Kids' Court (partially found Nickelodeon non-traditional court series and other media; 1988-1994)

Title card for the original series.

Status: Partially Found

Kids' Court is an American children's non-traditional court TV series that aired on Nickelodeon from September 10th, 1988 to 1989. The show was created by Alan Goodman, Albie Hecht, and Fred Seibert for Chauncey Street Productions Inc. and Nickelodeon.

Premise

A flyer advertising Kids' Court.

Hosted by actor and comedian Paul Provenza, the show profiled kids acting out problems with friends and family sent into the show within a courtroom setting. Like an actual court, the show would have two kids act as the plaintiff and defendant, with a child audience acting as a jury and giving commentary on the matter.

These kids talk about and act out these problems in various forms, such as a court artist drawing artwork based on aspects of the case, or the plaintiff and defendant physically acting parts of the case. Once all of the evidence and commentary is presented, a robot called the "Judge-O-Meter" judges both sides of jury by how much louder one side of the jury is. This determines the outcome of the case.

The ending segment included Provenza asking the kids in the jury what they deemed "unfair", where the jury would respond by shouting "unfair" to various things Provenza asks that kids may find unwelcome.

The show was also interspersed with segments teaching kids about the American judicial system. These segments included:

• "Gavel Busters", a segment featuring facts and trivia about the judicial system.
• "You be the Judge", a segment about determining an outcome to a criminal case.
• "Kids' Court Reporter", a segment featuring a news story involving a specific topic that aimed to be debatable towards kids.

History

Kids' Court would run for one 26-episode season on Nickelodeon between September 10th, 1988 to sometime in 1989, with reruns continuing until August 1st, 1993. It would air on Saturdays and Sundays at 11:30 AM and 6 PM EST. However, after May 1989, the show would air at 6 AM EST for the rest of its run.

The show was also one of the three shows Nickelodeon would contribute to the "Cable in the Classroom" initiative, a program created in 1989 by the National Cable & Telecommunications Association to broadcast educational and informational cable television programs in classrooms. The other shows Nickelodeon would first contribute to the program were Mr. Wizard's World and Eureeka's Castle.

Other Kids' Court Media

The Three Pilots (1985-1988)

Status: Lost

Kids' Court would spend around three years in development, with much of the early development dating back to 1985. Between the concept and release of Kids' Court, at least three test pilots were filmed to test the show.

While the specific nature of these pilots are unknown, one of the pilots was reported to have an "adult judge" character. An interview with then-Nickelodeon president Geraldine Laybourne states why this character did not make the final show:

"The kids didn't want an adult judge, because they thought the adult judge was always going to bend over backwards to be on the kids' side and not be fair. They couldn't count on an adult to be fair - that, I thought, was really amazing."

No footage or screenshots from these pilots have ever been released online.

The "Re-Pilots" (1991)

Status: Found

Two years after the original run of Kids' Court ended, in 1991, two more "re-pilots" were produced to pitch to Nickelodeon as a second revision of the show. This version was hosted by actor and announcer for the Nickelodeon show Outta Here!, Greg Lee. The pilots were filmed in front of a live audience at Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, Florida on January 6th, 1991.

These pilots featured various different changes and differences from the original show, though the general format would still stay the same. Some of these differences include a button voting system being used to determine the outcome of a case rather than the volume of the jury being determined by the "Judge-O-Meter" and the sketch artists being completely missing from this version of the show. A new visual identity and branding for Kids' Court was also present in these pilots.

The "re-pilots" were not picked up for another revision of the show, and were mostly unknown and lost for more than two decades. However, on September 4th, 2011, Fred Seibert uploaded both of the pilots onto his Vimeo account.

The first "re-pilot" of Kids' Court.

The second "re-pilot" of Kids' Court.

Kids' Court UK (1993-1994)

Status: Partially Found

On September 1st, 1993, the first international version of Nickelodeon would launch in the United Kingdom on the Sky cable provider. Several original programs premiered on this version of the network, including a British adaptation of Kids' Court.

Not much is known about the specifics of this version of the show, although it was hosted by British actor Andrew O' Connor and it seemed to be very similar to the original US version of the show. The show would run for four months on Nickelodeon UK, ending on January 29th, 1994.

Only two promos of the British adaptation of the show exist online, and they can be found in YouTube user poparena's video on Kids' Court here and in the videos section.

• 

  A screenshot of the British version of Kids' Court.

• 

  Another screenshot of the British version of Kids' Court.

Availability

Despite VCRs and home recordings being very common during the original run of the show, Kids' Court had very poor time scheduling for much of its run and a lack of any official home video release. As a result of this, much of the original run of the show has fallen into obscurity over time and become lost media. Only one full episode of Kids' Court and various scattered clips and promos have ever been released online.

The various other productions of show (such as the pilots and the British adaptation) have also proven to be very hard to find, with much of their content and information about them also becoming lost.

Kids' Court has a low chance of ever being released by Nickelodeon in full, as the show is largely forgotten by the general public and the channel has not acknowledged the show in almost thirty years.

Videos

Episodes & Clips

Part one of a full episode of Kids' Court.

Part two of a full episode of Kids' Court.

Promos

A promo for Kids' Court.

Another promo for Kids' Court.

Other Videos

Poparena's "Nick Knacks" video on Kids' Court.

See Also

Anthology and Short Series

• Astrology with Squidward (found series of "SpongeBob SquarePants" Nickelodeon animated shorts; early 2000s)
• Attack of the Giant Vulture (found Nickelodeon short film; 1998)
• Balinese Slapping Fish (found Nickelodeon Australia animated short series; 1998)
• Bobby the Lizard Boy (found Nickelodeon animated short; 2000)
• Eddie Retractorhead (partially lost Nickelodeon UK animated short series; 2008)
• Gordon Bleugh! (found Nickelodeon animated short series; early 2000s)
• The Hopkins (lost Nickelodeon Australia animated short series; 2005)
• ICarly at the 2008 Kids Choice Awards (found Nickelodeon promotional short web series; 2008)
• Leader Dog (partially lost Nickelodeon animated short series; 2004)
• Making Fiends (partially lost promotional shorts for Nickelodeon animated series based on web series; 2008)
• Meet The Moores (partially found Nickelodeon UK animated short series; 2002-2003)
• Natalie's Backseat Traveling Web Show (partially found Nickelodeon interstitial series; mid-late 1990s)
• Nick Studio 10 (partially found Nickelodeon channel block; 2013)
• Nickelodeon Addicting Games Showdown (partially found interstitial TV event of online game website; 2009-2010)
• Nickelodeon Blimp (found Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards animated short; 2005)
• Oh Yeah! Cartoons (found Nickelodeon animated anthology series; 1998-2001)
• Schoolyard Safari (found Nickelodeon animated short series; 2002-2003)
• SpongeBob: Re-Hydrated (partially lost "SpongeBob SquarePants" animated short; 2003)
• Tortellini Western (partially lost Nickelodeon animated short series; 2004)
• A Very Aggressive Vegetable (found Nickelodeon Australia animated short series; 1998)

Bumpers and Promos

• 101% Whizbang! with Henry & June (partially found Nickelodeon channel block; 1999)
• Dora The Explorer Meets George Lopez (found Nick at Nite tie-in commercial of "The George Lopez Show" ABC sitcom; 2008)
• Blood and Guts (partially found Nickelodeon bumpers; 2000s)
• Friday Night Nicktoons (partially found bumpers from Nickelodeon channel block; 2002-2004)
• HaHa Nick (lost Chinese block of Nickelodeon shows; 2005-2007)
• Henry & June's Nicktoon Summer Jam (partially found bumpers of Nickelodeon summer block; 1999-2000)
• Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (partially lost TV promos for Nickelodeon animated film and TV series; 2001–2002)
• Nickelodeon (partially found idents and bumpers from TV channel; 1979-present)
• Nickelodeon (partially lost "Nick at Nite" bumpers from TV channel block; 1985-present)
• Nickelodeon's Historical Firsts (found animated promos from TV channel; 1997)
• Nicktoons Gets Zombified (found Nickelodeon Halloween bumpers; 2011)
• Nicktoon World News (partially found bumpers of Nickelodeon block; 2001)
• SpongeBob's Nicktoon Summer Splash (partially lost bumpers from Nickelodeon channel block; 2000-2001)

Films

• Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (non-existent Nickelodeon TV film; 1998)
• Cry Baby Lane (found Nickelodeon TV horror film; 2000)
• A Day With SpongeBob SquarePants: The Movie (unproduced unauthorized direct-to-DVD mockumentary film; 2011)
• The Electric Piper (found Nickelodeon animated TV film; 2003)
• Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie (partially found production material of cancelled original adaptation of Nickelodeon animated series film; 2002)
• Invader Zim: Enter the Florpus (lost/unreleased deleted Tak scenes of film based on Nickelodeon animated series; 2018-2019)
• Rugrats Go Wild (partially found original 90 minute cut of Nickelodeon animated crossover film; 2003)
• The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (partially found deleted scenes of film based on Nickelodeon animated series; 2004)

Game Shows

• BrainSurge (partially lost Nickelodeon game show; 2009-2014)
• Double Dare (partially found Australian adaptation of Nickelodeon game show; 1989-1992)
• Double Dare (partially lost Nickelodeon game show; 1986-1993)
• Family Double Dare (partially found spin-off of Australian adaptation of Nickelodeon game show; 1989)
• Figure It Out (partially found episode of Nickelodeon game show; 1998)
• Friday Night Slimetime (partially found Nickelodeon game show; 2005-2006)
• Gamefarm (partially lost Nickelodeon GAS game show; 2003)
• Legends of the Hidden Temple (lost Pit of Despair incident footage from unaired final round/episode of Nickelodeon game show; 1994)
• Legends of the Hidden Temple (partially found original consolation plugs from Nickelodeon game show; 1993-1995)
• Nick Arcade (found Nickelodeon game show; 1992)
• Nick Arcade (partially found original consolation prize plugs from Nickelodeon game show; 1992)
• Nickelodeon Splat! (partially found Nickelodeon game show; 2004)
• Slime Time Live (partially found Nickelodeon game show; 2000-2004)
• SuperNick (partially found Nickelodeon Netherlands game show; 2007-2011)
• SuperNick op De Stoep Bij... (partially found Nickelodeon Netherlands sports show; 2007-2008)
• Webheads (partially lost Nickelodeon game show; 2014–2015)

Inaugural Series

• America Goes Bananaz (partially found Nickelodeon variety series; 1977-1980)
• By The Way (partially found inaugural Nickelodeon series; 1979-1980)
• Nickel Flicks (lost inaugural Nickelodeon series; 1979)
• Pinwheel (partially found Nickelodeon educational puppet series; 1977-1990)
• Pocket Money (non-existent inaugural Nickelodeon series; 1979)
• Video Comics (partially found inaugural Nickelodeon series; 1979-1981)

Live Action

• The Adventures of Pete & Pete (partially found original versions of Nickelodeon live-action comedy series episodes; 1991-1993)
• All That (partially lost Nickelodeon sketch comedy series; 1994-2005)
• Beyond Belief!! (partially found Nickelodeon documentary series; 1992-1994)
• Bing! The Sound of Something New (partially lost Nickelodeon magazine TV series; 1995)
• Cartoon Lost and Found (found live-action/animated Nick at Nite special; 1990)
• Cousin Skeeter (partially lost Nickelodeon live-action/puppet series; 1998-2001)
• Drake & Josh (partially found widescreen version of Nickelodeon sitcom episodes; 2004-2007)
• Innie & Outie (found live-action Nickelodeon short film; 1996)
• Just For Kicks (found Nickelodeon live-action comedy-drama series; 2006)
• Mcjuniorclub TV (partially found Nickelodeon Netherlands/McDonald's live-action short series; 2008)
• The Nick at Nite Holiday Special (found musical comedy Christmas special; 2003)
• The Nick Cannon Show (partially lost spin-off of "All That" Nickelodeon sketch comedy series; 2002-2003)
• Nick News with Linda Ellerbee (partially found Nickelodeon educational news series; 1992-2015)
• Noah Knows Best (partially lost English audio of Nickelodeon sitcom; 2000-2001)
• Reggie Jackson's World of Sports (partially found Nickelodeon sports series; 1981-1982)
• U to U (partially found Nickelodeon interactive series; 1994-1996)
• Vic's Vacant Lot (partially found ESPN/Nickelodeon sports series; 1982-1985)

Pilots

• Aaahh!!! Real Monsters (partially found pitch pilot of Nickelodeon animated series; early 1990s)
• The Adventures of Johnny Quasar (found prototype "Jimmy Neutron" animated shorts; 1995-1997)
• The Angry Beavers "Cuffed Together" (non-existent second pilot of Nickelodeon animated series; early-mid 1990s)
• Bad Seeds (found pitch pilot of "Harvey Beaks" Nickelodeon animated series; 2013)
• The Barnyard (found original test pitch of Nickelodeon CGI animated series; 1999)
• Big Beast Quintet (lost Nickelodeon animated pilot; 1990)
• Brand New Day (partially found pitch pilot of "Big Time Rush" Nickelodeon musical comedy series; 2007)
• Camp Nick (partially found Nickelodeon game show pilot; mid-1990s)
• Catscratch (found animated pitch of Nickelodeon animated series; 2004)
• The Crowville Chronicles (partially found Nickelodeon animated pilot; 1990)
• Curbside (found Nickelodeon animated pilot; 1999)
• Drake & Josh (partially found pitch pilot of Nickelodeon sitcom; 2002)
• Double Dare (partially found test pilot for Nickelodeon game show; 1986)
• Figure it Out (partially found pitch pilot of Nickelodeon game show; 1990s)
• Generation Gap (partially found Nickelodeon game show pilot; early 1990s)
• Gibby (found pitch pilot of cancelled spin-off of "iCarly" Nickelodeon teen sitcom; 2012)
• Go For It (lost Nickelodeon game show pilot; early 1990s)
• Hey Arnold! (found pitch pilot of Nickelodeon animated series; 1994)
• Humongous (lost pilot of Nickelodeon game show; early 1990s)
• I Don't Think So (partially found Nickelodeon game show pilot; 1994)
• Invader Zim (lost 3D animation test sequence from Nickelodeon animated series pilot; 1999)
• KaBlam! "The Henry and June Show" (found spin-off pilot of Nickelodeon animated series; 2000)
• Kappa Mikey (found pitch pilots of Nickelodeon animated series; 2004)
• Morph Sports (partially found Nickelodeon game show pilot; 1995-1996)
• Mr. Meaty "In Parker's Sight" (partially lost pitch pilot of Nickelodeon puppet series; 2005)
• Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide (partially found original version of Nickelodeon sitcom pilots; 2003)
• Ned's Declassified High School Survival Guide (lost pitch pilot of rejected spin-off of Nickelodeon sitcom; 2008)
• The Penguins of Madagascar (partially found pitch pilot versions for Nickelodeon CGI animated series; mid-2000s)
• Pudding Toast (partially found Nickelodeon animated pitch pilots; 2012)
• Rocket Beach (found pitch pilot of "Rocket Power" Nickelodeon animated series; 1998)
• Roundhouse (partially found pitch pilot of Nickelodeon comedy series; 1991)
• Slime Survivor (partially found Nickelodeon game show pilot; 2000)
• The Thundermans (partially lost pitch pilot of Nickelodeon live-action comedy series; 2012)
• Tooned In! (partially found Nickelodeon game show pilot; 1998)
• Trash (lost Nickelodeon stop-motion animated pilot; 1990)
• Video Dream Theater (lost Nickelodeon animated pilots; 1979)
• The Weasel Patrol (partially found Nickelodeon animated pilot; 1990)
• Who Knew? (partially found Nickelodeon game show pilot; 1998)
• The Wild Thornberrys (found pilot of Nickelodeon animated series; 1998)

Other

• Action League Now!: The Series "Monster Mashed" (found episode of "Kablam!" spin-off animated series; 2002)
• Action League Now!: The Series "Thunder Girl: Tracking The Storm" (found episode of "Kablam!" spin-off series; 2001-2002)
• Adventures in Wonder Park (partially lost unaired Nickelodeon animated series based on film; 2019)
• Against the Odds (partially found Nickelodeon documentary series; 1982-1988)
• The Angry Beavers "A Tail of Two Rangers/Bye Bye Beavers" (partially found finale episode of Nickelodeon animated series; 2001)
• Back at the Barnyard (partially found widescreen versions of Nickelodeon CGI animated series episodes; 2007-2011)
• The Butcher (lost Nickelodeon puppet short film; existence unconfirmed; 2001)
• Danny Phantom (partially found original opening title sequence of Nickelodeon animated series; 2003)
• Got Chocolate Milk? (found "SpongeBob SquarePants" animated tie-in commercial; 2001)
• Gruff's Groove Box (lost Nickelodeon music series; 2001)
• Hocus Focus (partially found Nickelodeon variety series; 1979-1981)
• The Humpback Hop (found full version of "SpongeBob SquarePants" production music; 2002)
• ICarly "How To" (found bonus content DVD from Nickelodeon sitcom "Web Show Set"; 2011)
• Invader Zim (partially found production material of cancelled episodes of Nickelodeon animated series; 2001-2002)
• KaBlam! "Episode 29" (non-existent episode of Nickelodeon animated series; 1998)
• KaBlam! "Just Chillin" (found final episode of Nickelodeon animated series; 2000)
• KaBlam! "KaFun!" (found episode of Nickelodeon animated series; 1999)
• KaBlam! "An Off-Beats Valentine's" (found spin-off special of Nickelodeon animated series; 1998)
• The Lil' Sam & Cat Show (partially lost web series based on Nickelodeon sitcom; 2013-2014)
• The Loud House (partially lost deleted scenes of Nickelodeon animated series; 2016-present)
• Nickelodeon Japan (partially found various final sign-off footage of Japanese TV channel; 2009)
• Nickelodeon Launch Box (partially lost educational series; 1991-1994)
• Nickelodeon Magazine's Big 10 Birthday Bash (found Nickelodeon TV special; 2003)
• Nickelodeon Mega Music Fest 2010 (found Nickelodeon musical event broadcast; 2010)
• Nickelodeon Studios Opening Day Celebration! (found live broadcast of event; 1990)
• PopClips (partially found Nickelodeon music video TV series; 1980-1981)
• Prometheus and Bob (lost various material of "KaBlam!" Nickelodeon stop-motion animated series; late 1990s)
• The Ren & Stimpy Show (non-existent unused Kurt Cobain song for Nickelodeon animated series; 1990)
• The Ren & Stimpy Show "Man's Best Friend" (found banned episode of Nickelodeon animated series; 1992)
• Robot and Monster (partially found unaired/unfinished episodes of Nickelodeon animated series; 2012-2013)
• Rugrats: A Live Adventure (partially found footage of musical adaptation of Nickelodeon animated series; 1998-2000)
• Rugrats "Incredible" (partially lost storyboard jam comic of Nickelodeon animated series; 1998)
• SpongeBob SquarePants (partially lost deleted scenes of Nickelodeon animated series; 1999-present)
• SpongeBob SquarePants "Behind Closed Doors" (partially found storyboard jam comic of Nickelodeon animated series; 2000s)
• SpongeBob SquarePants "Sailor Mouth" (lost uncensored version of Nickelodeon animated series episode; 2001)
• SpongeBob SquarePants "Shanghaied/You Wish" (found alternate "Patchy the Pirate" segments of Nickelodeon animated series special; 2001)
• SpongeBob SquarePants "SpaceBob InvaderPants/Krabs' Army" (lost production material of cancelled Nickelodeon animated series episodes; 2015)
• War Blowers (found full version of "SpongeBob SquarePants" production music; 1999)
• Weinerville (partially lost Nickelodeon variety puppet series; 1993-1997)

External Links

• Wikipedia page on Kids' Court.
• IMDb page on Kids' Court.
• Nickipedia page on Kids' Court.