Have you ever heard of this cartoon out of France?
Totally Spies! features the adventures and missions of three teenage spies (Sam, Clover, and Alex) led by the founder and administrator of WOOHP, Jerry Lewis.
One episode features evil Romanian gymnasts who try to gain advantage by taking “agility” from zoo monkeys.
To me this looks pretty lame. Yet the series, now finished after 5 seasons, has been successful.
…The show is elected as ‘Best performing cartoon’ (Channel 4, UK), has the best ratings (Fox kids UK), and is number 1 in its timeslot in France (TF1 and Jetix), Italy (Italia Uno), the Netherlands (Fox Kids, then Jetix, now Disney XD), Brazil (TV Globo) and the US (Cartoon Network).
… The show has sold to more than 100 countries. In 2004, it was Cartoon Network’s second highest rated show. The show is popular among girls and boys, with, according to David Michel (Co-creator and co-producer of Totally Spies) “a 50% boys 50% girls audience ratio, whereas everybody was predicting the show would score very low on boys” …
Elite Gymnastics Stars posts articles something like The Onion.
At first glance you’re not sure whether they are real … or FAKE.
This one for example:
Maine gymnastics coach forces students to perform on 18-foot-high balance beam
“It teaches them to pay attention,” says Clint Murdoch
(BATH, MAINE – JULY 7, 2010) – Gymnastics coach Clint Murdoch doesn’t believe in hitting his girls when they perform badly. He never kicks them out of the gym when they throw tantrums. If they gain weight, he wouldn’t think of recommending they go on a diet.
Murdoch doesn’t hand out any of the punishments coaches normally come up with to keep their girls on the straight-and-narrow. He doesn’t have to.
Murdoch, who owns Murdoch Gymnastics Academy in Bath, Maine, has found a better way: a balance beam set 18 feet off the ground. …
… “Girl shoots off her mouth? Up the ladder. Elects not to get to workout on time? Up the ladder. Can’t stay up on a beam that’s a measly four feet off the ground? Up the ladder – and you can bet she’ll stay on the one that’s eighteen feet in the air.” …
A double mini-trampoline is smaller than a regulation competition trampoline. It has a sloped end and a flat bed. The gymnasts run up and jump on to the sloping end and then jump on to the flat part before dismounting on to a mat. …
The Diski dance is … comprised of a series of choreographed football moves, named from different parts of the country, and was created for the 2010 FIFA World Cup as part of its advertising campaign …
… Just before the match of Bafana Bafana against Uruguay, Cape Town celebrated Youth Day with the Biggest Diski Dance.
31 000 visitors visited the Cape Town FIFA Fan Fest through out the day where they were taught the Diski Dance by roughly a 150 Western Cape Gymnasts lead by Barbara Murphey …
