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Phred on Your Head Show is an American anthology children's television series starring Phred. The series aired from July 26, 1999 to March 31, 2002 on Noggin, a cable channel operated by Nickelodeon and Sesame Workshop at the time.

When this show intially aired, it aired for 2 hours and aired twice until November 22, 1999. Then, the show was cut to an hour and aired on weekdays and weekends while half-hour episodes aired on weekend mornings.

Plot

A yellow-greenish character named Phred (voiced by Doug Preis) hosts his very own television show from the head of a child.

Format

At the beginning of each episode, an unseen character named "Big Voice" (also voiced by Doug Preis) gives Phred information about (and the name of) that episode's host. Following the description, Phred exits his home (inside the "dot" in Noggin.com) and hops from head to head searching for the host. When Phred finally finds the host, he tells the "crew" or "boys" to "pickle" him/her (which teleports them into Noggin.com). Later, the two introduce episodes of various Noggin programs.

Vignettes/Segments

Opening prologue

The show opens with an explanation of the central character, Phred. It describes how he was a mascot for the fictional pickle distributor, Phantastic Pickles, until his pickle jar rolled off of a supermarket shelf and set him free (causing him to search for a place to think, which resulted in him choosing the dot of Noggin.com).

Featured content

Episodes aired on weekends feature episodes or segments of select Noggin programs while Phred is searching for the host. Examples of these programs include DougDirk Niblick of the Math BrigadeThe Further Adventures of Zook & AlisonSesame Street UnpavedMathnet, and The Electric Company. Occasionally, a "Snick Snack" or Short Films by Short People selection is aired as well.

Theme Song

After a cold open, a stop-motion theme song (written by Michael Ungar) plays. It has replaceable lyrics that change to fit in the host's name.

Other segments

The series features a set of segments in addition to the Noggin programs. These included Phred's Got Mail (a piece starring Phred as he reads fan-mail aloud) and Cecile and Her Very Own Universe (an animated addition).

Broadcast

Phred on Your Head Show premiered on the Noggin network on July 26, 1999. Before it's premiere, it aired it's sneak peek on June 6, 1999 both on Noggin and Nickelodeon. Through November 22, 1999, 21 episodes making up the first season were aired twice daily (from 5-7 PM and 8-10 PM ET). The series was renewed for a 10-episode second season which premiered on February 1, 2000. The series was rerun on sister channel Nickelodeon several times in 1999 until 2001. The series served as the lead-in to the "Noggins Up" (later called "Noggin on Nickelodeon") programming block, which began on March 27, 2000.

Reception

A preview episode of Phred on Your Head Show that aired on June 6, 1999 (over a month ahead of the series' official premiere) drew over 850,000 viewers, generating a 2.2 Nielsen Media Research national rating.

Phred on Your Head Show is mentioned in the 2001 book "Designing for Children: Marketing Design that Speaks to Kids" as an example of a program that was successfully able to transition from television to the Internet (referencing the show's online content at Noggin.com).

Available Footage

Some episodes of the show were recently found, but may be very hard to find another one, since before the episodes was found, it was completely impossible to any episodes, but after the episodes were found, more Phred on Your Head Show content have been found, so more episodes will be likely to be found.

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