Weinerville - Partially Lost Episodes (1993-1996 Nickelodeon Series)

Title card.

UPDATE 02 Apr '15: Nickelodeon has aired 4 previously missing episodes as part of The '90s Are All That! This also marks the first time the series has aired since 1997. 

Weinerville is a variety series/puppet show that originally aired on Nickelodeon from July 11, 1993 to February 17, 1996. It was filmed at Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, FL and was created by Marc Weiner. 

Despite receiving numerous award nominations, drawing the attention of Entertainment Tonight and Good Morning America, and receiving acclaim from multiple news sources, the series ended after just 2 seasons. Due to the decrease in popularity and copyright issues with the cartoons that would air alongside the sketches, Nickelodeon has only aired 4 episodes since 1997, thus making episodes very hard to come by.

Overview

The series is based around the fictional town Weinerville. There are many recurring characters, including Dottie, Zip, Boney, Socko, Louie, Pops and many others. It was hosted and the majority of the characters were performed by Marc Weiner [with the exception of Zip and Louie, who were voiced by writer Scott Fellows, and Pops, who was voiced by head writer Ray Abruzzo].

"Playland" during Season 1.

The show is notable for it's unique style of puppetry, where you would would place your head into a hole above a miniature puppet body. There was also a Double Dare styled segment called "Playland" where audience members would be Weinerized (Become puppets) and compete in games. The losing contestant would get the Silver Hot Dog and the winner would be given the Golden Hot Dog, as well as get slimed.

Much of the episodes' running time was taken up by classic cartoons such as Mr. Magoo, Popeye the Sailor, Betty Boop, and The Alvin Show. Marc Weiner said in an interview that had there been a Season 3, there would have been no cartoons.

The show is also known for having many running gags and sketches. The number 1350 was used many times, but it was most commonly used as the price for every item in "The Weinerville General Store". Another sketch/character is Captain Bob, a sea captain who constantly makes jokes. He first appeared on Saturday Night Live in 1981. There is also a sketch called "That's Not Fair!", where a child and an adult would try to win points by answering questions. This was pitched to Comedy Central on it's own in 1991, but after testing, they said it was good for kids and it was greenlit by Nickelodeon as Weinerville instead.

Lost Episode Guide

Of Weinerville's 62 episode run, 30 episodes have yet to be unearthed. 

*Please note that the only episodes listed are the ones that have been lost or found since this article's creation. 

Still of Weinerville's set.

  

102	Toothy Hurty	Lost
109	Weight Loss	Lost
127	Show #27	Lost
128	Show #28	Lost
129	Show #29	Lost
201	Ratville	Lost
202	Dottie's Replacement	Lost
203	Weinerville for Sale	Lost
204	Eric Von Firstenseconds' Spell	Found
205	60 Second News	Lost
206	Fire Safety	Lost
207	Magic Lamp	Lost
208	The Puppet's Court	Lost
209	Broken Weinerizer	Lost
210	Network Censors	Lost
211	Louie Becomes a Citizen	Found
212	Louie's Crush	Lost
213	S.G. Dottie's Cousin	Lost
214	Brain Switch	Found
215	Parallel Universe	Found
216	Boney's Spell	Lost
217	The Time-Slot War	Lost
218	Dottie's High School Reunion	Found
219	Loca Cola	Found
220	Weinervilla	Lost
221	Eco Crazy	Found
222	Marc's Arians	Lost
223	Variety Show or Sitcom	Lost
225	Socko Framed	Lost
226	Royal Dottie	Lost
227	Zip Runs Away	Lost
228	Dottie's Dating Game	Lost
229	Weinerville: The Movie	Lost
231	Back to the Past from a Look into the Future	Lost
233	XR-3 Space Shuttle Game	Lost
SP01	The Weinerville New Year's Eve Party	Lost
SP04	Election Special: From Washington B.C.	Lost

Availability

Weinerville, like many of Nickelodeon's early programs, has rarely aired since its creation. It last aired reruns in 1997, making episodes extremely scarce. For 3 years, it only aired on Sundays in 2 hour marathons and on weekdays during 3:00PM or 3:30PM. Near 1997, it only aired at 7:00AM until it vanished entirely.

"Election Special: From Washington B.C." Title Card

In 2008, 24 episodes appeared on a private torrent tracker and were eventually uploaded to YouTube alongside 2 other episodes (1x12 and 1x16). The Chanukah Special was originally uploaded to YouTube on 4/19/12 and Lost in the Big Apple appeared on YouTube on 5/8/12. The Election Special was available online for a short time, but it appears no one downloaded a copy as it hasn't been available since MegaUpload was taken down in 2011.

The '90s Are All That was supposed to air it in 2011, as it was seen in many promos, however it wasn't aired until April 2, 2015, when four season 2 episodes made their premiere on the block.