The Mr. Potato Head Show

The Mr. Potato Head Show is an American children's television series loosely based on the toyline of the same name by American toy company Hasbro. It aired on Fox as part of its Fox Kids programming block from September 12, 1998 to February 16, 1999.

The Mr. Potato Head Show
Title logo featuring Mr. Potato Head, Baloney, Queenie Sweet Potato, and Potato Bug.
GenreComedy
Puppetry
Created byDan Clark
Doug Langdale
Based onMr. Potato Head
by George Lerner
StarringBrian Jacobs
Lisa Kaplan
Doug Langdale
Puppeteers:
Greg Ballora
Julianne Buescher
Kevin Carlson
James Murray
Debra Wilson
Mark Bryan Wilson
Theme music composerMark Mothersbaugh
Opening theme"The Mr. Potato Head Show Theme"
Ending theme"The Mr. Potato Head Show Theme" (instrumental)
ComposersMark Mothersbaugh
Ernie Mannix
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerAndy Copley
Running time22 minutes
Production companiesThe Dan Clark Company (uncredited)
Film Roman
20th Century Fox Television
DistributorClaster Television
Release
Original networkFox (Fox Kids)
Picture format4:3
Audio formatDolby
Original releaseSeptember 12, 1998 (1998-09-12) –
February 16, 1999 (1999-02-16)
Chronology
Preceded byPotato Head Kids

Production

The Mr. Potato Head Show was developed by Dan Clark and Doug Langdale. The puppet characters were created by The Chiodo Brothers. Mark Bryan Wilson served as the show's puppet master while William Traetta served as the show's assistant puppet master.

The series was considered lost for many years until Lost Media Wiki members Paroos and Luray found all the episodes of the series online. As of December 18, 2016, the series has resurfaced.[1]

Premise

Throughout the series, Mr. Potato Head always puts on a TV episode with the help of his Kitchen Crew and presents each episode to the TV Guys so that they can air them on television. During production on each episode, Mr. Potato Head and his Kitchen Crew have various misadventures.

Characters

Main
  • Mr. Potato Head (performed by Kevin Carlson) – The main protagonist of the series. He is an anthropomorphic potato who serves as the leader of the Kitchen Crew where they make different shows in his studio for the TV Guys. He’s often referred to as “P.H.” by his friends and colleagues throughout the show.
  • Baloney (performed by Greg Ballora) – An anthropomorphic stack of baloney who is Mr. Potato Head’s best friend. He often serves as the voice of reason for the Kitchen Crew on some occasions and is also Mr. Potato Head’s assistant.
  • Queenie Sweet Potato (performed by Debra Wilson) – An anthropomorphic sweet potato who serves as the Kitchen Crew's diva. She’s gifted with an amazing voice and is viewed by most of the crew, especially by Mr. Potato Head, as the most talented performer in the bunch. Her love for sugar cream pies and her crush on Leonardo DiCaprio are both brought up numerous times throughout the series.
  • Potato Bug (performed by Julianne Buescher) – A female potato bug. She’s usually seen as the strange one in the group, stemming from her wacky personality and various quirks (i.e. believing that goblins deliver the newspaper every morning; mistaking the term “scapegoat” for an actual animal; talking to shoes like they’re people; having a fascination for the undersides of tables, etc). While being portrayed as somewhat oblivious, Potato Bug is energetic, kind, fiercely loyal to her friends, and unabashedly herself.
  • Canny (performed by James Murray) – A dog made out of dog food cans and Mr Potato Head’s pet. In "Not With a Bang" Part 1, it is revealed that Canny used to work as a University Physics Professor.
  • Johnny Rotten Apple (performed by James Murray in a British accent) – An anthropomorphic rotten apple who serves as the Kitchen Crew's resident musician with a rock star personality. In most of his appearances, he would sing about a random character or other things, like cheese or cultural diversity. Johnny Rotten Apple's name is a spoof of the stage name of John Lydon. In the episode "Aliens Dig Baloney," it is revealed that he is allergic to yogurt.
  • Dr. Fruitcake (performed by James Murray in a Transylvanian accent) – An anthropomorphic fruitcake who serves as the Kitchen Crew's resident mad scientist. He is the creator of Ham Monster and often comes up with different inventions to help Mr. Potato Head in his episodes.
  • Ham Monster (performed by Mark Bryan Wilson) – A monster made out of ham (hence the name), crab claws, and chicken drumsticks who was created by Dr. Fruitcake. When he first appeared in the episode "Aliens Dig Baloney," Dr. Fruitcake created Ham Monster for Mr. Potato Head's monster episode only to go berserk across the studio. Using the secret of making ham explode that he learned from the aliens, Baloney destroyed Ham Monster by making him explode. In the episode "Royal Pain," Ham Monster was rebuilt where he now has the brain of a 2-year-old child which makes him more obedient to Dr. Fruitcake. When Baloney started to ask where Dr. Fruitcake got the brain of a 2-year-old child, Dr. Fruitcake cuts his question off by stating "Trust me Baloney, you don't want to know!"
  • Mr. Giblets (performed by James Murray) – An anthropomorphic pile of giblets with a disturbing admiration for anything macabre or creepy, which makes other members of the Kitchen Crew uncomfortable. In “Not With A Bang” Part 1, he tries to run for a position in government by making, as he says, “hollow campaign promises” that the crowd actually believes.
  • Mr. Happy Whip (performed by Brian Jacobs) – An anthropomorphic whipped cream spray who would emit whipped cream when scared.
  • Miss Licorice Lips (voiced by Debra Wilson) – A talking pair of computer-animated lips made of black licorice that serves as the announcer and narrator for Mr. Potato Head's episodes. When she isn’t narrating the show, she’s revealed to have a very strong New York accent.
  • Betty the Kitchen Fairy (voiced by Julianne Buescher) – An animated fairy who uses a ladle as her wand. She usually pops in to give the Kitchen Crew advice on how to get through their plights even when they're in an unrelated dangerous situation. In the episode “The Thing in the Microwave”, it’s shown that she has the ability to freeze time.
  • TV Guys (portrayed by Brian Jacobs and Lisa Kaplan) – Aron and Nora are television executives working at a television company that airs Mr. Potato Head's show. They would tell Mr. Potato Head about his recent show submissions and tell him what they want him to do on his show. Between the two of them, Nora is the more vocal executive. Aron, meanwhile, is more of the quiet, right-hand man to Nora. A catchphrase used by the executives (more commonly by Nora) whenever Mr. Potato Head tries to explain a situation to them or whenever he says something simple and straightforward, they’ll laugh and say “I don’t know what that means but I love it!”
  • The Writer (portrayed by Doug Langdale) – An unnamed human who serves as the screenwriter for episodes of Mr. Potato Head's show. He does his job inside his closet, always seen with a bagel in his mouth.

Supporting
  • Aliens – An alien race. In "Aliens Dig Baloney," the aliens arrive on Earth to find a new leader for their galactic empire to which they end up meeting and teaching Baloney the secret on how to make ham explode. In "Not With a Bang" Part 1, a representative of the aliens poses as the TV Guys' boss in order to get Mr. Potato Head's show cancelled and place Donkey Waddlefoot's show in its spot. This was part of a plan by Emperor Ghost Plant to invade Earth. In "Not With a Bang" Part 2, the aliens begin their invasion of Earth where they engage the Kitchen Crew. With help from Betty the Kitchen Fairy, the aliens were repelled upon being chased off by Blostrogath the Destroyer. Mr. Potato Head then confronts the alien representative at the TV Guys' station, who admits defeat by stating that invading Earth was not a good idea and then takes his leave from Earth.
  • Blostrogath the Destroyer (voiced by James Murray) – An animated monster who was imprisoned in a bag of 65,000,000-year-old popcorn. In the episode "The Thing in the Microwave," Queenie Sweet Potato accidentally freed him when his bag was put in the microwave where he begins his plan to destroy Earth and everything. After being told to be herself by Betty the Kitchen Fairy, Queenie evades Blostrogath's attacks as Mr. Potato Head (as Spudman) summons Jr spud squad to help defeat Blostrogath upon being tricked into the microwave. In "Not With a Bang" Part 2, Betty the Kitchen Fairy summoned Blostrogath to chase away the invading alien armada.
  • Donkey Waddlefoot - An unseen character who is Mr. Potato Head's rival in television entertainment.

Cast

Puppeteers
  • Kevin Carlson – Mr. Potato Head, Alien (ep. 1, 11–13)
  • Greg Ballora – Baloney
  • Julianne Buescher – Potato Bug, Betty the Kitchen Fairy
  • Brian Jacobs – Mr. Happy Whip
  • James Murray – Dr. Fruitcake, Johnny Rotten Apple, Mr. Giblets, Alien (ep. 1, 11–13), Blostrogath the Destroyer (ep. 3, 13)
  • Debra Wilson – Queenie Sweet Potato, Miss Licorice Lips
  • Mark Bryan Wilson – Ham Monster

Assistant puppeteers
  • Brad Abrell
  • Donna Kimball
  • Alison Mork
  • William Traetta

Episodes
No.TitleOriginal air date
1"Aliens Dig Baloney"October 3, 1998 (1998-10-03)
Baloney attempts to deliver a VHS tape containing Mr. Potato Head's cop episode to the TV Guys when suddenly a pair of aliens arrive on Earth, seeking a new ruler for their interstellar empire. Meanwhile, Dr. Fruitcake creates the Ham Monster for Mr. Potato Head's monster episode, which proves to be too dangerous for him to control.
2"Royal Pain"October 10, 1998 (1998-10-10)

Queenie finds out that she is descended from an Egyptian Pharaoh named King Yaminhotep upon going onto an ancestral website called "Ancestors "R" Us." Meanwhile, as Mr. Potato Head tries to make a show for two-year-olds, he uses a rebuilt Ham Monster as his test audience.

"Howdy, Mr mailma-"

-Mr potato head 1998
3"The Thing in the Microwave"September 12, 1998 (1998-09-12)
Queenie goes on a diet, but her cravings result in her unleashing an ancient evil from a bag of popcorn. Meanwhile, Mr. Potato Head makes a superhero show where he plays Spudman.
4"Secret Agent Mania"September 19, 1998 (1998-09-19)
Upon finding out that Donkey Waddlefoot's show stole his submarine show, Mr. Potato Head informs the TV Guys about it as he is told to do a spy show. Mr. Potato Head does this as well as trying to find out how Donkey Waddlefoot found the footage to make his own episodes.
5"Cheap Shots"September 26, 1998 (1998-09-26)
When the TV Guys give Mr. Potato Head a cookie jar full of money for his efforts, he goes money-crazy which starts to affect the Kitchen Crew. Meanwhile, Queenie works on her plans for a magic show.
6"Potato Verite"November 7, 1998 (1998-11-07)
Mr. Potato Head walks in on Queenie supposedly making a deal with his nemesis Donkey Waddlefoot. Thinking that she's going to leave, he puts on a variety show to appease her so she can do a lot of singing. Meanwhile, Queenie thinks Mr. Potato Head wants to marry her.
7"Forsake Me Not"December 19, 1998 (1998-12-19)
The TV Guys have Mr. Potato Head do a reality show where he follows everyone around with a camera, but when his show turns out to be as boring as two dead frogs in a bucket, he pits his friends against each other to liven it up.
8"Equal Writes"December 5, 1998 (1998-12-05)
The TV Guys have Mr. Potato Head fire the writer, resulting in them sending Bullyboy to supervise his show.
9"Robotato"February 9, 1999 (1999-02-09)
When Mr. Potato Head goes on vacation, he has Dr. Fruitcake create a robotic duplicate of him to take over the show while he's gone. When Mr. Potato head returns, he finds that his robotic duplicate is loved by the Kitchen Crew more than himself, to which he becomes depressed about it.
10"Pillow"February 16, 1999 (1999-02-16)
When Queenie gets depressed, she uses Baloney's "happy pillow" to make her feel better. Soon, everyone also wants the pillow so that they can be happy. Meanwhile, a flower lady supposedly casts a "curse" on Mr. Potato Head where the antics causes delays to Mr. Potato Head's Roman Empire episode.
11"Smart Attack"October 31, 1998 (1998-10-31)
When Potato Bug accidentally kills Mr. Potato Head's prized plant, she seeks help from Dr. Fruitcake to make her smarter. The Aliens think her advanced intelligence is really for the better.
12"Not With a Bang (Part 1)"November 14, 1998 (1998-11-14)
The TV Guys' boss orders the cancellation of Mr. Potato Head's show and putting Donkey Waddlefoot's show in his time slot, causing Mr. Potato Head and his Kitchen Crew to go their separate ways.
13"Not With a Bang (Part 2)"November 21, 1998 (1998-11-21)
The alien invasion is in full swing, so the Kitchen Crew must reunite to combat the aliens and get their show back on the air. Also, the boss has a shocking secret.

References
  1. "2016 notice board posts - The Lost Media Wiki". lostmediawiki.com. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
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