No it All! Review

On the tenth anniversary of the seldom-talked-about single-season sitcom, No it All!, a DVD boxed set containing the entire series across four discs was released with a limited production run. A mostly forgotten show that was filmed in front of a live audience at the California city of Royal Valley’s soundstage, located inside its King Arcade theme park, its attempt at satirizing, or emulating, the saccharin feel-good landscape of 1980s and early 1990s shows came off as more dated than genuine. Even so, it has nonetheless developed a small cult following since its twenty-six episodes were televised in 1997.

The show was allegedly the brainchild of Lincoln Bartles, the creator of King Arcade itself, although there is some debate about how much input and perhaps even control its rather mysterious once-possible child star, Izuki Satoro, had over its creative direction and meager budget. Said to have disappeared for stretches of time between shoots, the young Satoro seemingly vanished without a trace after the series was not renewed, even though his father was supposedly a wealthy Japanese businessman who helped with the early funding push.

Satoro plays Kaito, a presumably orphaned boy adopted into a typical American suburb family, although his origins are never explored. Inhabiting a set typical for sitcoms of the era, with most of the action taking place in the living room, we also have the bratty teenage sister Alicia (Elise Bolin, who played the role fresh out of high school), who is something of the daily antagonist as most viewers would expect—though, every now and then as the plot calls for it, she and Kaito will work together to solve the conflict of the week. Also starring are George Parley and Zora Sullivan as the Donelly family parents, who, like all of the cast, were Royal Valley locals with few professional acting credits. Parley was and still is a high school drama teacher as of this review, while Sullivan runs a bespoke art gallery in the city’s downtown area. On the show, he works an office job, while his wife’s career is hinted at but never revealed. Perhaps the writers were too focused on having her bake or cook something every episode between her doting on Kaito to fit in any workplace banter. We never learn their first names, either.

Rounding out the cast are supporting characters like friends, teachers, and the next-door boy nemesis to Kaito, Alfred. The majority of these caricatures only appear between a single and five episodes each, and one wonders if most of the one-show “guest stars” were chosen from the streets of the desert valley city, or even plucked out of the guest pool at the park on any given day. To its credit, filming the show inside the park was a rather bold and intriguing choice, perhaps similar only to Nickelodeon Studios at Universal Studios in Florida, once no doubt seen as “the place to be” for children of the 1990s. It kept the seats full and the audience energized and laughing at every joke, regardless of how they landed. There would be something almost magical about spending a day at an amusement park, with a visit to a TV set cutting the day in half. And No it All! still remains the only series shot in Royal Valley, giving city locals a reason to check out at least a few episodes.

The plot loop of the show was never going to be strong enough to propel it past a single season, nor is the satirical element biting enough, to the point where the average viewer may not even realize this is meant to poke fun at the “comfort food” very basic story-telling style often seen in sitcoms over the past forty years. Either early on in each story, or by the commercial break at the latest, Kaito gets into some sort of trouble or is faced with a conflict, often by his own making, that he always asks for advice on how to solve. Despite supposedly being a bit of a precocious little genius himself (making No it All! as a title work in two ways). One of his family members provides a tried-and-true solution, and then act surprised each time he acts out in a needlessly contrarian way by saying the closest thing he has to a catchphrase: the word “No” itself, or its derivatives, usually after mugging for the camera to build up an idea of suspense about his coming decision. Hoo, boy, and I thought the bones of so many other shows that somehow got a second season or beyond were weak.

Of course, despite some bumps on the road and creeping doubts, things always work out for Kaito by the end of the episode, no matter how twisted his roundabout methods of resolving whatever minor or irreverent issue he’s facing, usually one that sprang up through his own faults. Such is the way of a sitcom. By the end of the episode, little is truly gained or learned, things are never spoken of again, and we reset the playing field for the next wacky misadventure.

Now, to be fair, the main cast of four are not bad actors at all. They’re clearly having fun with the content and are passionate about their craft, however silly it may end up by the time it’s on the screen. Without the pressures they’d face if they had filmed in Hollywood, it’s easy to tell that they’re enjoying themselves, and young Izuki is eating his heart out while playing a disagreeable, somewhat self-centered little punk of a kid that would still never want to cause meaningful harm to anyone else. Kaito may stubbornly (and needlessly) insist on doing things his own way, but one can’t help but root for the fellow, because he is an optimist overall and values his friends and family, even if he does his best to unintentionally rile them up.

If No it All! had a more creative writing team and was a little more biting in its parody, or heck, even campier overall, who knows? Maybe it would’ve found its footing in a second season with a more experienced team, and expanded the variety of its sets. While under appreciated during its original run, it found some minor success in reruns on variety “dumping ground” channels in the late 1990s and early 2000s, likely by speaking to the rebellious tweens and teens of the era. The fact that its memory survived long enough to be immortalized in a DVD release, and not forgotten like so many other shows, is at least a testament to some kind of appeal it may have had, past its curiosity status of Royal Valley’s TV show experiment. Give it a rental, or watch a few episodes at a friend’s house if they happen to have it (probably out of nostalgia). While it has too thin a plot to maintain it for long, you may find some enjoyment in the soft lampooning it does on more beloved series.

The DVD special features include interviews with Bolin, Sullivan, Parley, two of the directors, one of the writers, and the head set designer. Also included are some behind the scenes documentary-style glances at King Arcade in the late 1990s and even the elusive Satoro himself, all footage you won’t find elsewhere. Available exclusively at the Yell! Workshop website for $29.95 while supplies last.

~ Review from a DVD release website, 2007