The Electric Company

Reading some of the comments other people have said regarding the "Electric Company" makes me realize that it has been forgotten, and that is a shame! If anyone can tell me more about this "Noggin" cable channel or where to find reruns, it would be much appreciated. I, too, remember the Electric Company, and I watched it fervently from age 7-12. It was a wonderful show that provided the best possible learning environment, by combining education with humor and repetition, and, above all, in small enough doses to aid in memory retention. I think my all-time favorite was "Fargo North, De-Coder." The cast was certainly very talented and very capable, and I have nothing but fond memories of watching this show, while also improving my language skills.

When I was a child, I remember watching The Electric company with my friends and family. The actors were amazing, and the skits were unforgettable. I adored Morgan Freeman's cowboy sketches! Jim Boyd's character, the inimitable 'Crank', remains my personal favorite to this day. I loved Luis as 'Yankee Doodle'. In all of the historical skits, he looked like he was having as much fun as the viewers! Luis is an amazing talent, and I've been taping all of his movies just to see him in other roles. Rita, Judy, Lee and Hattie were all wonderful, too! Skip Hinnant is also very talented and funny: When he was in a scene portraying a Romeo type character, and Rita was the angry director screaming at him, he muttered "The things I do for art," and then

slammed himself back against the wall when she glared at him! I couldn't stop laughing!!! I also enjoyed him as "Roy the Toy Boy".

My favorite sketches are: "Boris the Boxer" (Jim plays a toothless boxer who has been hit in the head quite a bit, and throws punches when he hears a bell), "Greedy Greg Grabbed The Green Grapes" (Jim again), the "--ing" song (sung by Brenda, who was 'swing-ing' and 'sitt-ing' on a bee that was 'sting-ing' her), "Pandora the Brat" (Rita Moreno), "Nitty Gritty" (Hattie), "The Galloping Saddle" (Morgan and Jim), "Springing From A Sponge", "Yankee Doodle" "The Mad Conductor" ("YAGA! Are you trying to turn me into a little bowl of pasta???" Luis yells at Jim, who can't seem to play the right note on his tuba), "Grouch" (Morgan introduces the sketch, where two cavemen, Jim and Luis, are busy pounding rocks. Luis tries to show Jim something, and he growls: "GRRR!" and then pops Luis on the head with the stone hammer. "OUCH!!!" Luis cries... the scene repeats itself several times before it dawns on them that they have created a new word! Vaudeville music strikes up, and they dance around (with the dazed, confused look that only Jim can effect!) chanting "Grouch! Grouch! Grouch!" LOL!!! I still howl with laughter whenever Jim pulls that face!), and "Skunk In The Trunk", where Jim opens a trunk and discovers "...a pretty little kitty---with BAD BREATH!!!"

As an adult, I still love this show (maybe TOO much!) and I would recommend it to people of any age who like to laugh and have fun. Life is too short to frown all of the time! Let Electric Company "turn you on" and "bring you the power"... of laughter and positive vibes!

I give this show 10/10 stars.

Out of all the educational shows that I can remember as a child, I enjoyed this one the best. The skits that I remember the most are "I Hate To Take A Nap", "Cha-Cha-Cha-Cha Chimney", "Act Your Age", "N'T", All the skits mimicking Johnny Cash, "Randy" and being a horror fan I mostly enjoyed the monster characters. I enjoyed the Short Circus and having a crush on Jessy and Buddy and the songs "Poison", "Knock, Knock, Rock" and "Tilt". I loved this show and I wish that it would come on regularly on TV. I did not have Noggin so I wish that all kids had the opportunity that I had as a kid to enjoy these educational shows that are far more better and "cleaner" than todays children's shows.

Although I love its great predecessor, "Sesame Street," this show was a lot more beneficial to me as a child because I learned to read at an early age. I have been told that the reason the show ceased was because of production costs, but I still think it holds value today as a teaching tool. I think "Electric Company" was one of the best educational shows PBS ever produced. The clothing and hair may be retro, but the songs (by Tom Lehrer and also the late, great Joe Raposo, a truly talented composer for both "Electric Company" and "Sesame Street," as well as the composer of the infamous "Three's Company" theme, "Come and Knock on Our Door") are timeless. "T-I-O-N," "N'T," the "If" song, "L-Y," and "I Like Fish Food" are my top five "Electric Company" songs. Noggin has done a great service by airing the reruns of all six seasons (not the final two seasons as PBS did in the 1980s). Thanks, Nickelodeon (even if you are a subsidiary of Viacom)!

Maybe, just maybe.

One thing I liked about this show was the endless variety of sketches. It was like a Laugh-In episode for kids.

Skip (Fritz The Cat, no lie) Hinnant as Fargo North, Decoder. It took me years to finally get the pun.

J. Arthur Crank, Jennifer of the Jungle, Easy Reader, (another late pun) Pandora the brat, The Mad Scientist...great characters all.

And the Short Circus was one of the most talented bunch of kids since the original Mickey Mouse club.

A word about Pandora though. Rita Moreno wore this REALLY high skirt in that role. I wonder if her character ever became an accidental 'symbol' for those old enough to get it. She looked damn fine like that if you think about it. The females in the Short Circus too. That is, when they became teenagers.

The one problem with certain 1970's children's shows was the way some females dressed. Shouldn't be wearing minis or hot pants if you're entertaining kids. 'New Zoo Revue' was guilty of this as well.

The comedy was brilliant however. And even though the design and images are dated beyond belief, it's still great fun.