Jazz 'N Things: October 2018

Hello Readers, Junne here with a new page for the Diary. Just from reading the title, you know it's not going to be another recipe, it's not going to be another travel log, selfies, movie reviews, etc. This time I am doing something different, I decided to review a TV Show I used to watch when I was younger: ICarly. A week or two ago, I started back watching reruns of it on TeenNick and then Nickelodeon showed a commercial saying they were going to re-air the reruns on their main channel. This brought back so many memories of watching the show every Saturday night (I think sometimes they would even show new episodes on Fridays and Mondays) and persuaded me to go online and rewatch it. I remember I used to go up and down on the ICarly website, watching videos, playing the games, looking at pictures, and listening to the music they had on there. However, I was very disappointed when I tried to go on the website because when I looked it up, it redirected me to nick.com. Why did it get deleted? What happened? I think I know why. Back in March, Nick had some conflict with executive producer Dan Schiender, resulting him getting fired. I'm not exactly sure on what type of conflict it was but I watched some videos on Youtube surfaced that it could have something to do with sexual harassment or something about a foot fetish. I'm not saying that's what could have been the cause of it, I'm just speculating and sharing my findings. Now let's start with the origin.

Like I said before, ICarly used to come on Nickelodeon every Saturday night at 7pm (CT) and to my recollection on some Fridays as well. It was created by Dan Schneider who also created Drake & Josh, Kenan & Kel, All That, The Amanda Show, Zoey 101, and Victorious. After Drake & Josh ended, Dan Schiender decided to give Miranda Cosgrove who played Megan, Drake & Josh's little sister (very evil by the way 😒) her own TV Show (very nice choice by the way Dan). I discovered that ICarly was supposed to be the same premise as Sonny with a Chance, a girl who wanted to be famous and ended up staring in her own TV Show. This brought some conflict with Dan and Disney from what I have read. Then, he came up with an idea with the show being about a girl who hosts her own web show. It turns out that Carly's name was originally going to be Sam and Sam's name was going to be Kira. However, Dan Schiender fell into copyright with the name "ISam" and decided to change the name to Carly and Kira's name to Sam and the rest is history. The theme song was sung by Miranda Cosgrove and Drake Bell (who played Drake on Drake & Josh). One thing I remember about the theme song is the behind the scenes they showed on TV. It was a bit brief but I remember they showed Miranda waiting in the recording studio and then it flashed to showing her recording the song with Drake. But what I really enjoyed about the theme song is the video and the lyrics of the extended version. The video showed Miranda and Drake singing while Sam, Freddie, and Spencer were playing some instruments and also showed videos that fans sent to the ICarly website. IMO, I think in the lyrics Miranda was basically saying to the fans take a chance and send videos to ICarly.com, try their best so maybe they can become famous like the ICarly gang, and leave everything to her. Here's an example:

"♫Show me what you can become,
There's a dream in everyone!
And it's all real,
I'm telling you just how I feel!♫

So wake up the members of my nation,
It's your time to be!
There's no chance unless you take one,
And the time to see the brighter side of every situation!
Somethings are meant to be, So
gimme your best and leave the rest to me!♫"

There have been many episodes of ICarly that made me laugh to the point that I would almost wet myself or just clap in the air like an attention seeking seal and there would be many episodes that would warm my heart to the point where I would almost tear up. The episodes I am going to review is just my intake on which episodes I think are the best, so if anyone views differently I kindly respect that. Let's review.

#10: IPilot, the very first episode. I literally remember when this episode aired. I remember Nick showed a sneak-peak of the first scene when they were promoting the show. When I first saw the sneak-peak, I was like "OMG Megan is getting her own show and she's not evil!" I forgot to mention I also read something about Dan Schiender wanted Megan to have her own spin-off or something, thank god he chose ICarly instead. Anyway, I LOLed through the episode, especially the part during the talent show rehearsals and when Carly and Sam realized they became popular on Splashface (thanks to Freddie and Ms. Brigg's pointy Boobs 😜). In fact, I don't know if I'm affected by the mandala effect but during the scene when they (Carly and Sam) confronted Freddie about the video, there wasn't a transition after the commercial break. See after the commercial break, showed an extended version of Sam pulling Freddie into the Shay's apartment (which was very funny by the way). I also enjoyed watching their very first webcast, which reached 37,000 I believe and the little party they had at the end too. This episode aired alongside with the second episode IWant More Viewers, which is #9 on my list.

#9: IWant More Viewers. If I remember correctly, before IWant More Viewers aired and it could've been afterward, there was a behind the scenes with the cast of ICarly discussing how the show was made, their opinions, and I think I remember seeing Miranda Cosgrove and Jenette McCurdy doing a handshake that they did in IPromise Not to Tell. In this episode, the gang has a contest to see who can get more viewers for ICarly, spinning them into comical mix-ups and even a visit from the Seattle police. There were funny moments like when Ms. Briggs (Or Ms. B----) threatened to get Freddie expelled all because Spencer went to visit him at School and when the sign Carly and Same created for the web show got ruined in the rain...THAT SIGN LOOKS MESSED UP! But the real funny moment was the sign that Spencer created to display as a billboard had my sides hurting from saying "Please Go Online to ICarly.com" to "Pee on Carl". After that, the police brought Spencer home because of the incident and it turns out that one of the officers.....is named Carl. Gee, I wonder how Nick gave permission for Dan to show this in the episode. They were probably laughing so hard that it didn't really matter to them. I also remember watching the webcast from this episode (the one that showed Pee on Carl) on the ICarly website.

#8: IWin a Date (Ooh, that rhymed! Lol). I remember IWin a Date and I Have a Lovesick Teacher aired on this block they did called ICarly Double-Date Night--I believe it was on a Friday. In this episode, the gang helps Gibby get a date with his crush Shannon by having a game show on ICarly called "IWin a Date". Due to a mishap and very comical mixup, Gibby accidentally chooses Carly as his date, Shannon (who's really in love with Freddie) is Freddie's date, and Sam.....oh boy...Sam's date is Gibby's friend Reuben. They all double (or in this case triple) date at the Cheesecake Warehouse (parody of the Cheesecake Factory) and this is when the episode goes back to normal. Sam's speech to Reuben had him...well let's just say the poor little "Austrailian-Eskimo" had his sensitivity ruined by a blondie who's panties (oh that's right Sam hates that word) got into a HUGE bunch with salad and cheesecake. Gibby finally admits his love to Shannon....by dancing with his shirt off. Even though Shannon ran off, someone stepped up and followed his routine while Carly, Sam, and Freddie clapped and bounced.

#7: ISaw Him First. Although most of the time when ICarly aired, I would watch it live. However some of the episodes I couldn't because either I had to go somewhere with my mom or I had to go to one of my aunt's house so she can babysit me while my mom was at work. Plus, she didn't have cable at the time. This is one of the episodes I had to watch at a later time, I remember as soon as I got back from my aunt's house I logged onto the Nick website and watched the episode. I really enjoyed this episode because to me it felt like the show was freshened up. Freddie's voice got deeper, the intro was different, and this is one of the few episodes to have an extended version. In this episode, Carly and Sam fight over the affection for Freddie's friend Shane (Actor James Maslow who is also a former band member of Big Time Rush and he dated Miranda in real life). This episode is a life lesson, not to just girls but also boys too. So Boys, if your reading this and if you notice or feel that two girls are trying to win your heart, run as fast as you can and lose contact with them or else you'll be seduced into a fake play, kissing booth, CPR, a fake study session, and a chance to fall down the elevator shaft.....but at least you'll get some sugar from Carly at the end. What I also like about this episode is during the end credits, Miranda's song "Stay my Baby" was playing. ♫Stay my baby, STAY MY BAAAABYY!♫

#6: IOwe You. Try not to borrow money if you don't have to, but if you do always try to remember paying it back. Otherwise, your debt will be as much as the average price of rent like Sam. In this episode, Sam learns that she borrowed so much money from Carly and Freddie that the total accumulated to $526. This persuades her to ask the fans of ICarly to donate the money to her....using her School's address. JUST GIVE ME SOME MONEY! THEY AIN'T GONNA GIVE YOU NO MONEY! JUST GIVE ME SOME MONEY! THEY AIN'T GONNA GIVE YOU NO MONEY! After Principal Franklin explains to the two...ahem..."Girfs"...that it is illegal to solicit money over the web, Sam decides to get a job at Chili My Bowl. I actually had sympathy for Sam during the Chili My Bowl scenes, I mean seriously? You would really make a female employee clean the men's restroom? Do you make your male employees clean the women's restroom? The funniest part of the episode is when Sam scared Freddie (LMFAO!😂😂🤣 ), the Spencer scenes, and the little montage when Sam quit her job.

#5 IMeet Fred. If you've been watching Youtube since at least 2007, you might be familiar with the infamous "Fred". HEY, IT'S FRED! I never knew about the popularity of Fred until I watched this episode and never knew how opinionated people can be. In this episode, Freddie says that he "doesn't think Fred is all that funny". Omg Fredward...OMG. This causes the gang to receive a bunch of backlashes that turns into a hateocracy ....especially Freddie since he got kicked out of all his clubs at school, tormented physically and verbally (especially by Sam of course), and vice versa. It even came to the point where a website was created called "neverwatchicarly.com" and a TMZ like paparazzi to storm into the Shay's apartment. But what makes this episode so remarkable and #5 on the list is Spencer's magic meatball, Marvin the Ostrich, and the guest appearance by Fred himself. Thanks to Carly.....and Sam with a Tennis Racket, Fred and Freddie makeup, the gang stars in one of his Fred videos, and this ends the whole "brouhaha".

#4 IKiss.We all know that Sam and Freddie do not get along, and if it wasn't for Carly Sam would have probably been in Juvie and Freddie might be in the Hospital. But in this episode (at least to the very end), their bicker changes for a brief moment. Freddie tries to get revenge on the blonde after she stuffed a dead fish in his locker. How? He handcuffed her to Gibby. I still wonder how he did it without their knowledge (unless Gibby knew before her), but at least Gibby's Mom thinks he's awesome. Later they were discussing their first kiss and it turns out that Freddie never had a first kiss. Sam overhears this and decides to use this as revenge...by blurting it out LIVE on ICarly. This causes Freddie to get tormented and mocked at school, poor Fredward. Before we continue, let's think on this for a brief sec. Why is it so funny that someone never had a kiss? I'm 19 and I still haven't had my first kiss. Let's continue. Carly scolds Sam for her actions and during the web show, Sam states that she never kissed anyone either. Later on, Sam goes to Freddie's apartment to apologize and this is when the episode turns into a plot twist (at least for me when it first aired). They kissed....and nothing more is said about it until the first episode of season 3 "IThink They Kissed".

#3 IOMG. I remember this episode and the promos very well. You should've seen how they were promoting this episode, it was kind of predictable, to be honest. In this episode, Carly and Freddie notice that Sam has been acting "funny" lately, wanting to hang out with Freddie and their friend Brad (who makes very yummy Fudge by the way 😋) and work on their semester projects. The project they were working on was a Mood Face, which can tell what mood a person is in. Sam gets tested on the Mood Face and it turns out she is in L-O-V-E....but with whom? Carly and Freddie thought she was in love with Brad....but Sam denies this and decides to go outside. Freddie finds Sam and decides to give her advice on falling in love with someone....someone that turns out to be him in which she kissed him....leaving the episode as a cliffhanger. Was I surprised after watching this episode? No, in fact, I was glad they kissed despite being a Creddie shipper.

#2: IMeet The First Lady. ICarly has had many guest stars on the show. From Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory, Craig, Eric, and Gavin from Drake & Josh, Drake Bell himself in the IBloop episode, One Direction, and Jimmy Fallon. But one of the shocking and important guests that were on the show was...I hate to say former but...former First Lady Michelle Obama. In fact, this was the first Nickelodeon show to ever feature the First Lady of the U.S. What made her appearance in this episode? Carly and Spencer's dad Colonel Shay was supposed to come home for his birthday, but he wasn't able to make it. Then Sam, Freddie, Spencer, and Gibby surprise her by hacking into the communication network of the base he's stationed at to video chat. Unfortunately, that didn't go as planned either. At school, Carly, Sam, and Freddie are picked up by the Secret Service Agents and head back to the Shay's apartment. When they came back, guess who was having a conversation with Spencer about that Halloween incident when he got trapped in a Pumpkin for forgetting to buy Halloween candy? None other than MICHELLE OBAMA! She was so impressed with how Carly tried to communicate with her father and how much Sam and Freddie care for Carly. What makes this episode remarkable is the appearance from the First Lady, her appearing in the webcast, a cameo from Dan Schiender, and ending the episode with random dancing!

I couldn't think of which episode could be #1, but from picking and choosing I think I finally found the #1 episode of the series, as well as the saddest.

#1 IGoodbye. The series finale. When ICarly was airing, I always wondered how the series would end or even if they would have a series finale. I didn't want to think on it too much because I would get all teary inside as I didn't want the series to end. I heard that on set Miranda, Jenette, and Jerry cried during taping and I almost teared up reading about it. I first heard about the series finale from looking on the ICarly wiki a couple of months before it aired, making me prepped up for when it aired in November. What makes this finale so special is we finally get a chance to see Carly and Spencer's Dad, Mr. Colonel Steven Shay. Unfortunately, he says he has to leave again but offers Carly the opportunity to live with him at his base in Italy. This is where it starts to get heartbreaking...well at least they said just temporarily. During the web show, Carly and Sam said they are going on a hiatus until Carly comes back from Italy. They thank all their fans for their love and support and even feature Colonel Shay on the web show. Before Carly left, however, she and Freddie kiss...CREDDIE! CREDDIE The gang have a group hug, Sam gives Carly her remote, and even Lewburt puts his two cents in. But what made me tear up and to me was heartbreaking as well as heartwarming was when Sam drove off on the Motorcycle Spencer gave her as Freddie's voiceover says "And..we're clear"😭😪 . After the episode, I was like "now what?" Now what other show is there to watch on Nickelodeon? I love watching Spongebob, but I like ICarly better than Spongebob. I started crying because I didn't know what I was going to do without ICarly. But at least I have the memories. That's until I heard that Sam was going to have a spin-off called "Sam & Cat" and Gibby was also going to have his own spin-off called "Gibby", but it was never picked up and Sam & Cat got canceled after only one season.

Anyways, that's my TV Review on ICarly. To this day, I still can't watch the IGoodbye episode without crying, that's why I only saw it about 2 or 3 times. Thanks for reading this and as always, have a nice day.

ICarly Wiki: http://icarly.wikia.com/wiki/ICarly_Wiki

Image source: http://tve.armstrongmywire.com/series/56575425/details/icarly

UPDATE 2/21/19: Look what my mom found while cleaning up! It came in a Mcdonalds Happy Meal from 2011. I literally forgot about this until my mom found it.

Jazz 'N Things

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Wednesday, October 31, 2018

HAPPY HALLOWEEN 2018!

Sunday, October 28, 2018

TV Review: IReview ICarly + My Top Ten ICarly Episodes

Thursday, October 25, 2018

UPDATE 10/25/18: IN COLLEGE, WEIGHT LOSS, AND MORE

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