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A Canadian television show that ran in the 1980s. It ran from 1982 to 1987 and was broadcast on TV Ontario. It is best remembered for being one of the earliest staples of [[Nickelodeon]] — and at times, for being ''really'' freakin' weird.
The setting was a department store in an unspecified city (presumably Toronto, where the show was filmed). The show centered around the people (human and otherwise) who worked there during the overnight shift. The employees of the store included Jodie, who set up the displays in the children's department, Sam Crenshaw the security guard (played by a puppet), and Mrs. Pennypacker (another puppet introduced in one of the later seasons). They were joined by the far stranger nocturnal residents of the store: [[Artificial Human|Jeff]] the mannequin, Muffy Mouse (another puppet), who [[Rhymes
The aforementioned Jeff is such an unusual character, he deserves his own paragraphs. Every kid's show has an obligatory character meant to be [[Audience Surrogate|the young audience's representative in the show's fictional world]], but Jeff was an especially bizarre example. He is a mannequin, in the shape of an adult man, who was [[Humanity Ensues|brought to life]] by wearing a magical hat created by a magician named Waldo The Magnificent. Thing is, his personality and mannerisms were that of a small child. So in other words, this show's [[Sesame Street|Big Bird]] equivalent was a [[Man Child]] who lived in the store and was taught about everyday things and the world in general (ie, in one episode, the other regulars had to explain to Jeff what brooms were for, and in another, how umbrellas work).
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* [[Artificial Human]]: Jeff, who could also count as an example of why [[AI Is a Crapshoot]], depending on your point of view.
* [[Audience Surrogate]]: Jeff
* [[Bait and Switch Credits|Bait And Switch Title]]: [[Everything's Better
* [[Bittersweet Ending]]: The "[http://todays-special.schuminweb.com/todays-special/episode-guide/1986/wishes.php Wishes]" episode, ye gods...
* [[Breaking the Fourth Wall]]
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** Things also get a little strange when we learn that ''butterflies'' are intelligent and able to speak.
** Somewhat related: Jeff is occasionally frustrated by the fact that he is the only object in the store that is in any way self-aware. ([[Fridge Logic|But what about TXL?]])
* [[Genie in
* [[Hand Puppet]]: Sam, Muffy, Mrs. Pennypacker and Mort.
* [[Hat Damage]]: Jeff's hat in the episode "Trash". While it was, thankfully, not permanently damaged, it was very linty.
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* [[Naive Newcomer]]: Jeff, due to only being alive during the overnight shifts, but somewhat subverted since he's one of the show's core characters.
* [[Portrait Painting Peephole]]: These paintings are in the Haunted Castle in "Adventure."
* [[Rhyming
* [[Running Gag]]
** Waldo never getting Sam's name right, and his magic always going awry.
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