Now Appearing

Now Appearing
Written by	Andrew Gordon
Directed by	Gary Halvorson
Previous	When Movies Were Movies
Next	Win a Date with Renee

Now Appearing is the 10th episode of Season 4 of Kids Incorporated and 75th episode overall. In this episode, the kids learn that a comedian named Billy Blaster (played by Earth, Wind and Fire vocalist Philip Bailey) opening up for a concert they were interested in seeing turns out to be the Kid's estranged brother.

Plot Summary

Following the end of the opener "Open Your Heart"; the kids learn that Riley has 10 free tickets to an upcoming Patti LaBelle concert with the opening act being a comedian named Billy Blaster (Riley had been posting the signs at the P*lace during the song), an offer that has all the kids excited...except for Kid (which surprises the others, as Kid is a big Patti LaBelle fan). However, they can't get a word in edgewise as to why he was uninterested; leaving for the next song ("Back in My Arms Again").

After that song, the others try to find out why the Kid wasn't interested; resulting in his dropping a bombshell: Billy Blaster is the Kid's brother, and they hadn't spoken since Billy left home abruptly five years earlier. This development results in the others going out of their way to cheer Kid up ("True Colors"). Shortly after this, Renee runs into Billy; who tries to give a hypothetical version of the situation. However, Billy doesn't catch on until Renee drops a hint that she's referring to the Kid. Ryan's not faring any better in attempting to convince the Kid to at least try to talk with his brother; with Kid resisting because he's unsure if he still loves his brother ("Life is a Contact Sport").

At this point, Kid and Billy finally meet; with Billy apologizing and explaining that his departure was due to conflict with their father; who wouldn't let Billy contact Rahsaan (noting that everything Billy wanted to do that their dad rejected; Kid got to do as a result of their father fearing he'd lose Kid as well). Kid then attempts to convince Billy to see if he and their dad could work on repairing their relationship the way they were beginning to, with Billy promising to give it a try ("Never Say Never").

Kid Cast

• Ryan Lambert - Ryan
• Connie Lew - Connie
• Rahsaan Patterson - Kid
• Renee Sandstrom (credited as Renee Sands) - Renee
• Stacy Ferguson - Stacy
• Richard Shoff - Richie

Adult Cast

• Moosie Drier - Riley

Guests

• Philip Bailey - Billy Blaster

Dancers

• Dee Caspary
• Nicole Cropper
• Challyn Markray
• Brian Poth
• Gina Marie Vinaccia

Songs

• "Open Your Heart" (Madonna cover; performed by Kid)
• "Back in My Arms Again" (The Supremes cover; performed by Stacy and Renee)
• "True Colors" (Cyndi Lauper cover; performed by Kid)
• "Life is a Contact Sport" (Whitney Houston cover; performed by Renee, Stacy, Connie and Kid)
• "Never Say Never" (Deniece Williams cover; performed by Kid and Stacy)

Goofs

• At the point when Renee drops the hint about Kid's estrangement from his brother, Billy asks if Renee is a friend of Rahsaan's. However, that being the real name of the Kid would not be revealed to the other kids until the later episode "What's In a Name". One likely explanation is that (for its original airing, at least) the two episodes may have initially aired out of order.

Trivia

• "Back in My Arms Again" was previously used in the Season 2 episode "Ryan, Ryan P.I.". However, that version was sung only by Stacy (vs. Renee joining her in this episode). Also, this version skips the 3rd verse.
• "Life is a Contact Sport" was a renamed cover of the song "Love is a Contact Sport", with the change fitting the theme of the fantasy sequence while also avoiding the troubling implications of the original song's title or is a parody of "Love is Contact Sport".
• "Back in My Arms Again" is the only song in this episode where Kid didn't sing lead
• Ryan and Richie didn't sing in this episode
• This the 1st episode to feature Challyn Markray playing/to play on the 1985 Yamaha KX5 keytar/black Yamaha KX5 keytar.
• In "Never Say Never", Challyn Markray plays/plays on the Yamaha KX5.