Ask a Ninja
Ask a Ninja | |
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Presentation | |
Hosted by | The Ninja |
Genre | Comedy |
Publication | |
Original release | November 2005 – December 2011 |
Ask A Ninja is a series of comedy videos about the image of
In December 2007, television industry trade magazine TelevisionWeek (www.tvweek.com) reported that Ask a Ninja creators Kent Nichols and Douglas 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]
Overview
The series, created by Los Angeles
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
After a nearly two-year hiatus, during which time only specials were released, the web series relaunched in October 2010 as a daily series with new videos each week day. The new lineup featured an experimental sketch show along with a weekly wrap up show (The Stare) and a showcase of emerging web shows liked by the Ninja. Web series producer Brett Register, creator of
In 2014, five of the earliest episodes were re-performed and released as Ask a Ninja reMASTERed.
In 2015, nine episodes featuring jokes about ninjas submitted by fans were produced as NinJokes.[6]
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
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,[10] likely to add to their monetization strategy.
Recently, Nichols and Sarine appeared as commentators on
On April 11, 2007 episode of
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.[11]
Day of the Ninja involvement
Since 2006, Ask a Ninja has been involved in organizing and coordinating events for the annual
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.
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.[14]
- Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine have written an Ask a Ninja book (The Ninja Handbook: This Book Looks Forward to Killing You Soon).[15]
- Ask a Ninja has also been released to Xbox Live Marketplace.
Episodes
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Special deliveries
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NinJokes
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See also
- Ninja
- Real Ultimate Power
- YouTube celebrities
References
- ^ Whitney, Daisy (December 8, 2007). "Online Fame Easy; Ads Harder to Get". TV Week. Crain Communications. Archived from the original on January 22, 2008. Retrieved March 12, 2008.
- ^ Ewalt, David M. (2007). "In Pictures: Fictional Stars". Forbes. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2009.
- ^ "Interview with Amber MacArthur on Webnation". City News. March 29, 2007. Archived from the original on June 30, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2007.
- ^ "Bikini News – Episode 52: The AskANinja Interview". Archived from the original on April 27, 2007. Retrieved June 13, 2007.
- TubeFilter. Archived from the originalon September 5, 2010. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
- ^ "Ask A Ninja - I'm looking for your best #Ninjokes, jokes..." Facebook. July 9, 2014. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
- ^ "'Pirates' Any Good? Ask a Ninja, If You Dare". NPR.org.
- ^ "Video: Ask a Ninja Interviews Will Ferrell and Jon Heder | Pictures and Article @ the Random Stuff of Interests Page". www.beyondhollywood.com. Archived from the original on October 31, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
- ^ "Ask a Ninja: MythBusters: Discovery Channel". dsc.discovery.com. Archived from the original on October 23, 2008. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
- ^ West, Jackson (May 18, 2007). "Ask a Ninja: Now Powered by Castfire". gigaom.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
- ^ "Episode 52: The AskANinja Interview - LiveVideo.com". Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
- ^ "Ask A Ninja DVD Release Party". December 6, 2006.
- ^ "AskANinja on Myspace". Myspace.
- ^ "Ask A Ninja - YouTube". www.youtube.com.
- ^ "Variety.com - 'Ask a Ninja' duo signs book deal". www.variety.com. Archived from the original on April 15, 2007. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
External links
- Official website
- Podcast interview with Kent Nichols and Ben Stiller (Feb. 22, 2006 – 11min.48sec. 5.47MB) (Businessweek.com)
- Interview with Kent Nichols about the origins and success of Ask A Ninja on Bikini News Podcast
- Video interview of Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine by Zadi Diaz of EPIC FU, weekly web show that covers online pop culture (October 14, 2008)