Kids Incorporated

Kids Incorporated
The seasons 0 (pre-1)–8 (1983–1992) logo.
Also known as	''Kids Inc.''
Genre	Musical Comedy
Created by	Thomas Lynch Gary Biller
Starring	See series Cast and characters
Theme music composer	Michael Cruz
Opening theme	"Kids Incorporated" performed by Marta "Martika" Marrero (1984–1987) Full Cast (1987–1994)
Ending theme	"Kids Incorporated" (instrumental)
Country of origin	United States
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	9
No. of episodes	154 (list of episodes)
Production
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	22 minutes
Production company(s)	Lynch-Biller Productions (1984–1990) Lynch Entertainment (1991–1994) K-Tel Entertainment/International Program Consultants (1984–1985) Hal Roach Studios (1985–1987) Qintex (1986–1990) RHI Entertainment (1991–1994) MGM Television
Distributor	MGM Television (1984–1986)
Release
Original network	Syndicated (1984–1986) The Disney Channel (1986–1994)
Picture format	Videotape 480i: SDTV
Audio format	Mono (1984–1989) Stereo (1989–1994)

Kids Incorporated (also known as Kids Inc.), is an American children's television program. It is largely a youth-oriented program with musical performances as an integral part of each and every storyline. The pilot episode was shot on September 1, 1983. The show aired in syndication from September 1, 1984 to May 25, 1986, and on the Disney Channel from November 3, 1986 to February 9, 1994. Reruns aired on the Disney Channel until May 30, 1996.

The series revolves around a group of children and teenagers who performed in their own rock group, Kids Incorporated. They struggled to deal with issues ranging from schoolyard crushes to peer pressure to child abuse, while performing regularly at a local former musical club (now a kids' hangout) called The P*lace (called "The Malt Shop" in the pilot on September 7, 1983). It had originally been named The Palace and had been a theater where, supposedly, the biggest names in entertainment, such as Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, had once performed. But the first "a" in the neon sign burned out and was never replaced. It was never explained how the group funded or profited from their performances, but the show did not aim for strict realism. The action took place on abstract "stagey" sets and the plots involved many fantasy elements, such as the group meeting a robot (Season 1, Episode 10), a runaway princess (Season 1, Episode 6) and even a wise-cracking bicycle (Season 1, Episode 17). In addition to their performances on stage, the group would break into song when they were off-stage (much like in a stage musical).

The city in which the P*lace was located was never disclosed. The school depicted on the set had signage reading P.S., and later, Public School 127. In one episode in the first (Season 1, Episode 20 (1984)) season, The P*lace was expected to be torn down, but was saved as a National Historical Landmark.

The cast was mainly children and teenagers. The only recurring adult cohost members were Moosie Drier (Riley, 1984–1988), Sean O'Riordan (Flip, 1989–1992) and Dena Burton (Dena, 1993-1994), who played staff of The P*lace. Michael Lewis played the manager of "The Malt Shop" (the predecessor to "The P*lace") in the pilot. Parents rarely appeared on the show nor figured directly into episode plots. The cast of all nine seasons is listed as follows:

The group members ranged in age from eight to seventeen. From Seasons 4 to 5 (1987 to 1988) there were six members (three of each gender); in Seasons 1 to 3 and 6 to 9 (1984 to 1986 and 1989 to 1993), it always consisted of three girls and two boys.

The characters on the show usually carried the names of the actors who played them (for instance, Stacy and Renee's characters were also named Stacy and Renee). However, in some cases, the names were shortened (Richard Shoff's name was shortened to Richie and Anastasia Horne became Ana), and in other cases they were completely replaced. For example, Marta "Martika" Marrero's character was named Gloria while Jerry Sharell's was named Mickey and Jennifer Love Hewitt's character was called Robin. Rahsaan Patterson was called Kid and his real name was not revealed as Rahsaan until well into the series (Season 4, which was to be his last) although scripts continued to refer to him as Kid regardless. Last names were rarely mentioned.