America Goes Bananaz (partially found Nickelodeon variety series; 1977-1980)

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Bananaz2.jpg

An image of the show's set in 1979.

Status: Partially Found

America Goes Bananaz (also known as Columbus Goes Bananaz[1] before the relaunch to Nickelodeon in 1979) was a children's/teenager's variety television series that aired on QUBE until 1979, when it was relaunched to the Nickelodeon network. It was one of the first series on the channel, along with Pinwheel, Video Comics, and two other shows. It ended on an unknown date in 1980.

Overview

History

The show's (first) host, Michael Young, was sitting in his lawyer's office (he was being sued for a play he helped produce) one day in 1977 when he got a call from his agent.[2] The agent told him that Warner-Amex (a joint venture co-owned by Warner Communications and American Express) was accepting auditions for a host for a talk show. Young did not have anything else to do at the time, so he decided to accept the role as host.[3]

Leave it to Beaver star Tony Dow also auditioned for the role. Because of Dow's role in Leave it to Beaver, Michael Young thought the role would go to him. In the end, however, Dow said that Young deserved the role and therefore, he got it.[4]

Young was the host of the show from 1977 to 1979, when he left to go host Kids Are People Too on ABC. Randy Hamilton took over as host,[5] and his episodes were taped from January to September 1979.[6] Coincidentally, after Michael Young stopped hosting Kids Are People Too in 1981, Randy Hamilton took over hosting for that show as well.[5]

When Bananaz debuted, Pinwheel was the flagship show on the QUBE C-3 network (before it was relaunched as Nickelodeon). After Nickelodeon was made into its own network, Bananaz became one of the vital shows on the network to help it become a channel that broadcasted programming for all ages. It and Pinwheel were described as part of the "nucleus" of the network by The Times.[7]

Content

Bananaz was inspired by The Mike Douglas Show, in which one of the show's producers worked on.[8] However, this show was aimed toward a slightly younger audience, mainly the teen audience, or "the American adolescent".[9]

Segments on the show included a karate segment, polls for the audience, and advice columns where viewers asked the host for advice on a certain subject.[10] There were also hip-hop songs that would tackle subjects like birth control and drugs. These were shown on a regular basis in order to intrigue and educate the teenager audience.[11]

Availability

Despite the fact that the series was one of the first shows on Nickelodeon and aired when VHS was starting to become mainstream, little material has survived of this show, and the chances of Nickelodeon airing it again are slim to none. One episode, some clips, and a few promos are all that have surfaced.

Gallery

Part 1 of Episode #50.

Part 2 of Episode #50.

Part 3 of Episode #50.

Clip from an unknown episode.

External Links

References