Information about All That

All That
The All That logo. All That title card
Created by	Mike Tollin Brian Robbins
Starring	Angelique Bates (1994-1996) Chelsea Brummet (2001-2005) Amanda Bynes (1996-2000) Nick Cannon (1998-2000) Ryan Coleman (2004-2005) Lori Beth Denberg (1994-1998) Jack DeSena (2001-2005) Tricia Dickson (1997) Lisa Foiles (2001-2005) Leon Frierson (1997-2000) Bryan Hearne (2001-2003) Gabriel Iglasias (1999-2000) Katrina Johnson (1994-1997) Christina Kirkman (2003-2005) Christy Knowings (1997-2000) Lil' JJ (2005) Shane Lyons (2001-2004) Zachary McLemore (1998-1999) Kel Mitchell (1994-1999) Alisa Reyes (1994-1997) Giovonnie Samuels (2001-2004) Mark Saul (1998-2000) Josh Server (1994-2000) Jamie Lynn Spears (2002-2004) Kyle Sullivan (2001-2005) Danny Tamberelli (1997-2000) Kenan Thompson (1994-1999) Kianna Underwood (2005) Denzel Whitaker (2005)
Opening theme	by TLC
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	181 (List of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)	Joe Davola Dan Schneider Brian Robbins Mike Tollin
Running time	30 minutes (with commercials)
Broadcast
Original channel	Nickelodeon
Original run	April 16, 1994 – October 22, 2005
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

All That is an American live-action,children's sketch comedy-variety show that aired on the Nickelodeon cable television network. It drew favorable comparisons to Saturday Night Live and Mad TV for its short comedic sketches and weekly musical guests.^[1] The theme song for All That was performed by TLC. The show is taped in Hollywood at the Nickelodeon on Sunset theater (formerly the Aquarius Theater); early episodes were taped at the now-defunct Nickelodeon Studios at Universal Orlando.

The show first aired on April 16,1994 as a "special preview" and debuted as a regular series on December 24, 1994.^[2] It was successfully broadcast internationally, including in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada.

The show was very popular during its run.^[3] In 1997, Thompson and Mitchell starred in a big screen version of the sketch Good Burger. The sketch Action League Now! made a few appearances on All That before moving to a new Nickelodeon series in 1996 called KaBlam!; they later spun off into their own short-lived series.^[4] Also, Kenan Thompson has gone on to work on Saturday Night Live, where he (like on All That) has honed his famous Bill Cosby impersonation.^[5]

All That lasted 11 seasons before it was canceled in 2005. The last episode aired on October 22, 2005.

The show will be syndicated on The N on December 31, 2007 when The N becomes a full channel. ^[6]

Format

All That featured a format of cold open, sketch-comedy pieces and a musical guest in its first six seasons and the final season. The cold opens took place in the green room five minutes before the show was to start. Usually, Kevin the Stage Manager (played by Kevin Kopelow) tries to rouse the cast members to preparation for the show by announcing "Five minutes!". Some of these cold opens included playing spin the bottle and having to kiss a cactus, an octopus, or a chair; Kel Mitchell reenacting a fight on Kopelow; and guest star Mark Curry tying up Kenan Thompson and wearing his Superdude costume. All other seasons featured a weekly host introducing and occasionally participating in the various sketches and a musical guest, a format pioneered by Saturday Night Live.

Many of the sketches were original material, although Bill Cosby, Roseanne, Steve Urkel, Ross Perot, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush were impersonated by Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell, Angelique Bates, Johnson, Gabriel Iglesias, and an adult, respectively. The humor was very pre-teen-oriented, such as Josh Server eating his own dandruff, or appearing on stage wearing only his underwear, or a cereal called Lucky Germs or Fruit Poots. From Season 7 onward, the humor was geared more toward younger viewers than the first six seasons.

In the first five seasons, All That used mostly urban contemporary musical guests and R & B), but in later seasons, All That aimed for more mainstream, pop classic rock and/or modern rock oriented acts.

See also:

Notable sketches, 1990s

• Good Burger is a recurring sketch that took place at a fast food restaurant. The cashier, Ed (played by Kel Mitchell in Seasons 1-5 and Ryan Coleman in Season 9), was portrayed as a clueless teenager who always found a way to mess things up. He once brought his pet bugs to work and accidentally broke the aquarium. He knocked an actor unconscious, who was filming a Good Burger commercial and then Ed had to replace him. When a food critic (Sherman Hemsley) came in to review the restaurant, Ed put a puppy in his meal bag, forcing the manager, Mr. Baily, to ask him to leave, unaware that he was the food critic. The famous line from this skit, stated by Kel in every episode was "Welcome to the Good Burger, home of the good burger, can I take your order?" Good Burger was later made into a 1997 movie starring Kel Mitchell reprising his role as Ed and Kenan Thompson as a new character named Dexter. Ed always named the price of the meals ordered as "8 bucks." Whenever customers would complain of the price, Ed would quickly defend himself and say, "Okay! Three fifty!"
• Dullmont Junior High School / Dullmont High School had many characters that carried into varying sketches, but remained the same. At the school, strange things would happen, mainly due to the insane staff:
• Janitor Gaseous (Danny Tamberelli): A slovenly janitor who loved to scream "SQUAT AND ROT!"
• Miss Fingerly (Lori Beth Denberg): a clueless teacher who tried to keep her students on the straight and narrow, no matter how (she once taught with an arrow in her gut).
• Miss Piddlin (Kenan Thompson): A lunch lady obsessed with peas, she often force-fed people the vegetable using her "beast-like strength". If people resisted the peas, Miss Piddlin would go crazy and scare them away, then calm down and say, "Oops, Miss Piddlin almost lost her temper". When angered, usually, she would start steaming or smoking around her neck, which was a signal for when she would unleash her rage. At the end of her skit, everyone would sing a song about peas, such as "Eat a Pea" or Peas Are the Champions.
• Julio (Josh Server): Miss Piddlin's assistant who would show up at the end of the skit to play guitars while Miss Piddlin sings a song about peas. He would also show up to provide Miss Piddlin with more peas whenever she ran out. He was apparently terrified of her.
• Coach Kreeton (Kel Mitchell): A gym coach who constantly had pain inflicted on him; he once had his hand stuck in a waffle iron, and then fell out a window. His catchphrase is "Ooh, the life I live is sad." In a sketch during the All That Tenth Anniversary Special, it was revealed that he quit teaching at Dullmont Junior High because he couldn't deal with "those demon crazy communist children", even though Principal Pimpell keeps asking him to come back.
• Tandy Spork (Josh Server): Highly Medicated Vegetarian Secretary of Dullmont; became a teacher in Season 5. She almost always suffers some sort of cranial tramua in every sketch, such as when she's bashed against the head or when she falls out a window.
• Principal William Baines Pimpell (Kenan Thompson): The principal of the school, his namesake was the gigantic pulsing pimple on his forehead. He spoke with a speech impediment, and always introduced himself by taking long breaks between each word in his name ("Principal William..... Baines.....Pimpell!"), often putting emphasis on the "P"s. His methods of running the school were lackluster, as all he ever wanted to talk about was his pimple.
• Leroy & Fuzz (Leon Frierson): A recurring skit about Leroy who talks about important things that irritates him and his annoying puppet brother Fuzz usually explains this very important thing and gives an example (which usually results in Leroy hurting him with it). At the end, Leroy would do something to get Fuzz off screen (example: blowing him with a full-powered leaf blower or trapping him in a box), then Leroy would say "As I was saying, I don't like <topic spoken>. My name's Leroy. Have a Nice Day."
• Earboy discussed the trials and tribulations of a teenager named Earboy, because (as the theme song goes), "his ears are really big!" Earboy Josh Server went to a school where he was always made fun of. He and his three friends Pizza Face (he had a slice of pizza for a face), Tinsel Teeth (her mouth was full of Christmas decorations) and Four Eyes (she had four eyeballs in two sockets) faced teenage problems while trying to fit in. Thankfully, they had help from "a freak like us, but everyone likes him, and he's got a lot of money"-namely, Ross Perot, played by Katrina Johnson. Mocking Perot's wild attitude, Johnson often threw piles of money in the air and offered insane advice to the foursome.
• Vital Information was a sketch in which Lori Beth Denberg (later Danny Tamberelli and Lil' JJ during the relaunch, respectively) delivered words of wisdom, usually three sayings in a row. Some of these Vitals included:
• If your bra is too tight, it's uncomfortable. If you're a boy and your bra is too tight, I'm uncomfortable!
• If your teacher gives you an F, it is wrong to say "Well what do you expect moron! I didn't study!"
• Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder how on Earth this song became so popular.
• It's fun to play in the snow. It's less fun to play in a bathtub full of vomit.
• I scream, you scream, we all scream when we slam our hand in the car door
• ''Three blind mice. Three blind mice. See how they run, into things.
• An apple a day keeps the doctor away (then proceeding to throw apples at a doctor) go on get!
• ''The kids on the bus go up and down, up and down, up and down. The kids on the bus go up and down, and then they all throw up.
• ''Monkey see, monkey do. Monkey don't see, monkey step in doo.
• If your first name is Wally, and your second name is Wally, and your last name is Woo, then your name is WALLY WALLY WOO!
• When you fall in the toilet, it is best not to start swimming saying, "Look at me! I'm a toilet fish!"
• When you blow your nose like this (takes a tissue and blows her nose loudly), it is wrong to do this (sticks the tissue to a lamp).
• Superdude was a parody of Superman. The sketch revolved around a teenage superhero (played by Kenan Thompson) whose alter ego was named Mark Cant. His girlfriend was Penny Lane (a possible reference to the Beatles' song Penny Lane) (played by Angelique Bates, Alisa Reyes, and Christy Knowings) and his main nemesis was Milk Man (played by Josh Server). Superdude's one weakness was lactose intolerance, therefore all of his villains were dairy-themed: Milk Man, Butter Boy, Cow Boy, and YoGurl. A few notable characters appeared in Superdude sketches:
• Mark Cant/Superdude (Kenan Thompson): The superhero; his powers included flight, super-strength, and a "magnetic butt"
• Penny Lane (Various): Superdude's girlfriend; she was often kidnapped and held hostage
• The Sweaty Lady (Lori Beth Denberg): A large lady who always sweated; she often yelled out useful information and babbling questions, and occasionally produced objects from her person such as a pitcher of milk or a blow dryer
• Milk Man (Josh Server): Superdude's nemesis; his crimes include kidnapping Santa Claus and creating a "funny milk" that made everyone laugh uncontrollably (a nod to Joker venom)
• Butter Boy/Yo Gurl/Cow Boy (Kel Mitchell): Other villains who used dairy-based powers
• The Explaining Girl (Katrina Johnson/Amanda Bynes): In every Superdude sketch, someone would not know what "lactose intolerant" meant, and this little girl would appear from extremely odd places (such as inside a freezer or grocery display) to explain it
• Fake Superdude (Amanda Bynes): A little girl who pretended to be Superdude to rob a bank; she had no superpowers, but still managed to trick the (stupid) populace into believing she was him
• Ask Ashley^[7] was a sketch starring Amanda Bynes as a little girl named Ashley, who offered advice from her bedroom on a TV series. She was sweet and friendly until she read letters sent in by clueless viewers. The first letter that Ashley ever read was written by somebody who had no idea how to turn their peanut butter and jam sandwich over. After reading a letter, Ashley would go on a violent tirade against the letter's author. Her characteristic phrase, "Thaaaaat's me!" during the sketch became one of the sketch's trademarks.^[7]
• Ishboo (character played by Kenan Thompson) was a foreign exchange student whose customs were rather unusual to Americans. It was proper in Ishboo's foreign land (which was never named) to shout "Walla Walla Woo!" and hide behind furniture in a panic after somebody sneezed. It was proper to bark like a dog while proposing a toast. It was customary to give your psychiatrist a live lobster on your first visit. It is suspected that Ishboo may have been a fake, as he is quite adept at getting out of troublesome situations-even those he "did not understand" seconds before. To escape from predicaments, he would hypnotize people by using his "swinging jewel". Comedian Sinbad guest starred as Ishboo's father, Sinboo.
• USS Spaceship was a parody of Star Trek. It featured Amanda Bynes as Captain Tantrum, commander of the U.S.S. Spaceship. She was only a child, and often whined and screamed to get her way. Her crew included Singo (Kel Mitchell), who sang everything he said, First Mate (Josh Server) who tried to reason with her and often failed, Scottie (Kenan Thompson), who spoke in an odd accent and followed orders, and "Uhura" (Christy Knowings), a spoof of the simiarly named character from Star Trek. They traveled around space and often encountered villains such as Crouton, which, as his name suggests, is a large, human-like crouton (played by Danny Tambarelli), Thumbtax, a mechanical woman, or the Queen of the Hoganoids, a pig-like monster (both played by Lori Beth Denberg). Captain Tantrum would often scream and cry when she encountered the villains, and Thumbtax always relented. In one memorable sketch, the crew defeated the greedy Hoganoids by sending over a missile and then energizing it, sending bacon flying everywhere.
• Repair Man: Whenever a device, item, or piece of equipment broke in a household, workplace or public area, Repairman (played by Kel Mitchell) appeared (usually by falling from the sky and crashing into something on the way like a ceiling, roof, or wall), claiming he could fix it. However, he usually ends up further damaging the article he intended to repair, finding other things in the vicinity to “repair," and ultimately angering the owners. In the beginning of the sketch when asked to identify himself he exclaimed, with a self-made echo, “I’M REPAIR MAN-MAN-MAN-MAN-man-man!!” He would finish off his introduction with a rather sinister and insane laugh. Once, he called in a "second opinion" and introduced a one-time character, REPAIR BOY (-BOY-BOY-BOY-BOY-boy-boy), who was played by Leon Frierson.
• Cooking With Randy And Mandy was a sketch starring Kenan Thompson and Angelique Bates. The two played a duo named Randy and Mandy, who had their own cooking show on the fictional channel 106B. Every recipe concocted by the duo always contained massive amounts of chocolate (for example: spaghetti smothered in chocolate syrup, etc.) In one sketch, Randy gets in a hot tub that, instead of water, contains liquid chocolate. When Angelique Bates left, the sketch was renamed Cooking With Randy.
• The Loud Librarian was a sketch starring Lori Beth Denberg. As the title suggests, she portrayed a librarian who was very loud. She commonly honked her air horn while students are studying. Other noisy activities included bowling, fighting a bull, celebrating New Year's Eve herding sheep, talking loudly on the phone, chomping on chips, bouncing on a pogo stick, using a jackhammer, working a "Test Your Strength" game, and even engaging in a rock guitar battle. Ironically, when someone else in the library made the tiniest sound, she would scream something like, "QUIET! THIS IS A LIBERRY! (sic) CAN'T YOU READ?! PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO STUDY! HOW CAN YOU BE SO RUDE?!" A trademark of the sketch was her air horn, and the signs she had placed around the library that read, "Quiet", "Stifle", "Hush", and "Shhh".
• Whateverrrr! was a sketch starring Amanda Bynes and Christy Knowings as Gina and Jessica. They played a pair of loud, ditzy Valley girls who hosted their own television show. The duo commonly talked about very materialistic things, such as broken fingernails.
• Everyday French With Pierre Escargot: featured Kenan Thompson, sitting in a bathtub filled with suds, wearing a rain coat and matching hat. In the sketch, Thompson (as Pierre Escargot) would say silly phrases in badly-pronounced French, and then translate them in English. The sketch was commonly used to introduce the show's musical guest.
• Life with Peter and Flem, in the tradition of an over-the-top Goofus & Gallant, was a sketch that featured Peter (Kel Mitchell) and Flem (Josh Server) , in doing the same thing but with different methods. Peter would use the right way while Flem would use his "own" stupid method. For example, "In turning off the TV, Peter uses a remote... Flem uses a brick."
• Lemonade Scammer was a sketch featuring an adorable little girl (played by Katrina Johnson) who just wanted to make some money selling her homemade lemonade. Unfortunately for people passing by, the little girl was extremely "persuasive", utilizing methods such as giving away peanuts soaked in pepper juice and then charging ridiculously hefty prices for her drinks, or making people pay extra for a cup, ice, or sugar. If a customer refused to pay or buy lemonade, the girl would cry and make up something that her mom would do as a punishment. This was used on The Tom Kane Show with Bill Thompson as himself selling lemonaide if a buyer refuses to get lemonaide he would go darn, Oh shoot, etc & makes up something his mom would do to him as a punishment.
• Fat Cop was a parody of crime drama shows, featuring Danny Tamberelli as Jack Campbell, an obese cop. After a dramatic crime was revealed (one episode featured stolen electronics), Campbell would appear at the door. A Law & Order type credit sequence would play, featuring Campbell eating a mountain of spaghetti. He would then ask questions about victims' meals throughout the day, and "search" through fridges for clues while stuffing his face. Usually the clients would stomp away after a while, leaving him to enjoy eating everything.
• Detective Dan was a sketch featuring a hopelessly incompetent private eye played by Josh Server. After a crime was committed, Dan would appear and make a horrible mess of things. In one episode, a wealthy woman's jewelry was stolen. When the butler walked by Dan covered in pearls and other gems, he let him go by while investigating a statue. His famous line was "I'm Detective Dan" in a thick, cliche private eye voice. He would sometimes add on to the line depending on the situation, such as when he walked in wearing a trenchcoat and boxers, and said, "I'm Detective Dan, and I'm not wearing any pants."
• Cheeseburger Doyle featured a talking cheeseburger puppet who ran a detective agency in the style of Dick Tracy. Hapless victims often appealed to him to solve some mystery, and Doyle would infiltrate the scene of the crime in a disguise (usually a false mustache.). Astoundingly, everyone was always tricked by the disguise, and Doyle would catch the culprit red-handed, spraying mustard or other condiments on him or her. The victim would be nearby to thank Doyle-and then attempt to eat him.
• The Inconvenience Store featured two "hoodrats" named Laneesha (Kenan Thompson) and Latanya (Nick Cannon) who work in a convenience store called Quick & Fast. They were loud and had a tendency to be rude to customers, and even verbally berated someone who tried to rob the store (Danny Tamberelli). Latanya's archnemesis was Latasha (Christy Knowings.) At the end of the sketches, Latanya would say "It's time to get our freak on!" and dance to Miami bass music. Latanya was later added as a major character and Nick's (fictional) cousin in The Nick Cannon Show, again played by Nick Cannon.
• Dudco Enterprises After Kenan Thompson left All That, Nick Cannon's Latanya character got a new job as a receptionist at Dudco Enterprises. Most of her time was spent talking on the phone, much to the chagrin of her boss (Christy Knowings). Similar to the Inconvenience Store, Latanya would dance to Miami bass music. After All That went on hiatus, the Latanya character would go on to The Nick Cannon Show.
• Stuart Stuart (Mark Saul) was a mentally imbalanced individual who took various minimum wage jobs. He would also say that he is the greatest <type of job> EVERRRRRR! His weird antics would often annoy or offend customers. A customer would complain about Stuart's bad service, and Stuart would say "You're not suggesting that I kidnapped the real _______, stolen their uniform, and taken their place." The real employee would then confront Stuart. Stuart would confess his crime and declare that he would be "the greatest _______ IN ALL THE LAND!!!!" Before the police can arrest him, Stuart would say "I will now hop on my <insert fictitious or extinct animal here> and ride off into the sunset." He then flees the scene in an awkward manner, making weird noises.
• Complaint Department was set in a complaint department of a store, with people (portrayed by random cast members) waiting on line to complain about a purchased item to the clueless clerk, played by Lori Beth Denberg. The clerk would examine the item, and would either not find anything wrong with it, attempt to (badly) fix it herself, or give inane suggestions on how to fix it, until the consumer would leave, irritated. A common line from the clerk would be "...Is that your complaint?", which would further annoy the consumer. Though, there was one special instance when Good Burger's Ed (played by Kel Mitchell) found her inane suggestions to make sense, and would fall in love with the clerk, the feeling being mutual.

Notable sketches, 2000-ending

• Know Your Stars was a sketch that involved a random voice that made fun of individual cast members or guest stars.An example of this is: "Jamie Lynn Spears, hasn't brushed her teeth in 6 months." Almost all of them complain about this, with the exception of Totally Kyle (The Amanda Show) when he agrees with everything the voice says and Pickle Boy who just tilts his head. This short sketch would appear during every episode.
• Bridget's Slumber Party was a sketch that featured three girls who were constantly having a slumber party-Bridget (Chelsea), a boy-crazed teen, Gail (Giovonnie), a sunny, happy individual, and Claudia (Lisa), a frightening goth. Strange things would often happen during the slumber party, ususally due to Claudia's magic. Claudia would suggest doing a disgusting thing and Bridget would say "do <disgusting thing> later!". Sometimes Bridget's little brother Elliot (Kyle) would interrupt the party, and the older girls would torture him. Whenever someone left the sketch, they would usually go out the window; this was mocked in one sketch featuring a pizza man.
• A Poem by Claudia after Giovonnie's departure, the character of Claudia was retained in a small sketch, during which Claudia would read a poem to children, alternating cute and horrifying lines until delivering the final line in a demonic voice.
• Rowdy Fans featured two rowdy fans (Shane and Jack) who were loud and bothersome. The pair often intruded in places that rowdy fans were unnecessary, such as on a date or in an operating room. They would yell, cheer, scream, make signs, and do the "butt-quake", annoying everyone they came in contact with.
• Harry Bladder was a spoof of Harry Potter. In it, Harry Bladder (Kyle), ReRon (Bryan), and Herhiney (Lisa) would attend magic class, usually potions with Professor Chafe, whose legs were badly chafed, causing him to be unnecessarily mean. The students often encountered the mischief-making Sacco (Shane). Many sketches including brewing potions that did silly things, like enlarge students' behinds, give males large breasts, or change people into bras. In one episode, Kenan Thompson appeared as Headmaster Pimpell (based on his old character); his grotesque pimple turned out to be the head of Lord Moldyshorts.
• Thelma Stump: Oldest Bodyguard in the Business featured Jamie Lynn's infamous character, Thelma Stump. Despite claiming to be a bodyguard, she was actually a security guard for the backstage of All That. She was extremely old, and loved to sit in her rocking chair and knit while singing "Ain't No Sunshine". She was large and lumpy, and also had an immense love of bacon ("Bacon goooood"). The sketches often featured a person, such as the musical guest or guest star, trying to pass Thelma. She would demand that they show her their backstage pass, which rarely never had. She would take their bacon where applicable, then usually beat them up until they ran away. In one episode, Thelma Stump harrases a likeness of U.S president George W. Bush.
• The Tilt-A-Hurl featured Ernie (Kyle), an intern at an amusement park. His job was to run a roller coaster called "The Tilt-A-Hurl", which was famous for making people vomit profusely. Anyone who rode the Tilt-A-Hurl had usually eaten some huge amount of food just before riding, such as a troop of Girl Scouts who had eaten s'mores or the hot-dog eating champion of the world. Before the people would throw up, Ernie would say "Here comes the loopy-de-loop", and then they would throw up. Ernie constantly tried to move out of the way of the inevitable vomit, but always failed.
• Sugar and Coffee featured Buzz (Kyle) and Kaffy (Lisa), who were hosts of a talk show called "Sugar and Coffee". As the title suggests, the pair was extremely hyperactive, as they constantly ate pure sugar and drank massive amounts of coffee. They would force their guests to do the same thing from giant orbs of sugar and coffee attached to the ceiling, which usually led to overactivity in the worst way. In the final series, they left their usual talk show set, and interrupted proceedings in such places as a school or hospital. This was the first full-length sketch to feature the new cast, and was the most frequently used through their five seasons.
• ChitChat was a sketch that featured Stacy Chit (Giovonnie), host of her own late-night show "where the chat hits the fan!" Stacy always booked exciting guests, including pro skater Tony Hawk. Unfortunately, the guest would never do anything exciting, and often told long, boring stories (in the case of Tony Hawk, he wanted to discuss the joy of knitting). During those boring stories, Stacy would do something distracting to the guest, interuppting his/her story. When Stacy tired of the guest, she would scream "BORING!" and press a button on her desk. The guest's chair would then eject them, sending him or her flying out the window.
• The Unreal World, a parody of MTV's The Real World, featured monsters such as Spella, a witch (Chelsea Brummet); Vlad, a vampire (Jack DeSena); Spirit, the ghost of a cheerleader who was murdered after having a barbecue fork stuck in her head (Lisa Foiles); Frankie, an idiotic monster (Shane Lyons); Farrah, a mummy (Giovonnie Samuels); Zoe, a zombie (Jamie Lynn Spears, funny enough the name "Zoey" was used on Spear's show Zoey 101); Head, a frozen head (Christina Kirkman); and Gabe, an accountant (Kyle Sullivan) who turned into a werewolf. This sketch was voted as the greatest in All That history on the 10th Anniversary Reunion Special
• Randy Quench, Volunteer Fireman: the title character (Jack), was a deranged volunteer fireman (purported to frequently forget his medication) who interrupts various scenarios to extinguish relatively benign fires: candles, barbecues, or even a movie screen showing a burning building. He eventually uses a large hose to douse the entire cast and extras, often gives Chelsea's character mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and has the catch-cry "here comes me," as he swings into action.
• American Idiot, was a parody of American Idol, featuring Kyle as Brian Peefest, Giovannie as Mandy Snackson, Chelsea as Polly Baboon and Jack as Slimon Bowel. Remaining cast-members would perform acts of idiocy on stage, and the judges would respond in the same manner as their real-life counterparts.

Broadcast history

Pilot episode and first two seasons

All That was created by Mike Tollin and Brian Robbins, with Dan Schneider serving as executive producer. Robbins and Schneider both co-starred in the ABC sitcom Head of the Class from 1986 to 1991.^[8] Nickelodeon decided they wanted another sketch-comedy series to replace Roundhouse during its SNICK line-up.

The pilot episode of All That, which featured musical guest TLC and the first appearances of Baggin' Saggin' Barry, Earboy, Mavis & Clavis, and Miss Fingerly, first aired as a sneak preview in 1994. An unaired sketch called "Dream Remote" was made for the pilot episode; Kel Mitchell played a pizza delivery guy, who later served as Kel's inspiration for his Ed character from the Good Burger skits.^[7]

All That debuted as a weekly series on December 24, 1994.^[2] The official series debut featured musical guest Da Brat, the first appearances of Randy & Mandy, Vital Information, and Ed from Good Burger.^[7]

The original cast members were, alphabetical order: Angelique Bates, Lori Beth Denberg, Katrina Johnson, Kel Mitchell, Alisa Reyes, Josh Server, and Kenan Thompson.

Seasons 3 and 4 cast changes

In the third season, Amanda Bynes joined the show to replace the departing Angelique Bates, whose contract had expired. Bynes' characters and sketches included Ask Ashley, Space Sketch (a parody), I Luv Lucy, and Meagen Marples, who loved to slap herself with liver.^[7] About a year after Bynes' arrival, Katrina Johnson and Alisa Reyes left the show. During the 2nd half of Season 3, Katrina Johnson left the show and was replaced by temporary cast member, Tricia Dickson.

Season 4 saw not only the exit of Katrina Johnson and Alisa Reyes, but also the entrance of three new faces: Christy Knowings, Leon Frierson, and Danny Tamberelli, and featuring cast member Zack McLemore who joined for half a season. Tamberelli was the first cast member to star in another Nickelodeon series prior to All That, co-starring as Little Pete on the hit Nick series The Adventures of Pete & Pete. Tamberelli's characters and sketches included Jack Campbell: Fat Cop — an obese police officer who is obsessed with food, Hairy Spice from the Spice Boys, Cheeseburger Doyle: Private Eye — a talking chesseburger which doubles as a private investigator, a talk show host named Francis, and Vital Information, succeeding Lori Beth Denberg.^[7]

Knowings' sketches and characters included Whateverrr!!! co-host Jessica — Whateverrr!!! was a recurring sketch which was set up like a talk show for teenage girls, the nurse for unlikely dentist Dr. Bynes (played by Josh Server), and the teacher when Lori Beth Denberg — who played teacher Miss Fingerly — had left the series. She also played Winter Wonders in a sketch called What Do You Do? This sketch was a parody of a game show on which several All That cast members had appeared as panelists, Figure It Out.^[7]

Frierson's characters and sketches included Leroy & Fuzz in which he tortured a cheerful blue puppet named Fuzz, CJ of disco group CJ & the Cloudy Knights, and Billy Fuocko — a boy who liked shouting "I'm Billy Fuocko!" He once appeared in a Repairman sketch in which he played Repairboy and offered Repairman a second opinion.^[7]

McLemore's only character was Mr. Trevell, a teacher at Dullmont Junior High that Miss Fingerly had a crush on.

The entire Season 4 cast was, in alphabetical order: Amanda Bynes, Lori Beth Denberg, Leon Frierson, Christy Knowings, Kel Mitchell, Josh Server, Danny Tamberelli and Kenan Thompson with featuring cast member Zack McLemore appearing sporadically.

Seasons 5 and 6

As the show was entering its fifth season, Lori Beth Denberg left. In a live chat on Nick.com, she reasoned that she left All That, because she "was getting older."^[15] Danny Tamberelli succeeded Denberg in the Vital Information sketch, and Danny was given a new set and a new desk unlike that of Denberg's Vital Information. Joining the cast were Nick Cannon and Mark Saul.

Cannon's sketches and characters included Sweaty Spice from the Spice Boys, a parody of the Spice Girls; Latanya, a cashier at the convenience store Quick-N-Fast; and a bank robber in a superhero sketch called Boring Man. Saul's sketches and characters included Stuart, who would kidnap — and then pose as — a hall monitor, a cashier, a judge, and even Ashley in an Ask Ashley sketch; Rineheart the Dancing Monkey Boy; Nigel Forrester, a spoof of Steve Irwin and Nigel Thornberry; Ricardo, a ladies' man, and Dr. Maybe, a parody of Dr. No.

All That celebrated its star-studded "100th episode" during this season, although it was actually the 85th episode to be produced. This one-hour special was the only episode in the show's history produced live.^[16] (The actual 100th episode occurred with the fifth episode of season 6, with Hoku as the musical guest.^[16]) The Season 5 cast included, in alphabetical order: Amanda Bynes, Nick Cannon, Leon Frierson, Christy Knowings, Kel Mitchell, Mark Saul, Josh Server, Danny Tamberelli, and Kenan Thompson.

The episode featured several celebrities: Melissa Joan Hart (Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Nickelodeon's Clarissa Explains it All), Larisa Oleynik (Nickelodeon's The Secret World of Alex Mack), Robert Ri'Chard (Nickelodeon's Cousin Skeeter), and Britney Spears (in a taped video appearance; Spears was originally supposed to perform in person but had to back out due to a knee injury; Lauryn Hill took her place) all made appearances. Former cast member Lori Beth Denberg, wearing her traditional Vital Information outfit, returned to the sketch for the last time, and former cast members Angelique Bates, Katrina Johnson, and Alisa Reyes made brief appearances on the red carpet. The show continued on winning its first KCA for Favorite TV Show. 2 of the 3 remaining original cast members Kenan and Kel's contract expired and left the show. It is also rumored that Amanda Bynes was supposed to leave All That after Season 5 to work on The Amanda Show.

Temporary cancellation

Season 6 began with new cast member Gabriel Iglesias. The show was losing fame with the loss of previous cast members Kenan and Kel and Lori Beth Denberg. Also on many occasions during Season 6, Amanda Bynes would appear sporadically on the show, to contribute to The Amanda Show. Also it was said that cast members Josh Server, Danny Tamberelli, Christy Knowings, and Amanda Bynes wanted to leave and explore. The show went on hiatus after a short 10 episode season. To keep on running, the producers compiled Best Of episodes for cast members Amanda Bynes, Lori Beth Denberg, Leon Frierson, Christy Knowings, Kel Mitchell, Josh Server, Danny Tamberelli, and Kenan Thompson, and and episode called Peas, Cheese, Bag of Chips that had skits featuring food. At the end of the day, Nickelodeon canceled All That; Josh Server was the longest running cast member (not counting Kevin Kopelow), the show won another KCA, and the show went into reruns until 2002.

New era begins

Nickelodeon and Dan Schneider relaunched All That with an entirely new cast. In the meantime, All That skipped the 2000-2001 television season. Previously, Nickelodeon briefly canceled All That, then decided to continue the show.



The first episode of the "new" All That featured special guests Frankie Muniz and Aaron Carter and aired in 2001.^[17] In this particular episode, Muniz was seen running around the streets grabbing random people to be the new cast members. Season 7 kicked off with cast members Chelsea Brummet, Jack DeSena, Lisa Foiles, Bryan Hearne, Shane Lyons, Giovonnie Samuels, and Kyle Sullivan. One thing that changed (if anyone didn't notice) is that at the beginning of the show when the cast heads off to do the show they don't show the audience anymore and they just head right to the beginning credits.

Weekly guest stars

In conjunction with the seventh season, All That brought in weekly special guest stars who helped open the show and participated in some of the sketches. All That had featured some guest stars previously, including Dr. Joyce Brothers in one segment of Ask Ashley, Chris Farley in a Cooking with Randy sketch, John Leguizamo in character from the movie The Pest, and Sherman Hemsley in a cold open, and again in a Good Burger sketch.

Among the guest stars who appeared during this period were former cast members Kenan Thompson and Amanda Bynes. Thompson reprised his Principal Pimpell character in a Harry Bladder sketch, lunch lady Miss Pidlin in a Sugar & Coffee sketch, and Superdude. Bynes appeared as herself in a Sugar & Coffee sketch and reprised Ashley in a blooper "from the late-Nineties." Other special guest stars included, in no particular order: Melissa Joan Hart, Frankie Muniz, Tony Hawk, David Arquette,Britney Spears, Aaron Carter, Will Friedle, Christina Vidal, Matthew Lillard, Ray Romano, Alexa Vega and Daryl Sabara (Spy Kids), Nick Carter, Justin Timberlake, Buddy Hackett, Barry Watson, Jennifer Love Hewitt , Tom Green, and Brittany Snow^[18] Some viewers didn't appreciate the intensified emphasis on special guest stars since All That (unlike the 90 minute long Saturday Night Live or even the 60 minute long MADtv) was only a 30 minute program (including commercials).^[19]

Eighth season

Joining the cast in Season 8 was Jamie Lynn Spears, who was previously better known for being the younger sister of pop star Britney Spears. In Season 9, Christina Kirkman earned her spot on All That by winning the R U All That: The Search for the Funniest Kid in America contest. Ryan Coleman, who was the runner-up, soon also got a part on the show midway into Season 9 to replace Bryan Hearne, who left at the end of Season 8.

10th anniversary

In 2005, Nickelodeon celebrated the 10th anniversary of All That by airing episodes from the first six seasons in the week leading up to a "reunion special" hosted by Frankie Muniz on April 23. Ashanti and Bow Wow were the musical guests.

Kenan Thompson, Kel Mitchell, Josh Server, and Danny Tamberelli reunited on the show. In addition, Nick Cannon appeared on the special but only via satellite in a Repairman sketch. Other cast members attended but had no speaking parts (namely: Katrina Johnson, Alisa Reyes, Leon Frierson and Mark Saul). Angelique Bates, Amanda Bynes, Lori Beth Denberg, Christy Knowings, and Gabriel Iglesias were no-shows. Jamie Lynn Spears reprised her security guard character Thelma Stump early into the special, not letting Frankie Muniz pass without any bacon.

A more recent sketch called The Unreal World was voted the funniest moment in All That history, and went up against the likes of such 1990s sketches as Kenan Thompson's Ishboo character and an older Good Burger sketch.^[20]

Approximately 6.1 million total viewers watched the special on both its April 23 and April 24 airings, making it the top cable or broadcast program for the 2-11, 6-11, and 9-14 age demographics.^[21] Pictured left are, left to right: Kel Mitchell, creator Brian Robbins, Kenan Thompson, Jack DeSena, Jamie Lynn Spears, Katrina Johnson, Alisa Reyes, Kianna Underwood, musical guest Bow Wow, Giovonnie Samuels, Christina Kirkman, Lisa Foiles, Denzel Whitaker, executive producer Dan Schneider, Chelsea Brummet, Ryan Coleman, Kyle Sullivan, Danny Tamberelli, Mark Saul, Leon Frierson, and Josh Server.

The last segment of this episode paid tribute to the ending soundclip of the original seasons. As the room for the 10 year anniversary party was empty, Kenan and Kel stood sleeping in the costumes of their roles as old men. Kenan woke up and says "Hey, wake up, the show's over," and Kel responds with his signature, "Ah yeah, kick it". They then turn and slowly walk away as the screen fades to black in a dramatic yet subtle ending to the 10 year tribute.

Return of Vital Information

After a three season hiatus, All That decided to bring back the Vital Information segment with BET's Coming to the Stage winner Lil' JJ succeeding Lori Beth Denberg and Danny Tamberelli, respectively. Lil' JJ's very first Vital Information occurred during the 10th Anniversary Reunion Special. Some of his vitals throughout the season included:

• If you are the President of the United States and you're watching me right now, then you need to quit watching Nickelodeon and go fix our country!
• If you're afraid of heights, don't climb a ladder. If you're afraid of marshmallows, don't climb a ladder made of marshmallows.
• If your mama has a deep voice and hair all over her back, YOUR MAMA'S A DUDE!
• If the code to your locker is 24, 0, 17, I appreciate the hat.
• ''If you smell smoke in the hallway, you yell "FIRE!". If you smell smoke in your pants, you say "Why am I smelling my pants?".
• "Toaster+Tongue=Pain."

Final cancellation

After ten years on the air, All That came to an end. According to Lisa Foiles on her Official Yahoo! Group, the rumors of the impending cancellation of All That were in fact, true. This was the message posted on Lisa's club by Lisa Foiles herself (as of September 5, 2005):

In January 2006, Nickelodeon and executive producer Dan Schneider officially decided to cancel All That after ten seasons. The last original episode, featuring musical guest Lalaine, aired on October 22, 2005. The Season 10 cast was Chelsea Brummet, Ryan Coleman, Jack DeSena, Lisa Foiles, Christina Kirkman, Kyle Sullivan, and Kianna Underwood.

All That cast members

Main article: List of All That cast members

Syndication

In July 2007, Nickelodeon announced that Nick GAS will leave digital cable and become an online-only channel, effective December 31, 2007. It was then announced that Nick GAS's sister channel The N will split itself from Noggin and become a 24-hour channel and replace Nick GAS. It was then annonced that All That will be syndicated and will air in reruns on The N, once the network goes into 24 hours.

References

External links

• All That at Nick.com
• Nick.com Message Boards » All That
• All That at Jump the Shark

•  • [ e] All That
Production:	Cast members Characters Episodes Musical guests
Crew:	Joe Davola Savage Steve Holland Brian Robbins Dan Schneider Mike Tollin
Related:	Action League Now! The Amanda Show Drake and Josh Good Burger Just Jordan KaBlam! Kenan & Kel The Nick Cannon Show Zoey 101

SNICK and TEENick television series

100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd • 6teen • All That • The Amanda Show • Are You Afraid of the Dark? • The Brothers Garcia • Caitlin's Way • Clarissa Explains It All • Clueless • Cousin Skeeter • Drake & Josh • Hangin' with Mr. Cooper' • iCarly • The Journey of Allen Strange • Just for Kicks • Just Jordan • KaBlam! • Kenan & Kel • The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo • The Naked Brothers Band • Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide • The Nick Cannon Show • The Ren and Stimpy Show • Romeo! • Roundhouse • Rugrats • Sabrina, the Teenage Witch • The Secret World of Alex Mack • Space Cases • Taina • Unfabulous • Zoey 101