Okay, this has little to do with filmmaking and I'm definitely, gonna date myself with this entry, but I just read that the classic children's tv show, The Electric Company is returning to PBS. They are currently shooting here in NYC and have updated the show to reflect today's sensibilities.
For those of you who have never heard of the show, it's essentially a funkier, musical and joke-filled cross between Sesame Street, Saturday Night Live and Soul Train. Bill Cosby was also on of the regular cast members. (He's in the green shirt in the picture to the right.)
There's lots of music, dancing and skits and somewhere in between all that, kids are actually tricked into learning to read. We used to watch it all the time when I was in the second and third grades and I always preferred it to Sesame Street, which wasn't nearly as cool or funky.
It was also a major influence on my work when I got my first real job in the industry and moved up to producing children's television for The Education Channel. Of all the various types of projects, films and shows that I've worked on, I still feel that working in kids tv was by far the most rewarding and I hope one day to return to the genre. (Puppets are so much easier to work with than people.)
Anyway, read the NY Times article yourself here and set your DVR's if you have kids. Here's a video clip of the opening from the classic show. I can't believe I still get a little giddy listening to this catchy song..."Hey you guyyyyyyyyyys!!!":
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2 comments:
Wow! This takes me back... I LOVE the Electric Company! It was so witty and hip; I'm almost sad to imagine a "remake" since it's format and content are so embedded in my psyche as a product of the time. I am a little curious though.
OMG! I just watched the opening credits and I totally had forgotten how many famous people were on it: Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno, and Cheech Marin! They must've had as much if not more fun making that show than I had watching it...
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