Kenny the Shark (partially found live-action Discovery Kids special; 2000)
A photo of Spencer Breslin in the special, from the August 18, 2000 edition of Athens News Courier.
Status: Partially Found
Kenny the Shark (also known as Who Killed Kenny?)[1][2] is an American children's live-action comedy television special that premiered the morning of August 19, 2000 on Discovery Channel's kids programming block, during the channel's Shark Week event. Written and directed by Don Wells, the half-hour special served as a potential springboard for a recurring live-action series.[3]
The special and its main character would later become the basis for an unaired animated pilot, and eventually, a full-fledged animated series that aired from 2003 to 2005.
Synopsis
The special focuses on the titular character, Kenny the Shark (voiced by Paul Spencer), a six-foot tiger shark who lives in a suburban neighborhood with a human family. Having eaten the family out of house and home, and on the verge of banishment, Kenny must find a job with the help of the family's young son Matt (portrayed by Spencer Breslin), while evading evil shark hunter Quint (portrayed by Marshall Effron).
Kenny himself is not visible in the special, with scenes being filmed from his point-of-view.[3] Prior to the special, short interstitial segments featuring the characters were originally produced, which aired during commercial breaks on the channel.[2][4] It is currently unknown how many of these were produced.
Availability
The special was rerun on television in August 2001 for that year's Shark Week event,[5] but seemingly never again after that; it was also not released on any form of home media. The only found visual material relating to the special was a photo of Spencer Breslin (presumably in his role as Matt), which circulated in various newspapers around the time of the special's airing.
On January 10, 2019, LMW user Tatsumi Rin discovered an interstitial segment in a commercial video for the channel near the time of the special's airing, as seen below.
Another clip was found by user Thespongeywun on January 14, 2019, in a reel for photography director Neil Smith on Vimeo. Two additional clips (one of which includes the footage in Smith's reel) have also been discovered, which were both uploaded to YouTube by the special's composer Greg Arnold in 2010.
Videos
See Also
Kenny the Shark
Discovery Channel
- Fifth Gear Europe (partially found Discovery Channel Europe motoring series; 2009)
- Mythbusters (lost unaired segments of Discovery Channel science entertainment series; 2006-2015)
- PitchMen (found Discovery Channel docudrama series; 2009-2011)
- Top Gear (partially found Discovery Channel adaptation of BBC Two motoring series; 2005)
Discovery Kids
- Darcy's Wild Life (found Family Channel/Discovery Kids teen sitcom; 2004-2006)
- The Paz Show (partially lost TLC/Discovery Kids animated short series; 2003-2006)
Hub Network
- My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic "Spike at your Service" (found early drafts of Hub Network animated fantasy series episode; 2012)
- Family Game Night (found Hub Network game show; 2010-2014)
- The Game of Life (partially lost Hub Network game show; 2011-2012)
Science Channel
External Links
- Discovery Kids webpage mentioning the special. (archived) Retrieved 18 Aug 2000.
- Turner Classic Movies webpage featuring a synopsis and listing of the special's cast/crew. Retrieved 18 Aug 2000.
- Athens News Courier page mentioning the special. Retrieved 18 Aug 2000.
References
- ↑ Chicago Tribune article mentioning the special. Retrieved 05 Dec '18.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Broadcasting & Cable article about the special. Retrieved 05 Dec '18
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article about the special. Retrieved 05 Dec '18
- ↑ New York Post article mentioning the interstitials. Retrieved 05 Dec '18
- ↑ August 17, 2001 TV listings from Kalispell Daily Interlake. Retrieved 09 Jan '19