Zoom

I have been trying for years to locate the original series on DVD or tape (including Ebay). I was only able to come upon the tape "Zoom best of the 70's" which is not that great, but better than nothing. Does anybody know why they haven't released the old ones on DVD? By the way,they have released old "Electric company" and "Sesame Street" episodes. Are there some legal problem that have prohibited the release of Zoom? I'm sure there are enough adults born between 1965-1970 who would buy them up in a flash. Thats the problem-we are the post baby boomers/pre-genxer's so we always kind of get the boot cause we are small in numbers compared to the other groups.

I loved this show, too. I'm glad that they brought it back for the next generation but I'm just not in to the new show. It seems more rehearsed than the old one did which was a lot more spontaneous. Kids were just kids on the old show, feeling free to do whatever they wanted, including doing the show in bare feet (which I thought was so cool, since I went barefoot all the time as a kid...still do). It's hard for me to believe that the new cast of kids honestly chooses to wear shoes and socks instead of going barefoot. Bare feet was the show's trademark, giving it a unique feel that I haven't seen any other shows have. It was a really cool thing to come home from school to.

"ZOOM" was a daily television program that came along in the nick of time. Just as the first generation on "Sesame Street" fans became too old for Big Bird, "ZOOM" hit the scene. Targeted at elementary school aged kids, "ZOOM" featured young boys and girls in orange and brown striped rugby shirts learning about art and science in a way that made them fun. Viewers were encouraged to write letters to the cast that might be read on the show, or could write in to request "ZOOM cards". These colorful cardboard pamphlets provided information about the topics discussed on the show and covered issues from baking cookies to protecting the environment. I still remember the address..."That's ZOOM! Z-"double O"-M, Box 3-5-0, BostonMass, Oh!-Two-One!-Three-Four!!"

PBS will be re-introducing "ZOOM" in 1999. I'm sure that twenty-something "ZOOM" fans everywhere are happy to know that their own kids will learn that great theme song..."Come on and Zoom, Zoom, Zooma-Zoom. Come on and Zooma-Zooma-Zooma-Zoom. Come on and give it a try...We're gonna show you to fly. HIGH! Come on and Zoo-oom. Come on and Zoom Zoom. Come on and Zoo-oom"

I started watching this during junior high school. I was probably a little older than the "target" group, but the kids on the show were about my age. At first a few of my cool friends laughed at me, but pretty soon they were hooked and we all watched it together. It was like a secret society. But it still appealed to us, as the features and segments were interesting and well-done, educational but not boring and preachy. It worked because the creators did not treat kids as morons and had respect for their audience's intelligence.

I remember watching this show as a grade-schooler in Pitcairn, PA. I really enjoyed it. My only disappointment was they never did teach me how to fly. 😏