Planet Sketch

Planet Sketch
Title card for the second season.
GenreAnimated series
Sketch comedy
Slapstick
Written byNicholas Barber
Annie Caulfield
Marc Haynes
Jono Howard
Directed byAndy Wyatt
Vamberto Maduro
Voices ofMorwenna Banks
Paul Bazely
Clare Corbett
Johnny Daukes
Mark Evans
Teresa Gallagher
Lucy Jules
Kate Harbour
Gordon Kennedy
Burt Kwouk
Adam Longworth
Alan Marriott
Felicity Montagu
Lucy Montgomery
Tom Parkinson
Rob Rackstraw
Maria Darling
Paul Shearer
Alistair McGowan
John Sparkes
Lizzie Stables
Emma Tate
Tabitha Wady
Keith Wickham
Jo Wyatt
Janet Brown
ComposersEggplant LF, Inc.
Countries of origin
  • United Kingdom
  • Canada
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes39
Production
Executive producersMiles Bullough
Peter Lord
David Sproxton
Neil Court
Steven DeNure
Beth Stevenson
ProducersSarah Fell (S2)
Elana Adair (S2)
Series Producer:
Helen Brunsdon
EditorsAndrew Blyskokz
Nikk Fielden
Clem Hobbs
Running time11 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkCITV (U.K.)
Release10 September 2005 (2005-09-10) –
30 December 2007 (2007-12-30)
NetworkTeletoon (Canada)
Release19 November 2005 (2005-11-19) –
30 December 2007 (2007-12-30)

Planet Sketch is an animated television series co-produced by Aardman Animations and Decode Entertainment, with animation production provided by C.O.R.E. Toons. The series was first aired on CITV on 10 September 2005, and later began airing on the Canadian network Teletoon on 19 November 2005. It's also featured in Shorts in a Bunch on Nicktoons Network. The series ended its run on 30 December 2007. 39 episodes were produced.

Overview

Planet Sketch is basically a variety series; every episode features an assortment of sketches. What happens in the first one that appears is where the episode title comes from, that being Nose Picker. From then on, several sketches are played out to fill the remainder of the show, culminating with June Spume and Melville, in which a girl named June Spume re-shapes part of her body into a musical instrument and plays said instrument while the credits roll.

Typically only one of each different sketch appears per episode, but sometimes a sketch appear twice or doesn't appear at all. Most sketches are 3-D, but in the first season there were 2-D sketches, which were more rare and often have multiple segments. These segments play between 3-D sketches, which are treated as regular ones, and tend to be slightly shorter in runtime. Some 2-D sketches even appear only once throughout the series.

Planet Sketch received a fairly large overhaul with the second season. Nose Picker stays as one of the sketches that can appear first in an episode, but is now joined by Ninja Handyman and once even Parping Ponies. This season adds a few new 3-D sketches to the mix, but most of the original sketches, including all 2-D ones, were completely scrapped. There are now transitions between sketches; Some show characters dancing or gesturing, others show the logo sign playing a short clip of a sketch from another episode of this season. Additionally, the graphic and animation quallity were decently improved and the artstyle was revamped to akin to that of Nick Park (a major animator at Aardman).

Sketches

Original 3D sketches

Source:

Season 1 (2005)

Recurring 2-D sketches

  • My Mother the Armchair: A teenage girl consistently becomes embarrassed by her mother: a yellow armchair with a purse.
  • Swapsy: A girl tries to swap an array of miscellaneous objects for an item that she sees with a random person (ex. the mother of a small boy).
  • Only Joking: A young boy asks his father why something is or why it happens, such why bees collect honey, and his father jokingly replies with fictional comments (ex. Only honey bees collect honey, it's the brain bees you should look out for) which usually results with the boy running away screaming and the father saying "Only joking, son! Dear, oh dear". However, the father's "joke" turns out to be true during the last sketch shown in each episode, and it backfires on him.
  • Ira and Lyra: Two girls tell their mother a goofy fake story to get each other in trouble about why one of them, for example, poured water on the other, only to be caught out for a small detail such as where the bus they get on stops.
  • Okay Coach, I'm Ready: A boy named Nathan dresses up to be prepared for a sport, only to find he's ready for the wrong sport as indicated by his coach.

One-off 2-D sketches

  • Bill and Phil: Two boys reveal themselves to be disguised in successive costumes of characters from outer space, such as an alien.
  • Talent Show: A talent show featuring an assortment of unusual characters with unique abilities.
  • Alien Game Show: An extraterrestrial game show featuring aliens that talk gibberish alien language. The host gives a question to the four alien contestants, and when they got the answer right, they get a point. If they got it wrong, they lose a point and get punished.
  • Dragon Burping Contest: Another game show, where two dragons must overpower each other and gain points by burping.

Season 2 (2006–2007)

New 3-D sketches

  • The Useless Starship Computer: Two spacemen named Jake and Captain are always in the cockpit of their spaceship and have problems with their computer (stylized as a metallic silver head with pink hair and baby blue eyes) who acts like a human or acts stupidly. Jake has an English accent, whereas Captain has a Canadian one.
  • Mesmo Mutt: A poodle always gets what he wants because he hypnotizes people, mostly his owners, into doing bizarre things, including things household animals do.
  • Super Ninja Handyman: Ninja Handyman's once-occurring counterpart, white-dressed and really more helpful than the normal Ninja Handyman (in this season).
  • Melville: Replacing "June Spume and Melville", now he works janitor that breaks into dance when the lights turn on. The music always differs each episode. Culminates all Season 2 episodes.

Production

Development for Planet Sketch was announced on 6 October 2004 when Bristol-based stop-motion animation company Aardman Animations had joined forces with Toronto-based Canadian entertainment & animation studio Decode Entertainment to develop and produce a CGI/Flash animated hybrid television series for Teletoon and CITV entitled The Sketch Show, thus Aardman's first international co-produced series and its first CGI-animated series (which predated its first CGI film Flushed Away (which real life water would ruin its stop-motion models) released two years later in 2006, and Lloyd of the Flies, its first CGI-animated production without the involvement of another company released seventeen years later), with Aardman's co-founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton alongside its head of broadcast Miles Bullough serving as executive producers alongside Decode Entertainment's co-founders Steven DeNure and Neil Court alongside Beth Stevenson. One year later on 31 March 2005, the series was renamed to Planet Sketch when CITV commissioned the series to broadcast the programme on its channel with Toronto-based animation studio C.O.R.E. Toons providing animation services for the series.

Episodes

The series has been aired in both full-episode and short form. The following information is for the full-length episodes only.

The first 10 episodes were shown on Teletoon in three blocks on 19 November 2005, as part of a special event on the channel called "Nonsense Day".

Season 1 (2005)

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date (Teletoon)
11"Toothbrush"Andy Wyatt and Vamberto MaduroLee Pressman19 November 2005 (2005-11-19)
Nose Picker; Mad Dad Scientist; The Gnaughty Gnomes; Rude Limerick Boy; Street Rappers; Dr. Inosaur; Bill and Phil (1); Parping Ponies; Bill and Phil (2); Japanese Fighting Fish; Bill and Phil (3); News Casters; Mad Dad Scientist; Napkin Squirrel; Captain Gagtastic; Rude Limerick Boy; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; June Spume and Melville
22"Remote"Nicholas Barber and Jono HowardMike Fasolo19 November 2005 (2005-11-19)
Nose Picker; Ninja Handyman; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Captain Gagtastic; Street Rappers; Ira and Lyra (1); Japanese Fighting Fish; Ira and Lyra (2); Parping Ponies; Ira and Lyra (3); Street Rappers; Okay, Coach I'm Ready; News Casters; Okay, Coach I'm Ready; Ninja Handyman; Dr. Inosaur; The Gnaughty Gnomes; Napkin Squirrel: June Spume and Melville
33"Cake"Dale SchottIan Carney19 November 2005 (2005-11-19)
Nose Picker; Ninja Handyman; Mr. Hives & Timbo; The Gnaughty Gnomes; Rude Limerick Boy; News Casters; Japanese Fighting Fish; Mad Dad Scientist; Swapsy (1); Captain Gagtastic; Swapsy (2); Dr. Inosaur; Swapsy (3); Street Rappers; Rude Limerick Boy; Mr. Hives & Timbo; Napkin Squirrel; Parping Ponies; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; June Spume and Melville
44"Hamster"Richard BazleyRob Walton19 November 2005 (2005-11-19)
Nose Picker; The Gnaughty Gnomes; Napkin Squirrel; My Mother the Armchair; Captain Gagtastic; Ira and Lyra (1); Japanese Fighting Fish; Ira and Lyra (2); Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Ira and Lyra (3); News Casters; Mr. Hives & Timbo; Dr. Inosaur; Street Rappers; Parping Ponies; My Mother the Armchair; Ninja Handyman; June Spume and Melville
55"Magic Wand"Richard Eliott and Simon RacioppaEric Robles19 November 2005 (2005-11-19)
Nose Picker; Captain Gagtastic; Rude Limerick Boy; Ninja Handyman; The Gnaughty Gnomes; Dr. Inosaur; Street Rappers; Swapsy (1); News Casters; Swapsy (2); Japanese Fighting Fish; Swapsy (3); Mad Dad Scientist; Okay Coach, I'm Ready; Napkin Squirrel; Ninja Handyman; Mr. Hives & Timbo; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Okay Coach, I'm Ready; Parping Ponies; June Spume and Melville
66"Broomstick"Dale SchottChris Labonte and Les Solis19 November 2005 (2005-11-19)
Nose Picker; Mad Dad Scientist; The Gnaughty Gnomes; Rude Limerick Boy; My Mother the Armchair; Captain Gagtastic; Ira and Lyra (1); Japanese Fighting Fish; Ira and Lyra (2); Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Ira and Lyra (3); News Casters; Dr. Inosaur; Napkin Squirrel; Mr. Hives & Timbo; My Mother the Armchair; Parping Ponies; June Spume and Melville
77"Earphones"Rob WaltonSteve Beaumont19 November 2005 (2005-11-19)
Nose Picker; The Gnaughty Gnomes; Ninja Handyman; Dr. Inosaur; Captain Gagtastic; Street Rappers; Only Joking (1); Mr. Hives & Timbo; Only Joking (2); Parping Ponies; Only Joking (3); Napkin Squirrel; Japanese Fighting Fish; Okay Coach, I'm Ready; News Casters; Okay Coach, I'm Ready; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Ninja Handyman; June Spume and Melville
88"Tune"Mike ReaganIan Carney19 November 2005 (2005-11-19)
Nose Picker; Mad Dad Scientist; Japanese Fighting Fish; Street Rappers; Rude Limerick Boy; Captain Gagtastic; Mr. Hives & Timbo; Dr. Inosaur; Rude Limerick Boy; The Gnaughty Gnomes; Swapsy (1); News Casters; Swapsy (2); Napkin Squirrel; Swapsy (3); Mad Dad Scientist; Parping Ponies; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; June Spume and Melville
99"Phone"Sergio DelfinoDerek Simpson19 November 2005 (2005-11-19)
Nose Picker; Ninja Handyman; The Gnaughty Gnomes; Dr. Inosaur; My Mother the Armchair; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Only Joking (1); Mr. Hives & Timbo; Only Joking (2); Street Rappers; Only Joking (3); Japanese Fighting Fish; News Casters; Captain Gagtastic; Napkin Squirrel; Parping Ponies; June Spume and Melville
1010"Sandwich"Sean JaraDerek Seaborn19 November 2005 (2005-11-19)
Nose Picker; Mad Dad Scientist; The Gnaughty Gnomes; Street Rappers; Dr. Inosaur; Ninja Handyman; Only Joking (1); Napkin Squirrel; Only Joking (2); Japanese Fighting Fish; Only Joking (3); News Casters; Captain Gagtastic; Parping Ponies; Mr. Hives & Timbo; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; June Spume and Melville
1111"Mousetrap"Richard Eliott and Simon RacioppaJohn T. Fisher3 December 2005 (2005-12-03)
Nose Picker; Captain Gagtastic; The Gnaughty Gnomes; Dr. Inosaur; Street Rappers; Mad Dad Scientist; Rude Limerick Boy; Japanese Fighting Fish; Mr. Hives & Timbo; Talent Show (1); News Casters; Talent Show (2); Napkin Squirrel; Ninja Handyman; Parping Ponies; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; June Spume and Melville
1212"Spaghetti"Richard Eliott and Simon RacioppaRomain Van Liemt26 December 2005 (2005-12-26)
Nose Picker; Ninja Handyman; Rude Limerick Boy; The Gnaughty Gnomes; Captain Gagtastic; Street Rappers; Rude Limerick Boy; Mad Dad Scientist; Dragon Burping Contest (1); News Casters; Dragon Burping Contest (2); Japanese Fighting Fish; Mr. Hives & Timbo; Napkin Squirrel; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Street Rappers; Parping Ponies; June Spume and Melville
1313"Baby Bottle"Dale SchottChris "Doc" Wyatt26 December 2005 (2005-12-26)
Nose Picker; Captain Gagtastic; The Gnaughty Gnomes; Mad Dad Scientist; Street Rappers; Japanese Fighting Fish; Napkin Squirrel; Alien Game Show (1); Mr. Hives & Timbo; Alien Game Show (2); News Casters; My Mother the Armchair; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Street Rappers; Rude Limerick Boy; Parping Ponies; Ninja Handyman; June Spume and Melville

Season 2 (2006–2007)

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air date (Teletoon)
141"Pepper"Andy Wyatt and Vamberto MaduroEugene Son24 August 2006 (2006-08-24)
Ninja Handyman; Nose Picker; Japanese Fighting Fish; Mesmo Mutt; Street Rappers; The Useless Starship Computer; Dr. Inosaur; Napkin Squirrel; The Useless Starship Computer; Melville
152"Rubbish/Garbage"Dale SchottMike Fasolo24 August 2006 (2006-08-24)
Ninja Handyman; Nose Picker; Mesmo Mutt; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Dr. Inosaur; News Casters; The Useless Starship Computer; Parping Ponies; Melville
163"Dog Lead"Dale SchottIan Carney10 September 2006 (2006-09-10)
Nose Picker; Japanese Fighting Fish; Parping Ponies; Street Rappers; Dr. Inosaur; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Nose Picker; News Casters; The Useless Starship Computer; Napkin Squirrel; Melville
174"Yoga"Dale SchottRichard Bazley10 September 2006 (2006-09-10)
Parping Ponies; Ninja Handyman; Nose Picker; Street Rappers; Dr. Inosaur; News Casters; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Napkin Squirrel; The Useless Starship Computer; Melville
185"Fridge"Eric RoblesSean Jara17 October 2006 (2006-10-17)
Ninja Handyman; Nose Picker; Dr. Inosaur; News Casters; Street Rappers; The Useless Starship Computer; Parping Ponies; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Napkin Squirrel; Melville
196"Floor Work"UnknownUnknown17 October 2006 (2006-10-17)
Ninja Handyman; Napkin Squirrel; Mesmo Mutt; The Useless Starship Computer; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Street Rappers (intro only); Parping Ponies; Dr. Inosaur; Melville
207"Mouse"UnknownUnknown28 December 2006 (2006-12-28)
Super Ninja Handyman; Mesmo Mutt; Japanese Fighting Fish; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; The Useless Starship Computer; Dr. Inosaur; Parping Ponies; Napkin Squirrel; Melville
218"Samurai Rubbish"UnknownUnknown28 December 2006 (2006-12-28)
Ninja Handyman; Japanese Fighting Fish; Nose Picker; The Useless Starship Computer; Street Rappers; Parping Ponies; News Casters; Dr. Inosaur; Napkin Squirrel; Dr. Inosaur; Melville
229"Kitchen Sink"UnknownUnknown16 January 2007 (2007-01-16)
Ninja Handyman; Nose Picker; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out (1); Mesmo Mutt; Street Rappers; Nose Picker; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out (2); The Useless Starship Computer; Dr. Inosaur; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Napkin Squirrel; Melville
2310"Light Switch"UnknownUnknown16 January 2007 (2007-01-16)
Ninja Handyman; Mesmo Mutt; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Parping Ponies; The Useless Starship Computer; Japanese Fighting Fish (1); Japanese Fighting Fish (2); News Casters; Dr. Inosaur; Napkin Squirrel; Melville
2411"Wrinkly Shirt"UnknownUnknown27 December 2006 (2006-12-27)
Ninja Handyman; Japanese Fighting Fish; Nose Picker; News Casters; Dr. Inosaur; The Useless Starship Computer; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Parping Ponies; Melville
2512"Mama Mia"UnknownUnknown27 December 2006 (2006-12-27)
Ninja Handyman; Japanese Fighting Fish; News Casters; Street Rappers; Japanese Fighting Fish; Mesmo Mutt; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; The Useless Starship Computer; Napkin Squirrel; Parping Ponies; Melville
2613"Pogo"UnknownUnknown21 September 2007 (2007-09-21)
Nose Picker; Ninja Handyman; Japanese Fighting Fish; Napkin Squirrel; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Parping Ponies; The Useless Starship Computer; Nose Picker (1); Dr. Inosaur; Nose Picker (2); The Useless Starship Computer; Napkin Squirrel; Melville
2714"Tennis"UnknownUnknown30 September 2007 (2007-09-30)
Nose Picker; Ninja Handyman; Mesmo Mutt; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Street Rappers; Napkin Squirrel; Dr. Inosaur; Parping Ponies; The Useless Starship Computer; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Parping Ponies; Melville
2815"To Tell The Tooth"UnknownUnknown8 October 2007 (2007-10-08)
Ninja Handyman; Nose Picker; Japanese Fighting Fish; Mesmo Mutt; Street Rappers; Napkin Squirrel; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Dr. Inosaur; The Useless Starship Computer; Parping Ponies; Melville
2916"Drums"UnknownUnknown14 October 2007 (2007-10-14)
Nose Picker; Japanese Fighting Fish; News Casters; Street Rappers; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Dr. Inosaur; The Useless Starship Computer; Parping Ponies; Napkin Squirrel; The Useless Starship Computer; Melville
3017"Let Them Eat Cake"UnknownUnknown24 October 2007 (2007-10-24)
Ninja Handyman; Nose Picker; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; The Useless Starship Computer; News Casters; Street Rappers; Napkin Squirrel; Parping Ponies; Dr. Inosaur; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; The Useless Starship Computer; Melville
3118"Locksmith"UnknownUnknown30 October 2007 (2007-10-30)
Ninja Handyman; Nose Picker; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; The Useless Starship Computer; Mesmo Mutt; Street Rappers; Napkin Squirrel; Dr. Inosaur; Parping Ponies; The Useless Starship Computer; Melville
3219"Shoe"UnknownUnknown8 November 2007 (2007-11-08)
Nose Picker; Ninja Handyman; Mesmo Mutt; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Street Rappers; Napkin Squirrel; Dr. Inosaur; Parping Ponies; The Useless Starship Computer; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Parping Ponies; Melville
3320"Gerbil"UnknownUnknown18 November 2007 (2007-11-18)
Ninja Handyman; Nose Picker; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Japanese Fighting Fish; Dr. Inosaur; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out (alternate version); Street Rappers; Napkin Squirrel; Dr. Inosaur; Parping Ponies; The Useless Starship Computer; Melville
3421"Lost"UnknownUnknown24 November 2007 (2007-11-24)
Ninja Handyman; Nose Picker; News Casters; Mesmo Mutt; The Useless Starship Computer; Street Rappers; Napkin Squirrel; Parping Ponies (1) Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Parping Ponies; Dr. Inosaur; Melville
3522"Practicing"UnknownUnknown2 December 2007 (2007-12-02)
Nose Picker; Ninja Handyman; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Napkin Squirrel; The Useless Starship Computer; Japanese Fighting Fish; Street Rappers; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Dr. Inosaur; Parping Ponies; The Useless Starship Computer; Melville
3623"Cowgirl"UnknownUnknown8 December 2007 (2007-12-08)
Nose Picker Girl; Ninja Handyman; Dr. Inosaur; The Useless Starship Computer; Street Rappers; Napkin Squirrel; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Japanese Fighting Fish; Parping Ponies; The Useless Starship Computer; Melville
3724"Feeding Kitty"UnknownUnknown15 December 2007 (2007-12-15)
Ninja Handyman; News Casters; Japanese Fighting Fish; The Useless Starship Computer; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Napkin Squirrel; Mesmo Mutt; Japanese Fighting Fish; Parping Ponies; The Useless Starship Computer; Dr. Inosaur; Melville
3825"Washing Up"UnknownUnknown21 December 2007 (2007-12-21)
Ninja Handyman; Nose Picker; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Mesmo Mutt; The Useless Starship Computer; Street Rappers; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Dr. Inosaur; The Useless Starship Computer; Parping Ponies; Melville
3926"Hide and Seek"UnknownUnknown30 December 2007 (2007-12-30)
Nose Picker; Ninja Handyman; News Casters; Street Rappers; The Useless Starship Computer; Japanese Fighting Fish; Why the Dinosaurs Died Out; Nose Picker; Dr. Inosaur; Parping Ponies; Napkin Squirrel; The Useless Starship Computer; Melville

Notes

  1. ↑ A team of music composers consisting of Steve D'Angelo and Terry Tompkins
  2. ↑ As Decode/Sketch Productions Inc. or Decode/Sketch Productions 2 Inc.

References

  1. 1 2 "Distribution".
  2. ↑ "Sold". Playback. Toronto: Brunico Communications. 24 July 2006. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.
  3. ↑ "Cartoon conference stresses characters, stories". Playback. Toronto: Brunico Communications. 10 October 2005. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013.
  4. ↑ "Planet Sketch". www.planetsketch.com. Archived from the original on 18 February 2007. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
  5. ↑ "Aardman reaches for the crayons". Kidscreen. 1 November 2004.
  6. ↑ Waller, Ed (6 October 2004). "Aardman, Decode team up for sketch show". C21Media.
  7. ↑ "Aardman and Decode join forces for CiTV show". C21Media. 23 March 2005.
  8. ↑ "Teletoon Announces "Nonsense" Programming". 16 November 2005.
  9. ↑ "Teletoons to air nonsense". Media of Canada.
  10. ↑ "Planet Sketch, Season 1". iTunes.
  11. 1 2 "Television Program Logs". Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (FTP). 2 March 2016.[dead ftp link] (To view documents see Help:FTP) Alt URL
  12. ↑ "All Seasons - Planet Sketch".