Polka Dot Door

I remember watching this show every day when I was a kid. My favorite part in every episode was the little fuzzy mouse that lived in the clock. Of course, I forget its name, but it came out whenever the hosts would tell the time on the giant clock. Polkaroo was another of my favorites. I'd get all excited when he'd stop by for a visit, but never could figure out why the male hosts always seemed to miss him. Another of my favorites was the doll named Marigold. I used to ask my mom if she could get me a Marigold doll, but we never did find one. I really hope they bring this series out on DVD someday, so my two children can share in the joy and excitement I experienced as a small child.

Dudes, Polkaroo rocks. Who are the losers who gave it a 4? For shame! Polkaroo is a cultural icon for an entire generation of Canadians, some Americans, and even some Irish! Why, my brother once used Polkaroo as his ICQ nickname for crying out loud. Man, I can't believe that The Polkadot Door got canceled. Polkaroo, Goldilocks, Bear... Man, those were the days. The Polkadot door is what made me the man I am today. Without those cherished memories of Polkaroo's innocent, happy, naïve voice happily chanting his name, I think my scarred childhood would have been unbearable. I can honestly say without the least bit of exaggeration that THE POLKAROO SAVED MY LIFE. He is a celebrity... an icon... nay, dare I say, a NATIONAL HERO.

ALL HAIL POLKAROO! LONG LIVE POLKAROO!! In the immortal words of the master himself: "POLKAROO! POLKAROO!"

Regards, David

I loved this show when I was little. It was on Ontario TV, and I think it had a spin-off or two in the '90s. The hosts changed sometimes, but it was really fun to watch, and talked a lot about stories and toytime. The hosts always did a little dance to the tune of "Frere Jacques" that they would sing in both English and French, and there was a big dinosaur thing named Polkaru that one host never got to see! It was a good, quiet, peaceful show for kids.

You call this a show for kids? The Polka Dot Door was one of the worst kids shows ever made. Not to mention it is Canadian. There are no kids on this show what so ever. Just two adult hosts, one male and one female who made complete fools out of themselves. They talk to stuffed animals, like they are supposed to talk back. Only the female host saw the Polkaroo.......hello it is the male host dressed up. Listen carefully to the Polkaroo's voice!!! I caught on at a very young age. Any parents out there whose children talk to their stuffed animals, a word of advice, don't let your kids watch this show!!!! And that that awful song that they would sing called "Imagine". I can still here that song 25 years later in my head. Where are my ear plugs when I need them??!!!!

The show was hosted by two, dreary Ontario civil servants and a series of stuffed animals who neither moved nor spoke -- and yet played the starring roles. Much like the Ontario government.

Polka Dot Door, like other Ontario government shows such as the Math Patrol, Body Works or Sol, had that unmistakably bland 'do-as-we-say, is-good-for-you-no-questions' taint to it. But in a smiling, artless, stir-up-no-trouble-children way. The Canadian way.

The hosts never lasted long in their jobs. This timid little children's show would chew them up at an alarming rate.

Events in each episode were scheduled to the second, like the unionized ministry office TVO is. Our hosts would dutifully read children's stories at an exact time, monitored by a monolithic clock at centre stage. Each day had a different 'theme' and the hosts were forced to march in a small circle, often holding one of the stuffed animals, chanting inspirational songs about the day's theme. Like characters out of a Kafka tale, our civil servants would never leave the pink room or their slavery to the clock and woud babble incoherently about the polka dot door and the world beyond, glimpsed in short filmed sequences where the outside was shown (usually a shoe factory or a farm).

Periodically, everyone would hallucinate an apparition named 'Polkaroo.' Polkaroo would do mischieveous things like flip up Marigold's skirt, take a crap in the bookcase or hide his stash in Dumpty's pants.

Incidentally, I saw Dennis (one of the longer-running hosts) in a production of Godspell playing John the Baptist. He was pretty good.