These days, Amanda Bynes is mostly out of the spotlight. However, fans still look back fondly of when the actor was making viewers laugh on The Amanda Show, most notably in the hilarious sketch “Moody’s Point.”
Amanda Bynes was born in California in 1986. Her mother worked as a dental assistant, while her father, Rick Bynes, was a popular dentist. Bynes started acting when she was a toddler, appearing in commercials and stage productions before she was even 10 years old. Her parents encouraged her acting career, driving her to various auditions and job interviews. In the early nineties, Bynes attended a comedy camp at the Los Angeles Laugh Factory. While there, she was spotted by a Nickelodeon executive, who approached the young girl about trying out for a new series at Nickelodeon.
Bynes landed a featured role in the popular sketch show All That and appeared on the show from seasons three through six. In addition to All That, Bynes was a regular face on the network, including being a regular player on the game show Figure It Out. The young comedian proved that she could take on any creative challenge, displaying a maturity well beyond her years. It was her maturity, as well as her talent, that likely led to her very own series, The Amanda Show.
The Amanda Show was a sketch comedy series in the tradition of Saturday Night Live — but was designed for a younger audience. It premiered on Nickelodeon in 1999, when Amanda Bynes was only thirteen years old. The series itself was designed as a spinoff of All That, but ultimately, it became even more popular than it’s origin series, running for three seasons before going off the air in 2002.
The Amanda Show is responsible for launching Bynes as a teen icon, and the same year that her series ended, she began to appear in more mature roles in the sitcom What I Like About You and movies like Big Fat Liar. She was a regular fixture in teen magazines and was widely considered to be one of Hollywood’s most promising young stars.
On The Amanda Show, Amanda Bynes showcased her talent in sketches like “Judge Trudy”, "Blockblister" and “So You Want to Win Five Dollars?” All the sketches were designed not only to highlight the talents of the young cast but also to spoof popular culture in some form. One of the most popular skits was one called “Moody Point,” a humorous take on teen television dramas such as Dawson’s Creek, a popular 2000s series. “Moody’s Point” was a recurring sketch, and included guest stars like Taran Killam (who would later achieve Saturday Night Live fame and a starring role in the sitcom Single Parents) and Ashley Tisdale.
"Moody’s Point" focuses on Moody (Amanda Bynes), an emotionally exaggerated teen whose mother is lost in a hot air balloon and whose father is missing a toe. It featured her friends, such as Brie (Lauren Petty), Moody's best friend; Misty (Molly Orr), a girl who is always upset and easily offended; the nerdy Spalding (Taran Killam), a boy who has a huge crush on Moody but gets criticized by her in a ridiculous way and constantly has objects flung at him from beyond the screen; and Sternum (Matthew Botuchis), a brooding bad boy who responds to every question by asking the opposite question. Each episode had its own plot.
The last episode ends with Moody finding out that her real parents are circus trapeze artists named "The Flying Worthsbergs". Unfortunately, at the end of the episode, the screen shows the words "To Be Continued", but The Amanda Show was cancelled shortly thereafter ending the sketch on a cliffhanger, so the story was never resolved.
According to E!, the “Moody’s Point” skit became so popular with fans that it was pitched to Nickelodeon as its very own spinoff series, starring Killam. A showrunner revealed that the series “would have been similar to Zoey 101, but with much more bizarre, absurd, random comedy.” Still, Nickelodeon decided to pass on the spinoff, opting to back other projects instead. Killam went on to star on another well-known sketch series, of course, and “Moody’s Point” only lives on today in the form of reruns of The Amanda Show.
The theme song of “Moody’s Point”, "For All I Am" by Lisa Smith is just as iconic as the spoof!
Additionally, one of the series' most enduring bits (and memes) are the dancing lobsters that would come in at the end of every Judge Trudy (a play on Judge Judy) skit, with Trudy (Amanda) proclaiming, "Court dismissed, bring in the dancing lobsters!" Lobster No. 2? Josh!
Originally published: Sunday, November 15, 2020.
Original source: Showbiz Cheat Sheet (II).
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"...and “Moody’s Point” only lives on today in the form of reruns of The Amanda Show" that's assuming that The Amanda Show is still airing on TV; however it last aired on TeenNick but it's reruns there were taken off in 2012 and has hardly been seen since.
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