''Sponk!'' is a children's television game show produced by

Sesame Workshop Sesame Workshop (SW), originally known as the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), is an American nonprofit organization that has been responsible for the production of several educational children's programs—including its first and best-know ...

and

Insight Productions Insight Productions is a Canadian production company based in Toronto, Ontario. It was established in 1970. Insight is led by CEO John Brunton. History Insight Productions was established in 1970 by Penray "Pen" Densham and John Kingsley Wa ...

for the Noggin channel. It was Sesame Workshop's first original production for Noggin, which began as a joint venture between Sesame Workshop and

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

. It premiered on Noggin on September 10, 2001 and ended on March 4, 2002. The series reran on Nickelodeon on Sunday mornings, starting September 16. The premise of ''Sponk!'' was improvisational comedy, similar to the show '' Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' Two teams of performers depicted suggestions in a variety of games. Viewers suggested their ideas by submitting them to the Noggin website. "SID" (Suggestion & Idea Distributor) was the name of the computer on the show that picked the ideas submitted by Noggin.com members. From 2002 to 2004, Noggin aired reruns of ''Sponk!'' as part of its nighttime programming block, The N.

Cast

The cast included host

Johnathan McClain Johnathan McClain (born in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina) is an American actor and screenwriter. Career At the age of 21 McClain moved to Chicago where he wrote and began performing his critically acclaimed, multiple character, one-man show, "L ...

, and announcer (as the voice of SID) Karen Fowler. The performers were all young actors. Among them were Julia Kay, Tim Dorsch, Scott Irby-Rainnar, Lori Wells, Miles Thompson (who later went on to star in the feature film '' Me and You and Everyone We Know'' and cameoed in ''

Return To Sleepaway Camp ''Return to Sleepaway Camp'' is a 2008 American slasher film written and directed by Robert Hiltzik. The fourth film in the ''Sleepaway Camp'' film series and first film released direct-to-video, it is a direct sequel to the ''Sleepaway Camp'' (1 ...

''), Allie Berdebes, Vanessa Lengies, and

Louie Torrellas Louie Joseph Torrellas (born July 19, 1987) is an American media personality, Emmy awarded actor, comedian, producer, writer, and entrepreneur. Notable films and video games featuring Louie include ''Jumper'', '' Sponk'', ''Blood and Bone'', t ...

Gameplay

It resembled a classic Nickelodeon game show, featuring young actors and a young studio audience. The performers were four boys and four girls but with two sitting out and six competing in a red team and blue team. The ideas for the improvisational and sketch contests were submitted by the home audience through Noggin.com. SID would then pick a submission and provide credit for the home audience (as their screen name). Later, She announced the winner of a small electronic device. The studio audience participated as judges for the sketches. They disqualified a contestant by yelling out, "Sponk!". When time ran out, the audience voted the winner by raising the side of their "Spaddle" to vote for the red team or blue team. The "prize" that the performers competed for was the Sponk Trophy, a golden rubber chicken. Occasionally an audience member would be the sketch participant while the original performers acted as a celebrity panel, and won a small prize for Participating.

References

External links

*
''Sponk!'' on SesameWorkshop.org
{{Noggin shows Noggin (brand) original programming The N original programming 2000s American children's comedy television series 2000s American children's game shows 2000s American comedy game shows 2001 American television series debuts 2002 American television series endings American children's education television series English-language television shows Improvisational television series Television series by Insight Productions Television series by Sesame Workshop