The Electric Company is Back!
Categories: Preschoolers, Kids 5-7, Media, Education
Classic Childrens Television
Bugs Bunny
What's up, Doc? This rascally wabbit first appeared in 1938, and has been outwitting opponents ever since. Creator Tex Avery claimed the bunny has a "Flatbush" accent, which is a combination of the Bronx and Brooklyn.
Warner Bros.
The Simpsons
Hilarious and smart, this satirical cartoon began airing on the Fox Broadcasting Network in 1989, and is the brain-child of Harvard College graduate Matt Groening. It features a dysfunctional but lovable family of five, including now-legendary sitcom scamp and n'eer do well Bart Simpson.
Fox Broadcasting
Mr. Rogers Neighborhood
Won't you be my neighbor? "Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood" helped build kids' self-esteem from 1962 to 2008. Fred Rogers created was perhaps one of television's most beloved personalities until his death in 2003.
PBS
Rugrats
Rugrats is the Nickelodeon Network's longest-running show, and is about a group of precocious toddlers. Kids have enjoyed this series since 1991, and were treated to a full-length movie in 1998.
Nickelodeon
Thomas the Tank Engine
Based on a series of children's books by English writer Rev. W. V. Awdry, Thomas is a tank engine modeled on a class of locomotives built for the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway. Thomas is well-known for being cheeky, and more than a little bit pompous.
Destination Films
Scooby-Doo
Scooby-Doo, where are you? This hungry, lovable mutt and his sidekick, Shaggy, teamed up with Fred, Daphne and Velma to form a gang of "meddling kids" who busted criminals. The show ran on CBS from 1969 to 1976, when it moved to ABC, which canceled it in 1986.
The CW
Sesame Street
Perhaps the granddaddy of all educational children's television shows, The Street has been educating little TV viewers since 1969. The show spawned a series of iconic characters, including Kermit the Frog, Big Bird and Grover, created by puppeteer Jim Hensen. One it's most famous episodes dealt with the death of the beloved Mr. Hooper.
PBS
Capt. Kangaroo
Paging Mr. Green Jeans! Captain Kangaroo aired weekday mornings on CBS, and the show's creator, Bob Keeshan, based it on the relationship between grandparents and their grandchildren. Little known fact? Keeshan was the original Clarabell the Clown on "The Howdy Doody Show."
CBS/Getty
Wallace and Gromit
Wallace and Gromit are the two main characters in a series of British animated shorts, as well as a feature-length film, and were created by Nick Park of Ardman Animations. Wallace, an absent-minded inventor, relies on his more savvy pet dog, Wallace, to help him out of mostly cheese-related jams.
Dreamworks
The Wonder Pets
Noggin
Original episodes of The Electric Company ran for six seasons, from 1971 to 1977. The show lived in rerun heaven until 1985 when it went off the air for good, never to be seen again until the DVD collection came out in 2006.
While it is doubtful that the sheer genius of the show that introduced the world to Bill Cosby, Morgan Freeman and Rita Moreno could ever be duplicated, Sesame Workshop is going to give it a try. Beginning in January 2009, new episodes of The Electric Company will begin airing on PBS Kids.
Obviously, they are going to have to retool the show if they want to stand out among all the children's programming available today. Instead of adult stars, the show will feature teens with word-manipulating super powers. Set in a natural foods diner in New York City, each episode will tell a story using animation and live action and will focus on vocabulary. Of course, there will be an online component as well as a companion magazine.
Other than the name, it sounds like a completely different show than the original. But in this day of fast-paced, in-your-face children's television, the original format probably wouldn't capture and hold the attention of kids the way it did back then.
Recent Posts
- Weekend Fun and Games (7/03/2009)
- Kids and Extracurriculars - When Do You Let Them Quit? (7/03/2009)
- Twitter Follow Friday on ParentDish! (7/03/2009)
- Lush Lashes (7/03/2009)
- Abigail Breslin Makes $13 a Week (7/03/2009)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
I Look Like Fit 12-02-2008 @ 10:49AM
Loved, loved, loved The Electric Company!! Granted, I was a kid when it was on, but I remember it being awesome.
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong -- Spider-Man had a small segment on the show, didn't he?
--Jennifer Brown
http://www.ilooklikefit.com
Reply
Taz 12-03-2008 @ 10:07PM
yes, spiderman was on the show. good memory!!
Sunrise 12-03-2008 @ 8:12PM
Faster than a rolling O....
Able to leap a Capital T in a single bound....
It's a word....
It's a plan....
It's Letter Man!
God, I'm so old....
Reply
Chris 12-03-2008 @ 8:45PM
Close, but here's the actual line, as quoted by narrator Joan Rivers:
Faster than a rolling O
Stronger than Silent E
Able to leap Capital T in a single bound
It's a word!
It's a plan!
IT'S LETTERMAN!!!
Kim 12-03-2008 @ 8:21PM
I LOVED the Electric Company! I can still remember the theme song. I also remember Zoom. Guess that makes me old, too! :)
Reply
patty 12-03-2008 @ 8:23PM
it sounds like what they are planning is pretty much far removed from the original show.. that's too bad.. cause that show rocked!
HEEEEYYYY YOU GUUUUUUYYYYYSSSSSS!!!!!!!
Reply
Another Mom 12-03-2008 @ 9:56PM
We're gonna turn it on. We're gonna bring it to power. We're gonna turn on the light so that you can see to eternity...The Electric Company-y-y-y...The Electric Company-y-y-y...The Electric CompanyYYYYY!!!!!!" Loved it. Guess I'm old too.
Reply
CHR 12-03-2008 @ 10:02PM
AND...WHAT ABOUT NAOMI??
Reply
DaPegster 12-03-2008 @ 10:48PM
"EASY READER THAT'S MY NAME - UH UH UH!" My friends gave me the DVD's as a gift last year and they are awesome. I had forgotten about Fargo North Decoder until I watched them (one of my faves) as well as Letterman. I'm proud to say that I'm 44 years old and I grew up on the Electric Company and Zoom - and I turned out just fine!
Reply
dmd886 12-03-2008 @ 10:49PM
AND....Pete's Pop's Pal's Pet is PAUL!!! Remember the Gorilla Paul??
Reply
richdavi 12-03-2008 @ 10:57PM
How about my favorite character...Fargo North, Decoder
Reply
sha 12-03-2008 @ 10:57PM
im 21 and i as well watched zoom growing up! which probably isnt saying much since most of the people in my generation are boobs! needless to say im one of the few lucky ones who can read, write, and calculate equations, etc. zoom still comes on pbs where im from and i intend on raising my baby girl on shows like that! its educational and has fun activities to do with your child, even some brain teasers! (fannee doolee)...i digress idk what ''electric company" is but ill buy it for my daughter!
Reply
Shawnee 12-03-2008 @ 11:05PM
The article forgot to mention Tom Lehrer, who sang "Silent E", as well as other songs.. That show was absolutely awesome! Anyone who watched that show can still remember the skits, the songs and the lessons. I used to tell my kids about shows that we watched back then, just to have them look at me like I were from some other planet... oh well, it gave me a good laugh when they did. Between Pufnstuf, Kimba the White Lion, Speed Racer, Little Rascals and Electric Company, We really had some entertainment!
Reply
cannotbelievethis 12-03-2008 @ 11:25PM
All of my kids watched Schoolhouse Rock, ZOOM, Electric Company, and 3-2-1 Contact! They are all excellent readers and not too slouchy at Math, either.
we could always find the shows in syndication on some of the "way out there" television channels when we lived up in the boonies - every now and then we get Channel 37 - which I think was run from someone's living room when they could get an open frequency.
Mathman, Mathman, Fluff 'n' Fold, I'm Only a Bill... we're gonna ZOOM ZOOM... Electric Company had the moddest music, by far
Reply
RyanG 12-11-2008 @ 3:49PM
Funny you mention 3-2-1 contact. I used to be addicted to that show, and looking back now, I can give that show most of the credit for me being a current adult Star Trek (TNG not original series) and general science and sci-fi geek! LOL
cannotbelievethis 12-11-2008 @ 4:29PM
Funny you mention Star Trek: TNG... I wound up (because I was just DYING to know what the Heisenberg Principle was) studying robotics and computer interface... my kids now, are studying astronomy and chemistry... even the two "slackers" - I have six sons - dream big dreams... just wish they could translate that into EMPLOYMENT... LOL
cannotbelievethis 12-03-2008 @ 11:28PM
SHA - it's what powers the "light bulb" over your head to give you ideas! Get it? It's icon is a lightbulb... like the one you get over your head when you get the idea... get it?
Reply
Tim 12-03-2008 @ 11:45PM
OMG. I still remeber an ep when Spider-man fought these bee people...good times...good times...
We're not old btw. We are...well yeah, we are old, but still, we know whats good. And The Electric Company is GOOOOOOOOD!!!!
Reply
thecaptaineast 12-03-2008 @ 11:47PM
Hey-I remember Sesame Street,Mister Rogers' Neighborhood,The Electric Company,Zoom-hell,I remember Villa Allegra (sp?) We're not getting older,we're getting better!And we should be proud of the fact that we had good TV!
Oh-remember on Sesame Street when that fool would try to go down the stairs with twenty lemon meringue pies?Tha ants in that garage must have been having orgasms.LOL!
Reply
Akowit 12-10-2008 @ 8:35PM
THat fool on the steps was Jim Henson. Look on youtube, Take a good look, its him. The Mad Painter was the guy who Played Mr. Bently on the Jeffersons.
Joan Rivers was the narrator for Letterman, Gene Wilder was Letterman's voice. They had a lot of A list people working on these shows.