Kenan and Kel were unleashed on the world by
Nickelodeon during the
1996 season.
Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell were charter members of the All That cast when the show was created in 1995. All That was a sketch comedy during which the two cast members worked quite well together. Some may say they rivaled Chris Farley and David Spade.
Their work was so well that when a sketch involved one of them, it would almost always involve the other one. Each one complemented each other perfectly. It was no surprise when Nickelodeon announced in the next year that Kenan and Kel were to have their own TV show.
The formula of the TV show was a set standard for almost all of the 61 episodes. The TV show starts off with Kenan and Kel addressing the audience, talking about random topics when Kenan will either allude to the night's episode or leave on an odd note that rolls into the episode.
The TV show will then start playing. Each of the two main characters is normally introduced with in a minute and as the episode progressed Kenan would have a problem. The problems ranged from a meeting with the principle of his high school to ditching a day of school to Kel angering Kenan's father. Overall the problems can just be random acts that the stars wish to accomplish or crises in the life of the cast.
Kenan will then invariably get an idea on how to solve the problem. Kel would say it is a bad idea and Kenan forces or persuades him, or Kel will just follow along. Normally Kel will make a mistake and cause problems. Usually involving his deep affection for orange soda. Sometimes mistiming comes into play as schedules get conflicted. Finally the plan fails and the boys must tell the truth, causing twice or three times the trouble as if they just avoided the problem in the first place.
After the episode is over Kenan and Kel will come out and say good night to the audience, as they finish the show Kenan will get a crazy idea. Kenan will not mention the idea, but will mention that Kel is required to get three incompatible items and follow him to some strange place and Kel will ask a funny question then say "ohhh here it goes!"
End of show.
That is the basic formula of the show, followed through most of the adventures
. There are two episodes where the show had a continuation. The show basically was the same formula but had a small to be continued in between the halves. The cast members do come out after the first half and introduce the second half interestingly while staying true to the formula.
There is multiple characters on the show. They are quite unique but some of them have not had the character development that was deserved.
Kenan Rockmore played by Kenan Thompson is one half of the duo. Kenan is a typical high school student. He has a part time job at the market called Rigby's. He loves to try to get dates with girls but always fails as his plans are extravagant. Kenan usually has good intentions but tends to get foiled up.
Kel Kimble, played by Kel Mitchell is Kenan's best friend. He is also Kenan's biggest annoyance. Kel tends to drive Kenan crazy, destroying stuff, stumbling around, and acting like a fool. Kel has a true love, orange soda. He is often heard reciting
Who loves orange soda? Kel loves orange soda! Is it true? It is true ooh ooh ooh ooooooh.
Often Kenan says some of his
lines. His
actions and his
love annoy Kenan because it often gets in the way of his
plans.
Kenan's sister is named Kyra Rockmore. Kyra is an annoying little pest of Kenan, but Kyra is madly in love with Kel. She will often tempt him with offers of orange soda.
Kenan's parents are Roger and Sheryl Rockmore. They normally are the ones that discover Kenan in the middle of his nefarious acts. They tend to ground Kenan mercilessly but they trust Kenan more then anyone else. Roger has high blood pressure and tends to dislike Kel as Kel destroys his possessions and eats and drinks his food and soda.
Chris Potter is the owner of Rigby's. Chris is an odd talking adult. Chris often makes up words when he is flustered. He also has a very close relationship with his mother and talks about her so much that it is far beyond healthy. Normally when he leaves Kenan alone it is because of his mother's wishes. His store is normally a setting in the TV show.
After the four seasons of the TV show there was a made for TV movie called "Two Heads Are Better then None". The movie is made for Halloween and is normally not show on Nickelodeon. The episode is similar in design to the TV show but there is no opening and closing.
In the movie the boys have to solve the mystery of the headless knight. They visit a spooky mansion, see many sights and encounter strange folks.
The Kenan and Kel show was a fun diversion to the hero-villain idea that has plagued Nickelodeon and many children shows for a while. While the show was made for teenagers, Nickelodeon still shows it on Sunday night during TeenNick. It is a worthy mention in the halls of TV history.