Press Release from Nickelodeon
NEW YORK, April 5, 2010 – Nickelodeon celebrates Earth Day with the premiere of an environmentally conscious SpongeBob SquarePants’ special, “SpongeBob’s Last Stand,” on Thursday, April 22, at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. The half-hour special is part of a green-themed day of programming, beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET/PT, which includes new episodes of preschool series Team Umizoomi, The Fresh Beat Band, Go, Diego, Go!, Ni Hao Kai-lan and The Backyardigans, encores of iCarly, True Jackson, VP and SpongeBob SquarePants, as well as family favorites on Nick at Nite. The network’s ode to Mother Earth begins with Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: Your Thirsty World, a special about kids who are taking action to fight for everyone’s right to free and clean water, on Sunday, April 18 at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT.
In “SpongeBob’s Last Stand,” SpongeBob and Patrick learn the “Shelly Super Highway” is coming to Bikini Bottom – right through Jellyfish Fields! Devastated by the news, they launch a campaign to stop the construction, but everyone else in Bikini Bottom seems to love the idea of a new superhighway. They must find a way to galvanize their neighbors, or it could be the end for Jellyfish Fields forever. The special, which will be preceded by a two-hour marathon of nature-themed SpongeBob SquarePants episodes, features two musical numbers: “The Jellyfish Song” and “Give Jellyfish Fields a Chance,” a nod to the protest songs of the 1960s. “SpongeBob’s Last Stand” is currently available on DVD from Nickelodeon Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment.
Since its launch in July 1999, SpongeBob SquarePants has emerged as a pop culture phenomenon drawing more than 100,000,000 total viewers every quarter across all Nickelodeon networks, and has been the number-one animated program with Kids 2-11 for more than eight consecutive years on Nickelodeon. The show is seen in 171 markets in 26 languages and is the most widely distributed property in MTV Networks’ history.
Nickelodeon’s Earth Day celebration begins on Sunday, April 18, at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT with the half-hour special Nick News with Linda Ellerbee: Your Thirsty World. One in five people has no access to clean, safe drinking water. This water crisis is found in developing countries and here in the United States. Organizations and volunteers are coming together to solve this crisis. This special takes a look at the kids who are fighting for everyone’s right to free and clean water.
Additionally, Nickelodeon Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment have released Nick Jr. Favorites: Go Green ($16.99) in spirit of Earth Day. The DVD, complete with eco-friendly packaging, features more than two hours of entertainment, including environmental-themed episodes from Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go!, The Wonder Pets!, Yo Gabba Gabba!, Blue’s Clues and Ni Hao, Kai-lan.
The roll-out of Earth Day premieres is as follows, all times ET/PT:
10 a.m. – Go, Diego, Go!, “Ocean Animal Rescuer”
Ever since Diego and Baby Humpback Whale saved him, Bottlenose has wanted to be an ocean animal rescuer just like them. It takes a lot of practice to be an ocean animal rescuer, but Diego can do it. And when a boat spills some oil into the ocean, it’s Baby Humpback who needs help warning the other animals. Diego and the viewers at home must help Baby Humpback rescue the ocean animals before the oil gets too close.
10:30 a.m. – The Backyardigans, “Elephant on the Run”
Park Ranger Tasha has a very important job for delivery agents Tyrone and Pablo. However, this isn’t just any package, it’s an Indian elephant that must be safely delivered to the Dandeli Nature Preserve. Alternative rock music moves the action along as Tyrone and Pablo must keep their precious package out of the hands of the unscrupulous elephant thieves Miss Rhamaswami and her assistant, Austin-Ji.
11:00 a.m. – Team Umizoomi, “Playground Heroes”
Milli, Geo and Bot reward themselves for cleaning up Umi Headquarters with a trip to the playground. But just as they’re getting ready to leave, they get a call on the Umi Alarm from their friend Mia. A storm has left the sandbox, swings, slide, and bouncy bridge in disarray and until everything gets fixed, the park will remain closed. The Umizoomi team tackles the task using mighty math powers and soon the playground is as good as new. The park ranger unlocks the gate and Milli, Geo and Bot join Mia and her friends for some hard-earned playtime. The curriculum highlighted in the episode is Geometry, Numbers & Counting and Computation.
11:30 a.m. – Ni Hao Kai-lan, “The Place Where We All Live”
Yeye gives Kai-lan and her friends some special presents today – kites (Feng zheng). But when they unwrap them, they drop the wrapping paper on the ground and it flies all over the backyard causing major problems for the ants, snails and worms working on building a fruit stand for Ant City. At first, Kai-lan and her friends don’t understand why there’s trash all over the backyard, until they figure out it’s their fault. They need to clean up the wrapping paper so the ants, snails, and worms can finish their fruit stand before the grand opening. Along the way, everyone realizes why it’s important to take care of the place we live.
12:00 p.m. – The Fresh Beat Band, “Bubble Blast”
It’s Clean & Green Day and the entire neighborhood is cleaning the street. Shout can’t wait to finish cleaning so The Fresh Beats can do what they love most, playing music. Shout tries to get the street cleaned as quickly as possible, but he overfills a trashcan, which blows up, making the street even messier than before. Shout is bummed and Twist, in one of his classic bright idea moments, conjures up a machine that allows them to clean the street and play music… and they actually build an out of control bubble-making music-cleaning machine. They clean the street until it’s cleaner than it’s ever been, all while playing music and blowing the biggest, brightest, best bubbles imaginable.
8:00 p.m. – SpongeBob SquarePants, “SpongeBob’s Last Stand”
Nickelodeon, now in its 30th year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon’s U.S. television network is seen in almost 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 15 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit http://www.nickpress.com. [1] Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).
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[1] http://www.nickpress.com.