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A Show of Hands (1992)

A Show of Hands poster
Country
United States

How it feels

Each episode is about one minute long and shows personified hands doing a small skit or visual illusion. The series was created for Nickelodeon and uses black and white filming with a color ending card.

playfulwhimsicalshortsimplelightheartedquirkyimaginativecharming

What happens

A Show of Hands is a series of short films created by puppeteer Tim Lagasse for Nickelodeon. It was a predecessor to the television program Oobi. Each film is about one minute long and follows personified hands as they perform a small skit or a visual illusion. The series started airing on Nickelodeon as an interstitial program in 1996, and reruns were shown through 1997. The title is a reference to the phrase "show of hands," used literally to refer to a television show about hands. Lagasse wrote, directed, and performed A Show of Hands at the University of Connecticut while earning his BFA in Puppet Arts. The original live show received an UNIMA. The series was directed by Agi Fodor (creator of Nick in the Afternoon) and was shot in black and white, with the exception of the vanity card that appears at the end of each film. After the conclusion of the series, Lagasse went to work as a director and performer on Nickelodeon's Oobi, which features similar bare hand puppets as characters. His work on A Show of Hands was what led to him being cast on Oobi. The films were positively received and won a Broadcast Design International. In 2001, Lagasse began performing an extended live version of the Show of Hands skits at the HERE Arts Center in New York. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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