The Electric Company
The Electric Company Logo
Format	Children's television series Comedy
Starring	Morgan Freeman Judy Graubart Luis Avalos (1972–1977) Skip Hinnant Rita Moreno Jim Boyd Lee Chamberlin (1971–1973) Hattie Winston (1973–1977) Bill Cosby (1971–1973) Danny Seagren (1974–1977) Gene Wilder Mel Brooks Joan Rivers Zero Mostel The Short Circus: June Angela Irene Cara (1971–1977) Gregg Burge (1973–1975) Stephen Gustafson (1971–1975) Janina Mathews (1975–1977) Réjane Magloire (1975–1977) Rodney Lewis (1975–1977) Melanie Henderson (1971–1975) Douglas Grant (1971–1973) Todd Graff (1975–1977) Denise Nickerson (1972–1973) Bayn Johnson (1973–1975)
Country of origin	United States
No. Children's television series are Television programs designed for and marketed to Children normally broadcast during the Morning and Afternoon Comedy (from the Greek κωμωδίαkomodia has a popular meaning (any discourse generally intended to amuse especially in Television, Film, and Morgan Porterfield Freeman Jr (born June 1 1937 is an Academy Award -winning American actor Film director and Narrator. Judy Graubart (born October 1943 in Fort Worth Texas) is an American actress Luis Avalos (born September 2, 1946, in Havana Cuba) is a Character actor. Skip Hinnant (Born September 12, 1940, in Chincoteague Island Virginia USA is an American actor and comedian Rita Moreno (born December 11, 1931) is a singer dancer and multiple award-winning actress Jim Boyd is an American actor born in Philadelphia. Boyd spent four years in the Air Force and studied at the American Lee Chamberlin (born February 14, 1938, in New York New York, USA) is an American film and television actress. Hattie Mae Winston (born March 3 1945) is an American television film and Broadway actress best known for her role as Margaret on Becker William Henry Cosby Jr (born July 12 1937 is an American Comedian, Actor, Author, Television producer and Activist. Gene Wilder (born Jerome Silberman; June 11 1933 Mel Brooks (born Melvin Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American director, Writer, Composer, Lyricist Joan Rivers (born Joan Alexandra Molinsky; June 8, 1933) is an American Comedian, Actress, Talk show Samuel Joel “Zero” Mostel ( February 28 1915 – September 8 1977) was an American Actor of stage and June Angela (born August 18, 1959) is an Actress, Singer, and Dancer best known as Julie, the mainstay member of Irene Cara Escalera ( March 18, 1959) is an American singer and actress Gregg Burge ( November 14, 1957 - July 4, 1998) was a Tap dancer and Choreographer. Réjane Magloire is a singer model and actress She is the daughter of a Haitian father and a Polish mother Todd Graff (born October 22, 1959) is an American actor writer and director best known for his 2003 Independent film Camp Denise Nickerson (born April 1, 1957) is an American former child actress The United States of America —commonly referred to as the  of episodes	780 - 10-25-1971 to 4-15-1977 (in reruns until 1985)
Production
Running time	28 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	PBS
Original run	October 25, 1971 – April 15, 1977
External links
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

The Electric Company is an educational American children's television series which was produced by the Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) for PBS in the United States. The Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) is a Non-profit Public broadcasting Television service with 354 member TV stations in the Events 1147 - The Portuguese, under Afonso I, and Crusaders from England and Flanders conquer Lisbon after a Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. Events 1450 - Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years' War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Children's television series are Television programs designed for and marketed to Children normally broadcast during the Morning and Afternoon Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop (or CTW) is a non-profit organization behind the production of several educational children's The Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) is a Non-profit Public broadcasting Television service with 354 member TV stations in the The United States of America —commonly referred to as the PBS broadcast 780 episodes over the course of eight seasons, from 1971 to 1977. Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays After it ceased production that year, the program continued in reruns until 1985. Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) CTW produced the show at Reeves Teletape Second Stage in Manhattan. Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop (or CTW) is a non-profit organization behind the production of several educational children's Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York

The Electric Company employed sketch comedy and other devices to provide an entertaining program to help children of elementary-school age develop their reading skills. Sketch comedy consists of a series of short Comedy scenes or vignettes called "sketches" commonly between one and ten minutes long See also Primary education An elementary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of Compulsory education known as elementary It was intended for children who had graduated from CTW's flagship program, Sesame Street. Sesame Street is an American educational Children's television series and a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard combining Appropriately enough, the humor was also that much more mature than what was seen there.

Performers

The original cast included Morgan Freeman, Rita Moreno (it was Moreno who screamed "Hey, you guyyyyys!!" to open the show in seasons two, five, and six and first screamed the phrase in episode 19), Bill Cosby, Judy Graubart, Lee Chamberlin, and Skip Hinnant. Morgan Porterfield Freeman Jr (born June 1 1937 is an Academy Award -winning American actor Film director and Narrator. Rita Moreno (born December 11, 1931) is a singer dancer and multiple award-winning actress William Henry Cosby Jr (born July 12 1937 is an American Comedian, Actor, Author, Television producer and Activist. Judy Graubart (born October 1943 in Fort Worth Texas) is an American actress Lee Chamberlin (born February 14, 1938, in New York New York, USA) is an American film and television actress. Skip Hinnant (Born September 12, 1940, in Chincoteague Island Virginia USA is an American actor and comedian Most of the cast had done stage, repertory, and improv work, with Cosby and Moreno already well-known from film and television. Ken Roberts, who was best known as a soap-opera announcer, was the narrator of some of the segments during the first season. A soap opera is an ongoing episodic work of Fiction, usually broadcast on Television or Radio.

Jim Boyd, who was strictly an off-camera voice actor and puppeteer in the first season, began appearing on-camera in season two, mostly in the role of J. Jim Boyd is an American actor born in Philadelphia. Boyd spent four years in the Air Force and studied at the American Voice acting is the art of providing voices for animated characters (including those in feature films television series animated shorts and Video games) and Arthur Crank. Luis Avalos also joined the cast at that time. Luis Avalos (born September 2, 1946, in Havana Cuba) is a Character actor.

Bill Cosby was a regular in season one, and occasionally appeared in new segments during season two, but afterward he left The Electric Company. Nevertheless, segments Cosby had taped in seasons one and two were repeatedly re-run in shows produced throughout the following four seasons, and Cosby was billed as a cast member throughout the show's entire run. Similarly, Lee Chamberlin also left after the second season, but many of her segments were also repeatedly reused. Consequently, Chamberlin was also billed as a cast member for the show’s entire run.

Added to the cast at the beginning of the third season was Hattie Winston, an actress and singer who later appeared on the show Becker. Hattie Mae Winston (born March 3 1945) is an American television film and Broadway actress best known for her role as Margaret on Becker Becker is an American Television sitcom that ran from 1998 to 2004 on CBS. Beginning in the fourth season, Danny Seagren appeared in the role of Spider-Man. Spider-Man is a Fictional character appearing in Comic books published by Marvel Comics.

Regular sketches

Some of the regular sketches performed on The Electric Company included the following:

• The Adventures of Letterman (John Hubley and Faith Hubley)—Segment featuring the work of animators John Hubley and Faith Hubley, wherein the title character, a young super hero who could fly and who wore a varsity sweater and a football helmet, foiled the mischief of the evil Spell Binder. The Adventures of Letterman was an animated skit that was a regular feature on the 1971–1977 PBS Television series The Electric Company John Hubley ( May 21, 1914 – February 21, 1977) was an American Animator and animation director known for both his formal Faith Hubley ( 16 September 1924 - 7 December 2001) was an Academy Award -winning Animator, known for her experimental work John Hubley ( May 21, 1914 – February 21, 1977) was an American Animator and animation director known for both his formal Faith Hubley ( 16 September 1924 - 7 December 2001) was an Academy Award -winning Animator, known for her experimental work American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with Featured the vocal talents of Zero Mostel, Joan Rivers (who narrated the segments), and Gene Wilder (most of the time), the skit debuted during season two, and it was one of the most popular segments of the show. Samuel Joel “Zero” Mostel ( February 28 1915 – September 8 1977) was an American Actor of stage and Joan Rivers (born Joan Alexandra Molinsky; June 8, 1933) is an American Comedian, Actress, Talk show Gene Wilder (born Jerome Silberman; June 11 1933 The Adventures of Letterman was parodied in season three as Lettuceman and again in season six as Litterman. The Adventures of Letterman was an animated skit that was a regular feature on the 1971–1977 PBS Television series The Electric Company
• Blond-Haired Cartoon Man (Mel Brooks)—He read words that appeared on the screen, but they often showed up in the wrong order, made no sense, or otherwise drove him to frustration. Example: "'[reading] I am cute. ' Oh. That's nice. Someone thinks I'm cute. Uh . . . how about 'very'? [The sentence changes to "I am cute very. "] "'I am cute very. ' Who's the dummy writing this show?"
• The Blue Beetle (Jim Boyd) —a bumbling super hero who would often make matters worse instead of better for people who he tried to help, unrelated to the DC Comics hero of the same name. Blue Beetle is the name of three fictional, American Comic book Superheroes published by a variety of companies since 1940 He wore a mask, a hood with antennas, wings attached to his back, tennis shoes, boxer shorts, and a T-shirt with "Blue Beetle" written on it, all of which were all colored blue except for the letters U and E of the word “blue. Boxer shorts (also known as loose boxers or as simply boxers) are a type of Underwear worn by men ” He was also often put up against Spider-Man, whom he was both jealous of and intimidated by. One of his favorite taglines was, "I would if I could, but I can't, so I won't. "
  • The Blue Beetle bore a striking resemblance to El Chapulín Colorado, a now-classic Mexican television program that aired from 1970 to 1978. El Chapulín Colorado is a Television series, created and played by Roberto Gomez Bolaños also known as Chespirito, a successful Mexican comedian and The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America.
• Clayton—Introduced in season five but became a recurring character in season six, a Claymation character animated by Will Vinton who often commented on the previous skit or introduced a new concept. Clay animation is one of many forms of Stop motion animation Each animated piece either character or background is "deformable"&mdashmade of a malleable substance Will Vinton (born 1948 is an American director and producer of animated films
• The Corsican Twins—Twin brothers (Skip Hinnant and Jim Boyd) who would hurt each other by punching, biting, and kicking themselves while they reinforced sounds.
• The Director—A hapless auteur named Otto (Rita Moreno), dressed as an old-style Hollywood film director, tried in vain to make her actors read the correct line as printed on an oversized cue card held by Marcello (Morgan Freeman), her terrified assistant. Otto Ludwig Preminger ( December 5[[ 906]]&ndash April 23[[ 986]] was an Austrian born Film director who moved from the theatre to Hollywood The director used her riding crop as a pointer to the cue card, but she usually ended up whacking the cue card in anger with the crop startling Marcello. Several flubbed takes were depicted before the director gave up in frustration. Common director lines included “Marcello!!!!!” “Aaaaanndd ROLL ’EM!!” and “Aaaaaction!” Moreno modeled the character after Otto Preminger. Otto Ludwig Preminger ( December 5[[ 906]]&ndash April 23[[ 986]] was an Austrian born Film director who moved from the theatre to Hollywood
• Dr. Doolots—Parody of Doctor Dolittle and Groucho Marx (with a Harpo Marx wig) in which the title character (Luis Avalos) used words to cure his patients. Doctor John Dolittle is the central character of a series of children's books by Hugh Lofting. Arthur Marx (previously Adolph Marx) popularly known as Harpo Marx ( November 23, 1893 &ndash September 28, 1964
• Easy Reader—"Easy Reader, that's my name, umm, umm-umm!"—Segments featured the title character, a smooth hipster (Morgan Freeman) who loved to read at every opportunity and every printed thing he saw, teaching words of the day. Morgan Porterfield Freeman Jr (born June 1 1937 is an Academy Award -winning American actor Film director and Narrator. Often associated with Valerie the Librarian (Hattie Winston), and in earlier seasons with Vi (Lee Chamberlin) in her diner. His name was a pun on the title of the film Easy Rider. Easy Rider, a 1969 American Road movie written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper and Terry Southern.
• Fargo North, Decoder—An Inspector Clouseau-type detective (Skip Hinnant) tried to decode scrambled word messages and phrases using his different machines (one made from an old fashioned washing machine). Inspector Jacques Clouseau (later chief inspector is a fictional Detective in Blake Edwards 's Pink Panther series His name was a pun based on Fargo, North Dakota. Fargo is a city in Cass County, North Dakota in the United States. Sesame Street 's Big Bird appears in one segment, asking him to help decode a message. Big Bird is a full-body Muppet, featured on the children's television show Sesame It is also a reference to the decoding style of reading education.
• Five Seconds—Midway point of the show where viewers were challenged to read a word within a 5-second time limit. From 1973 to 1975, in a spoof of Mission: Impossible, the word would self-destruct in a Scanimate animation sequence after the time limit expired. Mission Impossible (often referred to as Mission Impossible The Original Series) is an American Television series that chronicles Scanimate is the name for an Analog computer animation system developed from the late 1960s to the early 1980s ("The word you see here will self-destruct in five seconds. Can you read it before it does?") After 1975, the viewers had to read the word before a cast member (often a member of the Short Circus) did.
• Giggles, Goggles—Two friends (usually Rita Moreno and Judy Graubart) conversed when one of them misused a word (e. g. , "flack" as in "flap," when the other was talking about something with the word "flap"). Several words that sounded the same except for one vowel or consonant were humorously misused until they get back to the original word. "That's what I was trying to tell you!" remarked one of the characters, after which the other fumed in frustration.
• Here's Cooking at You—Send-up of Julia Child, with Judy Graubart playing Julia Grown-Up. Julia Child (born Julia Carolyn McWilliams August 15, 1912 – August 13, 2004) was a famous American cook, Author
• J. Arthur Crank—Jim Boyd's plaid-wearing character who often interrupted sketches to complain when spellings or pronunciations confused him. In early episodes, he was just a voice on the phone, much like an irate viewer on a radio call-in show. In one sketch he sang a song devoted to his spiritual cousin Oscar the Grouch. Oscar the Grouch is a Muppet character on the television program Sesame Street. Crank is named after British film mogul J. Arthur Rank and refers to what would be later known as crank calling. Joseph Arthur Rank 1st Baron Rank ( December 22 1888 &ndash March 29 1972) was a British industrialist and Film producer A prank call also known as a hoax call, phone scam or phony phone call, is a form of Practical joke committed over the Telephone
• Jennifer of the Jungle—George of the Jungle send-up with (Judy Graubart) and Paul the Gorilla (Jim Boyd). George of the Jungle was an American Animated television series produced by Jay Ward and Bill Scott, who created Usually opened with Jennifer swinging on Viney the vine, yelling "Oy-oy-oy-oy. . . !" a pun on the Yiddish-language expression. Yiddish (yi [[wiktייִדיש ייִדיש]] yidish or yi [[wiktאידיש אידיש]] idish, literally "Jewish" is a nonterritorial High
• The Last Word—Always came at the end of the show; featured in season one instead of the next-show teasers from later seasons. The camera would show a barely lit incandescent bulb on a pull-chain switch hanging from a wire. The voice of Ken Roberts would state "And now, the last word" gravely. A single word would appear, usually one that had been featured earlier in the episode. An unseen cast member would read the word aloud, reach his/her arm into the shot, and turn the light off by tugging the pull chain. Sometimes more creative exits were employed (i. e. the hand would snip the pull chain with a pair of scissors).
• Love of Chair—Spoof of the soap opera Love of Life about a boy (Skip Hinnant) sitting on a chair. Love of Chair was a recurring sketch on the Television program The Electric Company. Love of Life is an American Soap opera which was aired on CBS from September 24, 1951 to February 1, Announcer Ken Roberts (who, appropriately enough, was also the announcer for Love of Life) read the day's story, told in the style of the old Dick and Jane primers, with questions asked at the end in a dramatic tone. Dick and Jane were the main characters in popular Basal readers written by Dr The last question asked was always "And. . . what about Naomi?" This would be followed by "For the answer to these and other questions" at which point a cast member would be shown briefly on-screen uttering a completely unrelated non-sequitur such as "What time is it?" Seen primarily during the first season. Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal (born Naomi Achs on March 15, 1946 in New York City) is an American Screenwriter. A shot of the boy sitting on the chair was used for the Friday closing credits during the first season as well.
• Mad Scientist—Another monster-based parody, this time with an evil scientist (Morgan Freeman) and his assistant, Igor (Luis Avalos), who tried to read words that grew out of their experiments.
• Mel Mounds—A disc jockey (Morgan Freeman) who introduced songs, usually by the Short Circus. Known for the phrase "Sounds righteous, delightious, and out-of-sighteous! Heavy, heavy [*finger snap*], heavy! Ha-ah!"
• Millie the Helper—An eager but point-missing trainee played by Rita Moreno who worked in various professions. Rita Moreno (born December 11, 1931) is a singer dancer and multiple award-winning actress Millie's bellowed catchphrase "Hey, you guys!" soon became a part of the show's opening. Named for the character Millie Helper from The Dick Van Dyke Show. The Dick Van Dyke Show is an American television Situation comedy which initially aired on CBS from October 3, 1961 to
• Monolith—An animated short, set in outer space, used to introduce segments discussing a sound cluster. A huge perfectly rectangular white wall animated from the point of view of the camera looking up from its base, therefore appearing trapedzoidal, and not as often-thought a Washington Monument-type structure, would collapse to the strains of the Richard Strauss composition "Also sprach Zarathustra" (also the theme of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey), usually after being activated, alerted or meddled with by a living being such as an astronaut or extraterrestrial, and the appropriate sound cluster would appear from clearing smoke, no longer hidden behind where the wall stood (such as "oo," "ow," "all," "ee," "alk," "was"). A trapezoid (in North America or a trapezium (in Britain and elsewhere is a Quadrilateral (a closed plane shape with four linear sides that has at least one The Washington Monument is a large tall sand-colored Obelisk near the west end of the National Mall in Washington D Richard Georg Strauss (11 June 1864 &ndash 8 September 1949 was a German Composer of the late Romantic era and early modern era particularly noted Also sprach Zarathustra op 30 is a Tone poem by Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche 's book 2001 A Space Odyssey is a 1968 Science fiction film directed by Stanley Kubrick, written by Kubrick and Arthur C An astronaut or cosmonaut (космона́вт) is a person trained A skit based on a scene from the film 2001 was usually built around this segment, while the characters always cowered in fear and awe as the music began. The monolith as white in these segments to avoid a copyright dispute with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the motion picture studio responsible for the 2001 film. Otherwise the cartoon was a clear semi-plagiaristic nod to the film.
• Pandora—Rita Moreno's bratty but lovable curly-headed blonde girl who tried to outwit the adults around her. The character's look and behavior was probably inspired by the Fanny Brice creation Baby Snooks. Fanny Brice ( October 29 1891 – May 29 1951) was a popular and influential American Comedienne, Singer The Baby Snooks Show was an American radio program starring comedienne and Ziegfeld Follies alumna Fanny Brice as a mischievous young girl who
• Pedro's Plant Place —Luis Avalos as a garden-shop proprietor who incorporated reading words into his planting tips, accompanied by the unpredictable plant-language-speaking plant Maurice (Jim Boyd). Luis Avalos (born September 2, 1946, in Havana Cuba) is a Character actor. Jim Boyd may refer to Jim Boyd (musician, musician from the Colville Indian Reservation Jimmy Boyd, singer Jim Boyd
• Phyllis and the Pharaohs—A 1950s doo-wop group with Rita Moreno on lead vocals. Doo-wop is a style of vocal-based Rhythm and blues music which developed in African-American communities in the 1940s and which achieved mainstream popularity both in the 1950s Its hits included "Phantom of Love," "Grease," and "Is it Love?"
• Road Runner—New segments of the Looney Tunes character and his pursuer, Wile E. Coyote, produced and directed by Chuck Jones. Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros Animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theatres from 1930 to 1969 Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones ( September 21, 1912 &ndash February 22, 2002) was an American Animator, These segments reinforced reading skills and, unlike the classic Warner Bros. shorts, were completely devoid of sound, save for vocal effects such as laughing and sound effects such as the switching of a traffic light or the bouncing on a trampoline.
• Sign Sing-Along—Sometimes the last sketch on a Friday episode, filmed segments were married to a sing-along type song (e. g. , "I like fish food; you do, too/Don't look now, your hair is blue"), with filmed snippets of a sign with said words. Sung once through, after which the viewers were expected to supply the lyrics the second time around ("All right, now we'll be quiet, and you sing it!") while a wah-wah-muted trumpet and bassoon duo played the melody of the words. Alternate: vignettes depicting literal translations of road signs (for example, slow-motion action of children playing for a Slow Children sign).
• The Six-Dollar and Thirty-Nine-Cent Man—a spoof of The Six Million Dollar Man with Jim Boyd as Steve Awesome, who had far more bionic features than his more serious counterpart. The Six Million Dollar Man is an American Television series about a fictional Cyborg working for the OSI (which was usually said to refer Bionics (also known as biomimetics, biognosis, Biomimicry, or bionical creativity engineering) is the application of biological Introduced in season five and became a recurring sketch in season six.
• Slow Reader—Originally a set of animated shorts, but at least one live-action sketch was shot based on the same characters and theme. A bald-headed slow reader was given a message to read by a delivery man and had trouble sounding out the words. Each message was advice that he needed to follow (such as "Do not bother this giant person," "Go away," "Duck!" "Keep off the grass"), but wound up not understanding the words or the meaning until it was too late. In later years, however, a few of the original sketches were slightly rewritten and reanimated with a much smarter slow reader who did not fall victim to any impending dangers.
• Soft-Shoe Silhouettes—Two cast members appeared in silhouette, one uttering the initial sound of a word (e. g. , "th"), and the other uttering the rest of the word (e. g. , "ing"). The two then pronounced the whole word (e. g. , "thing") in unison. Most notable for the soft-shoe-type music composed by veteran songwriter Joe Raposo, which played during the segment. Joseph Guilherme Raposo Jr, OIH ( February 8, 1937 – February 5, 1989) was a Portuguese - Done twice through, sometimes with the viewer trying to read the word the second time through. The song usually ended with the two saying a soft "yeah!"
• Spidey Super Stories—Short pieces that featured the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man (which was provided to CTW free of charge) and cast members from the show. " Spidey Super Stories " was a live-action recurring Skit on the PBS children's television series The Electric Company. Marvel Comics is an American comic book company owned by Marvel Publishing Inc Spider-Man is a Fictional character appearing in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. Stories involved the web-masked super hero (Danny Seagren) foiling mischievous characters involved in petty criminal activities (such as burglary or assault). Interestingly, Spider-Man spoke only in cartoon word balloons appearing over his head, which were accompanied by electronic punctuation sounds for emphasis when the appeared on-screen. Also, unlike in the pages of Marvel Comics, he was never seen out of costume as his alter-ego, Peter Parker. Spider-Man is a Fictional character appearing in Comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuted during season four and was the basis for a spin-off comic book. A spin-off (or spinoff) is a new Organization or Entity formed by a split from a larger one such as a Television series based on a pre-existing The segment's theme song also claimed, “Spider-Man, where are you coming from? Spider-Man, nobody knows who you are. ”
• Sweet Roll Cartoon where a man orders a cup of coffee and a sweet roll. The waitress tells him "We are out of sweet rolls", so the customer keeps changing the order, but he only alters the drink and not the sweet roll. With the now-beet red-faced waitress at her wit's end, the customer decides he'll just have a sweet roll, to which the waitress finally loses it and storms out yelling "Aw Aw Aw Aw!" and leaving the sailor doing 'whiff whiff'. This also got into a live action sketch with Morgan Freeman and Hattie Winston, with Morgan ordering Ham and Eggs, and Hattie telling him they were out of eggs. When the waitress has had enough and storms out the door in the background, the customer ponders on ordering a sweet roll.
• Vaudeville Revue (also called The Stage)—Skits and songs were presented variety show-style on-stage, with music fanfare and canned applause to introduce and end each segment.
• A Very Short Book—Typically the last sketch of an episode in which a very short story was read by a member of the cast. Based on nursery rhymes or fairy tales and had a humorous ending. Always finished with the words "The End. "
• Vi's Diner—Customers tried to read simple menus to place their order at proprietor Vi's (Lee Chamberlin) eatery. Grover from Sesame Street made a guest appearance in a season-two skit because he was lost and in tears, and he needed the help of Vi and J. Grover is a Muppet character on the television show Sesame Street. Sesame Street is an American educational Children's television series and a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard combining Arthur Crank to get back home.
• Vincent the Vegetable Vampire—Send-up of the Bram Stoker literary character Dracula, played by Morgan Freeman. Abraham "Bram" Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912 was an Irish writer of novels and short stories who is best known today for his 1897 horror He was often seen with Frankenstein's monster (Skip Hinnant) and the Wolfman (Jim Boyd).

The adult cast was also featured in many sketches as themselves and not in any particular character. Their "adult character" names were: J. J. (Skip Hinnant), Carmela (Rita Moreno), Brenda (Lee Chamberlain), Mark (Morgan Freeman), Hank (Bill Cosby), Winnie (Judy Graubart), Andy (Jim Boyd), Roberto (Luis Avalos), and Sylvia (Hattie Winston)

The Short Circus

Short Circus mainstay June Angela, as she appeared during the sixth and final season of The Electric Company

• June Angela—Julie
• Irene Cara (1971–1972)—Iris
• Stephen Gustafson (1971–1975)—Buddy
• Melanie Henderson (1971–1975)—Kathy
• Douglas Grant (1971–1973)—Zach
• Denise Nickerson (1972–1973)—Allison
• Bayn Johnson (1973–1975)—Kelly
• Gregg Burge (1973–1975)—Dwayne
• Janina Mathews (1975–1977)—Gail
• Réjane Magloire (1975–1977)—Samantha
• Rodney Lewis (1975–1977)—Charlie
• Todd Graff (1975–1977)—Jesse

Another regular part of the show was the Short Circus (the name a pun on short circuit), a singing group of kids whose songs also facilitated reading comprehension. June Angela (born August 18, 1959) is an Actress, Singer, and Dancer best known as Julie, the mainstay member of Irene Cara Escalera ( March 18, 1959) is an American singer and actress Denise Nickerson (born April 1, 1957) is an American former child actress Gregg Burge ( November 14, 1957 - July 4, 1998) was a Tap dancer and Choreographer. Réjane Magloire is a singer model and actress She is the daughter of a Haitian father and a Polish mother Todd Graff (born October 22, 1959) is an American actor writer and director best known for his 2003 Independent film Camp Short Circuit is a 1986 comedy Science fiction film starring Ally Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg and directed by June Angela was the only Short Circus member to remain with the show during its entire 6-year run (she was 11 when production began, and 17 during its final season); others lasted anywhere from one to four years. June Angela (born August 18, 1959) is an Actress, Singer, and Dancer best known as Julie, the mainstay member of Irene Cara appeared only during the first season and would go on to become a pop music star (Fame, Flashdance). Irene Cara Escalera ( March 18, 1959) is an American singer and actress Fame is a 1980 Musical film conceived and produced by David De Silva directed by Alan Parker, and written by Christopher Gore Flashdance is a musical / Romance film released in April 1983 and was one of the most successful films of the early 1980s Cara was replaced by Denise Nickerson, best known for her appearance as Violet Beauregarde in the 1971 film Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory. Denise Nickerson (born April 1, 1957) is an American former child actress Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 motion picture based on the 1964 Roald Dahl novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The other three original members of the Short Circus were Melanie Henderson (who, at 13, was the oldest of the original group), Stephen Gustafson, and Douglas Grant. For the show's third and fourth seasons, Grant and Nickerson were replaced by talented dancer Gregg Burge and Broadway actress Bayn Johnson. Gregg Burge ( November 14, 1957 - July 4, 1998) was a Tap dancer and Choreographer.

Except for June Angela, an entirely new Short Circus was cast for the 1975–1977 seasons because previous members were getting too old. The new hires were Todd Graff (Ilene Graff's brother), Rodney Lewis, Réjane Magloire, and Janina Matthews. Todd Graff (born October 22, 1959) is an American actor writer and director best known for his 2003 Independent film Camp Ilene Graff (born February 28, 1949) is an American actress and Singer. Réjane Magloire is a singer model and actress She is the daughter of a Haitian father and a Polish mother

In the first season, a number of unbilled children were also used on-camera with the show's cast, as on Sesame Street, but this concept was very quickly dropped.

Because of the frequent reuse of segments, a practice derived from Sesame Street, actors continued to appear after their departures from the cast.

Music

• Joe Raposo, who was famous for his work on Sesame Street, was the music director of the series for seasons one through three and wrote songs for the show during its entire run. Joseph Guilherme Raposo Jr, OIH ( February 8, 1937 – February 5, 1989) was a Portuguese - Sesame Street is an American educational Children's television series and a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard combining
• Gary William Friedman served as the music director of the series for season four, writing some 40 songs, including the popular Spider-Man theme song. Gary William Friedman is an American musician and composer His music spans the worlds of Theater, Television,
• Tom Lehrer wrote ten songs for the series. Thomas Andrew "Tom" Lehrer (born April 9 1928)is an American Singer-songwriter, satirist, Pianist, and mathematician "L-Y" and "Silent E" are among the more memorable. Silent e is a writing convention in English Spelling. When reading the Silent letter e at the end of a Word signals
• Dave Conner was the music director of the last two seasons of the series.
• Clark Gesner wrote several songs for the series including most of the sign songs but never served as the show’s music director.

The original soundtrack album, released on Warner Bros. Records, won a Grammy Award for the show's cast. Warner Bros Records Inc is an American Record label that operates as a wholly owned Subsidiary of Warner Music Group. The Grammy Awards (originally called the Gramophone Awards)—or Grammys —are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences

Visuals

The series was notable for its extensive, innovative use of early computer-generated imagery, especially Scanimation, a then-state-of-the-art analog video-synthesizer system. Computer animation Computer-generated imagery (also known as CGI) is the application of the field of Computer graphics or more specifically 3D computer graphics Scanimate is the name for an Analog computer animation system developed from the late 1960s to the early 1980s They were often used for presenting words with particular sounds. Sometimes a cast member would be seen alongside or interacting in another way with a word animation.

The typeface featured for most of the words displayed on-screen was Franklin Gothic. In Typography, a typeface is a set of one or more Fonts designed with stylistic unity each comprising a coordinated set of Glyphs A typeface usually comprises Franklin Gothic is a realist sans-serif Typeface designed by Morris Fuller Benton (1872–1948 in 1902 It was used for the entire series. During the first season, the typeface Clarendon was also used. Clarendon is an English Slab-serif typeface that was created in England by Robert Besley for the Fann Street Foundry in 1845 Spider-Man’s speech balloons were often set in Dom Casual. Dom Casual is an American Typeface designed in 1951 by Peter Dom.

Closing credits

Each show ended with one of the cast members announcing, "The Electric Company gets its power from the Children's Television Workshop. Sesame Workshop, formerly known as the Children's Television Workshop (or CTW) is a non-profit organization behind the production of several educational children's " After the copyright notice, the list of corporate sponsors would be flashed on the screen. An instrumental version of the show's theme (starting in 1973, and changed each season) played beneath the music; prior to this, a specific musical score played during the corporate credits.

The corporate sponsors—which included such entities as the Ford Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York—were flashed one or two at a time for the first five seasons and scrolled during the sixth season. The Ford Foundation is a Private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a nonprofit organization in the United States.

The actual corporate credits for all seasons:

Production funding for The Electric Company is provided by the Bureau of Libraries and Educational Technology, the National Center for Educational Technology, the United States Office of Education, Mobil Oil Corporation, the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, PBS-Affiliated Stations (or "Public Television Stations"), unrestricted general program grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Ford Foundation, and by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The Exxon Mobil Corporation, or ExxonMobil, is an American oil and gas Corporation and a direct descendant of John D The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB is a private non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress and partially funded by the United States

The donors in the above list would vary by season (see below).

Friday closing credits

As with most PBS children's-related programming produced by CTW, the Friday episodes featured closing credits along with a full-length version of the same music that played over the corporate credits list. Closing credits, inside a Motion picture or Television program come at the end of a movie or show and list all the cast and crew involved in the production

The video that played beneath the scrolling list of credits changed from season to season, and were as follows:

• Season 1—Skip Hinnant in his Love of Chair character, sitting completely still or doing some other action (such as sleeping). Skip Hinnant (Born September 12, 1940, in Chincoteague Island Virginia USA is an American actor and comedian Love of Chair was a recurring sketch on the Television program The Electric Company. Midway through the season, the music changed from a full-length instrumental specific to the corporate credits to an upbeat, marching band-type instrumental version of the show's theme. The second theme ended with crashing sound effects, momentarily startling the boy from his sleep.
• Season 2—Cast members, entering the room one-by-one. The Short Circus—dressed in marching-band uniforms—entered the room first, followed by dual versions of the adults (each actor in dual roles), who entered as him/herself along with the character he/she is most noted for playing (e. g. , Morgan Freeman entering both as himself and as Easy Reader). Morgan Porterfield Freeman Jr (born June 1 1937 is an Academy Award -winning American actor Film director and Narrator. At the end of this sequence, the last one in the room would close the door, and the picture would break up in pieces and crash down. Other times, a hammer would appear in the bottom right of the screen and hit it, causing the same type of breakage. The same instrumental theme from the later season one episodes was used.
• Season 3—Begins with the Short Circus playing its musical instruments over a chroma key, then walking off as they dance to the beat of the music. Chroma Key is the name under which ex- Dream Theater Keyboardist Kevin Moore records About midway through came a montage of clips from various skits, capped with a clip of Paul the Gorilla dancing across the screen. The theme was rescored; it had more of a rock feel, thanks to a prominently heard electric guitar. The corporate credits theme was a hybrid of the Friday credits theme (the first part) and a slower-tempoed instrumental version of the opening theme (for the second half).
• Season 4—Not featured on any of the episodes that aired on Noggin or on either of the DVD sets but can be seen at the end of episode 475, which is available at the iTunes store. Noggin is a 24-hour Cable television network in the United States, intended to help children learn iTunes is a proprietary digital media player application introduced by Apple Inc Spider-Man’s hand opens a special Spidey Super Stories comic book in which the show’s logo is seen on the first open page. The hand turns the page, which reveals four panes that contain montages of several clips from the show. In the upper right panel, animation from the song "Silent E" is interspersed with the message “Reading can be fun. " The hand turns the page again, and a collage of the people involved in the production is revealed that looks like comic-book art. Four panels are seen, and the camera moves in a clockwise motion so that all of the frames can be seen in close-up. Finally, Spider-Man’s hand closes the comic book.
• Season 5—Filmed clips of the Short Circus along with focus-group clips from an elementary school and behind-the-scenes action from the Teletape production studio. Another rescore of the theme could be heard, with horns prominent this time to create a definite easy listening feel; it was played at a slower tempo for the corporate credits. Easy listening music is a style of Popular music and radio format that emerged in the mid-20th century evolving out of swing and Big band music This sequence was used as the opening of a 1975 documentary on the success of the series in schools that was included in The Best of The Electric Company Vol. 2 DVD boxed set; however the music from the show's opening was used.
• Season 6—Clips from classic skits, sometimes tied together (such as sneezing, people coping with high wind gusts, water, etc. ). Once again, the theme was rescored, this time using a prominently heard Moog synthesizer leading the acoustic instruments. The term Moog (ˈmoʊg as in 'vogue' Synthesizer can refer to any number of Analog synthesizers designed by Dr

Funding

• The Ford Foundation
• Public Television Stations (seasons 4, 5, and 6)
• The Carnegie Corporation of New York
• The Corporation For Public Broadcasting
• Office of Education, U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
• Mobil Corporation (season 1 only)

Show numbering

A total of 780 episodes were produced in the show's six-season run, 130 per season. The Ford Foundation is a Private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by The Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS) is a Non-profit Public broadcasting Television service with 354 member TV stations in the The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a nonprofit organization in the United States. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB is a private non-profit corporation created by an act of the United States Congress and partially funded by the United States The Exxon Mobil Corporation, or ExxonMobil, is an American oil and gas Corporation and a direct descendant of John D The first four seasons (1971–1975) were numbered 1–520. The season-five shows (1975–1976) were numbered 1A–130A, and the season-six shows (1976–1977) were numbered 1B–130B. This was done because these two seasons were designed as year-long curriculum for schools.

Starting with season three (episode 261), a show's number would be presented in the sketch-of-the-day teaser segment, a parody of soap-opera teasers, which would highlight a particular sketch that would be shown during that episode. The voice of a cast member would say a variant of, "Today on The Electric Company, the so-and-so says, '(censored),'" and the action would freeze as the graphic of the word of the day—or card with the word of the day printed on it—became visible to viewers. The censored words were replaced by a series of harsh electronic sounds (similar to a theremin being played out-of-tune) roughly mimicking the sound of the word in question. The still action would linger on the screen for several seconds, then fade to black, where the show number would become visible in a Scanimate animation. Scanimate is the name for an Analog computer animation system developed from the late 1960s to the early 1980s The music for this segment was a repetitive, funky instrumental groove featuring a call-and-response between horns and a scratchy wah-wah guitar. Call and response is a form of "spontaneous verbal and non-verbal interaction between speaker and listener in which all of the statements ('calls' are punctuated by expressions ('responses' A wah-wah pedal (or just wah pedal) is a type of Guitar Effects pedal that alters the tone of the signal to create a distinctive effect intended to mimic The next-show teaser, which was introduced in season two without music, worked in the same way, and usually used a different take of the music heard during the sketch-of-the-day teaser, except that the voice said "Tune in next time, when. . . " and there was no show number shown. In season six, the electronic sounds were made less harsh-sounding, and new background music featuring lots of horns and a synthesizer was used.

In season one, however, after the title sequence, the sound of a striking match would be heard, and a fade-up from black would reveal a hand holding a lit match and "show #x" handwritten on a piece of paper that was placed in such a way so that it could blend with the surrounding objects in-frame. Instead of the next-show teaser, Ken Roberts's voice could be heard, saying, “And now, the last word,” and the trademark light bulb would be shut off by a hand doing whatever the last word was. In season two, after the opening sequence, the words "The Electric Company" would disappear from the familiar logo, and the show number would appear in its place through the use of a Scanimate animation and an electronic whooshing sound. Scanimate is the name for an Analog computer animation system developed from the late 1960s to the early 1980s

It is interesting to note that some episodes in seasons three through five have serious technical errors with either their sketch-of-the-day teaser segments or their next-show teaser segments, which is probably because of the failure of the linear analog video-editing equipment. Linear video editing is the process of selecting arranging and modifying the images and sound recorded on Videotape whether captured by a Video camera, generated Analog video is a Video signal transferred by Analog signal. It contains the Luminance (brightness and Chrominance (color of the image which Episodes that have these errors in their sketch-of-the-day teasers include 297, 1A, 8A, 15A, and 60A. Sometimes the music starts too late, ends too early, or plays too long. Sometimes the video does not appear at all—only a show number appears and only part of the teaser music plays. Sometimes the errors are negligible, with the teaser music only playing a fraction of a second longer than usual. For season six, because the teaser music was changed to a shorter, self-contained composition, these errors do not occur.

Rebroadcast and rebirth

Following the last original episode on April 15, 1977, the series continued on PBS in reruns until the fall of 1985, with the final two seasons (1A–130A and 1B–130B) shown in rotation. Events 1450 - Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years' War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English Also 1977 (album by Ash. Year 1977 ( MCMLXXVII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays These are the episodes that are the most familiar to viewers.

Cover of the DVD boxed set The Best of the Electric Company (2006).

The earlier 1971–1975 shows did not resurface until January 31, 1999, when the Noggin network, which was partly owned by Sesame Workshop at the time, rebroadcast the show as a result of its co-ownership of the network. Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Noggin is a 24-hour Cable television network in the United States, intended to help children learn A two-hour feature-length compilation special, which was aired on TV Land, re-introduced the series to a new generation whose parents grew up watching the show. TV Land (originally Nick at Nite's TV Land) is an American Cable television network launched April 29, 1996. Noggin ran 65 select episodes until 2003, when they were pulled from the program lineup because Sesame Workshop sold its half of the network to Viacom, which already owned the other half. Viacom ( ( short for " Vi deo & A udio Com munications" is an American Media conglomerate with various worldwide interests The shows were cut subtly to fit Noggin's shorter running time and free up time for various interstitial segments produced for the network. These deletions included the episode numbers, the Scanimate word animations, the segments 15 seconds and shorter, and the teasers for the next episodes (in seasons two through six). Scanimate is the name for an Analog computer animation system developed from the late 1960s to the early 1980s

DVD releases

The series was not seen since it was pulled from Noggin’s schedule until Sesame Workshop, under license to Shout! Factory and Sony BMG Music Entertainment, released a DVD boxed set on February 7, 2006, called The Best of the Electric Company that included 20 uncut episodes from all six seasons, plus outtakes and introductions and commentary by Rita Moreno and June Angela. Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2002 that was started by Richard Foos (co-founder of Rhino Records) Bob Emmer (former Warner Music Group Sony BMG Music Entertainment is a diverse music and entertainment group Events 457 - Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire. 1074 - Battle of Montesarchio in which the Prince Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

Due to the overwhelming (and somewhat unexpected) popularity of the initial DVD release, a second boxed set was released on November 14, 2006 (The Best of the Electric Company Volume 2). Events 1533 - Conquistadors from Spain under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro arrive in Cajamarca, Inca Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. This second volume contained 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 Avalos, Jim Boyd, Judy Graubart, Skip Hinnant, and Hattie Winston provided commentary and reflected on their years on the show. However, the original content of nine of the episodes presented in the second DVD set was altered. In some cases, material that was originally broadcast in a particular episode was removed completely while material from other episodes was included. For example, episode 60A, which is included in the second boxed set, originally contained the Spider-Man episode "Spidey Meets the Prankster" and used a scene from that sketch as the opening teaser. The teaser was removed completely after the opening credits, leaving only the episode number, and at the start is an episode of "The Six-Dollar and Thirty-Nine Cent Man," which supposedly aired only during season six. Also removed following the Letterman sketch in this episode was the clip of the Short Circus singing "Stop!" and a Road Runner-Wile E. Coyote cartoon. Clayton appeared in this episode as well, even though he supposedly only appeared in season six. These altered episodes also contain special effects used to segue from one sketch to another that were not used in the show's original run. The other altered episodes are 197, 227, 322, 375, 35A, 57A, 77A, and 105A. The material seen in these altered episodes was not what was originally shown when the episodes were first broadcast.

It is believed that these changes were probably made to avoid repeats of segments that were on the first DVD set, but it is more likely that it is an issue over ownership rights: the segments that were used to cover up the material that Sesame Workshop does not own, which include Spider-Man, the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, and more, were longer than the excised segments, and the episodes were cut further to get them down to their required 28-minute length.

An hour-long television show called The Electric Company's Greatest Hits & Bits was broadcast on many PBS stations in late 2006. It included interviews with cast members and voice talent, and creator-producer Joan Ganz Cooney. Joan Ganz Cooney (born November 30, 1929 in Phoenix Arizona) is an American businesswoman and television producer The special was produced by Authorized Pictures and distributed by American Public Television, and was designed to be seen during pledge drives. American Public Television ( APT) is the largest of the Television syndication distributors of programming for public television stations in the United States A DVD of this show was released March 6, 2007. Events 1079 - Omar Khayyám completes the Iranian calendar. 1454 - Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century.

It is rumored that additional DVDs may be released in the future.

iTunes

In early 2007, Apple Inc., through its iTunes service, started selling 15 previously unavailable episodes of The Electric Company. Apple Inc, ( formerly Apple Computer Inc, is an American Multinational corporation with a focus on designing and manufacturing Consumer electronics The iTunes Store is a software-based online Digital media store operated by Apple Inc The Electric Company Volume 1 contains episodes 5, 13, 23, 128, 179, 249, 261, 289, 297, 374, 416, 475, 91A, 8B, and 32B. It is unclear if these episodes have been altered from the versions originally shown on television.

In late 2007, another collection of 15 episodes dubbed Volume 2 became available from iTunes, which were 2, 36, 40, 75, 142, 154, 165, 172, 189, 218, 245, 290, 337, 350, and—repeated from Volume 1—8B, labeled erroneously as 658. As with the first volume, it is unclear if these episodes were altered from the versions originally shown on television. Shout! Factory representatives have indicated that it has no plans for another DVD set, implying that episodes distributed via iTunes will not be available in another format.

2008 revival

According to reports, Sesame Workshop is preparing a new version of The Electric Company that will hit the airwaves Fall 2008. The revival will include interactive Web elements and community outreach projects. Karen Fowler will serve as executive producer. Production is set to begin May 2008, and it will have a different format from the original, involving a natural-foods diner, ecology, super heroes and villains, and a beat-boxing short-order cook. The first season will consist of 26 episodes. ^[1]

Similarities to Between the Lions

As PBS educational programs aimed at teaching children to read, the parallels between the two are countless, and Between the Lions is an obvious homage to both Sesame Street and The Electric Company. Between the Lions is a PBS children's puppet show designed to promote reading For medieval usage see Homage (medieval and Commendation ceremony, or Homage (disambiguation Homage (from the French Sesame Street is an American educational Children's television series and a pioneer of the contemporary educational television standard combining The use of puppet characters in an environment that remains the same from episode to episode is taken from Sesame Street, but almost every other element is borrowed directly from The Electric Company to the point that the more recent show is nearly a remake of the original. Many of the newer show's animated or short live-action segments are clearly updated versions of those from the older show. The concept of the long word freak-out, featuring Dr. Ruth Westheimer, is almost identical to that of Fargo North, Decoder. Ruth Westheimer (born June 4, 1928) is a Sex therapist and Author. Dr. Nitwhite's lab is virtually the same as the old Mad Scientist skit, with several obvious elements of the Fargo North skit, such as the machine. The various singers (puppet and human) of Between the Lions appear to be based on The Short Circus and Phyllis and the Pharaohs, and are even introduced in a similar manner. The Electric Company is an educational American Children's television series which was produced by the Children's Television Workshop It should be noted, however, that many refugees from Sesame Street’s writing staff, including former head writer Norman Stiles, worked on Lions. Norman Stiles is a television writer best-known for his work on the show Sesame Street from 1971 until approximately 1995

Trivia

• Writer Thad Mumford went on to have a very successful career writing and producing sitcoms, including the final years of M*A*S*H, ALF, and A Different World. M*A*S*H was a Medical drama / Black comedy produced by 20th Television Fox for CBS. ALF is a half-hour American Television Sitcom that originally ran on NBC from 1986 to 1990 and was created by Paul Fusco A Different World is an American Television Sitcom which aired for six seasons on NBC (from September 24, 1987

• Bill Cosby used his experience as a cast member toward his Ed.D. (Doctorate in education). William Henry Cosby Jr (born July 12 1937 is an American Comedian, Actor, Author, Television producer and Activist. The Doctor of Education degree ( EdD or DEd) is a discipline-based doctorate that prepares the student for academic administrative clinical or research positions

• In the episode of Family Guy titled "Hell Comes to Quahog," Diane Simmons reads an on-air message from the Quahog electric company, then screams "Hey, you guyyyyys!!" à la Rita Moreno, which is then followed by an animated version of the opening sequence from the show's first season. Family Guy is an animated American television sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane that airs on Fox and regularly on other "Hell Comes to Quahog" is the third episode of season five of Family Guy. Rita Moreno (born December 11, 1931) is a singer dancer and multiple award-winning actress

• The soft-shoe silhouette sketch has been parodied on Saturday Night Live (in "Dieter's Dream" starring Mike Myers), and in 2008 on Comedy Central to promote the new season of South Park. Saturday Night Live ( SNL) is a weekly late-night 90-minute American Sketch comedy / Variety show based in New York City Michael John "Mike" Myers (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian Actor, Comedian, Screenwriter and Film producer Comedy Central is an American Cable television and Satellite television channel that carries predominantly Comedy programming South Park is an animated American television comedy series created and written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for Comedy Central It was also featured on Family Guy in the episode "Mr. Saturday Knight," in which Peter reflects on his job at the electric company.

• The show is one of the subjects of the VH1 series I Love The '70s in the episode looking back at 1971. VH1 (known as VH-1 Video Hits One from 1985 to 1994 and VH1 Music First until 2003) is an American Cable television I Love the '70s is a Decade nostalgia Television Mini-series produced by VH-1.

References

External links

• The Electric Company at the Internet Movie Database
• The Electric Company (New version) at the Internet Movie Database
• The Electric Company official Web site
• {tv. com show|id=2402|title=The Electric Company}}
• List of episodes that aired on Noggin