Hey You Guuuys!

Top of The Weekend Friends

You know, I sat down and Blogged with you on Monday and here it is already Friday. What happened - I barely blinked and the week is already over?

Anyway, earlier this week we discussed the summer's movie schedule and I have already received the schedules from the networks about the new shows also for summer, and will post the rundown for you within the next Blog.

Today I am completely tickled about something special and this topic is so important to me, personally, that I am dedicating this entire post.

It's All Electric!
Friends at PBS have said that they are going to bring back THE ELECTRIC COMPANY!

Now many of you babes may not be familiar with this remarkable educational kid's show, as it had aired from 1971 -1977 on PBS and was hosted by A-lister Morgan Freeman; The show was very similar in nature to Sesame Street, complete with games, lessons and songs that encouraged spelling and literacy.

Get Smart TV
As an infant, I remember watching the show and my mother claims that I was speaking in full, complete, adult comprehensive sentences long before I was a 1 year old (Although I could not be certain that I had teeth - pronunciation of certain words would have been a challenge as a pink gummed 6-month old baby, nevertheless...).

Most infants do not watch television and I was not the intended audience for the program, which viewership was predominantly children of age 6-9 years. The program, comprised of comedic sketches, was designed for children who were already in elementary school learning to read and who had "Graduated" from Sesame Street.

Discovering the above carries a certain level of curious hilarity to me because even as an infant, I was dis-interested and grossly dissatisfied with Sesame Street; Even then, I thought it was a show for babies. The Electric Company was more on my level of show for my infant cerebral sophistication.

As well, I should mention that I was well into reading the newspaper and watching the news while also still in the single digits of my childhood.

To this very day, I can easily recall the major world events, leaders, social and political concerns of the 1970's, and prior to going to pre-school. Strangely, some 30 years later, absolutely nothing has changed and social strife, political intrigue, foreign policy in the Middle East, and arguments over the price of a barrel of oil are still the exact SAME forefront issues. Have we not learned anything? How exhausting - it's time to try something else people!

Never one for 'baby talk', my point (Ah, finally!) is that I am largely convinced the advancement was because of watching The Electric Company.

Welcome Back!
PBS will air a new version of the 1970s children's series as an updated version of the show. The 21st century model is again positioned for 6 to 9 year-old children and production was set to begin Tuesday on the streets of New York City and in a New Jersey studio.

According to the release: The series is aimed at reducing the literacy gap between low- and middle-income families, and will promote the idea that "reading is cool" with help from online and community-based activities, Sesame Workshop said in an announcement Monday.

"The literacy crisis today is as pervasive and alarming as it was in 1971 when we created the first version of `The Electric Company", said Scott Cameron, director of education and research for Sesame Workshop (which is the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street).

Quite frankly, I am DOWN with altruism and positive programs that expand our purpose and understanding of each other as an intelligent humanity. Oh my, here I go again channeling Spock - you see, you can't take me anywhere without logic!

Weekly episodes of "The Electric Company" are scheduled to air nationally in January 2009 on PBS Kids.



*The photo above of "The Electric Company" is the property of The Children's Television Workshop and PBS.