English Cartoon America Goes Bananaz

Originally known as Columbus Goes Bananaz was a successfully running show that was aired on “Nickelodeon” in the early years of its establishment. It was inspired by “The Mike Douglas Show” with slight variations. It was one of the first shows in the era that completely concentrated towards the entertainment of the children in their teenage. Each episode of the show was shot in front of a live audience. The set of the show was put up in the Westland Mall located in Columbus, Ohio. So, the visitors in the mall, usually, acted as the live audience.

It was, initially, premiered on a local channel of Columbus. Thus, its initial name “Columbus Goes Bananaz” was inspired by the city it was located in and the niche audience that it was covering at that time. But, when the show came on the television sets through Nickelodeon and gained its share of popularity the name was changed to “America Goes Bananaz” depicting increased audience. It was broadcasted on the air for four continuous years, starting from 1977 and ending in 1980. But it was not until January 19, 1979, that it was aired on the national level.

During, it had two presenters, Michael Young Michael Meredith Young is one of the greatest lead >> Read More... who hosted it from 1977 to 1979 and Randy Hamilton Randy Hamilton’s full name is Randy Wiedner Hamilt >> Read More... , who took the responsibility of hosting from 1979 to 1980 till it finally ended. The show had several segments that only aimed to entertain the adolescents but also guide them on various topics such as ‘ looking for the right job,’ ‘ choosing a suitable college,’ ‘ management of money ,’ ‘ ill effects of drugs and alcohol,’ etc. The creators even chose to touch some sensitive topics like ‘birth controls’ and ‘women empowerment,’ that were not so popular in those days. It had recurring segments.

One of which included the “Karate Class” with Jay T. Will, who would show his moves in karate and even have the volunteers from the audience to repeat his actions. Jay Will gained a good amount of popularity from the show. A particular segment included guests from Hollywood to have a light hearted chit chat. These guests included Arnold Schwarzenegger “I am back!” His career will always seem to come t >> Read More... , Bob Zmuda, Andy Kaufman, Todd Rundgren and the Sanford-Townsend Band. All the episodes of the show were pre-recorded till it ended. It played abig role in the success of the Nickelodeon channel and was successful in educating the viewers it targeted.