Uncovering the Mysteries of The Secret Show
When it comes to cartoons, kids want to watch shows about kids -- or so the current thinking goes. These days Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and Disney's schedules are swarming with comedies starring adolescent characters. Adults are relegated to supporting roles in these shows -- clueless parents or easily outwitted foils to the kids' plans, along with the occasional mentor figure thrown in to redeem the older generation.
The situation's slightly different when it comes to action-adventure shows. Discounting for the moment Avatar and Ben 10's youthful heroes, older figures -- specifically, mid-to-late teenagers and even the occasional twentysomething -- are often the stars; Nicktoons, Nickelodeon's younger sibling, has a particular fondness for these action-packed series.
The Secret Show may be a comedy, but it's a fast-moving, gadget-filled spy spoof starring a pair of fully grown, definitely adult (in years if not behavior) secret agents. The British-produced show feels more at home among Nicktoons series like Kappa Mikey, Martin Mystery and Skyland than Nickelodeon staples like SpongeBob or Fairly OddParents. For show creator Tony Collingwood, it was a deliberate decision to go against the grain of what the networks were asking for. "They all wanted kids in the center of the action," he explains from his London production company, Collingwood O'Hare Entertainment. "We called them 'Kid by Day' shows: kid by day, spy/ghost/scientist by night, where the parents were really kooky and didn't know what the kids were up to.
"We said if everyone is doing that, let's not. Let's approach it from the other angle: not a kid show aged up, but an adult show pushed down to kids. They said, 'Hey, that's original!' Well, that's because it wasn't what you were asking for."
To win over the skeptics, Collingwood and partner Christopher O'Hare produced an out-of-pocket pilot episode and presented it at the 2004 Cartoon Forum in Spain, an annual event for producers looking for European markets and financing. The show caught on with an audience of industry players who according to Collingwood "laughed all the way through" the screening. The BBC quickly acquired the series for its children's CBBC channel and for international sales via BBC Worldwide.
The Secret Show is filled with running gags, wordplay and silliness aimed squarely at a kids audience, starting with the blatantly cutesy Fluffy Bunny Show being hijacked (in a different manner every episode) to make way for Collingwood's series. ("The show is so secret," he says, "that it doesn't even have its own time slot.") The standard acronym-named good guys and bad guys (U.Z.Z. vs. T.H.E.M.) face off, with British agent Anita and her occasionally clueless partner Victor in the lead. Judging by his accent, the klutzy Victor is an American or Canadian, a creative decision probably based more on making the show saleable to North America than any kind of political poke in the ribs.
The formula worked for Keith Dawkins, Nicktoons' VP and general manager. "We love the show because it's witty, smart and funny," he says. "I laughed out loud when I read the first script. I can't get enough of the show open, the many ways the secret agents take over granny and her fluffy bunnies." His enthusiasm evidently mirrors the channel's audience, with Dawkins describing the series (currently enjoying its second season on Nicktoons) as a "top-10 ratings performer" for the channel's 2-11 and 6-11 demographics.
Those running gags are at the heart of The Secret Show, from catchphrases ("Yes, I'm still alive") to recurring, unexplained visuals like the spider crawling through one shot in every episode, or the occasional fugitive bunny who scampers through the agents' adventures without warning. "Even as an adult you can't help going 'I just saw a bunny!'" Collingwood says. "It doesn't matter how grown-up you are. You can't help being pleased if you spot a bunny in The Secret Show."
It's not just random tomfoolery. According to Collingwood, "Kids want to experience the same thing again and again, but in a different way every time. It sounds like a contradiction in terms, but that's what you want in a TV series. It also encourages close watching. The running gags are like treats for people who watch regularly -- 'I know what that spider's about -- I saw the episode where we discovered...'" He pauses to recount the season two episode where the spider's raison d'etre is revealed, but adds "it's a secret -- you can't print that.
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