October 13, 2014 – present
Blaze and the Monster Machines is an animated children's television series. It premiered on Nickelodeon on October 13, 2014. The show revolves around Blaze, a monster truck, and his human driver, AJ, as they have adventures in Axle City and learn about various STEM concepts that help them on their way. Joining them is the human mechanic, Gabby and their monster truck friends: Stripes, Starla, Darington, and Zeg as well as their rival Crusher and his goofy sidekick Pickle. Watts and Blaze's sister, Sparkle, join the main cast in Seasons 3 and 7.
Storyline
The show focuses on Blaze, an orange-red monster truck, and his smart, young driver, AJ. They live in a world that is inhabited by sentient monster trucks called "Monster Machines", including primary characters Starla, Stripes, Zeg, Darington, Watts (as of Season 3), and Blaze's sister Sparkle (as of Season 7). Among the cast is Gabby, a talented mechanic who later befriends Watts and becomes her driver. Each episode also features Crusher, a sneaky blue tractor-trailer who cheats in races, but slowly evolves into a nicer character. Crusher is always accompanied by his comic reliefsidekick, Pickle.
Each episode has Blaze and AJ go on various adventures and solve problems along the way, normally three per episode, with "assistance" from the viewing audience. Blaze might also transform into a different vehicle or artifact depending on the situation. Blaze may sometimes get a task done with the help of his special power, "Blazing Speed", which is usually used in the climax of an episode and is initiated by shouting "Let's Blaze!". In some episodes, Blaze, AJ and their friends race against Crusher. During the race, Crusher cheats, usually with the help of his gray robot parts. However, Blaze and AJ manage to get through his traps, and they always beat him in time. Not all episodes involve a proper race, but still have Blaze competing against Crusher, sometimes by racing against him to get an item. Other episodes involve helping a friend such as Starla, Zeg, Darington, Stripes, Watts, Sparkle, or even Crusher and Pickle. Each episode features two or three original songs, usually performed by Blaze and AJ off-screen, when they are setting off on their adventure or demonstrating the episode's STEM concept.
In many episodes beginning with Season 2, the main plot is alternated with a subplot featuring Crusher and Pickle, which rarely intersects with the main story but is loosely related to it. In the subplot, Crusher is trying to do something, but ends up in a series of mishaps, usually by not listening to Pickle or thinking ahead, and suffers a random joke on his receiving end.
TV Show Intro
Official Blaze and the Monster Machines Theme Song