Skatoony (stylized as SKAToonY) is a British/Canadian children's live action/animated game show television series. This show airs on Cartoon Network in the UK and on Teletoon in Canada. It is based around two hosts named 'Chudd Chudders' (voiced by Rupert Degas in the UK, and Jonathan Wilson in CA) and 'The Earl' (voiced by Lewis MacLeod in the UK, and James Rankin in CA). The series aired on Cartoon Network UK in 2006, with new episodes airing every Friday until the series' cancellation in 2008. Reruns continued to air on Cartoon Network until 2017. Skatoony has also aired as reruns in the UK on Boomerang and Cartoon Network Too until the channel itself closed down in 2014. The show aired on Starz Kids & Family in the U.S. until 2019. Reruns were occasionally shown on Teletoon in Canada until August 5, 2017. It also aired on Boomerang in Australia and New Zealand.
The show is hosted by 'Chudd Chudders' (voiced by Rupert Degas in the UK and Jonathan Wilson in North America) and 'The Earl' (voiced by Lewis MacLeod in the UK and James Rankin in North America). In the UK version, Chudd and Earl have American-Canadian accents sounding similar to themselves in the North American version.
History Skatoony began as a competition microsite on the Cartoon Network UK website in 2001, co-developed by James Fox and Brian Boyle; the latter left Cartoon Network before the series premiered. In 2006, the first full-length Skatoony TV show premiered on Cartoon Network. However, a few phone-in shows such as Skatoony Quizmas, Ready Steady Skatoony and Skatoony Truckatoony existed before as a sort of continuity during school holidays. These phone-in shows ended in 2005. The UK version of Skatoony was filmed at MTV Studios at Camden and in London with schoolchildren from around the world auditioning as contestants.
According to creator James Fox, the process of producing a Skatoony episode was very complicated and developed over all of the series.
On February 9, 2009, Marblemedia announced they would be producing a North American version of the series Skatoony (in English and French). The Canadian adaptation, titled Skatoony North America to differentiate it from other adaptations follows the same format. The North American version of Skatoony was filmed in Toronto, while the French version was filmed in Montreal with a different set of contestants; however, the outcome of the animated contestants remains the same between both versions. Jonathan Wilson voices Chudd Chudders while James Rankin provides the voice of The Earl and new addition to the Northern American release, a NA replacement for Skatoony boss Tony Eagle-Eyes (also voiced by Degas imitating Jimmy Durante) named Charles La Puck, voiced by Jeff Lumby.
A Middle Eastern adaptation of Skatoony debuted on April 5, 2011, on Cartoon Network Arabic. A Hindi adaptation aired some time in 2008, on Pogo. Original Skatoony creator James Fox served as executive producer for all Skatoony releases (except for the UAE release where James Fox was credited as a consultant producer) and met every single child contestant on the show.
In addition to the British format, one contestant in each episode of Skatoony North America was a guest contestant from a show from a Canadian animated series. Accordingly, a significant character from the series also appeared in the Skatoony opening sequence. Other children's series (including but not limited to shows on the Teletoon lineup) are often the subject of the questions asked on the shows. Guest contestants are taken from the following series:
Series Seasons Notes Total Drama 1–3 Contestants for all three seasons are characters exclusively from Total Drama. During season 3, there was a mix of the characters from this show along with four characters from Jimmy Two-Shoes. Chris McLean appears in the opening sequence and also appeared as a contestant in the Season 3 episode "Pop Video", and Sierra appears in the Skatoony audience in each episode, even when there is no guest. Jimmy Two-Shoes 3 Jimmy Two-Shoes airs on Teletoon in Canada and on Disney XD in the US. Heloise is seen online, and was a contestant in the Season 3 episode "Follow that Quizblock".
A similar situation occurs in Skatoony Arabia where guest contestants were taken from the animated series, Freej instead. With the exception of Skatoony North America (in Québec), all non-English language Skatoony releases uses animation footage from the original British version, which is why Tony Eagle Eyes is the hosts' boss instead of Charles La Puck.
Guest contestant replacement In Skatoony, the quizblock has six colored squares - green (top left), red (top middle), pink(top right), purple (bottom left), blue (bottom middle), and yellow (bottom right). The children get the green, pink and blue squares (they sometimes move to the purple, red and yellow squares if two child contestants remain in Round 3), and the cartoon contestants get the red, yellow and purple. The guest contestants take the place of a cartoon character in the UK version. In the episode 'Skeleton Crew in Da House' in North America, Scabz was originally a contestant but he left before the first round and was replaced by Harold.
Season 1 Episode Guest character Color square they are in UK cartoon character they replace "Knights and Daze" Owen Red Bradzilla "Invasion" Noah Yellow Eugene Keen "I Stink, Therefore I Am" Eva Purple Squeaky Sam "Pirates" Izzy Wendell "Skeleton Crew in Da House" Harold Red Scabz "Xcqankly" Katie & Sadie Purple Easter Bunny "To the Quiz Cave" Gwen Yellow Hyacinth Bosh "Quizoo" Bridgette Red Doug "Hoo Loves You, Baby!" Courtney Kevin Quizzin "Quiziatori Gladihost" Leshawna Yellow then Red Rooks "Superheroes" Chef Hatchet Red Wasp Boy "Dinosaur" Ezekiel Professor Fuddlehudd "Hooray for Bollywood" Justin The I-Know-Bot
Season 2 Episode Guest character Color square they are in UK cartoon character they replace "Body Swap" Dakota Yellow Princess Nebula "Sports Academy" Lightning Nash Cash "Trash Talk" Izzy Red Royden "Vikings" Brick Stelly "Stop the Pop" Silent B Purple Freezee "Inside La Puck" Jo Mac Mandrak "I Spy, You Quiz" Staci Mary Lou "Out to Sea" Dawn Red Evie Mancheevy "Freakshow" Sam Matilda "Destination: Moon" Cameron Yellow Easter Bunny
Note: The episodes "Space: The Final Souffle", "Pre-School Problem" and "It Could Be You!" are all skipped because they have no guest.
Season 3 Episode Guest character Color square they are in UK cartoon character they replace "Amusement Park" Scott Red Hyacinth Bosh "Follow that Quizblock" Heloise Purple Frezzee "Style Trial" Anne Maria Yellow Mr. Yomp "Pop Video" Chris Purple Doug "Quiz to the Future" Jimmy Two-Shoes Red Kevin Quizzin "Broke Charles" Leshawna Purple Gore "In Your Dreams" Beezy Fibbz "Unusual Suspects" Owen Bradzilla "Café Le Quiz" Chef Hatchet Lucrezia "Host of Doom" Lucius Heinous VII Yellow Sarge
Seasonal episodes Episode Guest character Color square they are in UK cartoon character they replace "Stoopid Santa" Zoey Red Hyacinth Bosh "Halloween" Mike Purple Dr. Jerkhill (and Mr. Hives)
Factories in which eliminated contestants are ejected into
Season 1 1) "Knights and Daze" - Sandpaper Factory
2) "Invasion" - Dentist's Convention
3) "I Stink, Therefore I Am" - Manure Factory
4) "Pirates" - Sewage Factory
5) "Skeleton Crew in Da House" - Porcupine Sanctuary
6) "Xcquankly" - Mousetrap Factory
7) "To the Quiz Cave" - Really Hard Mattress Company
8) "Quizoo" - Africa, Australia, and The North Pole
9) "Hoo Loves Ya, Baby!" - 80's Disco Nightclub
10) "Quiziatori Gladihost" - Secondhand Sock Depot
11) "Superheroes" - Broken Glass Factory
12) "Dinosaur" - Liver and Onion/Chopped Liver & Tripe Ice Cream Factory / Tar Pits
13) "Hooray for Bollywood" - Rat Perfume Factory
Season 2 1) "Body Swap" - Concrete Pillow Factory
2) "Sports Academy" - Angry Pig World
3) "Space: The Final Souffle" - Planet Dung
4) "Pre-School Problem" - Used Nappy Dump / Dirty Diaper Factory (In US)
5) "Trash Talk" - Land o' Trash
6) "Vikings" - Toenail Warehouse
7) "Stop the Pop" - Faulty Bagpipe Superstore
8) "Inside Eagle Eyes/La Puck" - Miniature Village
9) "It Could Be You!" - Compost World
10) "I Spy, You Quiz" - Spikey Spike Factory / Spikey Spike Shipping
11) "Out to Sea" - Super Gassy Gut Beans Shipping
12) "Freakshow" - Fernando Fernando Fernando and Xcquankly's Freakshow Circus / Human-Animal Hybrid Genetics Lab
13) "Destination: Moon" - Galactic Garbage
Season 3 1) "TJ/CJ's Birthday" - Sweaty Footballer's Pants Depot / Faulty Bagpipe Superstore (U.K. error)
2) "Amusement Park" - Rejected Hot Dog Meat Factory
3) "Follow that Quizblock" - Leftover School Dinners Dump
4) "Style Trial" - Pointy Pin Factory
5) "Pop Video" - Home for One Hit Wonders
6) "Quiz to the Future" - Broken Clock Factory / Tar Pits
7) "Broke Tony/Charles" - Worm World
8) "In Your Dreams" - Giant Frog Factory
9) "Unusual Suspects" - Gravy Recycling
10) "Café Le Quiz" - Hot Dog Factory
11) "Host of Doom" - Robo-World: Turning People Into Products for Over 20 Years
Seasonal episodes 1) "Halloween" - Rotten Pumpkin World
2) "Stoopid Santa" - Fake Holly Factory
Format The show's format is that three child contestants and three cartoon character contestants, making six contestants in all, compete in a quiz show lasting three rounds. At the end of each of the first two rounds, the two lowest scoring contestants are eliminated. The first round is always Bang On! or Bogus?, a rapid-fire true-or-false questioning round; with "Bang On!" meaning true, and "Bogus!" meaning false. The last two rounds vary between episodes. As contestants are eliminated, they are usually catapulted out of their seats as the hosts (and the remaining contestants) sing "You're Outta Here!". The losing contestants are catapulted into a factory containing something nasty, such as 'Compost World', 'Leftover School Dinners Dump', 'Used Nappy Dump (UK version) / Dirty Diaper Factory (North American version)' or 'Concrete Pillow Factory', and then they are (sometimes) not seen for the remainder of the episode. Vignettes featuring eliminated animated contestants (and on occasion, eliminated child contestants) interacting with Chudd or the Earl (and, on Skatoony North America, Charles La Puck, their boss ([Tony Eagle-Eyes in the UK])) also appear during the progression of the show; in Skatoony North America, this extends to the web extras available on the Skatoony website. The first round always ends with having one child contestant and a cartoon contestant being eliminated.
At the end of the third round, only 1 of the 2 remaining contestants gets eliminated through ejection, based on who has the lowest score at the end of the round. At the end of three rounds, the remaining contestant takes on the Skatoony Quiz Champ Challenge, where they must answer ten questions correctly in 90 seconds. After 45 seconds, the clock will temporarily stop, and Earl's Halfway Deal will be offered, trading in time for correct answers: in the UK version, deals offered were inconsistent in season 1. In seasons 2 and 3 of the UK version and all seasons of the North American version, the deals offered were as follows depending on the player's score: 3 points or less: 3 additional points in exchange for 25 seconds (20 seconds left) 4-5 points: 2 additional points in exchange for 20 seconds (25 seconds left) 6-7 points: 1 additional point in exchange for 10 seconds (35 seconds left) 8 points or more: No deal is offered If the contestant finishes with time remaining and gets ten questions right, the contestant wins a prize, offered at the start of each episode. If a contestant finishes with the ten correct answers in under 45 seconds, they are further honoured with being called "#1 Skatoony Quiz Champ Champion". This only happened once in the show's history in the North American version of "Quizoo."