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Cheez TV was an Australian children's cartoon show that aired on weekday mornings on Network Ten. It first began broadcasting in July 1995 and it finished in August 2005 after being canceled.
Programming[]
Cheez TV aired a number Marvel based cartoons such as X-Men and Spider-Man plus several anime series, including Teknoman, Transformers, Eagle Riders and in more recent years Pokémon, Beyblade, Biker mice from Mars, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptors, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball GT, Sonic X, Digimon and Yu-Gi-Oh. Other shows that have aired include the 2003 series of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Count Duckula, Inspector Gadget, Jimmy Neutron, Project G.e.e.K.e.R., Wing Commander, Dangermouse and Rugrats. Cheez TV also aired during Saturday morning under the moniker of The Big Cheez and featured such cartoons as Bruno the Kid, C.O.P.S., Jackie Chan Adventures, Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog and Zoids.
The two presenters, Jade Gatt and Ryan Lappin, editorialized and presented small variety segments in between cartoons. These short segments included parodies of Rove Live, Gardening Australia, Men in Black and numerous music video re-enactments. On occasion the hosts would interview special guests as well. For a period on The Big Cheez Gatt and Lappin were joined by another presenter, Lenka Kripac (member of Australian band Decoder Ring).
History[]
Initially competing against Agro's Cartoon Connection on the Seven Network, the 'hipper' look and (then) younger youth hosts, not to mention a larger focus on showing cartoons, allowed Ten to take the early morning children's TV crown off Seven, a situation that continues to today (Seven eventually opting to focus on adult breakfast television instead).
During the show's run Ryan Lappin was once nominated for Cleo Magazine's Bachelor of the Year only to lose to Australian swimmer Geoff Huegill. Jade Gatt also hosted late night music show Ground Zero.
During the later years of the show Lappin and Gatt's editorials were quickly becoming notorious for their use of more adult-oriented humour which often flew above the heads of their young audience. Lappin reputedly constantly slid hidden "anti-Rove McManus" commentary in his editorials, which is rumoured to have been the deciding factor which nailed the coffin on the show. Jade Gatt was not immune to scrutiny either, when he would pose as a news reporter called "Dick Wadd" in one of their segments.
Saturday, 20 August 2005 was the last episode of Cheez TV broadcast after 10 years on the air, though Lappin and Gatt's final on-air appearance took place during Friday, 31 December 2004. In 2005, only cartoons showed in Cheez TV. It was replaced with another new children's show, Toasted TV in the same time slot, which continues to screen series such as Naruto, One Piece and Winx Club .
See also[]
- List of Australian television series