Otis Singleton
The Electric Company is an American educational children's television series that initially aired from 1971 to 1977. The show was produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW), now known as Sesame Workshop, and was intended for children who had outgrown CTW's flagship program, Sesame Street. The Electric Company employed sketch comedy, songs, and live-action sketches to provide an entertaining program to help elementary school children develop their reading, grammar, and phonetic skills. The show's unique format and educational value led to its success, with reruns continuing until 1985 and a reboot airing from 2009 to 2011.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Show name | The Electric Company |
| Type | Edutainment show |
| Target audience | Elementary school students; children between 5 and 10 years old |
| Purpose | To teach reading skills beyond the alphabet; to teach vocabulary, pronunciation, spelling, and other grammar skills; to teach lessons about friendship, kindness, doing the right thing, and teamwork |
| Format | Sketch comedy; live-action sketches, cartoons, songs, and Spider-Man episodes; short animations, parodies, sketches, and music videos |
| Notable cast members | Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno, Bill Cosby, Judy Graubart, Lee Chamberlin, Skip Hinnant, Josh Segarra, Jenni Barber, Coy Stewart, Steven Freitas, Ann Harada |
| Notable characters | Easy Reader, Fargo North Decoder, J. Arthur Crank, Jennifer of the Jungle, Paul the Gorilla, Spider-Man, Letterman |
| Number of seasons | 6 (original series); 3 (2009 reboot) |
| Number of episodes | 650 |
| Original run | October 25, 1971 – April 15, 1977 |
| Reboot run | 2009–2011 |
| Length | 28 minutes |
| Awards | Won 10 Daytime Emmy Awards, including three consecutive Outstanding Children's Series trophies |
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What You'll Learn
The show's educational value
The Electric Company is an American educational children's television series that initially aired from 1971 to 1977. The show was created to help elementary school children develop their grammar and
The Electric Company employed various techniques to engage and educate its young audience. The show utilized psychedelic graphics, creative animation, and over-the-top characters to capture the attention of young viewers. It also featured parodies of soap operas and other genres, adding an element of humor and familiarity for older children. Additionally, the show incorporated special guest appearances, such as Spider-Man, through a partnership with Marvel Comics.
The Electric Company's educational focus extended beyond the show itself. It generated additional educational content, including books, records, and games. The show's impact was felt in classrooms across the nation, where it became a valuable teaching tool. The Electric Company also addressed the issue of illiteracy, which affected a significant portion of the American population at the time.
In 2009, a reboot of the series was released, targeting a new generation of young viewers. This version retained the original show's format, including short animations, parodies, sketches, and music videos. However, it also introduced new elements, such as story lines centered around a group of tween and teen literacy heroes battling neighborhood vandals. The reboot featured a mix of hip-hop and contemporary R&B music, reflecting the changing cultural landscape.
The Electric Company, in both its original and rebooted versions, demonstrated a commitment to educating and entertaining children. Through its innovative use of sketch comedy, music, and animation, the show sought to make learning fun and accessible to elementary school students. By addressing literacy and grammar skills in an engaging format, the show left a lasting impact on the landscape of educational television.
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The Electric Company's cast
The Electric Company is an American educational children's TV series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW). The show aired on PBS from 1971 to 1977 and later reran on Noggin from 1999 to 2003. The Electric Company employed sketch comedy and various other devices to help elementary school children develop their grammar and reading skills.
The original cast of The Electric Company 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, and Cosby and Moreno were already well-established performers on film and television. Ken Roberts, best known as a soap opera announcer, was the narrator of some segments during the first season. Jim Boyd, who was an off-camera voice actor and puppeteer during the first season, began appearing on camera in the second season, often in the role of J. Arthur Crank.
In 2006, a DVD box set called "The Best of the Electric Company" was released, which included 20 uncut episodes from the show, along with outtakes and commentary by cast members Rita Moreno and June Angela. Due to the popularity of the initial release, a second volume was released later that year, which included 20 episodes from seasons one through five and a 30-minute documentary on the effects of in-school viewings of The Electric Company from 1975. Cast members Luis Ávalos, Jim Boyd, Judy Graubart, Skip Hinnant, and Hattie Winston provided commentary and reflected on their time on the show.
In 2009, a new version of The Electric Company premiered. This version featured similar animations, parodies, sketches, and music videos to the original show, but with a stronger focus on teaching vocabulary. The cast of this version included Josh Segarra as Hector Ruiz, the leader of the Electric Company, a group of tween and teen literacy heroes. Hector's younger sister, Jessica Ruiz, was played by Priscilla "Star" Diaz. Other cast members included Jenni Barber as Lisa Heffenbacher, and Coy Stewart as Marcus Barnes, the newest and youngest member of the Electric Company.
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The Electric Company's characters
The Electric Company is an American educational children's television series that initially aired from 1971 to 1977. A reboot of the show with the same name aired from 2009 to 2011. The show employed sketch comedy and various other devices to provide an entertaining program to help elementary school children develop their grammar and reading skills.
The original cast of The Electric Company included Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno, Bill Cosby, Judy Graubart, Lee Chamberlin, and Skip Hinnant. Ken Roberts was the narrator of some segments during the first season. Jim Boyd, who was a voice actor and puppeteer during the first season, started appearing on-camera in the second season, mostly in the role of J. Arthur Crank.
The Electric Company did not have a stand-alone brand or character that could have helped to generate additional profits. However, Marvel Comics allowed the show to use the character Spider-Man for free. The show also featured Paul the Gorilla, who was the only character brought back for the 2009 reboot. Other characters in the 2009 reboot included Sammy Spamboni, Manny Spamboni, Annie Scrambler, Francine Carruthers, Danny Rebus, Gilda Flip, Jessica, Lisa, and Marcus Barnes.
The Electric Company consists of a group of five friends who protect the neighborhood from the Pranksters, who have similar powers but use them to cause trouble. Each member of the Electric Company has a special skill. For example, Hector Ruiz, the oldest member and leader, has the power to replay any image he sees and is very athletic.
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The Electric Company's production
The Electric Company was an edutainment show that ran from 1971 to 1977, with reruns until 1985. The show was directed by Robert Schwarz, Henry Behar, and John Tracy, and written by Dooley, Christopher Cerf, Jeremy Stevens, and John Boni/Amy Ephron. 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, with Cosby and Moreno already being well-established performers on film and television.
The Electric Company's target audience was elementary school students who were too old for Sesame Street but still needed help learning to read. The show's main purpose was to teach reading skills beyond the alphabet by using sketch comedy, live-action sketches, cartoons, songs, and Spider-Man episodes. The show also featured a diverse cast of memorable characters, such as Easy Reader, Fargo North Decoder, J. Arthur Crank, Jennifer of the Jungle, and Paul the Gorilla.
The show was produced by Sesame Workshop and aired on PBS. It was believed to be ahead of its time in terms of educational television, as most people thought it was "anathema to try to use television to teach kids to read." Despite this, the show was a success and became a cult hit with all ages. The show also spawned a comic book series based on the Spider-Man segments, called "Spidey Super Stories," which premiered in 1974.
A reboot of the show aired from 2009 to 2011, with reruns until 2013. This version featured similar short animations, parodies, sketches, and music videos to the original, but each episode also had a storyline designed to teach vocabulary words with a mix of hip-hop or contemporary R&B-style music. The reboot also taught children lessons about friendship, kindness, doing the right thing, and teamwork.
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The Electric Company's legacy
The Electric Company, a show that ran from 1971 to 1977, was designed to teach children basic phonetic and grammar concepts through live-action sketches, cartoons, songs, and Spider-Man episodes. The show was directed by Robert Schwarz, Henry Behar, and John Tracy, and written by Dooley, Christopher Cerf, Jeremy Stevens, and John Boni/Amy Ephron. The original cast included Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno, Bill Cosby, Judy Graubart, Lee Chamberlin, and Skip Hinnant.
The Electric Company's impact was such that it spawned productions, books, records, and games. The show also led to a partnership with Marvel Comics, which allowed the show to use the character Spider-Man for free. In return, Marvel published 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 also had a spin-off magazine and was parodied in a humour issue of Marvel's "What If...?", where Spider-Man defeats a super-villain by debating philosophy.
The show's popularity continued long after it ended, with DVD boxed sets released in 2006 that included outtakes, introductions, and commentary by cast members. An hour-long special, The Electric Company's Greatest Hits & Bits, was broadcast on PBS stations in late 2006 and included interviews with cast and crew. Apple Inc. also released 15 previously unavailable episodes on iTunes in early 2007.
The Electric Company, both the original and the revival, left a lasting impact on children's television and education, providing a fun and creative way to teach reading, writing, and grammar skills to young viewers.
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Frequently asked questions
The Electric Company is an American educational children's television series produced by the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) that first aired in 1971. The show was intended to teach elementary school children reading, grammar, and other language skills.
The show was targeted at elementary school students who were too old for Sesame Street but still needed help learning to read.
The show employed sketch comedy, songs, and live-action sketches to provide an entertaining program that helped children develop their reading and grammar skills. One regular segment showed the silhouettes of two faces looking at each other. As they sounded out the beginning and end of each word, the letters would float out of their mouths and form the word in the middle of the screen.
Yes, The Electric Company won two Emmys 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.
