History Series / Oobi

* OneMarioLimit: It'd be pretty difficult to find any other characters named "Oobi" or "Grampu".

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Since the characters are all hand puppets rather than humanoids, the writers are able to get away with much more than they would on your typical Nick Jr. program.
** In "Uma's Birthday!", Uma wanders around the house while playing "Tail-Pin-Donkey" (the show's equivalent of "pin the tail on the donkey"). She walks into the bathroom while Kako is on the toilet, and Kako is shocked. Luckily for him, though, Uma is blindfolded the entire time.
** In "Parade!", Uma wears the hand puppet equivalent of a sequin dress. Kako is in awe until Uma remarks, "Stare, don't."
** Any scene involving Grampu and Inka. Their "flirting" is hysterical and totally unexpected.
** Also, at one point in "Baby!", the titular baby, Sophie, soils her diaper, and her mother Sheila and Oobi explicitly say "poop".
--> '''Sophie:''' Baby, poop.
--> '''Oobi:''' Poop?! Really?!
** Also, in the same episode, as well as "Petting Zoo!", Oobi supposes the bad smell is Grampu being a {{Gasshole}}, to which Grampu says "Not Grampu".

* Also, in the same episode, as well as "Petting Zoo!", Oobi supposes the bad smell is Grampu being a {{Gasshole}}, to which Grampu says "Not Grampu".

* Gasp: Kako in "Build Fort!" when Oobi angrily tells him his fort is better than his.

* ButtMonkey: Grampu. This is most obvious in the "Make Pizza!" episode, where the kids accidentally cover him in pizza dough.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Oobi, Uma, and Kako are out trick-or-treating with Grampu when they run into their buddy Angus. "Mrs. Johnson house," he declares. "Good stuff!" Uh-''huh''.

* DisguisedInDrag: Kako's postal worker costume/personas in "Neighborhood!"

* DramaticGasp: Kako in "Build Fort!" when Oobi angrily tells him his fort is better than his.
** Oobi in "Oobi's Car!" when he finds his car broken.

* DisguisedInDrag: Kako's costumes and personas in "Neighborhood!" are all female.

* TalkingInBed: "Uma Dreams!"

* TeamChef: Grampu.

* StealthInsult: in the short "Animal Cookies!". After Oobi finds a pig cookie, Kako starts oinking and greedily eats all of the animal cookies, leaving none for Oobi. Annoyed, Oobi states "pig", both referring to what animal cookie he had, and as an insult for Kako.

* SickEpisode: "Uma Sick," which is notable for being the only episode without an [[ExcitedShowTitle Excited Title]].

** However, in "Uma Preschool" Grampu introduces himself to Uma's teacher by saying his name is Grampu and is Uma's grandfather which means that they do use the word "grandfather

''Oobi'' was created by former ''Sesame'' writer Josh Selig, also known for creating ''WesternAnimation/WonderPets''. He came up with the idea while watching bare-handed puppeteers audition for the Polish version of ''Sesame Street''. All of the characters are [[Main/ThirdPersonPerson third-person people]] with a simple manner of speaking, meant to mimic how kids talk in very early childhood. The show won multiple Parents' Choice Awards and started out as a series of two-minute interstitials that ran on Nick Jr. and Noggin in 2000. It was later picked up for two seasons of half-hour episodes, which finished airing in 2005.

* AudienceParticipation: Every episode from the first season includes an interactive game segment.

* AscendedExtra: Inka appeared in only one episode of the first season. By the second season, she became the most prominent recurring character, with a total of eight appearances.

* LaterInstallmentWeirdness: The second season increases the prominence of the supporting cast and features far more vibrant sets than the early episodes. If it weren't for the instant recognizability of the characters, the original shorts and the latest episodes would look like different shows.

* LimitedSocialCircle: The shorts and most episodes in the first season only feature the four main characters.

* MinimalistCast: The shorts only featured the four main characters.
** The first season of full-length episodes was also this, because whenever a minor character appeared, they were a one-off. Even Inka only made one appearance in the first season before becoming a secondary cast member in season 2.

* OnceAnEpisode: Every episode of the first season featured interviews with real kids and a game segment. The games were dropped for season two.
* OnceASeason: There are two episodes focusing on Frieda the Foot, one in each season.

* OneShotCharacter: Most season one episodes that aren't set at Oobi's house feature at least one guest character. Some of these one-offs, like Inka and Frieda, were brought back for the second season and became supporting characters.

* OutOfFocus: Many later episodes place Uma in the starring role rather than Oobi. The most prominent examples are "Uma Dreams!" and "Uma Preschool!" from season two. In both episodes, Oobi only shows up briefly at the beginning and at the end to give his signature "Oobi, you, friends!"

* SequelEpisode: "Recital!" from season two, which continues the "Piano Lesson!" story from season one.

* Gasp: Kako in "Build Fort!" when Oobi angrily tells him his fort is better than his.
** Oobi in "Oobi's Car!" when he finds his car broken.

* GASP: Kako in "Build Fort!" when Oobi angrily tells him his fort is better than his.

* WidgetSeries: Quite possibly the strangest show ever to air regularly on Nickelodeon, given the unique form of puppetry, the characters' simplified speech patterns, and the seemingly limitless amount of connections to ''Sesame Street'' (which is no longer a Nickelodeon-related property). It even stands out against other intentionally bizarre shows like ''WesternAnimation/MrMeaty''.

* RestaurantOwningEpisode: "Chez Oobi!" Is aabout Oobi and Kako turning the house into a fancy restaurant for Grampu and Inka, it surprisingly goes well, they even made fruit tarts for desert!

* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Oobi apparently loves "Toasty Chunks".

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Oobi, Uma, and Kako are out trick-or-treating with Grampu when they run into their buddy Angus. "Mrs. Johnson house," he declares. "Good stuff!" Uh-''huh'''.

* ChristmasEpisode: Surprisingly, a Christmas special was never made. The show never strayed away from holidays, with both a Halloween and a Valentine's Day episode under its belt. The creators most likely didn't want to include any references to specific religions.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The original shorts used completely different sets of eyes for the characters (save for Grampu, whose eyes were the same throughout the entire show) and didn't feature any supporting characters. Also, none of the characters wore accessories, making it difficult to distinguish Oobi from Uma.

While this series is notable for its connections to ''Sesame Street'' and for being downright bizarre, it's perhaps best remembered for launching [[https://web.archive.org/web/20100130065441/http://www.oobieyes.com/eyes.html "Oobi eyes" finger rings.]] The quirkiness of the concept has inspired an onslaught of other works—ranging from a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGHevQoWsGA music video]] featuring [[Music/{{Fun}} Nate Ruess]] as an Oobi puppet to a [[https://vimeo.com/150293146 Durex condom commercial]] based on Oobi. A [[https://vimeo.com/197635405 full-fledged spin-off]] called ''Oobi: Dasdasi'' premiered in 2012 and ran for 78 episodes in Asia and the Middle East.

* AbsenteeActor: Noel [=MacNeal=]'s Kako is frequently absent in later episodes, which is understandable given that [=MacNeal=] became Sesame Workshop's production consultant during the year that the show ended.

* AgelessBirthdayEpisode: "Uma's Birthday!" is this, since her new age is never mentioned. Official descriptions of the show, from both before and after the episode aired, state she is three.

* BeachEpisode: The "Dig!" short.

* BigEater: Technically averted with Kako. He loves cake and immediately volunteers when Uma wants to play a cake-counting game with him. Of course, he gets sick of it after eating three slices.

* FourFingeredHands: Nope.