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The Electric Company was an American educational children's television series that aired on PBS from 1971 to 1977. The show was produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) and was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. The show's cast included Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno, Bill Cosby, Judy Graubart, Lee Chamberlin, and Skip Hinnant, among others. It employed sketch comedy and various other devices to provide an entertaining program to help elementary school children develop their grammar and reading skills.
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What You'll Learn
The Electric Company's cast
The Electric Company was an American educational children's TV series that aired from 1971 to 1977. The show was produced by the Children's Television Workshop and aimed to teach elementary school children reading and grammar skills through sketch comedy. The cast was made up of a diverse group of performers, including some well-known names.
The original cast included Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno, Bill Cosby, Judy Graubart, Lee Chamberlin, and Skip Hinnant. Most of the cast had experience in stage, repertory, and improvisational work, and Cosby and Moreno were already established performers in film and television. Ken Roberts, known for his work as a soap opera announcer, was the narrator of some segments during the first season. Jim Boyd, who started as an off-camera voice actor and puppeteer, began appearing on camera in the second season, often playing the role of J. Arthur Crank.
Other notable cast members included Luis Avalos, who played Mr. Overprice in a sketch, and Gene Wilder, Zero Mostel, and Joan Rivers, who voiced characters in "The Adventures of Letterman" shorts. The show also featured appearances by Spider-Man and other characters from the Marvel Universe, as well as Muppets from Sesame Street, such as Big Bird, Miss Piggy, and Oscar the Grouch.
The Electric Company was known for its clever writing, memorable characters, and innovative use of early computer-generated imagery, particularly the Scanimate system. The show's theme song, composed by Eric Rogers, won a Grammy Award for the cast.
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The show's creators
The Electric Company was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. Dooley, a comedian, actor, and writer, also served as the show's head writer. The show was produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), now known as Sesame Workshop. CTW was also responsible for Sesame Street, and The Electric Company was developed by Sesame alumni, including Dave Connell.
The show was aimed at elementary school children, and its primary purpose was to teach reading skills beyond the alphabet, with an emphasis on phonics, rhymes, punctuation, and sentence structure. Each episode employed sketch comedy and various other devices to create an entertaining program that would help children develop their grammar and reading skills. The show's humour was more mature than that of Sesame Street, as it was intended for children who had outgrown the CTW's flagship program.
The Electric Company was notable for its extensive use of early computer-generated imagery, particularly Scanimate, a then-state-of-the-art analog video-synthesizer system. This technology was often used to present words with particular sounds and to create innovative visuals, such as the show's trademark light bulb, which would be shut off by a hand at the end of each episode.
The series also featured appearances by Spider-Man and the superhero Letterman, with Marvel Comics allowing the show to use Spider-Man for free. A comic book series based on the Spider-Man segments, called "Spidey Super Stories," was also published by Marvel. The show's music was composed by Eric Rogers, who wrote the theme song and additional music for 260 episodes.
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Its run and reruns
The Electric Company is an American educational children's television series that ran from 25 October 1971 to 15 April 1977 on PBS. The show was produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), now known as Sesame Workshop. The series aired for 780 episodes over the course of its six seasons, with 130 episodes produced per season. The program continued in reruns until 4 October 1985.
The Electric Company later reran on Noggin, a channel co-founded by the CTW, from 1999 to 2003. Noggin also produced a compilation special for the show. The show was targeted at elementary school children aged 6-9 and intended to teach and supplement reading skill instruction, with an emphasis on phonics, rhymes, punctuation, and basics of sentence structure. The show employed sketch comedy and various other devices to provide an entertaining program to help children develop their grammar and reading skills.
The original cast included Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno, Bill Cosby, Judy Graubart, Lee Chamberlin, and Skip Hinnant. Most of the cast had done stage, repertory, and improvisational work, with Cosby and Moreno already well-established performers on film and television. Ken Roberts was the narrator of some segments during the first season, and Jim Boyd, who started as an off-camera voice actor and puppeteer, began appearing on camera in the second season, mostly in the role of J. Arthur Crank.
The Electric Company was notable for its extensive, innovative use of early computer-generated imagery, especially Scanimate, a then-state-of-the-art analog video-synthesizer system. The series also featured music composed by Eric Rogers, who wrote the theme song and won a Grammy Award for the show's cast.
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The show's purpose
The Electric Company was an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), now known as Sesame Workshop. It was co-created by Paul Dooley, Joan Ganz Cooney, and Lloyd Morrisett. The show was aimed at elementary school children aged 6–9 and intended to teach and supplement reading skills, with an emphasis on phonics, rhymes, punctuation, and sentence structure. The show's creators understood that many children were lacking in basic reading and grammatical skills, and so they wanted to create an entertaining and memorable program to address this issue.
The show employed sketch comedy and various other devices to provide an engaging program to help children develop their grammar and reading skills. The humour was more mature than that of its predecessor, Sesame Street, as it was intended for children who had graduated from CTW's flagship program. The show's cast was made up of a diverse group of performers, including well-known actors such as Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno, Bill Cosby, Judy Graubart, Lee Chamberlin, and Skip Hinnant.
The Electric Company was notable for its extensive use of early computer-generated imagery, particularly Scanimate, a state-of-the-art analog video-synthesizer system. These technologies were often used to present words with particular sounds, and cast members would sometimes interact with the word animations. The show also featured appearances by Spider-Man and animated inserts with the superhero Letterman. The show's innovative use of technology, clever writing, and memorable characters made it a cult hit with viewers of all ages.
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The show's impact
The Electric Company was an American educational children's television series that aired from 1971 to 1977. The show's impact was significant, with a specific focus on helping elementary school children develop their grammar and reading skills through sketch comedy and various other devices. Here are some key aspects of the show's impact:
Improving Reading and Grammar Skills: The Electric Company successfully used entertainment to educate children. It aimed to help elementary school students who were too old for "Sesame Street" but still needed assistance with reading. The show employed sketch comedy, animated shorts, and music to make learning fun and engaging. According to a 1977 report by the Educational Testing Service, the program positively impacted its target audience, particularly second-grade children who were struggling with reading.
Innovative Use of Technology: The series was notable for its extensive and innovative use of early computer-generated imagery, specifically Scanimate, a state-of-the-art analog video-synthesizer system. This technology was used to present words with particular sounds, and cast members often interacted with the word animations, creating a unique and visually appealing learning experience.
Star-Studded Cast and Crew: The Electric Company boasted a talented cast and crew, including well-known actors such as Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno, Bill Cosby, and Jim Boyd. The show's writers and directors were also highly skilled, and some even went on to work on popular TV shows like M*A*S*H and Everybody Loves Raymond. The show's music was composed by Eric Rogers, who created the memorable theme song, and the original soundtrack won a Grammy Award.
Awards and Reach: The Electric Company won two Emmy Awards and aired on more than 250 public TV stations. It became a teaching tool in thousands of classrooms across the nation and continued to air in reruns until 1985. The show's impact extended beyond its initial run, with a reboot airing from 2009 to 2011, and re-runs continuing until 2014.
Spin-offs and Partnerships: The show's popularity led to a spin-off magazine and a special comic book series called "Spidey Super Stories" in partnership with Marvel Comics. The Electric Company also inspired educational commercials and had a lasting impact on the entertainment industry's approach to creating educational and engaging content for children.
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Frequently asked questions
The cast of the Electric Company included Morgan Freeman, Bill Cosby, Rita Moreno, Judy Graubart, Skip Hinnant, and Lee Chamberlin.
The Electric Company was an American educational children's television series that used sketch comedy and animated shorts to teach elementary school children grammar and reading skills.
There were 780 episodes of the Electric Company over the course of its six seasons, which aired from 1971 to 1977. The program continued in reruns until 1985.
Some of the characters on the Electric Company included Fargo North, Decoder, Jennifer of the Jungle, Julia Grown-Up, and The Witch.
Yes, the Electric Company had a spin-off magazine that featured characters from the Marvel Universe. There was also a special comic book series called "Spidey Super Stories" that were easy-to-read adventures of Spider-Man that occasionally featured members of the show's cast.
