This is NOT iCarly, YOU HEAR ME, NOT iCarly! Note
Bizaardvark is an American sitcom created by Kyle Stegina and Josh Lehrman that premiered on Disney Channel on June 24, 2016. The series follows Frankie (Madison Hu) and Paige (Olivia Rodrigo), two teenage best friends who post funny songs and comedic videos on the Internet. After hitting 10,000 subscribers on their Vuuugle channel Bizaardvark (a portmanteau of the words "bizarre" and "aardvark"), they are accepted into the Vuuugle studios, where they make their videos while also having to share them with other "Vuuuglers".
The third season premiered on July 24, 2018, with two new additions to the cast- Maxwell Simkins as Zane and Elie Samouhi as Rodney, as well as having a summer theme to the series, Paige and Frankie becoming mentors and big sisters to Zane and Rodney, as well as the move from the Vuuugle building to the Vuuugle House for the summer.
The series ended on April 13, 2019, after three seasons over three years.
Bizaardvark provides examples of:
- Almost Kiss: In the climax of "A Killer Robot Christmas", Bernie and Amelia are about to kiss when Paige interrupts, delivering the news that the robot is destroyed.
- And Show It to You: In "Unboxing", Frankie practices doing this after joining Paige's mixed martial arts program. When Paige later considers telling Frankie that she doesn't want to practice with her, she has an Imagine Spot wherein Frankie screams hysterically before ripping out Paige's still-beating heart.
- Appointment Television: The B-plot for "Promposal Problems", where Dirk does not like it when Amelia and Viking Guy spoil the finale of Cali Beach High before he can even watch it with his brother that weekend. When he finally does watch it and was ready to dish, Amelia and Viking Guy end up spoiling the next show that replaced it- Zombie Beach High, making Dirk give up in frustration. The moment Dirk said to them that they can say any spoiler to him, it ends with this:Viking Guy: I'm going out with your mom next weekend!
(Amelia and Horse Face Guy gasp, and Dirk runs away screaming) - The Bet: In "Yes and No", Frankie and Paige make a bet over how long Frankie can go saying yes to everything, while Paige has to say no. If Frankie wins, she will spend their arcade tickets on a fighting robot; if Paige wins, she will get a stuffed sea otter.
- Big "NO!":
- At the end of The Teaser for "Frankie and Amelia's Fun Friend Weekend", this is Frankie and Paige's last line in the "Flying Shoes" video upon hearing they can't return their flying shoes without the receipt.
- In "Yes and No", Amelia, Bernie, and Derek have one in unison when Bernie accidentally throws the video camera with Amelia's outtake on it into the deep fryer.
- In "Two Me's in a Pod", Willow screams one at Amelia in response for trying to make her like how she used to appear, because she changed her image to avoid being compared to her.
- Birthday Episode:
- "Paige's Birthday Is Gonna Be Great" for Paige.
- "House Band" for Willow.
- Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: What started Bizaardvark. Frankie would later mention this as calling it a Portmanteau and a Wombo, both in Season 3.Frankie: Okay, we need a name for our channel.
Paige: Let's just go through the alphabet. "A", aardvark.
Frankie: "B", bizarre.
Both: Bizaardvark! - Book Ends: The series begins with Frankie and Paige entering Vuuugle upon reaching 10,000 subscribers, and ends with them leaving after Liam sells the domain.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: In the series finale "The End of the Beginning," Paige and Frankie break the fourth wall with their real television audience when their fictional characters are offered a TV show in the "Bizaardvark" universe.
- Brutal Honesty: Near the end of "Softball: The Musical", Viking Guy and Paige did this to Dirk, the latter making Dirk cry. Frankie was this too when she told Dirk that his brownies were too chocolaty (Which in a flashback, did make Dirk cry). Frankie's response to Paige reminding her about what she did?Frankie: *chuckles* He cried.
- Catchphrase: Dirk has "Here we go!" and "Dareheads".
- Caught on Tape: In "Chocolate Bananas", the eponymous embarrassing Bizaardvark video accidentally caught footage of the school's graffiti vandal, something which stresses the girls to the point they could risk themselves facing moral dilemma.
- Christmas Episode: "Agh, Humbug", “A Killer Robot Christmas” and "Holiday Video Sketchtacular".
- Comedic Work, Serious Scene: Season 2 Episode 2 is about Frankie not getting much time in with her father, who is a doctor. She actually breaks down crying in the end, and her and her dad have to talk things out. And on Episode 1 of the same season, her friend Paige easily integrates into the high school scene, but she doesn't. Paige didn't even realize that Frankie was the odd one out. Frankie had to tell her. She got her hair stuck in her locker twice and struggled to open it back. No one helped her. People stared blankly at her jokes but cracked up at Paige's, and when she spilled her lunch in the cafeteria, again, no one offered to help her. She recieved blank stares again. This episode was mimicing the Real Life abandonment that someone can feel when going to a new school with old friends. (Her other friends were not present to help her either.)
- Cool Big Sis: In season 3, Amelia tries to be that for Willow while Paige and Frankie become this (in spirit) to Zane and Rodney.
- Creator Backlash: In-Universe - Moosetashio causes this for Paige and Frankie in "Moosetashio: A Cautionary Tale."
- Descent into Darkness Song: "If I Had a Dog" from "The BFF (Before Frankie Friend)" starts out with a sense of excitement as Frankie and Paige voice their thoughts over adopting a dog; the mood gradually becomes more annoyed and disgruntled as they voice the consequences of having such. By the final verse, the song has become quiet and melancholy.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Victor's plan to break up Bizaardvark in both "The Collab" and "In Your Space!", for no reason other than to get the funniest channel on Vuuugle, but at the same time, destroy Paige and Frankie's friendship. When they point out the ludicrous expenses in money for his second attempt, he responds that the cost was worth it.
- And they're not the only ones that he did this to, every comedy channel that joined Vuugle was destroyed shortly after their arrival.
- Distaff Counterpart: Dirk has one in Dare Me Girl (real first name: Pam) in "Control + Alt + Escape!".
- The Ditz: Nearly every character in the show is lacking in the brain department, but out of all of them, Amelia has more common sense.
- "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune: Both Madison Hu and Olivia Rodrigo sing the show's opening, appropriately titled, "Let's Go Make Some Videos".
- Ear Worm: Paige and Frankie hate to admit it, but the Chocolate Bananas song is catchy.
- Halloween Episode: "Halloweenvark", a part one episode in Season 1, a part two episode in Season 2, and a part three episode in Season 3.
- I Just Want to Be Special: Willow has been compared to Amelia so much that she hates being seen as her mini-me, so she completely changes her image to feel perfect in her own way.
- Ironic Echo Cut: All of these three ironically, in season three, all by Amelia.
- One happens in “Friend Fight!”:
Amelia: They love us! They love us!
(Cut to later)
Amelia: They hated us! They HATED us!- Another In “House Band”:
Willow: With you in charge, it's gonna be the best birthday ever!
Amelia: You know it is, I know exactly what I'm gonna do and you're gonna love it!
(Later, to Frankie)
Amelia: I have no idea what I'm gonna do and she's gonna hate it!- A third in “Paige's Way vs. Frankie's Way”, when Amelia makes a burlap dress for Willow:
Amelia: So, do you love it?
Willow: I love it so much.
(Later, wearing the dress for Frankie)
Willow: I hate it so much! - It Makes Sense in Context / Makes Just as Much Sense in Context: What Paige and Frankie's funny videos are about.
- Just Friends: Amelia's thoughts about this in "In Your Space!" when Bernie tells her how he feels. Except Bernie thinks the wrong way after she said that's how she feels.
- Last Episode Theme Reprise: Happens at the end of the Grand Finale, combined with Waxing Lyrical by Paige and Frankie, followed by a soft instrumental version of the theme song as it ends.
- Madness Mantra: In "Halloweenvark", anyone who is turned into a pretty zombie by Amelia's shampoo repeatedly says "Perfectly perfect" over and over.
- Meaningful Rename: When Amelia learns of her sister Willow's change of image and accepts it, she changes Perfect Perfection to Imperfect Imperfection to focus on the flaws that make one unique.
- My Beloved Smother: Paige's mother Gina in "Mom! Stop!", but she decided to loosen up a bit at the end.
- Nice Character, Mean Actor: Actor Amelia and Actor Bernie in the grand finale. They act as friends to Paige and Frankie on their show, but off-camera they’re dismissive and mean.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Viking Guy always ruins Paige and Frankie's attempt to lie to Dirk about not him not being in the softball team in "Softball: The Musical."
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Amelia's little sister is named Sarah, but she changed her name to Willow to avoid being compared to her.
- Opening Credits Cast Party: Made to even look like it's a Youtube video, complete with a "Skip Ad" part parody. And to end the opening, Bernie... is late to it all!Bernie: And I- ah, I missed it! *leaves in annoyance while the laptop closes, ending the opening sequence*
- In season 3, it's shortened, but replacing Dirk with Zane and Rodney.
- Pilot Episode: "First!"
- Put on a Bus: Amelia's assistant Angelo leaves the show as of "Pretty Con", so he could finish medical school to enroll in countries with no doctors.
- Raised by Grandparents: Bernie is being raised by his grandmother Roz.
- Real After All: Becky, the friend Frankie and Paige assumed that Amelia made up in “Best Friend Tag”, turns out to actually exist near the end of the episode.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Willow gives one to Amelia when she tries to get her to be how she was originally in "Two Me's in a Pod":Amelia: But I can make you look how you used to look!
Willow: I don't want to look how I used to look!
Amelia: If you just let me...
Willow: NO! Stop trying to make me be like you! - Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense: A recurring theme in the series is Liam spending wildly on some rather goofy stuff (like being perfectly okay with the gang wasting his budget on their outrageous and outlandish stunts). As it turns out, the final episode has Liam announcing that his horrible investments and bad choices have pushed him near bankruptcy so he has to sell off Vuuugle to pay his debts.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: Due to Jake Paul getting fired from Bizaardvark (and Disney Channel as a whole) in the middle of season two, Dirk only appears in a few episodes he is part of, and will be gone by the second half of season two. It was mentioned in one episode of Season 3 that Dirk left Vuuugle.
- Red Herring: In "Frankie Has a Hater" when the girls go to the house of Frankie's hater, a teenage boy comes out and they confront him. Then the boy's sister — who is only 11 years old — walks onto the scene and reveals herself to be the real hater.
- Rousing Lullaby: One episode has a video parody this as "The Worst Lullaby Ever".
- Secret Test of Character: When Dirk and Bernie learn how wealthy Amelia is and it has a negative effect on their friendship, she gives each a 10,000 dollar check in order to negate the problem. Dirk decides their friendship is more important then money and destroys the check. Bernie on the other hand fakes destroying his check and immediately goes to cash it at the nearest bank. the checks were only props. Amelia anticipated Bernie's greed and thought it would be highly entertaining to watch him try to use it. She and Dirk get to watch him taken to jail for bank fraud.
- Ship Tease: Bernie and Amelia. Dropped in the third season after it's later revealed in the penultimate episode that Bernie's grandma Roz and Amelia's father Red ends up getting married to each other, making them now step-aunt and step-nephew.
- Shouldn't We Be in School Right Now?: One has to wonder how Paige and Frankie have time to be in Vuuugle, but sometimes they are seen in school (Albeit a prep one in season one and a regular high school in season two) and yet either faculty ever questions this. Inverted in season 3, in the appropriately named episode "Summer Schooled," where we learn that Frankie AND Paige both failed chemistry, because they had accidentally ripped up their final projects during a video.
- Shout-Out:
- Dirk does a Rider Break in "Control + Alt + Escape!", as part of a dare-off against Dare Me Girl to see who would rescue Paige, Frankie, and Amelia first.
- Dirk and Viking Guy accidentally breaking the mic with their voices while one-upping each other bout how they love romantic comedies in a Vuuugle segment in the episode "Softball: The Musical" brings to mind the
Memetic Mutation about Toshiyuki Morikawa's infamous "Breaking the mic while shouting VOLTEKKA" incident during the recording of Tekkaman Blade.
- Sixth Ranger: Zane and Rodney (and to an extent, Amelia's little sister Willow) become this to the main cast in season 3.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: The music video "Oops, Wrong Emoji". The melody is bouncy and upbeat when the mood and message of the song itself are about resulting in various disasters.
- Special Guest: Most of them are internet celebs in some episodes. JoJo Siwa, Lilly Singh, and Thomas Sanders to name a few. The episode "Spring Break Digital Video Spectacular" has Four internet celebs (Annie Leblanc, Jordyn Jones and Johnny & Lauren Orlando) guesting on the same episode!
- Sure, Let's Go with That:Amelia: Frankie Wong and Paige (pauses) Wong.Paige Olvera: Sure, let's go with that.
- Surprise Party: Frankie goes to great lengths to give Paige one after the latter is falling to disappointment in, appropriately enough, "Paige's Birthday Is Gonna Be Great".
- Tomboy and Girly Girl: Frankie is less willing to get dolled up than Paige (though she herself isn't at Amelia's level), and until the episode "Pretty-Con" is dead set against it.
- Trash the Set: Early on in Season 2, Dirk and crew destroy the hot chocolate bar and it is later converted into a new office for Liam.
- Troubled Fetal Position:
- When Frankie just can't get the dance step rights during their limited studio time, she ends up in this position at Paige's feet.
- Frankie walks in on Amelia in the middle of this after Frankie's puzzling request for a sideways cake for Paige's birthday.
- The Watson: Paige and Frankie both serve this role, essentially for any viewer who aspires to be a social media star. Typically as they're introduced to the world of internet fame, Amelia takes a mentoring role to explain common tactics and essential steps to gaining a following.
- Wacky Startup Workplace: The work environment strongly fits this trope, as it's a youth-oriented studio. A number of wacky webvideo series often interfere with the making of the protagonists' webvideo show.
- Waxing Lyrical: Done by Paige and Frankie in the Grand Finale, followed by a Last Episode Theme Reprise as mentioned above:Paige: Let's go make some videos.
Frankie: (shaking a bale of hay) Hay! Hay! - Wins by Doing Absolutely Nothing: Paige and Frankie only win against Vicki in "Bizaardvark vs. Vicki 'Hot Head' Fuego" this way other than trying to evade her attacks due to Bernie shooting the T-Shirts towards Vicki by error instead of to the viewers buying the shirts.
- Yank the Dog's Chain: In “Yes and No”, Amelia tries doing an outtake for her channel to attract viewers, which she finds increasingly difficult. Then she finally gets one by sitting down and farting which Bernie gets on camera, only to lose it when he accidentally tosses the camera into a deep-fryer.
