The Electric Company

Three TV shows mean more to me than any others. The first was Mr Rogers' Neighborhood; the second, Sesame Street; and the third, The Electric Company. Mr Rogers taught me to be kind, that I was special, and that makebelive was a wonderful thing. Sesame Street taught me letters and numbers, how to count, how to spot similarities and differences, and that frogs conducted the best interviews. The Electric Company taught me how to sound out words and phrases, the basics of grammar; and, ultimately, how to read. My mother once told me that she didn't know I could read until I was riding in the car reading road signs out loud. This was before I was in school and was one of the reasons my parents dismissed the school's idea that I should wait a year to start, since my birthday was in mid-November. Thanks to this show and Sesame Street, I could read better than most of my classmates.

I haven't seen this show since the 70's, so I only have vague memories. I remember Morgan Freeman as Easy Reader, Rita Moreno shouting "Hey You Guyyyyyyyysssss". I remember the parts where two silhouetted people would sound out syllables. I remember Letterman (before Dave) and Spider-Man. Mostly, I remember a sense of fun.

When I read stories about what's wrong with education, I know the answer is simple (aside from money and parents and communities who care). School was rarely as fun as this. If education is fun, children will soak it up like a sponge. This show, and Sesame Street and Mr Rogers were fun.

I'm turned on, I have the power. Hey you guyyyyyyyyssss! Thanks.

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.

...this show was!!

I remember this show so vividly, and thanks to the Noggin Network, old memories have now surfaced!!

My favorites on the show were when either Skip Hinnant (JJ) or Jim Boyd (Andy) would get themselves in a mess. J. Arthur Crank was a hoot!! Favorite one-liner..."somebody stole steal!!" ...but here's Harry...high in the sky...having his lunch..."Harrrrrrry...you forgot your lunch!!"..."A Peck on the Neck"..."House" (animated musical number)..."SpiderMan" (always was terrified of the Tickler because my sister would say she would get him on me or she would tickle my feet...what can you say for a naive eight-year old at the time?)..."Letterman" (there's where I get my nickname "Rolling O" from)..."Love of Chair"..."Bleached blonde Blanche blinked in the blinding blizzard"..."SuperGuy is a meatball"..."Tilt" by the Short Circuit ("stop playing pinball with my heart")..."My Name is Buddy, Buddy is my Name"...Paul the Gorilla with Jennifer of the Jungle..."A Very Short Book"...I could go on for hours...and at my age then, I would have LOVED to have met Denise Nickerson (Allison) in person!! She was downright cute...and still is today!!

Wow...the Electric Company...a true blast from MY past!!!

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.