Jennette McCurdy: American Idol Incredible | Jennette McCurdy | Just Jared Jr. - JJJ
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Saturday, May 23, 2009
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
FREDDIE LOVES SAM OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!
FREDDIE AND SAM LOVE EACH OTHER! Freddie admitted it. Here's his exact words:
CARLY: You care about Sam.
FREDDIE: She was upset. I had to.
CARLY: You care about her. (carly tickles him)
That's all I remember.
Bye!!! I'm watching the Jennette episode of True Jackson!!!!!!!!!! AHHH!
-Sami
CARLY: You care about Sam.
FREDDIE: She was upset. I had to.
CARLY: You care about her. (carly tickles him)
That's all I remember.
Bye!!! I'm watching the Jennette episode of True Jackson!!!!!!!!!! AHHH!
-Sami
Double Trouble Night!!! SPOILER iReunite With Missy!!!
Hey!!!!! Tonight at 8 starts Double Trouble Night!!!! Oh my gosh, I'm soooooo excited!!!!!! :P Seddie fans, you better watch good!!! Cause Dan Schneider said on his blog that there will be a SEDDIE moment!!!!! And at 8:30 RIGHT after iReunite with Missy (at 8) is the TRUE JACKSON: VP EPISODE WITH JENNETTE MCCURDY!!!!!! :D :D :D :D :D :D :D I'M SOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ok, I'm done screaming. Also, remember Mr. Howard, the meanie teacher from iGot Detention when he gave Sam detention on the 50th webshow spectacular? He's back!!!! And Wendy, from the last episode. And Ryan Ochua, from iHurt Lewbert. (the little boy playing racketball in the lobby.)
SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!
EVERYTHING that happens in iReunite with Missy, scene by scene.
DON'T READ THIS BEFORE YOU WATCH THE EPISODE IF YOU DON'T LIKE SPOILERS!!!! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!! :) Remember: You can wait and read this stuff after you watch the episode.
Well well. I see you're still reading. Okay then. HERE COMES THE INFO...
THE SCENE-BY-SCENE FUN FACTS
*** Scene 1 ***
Scene begins with Carly, Sam, and Freddie walking into Carly's apartment.
• In this scene, we learn that Socko's grandmother has some kind of power or knowledge that can protect campers from bears. I have no explanation. :)
• Sam has a line in this scene that was scripted as "If that's Freddie's mother don't open it." But on set during filming, I changed the line to, "If that's Freddie's mom, tell her I moved to Guada La Hara."
• We meet "Missy" in this scene. She's Carly's best friend from early childhood. For the role of Missy, I cast an actress named Haley Ramm. Haley happens to be a very close friend of Miranda's, in real life.
• Big cheers and applause to the Schneider's Bakery post production team for the super-cool visual effect of Spencer's flare firing across the room!
*** Scene 2 ***
Scene begins with the teacher, Mr. Howard, talking to kids through a bullhorn.
• Mr. Howard is telling the kids about "School At Sea" – a program where high school kids can spend part of their school year learning on a cruise. There really are programs like this, available to kids.
• As Carly and Missy come down the stairs, watch the kid with the bushy red hair ("Kevin") holding the brown paper bag. If you watch the paper bag closely, you can see it MOVE. Another little touch added by our wonderful post production team.
• We never reveal the mystery of Kevin's onion ring. Can you guess what it is?
• We learn that Seattle has its very own meat festival. Who knew? And of course Sam has tickets. Of course!
• I enjoy the girls' three-way disgusted shiver at the end of this scene.
*** Scene 3 ***
Scene begins with Spencer coming down the stairs into the basement (storage area) of Bushwell.
• Spencer's stunt double COULD NOT be better! When the shelving unit falls on Spencer, that's not really Jerry. It's Dorian, Jerry's stunt double. You know how you can tell he's the perfect stunt double for Jerry? As the shelving unit falls, he turns his face out... and you can clearly see Dorian's face... yet you still can't tell it's not Jerry. That's pretty amazing. (A big thanks to our makeup and hair departments for helping create that perfect match.)
*** Scene 4 ***
Scene begins with Carly and Missy coming off the elevator.
• How groovy is Carly's afro vest? Way to go, Kris (our head costumer).
• Another mention of Wahoo Punch, a new beverage added to the world of Schneider's Bakery. Wahoo Punch first started on iCarly. (Drake & Josh had Mocha Cola and Doctor Fizz. Zoey 101 had Blix.)
• We had to do about fifteen takes before we got Sam's phone to land in the Wahoo Punch pitcher. Finally, we got it.
• Missy mentions her Aunt Gloria. That's the name of my aunt – my mom's sister who lives in Boston. :)
• I love that my post production department added Socko on the screen of the cell phone.
*** Scene 5 ***
Scene begins with Sam eating chocolate.
• Look behind Sam. One of these days I need to ask the guy who does our set dressing why their are two pump bottles of LOTION on top of the microwave. What the heck? LOTION? Whyyyy?
*** Scene 6 ***
Scene begins with a boy named Chuck walking downstairs into the basement.
• Do you remember Chuck? He first appeared in iHurt Lewbert. He was the kid playing racquetball in the lobby, and then he attacked Spencer. We all love this character - the kid (Ryan Ochoa) is soooo good. And, for some reason, it's always fun to see Spencer go head-to-head with an obnoxious kid.
• Ryan Ochoa (who plays Chuck) has a little brother who appeared in Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh.
• When Chuck calls Spencer a "monkey" and hits the door with his racquet, it's just hilarious.
*** Scene 7 ***
Scene begins with Freddie setting up his camcorder on a tripod.
• Jennette was awesome in this scene. She played "sick" very well.
• Sam says, "I feel like butt!" We at iCarly have a feeling that this phrase is going to catch on, sweeping America! ;)
• I challenge any human being to not laugh when Sam grabs Freddie by the shirt and yells "Look at the facts!"
• For those who don't know yet, the unseen voice that says "Rrrraaaandom Dancing!" – that's ME. :)
• At the end of this scene, it's hard NOT to go "Awww" for Sam, isn't it?
*** Scene 8 ***
Scene begins with Carly bringing Sam a nice bowl of chicken soup.
• We mention "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" in this scene. This is rare. I almost never use real pop culture references in my shows. This one just seemed pretty funny.
• Sam describes what she originally thought Lewbert's wart might have been. We (the writers/producers) are all wondering how the closed captioning people will spell the adjective Sam uses. ;)
*** Scene 9 ***
Scene begins with Spencer trapped in his storage unit while Chuck plays a video game.
• One of my favorite comedy lines of this year: "You wish it was water." Kills me.
• So, what do YOU think is in Chuck's squirt gun? Hmmm?
*** Scene 10 ***
Scene begins with the three girls: Carly, Sam, and Missy sitting at the Groovy Smoothie.
• I usually don't point out mistakes (we don't make many). But in this scene, one minor thing bugs me. When Sam breaks her cup, the smoothie liquid that spills out is too thin. Too much like punch. I didn't catch it until I got into editing. It's not a bad mistake, but I wish it had been more of a real (thicker) smoothie consistency. It's possible that it started out right, but melted (got thinner) under the stage lights as we shot the scene.
*** Scene 11 ***
Scene begins with Sam and Freddie together, alone, in the hallway.
• Interesting that Sam comes to Freddie for help, isn't it?
• So now, we learn that when Freddie is upset, he yells "Aw, butter!" -- as opposed to Gibby who (in iGo Nuclear) says, "Aw, mustard!" So which is better?
*** Scene 12 ***
Scene begins with Missy walking to her locker.
• Check out Sam's GLARE at Missy as Sam puts books in her locker. Jennette is SUCH a FANTASTIC actress. That glare actually scares me. Even though Jennette is a tiny little thing (maybe 95 pounds), I believe "Sam" could beat the crud out of me! Haha.
• Look at the inside of Sam's locker. Apparently, Sam is quite the fan of Drake Parker. ;)
• I give Sam's zip-up jacked an A+. Go Kris!
• Mr. Howard is hilarious in this scene, don't you think? I laugh every time I hear him say, "I couldn't care less about the words I'm saying." Also, I like when he says "Yaaayyy" with no energy. I love that guy – actor David St. James. He was brilliant in iGet Detention so we keep bringing him back! (The first time I ever hired him was for All That, in a sketch called "Harry Bladder" which parodied Harry Potter.) P.S. The way he says "Jeeeeez" when he walks off also makes me chuckle.
• Don't we all need an awesome, cool, meat-lovin' best friend? :D
• In this scene, Carly says to Sam, "You're the best." This is something I tend to say a lot to my friends, and the great people who work on my shows. "You're the best" is a very me thing to say.
*** Scene 13 ***
Scene begins with Spencer trapped in his storage cage as Chuck watches him from a chair.
• How funny is it when Chuck admits his guilt, saying "Yeah" – and then Spencer goes, "Yeeaaaaahhhh". That's another line that makes everyone who's seen this episode laugh out loud.
• I also love the way Jerry delivers the final line in this scene. He must know what was in that squirt gun! Can you blame him?
*** Scene 14 ***
Scene begins with Carly and Freddie on a bench at school, studying.
• For the record, Austria and Australia are not the "same thing." :)
• We have Wendy in this scene. Some people who work on iCarly thought there might be some confusion because Wendy and Missy look a bit similar. Hopefully no one will be confused. Were you?
• For the iCarly fans who like the whole Sam/Freddie relationship... I think they will like this scene very much.
*** Scene 15 ***
Scene begins on a big ship in the ocean.
• How cool does this scene look visually??? Can you believe we shot this on a sound stage, indoors???
I need you guys opinions: Do you like my blog????? Please comment. I need to know!!!! Thanks.
By the way, Dan Schneider said he will be attending Miranda's sweet 16 party!!!
Bye!
-Sami
P.S. Don't Forget to watch Double Trouble Night (wow, tounge twister) tonight at 8, hosted by Ashley Argota (Lulu in True Jackson VP) and Jennette McCurdy (you guys know who she knows)
DONT FORGET!!!!!!!!
SPOILER ALERT!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!
EVERYTHING that happens in iReunite with Missy, scene by scene.
DON'T READ THIS BEFORE YOU WATCH THE EPISODE IF YOU DON'T LIKE SPOILERS!!!! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!! :) Remember: You can wait and read this stuff after you watch the episode.
Well well. I see you're still reading. Okay then. HERE COMES THE INFO...
THE SCENE-BY-SCENE FUN FACTS
*** Scene 1 ***
Scene begins with Carly, Sam, and Freddie walking into Carly's apartment.
• In this scene, we learn that Socko's grandmother has some kind of power or knowledge that can protect campers from bears. I have no explanation. :)
• Sam has a line in this scene that was scripted as "If that's Freddie's mother don't open it." But on set during filming, I changed the line to, "If that's Freddie's mom, tell her I moved to Guada La Hara."
• We meet "Missy" in this scene. She's Carly's best friend from early childhood. For the role of Missy, I cast an actress named Haley Ramm. Haley happens to be a very close friend of Miranda's, in real life.
• Big cheers and applause to the Schneider's Bakery post production team for the super-cool visual effect of Spencer's flare firing across the room!
*** Scene 2 ***
Scene begins with the teacher, Mr. Howard, talking to kids through a bullhorn.
• Mr. Howard is telling the kids about "School At Sea" – a program where high school kids can spend part of their school year learning on a cruise. There really are programs like this, available to kids.
• As Carly and Missy come down the stairs, watch the kid with the bushy red hair ("Kevin") holding the brown paper bag. If you watch the paper bag closely, you can see it MOVE. Another little touch added by our wonderful post production team.
• We never reveal the mystery of Kevin's onion ring. Can you guess what it is?
• We learn that Seattle has its very own meat festival. Who knew? And of course Sam has tickets. Of course!
• I enjoy the girls' three-way disgusted shiver at the end of this scene.
*** Scene 3 ***
Scene begins with Spencer coming down the stairs into the basement (storage area) of Bushwell.
• Spencer's stunt double COULD NOT be better! When the shelving unit falls on Spencer, that's not really Jerry. It's Dorian, Jerry's stunt double. You know how you can tell he's the perfect stunt double for Jerry? As the shelving unit falls, he turns his face out... and you can clearly see Dorian's face... yet you still can't tell it's not Jerry. That's pretty amazing. (A big thanks to our makeup and hair departments for helping create that perfect match.)
*** Scene 4 ***
Scene begins with Carly and Missy coming off the elevator.
• How groovy is Carly's afro vest? Way to go, Kris (our head costumer).
• Another mention of Wahoo Punch, a new beverage added to the world of Schneider's Bakery. Wahoo Punch first started on iCarly. (Drake & Josh had Mocha Cola and Doctor Fizz. Zoey 101 had Blix.)
• We had to do about fifteen takes before we got Sam's phone to land in the Wahoo Punch pitcher. Finally, we got it.
• Missy mentions her Aunt Gloria. That's the name of my aunt – my mom's sister who lives in Boston. :)
• I love that my post production department added Socko on the screen of the cell phone.
*** Scene 5 ***
Scene begins with Sam eating chocolate.
• Look behind Sam. One of these days I need to ask the guy who does our set dressing why their are two pump bottles of LOTION on top of the microwave. What the heck? LOTION? Whyyyy?
*** Scene 6 ***
Scene begins with a boy named Chuck walking downstairs into the basement.
• Do you remember Chuck? He first appeared in iHurt Lewbert. He was the kid playing racquetball in the lobby, and then he attacked Spencer. We all love this character - the kid (Ryan Ochoa) is soooo good. And, for some reason, it's always fun to see Spencer go head-to-head with an obnoxious kid.
• Ryan Ochoa (who plays Chuck) has a little brother who appeared in Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh.
• When Chuck calls Spencer a "monkey" and hits the door with his racquet, it's just hilarious.
*** Scene 7 ***
Scene begins with Freddie setting up his camcorder on a tripod.
• Jennette was awesome in this scene. She played "sick" very well.
• Sam says, "I feel like butt!" We at iCarly have a feeling that this phrase is going to catch on, sweeping America! ;)
• I challenge any human being to not laugh when Sam grabs Freddie by the shirt and yells "Look at the facts!"
• For those who don't know yet, the unseen voice that says "Rrrraaaandom Dancing!" – that's ME. :)
• At the end of this scene, it's hard NOT to go "Awww" for Sam, isn't it?
*** Scene 8 ***
Scene begins with Carly bringing Sam a nice bowl of chicken soup.
• We mention "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" in this scene. This is rare. I almost never use real pop culture references in my shows. This one just seemed pretty funny.
• Sam describes what she originally thought Lewbert's wart might have been. We (the writers/producers) are all wondering how the closed captioning people will spell the adjective Sam uses. ;)
*** Scene 9 ***
Scene begins with Spencer trapped in his storage unit while Chuck plays a video game.
• One of my favorite comedy lines of this year: "You wish it was water." Kills me.
• So, what do YOU think is in Chuck's squirt gun? Hmmm?
*** Scene 10 ***
Scene begins with the three girls: Carly, Sam, and Missy sitting at the Groovy Smoothie.
• I usually don't point out mistakes (we don't make many). But in this scene, one minor thing bugs me. When Sam breaks her cup, the smoothie liquid that spills out is too thin. Too much like punch. I didn't catch it until I got into editing. It's not a bad mistake, but I wish it had been more of a real (thicker) smoothie consistency. It's possible that it started out right, but melted (got thinner) under the stage lights as we shot the scene.
*** Scene 11 ***
Scene begins with Sam and Freddie together, alone, in the hallway.
• Interesting that Sam comes to Freddie for help, isn't it?
• So now, we learn that when Freddie is upset, he yells "Aw, butter!" -- as opposed to Gibby who (in iGo Nuclear) says, "Aw, mustard!" So which is better?
*** Scene 12 ***
Scene begins with Missy walking to her locker.
• Check out Sam's GLARE at Missy as Sam puts books in her locker. Jennette is SUCH a FANTASTIC actress. That glare actually scares me. Even though Jennette is a tiny little thing (maybe 95 pounds), I believe "Sam" could beat the crud out of me! Haha.
• Look at the inside of Sam's locker. Apparently, Sam is quite the fan of Drake Parker. ;)
• I give Sam's zip-up jacked an A+. Go Kris!
• Mr. Howard is hilarious in this scene, don't you think? I laugh every time I hear him say, "I couldn't care less about the words I'm saying." Also, I like when he says "Yaaayyy" with no energy. I love that guy – actor David St. James. He was brilliant in iGet Detention so we keep bringing him back! (The first time I ever hired him was for All That, in a sketch called "Harry Bladder" which parodied Harry Potter.) P.S. The way he says "Jeeeeez" when he walks off also makes me chuckle.
• Don't we all need an awesome, cool, meat-lovin' best friend? :D
• In this scene, Carly says to Sam, "You're the best." This is something I tend to say a lot to my friends, and the great people who work on my shows. "You're the best" is a very me thing to say.
*** Scene 13 ***
Scene begins with Spencer trapped in his storage cage as Chuck watches him from a chair.
• How funny is it when Chuck admits his guilt, saying "Yeah" – and then Spencer goes, "Yeeaaaaahhhh". That's another line that makes everyone who's seen this episode laugh out loud.
• I also love the way Jerry delivers the final line in this scene. He must know what was in that squirt gun! Can you blame him?
*** Scene 14 ***
Scene begins with Carly and Freddie on a bench at school, studying.
• For the record, Austria and Australia are not the "same thing." :)
• We have Wendy in this scene. Some people who work on iCarly thought there might be some confusion because Wendy and Missy look a bit similar. Hopefully no one will be confused. Were you?
• For the iCarly fans who like the whole Sam/Freddie relationship... I think they will like this scene very much.
*** Scene 15 ***
Scene begins on a big ship in the ocean.
• How cool does this scene look visually??? Can you believe we shot this on a sound stage, indoors???
I need you guys opinions: Do you like my blog????? Please comment. I need to know!!!! Thanks.
By the way, Dan Schneider said he will be attending Miranda's sweet 16 party!!!
Bye!
-Sami
P.S. Don't Forget to watch Double Trouble Night (wow, tounge twister) tonight at 8, hosted by Ashley Argota (Lulu in True Jackson VP) and Jennette McCurdy (you guys know who she knows)
DONT FORGET!!!!!!!!
Friday, May 15, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
iCarly updates!
Hey!!!! Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've been banned from the computer. :( But now I'm not banned!!! :) Anyways, on my last 2 posts, it says the new episode (iDate a bad boy) is on May 5th. (last saturday) But, thanks to iiCarlyy, they got it screwed up. >:( It's actually May 9th (on a saturday) at 8 pm. It's a one-hour special!!! :D Since I have a google account, another GREAT program (besides blogger) they have is called Google Alerts. I just type in a name or whatever, and I get the latest scoop about it. So I put the whole iCarly cast, iCarly, Seddie, and Creddie on there. So whenever I get an update, I will post it here on my site!!! Oh, yeah. The creator of iCarly has a youtube!!! I just noticed it when I was playing around on his site. (no, he doesn't have a facebook or myspace YET. just a twitter and youtube) here's his youtube sccount:
www.youtube.com/DanWarp
Well, gotta go!!!!!!
Bye!!!
P.S. Dan needs YOUR help to find out what he should get for Miranda's 16th b-day. Suggestions?
Hannah Who? iCarly is TV's queen among young audiences
HOLLYWOOD - Everyone knows who Hannah Montana is. But perhaps only kids know that she has been unseated as TV's reigning tween queen by Carly Shay.
Carly, the plucky 15-year-old star of the Nickelodeon comedy iCarly, quietly overtook Disney Channel's Hannah Montana -- and this year, American Idol -- in the ratings race for young audiences.
Miranda Cosgrove, who plays Carly, is still a name that draws quizzical looks while Miley Cyrus sells out movie theaters and concert arenas. Nor is Cosgrove the whirlwind of controversy that Cyrus has been. Last month, Cosgrove posted to her Twitter page: "Just finished 5 more hours of math. At least this afternoon was fun! My first real driving lesson!" -- a far cry from Cyrus' recent bio (dating a 20-year-old and a Jonas brother, and posing provocatively for Vanity Fair.)
And yet, in its second season, iCarly, which follows the misadventures of three friends who produce a Web show about, well, nothing in particular, has grown into TV's No. 1 series among kids (ages 2 to 11) and tweens (ages 9 to 14), drawing an average 5.6 total million viewers to new episodes.
So how did Carly do it? Unlike her scandal-attracting peers, she has the Web working with her instead of against her.
By design, iCarly is the only children's show plugged seamlessly into the online world, a playing field populated by blurbs of random, often outrageous comedy. Series creator Dan Schneider has been savvy enough to plot the iCarly Web segments as randomly as any teen would a YouTube channel.
During the show-within-a-show Webcasts, which the characters film in Carly's attic, Carly and her friend Sam (Jennette McCurdy) demonstrate making chicken soup in a toilet. They create trailers spoofing teen movies. They morph Carly's head onto a picture of Sam's rabid cat. They improvise short sketches with such names as "The Cowboy With a Mustache and the Idiot Farm Girl Who Thought the Mustache Was a Squirrel."
"When I pitched the show, (Nickelodeon executives) asked, ‘What's the Web show?' I said, ‘Whatever we want,'" Schneider said.
iCarly is his fourth live-action show for the network; he previously created the hits Zoey 101, Drake & Josh and The Amanda Show. It's frantic, silly and never predictable.
"I don't know who else besides us could say they've run over a microwave filled with toothpaste in a monster truck," McCurdy said.
Schneider also has been savvy about what the young people are watching and sharing online. In February, iCarly devoted an entire episode to viral-video star Lucas Cruikshank, who plays Fred, a hyper 6-year-old with temper problems, on his YouTube video channel, the site's most subscribed-to feed.
"I go online a lot, and I read stuff all the time from fans saying they love the weird stuff, the stuff that doesn't belong anywhere or make any sense," Schneider said.
To that end, he keeps the iCarly.com Web site stocked with online-exclusive videos to keep fans buzzing between new episodes. And, along with his actors, he is big on Twitter.
Which is not to say that iCarly is simply a string of Web-inspired sketches and gags. Outside of her Web-hosting duties, Carly is an overachiever in school, kind of neurotic and usually more mature than her older brother, Spencer (Jerry Trainor), who raises her while their father is (permanently) stationed on a submarine in Europe. Sam is her brash, school-hating best friend, and Freddie (Nathan Kress) is their nerdy-cool Web-show producer. Together they get into trouble while producing popular Web TV.
Further separating it from your average kids' sitcom, the series talks up to its audience, often appearing to forego lessons learned in favor of laughs. In the Season 2 premiere, Carly and Sam decided to date the same boy, and as they fought over him toward the end of the half-hour, he stumbled backward, falling eight floors down an elevator shaft and winding up in a full body cast. It ended the squabbling -- and the episode.
"There's no resolution, and I love that. And let me tell you, it took me a long time to win those battles (with the network)," Schneider said. "The sweet wrap-up scenes? Who wants to see 'em? Let's just end on big funny."
Cosgrove is without the promotional power of the Disney empire -- ABC, Hollywood Records and Walt Disney Pictures -- that has made stars of Cyrus, Hilary Duff and Zac Efron.
Instead, she falls neatly into the tradition of Nickelodeon talent, which includes recent breakouts Emma Roberts and Josh Peck, teens who are now trying to build their acting careers in independent films. Cosgrove is not a glammed-up pop star; she is a mirror of the audience watching her.
Carly, the plucky 15-year-old star of the Nickelodeon comedy iCarly, quietly overtook Disney Channel's Hannah Montana -- and this year, American Idol -- in the ratings race for young audiences.
Miranda Cosgrove, who plays Carly, is still a name that draws quizzical looks while Miley Cyrus sells out movie theaters and concert arenas. Nor is Cosgrove the whirlwind of controversy that Cyrus has been. Last month, Cosgrove posted to her Twitter page: "Just finished 5 more hours of math. At least this afternoon was fun! My first real driving lesson!" -- a far cry from Cyrus' recent bio (dating a 20-year-old and a Jonas brother, and posing provocatively for Vanity Fair.)
And yet, in its second season, iCarly, which follows the misadventures of three friends who produce a Web show about, well, nothing in particular, has grown into TV's No. 1 series among kids (ages 2 to 11) and tweens (ages 9 to 14), drawing an average 5.6 total million viewers to new episodes.
So how did Carly do it? Unlike her scandal-attracting peers, she has the Web working with her instead of against her.
By design, iCarly is the only children's show plugged seamlessly into the online world, a playing field populated by blurbs of random, often outrageous comedy. Series creator Dan Schneider has been savvy enough to plot the iCarly Web segments as randomly as any teen would a YouTube channel.
During the show-within-a-show Webcasts, which the characters film in Carly's attic, Carly and her friend Sam (Jennette McCurdy) demonstrate making chicken soup in a toilet. They create trailers spoofing teen movies. They morph Carly's head onto a picture of Sam's rabid cat. They improvise short sketches with such names as "The Cowboy With a Mustache and the Idiot Farm Girl Who Thought the Mustache Was a Squirrel."
"When I pitched the show, (Nickelodeon executives) asked, ‘What's the Web show?' I said, ‘Whatever we want,'" Schneider said.
iCarly is his fourth live-action show for the network; he previously created the hits Zoey 101, Drake & Josh and The Amanda Show. It's frantic, silly and never predictable.
"I don't know who else besides us could say they've run over a microwave filled with toothpaste in a monster truck," McCurdy said.
Schneider also has been savvy about what the young people are watching and sharing online. In February, iCarly devoted an entire episode to viral-video star Lucas Cruikshank, who plays Fred, a hyper 6-year-old with temper problems, on his YouTube video channel, the site's most subscribed-to feed.
"I go online a lot, and I read stuff all the time from fans saying they love the weird stuff, the stuff that doesn't belong anywhere or make any sense," Schneider said.
To that end, he keeps the iCarly.com Web site stocked with online-exclusive videos to keep fans buzzing between new episodes. And, along with his actors, he is big on Twitter.
Which is not to say that iCarly is simply a string of Web-inspired sketches and gags. Outside of her Web-hosting duties, Carly is an overachiever in school, kind of neurotic and usually more mature than her older brother, Spencer (Jerry Trainor), who raises her while their father is (permanently) stationed on a submarine in Europe. Sam is her brash, school-hating best friend, and Freddie (Nathan Kress) is their nerdy-cool Web-show producer. Together they get into trouble while producing popular Web TV.
Further separating it from your average kids' sitcom, the series talks up to its audience, often appearing to forego lessons learned in favor of laughs. In the Season 2 premiere, Carly and Sam decided to date the same boy, and as they fought over him toward the end of the half-hour, he stumbled backward, falling eight floors down an elevator shaft and winding up in a full body cast. It ended the squabbling -- and the episode.
"There's no resolution, and I love that. And let me tell you, it took me a long time to win those battles (with the network)," Schneider said. "The sweet wrap-up scenes? Who wants to see 'em? Let's just end on big funny."
Cosgrove is without the promotional power of the Disney empire -- ABC, Hollywood Records and Walt Disney Pictures -- that has made stars of Cyrus, Hilary Duff and Zac Efron.
Instead, she falls neatly into the tradition of Nickelodeon talent, which includes recent breakouts Emma Roberts and Josh Peck, teens who are now trying to build their acting careers in independent films. Cosgrove is not a glammed-up pop star; she is a mirror of the audience watching her.
Friday, May 1, 2009
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