Exploring (TV series)

Last updated

Exploring is a Saturday morning children's educational series in color that appeared on NBC television on Saturday afternoons from October 13, 1962 to April 9, 1966. [1] The NBC News series, which was nominated for an Emmy Award in 1964 and won a Peabody Award in 1963, featured segments about science and the arts. The series was hosted by Dr. Albert Hibbs, a scientist and educator.

Mary Ritts and Paul Ritts were puppeteers on the show; Paul performed Albert, Calvin and Sir Geoffrey, while Mary played Magnolia. [1]

Besides the Ritts puppets, the series also featured short films, animated versions of famous legends, and music Millard Research Associates produced a printed copy of their survey results which found over 600,000 Exploring Teachers Guides were requested for teachers in major school districts all across the country (they were free). A Millard survey found 86% of the teachers requesting the Guides were assigning the Saturday morning program for family viewing. This was the first instance of proving you could change ratings with Teachers Guides. This was done again on CBS with the Teachers Guides to the 21st Century (Young and Rubicon researched this) and later on PBS.[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

The television era of American animation, also known as the dark age of American animation, was a period in the history of U.S. animation that slowly set in with the decline of theatrical animated shorts and the popularization of television animation during the late 1950s to 1960s, and was in full swing by the 1970s to 1980s.

A "Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated television programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday mornings in the United States on the major television networks. The genre's popularity had a broad peak from the mid-1960s through the mid-1990s; after that point it declined, in the face of changing cultural norms, increased competition from formats available at all times, and heavier regulations. In the last two decades of the genre's existence, Saturday-morning cartoons were primarily created and aired to meet educational television mandates, or E/I. Minor television networks, in addition to the non-commercial PBS in some markets, continue to air animated programming on Saturday while partially meeting those mandates.

<i>The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh</i> American animated television series

The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. Based on the Winnie-the-Pooh books by author A. A. Milne, The New Adventures was the first time a major Disney character headlined an animated, made-for-television series. The cartoon premiered with a limited run on The Disney Channel on January 17, 1988. Nine months later, the show moved to ABC as part of their Saturday morning lineup. New episodes continued until October 26, 1991. Proving popular with children and older fans, it remained on television in the United States for nearly two decades.

Paul Winchell American ventriloquist, voice actor, comedian, inventor, and humanitarian

Paul Winchell was an American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, voice artist, humanitarian, and inventor whose career flourished in the 1950s and 1960s. From 1950 to 1954, he hosted The Paul Winchell Show, which also used two other titles during its prime time run on NBC: The Speidel Show, and What's My Name?. From 1965–1968, Winchell hosted the children's television series Winchell-Mahoney Time.

<i>Watch Mr. Wizard</i> television series

Watch Mr. Wizard is a 1951-1965 American television program for children that demonstrates the science behind ordinary things. The show's creator and on-air host was Don Herbert. Marcel LaFollette says of the program, "It enjoyed consistent praise, awards, and high ratings throughout its history. At its peak, Watch Mr. Wizard drew audiences in the millions, but its impact was far wider. By 1956, it had prompted the establishment of more than five thousand Mr. Wizard science clubs, with an estimated membership greater than one hundred thousand."

Eddie Albert American actor

Eddie Albert was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in Roman Holiday, and the second in 1973 for The Heartbreak Kid.

<i>Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids</i> American TV series

Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids is an American animated television series created, produced, and hosted by comedian Bill Cosby, who also lent his voice to a number of characters, including Fat Albert and himself. Filmation was the production company for the series. The show premiered in 1972 and ran until 1985. The show, based on Cosby's remembrances of his childhood gang, focused on Fat Albert, and his friends.

Scott Kolden American actor

Scott Cary Kolden is an American sound engineer and former child actor. Beginning his professional show business career at the age of eight, Kolden is perhaps best known for his Disney film roles; as Leonard in The Mystery in Dracula's Castle and as Rupert in Charley and the Angel, as well as for his role as Scotty on the NBC Saturday morning children's series Sigmund and the Sea Monsters.

TNBC was an American teen-oriented programming block that aired on NBC from September 12, 1992 to September 7, 2002. The Saturday morning block featured live-action series – primarily in the form of scripted teen sitcoms – geared toward teenagers and young adults, the majority of which were produced by the network's in-house production units NBC Studios and NBC Enterprises.

<i>The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty</i> television series

The Secret Lives of Waldo Kitty is an American animated and partially live-action television series, produced by Filmation, which originally aired for one season on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) from September 6 to November 29, 1975. Howard Morris, Jane Webb, and Allan Melvin provided voices for the three main characters on the series. The show follows a cat named Waldo who daydreams of being a superhero and defeating the villainous bulldog Tyrone. It was inspired by James Thurber's 1939 short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", and his wife Helen Thurber sued Filmation in 1975 for creating the series without the permission of her late husband's estate. The outcome of the decision resulted in the series being retitled in future broadcasts as The New Adventures of Waldo Kitty.

<i>The Metric Marvels</i> television series

The Metric Marvels is a 1978-1979 series of seven animated educational shorts featuring songs about meters, liters, Celsius, and grams, designed to teach American children how to use the metric system. They were produced by Newall & Yohe, the same advertising agency which produced ABC's Schoolhouse Rock! series, and first aired on the NBC television network in September 1978. The spots were shown three times each Saturday during the children's programming block for the 1978-79 season.

Westwind is a 1975-1976 young adult television action drama on the NBC Saturday morning line up. The show chronicled the adventures of the Andrews family as they sailed the ocean on their yacht. It ran for one season with a total of 13 episodes produced.

Saturday morning preview specials were aired on television annually to present previews of each network's fall lineup of Saturday morning children's programming. Like for their new prime time counterpart shows, television networks in the United States and Canada would film a preview special for the fall season. These would often air as part of the regular network schedule, or be made available to their affiliates for airing at any time, especially to fill timeslots which contained programming canceled months before.

Muggsy was a Saturday morning live action television program that aired on NBC in 1976–1977.

<i>SpongeBob SquarePants</i> (season 10) tenth and final season of television series

The tenth season of the American animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg, aired on Nickelodeon in the United States from October 15, 2016 to December 2, 2017. The series chronicles the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom. This season, which opened with "Whirly Brains"/"Mermaid Pants" and finished airing with "Feral Friends"/"Don't Wake Patrick", is the shortest in the show's history, containing 11 episodes only instead of the usual length of 26 episodes.

Children's programming has played a part in NBC's programming since its initial roots in television. This article outlines the history of children's television programming on NBC including the various blocks and notable programs that have aired throughout the television network's history.

In regard to children's television programming, CBS has aired mostly animated series, such as the original versions of Scooby-Doo, Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, Jim Henson's Muppet Babies, Garfield and Friends and the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. This article outlines the history of children's television programming on CBS including the various blocks and notable programs that have aired throughout the television network's history.

<i>In the News</i> television series

In the News is a series of two-minute televised video segments that summarized topical news stories for children and pre-teens. The segments were broadcast in the United States on the CBS television network from 1971 until 1986, between Saturday morning animated cartoon programs, alongside features like Schoolhouse Rock! and One to Grow On, which aired on competing networks ABC and NBC, respectively. NBC also produced a competing segment called Ask NBC News.

<i>The Golden Girls</i> (season 1) season of television series

The first season of the American television comedy series The Golden Girls originally aired on NBC in the United States between September 14, 1985 and May 10, 1986. Created by television writer Susan Harris, the series was produced by Witt/Thomas/Harris Productions and ABC Studios(Touchstone Television.) It starred Bea Arthur, Rue McClanahan, Betty White, and Estelle Getty as the main characters Dorothy Zbornak, Blanche Devereaux, Rose Nylund, and Sophia Petrillo. The series revolves around the lives of four elderly women living together in a house in Miami.

Plymouth Playhouse, aka ABC Album, is a half-hour US television anthology series. Fifteen episodes aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) from April 12, 1953 to June 21, 1953. Some of the productions were live while others were filmed. It was hosted by David Cook. ABC, which had a reputation for producing shows that were not as good as their competitors, CBS and the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), used this program featuring top notch casts to audition possible series in the hopes of gaining sponsorship for the 1953 TV season.

References

  1. 1 2 Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. pp. 162–163. ISBN   0-8108-1651-2.