Crash & Bernstein is an American live actiontelevision comedy series with puppetry which premiered on October 8, 2012, and ended on August 11, 2014, on Disney XD. Created by Eric Friedman, the series centered on a boy with three sisters who wishes to have a brother. His wishes come true when he builds his own puppet brother. Production for the series began in October 2012. Disney XD renewed the series for a second season on April 15, 2013, which premiered on October 7, 2013. Sesame Street and Muppets performer Tim Lagasse stars as the voice and puppeteer for Crash. Greg Ballora works as the puppet captain.
Premise
Wyatt Bernstein is a boy who lives with his mom Mel and his sisters Cleo, Jasmine and Amanda in the city of Portland, Oregon. For his 12th birthday, Wyatt is taken to a store called Build-A-Bestie where he creates a puppet named Crash, who joins the family as the brother he always wanted. Crash and Wyatt must deal with the sisters, while having their brotherly differences and still watching each other's back.
Episodes
Characters
Main
Crash – Crash is a puppet character who was created at the time of Wyatt's visit to Build-A-Bestie. He has a reckless and destructive personality where he causes some damages in the Bernstein's apartment. Crash is very gullible and dim-witted and often gets either himself or others in trouble, but overall he has a good heart and his intentions are usually in the right place. However, he can be prone to jealousy at times. In "Monkey Business", it's revealed that he can temporarily gain the knowledge of different things by eating the books about that topic. It's hinted that Crash can also speak Spanish, and he's a professional "vomit :wikt:whisperer|whisperer", and on one episode when a loud noise was made, he developed some temporary alter egos. Tim Lagasse is assisted in performing Crash by Paul McGinnis and Rob Sanders who operates the arms, legs, and props of Crash.
Wyatt Bernstein – Wyatt is a 12-year-old boy among three sisters who wishes to have a brother. Wyatt is the middle child in the Bernstein family. This results in his building Crash at Build-A-Bestie. He's often exasperated by Crash's antics, especially when they get him in trouble too, but generally loves spending time with his brother. He's best friends with Pesto.
Cleopatra "Cleo" Bernstein – Cleo is Amanda, Wyatt, and Jasmine's 10-year-old sister who shares a room with Wyatt. She makes products for her "company" called "CLEO" where she serves as the self-proclaimed CEO. It's revealed that she has a crush on Pesto. Cleo is often bossy, but is considered to be the superior member of the family. Cleo is very business-savvy and will sell just about anything from makeup and lotions to "monster truck" dirt to make money.
Amanda Bernstein – Amanda is Wyatt, Cleo, and Jasmine's 16-year-old sister. She's very popular, and Pesto has a crush on her. She also seems to be a stereotype blond, or just has the personality of one. Amanda is very sociable, but can also be annoying to other characters, She's the "it" girl for English and Australianboys, and just likes to enjoy herself and have fun. She's also a terrible cook.
Pesto – Pesto is Wyatt's friend. His parents own Iconic Arcade which is where he works. Pesto has a crush on Amanda and often tries to woo her, but fails miserably. He's often shown to be a momma's boy and mentions his mother in several episodes. He used to hate Crash, but now seems to be somewhat friends with him.
Recurring
Jasmine Bernstein - Jasmine is Amanda, Wyatt, and Cleo's 6-year-old sister. Jasmine is the youngest member of the Bernstein family. When Jasmine doesn't get her way she throws a tantrum. She owns a doll named Princess Glitter that Crash is in love with. She also has a signature scream that she lets loose when she doesn't get her way. Despite her age, she's shown to be very intelligent, and is very skilled at doing things that most kids in her own age group wouldn't be able to do. She also has an assertive side, which she displays in several episodes. Jasmine's middle name is Erica.
Melanie "Mel" Bernstein – Mel is the wife of Karl and the mother of Amanda, Wyatt, Cleo, and Jasmine. Mel doesn't approve of Crash.
Scottie – Scottie is one of Wyatt's friends at Linus Pauling Middle School. He's also the host of the school's show "Good Morning Linus Pauling."
Martin Poulos – Martin Poulos is the landlord of the Bernsteins' apartment building. He carries around a swear jar which he swears into so that nobody can hear his profanity. In "Crashlemania," it's revealed that he was a wrestler named "Plunger" when he was a wrestling partner of Coach Urkhart.
Rufus "The Slapper" – Rufus is the schoolbully at Linus Pauling Middle School.
Mrs. Lopez – A tenant in the Bernsteins' apartment building who's a known cat lady. Although she owns a lot of cats, Mrs. Lopez also owns a Basset Hound as seen in "Comic Book Crash."
Roland – A newsdealer and vendor that works at the newsstand in Wyatt's neighborhood.
Coach Urkhart – The coach of the wrestling team at Wyatt's school and one of Martin Poulos' old friends. He and Martin were a wrestling duo where Coach Urkhart was the "Cyclone." In "Health-O-Ween," it's revealed that Coach Urkhart is a member of the Nightmare Society.
Karl Bernstein – Karl is the husband of Mel and the father of Amanda, Wyatt, Cleo and Jasmine who debuts in Season 2. He works as a wildlife photographer and travels a lot.
Broadcast
Crash & Bernstein originally premiered on October 8, 2012 on Disney XD. It also airs on Disney Channel. It premiered on November 3, 2012 on Disney XD, on January 10, 2013 on Disney XD, and on February 9, 2013 on Disney XD. In Australia the series premiered on April 19, 2013 on Disney Channel and on April 10, 2014. It aired reruns at the end of 2015 on Disney XD.
Reception
Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media, which informs parents about media choices for their children, gave Crash & Bernstein a three star rating out of five, stating, "This is one of those case-by-case shows that needs you to be mindful of your child's response to what he or she sees on TV". She added, "Since much of the show's laughs result from the characters' misbehavior, it's important that viewers understand the difference between fantasy and reality. If your son and his brother decide to remedy a lack of space in their bedroom by knocking down a wall, that will have more serious consequences than what they see Wyatt and Crash suffer from the same action. If your kids do watch, be sure you talk about how the characters' actions would be received in the real world instead of the TV universe."
Interactivity
In July 2013 on DisneyXD.com online, viewers could vote for their favorite nose for Crash. The winning nose was revealed during the second season's premiere. In conjunction with the second season's premiere, the website also launched "Crash & Bernstein: Cluck n' Chuck," an interactive game where fans play as Crash and Wyatt and take on the neighborhood. The game is playable on both computer and mobile devices.
Planned spin-off
On July 10, 2014, it was reported that Disney XD had begun production for the pilot of a possible spin-off of Crash & Bernstein, titled Commando Crash, The plot entails Crash enrolling in Oak Shield Military School. Adam Dorfman, Cameron Ocasio, Armaan Juneja, Nicholas Stargel, and Megan Goodman co-star in the pilot. The pilot was completed, but was not picked up as a series.
