Backyard Sports (1998-2001 Disney TV series)

Backyard Sports is an American animated Saturday Morning TV show developed by Sue Rose. It stars the Crazy Melonheads. The animation was done by Sunwoo in South Korea.

Backyard Sports
Channel	ABC (1998-early 2002) UPN (1999-2001) Toon Disney (1998-2001)
Airdate	September 26, 1998-March 3, 2001
Theme song	Get on the Team and Play!
Rating	TV-Y (most episodes) TV-Y7 (some episodes)
Production
Country of origin	United States South Korea (animation)
Seasons	5
Episodes	65 episodes

History

In 1996, shortly after the CD-i release of the infamous "Baseball Kids"; Sue Rose and Mark Peyser made a test short featuring Billy Jean Blackwood (still, in her Baseball Kids design), Luanne Lui, and Ricky Johnson. The test short was put on the now defunct Baseball Kids website in late 1996. In February of 1997, the full 11-minute pilot was finished and parts of it were seen on a promo for ABC's then-upcoming One Saturday Morning block along with fellow show Pepper Ann. Also, before it was sent to ABC, it was going to be on CBS (along with Pepper Ann) for the rejected "Humongous TV" block (then known as Kobra TV until Humongous acquired Kobra Nile Duck Games in April 1997).

In late 1997, a small preview was seen on a promo of One Saturday Morning. It was going to be released in 1997, but it got delayed next year...

In August 1998, an 'event' was held on ABC's SatAm block, saying that Samantha Pearce has taken over the block and a team called "Crazy Melonheads" will 'clean up' the 'mess'. It premiered on September 26, 1998.

During the 3rd season, the show had to share it's timeslot with The Amazement Friends of the Circus (which is an independently made short series).

Characters

Crazy Melonheads

• Pablo Sanchez - a boy who likes to play games with his friends. Voiced by Dex Manley
• Luanne Lui - a preschool-age girl who carries her teddy bear around. She is best friends with (or probably has a crush on) Pablo. Voiced by Jen Taylor
• Marky Dubois - a hillbilly-accented boy who likes his frog Fifi. Voiced by David Robinson
• Ashley and Sidney Webber - twin girls who prefer tennis than baseball and other sport. Both voiced by Jennifer Hale
• Ricky Johnson - a boy who seems to be oddly confused. Voiced by Khary Payton
• Billy Jean Blackwood - a girl who wishes to be a star in Paris. Voiced by Kathleen Wilhoite
• Dante Robinson - a boy who is a big eater. Voiced by Candi Milo
• Achmed Khan - a boy who loves playing the electric guitar. Voiced by Tom Kenny

Other characters

• Jocinda Smith - voiced by Cree Summer
• Maria Luna - voiced by Michelle Thomson
• Annie Frazier - voiced by Candi Milo
• Tony and Angela Delvecchio - voiced by Danny Cooksey (Tony) and Corrie Anne Shenigo (Angela)
• Sunny Day - voiced by Jen Taylor
• Vinnie T. Gooch - voiced by Sue Rose
• Amir Khan - voiced by Adam Wylie
• Lisa Crocket - voiced by Clea Lewis
• Ronny Dobbs - voiced by Candi Milo
• Toofie Khan - voiced by Lauren Tom
• Bruce Khan - voiced by Tara Strong
• Sally Dobbs - voiced by Cree Summer
• Kiesha Phillips - voiced by Kathy Henson Gehrig (season 1) and Cree Summer (seasons 2-5)
• Stephanie Morgan - voiced by Kathy Henson Gehrig (season 1-2) and Cree Summer (seasons 3-5)
• Vicki Kawaguchi - voiced by Lauren Tom
• Reese Worthington - voiced by David Robinson
• Mikey Thomas - voiced by Cree Summer
• Ernie Steele - voiced by Dolores Rogers
• Jorge Garcia - voiced by Rob Paulsen
• Samantha Pearce - voiced by Jenna Von Oy
• Oz Von Hasselhoff - voiced by Jeff Bennett
• Grover Vinton - voiced by Dee Bradley Baker
• Ulukula Kakali - voiced by Kathleen Wilhoite
• Dmitri Petrovich - voiced by Luke Perry
• Pete Wheeler - voiced by Luke Perry
• Papillon Blackwood - voiced by Pamela Segall-Aldon
• Kenny Kawaguchi - voiced by Kiamalise Budak
• Gretchen Hasselhoff - voiced by Lauren Tom
• Kimmy Eckman - voiced by Tara Strong

Episodes

Season 1 (1998-1999)

1. First Day with the Crazy Melonheads/Homesick Billy Jean (September 26, 1998)
2. Bubbles, Bubbles Everywhere!/Soccer Brawl (October 3, 1998)
3. Cavity Catastrophe/Beachtime (October 10, 1998)
4. Sidney Gone Haywire/Delvecchio Deals (October 17, 1998)
5. Webbers Webbed Out/Campin' (October 24, 1998)
6. Lemonade Everyone?/What's So Funny? (October 31, 1998)
7. SeaPanda Scouts/Samantha Pearce (November 7, 1998)
8. Back From Our Past/Scared of the Dark (November 14, 1998)
9. Lost Frog Fifi/Base-Balled (November 21, 1998)
10. Dragon Pox/Fruit Ball (January 9, 1999)
11. Crazy Pitch/Back at the Basketball (January 16, 1999)
12. The "Billy Jean" Rules/Ulukula's Song (January 23, 1999)
13. The Return of Samantha Pearce (January 30, 1999)

Season 2 (1999-2000)

1. Gold Rush/Derby Nightmares (October 23, 1999)
2. Cutie the Crab (October 30, 1999)
3. The Bloop-Bloop Chronicles/Together, Forever (November 6, 1999)
4. Magic Trickster/Banksgiving! (November 13, 1999)
5. Play that Funky Music, Achmed/Speedy Pete (November 16, 1999, UPN)
6. A Baseball Battle with the Rivals (November 20, 1999)
7. Robo-Pablo/Gretchen's Brother
8. 1 Hour and 26 days
9. The Life of Snotzie/The Fair!
10. Happy Howidays
11. Marky's Valentine/Unhappy 2000
12. The Yum-Tastic Meal!/No Fun Allowed
13. Invasion of the Giant Itch Bugs!

Season 3 (2000)

1. Let's Go Swimming at the Pool!/Water Park Party!
2. Maria and Luanne's Swimming Lessons/Maria and Luanne's Birthday Pool Party!
3. The Backyard Grand Prix 500/Beverly Hills Blackwood
4. Marky Gone Wild/Out of Oz's Groove
5. Samantha is Jinxed!/Grover's Goldfish
6. Freeze Play/Settling the Score
7. No Pain, No Gain!/Billy Jean and Lisa Play Tennis!
8. Football Free-For-All!/Hockey or Volleyball?
9. FrankenRoboMaria/Far East Frenzy
10. Pablozilla/Return of Bloop-Bloop
11. WereLuanne/Roughin' It in the Alps
12. Dante Kong!/Dinosaur Doughnuts and Werewolf Milk!
13. Vicki's Gymnastics Dream/Papillon's Popcorn Patrol!

Season 4 (2000)

1. New Squid on the Block/Down the Drain
2. Day of the Dumpster/Hog Day Afternoon
3. Built For Speed!/The Whole Lie
4. From Out of Nowhere/Quasar Quest
5. Left in the Dark/Get the Message
6. Secret Spot/Ice Queens
7. Samantha 3: Manual-Controlled Boogaloo/Beauty and the Feast
8. Heavy Meddle/Making the Case
9. Help Wanted/Reef Blowers
10. Creamy Coconut Rushed/Noisy Neighbors
11. Capture the Flag/West Verts vs. East Streets
12. A Visit to the Furniture/Clash of the Matadors!
13. A Fearless Friend/A New Start

Season 5 (2001)

1. Inherit the Wheeled!/I Won't Run, But Don't Ask Me!
2. Transmission Impossible!/Nursing Home Alone!
3. The Big Problem/Power Mad
4. When Pants Attack/Normal Boy
5. Birth of a Salesman/Safety First
6. Trouble by the Slice!/The Curve Ball!
7. Up an Apple Tree!/Kangaroo Clean Up!
8. Spirit of the Woods!/Little Strong Man!
9. Long Live the King!/Return of the Supreme King!
10. The Legendary Hero/The Wedding Frame!
11. Target Tanaka/Aftermath
12. Parts and Parcel/Chase Into Space
13. Countdown to Destruction/A Dish Served Cold!

Gallery

Other

Toofie (then voiced by Lauren Tom) looks at the golden baseball glove (from an unknown episode)

Maria (then voiced by Michelle Thomson-Austin) in the night (possibly from Sidney Gone Haywire)

A poster for Humongous TV, a rejected Saturday Morning block that was planned to be on CBS. Backyard Sports (then known as The Junior Sports Show) was going to be in the 9:00AM slot.

Merchandise

A month before the series' premiere, Mattel made a vinyl-head stuffed toy of Billy Jean Blackwood. Later, in 1999, Ernie Steele and Annie Frazier joined the lineup.

In December 1998, Sno Globez (a company known for making snow globes aimed at children) released 4 snow globes; Pablo Sanchez (hockey), Maria Luna (figure skating), Amir Khan (snowboarding), and Annie Frazier (skiing). These were sold at Toys R Us, Walmart, Target, Kmart, KB Toys, Sears, and even the Disney Store.

In Summer 1999, Playmates Toys released toys for all of the characters; Pablo Sanchez and Dante Robinson (surfing), Angela Delvecchio and Vicki Kawaguchi (synchronized swimming), Maria Luna and Luanne Lui (swimming), Ashley Webber and Sidney Webber (diving), Jocinda Smith and Kiesha Phillips (snorkeling), Gretchen Hasselhoff and Annie Frazier (water skiing), Billy Jean Blackwood (sunbathing), Lisa Crocket (building sandcastles) Kimmy Eckman and Sally Dobbs (jet ski racing) Reese Worthington and Mikey Thomas (beach volleyball), Ronny Dobbs and Amir Khan (canoeing), Achmed Khan and Dmitri Petrovich (roller skating), Ernie Steele and Jorge Garcia (rock climbing), Pete Wheeler and Ricky Johnson (camping), Stephanie Morgan and Marky Dubois (baseball), Toofie Khan and Bruce Khan (fishing), Samantha Pearce and Ulukula Kakali (water polo), Oz Von Hasselhoff and Papillon Blackwood (bird watching), Grover Vinton (kart racing), and Sunny Day (playing music).

From 1997 (a year before the series premiered) to 2001, Disney made plush toys based on several characters of the show exclusive to Disney Store.

In May 1999, an album called "The Backyard Sports Kids Sing Goofy Songs" was released.