The Shak

Australia

The story

The Shak (also known as The Shak at Home for its final two series) is an Australian children's television program that aired on the Nine Network from 2006 to 2010. Its four hosts, Curio (Drew Jarvis), Nitro (Beau Walker), Picasso (Kendal Nagorcka) and Eco (Jacqueline Duncan) answered viewer questions, queries, dares and challenges in an entertaining and educational manner. Each host's name relates to their personality and the type of stories they present. Viewers sent questions and suggestions to the presenters via the shows website.

For its final two series, the show was revamped to include intersecting storylines, featuring its hosts living in a house together and including recurring guest actors. Willow (Libby Campbell) joined the cast for the ninth and final series.

Cast

Drew Jarvis as Curio: an expert in science, books and movies
Beau Walker as Nitro: a daredevil who is interested in sports and surfing
Kendal Nagorcka as Picasso (series 1–8): interested in art, fashion and pop culture
Jacqueline Duncan as Eco (series 1–7): a nature and animal enthusiast
Libby Campbell as Willow (series 9): a pop culture fanatic who loves animals

Production

The series was filmed, for the main part, at a studio resembling a large shed or shack, hence the name "Shak", it decorated with all manner of objects. The characters arrived via a prop of a wave, and exited through a door on the other side of the shack. They were known as 'Shaksters', as were the viewers. Other filming was done at various attractions and locations on the Gold Coast where the Shak was set, with Dreamworld being a regular filming spot.
In 2006, the filming was done at Sea World but in early 2007, filming was moved to the WhiteWater World theme park. This was explained via an explosion made by Curio, which resulted in the Shaksters moving. and the opening titles were fully animated however in 2007 it was changed to a mix of live action and animation.
The show was revamped in 2009 for its eighth series, which had Curio, Nitro and Picasso living in a share house. Picasso later left the show; a search for a Shakster competition was launched in which they cast Libby Campbell as Willow. On 13 January 2010, the Nine Network cancelled the show, claiming that it was an "economic decision".

Controversy

On 26 May 2010, The Shak was announced as having breached the children's television standards for endorsing a product by 'The Australian Communications and Media Authority'. The claim was made when Kendal, Drew and Beau were seen riding scooters with close up scenes during a prize segment. On the entertainment news site 'TV Tonight' comments on the story were mostly negative and damming to the ACMA.