Kickin' it
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Kickin' It is an American comedy television series created by Jim O'Doherty that aired on Disney XD from June 13, 2011, to March 25, 2015. The series stars Leo Howard, Dylan Riley Snyder, Mateo Arias, Olivia Holt, Alex Christian Jones, and Jason Earles.
Summary
Jack joins a martial arts academy and saves it from shutting down. He and his friends teach a few misfits about life and karate.
Production
On November 11, 2010, Disney XD ordered martial arts inspired comedy series Wasabi Warriors, a working title, which was created by Jim O'Doherty, who has previously worked on Grounded for Life and 3rd Rock from the Sun. Jim O'Doherty, and Marc Warren serve as executive producers, while Joey Scott serves as producer. Starring in the series are Jason Earles as Rudy, Leo Howard as Jack, Mateo Arias as Jerry, Dylan Riley Snyder as Milton, Alex Christian Jones as Eddie, and Olivia Holt as Kim. The multi-camera series would begin production in Hollywood in January 2011 for a 2011 premiere and would be a production of It's a Laugh Productions. On May 16, 2011, Disney XD announced that the series would be premiering as Kickin' It on June 13, 2011.
The series was inspired by Jim O'Doherty's childhood growing up on Long Island, New York, where he earned a green belt in martial arts, but was forced to end his training when his local dojo closed down and was turned into a veterinary clinic. This childhood connection to martial arts, combined with three of his daughters' interest in karate, laid the foundation for the premise of the series.
On September 21, 2011, Disney XD renewed the series for a second season. On November 5, 2012, Disney XD renewed the series for a third season, with Alex Christian Jones not returning. On August 21, 2013, Disney XD renewed the series for a fourth season, with production to start in Los Angeles in November 2013 for a 2014 premiere. It was also announced that Olivia Holt would be leaving the series to star in Disney Channel's comedy series I Didn't Do It.
Why It's Kickin' It
- Perfect acting, notably from Leo Howard, Dylan Riley Snyder, Mateo Arias, Olivia Holt, Alex Christian Jones and Jason Earles.
- Memorable catchphrases, such as "You probably shouldn't have done that", "Holy Christmas nuts!", "What it do girl?", ''Boom goes the dynamite boom!'', '' This is my jam!''.
- Great balance of action and comedy, which fits the theme of a martial art tv show.
- Tons of likable and enjoyable characters such as: Milton, Jerry, Kim, Eddie, Rudy, Joan, Marge the lunch lady, Phil, especially Jack Brewer, who is the main protagonist.
- Jack and Kim had a good will they, won't they storyline and one of the Disney's popular ships. 
- Awesome storyline, where Jack has to save Bobby Wasabi Martial Arts Academy from shutting down with his friends through the power of educating amateurs about karate.
- Some heartwarming and funny moments.
- Teaches a lot of life lessons, such as friendship and love.
- Catchy theme song.
Bad Qualities
- Some few bad episodes.
- The jokes can be a hit or miss at times.
- Out of all the seasons, Season 4 is the weakest of the bunch due to the decline in quality and the episodes feeling lazy and uninteresting.
- Due to the actor for Eddie moving between Season 2's and Season 3's production, Eddie never appears after season 2 and is never mentioned again.
- Kim also leaves in season 4, however unlike Eddie she makes multiple full appearances in episodes in season 4.
- The final episode "The Grandmaster" was a clip show; it's also worth noting that the show already had a clip show episode in a previous season being Season 2's "A Slip Down Memory Lane".
Reception
While the first two seasons received positive reception, seasons 3 and 4 received mixed reception from fans. Fans criticized Season 3 for the characters' lack of personality as well as Eddie's abrupt departure (for which there was no apparent replacement) and no explanation as to where he went. Even worse, due to Kim's departure and characters like Rudy and Phil becoming immature (one episode featured Rudy donning an inflatable muscle suit to fool a man into thinking he was stronger) along with many weak episodes, Season 4's reception was even worse than Season 3.
Kickin' It scored a 6.4/10 rating on IMDb and a 6.2/10 rating on TV.com.
Trivia
- Mateo Arias, the actor who played Jerry is the brother of Moises Arias, the actor who played Rico in Hannah Montana.
- Speaking of Hannah Montana, Jason Earles, the actor who played Rudy, previously played Jackson Stewart on that show too.