The Suite Life on Deck

American teen sitcom (2008-2011)

The Suite Life on Deck was an American television series on Disney Channel. It premiered on September 26, 2008. It is a sequel to The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. The series is about twin brothers Zack and Cody Martin and hotel heiress London Tipton in a new setting, the SS Tipton. The group goes to classes at a school on the boat that is called "Seven Seas High". On the boat, they meet Bailey Pickett. Mr. Moseby manages the ship. The ship travels around the world to Italy, Greece, India, Sweden and the United Kingdom. In the places where the ship travels, the characters experience different cultures, adventures, and situations.[1]

The Suite Life on Deck
GenreTeen sitcom
Family
Created byDanny Kallis
Jim Geoghan
Developed byDanny Kallis
Pamela Eells O'Connell
StarringCole Sprouse
Dylan Sprouse

Brenda Song
Debby Ryan
Doc Shaw (season 2–3)
Phill Lewis
Theme music composerGary Scott (music)
Steve Hampton &
John Adair (lyrics)
Opening theme"Livin' the Suite Life",
performed by Steve Rushton
ComposerGary Scott
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons3
No. of episodes71 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersPamela Eells O'Connell
Irene Dreayer
Danny Kallis
(season 1–mid-season 2)

Jim Geoghan
(seasons 1–2)
Camera setupVideotape; Multi-camera
(FilmLook appearance, season 1;
filmized appearance, season 2–3)
Running time23-24 minutes (approx.)
Production companiesIt's a Laugh Productions
Danny Kallis Productions
(season 1–middle season 2)
Bon Mot Productions
(season 3)
Disney Channel Original Productions
Original release
NetworkDisney Channel
Disney XD
ReleaseSeptember 26, 2008 (2008-09-26) –
May 6, 2011 (2011-05-06)

Cast change

Main change

Cole Sprouse plays Cody Martin
Dylan Sprouse plays Zack Martin
Brenda Song plays London Tipton
Debby Ryan plays Bailey Pickett
Doc Shaw plays Marcus Little
 
Phill Lewis plays Mr. Moseby
  • Cody Martin is portrayed by Cole Sprouse. He is the intelligent, neat, and sensitive twin. Cody performs well in school. He does not perform well in sports. In the show, Cody is ten minutes younger than Zack. He often goes along with Zack's crazy schemes. Cody is often teased by Zack. However, Zack protects Cody when other people pick on him. In the same way, Cody cares very much for Zack, even though Zack teases him a lot.
  • Zack Martin is portrayed by Dylan Sprouse. He is the fun-loving, lazy, and outgoing twin. He works in the juice bar on the ship. This is because he uses all of Cody's and his money for the school term. Cody is forced to become a towel boy.[2] Zack usually gets bad grades. However, he still graduated in the series last episode. He enjoys sports, especially basketball and football. He performs very well in them. Zack acts selfish sometimes. However, he really cares about his brother. He flirts with most of the girls on the ship. Often, he does not stay with them for more than one episode. However, at the beginning of the third season, he starts to like a new student on the ship named Maya. Later, he starts a relationship with her by throwing a surprise party for her. She breaks up with him in the last episode because she joins the Peace Corps.
  • London Tipton is portrayed by Brenda Song. She is the socialite of the four main teenage characters. She is the daughter of Wilfred Tipton. He owns the Boston Tipton hotel and the SS Tipton along with all the other Tipton hotels. London usually acts selfish and stupid. When she is happy, she usually claps her hands and jumps. Her catchphrase is "Yay me!" London goes to school at the Seven Seas High School program because her father wants her to learn about the real world (the life of people who aren't rich). London does not live in a first-class room on the SS Tipton. She lives in a small room like the rest of the students. London's room mate is Bailey Pickett.
  • Bailey Pickett is portrayed by Debby Ryan. She is a teenage girl from the town of Kettlecorn, Kansas. She is very intelligent like Cody. She shares a room with London Tipton. Bailey is a student at Seven Seas High. She attends classes with Zack, Cody, London, and Woody. She came on the ship because she wanted to leave Kettlecorn, where she lived on a farm. She pretends to be a boy in the first episode so she can get a room on the SS Tipton. She did this because there were no more girls' rooms. She moves in with London when people find out she is a girl.
  • Marcus Little is portrayed by Doc Shaw. He is a character in seasons 2 and 3. He is a former singer named Lil' Little who comes on the current rapper of SS Tipton. After experiencing puberty, his voice changed. Because of this, he lost his fame and career. He attends Seven Seas High. He shares a room with Zack. Marcus lived in Atlanta, Georgia. He first appears in the second season episode "Roomies". He has a crush on London. Marcus knows as many famous people as London does. He is sensitive about the loss of his fame. He thinks his celebrity friends won't like him. Later, he learned he was wrong in the episode "Crossing Jordin." Marcus leaves the ship in the episode "Bon Voyage". He did this so he could act in a musical based on his song "Retainer Baby."
  • Marion Moseby is portrayed by Phill Lewis. He is the manager of the SS Tipton. He is often annoyed by Zack and Cody's schemes. He has raised London Tipton like his own daughter. He acts as though he does not care about Zack and Cody. However, he actually likes them very much. He tells them he will miss them in the end of the last episode, Graduation on Deck.

Recurring change

Actor Character Seasons
Matthew Timmons Woody Fink 1–3
Erin Cardillo Emma Tutweiller 1–3
Windell D. Middlebrooks Kirby Morris 1–3
Rachael Kathryn Bell Addison 1-3
Zoey Deutch Maya Bennett 3

Special guest actors change

Notable guest actors change

Reception change

U.S. Nielsen ratings change

The show's first episode premiered on the Disney Channel in the US on September 26, 2008. Around 5.7 million people watched it on the night of its premiere..[3] The series premiere in Canada was also the most watched series premiere on Family channel.[4] In December 2008, Business Wire reported that the show was 2008's #1 scripted television series for children between the ages 6 to 11 and older children between the ages 9 to 14, beating the older series Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place in the ratings.[5] The show was in the #1 spot for the best rated children's television series for many months.[6] The show has been one of the best 4 live-action television series for many months.[7] Since then, “The Suite Life on Deck” had a large lead in the time slot (Friday 8:00 p.m.), ranking as TV's #1 program among the important children's age groups. The series is also #1 in total viewers on all cable, doing better than #2 rank (Fox News and Nickelodeon) by 800,000 more viewers.[8]

As of August 2009, the highest rated episode of The Suite Life on Deck was "Double-Crossed," the second part of Wizards On Deck with Hannah Montana, three episodes where guest stars from Wizards of Waverly Place and Hannah Montana came onto the show. It premiered on July 17, 2009 on Disney Channel. The special episode was viewed by more than 10.6 million people. It is one of the highest-rated episodes for a Disney Channel original series.[9]

In early October 2009, the one hour special episode "Lost at Sea" became the most watched episode of the series. It had 7.6 million total viewers.[10] In 2009, the series was the most watched scripted series in the children and older children group of viewers (6-14).[11] The series second season's ratings were 25% higher than the show's season one ratings. The second season has averaged around 5.1 million viewers.[12]

Season premiere ratings change

Season Episode Air date (U.S.) Ratings Viewers (in millions)
1 The Suite Life Sets Sail September 26, 2008 4.8 5.7[3]
2 The Spy Who Shoved Me August 7, 2009 4.7 5.1[13]
3 The Silent Treatment July 2, 2010 2.7 3.4[14]

Record breaking episodes change

# Episode Air date (U.S.) Ratings Viewers (in millions)
1.21 Double-Crossed July 17, 2009 8.8 10.6[15]
2.08 Lost at Sea October 2, 2009 3.9 7.6[16]
3.19 Twister: Part 3 January 16, 2011 4.0 7.2[17]

iTunes change

Before the series officially started airing, the first episode named "The Suite Life Sets Sail" was made available as a free download on iTunes. All series have since been made available.[source?]

References change

  1. "The Suite Life on Deck". Disney Channel MediaNet. Archived from the original on August 5, 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2008. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; August 4, 2008 suggested (help)
  2. "Their blog Yo Us! Meet Cody & Zack". Tv.disney.go.com. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Gary Levin (September 30, 2008). "Nielsens: Presidential debate fights for numbers". USA Today. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
  4. Scott Campbell (October 20, 2008). The Suite Life on Deck sets sail on Family Channel with record-breaking premiere ratings Archived 2012-07-11 at Archive.today. ca.news.finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved December 12, 2008.
  5. "Disney Channel/DisneyChannel.com Highlights For 2008". Business Wire. Archived from the original on June 20, 2010. Retrieved December 24, 2008.
  6. Growing by Double-Digit Percentages Week to Week, Disney Channel Extends its Streak as Cable’s No. 1 Network in Prime to 193 Weeks in Kids 6-11 and 189 Weeks in Tweens 9-14 Archived 2012-10-03 at the Wayback Machine;
    Disney Channel weekly ratings Archived 2012-10-23 at the Wayback Machine;
    Football, Future President, and Zack & Cody Lead Weekly Cable Viewing Archived 2009-04-18 at the Wayback Machine;
    Disney Channel Weekly Highlights[permanent dead link]
  7. Disney Channel Weekly Ratings December 29 - January 4[permanent dead link];
    Disney Channel highlights for week of January 5-11, 2009[permanent dead link]
  8. Robert Siedman (May 11, 2009). "Disney Channel orders more The Suite Life on Deck". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on May 15, 2009. Retrieved June 9, 2009.
  9. "Top 100 Most-Watched Telecasts On Basic Cable For 2009". Archived from the original on April 21, 2012. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
  10. "Friday's "The Suite Life on Deck" Is Series' Most-Watched Episode Ever in Total Viewers, Kids 6-11 and Tweens 9-13". Archived from the original on October 7, 2009. Retrieved July 18, 2009.
  11. "The Suite Life on Deck Season 3". Disney Channel Media Net. Archived from the original on January 13, 2010. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
  12. Daniel Fienberg. "Disney Channel has more 'Suite Life on Deck' on deck". Disney Channel Media Net. Retrieved October 19, 2009.[permanent dead link] [1][permanent dead link]
  13. Seidman, Robert. "Top Basic Cable Shows For the Week Ending August 9, 2009; iCarly: "iFight Shelby Marx", Burn Notice, The Closer, Next Food Network Star, Royal Pains, Monk, WWE Raw, Jon & Kate Pluse 8, Psych, In Plain Sight, Law & Order: Criminanl Intent, Wizards of Waverly Place, NCIS - Ratings". TVbytheNumbers. Archived from the original on August 14, 2009. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  14. "Friday Cable Ratings: Say Yes To The Dress, The Soup, Merlin Finale & More". Tvbythenumbers.com. July 6, 2010. Archived from the original on June 27, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2010.
  15. "Top 100 Most-Watched Telecasts On Basic Cable For 2009". Archived from the original on April 21, 2012. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  16. ESPN on track to win October
  17. Disney Channel's "Good Luck Charlie" and "The Suite Life on Deck" Hit Series Highs Archived 2012-10-15 at the Wayback Machine By Bill Gorman– January 19, 2011