CliqueClack (for the older) Kids: The Electric Company

Morgan Freeman. Rita Moreno. Bill Cosby. Separately, these three personalities have contributed hours of entertainment to film, theater and television for decades. Combined, they put something quite wonderful together during the earliest days of children’s programming on public television.

It was these three stars, along with many more talented actors, writers and directors, that gave us The Electric Company. A sibling to Sesame Street, Electric Company took the letter and word skills developed by Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch and put them to good use for older kids by focusing on reading and grammar. The result was a huge hit that remained popular for years after the show completed its original run.

Helmed by former Sesame Street producer Samuel Gibbon and writer and future Sixteen Candles father Paul Dooley, the new show directed its focus to an elementary school audience whose reading comprehension skills were seriously lacking.  It was a daunting task as their bosses at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting wanted the show to be nothing like its older sibling, yet contain the same educational elements that made Sesame Street a success.

So, Dooley and his team wrote and wrote. From their writings came numerous characters that viewers of the show would become quite familiar with. Characters such as word detective Fargo North, Decoder; gorilla teacher Jennifer of the Jungle; crank caller J. Arthur Crank; and the easy-going and well-read Easy Reader. The last, portrayed by future award-winner Morgan Freeman, is probably the character that most people remember from the series.

In addition to character creation, Dooley and his writers dabbled in a bit of parody to mix in with their educational goals. For instance, they created Love of Chair, which parodied the soap opera genre. A later creation, Letterman, made fun of the superhero genre that continued to engage the population.  “A Very Short Book” lampooned a variety of fairy tales and nursery rhymes. The show also featured a few numbers from satirical songwriter Tom Lehrer, who espoused of the suffix “ly” and the elusive silent “E”.

Electric Company premiered in 1971 and became an instant success at both home and in a majority of elementary schools. By the next season nearly one in three grade schools were showing the twice-a-week airings of the program. It’s mix of education, music and comedy helped increase the nation’s comprehension skills several fold and pushed many students reading levels above their own grade.

Like many long-lasting shows, Electric Company was a work in progress from day one.  Constant tweaking was performed in order to keep new and old viewers interested in the show. For instance, after viewers reported that the first season was a bit of an overload for kids to take in at one time, teaching goals and noise levels were cut down for the second season. Cast came and went as well. After the first season ended Bill Cosby decided to leave the show. Taking his place was the moustached Luis Avalos. Segments like Letterman, voiced by Joan Rivers and Gene Wilder; Road Runner cartoons, and Spidey Super Stories were added to keep children’s attention.

In 1977, after 780 episodes The Electric Company ended its original episode run.  That wasn’t the end of the series, however. The show continued to air in repeats on many PBS stations well into the mid ’80s. With those reruns came a new generation of fans who learned how to read in the most entertaining way. In 2006, after many years away from the broadcast networks, an Electric Company ‘best of’ set was released on DVD to popular acclaim.

Earlier this month, PBS Kids relaunched The Electric Company for the 21st Century. With production values much improved from the original series, the show still teaches kids reading and grammar. And yet, the success or failure of the new version will probably be lost on fans of the old series who fell in love with the tackiness of the show.

Clacked by Richard Keller
on Jan 29, 2009 @ 15:00 EST5EDT