Victorious (stylized as VICTORiOUS) is a Nickelodeon live-action franchise created by Dan Schneider that originally aired on Nickelodeon as a American tv sitcom from March 27, 2010, to February 2, 2013. The series revolves around aspiring singer Tori Vega (portrayed by Victoria Justice), a teenager who attends a performing arts high school called Hollywood Arts High School, after taking her older sister Trina's (Daniella Monet) place in a showcase while getting into screwball situations on a daily basis. On her first day at Hollywood Arts, she meets Andre Harris (Leon Thomas III), Robbie Shapiro (Matt Bennett), Rex Powers (Robbie's puppet), Jade West (Elizabeth Gillies), Cat Valentine (Ariana Grande), and Beck Oliver (Avan Jogia). The series premiered after the 2010 Kids' Choice Awards. The series won for Favorite TV Show award at the 2012 Kids' Choice Awards and 2013 Kids' Choice Awards, beating out iCarly. Victorious earned four Emmy nominations.
Plot[]
The series follows Tori Vega, a teenage girl who is accepted into Hollywood Arts, a performing arts high school for talented teens. The show follows Tori and her friends as she finds her place within Hollywood Arts, completing school projects that usually involve musical and theatrical performances, and overcoming unusual and absurd challenges. Other students at Hollywood Arts (and the students who make up Tori's group of friends) include the musical prodigy Andre Harris, the socially awkward Robbie Shapiro and his ventriloquist dummy Rex, the sweet but dim-witted red-head Cat Valentine, the sarcastic and mean Jade West (who serves as Tori's frenemy), Jade's handsome down-to-earth boyfriend Beck Oliver, and Tori's untalented and self-absorbed older sister Trina. Other characters include Erwin Sikowitz, the performing-arts teacher for Hollywood Arts; Lane Alexander, the school's guidance counselor; and Sinjin Van Cleef, an odd and often unsettling classmate that handles audiovisual.
The roll of the franchise[]
Series' TV Pilot[]
:Main article: Victorious (Pilot)
Tori Vega (Victoria Justice) gets the chance of a lifetime to attend Hollywood Arts, an elite performing arts school after taking her older sister Trina's (Daniella Monet) place in her school's big showcase. Tori is roped into helping Trina and her project partner Andre Harris (Leon Thomas III) prepare for their performance for the showcase in a few days, including Trina singing a song Andre wrote for her. When Trina's tongue becomes swollen due to an allergic reaction to the Chinese herb gargle and she cannot sing properly, Andre tells Tori to fill in for Trina, but she refuses. They force her on stage and, with the help of Andre, Tori receives a standing ovation from the crowd, and accepts the offer to join Hollywood Arts. On her first day, she meets Cat Valentine (Ariana Grande), a girl who seems to be living in her own head, Robbie Shapiro (Matt Bennett), an awkward, nerdy student who speaks through his dummy Rex Powers, handsome Beck Oliver (Avan Jogia), and his mean girlfriend Jade West (Elizabeth Gillies). After accidentally spilling coffee on Beck and trying to wipe the stain off his shirt, Tori finds herself at the wrath of Jade, who thinks that Tori is flirting with Beck. Jade does an improv scene with Tori, having Tori portray a dog, but then takes iced coffee and spills it on top of Tori, causing her to leave the room in humiliation. After the altercation with Jade, Tori wonders if she is good enough for, or even belongs at Hollywood Arts. At the insistence of Trina and Andre, who tell her not to let a mean girl crush her confidence, Tori returns to class and subsequently gets revenge on Jade by besting her in an improv assignment and then by kissing Beck in front of her.
Song featured: "Make It Shine" (performed by Victoria Justice), which becomes the series' theme song.
Series' sitcom roll[]
- Main article: Victorious (tv series)
After finishing the pilot episode, The series went on a roll of it's own course of fame when Tori wants to try out for the lead role in a play called "Moonlight Magic", or in some episodes gets an unknown audition for an upcoming movie deceitfully
Series' TV film specials[]
:Main article: Freak the Freak Out", Locked Up! and Tori Goes Platinum
The first tv special of the series is "Freak the Freak Out", second is "Locked Up!" and last but not least is "Tori Goes Platinum". The three 50-minute tv specials have their own unique storyline related to the franchise's storyline. Namely the residence of the tv show's four seasons couldn't be that complicated.
Series' crossover[]
- Main article: ICarly: iParty with Victorious
After finishing the very first tv film special "Victorious: Freak the Freak Out", a 2011 special 90-minute television movie crossover episode of Nickelodeon's iCarly and Victorious was born as "ICarly: iParty with Victorious". It premiered on Nickelodeon June 11, 2011.
The crossover's theme song mash-up, "Leave It All to Shine", premiered on May 22, 2011 on Nickelodeon and was online (YouTube) on June 7, 2011. The movie was watched by 7.3 million viewers. It also marked Kenan Thompson's brief return to Nickelodeon. "iParty with Victorious" was released on DVD on August 30, 2011 on the third season DVD of iCarly and on the second volume of the Victorious first season DVD.
The reception of "iParty with Victorious" received mainly positive reviews from critics. Verne Gay of Newsday gave a positive review, suggesting "iParty with Victorious" may be the biggest event of the Summer 2011 and noting the scene depicting a guy in a panda costume chasing Kenan Thompson was hilarious.
Series' Spinoff[]
- Main article: Sam & Cat
A pilot was ordered for a series titled Sam & Cat. This series is a spin-off of both iCarly and Victorious, starring Ariana Grande as her character Cat Valentine from Victorious and Jennette McCurdy as Sam Puckett from iCarly. The series is about these two girls as they buddy up as roommates and start a babysitting business to fund their adventures.[1][2][3] The 20-episode order was doubled to 40 episodes on July 11, 2013.[4] However, by April 2014, the series was on hiatus due to behind-the-scenes issues with the cast and network.[5] After months of speculation, Sam & Cat was officially canceled on July 13, 2014.[6]
Merchandise[]
In fall 2011, Spin Master released dolls and toys based on the show. In June 2011, Walmart announced an exclusive-to-Walmart product line for the show; including over 250 products, such as apparel, accessories, lunch boxes, T-shirts, soundtrack CDs, DVDs, etc.[7] It has sold its newest toy, Singing Tori, a doll of Tori singing. In 2012 dolls of Cat, Trina, and Jade were released.[8][9][10] In late April 2012, McDonald's released Victorious toys, included in their Happy Meals.[11] They relaunched in Australia in January/February 2013.[12]
Videogames[]
On November 15, 2011, Victorious: Time to Shine for Xbox 360 Kinect and Hollywood Arts Debut for Nintendo DS were released.[13] On November 13, 2012, Victorious: Taking the Lead for Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS was released.[14]
Music[]
:Main article: List of songs in Victorious
Soundtracks[]
- Victorious: Music from the Hit TV Show (2011)
- Victorious 2.0: More Music from the Hit TV Show (2012)
- Victorious 3.0: Even More Music from the Hit TV Show (2012)
"Make It Shine" is the theme song of the series. The song also serves as the lead single from the soundtrack to the series. Victorious features approximately one song every three episodes.[15] The Victorious soundtrack, featuring 12 songs from the show (including "Leave It All to Shine") was released on August 2, 2011.[16][17] The first 1,000 pre-orders received a CD booklet autographed by Justice, the special pre-order package (ordered before July 19, 2011) also included an exclusive customized Victorious poster.[18]
On June 5, 2012, Columbia Records and Nickelodeon released Victorious 2.0: More Music from the Hit TV Show.[19] The third soundtrack from the series, entitled Victorious 3.0: Even More Music from the Hit TV Show, was released on November 6, 2012.[20]
References[]
- ↑ "Ariana Grande & Jennette McCurdy To Star In New Show, 'Sam & Cat' – J-14 Magazine". J-14.com (August 2, 2012).
- ↑ Snierson, Matt (July 2, 2012). "Nickelodeon greenlights spin-off pilots for 'iCarly,' 'Victorious' from creator Dan Schneider – EXCLUSIVE". Ew.com.
- ↑ "Sam & Cat,' 'Gibby' Get Pilots From Nickelodeon Starring Arian Grande, Jennette McCurdy And Noah Munck". Entertainment & Stars (July 2, 2012).
- ↑ Nordyke, Kimberly. "Nickelodeon's 'Sam & Cat' Doubles Season 1 Order", The Hollywood Reporter, November 17, 2011.
- ↑ "Nickelodeon's 'Sam & Cat' Goes on Hiatus Amid Drama", The Hollywood Reporter, May 14, 2017.
- ↑ Andreeva, Nellie (July 13, 2014). "Nickelodeon's 'Sam & Cat' To End Run After One Season".
- ↑ "Breaking News – Nickelodeon Launches "Victorious" Product Line Exclusively at Walmart". TheFutonCritic.com (June 14, 2011).
- ↑ "Amazon.com: Victorious! - Basic Fashion Doll - Cat: Toys & Games".
- ↑ "Amazon.com: Victorious! - Basic Fashion Doll - Jade: Toys & Games".
- ↑ "Amazon.com: Victorious! - Basic Fashion Doll - Trina: Toys & Games".
- ↑ "HappyMeal". HappyMeal (February 22, 2012).
- ↑ "Nickelodeon Victorious & Young Justice".
- ↑ "Victorious – The Video Games". Victoriousvideogames.com.
- ↑ "Victorious: Taking the Lead".
- ↑ "'Victorious' Star Victoria Justice Is 'Luckiest Girl in the World'". Vh1 (March 23, 2010).
- ↑ ""Victorious: Music from the Hit TV Show" by Victoria Justice and Victorious cast".
- ↑ amazon.com, "Victorious Soundtrack Archived December 17, 2019, at the Wayback Machine". Accessed July 1, 2011.
- ↑ "Victorious Cast "Victorious: Music From The Hit TV Show – CD + Exclusive Poster Bundle" @ Victorious Store". Myplaydirect.com.
- ↑ "Columbia Records And Nickelodeon Announce The Release Of Victorious 2.0: More Music From The Hit TV Show, Available June 5". MarketWatch (May 9, 2012).
- ↑ "Daniella Monet Tweet". Twitter (Verified account).
External Links[]
