''Prank Patrol'' is a Canadian children's television series that aired on
YTV. Each episode, host André "Andy" Simoneau and a team of
ninjas
A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance, espionage, infiltration, deception, ambush, bodyguarding and their fighting skills in martial arts, including ninjutsu.Kawakami, pp. 21– ...
help kids pull off pranks on an unsuspecting victim, usually a friend or family member. With the help of experts, pranksters convince their victims that the events - such as the prankster possessing incredible super powers, alien landings, or an intelligent gorilla suddenly appearing - are real, until the process is revealed to the victims after a successful prank.
Format
At the beginning of the show, Andy and the Ninjas are shown driving a van to the designated location where the victim is. After introducing themselves, Andy then throws the Prank Patrol logo on the screen and the episode starts. Each episode, the ninjas wreak havoc on an unsuspecting public with a different prank. The ninjas drive the van, conduct surveillance, and carry out pranks not only on the public, but also on the presenter or even Andy. One week a
karaoke
Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...
machine showers wanna-be singers and the next week a book of magic spells unleashes a spell on unsuspecting readers.
There is also a recurring animated short segment on the show called "Recipe for a Prank", which involves a little girl using various pranks on her older brother or vice versa. It teaches kids about how to use these pranks on their parents, siblings, or friends. The beginning of the segment usually shows the older brother picking on his little sister or the sister doing something to the brother, whereupon she or he comes up with a plan to get back at him or her. In the end, the little girl's or boy's prank is a success while the teenage boy or the little girl suffers the shame from the prank.
Production
Prank Patrol is Produced by Apartment 11 Productions in Association with
YTV (Canada). The first season consisted of 26 twenty-five-minute episodes and first aired in 2005. A second season was produced and aired in 2007 with twenty-six episodes. A third season was produced and aired in 2008 with again twenty-six episodes.
The fourth, and final season was filmed in mid 2009 and first aired on October 2, 2009 with only twenty-two episodes.
International Versions
British series
There was also a British version, which was made by Baker Media for
CBBC
CBBC (initialised as Children's BBC and also known as the CBBC Channel) is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the bran ...
, and was presented by
Barney Harwood
Barnaby John "Barney" Harwood (born 7 November 1979) is a British actor and television presenter. He is known for his work with CBBC beginning in 2002.
Career Television
For CBBC, Harwood presented '' Prank Patrol'' and was a voice-over comment ...
. The design specialists were Lee Drinkwater, Stephen Dee and Darren Longthorne. The first series was shown as part of Saturday morning show TMi. The second series was shown on BBC One in early 2008. The Ninja in this version are played by Jennifer Cooper and Graeme Malcolm.
Australian series
When the new Digital Station
ABC3
ABC Me (stylised as ABC ME) is an Australian English language children's free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was officially launched by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on 4 December 2009 as ABC3.
Hist ...
was released, Prank Patrol was one of the shows produced in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
by the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
. It is hosted by
Scott Tweedie
Scott may refer to:
Places Canada
* Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec
* Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380
* Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saska ...
. The first series was so successful,
the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
renewed the show for a second series.
Each episode of the Australian series is twenty-five minutes instead of thirty.
References
External links
*
Canadian Apartment 11 ''Prank Patrol'' websiteCanadian YTV ''Prank Patrol'' website
{{Former YTV original series
Canadian children's reality television series
Hidden camera television series
2000s Canadian reality television series
2010s Canadian reality television series
YTV (Canadian TV channel) original programming
2005 Canadian television series debuts
2010 Canadian television series endings
2000s Canadian children's television series
2010s Canadian children's television series
Canadian television series with live action and animation
Television series by Corus Entertainment
Television shows filmed in Montreal