Action League Now!
Genre	Comedy Action Slapstick Superhero
Created by	Robert Mittenthal Will McRobb Albie Hecht
Based on	Ruined toys
Starring	Jim Krenn Cris Winter Scott Paulsen Collin M. McGee Alyssa Grahm
Narrated by	Scott Paulsen
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	4 (onKaBlam!) 1 (as a package series)
No. of episodes	51 (onKaBlam!) 12 (as a package series) (list of episodes)
Production
Production locations	Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania Los Angeles,California
Running time	4 minutes (individual shorts) 24 minutes (package series)
Production companies	Chuckimation Nickelodeon Animation Studio Flying Mallet, Inc.
Original release
Network	Nickelodeon
Release	October 14, 1995 (1995-10-14) – February 10, 2002 (2002-02-10)
Related
All That KaBlam!

Action League Now! (advertised asAction League Now!: The Series when packaged into a half-hour block) is a series ofstop motion shorts that aired as part of bothAll That andKaBlam! onNickelodeon.^[1] It was made using "chuckimation", a combination ofstop-frame animation and live-action shots where things are simply thrown ("chucked") or dropped into frame to simulate movement, and wiggled around to simulate talking.^[2] The series follows the adventures of a superhero league, composed of various action figures, toys, and dolls. The show was created by Robert Mittenthal,Will McRobb, andAlbie Hecht.

Most episodes took place in the house of an unseen resident. Many of the characters were voiced by radio personalities fromPittsburgh.

From November 25, 2001 until February 10, 2002, Nickelodeon briefly ranAction League Now! shorts on their own, combined to fill a half-hour timeslot.

• The Flesh (Jim Krenn): A blonde, dimwitted, muscular bodybuilder who never wears clothes. His catchphrases include simple, immature terms such as "Ouchies!", "Oopsies!". The Flesh is sometimes clumsy, but he doesn't get in the way of the other Action Leaguers when they're trying to save the day. His superpower is super strength, and he has been shown capable of lifting things many times his sizes such as buses and bricks. The figure used for Flesh was a modifiedConan the Adventurer action figure.^[3]
• Thundergirl (Cris Winter): The only female member of the team, as well as the only one with the ability to fly. She usually accompanies her flight with a song similar to the tune ofJohn Williams'Star Wars theme with the lyrics, "Thundergirl flying like thunder," (This was dropped later on in the series). The figure used for Thundergirl was aSindy doll's head on aWonder Woman-esque figure body. Her image is a combination ofBarbie andShe-Ra.
• Stinky Diver (Jim Krenn): A mustachioed diver who is often seen in or around toilets. He speaks with an Australian-type accent, even though an episode title ("Mad Dogs and Englishmen") suggested him being English. In that episode, it is revealed that he became cold after his mom ratted him out to the enemy during the Gulf War for money. As his name makes obvious, Stinky has a foul odor, but the Action League seems to have gotten used to it and don't mind it most of the time. Owns a beach house (in reality, a life-sizeportable toilet) and a vast collection of toilet paper, which come in many different colors. He is the most frequent driver of the Action Mobile, the League's official transportation device (a big, red remote-control car). Although he lacks any superpowers, he has the ability to pull a spear gun out of thin air and can fire a seemingly endless amount of plastic missiles. Stinky is an altered 1994G.I. JoeShipwreck action figure.^[4]
• Meltman (Scott Paulsen): Meltman has the "power" to melt and is the smallest and weakest member of the Action League. He has a long-running crush on Thundergirl, who does not reciprocate his feelings for her. As melting is his only ability, Meltman is quite unhelpful and a borderline burden and is considered by the rest of the League to be their personal servant, often fulfilling such chores as getting them sodas, donuts, and other things. For this reason, Meltman is always looking for ways to get the League to appreciate him. In two different episodes, it is revealed that his full name is Barry Meltfarb, although he claims to have changed the surname to his superhero name. As he once stated to a viewer he has never used his power since there is no need for it. The Chief considers him to be "as yellow as a jar of mustard at ajaundice convention." Meltman is a Robin Hood figure that was melted with a blow torch.
• The Chief (Collin M. McGee, majority; Victor Hart, first few episodes):^{[citation needed]} The head of the Action League, the Chief is an angry, frustrated man who frequently yells at the Action League for their mistakes and unintended backtalk. His catchphrase is "Blast it!" and "You morons!" He once got aheart transplant from Bill the Lab Guy. He also once successfully awoke from a coma, induced by the Flesh's carelessness, after having had to listen to all of the incidents in which the League had injured him during his extended sleep. The Chief was made by putting together and modifying parts fromPlayskool "Play People" dollhouse figures.^[5]
• Justice (Alyssa Grahm): The Chief's belovedGolden Retriever and best friend. Technically a member of the Action League, Justice serves as theLassie of the show, warning fellow members of the League of dangers that they were otherwise unaware of. Featured in almost every episode as a background character, with its only starring role being in "Dog Day Afterschool."
• The Mayor (Jim Krenn): "His dishonor" – The Action League's archenemy. The reasons for his dislike of the Action League are unknown, but his hatred is obvious. His catchphrase is "Uh oh, here's trouble" or "I hate Mondays" whenever he's about to be defeated. Instances in which the mayor attempts to destroy the League include sucking them up with a massive vacuum cleaner, and blowing them away with a giant fan. Many of his schemes revolve around making money. In the episode "A Star is Torn", his pseudonym was revealed to be "Louis D. Mayor" (a reference toLouis B. Mayer). He also appears to have a fixation with becoming a celebrity, a successful musician, or aNational Football League player. In the episode, "Sinkhole of Doom" it was revealed that the Mayor has a son. The Mayor was pieced together from variousPlayskool dollhouse figures.^[5] The voice that Jim Krenn used for the character was initially a parody of then-Pittsburgh mayorTom Murphy.
• Bill the Lab Guy (Jim Krenn): A scientist who often messes up his experiments and predicaments. During every appearance, he is guaranteed to be heard saying, "There's nothing I can do," or, "I was afraid of this!" and "I don't see any connection." Bill has a monotone voice and takes himself very seriously as a scientist, even though his experiments almost always go awry. He has a teenage daughter named Quarky who helps him around the lab. He appears to have a love for oldies music and is a personal friend of late musicianLou Rawls. Bill, along with the Mayor and the Chief, was pieced together in part from variousPlayskool dollhouse figures.^[5] His name is a reference toBill Nye the Science Guy.
• Hodge Podge (Jim Krenn): The Action League's former accountant, Hodge Podge was accidentally thrown into and chopped up in a blender, then horribly rebuilt by Bill the Lab Guy against his will, making him a freak with parts of random toys and household objects (such as a claw for a hand, taken from a crab toy and the top portion of a fork attached to his chest). Hodge Podge appears to be more hands-on and successful than the Mayor with his initial tactics, even though neither of them ever get their way. He specifically works with mechanics to get his way (brainwashing radio station, custom-built remote control, modified voicebox, etc.).
• Quarky (Cris Winter): Bill the Lab Guy's teenage daughter who helps him around the lab. Occasionally, she gets into situations that the Action League has to rescue her from. She is the focus in one episode, "The Quarky Syndrome," where she was involved in a nuclear waste accident and goes by the alias Superteen.
• The Announcer (Scott Paulsen): The narrator of the program, using various alliterations and overreactions often before and after the short's commercial bridge. He sometimesbreaks the fourth wall during an episode. He has a deep, monotone voice, not unlike Bill the Lab Guy's and is never seen, only heard.

The Action League have had various other villains throughout the show's run, including (but not limited to) a gigantic baby simply named "Big Baby", aMesozoic monster (in reality, a dogJack Russell Terrier) called Spotzilla, a rival superhero league known as the Danger Society, a bald genius known as Smarty Pants, an enemy of Stinky's past called Red Ninja, a group of evil aliens, a gypsy who cursed The Chief, a married couple who pretended to be Flesh's parents and a mummy brought to life by The Mayor. Sometimes, due to their own collective stupidity, even the League themselves can be the main cause of a problem.

• There have been numerous guest appearances, includingNational Football League quarterbacksBrett Favre,John Elway,Kordell Stewart,Troy Aikman, and coachBill Cowher,^[6] the rock bandKiss, musician-actorHarry Connick, Jr., pop singerRobyn, and musicianLou Rawls. All voiced themselves on the program (with the exception of Robyn and Connick, who voiced Blandi and Big Baby, respectively, in the episode "Rock-a-big Baby" which was paired theatrically withGood Burger).

Some episodes ofAction League Now! are banned in the United States. TheKaBlam! episode titled "I Just Don't Get It", which featured anAction League Now! short that involved an attack on the U.S. capitol, was put under a ban after theSeptember 11 attacks. TheAction League Now!: The Series episode "Thunder Girl: Tracking the Storm" which also contained the short was put on a ban after its initial broadcast in 2002, only being re-shown in 2016 on the late night TV block "The Splat" onTeenNick. The episode can still be watched on Paramount+.^[7] One specific episode, "ThunderFlesh", was intended to appear in season 2 ofKaBlam!, but was shelved due to its adult content as another episode was created to replace it.^[8]

In aChicago Tribune article, Jennifer Mangan complimented the series' originality, calling it "the most innovative entrant inKaBlam!'s cartoon catalog."^[9] Jane Hall of theLos Angeles Times wrote thatAction League Now! "has the weird, aggressive humor of the old 'Mr. Bill' pieces onSaturday Night Live."^[10] Naming the show among otherKaBlam! segments,Deadline Hollywood's Mike Fleming wrote positively of its "absurdly unforgettable characters."^[11]

• Action League Now! atIMDb

• 1990s American animated comedy television series
• 1990s American children's comedy television series
• 1990s American superhero comedy television series
• 1990s Nickelodeon original programming
• 1995 American animated television series debuts
• 2002 American television series endings
• 2000s American animated comedy television series
• 2000s American children's comedy television series
• 2000s American superhero comedy television series
• 2000s Nickelodeon original programming
• All That
• KaBlam!
• Action figures
• Television series created by Robert Mittenthal
• American stop-motion animated television series
• American children's animated action television series
• American children's animated adventure television series
• American children's animated comedy television series
• American children's animated superhero television series
• American animated television spinoffs
• American television series with live action and animation
• Nicktoons
• American English-language television shows

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