Beakman's World

I loved this show for so many reasons. It made science interesting to me for the first time, it was fast, funny and furious and it had one of the cutest ingenues as an assistant. Alanna Ubach made this show for me with her funny one-liners and quips; when she got replaced, it almost killed me, but at least Beakman and Lester, the down-on-his-luck-actor-in-a rat-suit, got me through it. The show had so many good things going for it; I just wish this show had been around in my youth, I could have been a better student than I was.

In the 1990's I worked for a video post production facility that made broadcast air masters for Beakman's World. Whenever someone was needed to do quality control on a finished tape I would beg for the assignment so that I could watch this wonderful show (and even get paid for it!!!). Even though I was in my mid 40's at the time I always enjoyed the humor that the performers brought to the subject of science.

I recently (June 2013) watched "The Pirate" starring Gene Kelly and Judy Garland. There is a song in the film called "Be a Clown" that is performed by Gene Kelly and Judy Garland. While listening I suddenly realized that Lester the Rat sang a song called "Be a Mouse" on Beakman's World that used the melody from "Be a Clown".

LONG LIVE THE BEAKMAN!!!

Okay, I'm certainly no "kid" and I'll admit that when I first came upon the show while channel surfing way back when, It's true, I was drawn to pause on the channel because Alanna Ubach was on the screen.. BUT, it didn't take more than the one episode to realize this was well done and had a very unique and fun way to present science facts to young people.

Okay, here's where I show my age.. it's not unlike the old Soupy Sales show in it's use of off stage and inside jokes. Nothing offensive for the kids, but things that an adult can find and enjoy.

It takes a lot of good writing and acting to serve up facts and figures in a way that might keep a person glued to the screen for the whole "class" but these people managed to do it in my opinion.

Everyone did a great job on this show and it should still be aired more often as it still has lots to give people of all ages 8-)

As a matter of fact, I'm off to see if it's on DVD now..

It was all about having fun and learning at the same time. I remember watching this anytime I could catch it on México's cultural channel by excellence (channel 11).

I watched it's reruns and never got tired of it because I have to admit that I learned a lot from it.

I didn't care if I was out of school or whatever, Beakman taught me on biology, science, physics aspects. I had a great time with the show's colorful art direction and atmosphere.

The performances were funny and witty. I just was addicted to this show. It's sad to admit that when puberty comes to you, you just can't help but forget about such great shows like this one.

I wish my kids will have the chance to watch it.

This show had it all - highly entertaining, educational, and just plain fun all rolled into one. The funny thing is that its target audience was obviously children, but I was 22 when it first aired, had no children of my own, and throughly enjoyed the show.

Most if not all of every show revolved around questions posed by the audience, i.e., children. The hosts (primarily Beakman) would proceed to answer by performing basic, yet interesting scientific experiments or explain the prevailing theory, with a thick dose of humor over all.

From all the great shows, the one I remember most was this question - "why do farts smell bad?" Now naturally, this question was fodder for all sorts of jokes by the sidekick guy in a rat suit. But Beakman, as always, tackled the question with a fantastic blend of serious science and circumstantial humor. I've never heard such a question asked on a children's show before, but it was handled very well, with the anticipated humor not completely detracting from the serious matter of providing the answer.

As a young adult I was amazed by this show, and even got up regularly, on Saturday morning no less, to see what Beakman had in store next. The show was cleverly designed to please both adults and children, and certainly worked its magic on me. Definitely give this one a chance.