A yellow-greenish character named Phred hosts his very own television show from the head of a child.
Format
At the beginning of each episode, an unseen character named "Big Voice" gives Phred information about that episode's host. Following the description, Phred exits his home and hops from head to head searching for the host. When Phred finally finds the host, he tells the "crew" or "boys" to "pickle" him/her. Later, the two introduce episodes of various Noggin programs.
Vignettes
Opening prologue
The show opens with an explanation of the central character, Phred. It describes how he was a mascot for the fictional pickle distributor, Phantastic Pickles, until his pickle jar rolled off of a supermarket shelf and set him free.
Featured content
Episodes aired on weekends feature episodes or segments of select Noggin programs while Phred is "searching" for the host. Examples of these programs include Doug, Dirk Niblick of the Math Brigade, The Further Adventures of Zook & Alison, Sesame Street Unpaved, Mathnet, and The Electric Company. Occasionally, a "Snick Snack" or Short Films by Short People selection is aired as well.
Theme song
After a cold open, a stop-motion theme song plays. It has replaceable lyrics that change to fit in the host's name.
Other segments
The series features a set of segments in addition to the Noggin programs. These included Phred's Got Mail and Cecile and Her Very Own Universe.
Broadcast
Phred on Your Head Show premiered on the Noggin network on July 26, 1999. Throughout 1999, 21 episodes making up the first season were aired twice daily. The series was renewed for a 10-episode second season on February 1, 2000. The series was rerun on sister channel Nickelodeon several times in 2000. The series served as the lead-in to the "Noggins Up" programming block, which began on March 27, 2000.
Reception
A preview episode of Phred on Your Head Show that aired on June 6, 1999 drew over 850,000 viewers, generating a 2.2 Nielsen Media Research national rating. Phred on Your Head Show is mentioned in the 2001 book "Designing for Children: Marketing Design that Speaks to Kids" as an example of a program that was successfully able to transition from television to the Internet.
A spin-off based on Phred on Your Head Show aired in 2001, titled The URL with Phred Show. It focuses on user-generated content submitted to Noggin.com.
