| Kids Incorporated |
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''Kids Incorporated'' (also known as '''''Kids Inc.''''') was a Children's Television Program that premiered in syndication the weekend of September 7, 1984 , and ended on the The Disney Channel November 12, 1993 . The show consisted of a group of young teens (that occasionally shifted every few years as members grew too old to be "Kids" and were replaced) who performed watered-down and cleaned-up versions of pop music standards of the era, with most of the Kids noticeably pretending to play their own instruments (they did sing, though). The one instance where the song performed was NOT cleaned-up was in a 1989 episode entitled "The Storybook House"; there the lyrics were kept intact (The song in question was "Dancing With Myself", by Billy Idol ). An intriguing thing about the syndicated run was the timeslots most markets put the show in. For example, in New York City aired it first on Sundays at 1 PM, then moved it back to 9 AM. However, the shuffling time slots affected the ratings, and KI was the weekend of May 25, 1985 . In the summer of 1986, The Disney Channel acquired the rights to the series and started airing new episodes on November 3, 1986 . The package also included the entire syndicated run; as such, edits had to be made to remove fee plugs & commercial outros. The final first-run episode aired on November 12, 1993 , ending a nine-year run (as The Disney Channel was a pay channel at the time, most households didn't carry it; fans have credited the strong plotlines with such things as the value of honesty, crushes, child & substance abuse, handicaps, and peer pressure and singing talents of the cast as reasons the show lasted so long). Reruns lasted until April 4, 1996 in the United States , 2001 overseas. Winner of various Young Artist Award s during its nine year run, it is remembered fondly by adults who were in their teens in the 1980 s. This TV show launched the career of Thomas W. Lynch , who would go on to produce '' The Secret World Of Alex Mack '' and '' Romeo! '' among others. The show's production companies included: K-Tel Entertainment , Lynch-Biller Productions (later Lynch Entertainment), Hal Roach Studios / Quintex , RHI Entertainment, and MGM Television (aka MGM-Pathe). The syndicated run was distributed by MGM/UA Entertainment Co. Television. Hal Roach Studios and MGM also produced the popular ''Our Gang'' (Little Rascals) Short Film s of the 1930s . The show managed to jump start the careers of several big name stars. Among the cast were:
The group of kids during the first season released two platinum-selling albums of Cover Song s. The show also seems to have launched David Hasselhoff 's singing career, when he appeared to serenade the children with his rendition of The Contours ' "Do You Love Me?" Currently, the rights to KI are split with different companies. The domestic rights lie with MGM (through Sony Pictures Television ), while the video archives reside with the Disney Channel . EXTERNAL LINKS |
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