Kids Incorporated

Kids Incorporated (also known as Kids Inc.) was a children's television program that premiered in syndication the weekend of September 7, 1984, and ended on the The Disney Channel November 12, 1993. The show consisted of a group of young teens (that occasionally shifted every few years as members grew too old to be considered "kids" and were replaced) who performed watered-down and cleaned-up versions of pop music standards of the era, with most of the Kids noticeably pretending to play their own instruments (they did sing, though). The one instance where the song performed was not cleaned-up was in a 1989 episode entitled "The Storybook House"; there the lyrics were kept intact (The song in question was "Dancing With Myself", by Billy Idol). An intriguing thing about the syndicated run was the timeslots most markets put the show in. For example, KTRV, the now-FOX station in Boise, Idaho aired the show at first on Tuesday, then Saturday nights at 6:30 PM. While WNBC in New York City aired it first on Sundays at 1 PM, then moved it back to 9 AM. However, the shuffling time slots affected the ratings, and KI was cancelled the weekend of May 25, 1985. In the summer of 1986, The Disney Channel acquired the rights to the series and started airing new episodes on November 3, 1986. The package also included the entire syndicated run; as such, edits had to be made to remove fee plugs & commercial outros. The final first-run episode aired on November 12, 1993, ending a nine-year run (as The Disney Channel was a pay channel at the time, most households didn't carry it; fans have credited the strong plotlines [dealing with such things as the value of honesty, crushes, child & substance abuse, handicaps, and peer pressure] and singing talents of the cast as reasons the show lasted so long). Reruns lasted until April 4, 1996 in the United States, 2001 overseas. Winner of various Young Artist Awards during its nine year run, it is remembered fondly by adults who were in their teens in the 1980s.