Big Kids

Big Kids is a British-American comedy series, co-produced by Noggin and the BBC. It focuses on two children who have to look after their parents after a magician makes the parents act like "big kids." The show premiered on Noggin on January 29, 2001.

Noggin was involved in all aspects of production, including the scripts. (source) Writers from Noggin and the BBC worked together to make the show relatable to both U.S. and British viewers. The show was Noggin's first original series to be jointly produced between two countries.

Logline

The show's official summary from Noggin's programming site:

"BIG KIDS, a live-action comedy series, explores what happens when parents and kids reverse roles. Twelve-year-old Kate and 14-year-old Simon are siblings who lead pretty average lives. That is, until their parents are placed under a spell that causes them to regress into childhood unexpectedly. When this happens, Kate and Simon find themselves parenting their parents while they search for ways to break the spell! With each hilarious experience, they gain insight into the complex and sometimes chaotic relationship between parent and child." (source)

History

According to the show's developer, Elaine Sperber, the writers "had to tread carefully" to make sure the show made sense to both British and U.S. children. She said in this interview: "We had a great relationship with Noggin ... but when you co-produce with North Americans, you always run into problems over British accents and language. We couldn’t use terms like 'snogging' in Big Kids because no one in the U.S. would have understood it."

The episodes ran on Noggin during an interactive block called The Hubbub from January to March 2001. Viewers could submit comments and questions about the show through Noggin.com and see them live on-air. The show's regular schedule was on Mondays and Wednesdays at 7 PM, though reruns were shown sporadically on random days and times.

The final two episodes premiered as an hour-long block on March 25, 2001. Leading up to them, Noggin reran a marathon of the entire series, promoted as the Big Kids Big Marathon, and encouraged viewers to try and "figure the trigger" and input their guess on Noggin.com to see if they got it right through an interactive "game". In April 2002, the show's timeslot was shifted to air during Noggin's nighttime block, The N, which was aimed at an older audience. Reruns aired until 2004.

Summary

Simon and Kate are two children who want to grow up too fast. When a traveling stage magician puts their parents under a spell that makes them act like "big kids" at random times, they realize that babysitting is a huge responsibility. Their parents switch into "big kid" mode without warning, and the alarming moments strike in the most awkward places, causing no end of embarrassment for Simon and Kate.

Characters

Simon Spiller - Simon is the only son of the family. He is very bright but can feel overpowered by schoolwork and his new parent-like responsibilities. He wants to be a rich popstar when he grows up. Simon gets along well with his sister Kate, despite calling her "pipsqueak" when she annoys him. He has more trouble adapting than his sister.
Kate Spiller - Kate is the youngest of the Spiller children and is the only daughter. She has a "wild imagination" according to her father, and is "off with the fairies" according to Simon. She has a hamster named Sammy who she talks to when the chips are down. She is a good mother-like figure in a way, but sometimes, she's not sure what to do and relies on Simon because he is older.
Sarah Spiller - Simon and Kate's mother, Sarah, who is a piano teacher. She likes to keep all of the rooms of the house in order, and is always running around organizing everyone. Her husband wishes she would relax a little more.
Dr. Geoff Spiller - Simon and Kate's father, Geoff, who works long hours as a general practitioner. He is very absent-minded, always losing his keys or his stethoscope. He wants the family to spend more time together, but it never happens that way.
Jake Tyler - Simon's best friend, who lives across the street. He is a bit of a bad influence on Simon, often encouraging him to come over and play video games when Simon should be doing his French-language homework. Jake wears glasses and acts nerdy, but he is not afraid to take risks such as trying (unsuccessfully) to get a tattoo.

Episodes

The show had one season of 13 episodes. They premiered from January 29 to March 25, 2001.

"Performance by a Hypnotist"
"Kate Avoids Friends"
"Videotaping Mom and Dad"
"Library & Shopping"
"Restaurant"
"New Car & Concert"
"Museum"
"Aunt Muriel"
"Chicken Pox"
"Puppy"
"Simon Likes Melanie"
"Trigger Revealed"
"Finding the Hypnotist"

Online

Big Kids had its own page on Noggin.com. In March 2001, Noggin added an online game based on the show called "Figure the Trigger." In the game, players could guess what causes the parents to act like big kids, and the game would tell them how close they were to getting the right answer.

In April 2002, Noggin created a website for The N block, and Big Kids was moved over to the new site. It stayed on The N's site until late 2004. An archive of the page can be found here. It was also featured on The N's show menu, which can be found here (Big Kids is at the end of the page).

Links

Navigation

Original series on Noggin
Daytime block
Sesame Street Unpaved • 123 Sesame Street • Phred on Your Head Show • A Walk in Your Shoes (seasons 1–2) • Oobi • Citizen Phoebe • Maisy (US) • Big Kids • On the Team • The URL with Phred Show • Sponk! • Play with Me Sesame • Tweenies (US) • Miffy and Friends (US) • Connie the Cow (US) • Jack's Big Music Show • Pinky Dinky Doo (US/UK) • The Upside Down Show
The N block
A Walk in Your Shoes (season 3) • Out There • LOL with The N • Girls v. Boys • O'Grady • Miracle's Boys • South of Nowhere • What Goes On
Streaming app
Yoga Friends • School of Yum • Kinderwood • Noggin Knows • The Noggins • Balloon Builders