make sure each place fit the story being told. Additionally, the musical numbers would be accompanied by their own kind of psychedelic visuals. In typical Filmation fashion, each story contained a pro-social message. Marc Richards wrote the entirety of the series as he did with The Brady Kids, and the rest of the series’ music was composed by Ray Ellis and Norm Prescott as Yvette Blais and Jeff Michael, respectively. 

The magical Land of Prestidigitation.

The series ultimately did no one any favors. It didn’t hit with audiences and only lasted a single season. It did nothing for Springfield’s career that he wouldn’t do for himself with the release of the album Working Class Dog and its hit single “Jessie’s Girl”, as well as his prominent role as Dr. Noah Drake in the soap opera General Hospital. He has since continued to perform on stage and screen, as well as dabbled in writing with his autobiography and a novel. While this and Miss Tickle ended up being Fisher’s only credit for Filmation, she was the wife and manager of Jackson Bostwick who would become the titular hero of their live-action effort Shazzam! in 1974.

Tut-Tut and the magical gramophone.

In 1974, Springfield released the album Mission: Magic! in Australia through Wizard Records. The album contained the full version of all the songs he performed of the show except for “Yes I Am”. While none of the songs have been included on any of Springfield’s official compilation albums, the album itself has been re-released in various territories under different names and lengths: Just Gotta Sing (13 tracks), Big Hits (10 tracks), Backtracks, Speak to the Sky (9 tracks plus the titular single), Catch Me If You Can (including 2 singles), Fan-Tastic Rick Springfield and Rick Springfield. The album was reissued on CD in 2004. In 2007, BCI Eclipse released the digitally remastered complete series to DVD with additional special features.

 

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

“The Land of Backwards” (9/8/73) – The Adventurers Club finds themselves in trouble when returning stolen jewels lands them in jail.

Song: “You’d Better Think Twice”

 

“Modran” (9/15/73) – The Adventurers Club tries to stop crooked Modran from cheating to win a tournament, but he takes some of the kids captive as insurance that he will.

Song: “Catch Me If You Can”

 

“Dissonia” (9/22/73) – A device is eliminating all music in a land, and it appears to be impervious to Miss Tickle’s magic.

Song: “Love is the Key”

 

“Land of Hyde and Go Seek” (9/29/73) – A land is threatened by invaders who want the only substance that can give them a new hairstyle.

Song: “If We Help One Another”

 

“The City Inside the Earth” (10/6/73) – Rick calls the Adventurers Club to a subterranean city where a scientist seeks to claim the underground for himself.

Song: “Yes I Am”

 

“2600 A.D.” (10/13/73) – The Adventurers Club heads to the future where they find Omni the robot is ruler over all humans, and he needs help to save the Earth from a meteor.

Song: “You Can’t Judge a Book”

 

“Something Fishy” (10/20/73) – Dr. Manta uses his power to dominate an underwater city and takes Socks and Vinnie captive.

Song: “Free and Easy”

 

“Giant Steppes” (10/27/73) – Miss Tickle must rescue Rick and his friend Billy from a giant while the kids figure out how to get Billy back to his throne.

Song: “You Can Really Do It (If You Try)”

 

“Statue of Limitations” (11/3/73) – A statute is stolen in Paris, and the three prime suspects in its theft all have their own version of it.

Song: “I Want You”

 

“Will the Real Rick Springfield Please Stand Up?” (11/10/73) – Rick and Ptolemy are acting strangely, and it turns out both have been replaced by crooks that can change their shape.

Song: “It’s Driving Me Crazy”

 

“Doctor Astro” (11/17/73) – The Adventurers Club must stop a mad scientist who plans to bring Zodiac signs to life.

Song: “We’re Gonna Have a Good Time”

 

“Doctor Daguerreotype” (11/24/73) – Crooks capture the magic door in a special camera and use it to steal famous landmarks.

Song: “On the Other Side”

 

“Nephren” (12/1/73) – Miss Tickle finds herself up against an ancient Egyptian queen whose magic is just as powerful as her own.

Song: “I Know That It’s Magic”

 

“Modran Returns” (12/8/73) – Modran uses Rick as bait to get his hands on Tut-Tut, who turns out to be the key to the magic door.

Song: “Just Gotta Sing”

 

“Horse Feathers” (12/15/73) – The Adventurers Club must find out who stole the rodeo prize money.

Song: “Welcome to the Rodeo” & “Sing Me A Song”

 

“A Light Mystery” (12/22/73) – The Adventurers Club heads through the door to find out which of three rulers stole a generator to help them conquer the entire land.

Song: “Starlight, Starbright”

KUU KUU HARAJUKU

 *NOTE: The lyrics didn't appear in the broadcast version of the intro.

KUU KUU HARAJUKU

(10 Peach, Disney Channel Australia, November 1, 2015-December 28, 2019, AU

Nickelodeon, Nick Jr., October 3, 2016-October 12, 2018, US)

 

Vision Animation, Red Flags Fly, Moody Street Kids

 
 
MAIN CAST:
Maggie Chretien – G, Mauve Madison (US) various
Daisy Masterman – Love, various
Emma Taylor-Isherwood – Angel, various
Sally Taylor-Isherwood – Music, various
Charlotte Nicdao – Baby, Say-Wah, various
Danny Smith – Rudie Rhodes, Twisty T, various
 
 
            After a tour in 2004, the band No Doubt decided to take a break and explore some solo projects. Co-founder and lead singer Gwen Stefani released her first album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby., that year, which saw Stefani revisit and update the sounds of the music she grew up listening to. Initially not planning on having a tour to support the album, Stefani ended up going on one in late 2005 known as the Harajuku Lovers Tour. Harajuku is a district in Shibuya, Tokyo serving as the center of Japanese youth culture, teenage fashion and cosplay. Stefani had a self-professed huge interest and love for Japanese culture; hence the name of the tour, images of the area projected on stage backgrounds, and the inclusion of a song serving as an ode to the district, “Harajuku Girls”.

Gwen Stefani with her Harajuku Girls: (from left) Maya Chino, Jennifer Kita, Rino Nakasone & Mayuko Kitayama.

            Harajuku Girls was also the name she gave the group of backup dancers she hired for the tour, wearing make-up and clothing meant to be evocative of the Japanese aesthetic. The Harajuku Girls were comprised of Maya Chino, Jennifer Kita, Rino Nakasone and Mayuko Kitayama, who performed under the stage names “Love”, “Angel”, “Music” and “Baby”, respectively, after the album. Along with the tour, the Harajuku Girls served as Stefani’s entourage in public (it was alleged that they were contractually obligated to speak only Japanese in that instance), appeared with her on interviews (where part of her gimmick was that she considered them imaginary friends), and starred in 8 of her music videos (three of them would also appear in No Doubt’s “Settle Down” video, sans Harajuku styling). Stefani would go on to use the name “Harajuku Lovers” for a line of fragrances, which came in caricature bottles fashioned after her and the Girls, and fashion for Target also adorned with those caricatures. During this period, many critics would come to regard Stefani’s Harajuku Girls as not so much cultural appreciation, but more along the lines of cultural appropriation as well as reinforcing negative ethnic stereotypes.

An example of the kawaii design applied to the scenery.

            Fast forwarding to 2014, Stefani announced the next Harajuku-inspired product: an animated series. A desire to turn the Harajuku Girls into some kind of media project existed since the initial album’s release, but it wouldn’t be until 2013 that she pitched it at Kidscreen’s Asian Animation Summit. Australia’s Network Ten liked the idea and greenlit the production. Although this would be Stefani’s first involvement with an animated series, she had a familiarity with their inner workings through her brother, No Doubt co-founder and former member Eric Stefani, who worked as an animator on cartoons like A Pup Named Scooby-Doo and The Simpsons.

HJ5: Love, Angel, G, Music and Baby, along with their manager, Rudie.

            Initially titled Koo Koo Harajuku, the show was developed by Steve Aranguren, Gillian Carr and Madellaine Paxson and co-produced by Vision Animation, Red Flags Fly and Moody Street Kids, with DHX Media (now WildBrain) handling distribution. Animated in Flash, the series followed the adventures of teenaged band HJ5 as they often met with challenges that prevented them from playing their gigs peacefully; such as unruly fans, fun-hating despots, or inventions gone amok. HJ5 was comprised of leader G (modeled after Stefani, voiced by Maggie Cheretien), the glue of the band who kept them together through tough times and represented bows; Love (Daisy Masterman), the group genius whose inventions often caused more problems than they solved and represented hearts; Angel (Emma Taylor-Isherwood), a bubbly and cheerful fashionista that could be a bit of an airhead at times and represented stars; Music (Sally Taylor-Isherwood), the sarcastic and strong-willed second-in-command of the band who was both an amazing fighter and dancer and represented musical notes; and Baby (Charlotte Nicdao), sweet and carefree to a fault who loved adorable things and giving hugs (and was constantly hungry) and represented cuteness. Their manager was Rudie Rhodes (Danny Smith), who was enthusiastic but hard-lucked and clumsy, and tended to get the band into trouble through his antics and forgetfulness. Additionally, the band had a sassy robotic personal assistant and chauffer named R.O.D. (Robotic Obedient Driver), as well as several monster pets (cute little creatures that could be domesticated or wild) and a Pomeranian named Chewie (based on Stefani’s own pet). The characters, designed by Kyla May, were heavily influenced by the Harajuku Girls while remaining ethnically ambiguous.

General Nofun holds HJ5 captive.

            The series featured a number of antagonists bent on ruining HJ5’s careers any way they could. Chief amongst them was General Ira S. Nofun (Paul Heng, Ian Bliss in Australia), the leader of Nofunland who hated anything fun. His top man was Commander Bo-ring (Bliss), who led a double life as pop star Baron Von Melody. Nofun also had a cat, Moods Meow, who had designs on world domination. Other antagonists included Madame Shhh, who hated noise and wanted to soundproof everything through magic spells and bubbles; Sammy Starr, Rudie’s arrogant rival who used leetspeak and tried everything to sign HJ5 to him; Say-Wah (Nicdao), a technological whiz who wanted revenge on the band for not accepting her into their ranks; The Kimberlys, a rival band comprised of similar-looking girls all named Kimberly who wanted to be famous without doing any of the actual work; Tizzie Lizzie (Natalie Bond), the band’s biggest (and obsessive) fan and daughter of an incredibly wealthy man who attempted to subjugate HJ5; Angelica (Amanda Harrison), a young inventor and Love’s chief rial; Cici, the leader of a mermaid singing group who felt they had sole performing rights in oceanic territories; Panda Pete, a panda-obsessed businessman who wanted to make the whole world kawaii (the Japanese culture of cuteness); Mimi Di Pollo, an extreme fashion designer who wanted revenge on HJ5 for firing her because of her impractical outfits for them; and Bertrand, a smartphone modified by Love to never become obsolete that evolved into a sentient despot, among others.

Baby and the monster pets.

            Other characters included Colonel Spyke (Jaqueline Brennan), captain of the Harajuku Defense Squad who disliked HJ5’s music but didn’t hesitate to employ their services on missions when needed; Twisty-T (Smith), a prominent music producer Rudie always strove to impress; Jo Jo Jolie, a fashion designer and Twisty T’s wife; Mauve Madison (Brennan in Australia, Chrehtien in the US), a popular talk show host; Trixie La Trill (Bond), a hair stylist and Rudie’s aunt with a desire to be famous; Sparski, a sentient computer virus; and Krispin Krouton, a tabloid journalist, among others.

Say-Wah's holographic projection "haunts" HJ5.

            Kuu Kuu Harajuku debuted in Australia on 10 Peach on November 1, 2015, and then almost a year later in the United States on Nickelodeon on October 3, 2016 (moving to Nick Jr. in February). The art style was heavily inspired by the Harajuku district and kawaii with lots of unusual architecture, bright colors, and cute decorations dominated by smiling faces. Each episode was broken up into two segments, written by Tim Bain, Rhonda Smiley, James Hereth, Brendan Luno, Tania Lacy, Elizabeth Keyishian, Ann Austen, Obie Scott Wade, Adam Long, Becky Overton, Eddie Guzelian, Sue Rose, Mirith J. Colao, Kevin Nemeth, James Bates, Ray Boseley, Anthony Watt, Holly Lyons, Ken Pontac, Daniel Mansour and Amy Shindler, with Aranguren and Paxson, who served as story editor. Carr directed every episode. Along with serving as an executive producer, Stefani provided the theme song and voiced Gwen, a fashion designer from the confectionary-based city of Sweetropolis. The rest of the series’ music was composed by Christopher Elves and Mark McDuff, with Dani Iacovelli and Sophie McDuff providing vocals. The music was heavily inspired by Stefani’s first two albums, which she described as a mix between “80s video game and pop music.”

Music falls victim to one of Rudie's blunders.

            Much like Stefani’s Harajuku Girls, reception to the series was mixed and labeled as cultural appropriation. Reviewers pointed out the whitewashing and Westernization of Japanese culture while simultaneously eliminating anything remotely Japanese from the show. Despite that, the series was able to churn out 3 seasons and was nominated for an Asian Television Award in 2016. For the third season, HJ5 embarked on a world tour that took them out of Harajuku City to new and exotic locations with their own crazy themes--such as bubblegum, musical instruments or yo-yos--via a teleporting tour bus concocted by Love. The last five episodes of the series aired initially on Disney Channel Australia before airing on 10 Peach.

A G figure with the tour bus playset.

            Mattel acquired the license to produce toys based on the show, including fashion dolls and playsets, as well as packs of small charms to decorate the dolls or an included wearable ring. Shout! Factory struck a deal with DHX to release home media for the series. To date, they’ve only released 20 episodes from the first season across three DVDs. An official YouTube channel, KuuKuuTube, contained full episodes and clips. The entire series was made available to stream on Amazon Prime Video and Pluto TV, Apple TV+ and most of it on Google Play. In 2016, Nickelodeon uploaded a music video of Stefani singing an expanded and remixed version of the show’s theme.
 
 
EPISODE GUIDE:
Season1:
“Totally Teen Genie / Angel’s Flight” (11/1/15 AU, 10/3/16 US) – Angel discovers a sassy genie in a bottle of hair gel. / Angel is determined to restore her reputation when an unflattering picture of her is released online.
 
“Music Baby / Wanted Audience” (11/8/15 AU, 10/4/16 US) – A gig in Newfunland ends up with the band being arrested by General Nofun. / The band discovers that their gig is missing something: an audience.
 
“Game Over / Phony Ponies” (11/8/15 AU, 10/5/16 US) – The band ends up sucked into a computer game. / Baby enters her new ponycorn into the Ponycorn Cup which unfortunately has been targeted by a disgruntled former rider.
 
“Hello Puppy / G, This is Awfully Deep” (11/15/15 AU, 10/6/16 US) – G is given a new puppy that isn’t quite what he seems. / A sinkhole swallows the band and their stage and dumps them into an underground city.
 
“Baby’s Birthday / Labor of Love” (11/29/15 AU, 10/7/16 US) – Opening her presents early causes Baby to accidentally unleash one of Love’s inventions. / An advanced computer virus attacks HJ5’s headquarters.
 
“Bad Boy and Little Girl / Yummy Bear Nado” (11/29/15 AU, 10/8/16 US) – Baby ends up stuck in the cockpit of their mecha robot. / Love befriends a monster pet that helps upgrade her weather invention.
 
“Drums of Doom / Adventures in Housesitting” (10/15/16) – When Angel neglects her new drums, they take to playing themselves. / In order to audition for Twisty T, the band must housesit for him.
 
“The Kawaiifler / Super Kawaii Sunday” (12/20/15 AU, 10/22/16 US) – General Nofun is determined to spoil the Kawaiification Festival. / Things get out of hand when the band enters a contest to get on the cover of a magazine.
 
“Detectabubbles / Kablooey Chewie” (10/29/16) – A gig in Bubble Land is interrupted by the silence-loving Madame Shhh. / Chewie gets himself not only blasted off into space, but cloned numerous times.
 
“Water Baby / Music Zoo” (11/5/16) – The band’s gig is interrupted by an Octacorn attack. / Music becomes Muzaka and the band has to get her back to normal to salvage their zoo gig.
 
“The Dotted Line / Life is But a Dream” (11/12/16) – The band is offered a recording contract with one provision: they have to change absolutely everything about themselves. / Love invents a machine that will let the band share a concert dream to help G overcome her stage fright.
 
“Oh, G / Greenhouse” (5/7/16 AU, 11/19/16 US) – A painting comes to life and anything it touches turns into a work of art. / Rudie forgets to tell the band that he promised they would take care of Twsity T’s rose garden while he’s away.
 
“Control + Alt + Dimension / Angel Hair” (2/4/17) – Love’s latest invention sends her to another dimension where she encounters an evil HJ5. / A bad case of bedhair sends Angel to Trixie La Trill for a makeover.
 
“Inside Job / Sea Monkeying Around” (2/11/17) – Rudie accidentally shrinks the band and they get eaten by a monster pet. / Rudie’s promotional scheme goes wrong and ends up flipping an entire undersea mall upside down, threatening to break the dome that keeps the water out.
 
“Trust Your Inner Uniphant / Starr Power” (2/25/17) – Rudie lies to a zookeeper that the band knows how to handle Uniphants in order to get a gig at the zoo. / Sammy Starr wants to sign HJ5 by any means necessary.
 
“Zero G / Angel Food” (3/4/17) – Aliens take offense to an HJ5 song and crash their concert. / Dressing in food costumes for their gig has the band looking like lunch for a group of hungry monster pets.
 
“Happy Slam / Retro Fiasco” (4/7/17) – Baby uses one of Love’s rejected inventions to try and improve her dance moves. / Retro Day at the mall is spoiled by a shop full of retro clothing takes over.
 
“HJ10 / Waves of Love” (4/14/17) – Invading aliens resembling HJ5 land in Harajuku. / Love must choose between staying with the band and accepting a job at Harajuku University.
 
“Sand and Deliver / Moods Meow” (4/21/17) – A lightning strike brings sculpted sand bunnies to life. / The band must rescue a cat to save their gig.
 
“Yeti in the House / The Young and the Reckless” (4/28/17) – Music must overcome her Yeti phobia in order to help the band get him back home. / An old children’s TV host wants to reclaim his glory days by reverting his audience back to a young age.
 
“Brodie on Board / Womzilla” (7/9/16 AU, 5/5/17 US) – The band takes on Rudie’s cousin as an intern. / While making a film, Rudie accidentally unleashes a great wombat on the city.
 
“Emotizoms / The Big Time” (5/12/17) – Emoticuddlies with an advanced AI become vicious Emotizoms and disrupt the biggest wedding in the city. / Baby’s Queueby doll runs into some experimental fertilizer and becomes giant.
 
“Un-Bear-able / Snowy the Frostman” (5/19/17) – Rudie uses a bear that says uncomfortable things to apologize for hurting Angel’s feelings. / An event’s mascot tries to destroy Rudie.
 
“Kawaii Cake Mix Up / Angel Fever” (6/2/17) – The girls shrink themselves to find a micro-sized USB key with their latest song that fell onto a cupcake. / Angel’s new shoes puts the city under a spell.
 
“Candy Blossom Flower Festival / Princess Power” (6/9/17) – A kiss on the forehead transfers some of Shu Shu the Silver Shimmer Squirrel’s powers onto Music. / Rudie causes a mechanical dragon to go berserk during a gig.
 
“Hark! A Quarkle! / The Ends of the Earth” (8/13/16 AU, 6/16/17 US) – Love accidentally creates an energy organism that threatens Jo Jo Julie’s new fashion launch. / The band uses Love’s time machine to find a way to play their gig without ending the world.
 
Season 2:
“Training Day / Multi Tasking” (7/1/17 AU, 7/7/17 US) – Performing for passengers causes the band to miss their train. / The band tries to play the two concerts Rudie booked them for at the same time.
 
“Hot Rod / Over and Out” (7/8/17 AU, 7/14/17 US) – Love’s upgrade for R.O.D. makes him a hit with all the electronics in town. / A prank goes wrong when The Reversilator turns Baby into a bad girl that wants to leave the band.
 
“Stage Magic / The Sixth Wheel” (7/15/17 AU, 7/21/17 US) – Rudie decides to add magic tricks to the band’s act. / Rudie pretends to be the band’s leader to impress his grandma.
 
“Trash Talk / iTeeth” (7/22/17 AU, 7/28/17 US) – The band tries to stop Krispin Krouton from spreading lies about them on his blog. / Candy causes Baby’s retainer to pick up radio transmissions, making her unable to sing at an audition.
 
“Spies Like Spyke / The Fabulous Baron Von Melody” (7/29/17 AU, 8/4/17 US) – Spyke recruits the band to help catch a thief at Jo Jo Jolie’s winter ball. / HJ5 learns their opening act has a double identity.
 
“Game Show Offs / Monster Mash” (8/5/17 AU, 8/11/17 US) – Rudie and the band are pitted against each other on a game show. / The band gets their minds swapped with monster pets right before an important concert.
 
“You Are What You Eat / Supersonic HJ5” (8/12/17 AU, 8/18/17 US) – Snacks from a vending machine gives the band new powers. / The band uses supersonic speed to keep Say-Wah from bombing their photos.
 
“Tizzie Lizzie / Caught in the Web” (8/19/17 AU, 8/25/17 US) – Playing a private concert for their biggest fan may become a permanent gig when she refuses to let the band leave. / A computer malfunction causes the band to become trapped on the internet.
 
“57 Channels (and Nothin’ On) / Getting’ Kinda Late with Mauve Madison” (8/16/17 AU, 9/8/17 US) – Rudie and the band get trapped on the airwaves and must navigate various channels to get to their gig on time. / Rudie takes over Mauve Madison’s talk show.
 
“Ladybug Power / Wrestle Pop” (9/2/17 AU, 9/15/17 US) – Rudie’s game uses up all the electricity for the band’s benefit concert. / A gig at a wrestling match reveals Music’s wrestling past.
 
“Angel Changel / Coulda Been” (9/9/17 AU, 9/22/17 US) – A desire to quit the band takes Angel on a journey through her history. / Love’s unfinished invention traps Rudie in another dimension.
 
“Catnapped / Roundabout Roundup” (9/16/17 AU, 9/29/17 US) – When HJ5 gives Moods Meow an experimental voice chip, he announces his plans to conquer the world. / Nofun sabotages a mechanical bull at a Wild West theme park, causing it to rampage out of control.
 
“Meerkatz / Pandamonium” (9/23/17 AU, 10/6/17 US) – Angel goes undercover to put a stop to the city’s villains teaming up together. / A toy maker plans to make the whole world into Kawaii through Baby’s cuteness.
 
“Kawaii Fidelity / Rocky Road” (9/30/17 AU, 10/13/17 US) – The band has to figure out why their new song transforms people into kawaii monster pets. / On their way to meet an influential producer, the band’s van breaks down in a small town they can’t find a way to leave.
 
“This Place is a Zoo / Wacky Wednesday” (10/7/17 AU, 10/20/17 US) – The band is tasked with taking care of zoo animals while vying for a contract. / A lightning strike causes Rudie and Music to switch bodies.
 
“Dream Escape / The Kimberlys” (10/14/17 AU, 11/3/17 US) – Creatures from Baby’s dream escape into the real world thanks to one of Love’s inventions. / Rudie manages a new band determined to replace HJ5.
 
“Cecil G. Demille / Sky High Kawaii” (10/21/17 AU, 11/10/17 US) – Rudie informs the band that they have 6 hours to film a new music video before it airs. / HJ5 competes against The Kimberlys to get the most-liked video on the internet.
 
“And the Winner is… / The Trouble with Trillbys” (10/28/17 AU, 11/17/17 US) – The band is unaware that the contest they’re in is rigged to make them look like fools. / Looking for his birthday present causes Rudie to unleash chaos with one of Love’s incomplete inventions.
 
“Who Are You Calling Cupid? / Beach” (11/4/17 AU, 11/24/17 US) – When Cupid loses his contact lenses his arrows hit all the wrong marks. / Love’s competition with Angelica gets out of control.
 
“Maxi-Mini Golf / White Glitter Glider” (11/11/17 AU) – G is asked to throw a golf game to get a music contract. / Angel desires a white glitter glider.
 
“The Fantabulous Five / Mist-ery Guest” (11/18/17 AU) – A meteor gives the band superpowers. / The band’s tropical island adventure on a reality TV show is going to be anything but a vacation.
 
“An Imaginary Friend in Need / Snowbound for Greatness” (11/25/17 AU) – Love’s new invention accidentally brings the band’s childhood imaginary friends to life. / G takes the band back to where they wrote their first song, disturbing a giant snowman that just wants quiet.
 
“The Gnome Ultimatum / G Force” (12/2/17 AU) – A failed singing duo from the 90s take over the band’s home so that they can relaunch their music careers. / Angelica joins with The Kimberlys to help them beat the band in a competition.
 
“KuuKuuBall Run / Feline’s Finest” (12/9/17 AU) – Love and Angelica compete against each other in designing an eco-friendly car. / Rudie has the band enter Twisty T’s cat into a local cat show to get him to notice the girls.
 
“Debut Album / Love’s Lamentations” (12/16/17 AU) – Using Twisty T’s studio to record the band’s first album turns to chaos when Rudie causes everything to come to life. / Unable to come up with a special kind of lip gloss, Love gives up on science.
 
“Studio No-No / The Gig is Up” (12/23/17 AU) – Getting to record in a prestigious studio turns out to be a trap for the band. / The band plans to broadcast their best concert ever and Nofun is determined to make sure it ends up being the worst.
 
Season 3:
“Kawaii to the World Tour / Mind Games” (8/10/18 US, 8/11/18 AU) – The band rushes around to try and prepare for a world tour within two hours. / When the Bubblegumburg concert goes poorly, G has Love invent a mind-reading device to find out how to reach their audience.
 
“Bye Bye Baby / Super Awesome Galacto Rudie” (8/17/18 US, 8/18/18 AU) – The band not only leaves Baby behind but Nofun decides to steal their home. / When Rudie sends out the bands’ costumes to be cleaned he gets a super hero’s super suits back by mistake.
 
“Family Affair / It’s All About Mimi, Me” (8/24/18 US, 8/25/18 AU) – The band learns that Rudie’s family has been having a music feud with another family. / A rift forms when Angel hires a fashion genius to make their wardrobe for the tour whose designs the rest of the band doesn’t like.
 
“Monkey Business / Southern Sparkles” (8/31/18 US, 9/1/18 AU) – Getting lost in a jungle ends up getting the band captured by cute creatures that want them to stay forever. / The band’s cruise concert is interrupted by a mermaid group who claim dominance to perform in the water.
 
“Monster Pets on the Bus / Kawaii-Saurs” (9/7/18 US, 9/8/18 AU) – G tells Mauve how they came to have monster pets staying with them on the tour bus. / Getting lost after a concert leads the band to find three Kawaii-Saurs eggs that Baby intends to make dinner, but end up hatching first.
 
“Oh, Boya! / Rudie’s Law” (9/14/18 US, 9/15/18 AU) – Music ends up stuck to a pop star she can’t stand via a virtual leash. / Rudie messes with a device to enhance his gaming experience causing it to be projected in the real world while shutting down the city’s internet.
 
“The High C / Aller-G” (9/21/18 US, 9/22/18 AU) – The girls try to relax to help G get over being sick, but their cruise ship ends up trapped in the Harajuku Parallelogram. / G ends up developing an allergy to Rudie that causes her to sneeze into various monster pet forms.
 
“Groovy Beach Goes Bonkers / Smart Phone” (9/28/18 US, 9/29/18 AU) – The band accidentally goes back in time and ends up replacing the star of their favorite old beach movie. / Love decides to upgrade her smart phone so that it’ll never go obsolete, causing it to come to life and declare humans obsolete.
 
“Hotel Kawaii-fornia / Boo Boo Harajuku” (10/5/18 US, 10/6/18 AU) – The band checks into a strange hotel that they can’t seem to check out of. / Angel discovers an alternate universe inhabited by perfume scents that are big fans of the band.
 
“Future Tense / Pamperlona” (10/12/18 US, 10/13/18 AU) – When Rudie knocks Love’s new camera drone into another invention it begins producing recordings from the future. / Mimi Di Pollo lures a tired HJ5 to an automated spa to enact her revenge for their firing her.
 
“My Way or the Kawaii Way / Tinselfest” (10/20/18 AU) – A deranged hair stylist sets out for revenge against the band when Angel asks for a slight modification to her new hair style. / A decorating mishap as a child causes Nofun to seek to destroy the Tinselfest celebration.
 
“Planet of the Rudies / Fan Fun Day” (10/27/18 AU) – A directional mishap lands the band on a planet inhabited entirely by Rudies. / A fan wins a chance to spend a day with the band for some fun, but no matter what they do they can’t seem to put a smile on her face.
 
“Happy 100^th / The Sweet Life” (11/3/18 AU) – Rudie convinces the band to go all-out for their 100^th live show. / Rudie promised the band that legendary fashion designer Gwen would make their costumes, not knowing she retired after an unfortunate incident at the Ponycorn Cup.
 
“Must the Show Go On? / Lights! Camera! HJ5!” (11/10/18 AU) – When Nofun learns Bo-ring is making a musical about HJ5, he orders him to wreck the show on purpose. / The band heads to Kawaiiwood to discover Nofun is directing a nasty exposé film about them.
 
“Marshmallow Madness / Social Media” (11/17/18 AU) – Baby rescues a living artifact to send back home, but decides to have a day of fun with him first not realizing he’s turning people into marshmallows. / Angel becomes obsessed with increasing her social media follower count.
 
“That’s So Five Minutes Ago / Messy Magic” (11/24/18 AU) – Angel is determined to beat her rival during fashion week, but she somehow seems to keep ahead of Angel’s innovations. / A book Rudie gives G unleashes a cleaning magic that goes out of control.
 
“Lather, Rinse, Repeat / Sing Thing” (12/1/18 AU) – Love and Angelica get into a feud over who has the better super shampoo. / Love invents a robot to control the sounds and lights during their shows, which Rudie promptly causes to malfunction when he drops his phone inside of it.
 
“Baby Rudie / Rock Your Socks” (12/8/18 AU) – Attempting to grant their wish of letting the day last longer, Rudie messes with the teleportation device and turns himself into a baby. / Baby attempts to find out where socks disappear to in the dryer and ends up sent to another dimension.
 
“What’s in a Name? / Joy Ride” (12/15/18 AU) – G suffers an identity crisis when she discovers her name is “J” on her birth certificate. / Love’s smart phone kidnaps most of the band, leaving Baby and Rudie to rescue them.
 
“The Fabulous Baron Von Rudie / Mappy Birthday Music” (12/22/18 AU) – Using one of Love’s inventions, Rudie erases his memory and believes he’s Baron Von Melody. / Rudie gives Music a treasure map for her birthday that will lead her to the treasure she needs most.
 
“Hologrammed / Good Old Rod” (12/29/18 AU) – Say-Wah haunts the band as a hologram projection. / Believing G wants to replace him, Baby and Rudie attempt to make R.O.D. more kawaii so she’ll want to keep him around.
 
“Teen Genie Strikes Back / Clueless in Sweetropolis” (11/5/19 AU) – Angel ends up picking up Teen Genie’s bottle in a retro store, and she makes them grant her 3 wishes. / Baby is accused of eating the crown jellies meant to be worn by the new queen of Sweetropolis.
 
“Rumor Has It / The Princess and the Rocker” (11/6/19 AU) – When searching for her missing monster pet causes Angel to miss an interview, the rest of the band ends up misquoted and fake news about her is generated. / Music trades places with a lookalike princess for a day.
 
“G-Whizz / Mind Over Manager” (11/7/19 AU) – Angel tries to solidify their chances at winning a Bestie by hiring an unusual award-winning choreographer. / When Rudie breaks Love’s mental image projector, the band ends up trapped inside the happy place in his mind.
 
“Razzle Dazzle / Project Runaway” (11/8/19 AU) – The band mistakes Love’s quantum 3D printer for a graphics tablet, causing what they draw to become real. / The band meets an influential fashionista who’s dedicated to ruining the city’s fashion event.
 
“Run to the Sun / That Sinking Feeling” (11/11/19 AU) – The band must teleport around the world to make all the concerts Rudie booked for the same day. / Mimi supposedly funds a concert to make amends with the band, but frequent bad accidents has them suspecting an ulterior motive.