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The Electric Company is Back!

by Sandy Maple (Subscribe to Sandy Maple's posts) Dec 2nd 2008 10:00AM

Categories: Preschoolers, Kids 5-7, Media, Education

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A few years back, I purchased the DVD collection, The Best of The Electric Company. I bought it for Ellie, but I probably enjoyed watching it more than she did. I loved that show as a child but had forgotten just how clever it really was. Witty and kind of kooky, the show tricked you into learning to read by hiding the lesson in the silly fun.

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.

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