Lizzie McGuire
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the title character, see Lizzie McGuire (character).
| Lizzie McGuire | |
|---|---|
Lizzie McGuire title card |
|
| Format | Children's television series/Sitcom |
| Created by | Terri Minsky |
| Starring | Hilary Duff Lalaine Adam Lamberg Jake Thomas Hallie Todd Robert Carradine |
| Country of origin | |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 65 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Stan Rogow Susan Estelle Jansen |
| Running time | 22 minutes (approx.) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Disney Channel |
| Original run | January 12, 2001 – February 14, 2004 |
| External links | |
| IMDb profile | |
| TV.com summary | |
Lizzie McGuire is a Disney Channel Original Series that aired on the Disney Channel from 2001 - 2004. Its target demographic was preteens and adolescents. The TV show was created by Terri Minsky. The show's creatively offbeat, mixed media format stood out from the rest of the Disney Channel's programming of the time - and in essence, became the channel's flagship, and definitive show of the early 2000s. The show's producer Stan Rogow says the visual look of the show was partly inspired by Run Lola Run.[1] Despite remaining the networks flagship show, production was halted in 2002 after the show completed its 65 episode order.
Contents |
- Lizzie McGuire, played by Hilary Duff: Lizzie is a self-conscious middle schooler. She deals with the same issues normal teenagers do.
- Miranda Sanchez, played by Lalaine Vergara: Miranda is one of Lizzie's best friends; she, Lizzie and Gordo form the main triumvirate. Miranda is the rebel of the three, but Lizzie is always there to watch her back. She does not appear in the last six episodes of the show, or in the Lizzie McGuire Movie, she was said to be on vacaion with her family in Mexico.
- David "Gordo" Gordon, played by Adam Lamberg: Gordo is one of Lizzie's best friends, and has been since she was one day old. He usually offers sarcasm and good advice. He is portrayed as being very intelligent and always gets good grades. He is also revealed to be Jewish, as shown in one episode where he has a Bar Mitzvah. In the episode "The Untitled Stan Jenson Project", it was revealed that Lizzie had a crush on him in the fourth grade. In The Lizzie McGuire Movie, Gordo is pulled into a lip-lock with Lizzie after she realizes what a big mistake she has made.
- Matt McGuire, played by Jake Thomas: Matt is Lizzie's younger brother. As a stock character, he is often destroying something. He has a best friend named Lanny, who does not speak on-screen. Matt is clever and wily, and has a reputation for getting into trouble. Matt and Lizzie share a typical brother-sister relationship. They fool around, annoy each other, but are always there for each other at the end of each episode.
- Jo McGuire, played by Hallie Todd: Jo is Lizzie's mother. She cares deeply about Lizzie, but is still trying to figure out how to raise a teenager. As a result, she sometimes tends to "mess up" situations in Lizzie's life, all the while trying to help make them better. At the end of each episode, Jo and Lizzie tend to come to an understanding and portray the unfaltering love of a mother-daughter relationship.
- Sam McGuire, played by Robert Carradine: Sam is Lizzie's father. He can be best described as a bit goofy and quite clueless about raising his kids. However, he always tries his best to help Lizzie out and understand her, and is always available to lend a helping hand.
- Kate Sanders/Saunders (Ashlie Brillault): Kate is the most popular girl in Lizzie's school. Originally one of Lizzie's best friends, Kate became popular because she got a bra after summer camp was over; as a result of her newfound popularity, Kate became Lizzie's enemy. Kate enjoys trying to make Lizzie's life miserable, but Lizzie always manages to outsmart Kate and come out on top. References in episodes are inconsistent about her last name.[citation needed]
- Ethan Craft (Clayton Snyder): Ethan is the boy who Lizzie, Miranda, and the rest of the girls at school have a huge crush on. He does not appear to be very bright, but he is kind and friendly to everyone. In Season one, he was portrayed as more of a bad boy or a class bully. For example, he used to force Gordo to do things against his will. At the beginning of the series, Danny Kessler was the "crush boy" instead, but he was not heard from since the first few episodes. A brief mention was made in The Lizzie McGuire Movie in which Lizzie talks about what she wore to her spring formal and what Danny Kessler thought about it.
- Larry Tudgeman (Kyle Downes): (Referred to as "Tudgeman"). Larry is the school dork. He is treated like an outcast by everyone except by Lizzie and her friends (with exceptions). He has also been known to wear the same shirt since the second grade. Larry has a huge crush on Lizzie (that she does not return), and even asks her out to go to the science museum. Lizzie accepts his invitation in order to make him feel liked.
- Claire Miller (Davida Williams) Claire is Kate's new best friend. She is also not very kind to Lizzie. She can sometimes even be unkind to her friends, including Kate, as shown in the episode "The Rise & Fall of The Kate Empire." She represents the stereotypical popular girl portrayed on many TV shows.
- Lanny Onasis (Christian Copelin): Lanny is Matt's best friend. He never speaks on screen, but Matt seems to have no problem communicating with him. Apparently, he is a direct descendant of Crispus Attucks.
- Melina Bianco (Carly Schroeder): Melina is Matt's friend who loves getting Lanny and Matt into trouble and eventually becomes his girlfriend. She is first introduced as Matt's enemy, but they both begin to have feelings for each other.
- "Mr. Dig" Digby Sellers (Arvie Lowe Jr.): Mr. Dig is Lizzie's cool laid-back substitute teacher. In his lessons he often implies that he has educated celebrities like Frankie Muniz and Christina Aguilera. He befriends Lizzie's dad in one of the episodes, and dates Matt's teacher Mrs Chapman.
- Eduardo and Daniela Sanchez (played by Armando Molina and Dyana Ortelli)
They are Miranda's parents and appear in a few episodes including one in which they play a prank on Kate.
- Howard and Roberta Gordon (played by Michael Mantell and Alison Martin)
They are Gordo's parents, who are both psychiatrists.
- Parker Mackenzie (Chelsea Wilson)
Parker is a girl in Lizzie's class. In an episode, Gordo had a crush on her. She is a vegetarian, as shown in the episode "Obsession." In an episode, Gordo asks Parker for a dance but she refuses because in her opinion he is too short for her.
- Danny Kessler (Byron Fox)
Danny is Lizzie and Miranda's first heart-throb. He appeared in the first few episodes but was never seen again. He was mentioned in the episode "My Fair Larry" and in The Lizzie McGuire Movie.
- Veruca Albano (Rachel Snow)
She is a nerdy girl who appears once in Season 1 and more often in later seasons when Lizzie enters the eighth grade.
- Amy Sanders/Saunders (Haylie Duff)
She is Kate's cousin. She acts quite a bit like a complete older version of Kate. Kate and Amy have a rocky relationship in the only episode that Amy appears in. In this episode, Kate is shown to have a softer, slightly self-conscious side.
- Coach Kelly (Dot Jones)
She is the Gym teacher at Hillridge Junior High.
- Principal Tweedy (Phill Lewis)
He is the principal of Hillridge Junior High.
- Mr. Escobar (Daniel R. Escobar)
He is a teacher at Hillridge Junior High who taught Lizzie's class in junior grade.
- Two Big Guys
They are Sam's best friends who own a pet chimp named Fredo. Lizzie also saves one of their lives in "Rated Aargh!".
Animated Lizzie is an animated character in the show. She represents the title character's inner thoughts, addressing the audience directly in the manner of a Greek chorus. The show wasn't the first series to use animation to reflect a live-action character's innermost thoughts, however; Student Bodies, a syndicated program about the struggles of a cartoonist for a school newspaper, often used the artist's surrealistic caricatures of himself and his friends to visually illustrate his interior monologues. Animated Lizzie is also voiced by series star Hilary Duff.
The show was completed after 65 episodes, which was reportedly a Disney policy for all of its series, although that has changed now due to the popularity and success of That's So Raven and Kim Possible. Disney considered continuing the franchise in further films and a prime-time television series to be broadcast on ABC, but the plans failed to take off because Duff's representatives claimed she was not being paid enough for the proposed series.[1]
There were plans to launch a cartoon series based on Lizzie's animated alter ego, but no such thing materialised. There were also proposed plans to launch a spin-off based on Miranda's sister, known either as Stevie Sanchez or What's Stevie Thinking? staring Selena Gomez of Wizards of Waverly Place.
It was announced in late May 2006 that WGN Superstation will carry Lizzie McGuire and Even Stevens in syndication which began on September 18, 2006. As a result, Disney Channel has stopped airing both shows except for their holiday episodes. The sites on Disney Channel.com devoted to the shows are still accessible but not linked on the site's main menu.
| Season | Ep # | First Airdate | Last Airdate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 31 | January 12, 2001 | January 18, 2002 |
| Season 2 | 34 | February 8, 2002 | February 14, 2004 |
A movie based on the show, The Lizzie McGuire Movie, debuted on May 2, 2003 at number two at the box office behind X2: X-Men United. It earned $42.7 million at the US box office[2] and eventually grossed $55.6 million worldwide.[3] It received mixed reviews with one critic calling it, "an unabashed promotion of Duff’s image, just as Crossroads was for Spears".[4] Other reviews were generally positive and encouraging.[5][6][7]
| Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Although the show ran for 3 years, technically there were only 2 seasons of the show. As the series neared the end, they waited longer and longer before releasing the next episode with the last episode ("Magic Train") being released over a year and a half after it was filmed. [8]
- The series was aired heavily out of production order over the majority of its run, causing a few inconsistencies in storyline. One of the reasons for this was an online contest entitled The Summer of Lizzie McGuire, which allowed viewers to vote on which new episode would air each week.
- The final produced episode was entitled Bye, Bye Hillridge Junior High, and aired in February 2003 (roughly one year before Magic Train--the final new episode to be broadcast--would air). The episode saw Lizzie prepare to graduate from Junior High and enter High School, while all of the new episodes that followed took place in junior high. Bye, Bye Hillridge Junior High creates a segue into The Lizzie McGuire Movie.
- The Lizzie McGuire Movie marks the first time in American history that a TV series ended with a feature film. In essence, The Lizzie McGuire Movie is actually the series finale of Lizzie McGuire.
- Cast members Adam Lamberg and Robert Carradine appeared in the movie Max Keeble's Big Move.
- Adam Lamberg (Gordo) is three years older than both Hilary Duff (Lizzie) and Lalaine (Miranda).
- Sara Paxton was considered for the role of Lizzie before Hilary Duff auditioned. She later made a guest appearance in "Lizzie for President". Lindsay Lohan, as well, was considered for the role, and both she and Sara Paxton were both proudly[citation needed] presented to Disney as their top choices.
- Lalaine, the actress who played Miranda, stopped appearing on the show towards the end of the series. Miranda, however, was still mentioned in the show storylines as being on vacation in Mexico or "out sick" even though she never was on the screen. The episodes aired out of order so the actress does appear in the final episode in February 2004. She was not in the movie either.
- In the episode "When Moms Attack", the teams are Tagi and Pagong. These are the same team names as the tribes in Survivor: Borneo.
- There is a blooper montage at the end of every episode except for the Pilot and the episode Between a Rock and a Bra Place.
- Robert Carradine's half brother David Carradine (from Kill Bill) had a cameo in the episode "Between a Rock and a Bra Place" as a martial arts trainer. When he leaves, Gordo asks Sam, "Who was that guy?" and he replies, "I've known him all my life. He's like a brother to me."
- The house used in the pilot "Pool Party" was the same house used in the movie American Beauty, whereas a studio set is used throughout the rest of the series.
- Hilary Duff's sister Haylie Duff appears in the episodes 'Clue-less', 'Xtreme Xmas' and 'Party Over Here' as Kate's cousin, Amy.
- Hilary Duff (Lizzie) and Davida Williams (Claire) played roles in Raise Your Voice, this time as friends, not enemies.
- The exterior shots of Hillridge Junior High is the same school used in The Jersey, Even Stevens and Cory in the House as well as for H.G. Wells Junior High in Phil of the Future.
- Jake Thomas (Matt) also stars in the newest Disney Channel Original Comedy, Cory in the House (a spin-off from That's So Raven) as Cory's nemesis, Jason Stickler.
- Aaron Carter appeared on an episode singing to Lizzie McGuire, right around the same time Carter and Hilary Duff were dating in real life.
- Steven Tyler of Aerosmith appeared in a Christmas episode.
- Phill Lewis (Principal Tweedy) also stars in The Suite Life of Zack & Cody as the hotel manager, Mr. Marion Moseby.
- Orlando Brown who was in an episode called "Random Acts of Miranda", also stars on That's So Raven.
The character of Lizzie continues to be merchandised by Disney (see Lizzie McGuire books), especially through a large set of books, which include novelizations of the episodes, original Nancy Drew-style mystery stories in the Lizzie McGuire Mysteries series, and "Cine-manga" pictorial adaptations (published by TOKYOPOP) with still shots from the show presented in manga style. A Lizzie McGuire doll was even released in 2002 by Dakin Toys. The 10" doll featured many of Lizzie's outfits for the doll. A plush doll of the Cartoon Lizzie was also made by Dakin in 2002. Fortune magazine estimated in 2003 that "Lizzie McGuire" merchandise had earned the Walt Disney Co. nearly $100 million. Radio Disney continually promotes Lizzie McGuire and regularly (although not as often as when the show was still running) gives away the show's CD in giveaways.
Several home video and DVD versions of the show have been released in various countries. In the United States, some thematic episode collections were first released, and later a DVD box set consisting of 22 episodes from the first season (mostly, but not entirely, corresponding to the first 22 episodes in production order). This is designated as "Volume 1", but no current plans are known for the release of volumes 2 and 3 of the series, and poor sales of the first box set may prevent further releases. As of April 2006, a box set of 12 DVDs with all the 65 episodes of the show is available in Spain, and box sets (grouped into three 22-episode "seasons") Ireland TG4 are available in Australia and the UK.
Lizzie-themed toys were included in a 2004 McDonald's Happy Meal series, which included CD-ROM discs containing Lizzie-related games and graphics and audio versions of "Lizzie" (not voiced by Duff) reading stories based on episode plots of her show.
There is also a Lizzie McGuire bedroom set offered by some furniture stores as one of several Disney-themed children's bedrooms, and a What Would Lizzie Do? board game where players must judge Lizzie's likely response to various situations. Three Lizzie McGuire video games have been released for the Game Boy Advance: Lizzie McGuire: On the Go (2003), Lizzie McGuire 2: Lizzie Diaries (2004), and Lizzie McGuire 3: Homecoming Havoc (2005).
Both seasons of Lizzie McGuire are now available on iTunes
- In an episode of The Simpsons ("Milhouse of Sand and Fog", 2005), Milhouse uses the exclamation "Sweet Lizzie McGuire!"
- In another episode of The Simpsons, Marge and Homer were seen leaving The Lizzie McGuire Movie, scared.
- In Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog's song "I Keed", there's a reference to Fred Durst checking out the cast of Lizzie McGuire. ("And yet you're too old for Fred Durst to desire, he's checking out the cast of 'Lizzie McGuire' ")
- In an episode of Still Standing, Linda comes home from the movies with Bill and Judy and says, "Your movie was sold out so I had to see some Hilary Duff movie," referring to The Lizzie McGuire Movie.
- List of Lizzie McGuire episodes
- The Lizzie McGuire Movie
- Lizzie McGuire Soundtrack
- Lizzie McGuire Total Party!
- Lizzie McGuire books
- ^ Cable Tv talk. Retrieved on December 11, 2007.
- ^ Yahoo!Movies. Retrieved on December 11, 2007.
- ^ Box Office Mojo. Lizzie McGuire Movie. Retrieved on 2007-12-02.
- ^ Filmcritic.com Review. Retrieved on December 1, 2007.
- ^ Roger Ebert review. Retrieved on December 11, 2007.
- ^ Variety.com review. Retrieved on December 11, 2007.
- ^ BBC review. Retrieved on December 11, 2007.
- ^ http://www.tv.com/lizzie-mcguire/show/1229/episode_guide.html?season=0&tag=season_dropdown;dropdown;2
- Lizzie McGuire at the Internet Movie Database
- Lizzie McGuire at Disney Channel's Official Site
- Lizzie McGuire at Disney Channel Asia Site
|
|
|
|---|---|
| Characters | Lizzie McGuire · David "Gordo" Gordon · Miranda Sanchez · Matt McGuire · Jo McGuire · Sam McGuire · Kate Sanders/Saunders · Ethan Craft · Larry Tudgeman |
| Episodes | List of episodes |
| Albums | Lizzie McGuire soundtrack · Lizzie McGuire Movie soundtrack · Lizzie McGuire Total Party! |
| Singles | "I Can't Wait" · "Why Not" |
| Other media | Lizzie McGuire books |
| Film | The Lizzie McGuire Movie |
Categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since April 2007 | Articles with trivia sections from August 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements since May 2007 | Lizzie McGuire | 2001 television series debuts | 2004 television series endings | 2000s American television series | American children's comedy series | Disney Channel shows | Television series by Disney | American television sitcoms | Family Channel shows | Televisa network shows | Television shows set in California