Top 10 Sketches from The Amanda Show

She’s one of the show’s most popular characters – mostly because she’s so wonderfully weird. In some ways, Courtney is a typical teenage girl who just wants to go to the movies and take piano lessons. On the other hand, she’s the ultimate troll, annoying and repulsing those around her just for the hell of it. But despite her antics and tacky outfits, we can’t help but love her. While Amanda’s played plenty of kooky characters over the years, only Courtney can make “MA-HA!” an endearing catchphrase.

In this recurring sketch, Amanda plays a teen girl who prank calls an aging widower named Mr. Oldman. Played by Dan Schneider, the creator of The Amanda Show, Mr. Oldman is a little hard of hearing. This leads to cheeky exchanges between him and the prankster, often consisting of the phrases “Hello?” And “You have the wrong number.” When he does manage to hear her, Mr. Oldman obeys her every command, no matter how crazy. Whether he’s putting a shoe down his pants or trying to win a million dollars, Mr. Oldman always brings on the laughs.

This sketch spoofs the popular game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”, but on the Amanda show version, the guests are not always the brightest. The host (played by Amanda) quizzes some of your favourite characters, including Totally Kyle, Tony Pajamas, and Judge Trudy. The questions have some pretty obvious wrong answers, but that won’t stop the contestants from playing by their own rules –with hilarious results. Kyle thinks radio is the answer to everything, Tony Pajamas thinks he’s at a restaurant, and Judge Trudy insists she answered correctly. While no one ever actually gets five dollars, this sketch is still a winner!

Rather than focusing on Amanda, this sketch is all about her co-star Drake Bell. Drake plays a mellow surfer, complete with long blonde hair, a tie-dye t-shirt, and his electric guitar. Chilling in his garage, Kyle regales us with stories from his day-to-day life, including that time he lost a cordless phone or when he ate a double cheeseburger. These stories don’t really go anywhere, but Kyle’s nonchalant delivery makes them funny and memorable. One of the show’s simplest and shortest sketches, it’s totally fun, and totally Kyle.

As you may gather from the name, Blockblister is a parody of the sadly bankrupt movie rental chain, Blockbuster. But this video store is a little different. The family who runs Blockblister rents out homemade knockoffs of famous movies. While their customers are less than pleased, they insist that their movies are better – much better! Spoofing anything from Titanic to The Wizard of Oz, their versions are obviously not what the customers had in mind. They’re low budget, poorly acted, but most importantly, side-splittingly funny. Honestly, we’ll take a Blockblister original any day.

Knock, knock – who’s there? Amanda and Drake, this time playing a pair of country bumpkins. Each hillbilly moment follows the same formula. Lula Mae and Eenis barge out of their house and dance around for a bit, and she tells him a knock-knock joke. Eenis asks who’s there, only for Lula Mae to whack him in the head with a random object, like a meatloaf or a steering wheel. After Drake takes a hit, the two continue dancing like nothing happened. We know what to expect each time, but this slapstick skit still delivers time after time.

These teen girls have their own show, set in their high school bathroom. There’s the host, Amber, a vain popular girl; Sheila, who’s easily agitated; Tammy, the exchange student from Tennessee, and Debbie...who likes eggs. Each episode covers a different topic, like Amber’s birthday, a talent show, student council elections, and of course, the prom. Their guests are people who happen to enter the girls’ room – and if they ever upset Sheila, they’ll find themselves getting swirlies. A funny skit that gives us slight Plastics vibes and a fondness for eggs, this is one bathroom break we can’t wait to take!

This fan favourite is an obvious spoof on Judge Judy, right down to the glasses, hairdo and tough talk. But the cases are even more ridiculous! Typically, Judge Trudy hears cases involving child plaintiffs and adult defendants, like a student against a teacher or a child against his or her parents. Judge Trudy always sides with the kids, regardless of their guilt or innocence, and sentences the defendants to unusual punishments. We’re not sure what the real Judge Judy thinks of this sketch, but everyone can agree that bringing out the dancing lobsters is always a good idea.

A show within a show, this skit parodies the melodrama of “Dawson’s Creek”. It follows teen girl Moody, whose mom is stuck in a hot air balloon and whose dad loses his big toe. All the while, she puts up with her kooky friends and crushes on Spaulding, played by future SNL star Taran Killam. Like many soaps and TV dramas, each episode ends with a cliffhanger, including the finale. According to creator Dan Schneider, this was supposed to be resolved in a spin-off, but the cliffhanger ending makes this spoof all the more fitting.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honourable mentions:

The Dare Show

Mr. Gullible

Tony Pajamas

Now we’ve come full circle. This recurring character is probably the show’s best known, and for good reason. Penelope Taynt is Amanda’s number-one fan, please, and she’ll go to any length to meet her. Over the years, she’s broken into Amanda’s dressing room, interrupted sketches, and tried to clone Amanda. Ironically, Amanda herself plays Penelope, so while she gets to meet the rest of the cast, Penelope never ends up meeting her idol- though she has come close many times. We do wonder what that moment would’ve looked like, but one thing’s for sure – this superfan is one we won’t soon forget!