Sprout's Wiggly Waffle

Wiggly Waffle
Launched	August 24, 2009
Closed	March 22, 2013
Cast	Sam Moran, Anthony Field, Murray Cook, Jeff Fatt, Paul Paddick, Gigi Abraham
Airdate	6AM - 9AM EST 5AM - 8AM CT

Sprout's Wiggly Waffle was a block created by Sprout and The Wiggles. The block aired from 6-9 am EST and PT/5-8 am CT each weekday morning. This block starred the 2006 to 2012 era Wiggles: Sam, Anthony, Murray, and Jeff, and their friends.

Premise

"Sprout’s Wiggly Waffle is a three-hour morning show hosted by The Wiggles that is designed to get preschoolers up and moving. Airing every weekday morning from 6a – 9a ET, the show is filled with original songs by The Wiggles, interactive segments, and more Wiggles fun."

From the Sprout Press Room:

"Hosted by the most beloved family entertainers in the world, The Wiggles, this three-hour morning show block is designed to celebrate mornings and get preschoolers up and moving for the day ahead. Airing every weekday morning from 6a – 9a ET, Sprout’s Wiggly Waffle is filled with original Wiggles songs and interactive segments packed with wiggly fun that take place in and around an oversized, fruit-covered waffle set where nooks and crannies are windows that open to songs, dances, skits and more. SproutOnline.com provides viewers at home a forum to interact directly with Sprout®, through which parents can submit ideas from their preschoolers on how to wake up Jeff, the purple Wiggle who is known for his napping; upload photos of their child to be animated in a dance video with the other four Wiggles; select favorite music videos from Sprout shows and upload them into JB, a juice box character that operates as a jukebox; or choose real and wacky waffle toppings that are chosen at random to rain down on the Wiggly Waffle while The Wiggles try to catch them. The show also includes segments from Sprout’s trusted program library, including Bob the Builder™, Play With Me Sesame® and Barney & Friends™" (link)

Goals

"Sprout’s Wiggly Waffle weaves music, movement and nutrition throughout Sprout’s morning schedule of upbeat programs. Balancing playful fun with interactive learning, the program creates a welcoming environment that parents and their preschoolers can share together."

Interactive Components

"SproutOnline.com is the forum through which viewers interact with the program. Submission of ideas and photos takes place through the website. SproutOnline.com also includes age-appropriate interactive games and coloring pages featuring The Wiggles."

Co-Viewing Components

"Requests for viewer submissions and strong interactive components encourage parents and preschoolers to spend time together during Sprout’s Wiggly Waffle."

Segments

During program breaks, The Wiggles and their friends participate in segments made to match the mood of early mornings, when preschoolers are at their highest.

• How Are We Going To Wake Up Jeff?: Viewers are invited to send in their ideas on how to wake up Jeff, the purple Wiggle who is famous for napping.
• Today's Giggle: The Wiggles tell jokes and perform skits.
• Captain Feathersword's Pirate Word of the Day: Captain Feathersword teaches a new pirate word.
• Who is Today's Fifth Wiggle?: Parents are invited to upload a photo of their preschooler at Sproutonline.com to be animated in a dance video with the other four Wiggles. Viewer submissions are chosen at random and shown on the air during a segment called "Today's Wiggle."
• Juice Box Pick: JB would show viewers' favorite Sprout music videos chosen by them on Sproutonline.com.
• Waffle Topping: Viewers' picks of "real and wacky" waffle toppings submitted via sproutonline.com are chosen at random to rain down on the show's set while The Wiggles attempt to catch them.
• Dorothy's Daily Digest: Dorothy the Dinosaur interviews one of The Wiggles who is dressed up as a healthy breakfast food and provides viewers with lots of healthy, nutritious facts. At one point in this segment, Dorothy would advertise one of the other blocks, including The Let's Go Show.

Cast

• Sam (portrayed by Sam Moran) was the Yellow Wiggle from 2006-2012. He is the leader of the Wiggles.
• Murray (portrayed by Murray Cook) was the Red Wiggle for the first generation. He is the musician of the Wiggles.
• Anthony (portrayed by Anthony Field) is the Blue Wiggle for the first and second generations. He is the chef of the Wiggles.
• Jeff (portrayed by Jeff Fatt) was the Purple Wiggle for the first generation. He likes to sleep a lot.
• Dorothy the Dinosaur is a green dinosaur who likes to eat roses.
• Wags the Dog is a brown dog. He is Captain Feathersword's assistant and best friend.
• Captain Feathersword (portrayed by Paul Paddick) is a friendly pirate.
• JB (voiced by Gigi Abraham) is a juicebox who shows Sproutlets' music videos and introduces shows. She can also operate as a jukebox.

Credits

• Director: Paul Field
• Writers: Marianne Fernsler, Lisa O'Brien, Bernice Vanderlaan
• Producers: Meredith Halpern-Ranzer, Lisa O'Brien
• Executive producers: Andrew Beecham, Paul Field
• Editors: Tim Hauenstein, Lucy Cipparone
• Director of photography: Borce Damceyski

Programming

• Barney & Friends
• Bob the Builder
• Caillou
• Chloe's Closet
• LazyTown
• The Mighty Jungle
• Monkey See Monkey Do
• Play With Me Sesame
• Roary the Racing Car
• Rubbadubbers
• Super WHY!
• Thomas & Friends
• Wiggle and Learn

Origins

The block, then unnamed, was first announced by Sprout on May 21st, 2009, when The Wiggles moved to Sprout from Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney lineup with a new early morning block due to ratings competition from the Imagination Movers, a musical group from New Orleans. In July, the name for the block was revealed - "Wiggly Waffle" and Sprout released Sprout Around the Clock on their website, SproutOnline.com. At the start of August, a behind-the-scenes video for the block was released. In August 2009, Sprout's screenbug was a timer counting down the time and days until the Waffle's premiere. The show was filmed in Sydney, Australia during a ten-day period between the US and UK legs of The Wiggles' world tour.

"Wake Up with The Wiggles on Sprout, every weekday morning from 6-9am ET, beginning August 24th!" (link)

History on Sprout

2000s

Premiere

The block officially launched on August 24 (National Waffle Day, by pure luck and coincidence), sponsored by Garanimals. It replaced Musical Mornings with Coo, even though Musical Mornings segments still aired as interstitials on the Waffle. On this day, The Wiggles visited Kelly and Chica on The Sunny Side Up Show. This was a day after The Wiggles had performed at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia. On the block's first few broadcasts, there was a bottom-of-the-screen scroll announcing its launch.

The Wiggles, Captain Feathersword, and JB appeared in Preschool Musical on Two Sticks the same year, with the Waffle appearing in the "Holiday Feast" number. The Wiggles puppeteered their stick puppet selves in front of a green screen while the second batch of segments were being filmed.

2010s

A second season premiered a year later on August 24th, 2010, alongside Monkey See Monkey Do.

"Watch an all NEW season Sprout's Wiggly Waffle with new songs, dances and jokes. Wake Up with The Wiggles, every weekday morning from 6-9am ET!" (link)

The block aired each weekday while The Let's Go Show took its place during the weekends. Once The Let's Go Show dissolved in 2010, Sprout started airing regular programming during the former timeslot, simply branded as "Good Morning" on TV schedules.

Cancellation

Due to the arrival of the "new generation" Wiggles (Lachlan "Lachy" Gillespie, Emma Watkins, and Simon Pryce), the block had to dissolve on March 22nd, 2013 (three days before Sid the Science Kid and Sing It, Laurie! premiered on Sprout) so as to not confuse kids. The Super Sproutlet Show, which previously ran from 2 to 4PM ET, took the Waffle’s timeslot on weekday mornings. After that, The Wiggles' show only aired once a day on Sprout until getting removed in 2015, although Ready, Steady, Wiggle! would return in 2017.

Notes

• The show aired on ABC2 in Australia for a while at the tail end of 2009, where, instead of shows being introduced, segments would cut to the shows right away and vise versa.
• The block features 10 new original Wiggles songs. Most of them were in Let's Eat!, except for the theme and "The Wiggles Say Goodbye."
• Only the Sam-era episodes of The Wiggles (aka Series 6 (Wiggle and Learn)) aired during this block.
• The block has its own podcast.
• The block got its own app based on the "Fifth Wiggle" segment.
• Coo appeared in segments even though her block dissolved by the time this block launched.
• The block was mistakenly on The Sprout Sharing Show's schedule after SproutOnline.com's 2011 refresh, until it was corrected to "The Wiggles" in summer 2012.
• The show's online promo used at the end of each blockisode was re-used in a tune in promo.