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The Electric Company is an educational American children's television series that first aired in 1971. The show was produced by the Children's Television Workshop (now known as Sesame Workshop) and targeted elementary school students who were too old for Sesame Street but still needed help learning to read. It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett and aired on PBS for 780 episodes over six seasons until 1977. The show won two Emmys and became a teaching tool in thousands of classrooms across the US. A reboot of the show aired from 2009 to 2011, with reruns playing until 2020.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Original series run | 1971-1977 |
| Reboot series run | 2009-2011 |
| Format | Comedy variety show |
| Target audience | Elementary school students |
| Genre | Educational |
| Producers | Children's Television Workshop (CTW) |
| Production company | Sesame Workshop |
| Co-creators | Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, Lloyd Morrisett |
| Number of seasons | 6 |
| Number of episodes | 780 |
| Emmy Awards won | 2 |
| Notable cast members | Rita Moreno, Bill Cosby, Morgan Freeman, Josh Segarra, Priscilla "Star" Diaz |
| Notable characters | Captain Cluck, Paul the Gorilla, Spider-Man |
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What You'll Learn
The Electric Company's original run
The Electric Company is an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), now known as Sesame Workshop. The original series aired on PBS from October 25, 1971, to April 15, 1977, with reruns continuing until October 4, 1985. The show was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett and was intended for elementary school students who had outgrown Sesame Street but still needed help with reading.
The Electric Company employed sketch comedy and various other devices to create an entertaining program that helped children develop their grammar and reading skills. The show taught basic phonetic and grammar concepts using live-action sketches, cartoons, songs, and Spider-Man episodes, with Marvel Comics allowing the show to use the character for free. The partnership between Marvel and CTW led to the publication of a special comic book series called "Spidey Super Stories," which featured easy-to-read Spider-Man adventures that occasionally included members of the show's cast.
The Electric Company won two Emmys, aired on more than 250 public TV stations, and became a teaching tool in thousands of classrooms nationwide. The show's cast included Academy Award winner Rita Moreno, Bill Cosby, and a then-unknown Morgan Freeman. Guest stars included Mel Brooks, Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, and Joan Rivers. The show's comedy writers later went on to work on popular TV shows such as M*A*S*H and Everybody Loves Raymond.
The final episode of the original run of The Electric Company featured a short musical and dance number with the final cast members. The lyrics of the song summed up the closure of the series: "We're glad you came to call. We really had a ball. The show is done; we hate to run; we're sorry, but that's all." After the original run ended, the show continued to air in reruns on PBS until 1985. In 1999, the Noggin network, co-founded by CTW, rebroadcast the show, creating a two-hour compilation special to reintroduce the series to a new generation.
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The reboot of The Electric Company
The Electric Company is an American educational children's television series that initially aired from 1971 to 1977. A reboot of the show aired from 2009 to 2011, with reruns until 2014. The reboot, like the original, was produced by Sesame Workshop (formerly known as Children's Television Workshop) and was targeted at children between the ages of 5 and 10. It covered English and Language Arts, teaching pronunciation, spelling, and grammar skills, while also imparting lessons about friendship, kindness, doing the right thing, and teamwork.
The new version retained similar elements to the original, including short animations, parodies, sketches, and music videos. However, each episode also featured a storyline centred around a group of tween and teen literacy heroes called the Electric Company, who battled a group of neighbourhood vandals known as the Pranksters. The Electric Company's leader, Hector Ruiz (played by Josh Segarra), had the power to replay any image he saw, like a video camera. His younger sister, Jessica Ruiz (played by Priscilla "Star" Diaz), was a talented rapper with a similar power, able to replay any word or phrase she heard.
The reboot featured a mix of live-action and computer-generated imagery, including the use of Scanimate, an advanced analog video-synthesizer system, to present words and animations. The show also continued the tradition of using music to teach, with contemporary R&B and hip-hop styles incorporated into the lessons.
In addition to its educational focus, the reboot featured returning characters and references to the original series. Paul the Gorilla, a recurring character from the 1971 show, reappeared in the new series but with a more restrained and less vocal personality. The reboot also retained the practice of numbering episodes instead of using traditional titles, a feature that was unique to the original series.
The Electric Company reboot received positive reviews for its innovative approach to teaching and entertaining a new generation of children. It aired on PBS Kids Go! and HBO Kids, reaching a wide audience and leaving a lasting impact on the world of educational television.
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The show's educational impact
The Electric Company was an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), now known as Sesame Workshop. The show targeted elementary school students who were too old for Sesame Street but still needed help learning to read. It aimed to address the issue of illiteracy, which, according to a report by CTW, affected "one out of ten Americans", with "millions more" described as "functional illiterates".
The show employed sketch comedy, live-action sketches, cartoons, songs, and Spider-Man episodes to teach basic phonetic and
The Electric Company won two Emmys, aired on more than 250 public TV stations, and became a teaching tool in thousands of classrooms nationwide. It was also notable for its extensive use of music, with Clark Gesner writing several songs for the series, including most of the sign songs. The original soundtrack album won a Grammy Award for the show's cast.
The show's impact extended beyond its initial run, with reruns continuing until 1985 and a reboot airing from 2009 to 2011. The reboot, known as The New Electric Company, featured similar elements to the original but with a focus on teaching vocabulary words through story lines incorporating music. This reboot also aired on PBS Kids Go! and had reruns on HBO Kids, further extending the show's reach and impact.
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The show's cast and characters
The original run of The Electric Company featured a number of well-known actors, comedians, and writers. The show was co-created by Paul Dooley, who also served as head writer, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. It was produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), which also produced Sesame Street. The cast included Academy Award winner Rita Moreno, Bill Cosby, and a then-unknown Morgan Freeman. Freeman's cowboy sketches were particularly memorable for viewers. Other cast members included Lee Chamberlin, Judy Graubart, Skip Hinnant, and Jim Boyd, who played the character 'Crank'. Guest stars included Mel Brooks, Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, and Joan Rivers. The show also featured a teen pop band called Short Circus, which included future star Irene Cara.
The show's comedy writers went on to work on popular TV shows like MASH and Everybody Loves Raymond. Clark Gesner wrote several songs for the series, including most of the sign songs. Eric Rogers, who composed music for the DePatie-Freleng cartoons in the '70s, was the additional music composer for 260 episodes and wrote the arrangement for the theme song.
The 2009 reboot of the show featured Josh Segarra as Hector Ruiz, the leader of the Electric Company, a group of teen literacy heroes. Hector's sister, Jessica, was played by Priscilla "Star" Diaz. Other cast members included Steven Freitas as Paul the Gorilla, a character from the original show, James Miles as Dax, and Ann Harada as Polly Hashimoto.
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The show's music and animation
The Electric Company is an educational children's television series that first aired in 1971 and ended in 1977. A reboot of the series was released in 2009 and ran until 2011, with reruns continuing until 2020.
Both the original and the reboot of The Electric Company featured short animations, parodies, sketches, and music videos. The original series featured vaudevillian music, with songs like "Apostrophe S" and "The Menu Song." The reboot featured contemporary R&B and hip-hop music, with guest appearances by Lin-Manuel Miranda and members of the hip-hop comedy troupe Freestyle Love Supreme.
The original series also featured cartoon animations, including appearances by Spider-Man and animated inserts with the superhero Letterman. Letterman was described as " [f]aster than a rolling 'O'! Stronger than silent 'E'! Able to leap capital 'T' in a single bound!" The psychedelic Scanimation visuals and animations contributed to the show's cult following.
The reboot of the series featured a new series of two-minute animated shorts titled "The Adventures of The Electric Company on Prankster Planet," which eventually replaced the live-action show with cartoons. The only animated character from the first two seasons of the reboot to appear in the third season was Special Agent Jack Bowser, a blue dog who wears a turquoise sweater.
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Frequently asked questions
'The Electric Company' is an American educational children's television series that aired from 1971 to 1977. It was produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) and targeted elementary school students who needed help with reading.
Yes, a reboot of the show aired for three seasons from 2009 to 2011, with reruns until 2014. This version had similar sketches, animations, and music videos to the original but also featured storylines designed to teach vocabulary words.
'The Electric Company' was cancelled in 1977 at the height of its popularity. It is speculated that the show lacked a stand-alone brand or character that could have helped generate additional profits.
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