Ask a Ninja

Ask a Ninja
Ask a Ninja
Ask ninja.png
Hosting The Ninja
Debut November 2005
Genre Comedy
Website askaninja.com

Ask A Ninja is a series of comedy videos about the image of ninja in popular culture available in podcast and vodcast form, as well as in mov and wmv file formats. Only two episodes of the series were released in 2009, seven months apart.

In December 2007, television industry trade magazine TelevisionWeek (www.tvweek.com) reported that Ask a Ninja creators Kent Nichols and Doug Sarine made about $100,000 a month in ad revenue and income from merchandising and licensing from the show.[1] In January 2007 Forbes listed The Ninja as one of the top "Fictional Celebrities" on the web.[2]

Contents

Overview

The series, created by Los Angeles improvisational comedians Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine, features a ninja who answers e-mails from "viewers" (a similar format to Ask Zorbak and Strong Bad Email, which was an influence on Ask A Ninja's creators according to Kent Nichols).[3] According to an interview,[4] Ask A Ninja was originally supposed to be an animated show about two Ninjas living in Orange County.

Podcast

The episodes feature constant and erratic camera-angle changes, as well as enthusiastic and wild hand gestures by the Ninja. Each episode usually ranges from four to seven minutes, usually ending with Ninja's signature remark to each questioner: "I look forward to killing you soon!" New episodes had been released bi-weekly during the height of the podcast's popularity. Starting with Episode 23, "Ninternships", the behind-the-scenes-team decided to have sponsors for their episodes.

Although episodes 1 to 16 are answered by Ninja in front of a featureless blue background, the action sometimes goes to other places, such as inside a car or another house. Episodes after the "Ninja Omnibus" episode use the Ninja edited onto a red circle gradient background, and episodes after the "BBQ" episode changed to blue.

The episodes start with the song "I Am Ninja", performed by The Neu Tickles and written by satirist Brently Heilbron.

Re-launch

On October 4, 2010 the web series returned to re-launch as a daily series with new videos each week day. The new lineup will feature an experimental sketch show along with a weekly wrap up show (Ask A Ninja Weekly Wrap) and a showcase of emerging web shows that the Ninja likes. Web series producer Brett Register, creator of The Crew (webseries), A Good Knight's Quest and Craig & The Werewolf, was hired on as the new day-to-day producer-director for Ask a Ninja.[5]

Advertising and other appearances

Ask A Ninja has widespread popular appeal, and has appeared in numerous media outlets.

Douglas Sarine was once asked to report as a guest film critic on National Public Radio's show, All Things Considered; his review there of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is classified as a special delivery episode.[6] In a 5-10 minute piece Ask A Ninja interviewed Blades of Glory stars Will Ferrell and Jon Heder for which he asked a series of movie related questions. At the end of the interview he ice skates circles around Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton.[7] One notable episode was shot in the MythBusters warehouse with Jamie and Adam, where he disputed the theory of gravity, but when asked for proof, claimed he would have to perform a move in which he would simultaneously pull out both their brains.[8]

At the end of older episodes, the Ninja advertised the Ninja-Mart Store, where viewers may buy "Ask A Ninja"-related merchandise. More recent episodes have ended with Ninja advertising Ask A Ninja's first DVD release in the style of HeadOn commercials. He's also advertised The Simpsons Game as well as Doritos. Ask a Ninja also started hosting their videos with CastFire's video hosting service,[9] likely to add to their monetization strategy.

Recently, Nichols and Sarine appeared as commentators on VH1's Best Week Ever. The Ninja, however, does not appear with them. The Ninja appears alongside Margaret Cho in Liam Kyle Sullivan's "Let Me Borrow That Top" music video. The Ninja has also appeared as a judge on Yahoo's talent-show contest.

On the 11 April 2007 episode of The Showbiz Show, the Ninja, in a pre-recorded segment, provided a short review of the first episode of the final season of The Sopranos.

Jessica Lee Rose appeared with Ninja in an episode called "Jessica Lee Rose" to celebrate his series' 50th episode anniversary and to comment on the death of lonelygirl15. Vodcast Bikini News featured an extensive interview with Nichols (against the familiar Ask A Ninja background) discussing the origins of the show.[10]

Day of the Ninja Involvement

Since 2006, Ask a Ninja has been involved in organizing and coordinating events for the annual Day of the Ninja, December 5.

On December 5, 2006, the ninja made his first live onstage appearance at the Ask a Ninja DVD Release Party, where he played the guitar after opening act The Neu Tickles.[11] Ask A Ninja made his second live stage appearance at the El Rey Theatre on December 5, 2007 with Patton Oswalt and Hard 'n Phirm.[12] On December 5, 2007, The Ninja guest starred on Attack of the Show alongside Olivia Munn on G4 while Kevin was on the road hosting live from people's homes.

Other releases

  • The DVD of Ask A Ninja was released on December 5, 2006. In addition to 30 episodes of Ask A Ninja, it includes commentaries, Easter eggs and bonus shorts.[13]
  • Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine have written an Ask A Ninja book (The Ninja Handbook: This Book Looks Forward to Killing You Soon).[14]
  • Ask A Ninja has also been released to Xbox Live Marketplace

Episodes

Episode Title Released
1 "Ninja Mart-Store" November 24, 2005
2 "Ninja Santa" January 5, 2006
3 "Ninja Training" January 6, 2006
4 "Hiring A Ninja" January 8, 2006
5 "Ninja Skills" January 9, 2006
6 "Master of Disguise" January 16, 2006
7 "Ninja Grub" January 18, 2006
8 "Roger"* January 25, 2006
9 "Ninja Love" February 1, 2006
10 "Ninja Metal" February 9, 2006
11 "Ninja Dogs" February 14, 2006
12 "Ninja Colds" February 22, 2006
13 "Ninjas Hate Clooney" March 7, 2006
14 "Ninja Gifts" March 8, 2006
15 "Deciding Like a Ninja" March 16, 2006
16 "How To Kill a Ninja" March 24, 2006
17 "Ninja Omnibus" March 31, 2006
18 "Minjas" April 9, 2006
19 "Physics" April 19, 2006
20 "KillaCon" May 1, 2006
21 "Revolution Cubed" May 30, 2006
22 "Ninja Excuses" June 15, 2006
23 "Ninternships" July 5, 2006
24 "Thr33" July 14, 2006
25 "Summer Jobs" September 1, 2006
26 "Least Favorite" September 6, 2006
27 "Standing In Lines" September 9, 2006
28 "Niniature Golf" October 15, 2006
29 "BBQ" December 22, 2006
30 "Ninja Omnideuce" January 3, 2007
31 "TechNINlogy" January 12, 2007
32 "Ninja Dates" January 24, 2007
33 "Hidey's Disease" February 3, 2007
34 "The Bloody's" February 8, 2007
35 "Ninja Poetry" February 16, 2007
36 "Clubs" March 2, 2007
37 "Last Words" March 10, 2007
38 "College Tips" March 22, 2007
39 "Mirrors" April 12, 2007
40 "Scene Kids" May 4, 2007
41 "Film Ninjoir" May 10, 2007
42 "Ninja Sayings" May 18, 2007
43 "Ninja Names" June 1, 2007
44 "Commas" June 8, 2007
45 "Omnitrois" June 15, 2007
46 "UFC" June 29, 2007
47 "Ninja Movie Pitch" July 19, 2007
48 "Ninja Recipes" July 26, 2007
49 "Ninja Lifespan" August 24, 2007
50 "Jessica Lee Rose" August 31, 2007
51 "Randominja" September 6, 2007
52 "Ninja Baby Sitters" September 13, 2007
53 "Bob's Destiny" September 19, 2007
54 "Vakilltions" September 26, 2007
55 "Celebrity Weapons" October 3, 2007
56 "Back in the Day" October 10, 2007
57 "Ninjazines" October 25, 2007
58 "Sameness" November 1, 2007
59 "OmniJeff" November 15, 2007
Episode Title Released
60 "OmniWorld" November 29, 2007
61 "OmniPresent" December 7, 2007
62 "Terminal Paper" January 25, 2008
63 "Datinjas" January 31, 2008
64 "Ninja Theme Songs" February 8, 2008
65 "Ninja Floor Plans" February 15, 2008
66 "Ninja Comebacks" February 23, 2008
67 "Extra Time" March 21, 2008
68 "Legendary Weapons" March 27, 2008
69 "Most Fatal Thing" April 10, 2008
70 "Omnibutt" April 24, 2008
71 "Dos and Don'ts" May 9, 2008
72 "Ninterview" May 16, 2008
73 "Major Ninja" May 30, 2008
74 "Ninja Moves" May 30, 2008
75 "Oh Brother" May 30, 2008
76 "Ninjas Vs. Crazy People" May 31, 2008
77 "Ninjenglish" June 27, 2008
78 "Ninjalympics" July 29, 2008
79 "Ninja Hangouts" August 22, 2008
80 "OmniOmni Part 1" August 29, 2008
81 "OmniOmni Part 2" September 8, 2008
82 "Ninja Book Club" September 19, 2008
83 "Super Light" October 27, 2008
84 "Question 84" December 4, 2008
85 "Question 85" December 15, 2008
86 "Question 86" April 29, 2009
87 "Question 87" October 12, 2010
88 "Question 88" October 19, 2010
89 "Question 89" October 26, 2010
90 "Ninja Beards" November 2, 2010
91 "Question 91" November 9, 2010
92 "NASA" November 16, 2010
93 "Black Friday" November 23, 2010
94 "Yo Mama" November 30, 2010
95 "Nature's Ninjas" December 7, 2010
96 "Atlantis" December 14, 2010
97 "Santa" December 24, 2010
98 "Question 98" December 28, 2010
99 "Question 99" January 4, 2011
100 "Theme Song" January 11, 2011
101 "That Glow" January 26, 2011
102 "Ninjatives" January 26, 2011
103 "Baby Proof" February 2, 2011
104 "Question 104" February 11, 2011
105 "Call of Duty Vs. Halo" February 22, 2011
106 "Ninja Birthday" March 1, 2011
107 "Train'd" March 8, 2011
108 "Smoke Bomb!" March 15, 2011
109 "Question 109" March 22, 2011
110 "Musical Instruments" March 29, 2011
111 "Question 111" April 5, 2011
112 "Reality TV" April 12, 2011
113 "Ninja Grandma" April 19, 2011
114 "Dead Necks" April 26, 2011
115 "Question 115" May 3, 2011
116 "The Environment" May 10, 2011
117 "Weakness" May 17, 2011

Special deliveries

Number Title Released
SD 1 "What is Podcasting?" March 7, 2006
SD 2 "Doogtoons.com Asks A Ninja 1" April 12, 2006
SD 3 "Doogtoons.com Asks A Ninja 2" May 6, 2006
SD 4 "Net Neutrality" May 11, 2006
SD 5 "Doogtoons.com Asks A Ninja 3" May 17, 2006
SD 6 "Doogtoons.com Asks A Ninja - Ninjas and The Matrix" June 2, 2006
SD 7 "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Review" July 7, 2006
SD 7.5 "Pirates of the Caribbean 3" May 25, 2007
SD 8 "Doogtoons.com Asks A Ninja - Star Wars" July 30, 2006
SD 9 "AKON Weapons Policy" August 28, 2006
SD 10 "Pop!Tech" October 26, 2006
SD 11 Ninja Day" November 30, 2006
SD 12 "The Ninja's First Live Appearance" December 12, 2006
SD 13 "SXSW 10 Years" March 17, 2007
SD 14 Blades of Glory" March 27, 2007
Number Title Released
SD 15 Mythbustin' Out All Over" April 25, 2007
SD 15.5 Robot Jamie" June 21, 2007
SD 16 "Global Warming" July 7, 2007
SD 17 "Writer's Strike" November 10, 2007
SD 18 "A Very Ninja Christmas Pt. 1" December 13, 2007
SD 19 "A Very Ninja Christmas Pt. 2" December 23, 2007
SD 20 "Future Of Online Video" May 22, 2008
SD 21 "AskANinjaBook.com Shout Out" September 2, 2008
SD 22 "The Ninja Handbook, Audiobook Part 1" September 8, 2008
SD 23 "The Ninja Handbook, Audiobook Part 2" September 25, 2008
SD 24 "Ninjas Helping Pirates" March 5, 2009
SD 25 "Tooling on Superheroes" March 27, 2009
SD 26 "Tweetbomb NIN/JA" April 3, 2009
SD 27 "TED (United Tunnels of America)" April 22, 2009
SD 28 "Ninja Assassin View" November 23, 2009
SD 29 "Ninja Xmas 2009" December 10, 2009

See also

References

[2]

  1. ^ Online Fame Easy; Ads Harder To Get - 8 December 2007. Retrieved 12 March 2008 (The show's two creators can be seen in episode seventy-three, "Modern Major Ninja").
  2. ^ a b Ewalt, David M. (2007), "In Pictures: Fictional Stars", Forbes.com, http://www.forbes.com/2007/01/23/web-celeb-fictional-tech-media_cx_de_06webceleb_0123fictional_slides_2.html?thisSpeed=15000, retrieved 2009-12-07 
  3. ^ "Interview with Amber MacArthur on Webnation". 2007-03-29. http://www.citynews.ca/blogs/webnation_9277.aspx. Retrieved 2007-06-13. [dead link]
  4. ^ Bikini News - Episode 52: The AskANinja Interview. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
  5. ^ ‘Ask A Ninja’ Coming Back Strong, Hires Brett Register | Tubefilter News - 2 September 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  6. ^ 'Pirates' Any Good? Ask a Ninja, If You Dare | NPR.org
  7. ^ Video: Ask a Ninja Interviews Will Ferrell and Jon Heder | Beyond Hollywood
  8. ^ MythBusters: Ask a Ninja | Discovery Channel
  9. ^ Ask a Ninja: Now Powered by Castfire - 18 May 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
  10. ^ Episode 52: The AskANinja Interview - Channel: BikiniNews on LiveVideo.com
  11. ^ Ask A Ninja DVD Release PartyBRING DANNY BACK TO WIKIPEDIA | Laughing Squid
  12. ^ MySpace.com - Ask A Ninja - WEST HOLLYWOOD, California - www.myspace.com/askaninja
  13. ^ Ask A Ninja - Ninja Update - 15 August 2006. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
  14. ^ 'Ask a Ninja' duo signs book deal| Variety.

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