Bug Juice

History and production

The series' co-creator Douglas Ross thought that summer camp would be the "perfect setting for a reality-based program geared for 9 to 12-year-olds." Ross, a former camper himself, pitched the idea to the Disney Channel and the then head of programming and production Rich Ross. He was given the green light to create the series without a pilot episode. The location, Camp Waziyatah, was decided a few months before the 1997 camp season started. The producers conducted about 100 phone interviews and 60 home visits before selecting 27 campers. Four camp counselors were chosen from both the camp's existing group and 350 members of the public in response to an open call on the Internet. The first season was filmed for 56 days straight by three film crews. The boys' and girls' cabins had all male and all female crews, led by directors Donald Bull and Laura Zucco respectively.

On July 15, 1999, it was announced that a second season had been ordered; it premiered on March 5, 2000. In June 2000, production began on a third season which was announced on July 12; it began airing on June 3, 2001.

Episodes

Season 1 takes place in Waterford, Maine, at Camp Waziyatah, which has been in operation since 1922. The camp is broken down into two sessions. Each session is four weeks. It premiered on February 28, 1998.

1. "Camp Waziyatah"
2. "Getting to Know You"
3. "To Clique...or Not to Clique"
4. "Adventure Bound: Bushwack"
5. "Molecules Colliding"
6. "Boys-to-Men Talent Show"
7. "Unity Campfire"
8. "Aftershocks"
9. "No Pain, No Gain"
10. "Nice Guys Finish Last"
11. "Goodbye, Session One"
12. "Ch, Ch, Changes"
13. "Session 2"
14. "Turn, Turn, Turn"
15. "When the Boys Go Away, Girls Will Play"
16. "We Shall Overcome"
17. "Flirting with Disaster: Co-Ed Canoe Trip"
18. "The Last Hurrah"
19. "So Long, Farewell"
20. "Scrapbook"

Cast

Camp Counselors

1. - Peanut
2. - Rhett Bachner (Grove 4)
3. - Morgan Will (Grove 4)
4. - Luna Hammond (Hill 4)
5. - Annie (Hill 4)
6. - Gregory Weiss is the Candyman.

Grove 4 (Session 1)

1. - Andrew Johnson
2. - Darnell Jordan
3. - Asa Korsen
4. - Connor Shaw
5. - Everett Boyle
6. - Andy White
7. - Hassan A. Omar
8. - Jon Adler
9. - Jason Wool
10. - Malik Sollas

Grove 4 (Session 2)

1. - Andrew Johnson
2. - Darnell Jordan
3. - Asa Korsen
4. - Hassan A Omar
5. - Jon Adler
6. - Malik Sollas
7. - Max Brallier
8. - Andy Freed
9. - Justin Simon
10. - Patrick Milhaupt

Hill 4 (Session 1)

1. - Alison Harding
2. - Caitlin Welby
3. - Lauren Plumley
4. - Martha
5. - Mary Elizabeth Bradley
6. - Megan Tarr
7. - Sarai Abdullah Fife
8. - LaKisha Barksdale
9. - Jenny
10. - Stephanie Etkin

Hill 4 (Session 2)

1. - Caitlin Welby
2. - Sarai Abdullah Fife
3. - LaKisha Barksdale
4. - Stephanie Etkin
5. - Annie Friedman
6. - Cammie Delany
7. - Sarah Ceglarski
8. - Molly McGuinness
9. - Anna Korsen

Episodes

Season 2 takes place in Horse Shoe, North Carolina, at Camp Highlander. The camp is broken down into three sessions. It premiered on March 5, 2000.

1. "Your Adventure Starts Here"
2. "You Never Know Until You Try"
3. "Odd Man Out"
4. "You Get What You Give"
5. "Brits, Fights, & Videotape"
6. "Old Friends & New Friends"
7. "I'm Gonna Walk Those Fears Right Outta My Head"
8. "First Farewells"
9. "Bringing on the New Recruits"
10. "The Dance of Love"
11. "Climbing Toward Acceptance"
12. "Outside Looking In"
13. "You Don't Have to be a Star to Shine"
14. "July Goodbye"
15. "New Kids on the Bus"
16. "Discovering Your Inner Camper"
17. "Countdown Begins"
18. "War Breaks at Highlander"
19. "And the Winner Is..."
20. "See Ya, Highlander"

Cast

Male counselors for Cabin 28 are Andrew Cohen and Andrew Foti. Female counselors for Cabin 6 are Amanda Peryln, Nicki K, Tiffany Lydon, and Ali Baske.

Female campers in Session A include Libby, Maryanne, Sarah, Jenny, Alex, Simana, Annette, Nikki, Samantha, and Michaela. In Session B, Annette and Samantha are joined by Hilary, Michelle, Kelly, Kim, Jennifer, Michelle, Baylor, and Jessica. In Session C, Kim, Jennifer, Baylor, and Jessica are joined by Jess, Gaby, Dalit, Danielle, Alanna, and Jasmyne.

Male campers in Session A include Steven, Kevin, Sam, Alvan, Jared, Austin, Ricky, Brendan, Alex, Chasen. In Session B, Steven, Alvan, Ricky, and Chasen are joined by Josh, Steffen, Hunter, Farb, Tyler, and Conor. In Session C, Ricky, Josh, Hunter, and Farb are joined by Michael, Steven, Marcellus, Brandon, Brendan, and Kevin.

Episodes

Season three takes place in Tererro, New Mexico, at Brush Ranch Camp. The camp is broken down into two four-week sessions. The season began airing on June 3, 2001.

1. "Welcome to Brush Ranch Camp"
2. --
3. --
4. --
5. --
6. "Choices and Consequences"
7. --
8. --
9. --
10. --
11. --
12. --
13. --
14. --
15. --
16. --
17. --
18. --
19. "Gettin' Dirty"
20. "End of Brush Ranch"

Cast

Male campers in Rustlers include Lee, Alex, Brendon, Josh, Bryan, Todd, Houston, Alex J., and Jordan in Session 1. Session 2 includes Jake, Aaron, Brendon, Sam, Bryan, Terrance, Will, Mike, Josh, and Carl.

Female campers in Indian Creek include Eve La Fountain, Jen, Hallie, Reid, Kelly, Amanda Bustamante, Ali C., Kristen, Megan, and Ali B. in Session 1. Session 2 includes Alana, Carrie, Hallie, Alex, Kelly, Amanda Bustamante, Leela, Sarah, Megan, Ellie, and Kiersten.

Reruns

Episodes of all three seasons were shown for several years on Disney Channel, ending with a run of Season 3 during the year 2001. Bug Juice was subsequently pulled from the air and was not shown again until the summer of 2004, during which episodes from the first season ran nightly in chronological order. The last episode of Bug Juice aired August 20, 2004, and it has not been shown since.

During the summer of 2006, Disney began posting mini episodes on its website, encouraging viewers of the Disney Channel to log on and view 5-minute short clips from episodes of the first season.

Bug Juice was also broadcast in the UK on Channel 4's The Bigger Breakfast.