THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS

 

THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS
(PBS, September 10, 1994-December 6, 1997)
 
South Carolina ETV, Nelvana, Scholastic Productions

 

 

MAIN CAST:
Lily Tomlin – Miss Frizzle
Amos Crawley– Arnold Perlstein (season 1), Harry Arm
Danny Tamberelli – Arnold Perlstein (season 2-4), Howard (special)
Daniel DeSanto – Carlos Ramón
Tara Meyer – Dorothy Ann Hudson
Erica Luttrell – Keesha Franklin
Maia Filar – Phoebe Terese
Stuart Stone – Ralphie Tennelli
Max Beckford (season 1) & Andre Ottley-Lorant (season 2-4) – Tim Wright
Lisa Yamanaka – Wanda Li
 
 

            In the 1980s at the height of picture book sales, Scholastic was getting a lot of requests from teachers who wanted to see more books based on science. Then-vice president and senior editorial director Craig Walker conceived of a concept that would combine science with fictional stories by combining his love of field trips with memories of an eccentric second grade teacher he had. He decided that a wacky teacher would take her class to places they ordinarily couldn’t go in real life, opening the door for those kids and the reader to learn about science in the process. He approached writer Joanna Cole and artist Bruce Degen about bringing the series to life.

The world's introduction to Miss Frizzle.

            They accepted the task. However, at first Cole found herself struggling to find a way to make the book funny yet informative while boiling down complicated ideas into terms kids could understand without becoming boring. She also didn’t know what the wild teacher, Miss Fizzle, would be like, until she finally wrote down the first paragraph of the first book where an unnamed student of the class (the perspective taken by all the books) conveyed her strangeness to the reader. From there, she was able to flesh the character and her adventures out. Degen designed the students of Frizzle’s class by thumbing through his children’s elementary school picture books, finding a student whose look he liked, and turning them into a caricature. From the outset, it was decided to make the class as realistically diverse as possible; something rarely done in children’s books at the time.

The original edition of the first book.

            The first book, The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks, was published in 1986 by Scholastic. The book was a hit with both readers and educators, often attributed to the way information was delivered through ideas and questions rather than straightforward facts. Scholastic quickly ordered the next book in the series based on that reaction. Each book took about a year to make, between Cole’s research and writing and Degen’s drawing. They followed the exploits of Miss Frizzle as she taught her class of 20 students by taking them and their class pet lizard, Liz Ard, on field trips via a magic school bus. The Bus in question was high-tech, sentient, and anthropomorphic, and could traverse to places like space or inside the human body, change shape and size, or become other types of vehicles. However, it did tend to malfunction at the worst possible moments (usually leading to a good opportunity for the students to use what they’ve learned to get them through). 12 books in total were published in the main series up to 2010, , with revised editions appearing frequently and a 13^th being released in 2021 after Cole passed away. Additionally, 20 chapter books, 33 Reader Level 2 books, and several spin-off books were produced. The Magic School Bus was Scholastic’s best-selling franchise, selling over 93 million copies worldwide, until it was surpassed by Harry Potter.

Miss Frizzle, Liz and the Bus with their class: Keesha, Dorothy Ann, Arnold, Wanda, Tim, Ralphie, Carlos and Phoebe.

            With a successful book series, it was only logical to take the next step and bring the adventures to television. The Magic School Bus was developed by Kristin Laskas Martin, Alison Blank and Jane Startz and produced by Scholastic Productions along with Nelvana and South Carolina ETV. The producers sat down with Cole and Degen to get their input on what made the books work in an attempt to emulate that for the series. The character designs were lifted directly from Degen’s artwork while being simplified for animation purposes. Additionally, the class size was reduced from 20 to 8 children to reduce the number of characters that would need to be animated and allow greater focus on the children.

Character model sheet.

            Joining the eccentric and unusual Miss Fizzle (Lily Tomlin) and Liz were Arnold Perlstein (Amos Crawley, replaced by Danny Tamberelli when his voice changed), a seemingly cowardly and brilliant boy who typically hated the field trips but enjoyed having Miss Frizzle as a teacher; Timothy Wright (Max Beckford, also replaced by Andre Ottley-Lorant), the most observant and artistic in the class that usually served as the class’s unofficial documenter; Carlos Ramon (Daniel DeSanto), the class clown who preferred to learn by doing and loved inventing unique devices; Dorothy Ann Hudson (Tara Meyer), the class bookworm whose bag was usually filled with a book on just about any topic; Keesha Franklin (Erica Luttrell), the most level-headed and realistic of the class who often dealt in sarcasm; Ralphie Tennelli (Stuart Stone), the class athlete whose tendency to get lost in his daydreams often put him at odds with Keesha; Wanda Li (Lisa Yamanaka), a tomboy with an adventurous spirit who loved to face her problems head-on; and Phoebe Terese (Maia Filar), a transfer student that often spoke about her old school, gentle, kind and a little bit shy. Occasionally the class was joined by Arnold’s know-it-all, conceited cousin Janet (Renessa Blitz), who enjoyed being cruel to others and acting in her own self-interests. Like the books, the series was set in the fictional city of Walkerville (named after Walker) at Walkerville Elementary School.

Just a little field trip through the blood stream. No big.

            The series attracted a number of notable guest stars, including Tyne Daly as Ralphie’s mother; Ed Begley Jr. as Logaway Larry, the proprietor of a dial-up sanitation service; Carol Channing as Professor Cornelia C. Contralto II, curator of the sound museum; Dom DeLuise as a baker; Tony Randall as mechanic Radius Ulna “R.U.” Humerus; Rita Moreno as paleontologist Dr. Carmina Skeledon; Dana Elcar as Pheobe’s father; Elliott Gould as Arnold’s father; Eartha Kitt as Keesha’s mother; Swoosie Kurtz as Dorothy Ann’s mother; Edward James Olmos as Carlos’ father; Sherman Hemsley as vehicle maintenance inspector Mr. Junkett; Michael York as Harry Herpst, the proprietor of a reptile spa; Cindy Williams as unscrupulous reporter Gerri Poveri; Ed Asner as black and white movie character General Araneus; Rosalind Chao as Wanda’s mother; Alex Trebek as a sportscaster; Paul Winfield as principal Mr. Ruhle; Dan Marino as impossibly buff gym teacher Mr. Sinew; Matt Frewer as impeccably tidy Rainforest Inspector 22 (promoted from 47); Jessica Walter as Ashley Walker, the great-granddaughter of the town’s founder; Wynonna Judd as famous singer Molly Cule; Bebe Neuwrith as smell expert Flora Whiff; Malcolm McDowell as school janitor Mr. McClean; and Tomlin’s 9 to 5 co-stars Dolly Parton as Miss Frizzle’s cousin Katrina Eloise “Murph” Murphy and Dabney Coleman as star salesman Horace Scope.

In space, no one can hear you learn.

            The Magic School Bus debuted on September 10, 1994 on PBS, the network’s first fully-animated series. As it was on PBS, it received funding from a variety of sources including the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Microsoft (publisher of the games for the franchise), the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy. The series was written by Martin, Blank, Jocelyn Stevenson, George Arthur Bloom, Brian Meehl, John May, Ronnie Krauss, Robert Schechter, Libby Hinson, Sean Kelly, Ellen Schecter, Kermit Frazier, Douglas Booth and Noel MacNeal, with Stevenson and Bloom serving as head writers. As there weren’t enough books published by the time the cartoon entered production, only a few episodes borrowed plots from them. Otherwise, they were largely original stories that strove to maintain what the books had established. Keeping things factual were science content director Michael Templeton, science content coordinator Bryan Bleil and science research coordinator Norman Kagan, along with a national advisory board comprised of Joel Bloom, Phyllis Katz, PhD., Susan Carey, Ph.D, Dr. Norma Neely, Milton Chen, Ph.D, Stephen H. Schneider, Ph.D, Edward Chittenden, Robert J. Semper, Ph.D, Richard Clark, Bonnie Smith, Hubert Dyasi, Ph.D, Dorothy Strickland, Ph.D, Jane Butler Kahle, Ph.D and Ellen Ann Wartella, PhD. Additional support was given by Bernice Hauser of the Horace Mann School in Riverdale, New York and Dennis Schatz of the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Washington. Additional animation was provided by Hanho Heung Up Co., Ltd. Peter Lurye composed the series’ music, as well as the theme performed by Little Richard.

The Producer happily answering all the viewers' questions.

            During their original airings, each episode featured a short segment at the end officially called “Producer Says”, but also known as “Is This the Magic School Bus?” after the phrase typically asked first by kids who “call in” with questions about the episode. The segment was named for the character who appeared to host the segment the most often: a man identified only as The Producer (Malcolm Jamal-Warner). However, other characters made appearances; including a female producer (voice director Susan Blu) during the first season, Phoebe one time, and several guest characters such as the baker, R.U. Humerus, Dr. Skeledon, Gerri Poveri, Mr. Sinew and Murph. Liz also appeared in these segments. The host would then inform the “caller” about what was scientific fact and what was creative license. This was based on the comedic disclaimer pages that appeared at the end of the books. Blu was also one of the callers, along with Crawley, Ashley Taylor, Ashley Brown, Kevin Zegers, Ruby Smith-Merovitz, Bryon Abalos, Chantellese Kent, Asia Vieira, Lance Paton, Melissa Bathory, Shannon Duff, Dov Tiefenbach, Jacelyn Holmes, Annick Obonsawin, Kate Rodriguez, Noah Reid, Blake McGrath, Tyrone Savage, Nick Bujnak, Britt McKillip, Dominic Zamprogna, Benjamin Plener, Jonathan Schwartz, Robin Weekes, Katie Coristine, Stacey Wheal, Natasha Greenblatt, John White, Daniel Stemer, Jane Luk, Neil Crone, Michael Barry, Jamie Leigh Rainey, Alissa Berg, Michael Caloz, Sarena Paton, Christopher Bell, Leah Renee and Cody Jones.

Miss Frizzle in live-action and disguise to deliver a frightful Halloween lesson.

            The series ran for four seasons and one Halloween special, which repackaged the episodes “In the Haunted House” and “Going Batty” between new live-action material featuring Tomlin and Tamberelli. During its run, it was nominated for several awards including multiple Daytime Emmys, of which Tomlin won one; two Environmental Media Awards, winning both; a NCLR Bravo Award; and a Television Critics Association Award. Despite this, high ratings and the continued popularity of the franchise, PBS ultimately decided not to continue the show and instead shift their focus towards programming for a younger demographic.

            The Magic School Bus became a tool to allow networks to fulfill their educational requirements. Shortly after ending its run, it was acquired by FOX to air as part of the weekday Fox Kids block until its end in 2002. Afterwards, it aired on TLC and Discovery Kids from 2003-09. In 2010, it was picked up by Qubo until 2011. In a lot of these airings, the “Producer Says” segment was cut out to make room for more commercials. The series became available to stream on Netflix from 2013 until 2021; with season 1 returning in 2022. It’s was also available to stream on Hoopla and for purchase on Amazon Prime, Google Play and Vudu.

One of the books adapted from the series.

            From 1996-99, Scholastic published a series of books adapted from episodes of the show. Additionally, they also made four “Fun Kits”, which were activity books accompanied by cassettes featuring episode audio tracks and narration by Tony Sperry. As mentioned earlier, Microsoft published a number of games based on a combination of the books and show through their Microsoft Home brand from 1994-99; developed initially by Music Pen and later KnowWonder. While Tina Marie Goff voiced Miss Frizzle in the games, the cast from the show was retained for the students through 1997’s Explores the Rainforest. Between 1995-2002, numerous episodes were released onto VHS by KidVision and later Warner Home Video. Warner would then release DVD collections containing 3 episodes each from 2002-05, with Scholastic releasing two of their own in 2006. New Video Group began re-releasing all of those DVDs with bonus episodes in 2012, with some getting a bonus book included, as well as new collections and the complete series. In 2017, a new collection called Greatest Original Episodes was released containing 7 episodes.

            In 2017, a sequel series debuted called The Magic School Bus Rides Again. It was produced by 9 Story Media Group and aired on Netflix, with Lin-Manuel Miranda singing the theme. The series saw Miss Frizzle (full name revealed to be Valerie Felicity Frizzle), again voiced by Tomlin, get her Ph.D and retire from teaching. In doing so, she handed over her class, comprised of mostly the same kids with new actors (Phoebe was said to have gone back to her old school and she was replaced with a new character), and the Bus’s keys to her younger sister, Miss Fiona Felicity Frizzle (Kate McKinnon). The younger Frizzle continued her sister’s eccentric means of teaching the class via fanciful field trips courtesy of the Bus. Stuart Stone returned to the series as a producer and provided additional voices, as did Yamanaka and Crawley. Like the original series, it was a dual United States/Canadian production and original voice director Blu also returned to handle the Los Angeles-based talent while Alyson Court handled the ones in Toronto. The series ran for two seasons and three specials. As of 2020, a live-action film adaptation has been announced with Elizabeth Banks set to star and produce.

 

 

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1:

“Gets Lost in Space” (9/10/94) – When the planetarium is closed, Miss Frizzle takes the class to space where she ends up separated from them and they end up lost.

 

“For Lunch” (9/17/94) – Arnold gets left behind from the class field trip in order to break a school record, unaware that the field trip is into his digestive system.

 

“Inside Ralphie” (9/24/94) – With Ralphie home sick and unable to deliver his idea for Broadcast Day, Miss Fizzle decides they should take a trip inside him to see his immune system at work.

 

“Gets Eaten” (10/1/94) – Arnold and Keesha forget to bring the items they needed for their assignment and scramble to find whatever’s available.

 

“Hops Home” (10/8/94) – The class helps Bella try to find the pet frog she brought in for pet day.

 

“Meets the Rot Squad” (10/15/94) – The class is shrunken down to study the effects of rotting on a log up close.

 

“All Dried Up” (10/22/94) – Phoebe decides to head to the desert to ensure all the animals living there will survive.

 

“In the Haunted House” (10/29/94) – When the bus breaks down the class is forced to spend the night in the creepy old sound museum.

 

“Gets Ready, Set, Dough” (11/5/94) – The class wants to throw Miss Frizzle a surprise birthday party, but the bus malfunctions and shrinks them on the way to the bakery for a cake.

 

“Plays Ball” (11/12/94) – Miss Frizzle backtracks to retrieve Dorothy Ann’s physics book that was used for home plate and the class ends up trapped on a frictionless field within it.

 

“Goes to Seed” (11/19/94) – The class heads to Phoebe’s old school to pick up her plant there, but she’s worried that Miss Frizzle will embarrass her and her old teacher.

 

“Gets Ants in its Pants” (11/26/94) – Keesha is directing the class movie about ants but ends up frustrated when she can’t find one to be the movie’s star.

 

“Kicks Up a Storm” (12/3/94) – When Keesha refuses to acknowledge Ralphie as Weatherman, in his anger he creates a thunderstorm that goes out of control.

 

Season 2:

“Blows Its Top” (9/9/95) – Carlos and Dorothy Ann have conflicting notions about naming a new island that Miss Frizzle claims has yet to be discovered.

 

“Flexes its Muscles” (9/16/95) – When Miss Frizzle takes the bus to a body shop for some work, the class decides to use items they find their to build their own robot.

 

“The Busasaurus” (9/23/95) – Arnold ends up taking a fossilized egg he was shown at an archaeological dig back in time with the class and its stolen by an Ornithomimus.

 

“Going Batty” (9/30/95) – Ralphie is convinced Miss Frizzle is a vampire and plans to do something terrible to their parents when she takes them on a field trip.

 

“Butterfly and the Bog Beast” (10/7/95) – The class decides they need a new soccer mascot which prompts a trip to the swamp to investigate a proposed “Bog Beast”.

 

“Wet All Over” (10/14/95) – When Arnold leaves the bus’ key and Liz in a bathroom he forgets to turn the water off in, Miss Fizzle’s spare key turns the bus and the class into water.

 

“In a Pickle” (10/21/95) – Miss Fizzle is put on trial for allowing Keesha’s prize cucumber to be replaced by a pickle, but Miss Fizzle takes them on a trip to prove it was really a group of microbes.

 

“Revving Up” (10/28/95) – The class heads inside the bus’s engine after a vehicle maintenance inspector decides it needs to be destroyed.

 

“Taking Flight” (11/4/95) – Tim, Phoebe and Liz are left to control the model airplane the class shrinks to ride inside, but end up accidentally destroying its remote.

 

“Getting Energized” (11/11/95) – The class is in charge of running the Ferris wheel at a carnival, but need to find a way to run it without electricity.

 

“Out of this World” (11/18/95) – The class sets out to stop a meteor that Dorothy Ann has discovered heading for Earth in order to prevent her nightmare of it destroying the school.

 

“Cold Feet” (11/25/95) – The class goes out in search of a missing Liz and discover Liz has ended up at a spa for reptiles.

 

“Ups and Downs” (12/2/95) – The class investigates reports of a monster in the lake when the bus’s sink and float function is acting up.

 

Season 3:

“In a Beehive” (9/14/96) – A series of mishaps causes Wanda and Tim to ruin a honey delivery from Tim’s grandfather’s farm and lead a bear to the beehives.

 

“In the Arctic” (9/21/96) – Miss Frizzle takes the class on a trip to the arctic where the bus’s engine freezes and it gets trapped on a flow with Phoebe, Ralphie and Liz.

 

“Spins a Web” (9/28/96) – Miss Frizzle taking the class into a movie results in the main character stealing the bus, kicking them all out and using Liz as bait for a monster.

 

“Under Construction” (10/5/96) – When the class helps Wanda watch her little brother, he accidentally shrinks them and the bus and locks them in the bathroom.

 

“Gets a Bright Idea” (10/12/96) – Janet would rather go to a magic show than the light show, but she decides to have a ghostly good time regardless.

 

“Shows and Tells” (10/19/96) – Arnold brings a strange object to the international Show and Tell show that nobody can identify.

 

“Makes a Rainbow” (10/26/96) – Miss Frizzle and Liz invent a magical pinball machine that uses light and the class goes inside it to help ensure she wins the game and gets to keep the machine.

 

“Goes Upstream” (11/2/96) – The class goes on a field trip to investigate the disappearance of the salmon, but when they change their minds they’re unable to keep the bus from migrating.

 

“Works Out” (11/9/96) – At the annual Teacherathalon, Miss Fizzle is up against the impossibly buff gym teacher, Mr. Sinew.

 

“Gets Planted” (11/16/96) – Phoebe volunteers to make the props for the class play of Jack and the Beanstalk but is unable to get a good beanstalk going.

 

“In the Rainforest” (11/23/96) – The class heads to the Amazon Rainforest to find out why the cocoa bean tree they got for Miss Fizzle hasn’t produced any beans.

 

“Rocks and Rolls” (11/30/96) – The class is sculpting the statute of their city’s founder via instructions he left in poem form.

 

“Holiday Special” (12/25/96) – When Arnold accidentally recycles Wanda’s toy soldier, she angrily wishes recycling was never invented and Miss Fizzle decides to grant that wish.

 

Season 4:

“Meets Molly Cule” (9/13/97) – The class gets to wash the car of Wanda’s favorite singer however Wanda accidentally destroys the hood ornament which was made of sugar.

 

“Cracks a Yolk” (9/20/97) – The class is tasked with watching Mr. Ruhle’s pet chicken, but when he escapes they plan to replace him with a new one by hatching one from an egg.

 

“Goes to Mussel Beach” (9/27/97) – The class is upset with Ralphie’s choice of spot at the beach, which seems to be in the middle of the most crowded area.

 

“Goes on Air” (10/4/97) – The class is upset when Keesha brings a “jar of air” for the space capsule, but then need to use air to escape it when Miss Fizzle gets them trapped inside.

 

“Gets Swamped” (10/11/97) – The class finds itself taking the side of defending the swamplands from a building development.

 

“Goes Cellular” (10/18/97) – After exclusively eating seaweed for a month, Arnold’s skin has turned orange just as he’s set to receive a major award.

 

“Sees Stars” (10/25/97) – Dorothy Ann is stuck home sick on her birthday and the class plans to get her a star, but Keesha is highly suspect of the company selling them.

 

“Gains Weight” (11/1/97) – Miss Frizzle turns the bus into a planet with adjustable gravity so Phoebe can practice slam dunking, but the lever ends up getting stuck on heavy gravity.

 

“Makes a Stink” (11/8/97) – Janet is determined to win the First Annual Smell Search and sabotages the unique smell the class developed.

 

“Gets Charged” (11/15/97) – The class overhears Miss Frizzle reading a love letter and decide to fix her doorbell before her beau comes by.

 

“Gets Programmed” (11/22/97) – Carlos’ little brother sets up the new computer that will run the school, but he accidentally sets it to perform the school’s tasks every minute instead of every day.

 

“Takes a Dive” (11/29/97) – Miss Frizzle’s story about a pirate relative has Keesha eager to explore the coral reef where he may have left his treasure.

 

“In the City” (12/6/97) – Miss Frizzle turns the class into animals on a trip to the zoo, but the bus runs off thinking it’s actually a bear.

 

Special:

“A Magic School Bus Halloween” (10/31/95) – Three students left alone in a museum get a lesson in fear from a sarcophagus-dwelling man named Dauntless.

ABC WEEKEND SPECIALS

ABC WEEKEND SPECIALS

(ABC, September 10, 1977-August 30, 1997)

Various

MAIN CAST:

Michael Young – Host (1979-81)

Willie Tyler & Lester – Hosts (1981-84)

Frank Welker & Neil Ross – Cap’n O.G. Readmore (1984-92)

            ABC Weekend Specials was ABC’s second attempt at a Movie of the Week anthology series targeted towards children after The ABC Saturday Superstar Movie. However, instead of being merely a proving ground for potential shows for the various studios, Weekend Specials took on a heavy educational slant encouraging reading with a mixture of animated and live-action presentations.

            A number of children’s books were adapted for the series, ranging in publication date from only a few years prior to the show all the way back a few centuries. They included The Winged Colt of Casa Mia and Trouble River by Betsy Byars; Soup and Me, Soup for President and Mr. Little by Robert Newton Peck; The Contest Kid and the Big Prize, The Contest Kid Strikes Again and The Trouble with Miss Switch by Barbara Brooks Wallace; If I’m Lost, How Come I Found You? by Walter Oleksy; Weep No More My Lady by Mary Higgins Clark; The Horse that Played Center Field by Hal Higdon; And This is Laura by Ellen Conford; The Ghost of Thomas Kempe by Penelope Lively; The Incredible Detectives by Don and Joan Caufield; Scruffy: The Tuesday Dog by Jack Stoneley; Arthur the Kid by Alan Coren; Zack and the Magic Factory by Elaine L. Schulte; Bunnicula: A Rabbit-Tale of Mystery by James and Deborah Howe; The Red Room Riddle: A Ghost Story by Scott Corbett; Frank and Fearless by Horatio Alger Jr.;  All the Money in the World by Bill Brittain; The Secret World of Og by Pierre Berton; An American Ghost by Chester Aaron; The Dog Days of Arthur Cane by T. Ernesto Bethancourt; A Different Twist by Elizabeth Levy; The Bunjee Venture by Stan McMurty; Henry Hamilton, Graduate Ghost by Marilyn Redmond; The Bollo Caper by Art Buchwald; The Adventures of a Two-Minute Werewolf by Gene Deweese; The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco; The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain; Jeter Mason and the Magic Headset by Maggie Twohill; Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren; The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Runaway Ralph and Ralph S. Mouse by Beverly Cleary; Santabear’s First Christmas by Barbara Read and Howard B. Lewis; The P.J. Funnybunny series by Marilyn Sadler; The Monster Bed by Jeanne Willis and Susan Varley; Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great by Judy Blume; Stanley by Syd Hoff; Choose Your Own Adventure: The Case of the Silk King by Shannon Gilligan; The Old Man of Lochnagar by Charles, Prince of Wales (which he narrated) and Sir Hugh Casson; Commander Toad in Space by Jane Yolen; The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett; The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. While The Littles was a book series by John Peterson, ABC had already been airing an animated series based on them before airing the two movies as part of Weekend Specials.

            For a bit of variety, several short stories were adapted or provided inspiration for one. Those included  “The Ransom of Red Chief” by O. Henry, first published in the July 6, 1907 issue of The Saturday Evening Post; “The Gold-Bug” by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the June 21, 1843 issue of Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper; “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog” by Mark Twain, first published in the November 18, 1865 edition of The New York Saturday Press; “Rip Van Winkle” by Washington Irving, first published in the serial publication The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. that ran from 1819-20; and “The Parsley Garden” by William Saroyan. There was also the folktale of Henny Penny and the fairytales of Puss in Boots, Jack and the Beanstalk and Little Red Riding Hood.

The monsters briefly larger than a pocket.

            Some adaptations came from outside of traditional literature. For instance, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera, The Magic Flute, was among them, as was the comic strip Little Lulu. The Matchbox toyline Monster in my Pocket, which was comprised of little monster figurines, was the subject of an animated special from Hanna-Barbera that aired on Halloween in 1992. ABC included an episode of Focus on the Family’s Christian television series McGee and Me!, which centered on an artistic 11-year-old boy dealing with life with the help of his animated imaginary friend, as the pilot for a potential new series. The series never materialized, but ABC did air another episode as part of Weekend Specials. Both episodes were edited to allow for commercials and to tone down the religious content.

The live-action Teddy Ruxpin.

Semi-related to the literature theme was “The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin”, the pilot for a potential series based on the animatronic stuffed bear that would read stories to children via cassette tape. The original plan by his creator Ken Forsse was to make a live-action series using animatronic characters similar to Disney’s Welcome to Pooh Corner and Dumbo’s Circus, which he had worked on. However, the venture proved to be too difficult and expensive and never went beyond the pilot episode produced. Instead, The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin ended up as a traditionally animated syndicated series. The pilot was aired as part of Weekend Specials and later in syndication in two parts.

"The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy" title card.

            Notably, Weekend Specials served as the springboard for Ruby-Spears Productions’ The Puppy’s Further Adventures. Based on The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy by Jane Thayer, Ruby-Spears Productions produced four specials that aired at different times during Weekend Specials’ run. They proved immensely popular during both original airings and in reruns, leading to ABC greenlighting the series. The show ran for two seasons on ABC, initially airing as part of The Scooby & Scrappy-Doo/Puppy Hour alongside Hanna-Barbera’s Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo (1980). It was broken off into its own separate series for the second season.

            ABC Weekend Specials debuted on September 10, 1977, following four short story specials that aired between January and April. Each episode was a half-hour as opposed to Superstar Movie’s hour-long format, with longer stories being shown in parts across multiple weeks. Along with Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears, production companies who contributed to the series included Phoenix Films, Martin Tahse Productions, 20^th Century Fox, Tomorrow Entertainment, Learning Corporation of America, D’Angelo/Bullock/Allen Productions, Highgate Pictures, Scholastic Productions, Hightide, Brookfield Productions, Rick Reinert Productions, DiC Entertainment, Churchill Films, Rabbit Ears Productions,  Animation Cottage, Marvel Productions, Tashmoo Productions, White Sneakers, BBC Scotland and Mike Young Productions, as well as ABC Circle Films; the production arm of the network created to make content for Movie of the Week.

Cap'n O.G. Readmore with Vincent Price.

            Beginning with the third season, ABC added a host segment to introduce the stories and recommend the book the episode was based on. Michael Young served as the first host for two seasons. He was replaced by ventriloquist Willie Tyler and his dummy, Lester. In 1984, ABC introduced the show’s new mascot: Cap’n O.G. Readmore. Readmore was an anthropomorphic alley cat dressed in a tattered nautical outfit and often found in the alley behind a library. Reinert created the character for ABC in 1983 after CBS found success with their Read More About It campaign in association with the Library of Congress. The character was originally animated for his appearance in reading PSAs, but for Weekend Specials he became a puppet initially voiced by Frank Welker (who used a less goofy-sounding voice than in the initial PSAs). Readmore would introduce the week’s story with live special guests, including Jon “Bowzer” Bauman, Billy Dee Williams, Vincent Price, Jill Whelan, magician Harry Blackstone Jr., and others. Welker also took over voicing the animated version in the PSAs. Eventually, Welker was replaced by Neil Ross, who voiced the character in his own animated episodes of Weekend Specials with a British accent. In those, he was president of the Friday Night Book Club comprised of other felines—Kitty Literature (Ilene Latter), Ol’ Tome Cat, Wordsy (both Stan Jones) and Lickety Page (Lucille Bliss)—and they often found themselves pulled into whatever book they were reading at the time. They were produced by ABC Entertainment and Rick Reinert Pictures.

            The series had three opening sequences during its run. The first, designed by Rick Reinert Studios, featured a book on a desk in the middle of a library magically opening and releasing various figures into the air. It would be followed by the titles Children’s Novels for Television or Short Story Specials before the title actually appeared. This was the longest-running of the titles, going from the show’s inception until the middle of 1990. The second intro combined computer animation and live action segments as real children are sucked into the world of books and become part of the story, and Cap’n O.G. Readmore leading the way. This sequence was animated by American Film Technologies. In 1994, the third intro saw the ABC logo jump off of a book on a library shelf to another book on a desk. Upon opening that book, the logo dives into various worlds inhabited by letters before ending up on the front cover of the book.

            ABC Weekend Specials ran for an impressive 17 seasons. However, as studios began to turn their focus towards the more lucrative syndication market throughout the 80s and beginning of the 90s, ABC found itself lacking sufficient content for many seasons. Older episodes were rerun with Readmore segments added to them, as were reruns of episodes from their weekday series, ABC Afterschool Specials. Between 1993-96, ABC would use the Weekend Special timeslot to air unaffiliated specials called ABC Saturday Morning Specials that took a broader educational direction. ABC’s Wide World of Sports for Kids also aired two specials during this time. Eventually with a dearth of new content and frequent preemptions by local affiliates, Weekend Specials came to an end.

The official debut of O.G. Readmore.

            The series in its entirety has never been released to home video; however, many individual segments have by their various production companies and rights holders. “Escape of the One Ton Pet” was released to VHS by FHE Video. “Portrait of Grandpa Doc” was released to DVD in 2008 by Phoenix Learning Group. “The Seven Wishes of Joanna Peabody” was released to VHS by Learning Corporation of America. “The Haunted Mansion Mystery”, “Cap’n O.G. Readmore Meets Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde”, “PJ’s Unfunnybunny Christmas” and “PJ Funnybunny: Very Cool Easter” were released to VHS by Anchor Bay Entertainment between 1997-99. ABC themselves released “The Amazing Bunjee Venture” to VHS in 1999. The Teddy Ruxpin pilot was released to VHS by Lions Gate Home Entertainment in 1988. “Cap’n O.G. Readmore’s Puss in Boots” and “Jack and the Beanstalk” were released to VHS by Beacon Home Video in 1990, with the latter re-released by ABC Kids Video in 1993, while “Little Red Riding Hood” was released in 1988 by VCI Entertainment. “Henry Hamilton, Graduate Ghost” also saw a VHS release. In 1984, Scholastic published The Adventures of Cap’n O.G. Readmore by Fran Manushkin and Manny Campana.

EPISODE GUIDE:

Short Story Specials:

“Valentine’s Second Chance” (1/29/77) – A safecracker gets a second chance at freedom when he has to rescue a boy from a time-locked safe.

“The Haunted Trailer” (3/26/77) – Sisters discover that their motor home is haunted.

“My Dear Uncle Sherlock” (4/16/77) – A young detective and his uncle team-up to figure out who robbed the neighborhood recluse.

“Homer and the Wacky Doughnut Machine” (4/30/77) – A young mechanical genius invents a machine to help his uncle’s failing coffee shop.

Season 1:

“The Winged Colt” (9/10-24/77) – Charlie can’t convince his uncle that their winged horse can fly and has to find it when it disappears.

“The Ransom of Red Chief” (10/22/77) – Two kidnappers get more than they bargained for when they kidnap a financier’s son for ransom.

“Portrait of Grandpa Doc” (11/5/77) – A young artist plans a tribute for his grandfather for encouraging his dreams.

“Trouble River” (11/12-19/77) – A boy and his grandmother raft down a dangerous river to escape a group of renegades.

“Tales of the Nunundaga” (11/26-12/3/77) – A Native American boy sets out to recover his tribe’s sacred bow from an enemy.

“The Escape of a One-Ton Pet” (1/7-21/78) – 14-year-old Pru runs away with an orphaned bull in order to protect it from being slaughtered.

“Soup and Me” (2/4/78) – Friends Soup and Rob end up in women’s clothing, running from bullies, and destroying a Halloween party all in one day.

“The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy” (5/6/78) – Petey the puppy will do anything to adopt a boy of his own.

Season 2:

“The Seven Wishes of Joanna Peabody” (9/9/78) – Joanna is granted seven wishes by her fairy godmother and learns a lesson about sharing.

“The Contest Kid and the Big Prize” (9/16/78) – Harvey wins first prize in a contest: the services of a butler for a month.

“If I’m Lost, How Come I Found You?” (9/30-10/7/78) – Orphan Wilbur “Quacky” Quackenbush finds the father he always wanted in the young man who hides from the cops in his aunt’s house.

“The $1,000 Bill” (10/28/78) – Finding a large amount of cash encourages an insurance salesman to tell off his boss and quit, only to discover the money is counterfeit.

“Little Lulu” (11/4/78) – Little Lulu and her friends champion for women’s rights when the boys protest that their summer camp has become co-ed.

“Soup for President” (11/18/78) – Soup runs for school president against the toughest kid in school.

“Weep No More, My Lady” (2/10/79) – Skeeter adopts a brave dog and both end up the prisoner of a vengeful man in the swamp.

“The Horse That Played Centerfield” (2/24-3/3/79) – The NY Goats are on a losing streak until they put Oscar in centerfield, only to have him horsenapped during the World Series.

“The Baby with Four Fathers” (3/31/79) – Four boys decide to adopt the baby girl they find.

“The Puppy’s Great Adventure” (5/12/79) – Petey wants to prove he’s an individual when his owner’s new parents don’t like dogs.

Season 3:

“The Big Hex of Little Lulu” (9/15/79) – Little Lulu schemes for ways to make her friend Tubby donate money for uniforms for the neighborhood hockey team.

“The Contest Kid Strikes Again” (9/22/79) – Harvey wins some chickens that he uses to help his friend’s financial troubles.

“The Girl with ESP” (10/20/79) – A seemingly average girl suddenly develops the ability to see the future.

“The Ghost of Thomas Kempe” (11/3-10/79) – A ghost causes trouble for young James when he refuses to become his apprentice, and James turns to a handyman for help.

“The Incredible Detectives” (11/17/79) – A group of pets band together to rescue their kidnapped master.

“The Revenge of Red Chief” (12/15/79) – Red Chief gets involved in two drifters’ scheme involving a fake rain-making machine.

“The Puppy’s Amazing Rescue” (1/26/80) – Petey and Dolly have to brave the wilderness to rescue their humans from an avalanche.

“The Gold Bug” (2/2-9/80) – A young boy, an ex-slave and a treasure hunter set out to find Captain Kidd’s buried gold.

“The Trouble with Miss Switch” (2/16-23/80) – Rupert and Amelia discover their teacher is actually a witch and help her battle an evil witch to free the Witches’ Council.

Season 4:

“Scruffy” (10/4-18/80) – Scruffy is a stray dog who tries to survive in a strange and unforgiving world.

“Arthur the Kid” (1/3/81) – Three bumbling outlaws advertise for a new boss and end up with a 10-year-old boy.

“Zack and the Magic Factory” (1/10-17/81) – Zack and Jenny run a magic shop and put their skills to use to save their aunt’s magic-making factory from demolition.

“Mayday! Mayday!” (1/24-31/81) – A family’s airplane crashes in the High Sierras and the kids set out to find help for their trapped parents.

Season 5:

“The Puppy Saves the Circus” (9/12/81) – Petey ends up with amnesia and becomes a performer in a circus, saving it.

“The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” (9/19/81) – A young boy plans to win a frog-jumping contest at any cost.

“Bunnicula, the Vampire Rabbit” (1/9/82) – Mysterious goings on lead the family pets to believe the new pet rabbit may be a vampire.

“Miss Switch to the Rescue” (1/16-23/82) – Miss Switch returns to help Rupert rescue Amelia from evil mages Mordo and Saturna.

“The Joke’s on Mr. Little” (2/6/82) – An unusual teacher out-tricks an inventive pair of practical jokers.

Season 6:

“The Haunted Mansion Mystery” (1/8-15/83) – Angel and her neighbor investigate the haunted mansion in their neighborhood.

“The Red Room Riddle” (2/5/83) – Two kids are trapped in a haunted mansion and a ghost tells them they have to solve the riddle of the red room to escape.

“Horatio Alger Updated: Frank and Fearless” (2/12-19/83) – A young boy stands to lose his inheritance to his wicked stepmother and her son.

“All the Money in the World” (3/19/83) – A boy learns that wishing for all the money in the world may not be as good as it seems.

“The Secret World of Og” (4/30-5/14/83) – Five young siblings journey to the magical world of Og where two of them end up jailed by a town sheriff.

Season 7:

“Cougar!” (1/7-21/84) – Two siblings are stranded on an island with kidnappers and a hungry cougar.

“The Dog Days of Arthur Cane” (2/18-25/84) – A selfish teenager is transformed into a shaggy dog by a full moon and a magic amulet.

“A Different Twist” (3/10/84) – A young girl disguises herself as a boy in order to get into an all-boy production of Oliver.

“The Amazing Bunjee Venture” (3/24-31/84) – Two kids accidentally end up back in time where they befriend a dinosaur with an inflatable trunk and decide to bring him back to the present.

“Bad Cat” (4/14/84) – Bad Cat wants to prove that a cat can have class without being tough.

Season 8:

“Henry Hamilton, Graduate Ghost” (12/8-15/84) – Henry receives his first haunting assignment and ends up helping a family learn to believe in themselves.

“The Bollo Caper” (2/2/85) – Leopard Bollo escapes from being turned into a fur coat and goes to Washington to get himself declared an endangered species.

“The Adventures of a Two-Minute Werewolf” (2/23-3/2/85) – Walt decides to learn why he’s able to turn into a werewolf for two minutes at a time.

“The Return of the Bunjee” (4/6-13/85) – Bunjee, Karen and Andy go back in time again to find a mother for the Bunjee babies that hatched, only to end up in medieval times.

“The Velveteen Rabbit” (4/20/85) – Robert believes his toy rabbit is real, and he becomes real when a fairy saves him from being burned as the cause of Robert’s scarlet fever.

Season 9:

“The Adventures of Con Sawyer and Hucklemary Finn” (9/7-14/85) – A gender-swapped retelling of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

“Jeeter Mason and the Magic Headset” (10/5/85) – Jeter Mason’s moon rock speaks to her through a radio headset and allows her to do anything with its powers.

“Cap’n O.G. Readmore’s Jack and the Beanstalk” (10/12/85) – The Friday Night Book Club makes fun of the characters in their favorite fairy tales, prompting them to come to life and kidnap O.G.

“Pippi Longstocking” (11/2-9/85) – Tommy and Annika get an adventurous new neighbor: orphan Pippi Longstocking.

“Columbus Circle” (11/23/85) – Members of the Columbus Circle Club attempt to play a practical joke on a snobby new neighbor.

“The Adventures of Teddy Ruxpin” (11/30-12/7/85) – Teddy and Grubby leave their home island to follow a treasure map to a collection of crystals.

Season 10:

“Cap’n O.G. Readmore Meets Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” (9/13/86) – Lickety Page is sucked into Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and O.G. has to rescue him.

“The Day the Kids Took Over” (9/20-27/86) – After a fall, Mayor Van Winkle finds himself in a world run by children.

“Liberty and the Littles” (10/18-11/1/86) – The Littles end up on Liberty Island where they find their French ancestors are being persecuted by an evil general.

“The Mouse and the Morotcycle” (11/8-15/86) – Keith befriends talkative mouse Ralph who ventures out on his motorcycle to find a medicine for Keith’s illness.

“Santabear’s First Christmas” (11/22/86) – Santa appoints a young bear as his apprentice to deliver toys to the forest animals.

Season 11:

“Cap’n O.G. Readmore Meets Red Riding Hood” (4/2/88) – Underestimating the value of a good villain, O.G. ends up meeting a Red Riding Hood who is the Big Bad Wolf.

“Here Comes the Littles” (4/23-5/7/88) – The Littles help Augustus save his family’s property from his corrupt uncle.

Season 12:

“Cap’n O.G. Readmore’s Puss in Boots” (9/10/88) – O.G. tells his friends the tale about his ancestor, Puss in Boots.

“Runaway Ralph” (10/29-11/5/88) – After being grounded, Ralph runs away from home to a summer camp where he has to clear his new friend’s name when he’s accused of theft.

“P.J. Funnybunny” (2/4/89) – P.J and his friends want to become famous by contacting aliens.

“The Monster Bed” (9/9/89) – A young boy ends up transported to a spot under a monster’s bed.

Season 13:

“Ralph S. Mouse” (2/16-23/91) – Ralph and Ryan come up with a plan to help the bellboy who was forced to leave the inn where they are staying.

“Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great” (3/23/91) – Going to summer camp forces Sheila Tubman to overcome her fears of dogs and swimming.

Season 14:

“McGee and Me!: The Big Lie” (1/25/92) – To make friends in his new neighborhood, Nick makes up stories about an old man’s house that leads to bullies wrecking it.

“Cap’n O.G. Readmore Meets Chicken Little” (4/18/92) – O.G. reads Chicken Little to his friends.

“The Kingdom Chums: Original Top Ten” (5/2/92) – The Kingdom Chums teach kids the meaning of the 10 Commandments.

Season 15:

“McGee and Me!: Take Me Out of the Ballgame” (9/12/92) – Nick’s baseball team thinks they’re a cinch to win against their rivals thanks to their new player.

“Monster in My Pocket: The Big Scream” (10/31/92) – A group of good monsters end up shrunken and team-up with a horror author’s daughter to stop bad monsters.

“Stanley and the Dinosaurs” (11/7/92) – While visiting the museum, Stanley’s mind goes to an alternate timeline where dinosaurs and cavemen roam together.

“Choose Your Own Adventure: The Case of the Silk King” (12/12-19/92) – Two kids end up on various adventures while searching for their missing uncle.

“The Parsley Garden” (3/27/93) – A young boy deals with his own identity and prejudice against immigrants during the Great Depression.

“The Legend of Lochnagar” (4/24/93) – A Scotsman relocates to a mysterious land in the Scottish mountains inhabited by a race of little people.

“Commander Toad in Space” (5/8/93) – Toad and his crew have to return an ancient artifact.

Season 16:

“P.J.’s Unfunnybunny Christmas” (12/11/93) – To get the video game he wants for Christmas, P.J. masquerades as Santa to encourage the townspeople to shop at his father’s toy store.

“The Magic Flute” (4/30-5/7/94) – The Queen of the Night gives a young prince a magic flute so that he can rescue her daughter.

Season 17:

“The Secret Garden” (11/5/94) – An orphan and her sickly cousin enjoy the magic in a neglected garden.

“Jirimpimbira: An African Folk Tale” (2/25/95) – A boy sets out to find food and water for his village, but ends up enriching himself when given a set of magical bones.

“P.J. Funnybunny: A Very Cool Easter” (3/30/96) – P.J. ignores the cold weather to plan an Easter parade and egg hunt.

“The Magic Pearl” (8/4-18/96) – NO SYNOPSIS AVILABLE.

ABC Saturday Morning Specials:

“CityKids” (1/30/93) – While David tries to approach a girl he likes, Susan deals with racial discrimination and sexual harassment.

“The Great Alaska Dog Sled Race” (3/6/93) – NO SYNOPSIS AVILABLE.

“Rhythm and Jam: Rhythm & Rap” (9/18/93) – NO SYNOPSIS AVILABLE.

“Rhythm and Jam: Melody & Harmony” (9/25/93) – NO SYNOPSIS AVILABLE.

“Kids on ice: A Skating Adventure!” (2/12/94) – Behind-the-scenes look at the US Figure Skating Championships.

“Money Made Easy: The ABC Kids’ Guide to Dollars and Sense” (4/2-9/94) – Explaining banking and finance to kids.

“A Day at the Races” (6/11/94) – NO SYNOPSIS AVILABLE.

“Crash the Curiosaurus” (1/14-21/95) – A dinosaur and two children explore the American Museum of Natural History.

“Wild Things: An Earth Day Special” (4/22/95) – Exploring the animal kingdom.

“The Secret of Lizard Woman” (11/12/95) – A boy searching for his uncle learns about his Native American heritage.

“Back to School with Schoolhouse Rock” (9/14/96) – NO SYNOPSIS AVILABLE.