The Upside Down Show

The Upside Down Show
Genre	Comedy
Type	Original series
First aired	October 16, 2006
Last aired	March 1, 2012
Block	Daytime block
Company	Noggin LLC Sesame Workshop

The Upside Down Show is one of Noggin's original series. It was created by Sesame Workshop and Noggin LLC. It is about two brothers, David and Shane, who live in an apartment with their sidekick Puppet. In each episode, David gives the viewers an imaginary remote control that affects the characters on the show. The series was written and produced in the USA, and it was filmed in Australia.

It was one of four shows made by both Noggin LLC and Sesame Workshop, along with Sponk!, Play with Me Sesame, and Out There. Many of the crew members from Out There worked on this show.

The show has 13 episodes, plus an unaired pilot. The show premiered on Noggin on October 16, 2006, and the last new episode aired on November 13, 2006. It survived the Nick Jr. switchover in 2009 and continued to air until 2012.

History

Poster with David and Shane

"Up next" promo

Curriculum board

Promo for the show with Moose and Zee

The show stars the Umbilical Brothers, David Collins and Shane Dundas, who are best known as comedy entertainers for adults. The series' concept is based on Speedmouse, a comedy act that the Umbilical Brothers performed in the late 1990s. The plot centered around an imaginary remote control that affected the actors on stage. Producers from Sesame Workshop liked Speedmouse and thought the remote control would translate well to a kids' show. The Umbilical Brothers agreed and started developing a show for Noggin.

The Upside Down Show started out with an unaired pilot episode, produced in late 2004. In the pilot, the set was constructed so it could flip upside down, hence the show's name. In the actual series, the camera often flips upside down to represent the "upside down button," but the set itself doesn't flip. The show only filmed a 13-episode first season before being cancelled.

The show first aired on the main Nickelodeon channel as a "sneak peek" on October 13, 2006. It debuted on Noggin three days later, on October 16, 2006. The rest of the show's episodes aired from October to early November 2006. Reruns continued until Noggin closed. The show was available on the Noggin app from 2015 until 2020, and Paramount+ from 2021 until 2024.

Summary

The show's main characters are David, Shane, the Schmuzzies, Mrs. Foil, and Puppet. They live in an apartment building where every door leads to a variety of weird rooms.

Each episode follows David and Shane trying to find a place that they've never seen before. They give the viewers an imaginary remote control to help them on their journey, but it usually ends up causing more harm than good. Puppet and the Schmuzzies either help them or unintentionally slow them down. Their quests always take them through three different rooms, usually featuring Mrs. Foil playing the role of the room's owner. Once the boys find the place they're looking for, a fast-motion sequence plays of them visiting it, with booming documentary-style narration. They later return to their apartment and give the viewers an imaginary souvenir, sometimes multiple.

Characters

• David - The calmer, older, and more strait-laced of the two brothers. He gives the imaginary remote to the viewers at the beginning of each episode.
• Shane - David's impulsive younger brother who wears a blue shirt with a fast-forward symbol on it. He has an imaginary pet fly named Fido.
• Schmuzzies - A group of fuzzy creatures who infest every corner of the apartment. David loves them, while Shane is scared of them. They speak their own language called Schmuzzish, where English words have "sch" sounds added to them.
• Mrs. Foil - The strange next-door neighbor of David and Shane who has a wide variety of different jobs and costumes. She tends to randomly appear in many of the apartment's rooms, assuming a new job and outfit each time.
• Puppet - David and Shane's best friend, roommate, and sidekick. He is an aspiring actor and movie director, and he is a bit full of himself at times. He likes to be tossed around by the brothers, and he talks in an American accent.

Episodes

The show had 13 aired episodes. A pilot episode was made but never aired on TV. According to this Facebook post by the creators, the show was planned to end with a special-length finale, but the project never got enough financial support to start filming.

#	Title	Original air date (United States)	Production code
Pilot	Pilot	Unaired	None
1	Movie Theater	October 18, 2006	101
2	Barbershop	October 20, 2006	102
3	Art Museum	October 16, 2006	103
4	Pet Shop	October 23, 2006	104
5	Camping	October 25, 2006	105
6	Picnic	October 27, 2006	106
7	Airport	October 30, 2006	107
8	Beach	November 1, 2006	108
9	Marching Band	November 6, 2006	109
10	Birthday Party	November 8, 2006	110
11	Farm	October 13, 2006 (Nickelodeon) October 16, 2006 (Noggin)	111
12	Ice Cream Truck	November 10, 2006	112
13	Mini Golf	November 13, 2006	113

Links

• Interview with the creators
• Press release about the premiere