"HEY YOU GUUUUU-UUUYS!!!!" - Rita Moreno as the milk lady
The Best of The Electric Company DVD Review
By A.J. Carson
In 1969, Sesame Street joined the public broadcasting schedule to almost universal acclaim from critics, educators, and parents alike. Created by Joan Ganz Cooney and her braintrust at the Children's Television Workshop, the series was meant to teach letters and numbers to pre-school children while simultaneously entertaining them. Mixing live actors, Jim Henson's Muppets, comedy sketches, and animated bits, the series was wildly successful. . .so successful, in fact, it attracted the attention of the Nixon administration.
The United States Department of Education had proclaimed the 1970s the "Right to Read" decade, with a goal of universal literacy. As part of this initiative, they contacted Children's Television Workshop to see if Cooney and company would be willing to create another series, this one specifically aimed at helping kids age 7 to 10 improve their reading skills. Excited by the possibilities, the Children's Television Workshop agreed to take on the project. After months of research into literacy techniques, The Electric Company powered up on October 25, 1971.
Cooney has often said that Sesame Street was intended to be "Laugh-In for kids." The inspiration for The Electric Company was The Carol Burnett Show. Both shows feature an eclectic mix of animation, short films, skits, and songs, but the sketches on The Electric Company were intended to be longer and more sophisticated.
Each episode of The Electric Company focuses on two or three basic reading skills - learning the difference between the guttural "g" sound in "gag" and the softer sound in "magic," for example. This concept is then explored in a number of skits, films, and animated bits. Fargo North, Decoder, the show's bumbling detective, might investigate a message from which the letter "g" has been deleted. Characters might argue about the correct pronunciation for a word, each giving examples to support his or her position. Subtitles, chalkboards, and other visual media allow viewers to see, hear, and read the words as they are discussed. After the concept has been sufficiently reinforced, a new one is introduced.
You would almost expect this heavy-handed educational content to detract from the fun of the series, but it is effortlessly woven into hysterical sketches, funky music, and strong, memorable characters. Some of the sketches and shorts are howlingly funny-for both children and adults. To their credit, the powerhouse acting ensemble treats the material with respect and honesty, and the series never panders to the audience or sugarcoats its humor. Unlike the bulk of educational programming, The Electric Company thrives on sarcasm, irony, and irreverence.
On Sesame Street, the actors consistently played the same character throughout each episode. On The Electric Company, however, the talented cast members play many different characters throughout the episodes. And what a talented cast it is. Bill Cosby and Rita Moreno were already stars when the show began filming. Morgan Freeman would become a star in the following decade. The lesser known cast members - including Luis Avalos, Jim Boyd, Lee Chamberlin, Judy Graubart, Skip Hinnant, Danny Seagren, and Hattie Winston - were equally talented. Even the Small Circus, the preteen cast members who doubled as the show's house band, included future entertainment heavyweights like Fame's Irene Cara and Todd Graff, writer and director of the cult indie hit Camp. Freeman, for example, might be called upon to play Dracula, Easy Reader, and DJ Mel Mounds all in the same episode.
Some of the more popular characters include Jennifer of the Jungle (Graubart), J. Arthur Crank (Boyd), Pandora the little girl (Moreno), the ice cream man (Cosby), Otto the film director (Moreno), Dr. Doolats (Avalos), Vi (Chamberlin), Fargo North Decoder (Hinnant), Paul the Gorilla (Boyd), and Spider-Man (Seagren). All of these characters are represented in The Best of..., along with recurring classic sketches such as the soap opera parody "Love of Chair," the syllable-speaking cadences of "Silhouettes," the lighting-impaired "Theater in the Dark," and the abrupt storytelling techniques of "A Very Short Book." See below for a partial listing of the segments found in each episode.
The series holds up extremely well, both as nostalgia and as entertainment. Fans who watched in the show in the 1970s and '80s will delight in becoming reacquainted with the familiar characters, songs, and animated bits that helped to define their childhoods. Connoisseurs of fashion will enjoy the endless stream of bell bottoms, afros, and polyester pantsuits. The clothing is the only thing dated about the series. Thanks to its strong performances and well-honed scripts, The Electric Company has remained as fresh and new as it was when it first premiered over 30 years ago.
The one depressing thing about this boxed set is that while watching it, viewers will quickly come to realize that television will never again produce another kids' program on the level of The Electric Company. These days, stars on the level of Bill Cosby and Rita Moreno would never put their careers on hold to film a mere kiddie show. Not that it matters - The Electric Company is bigger than its stars. No, the biggest obstacle would be skittish TV executives undervaluing the series' irreverent humor and subtle teaching techniques. Watch a contemporary show like Cyberchase for an example of a how PBS kids' shows have changed in the last thirty years. The educational content is extremely pronounced, and often clumsily grafted onto bland plotlines. Character development and sophisticated humor are sidelined in favor of fast-paced, weak silliness. The result is like biting into a chocolate only to discover that it is filled with salt.
During the six seasons in which it was produced, 780 episodes of The Electric Company were videotaped. How did they manage to be so prolific? Hard work, for one thing. Because of the piecemeal nature of the series, the producers were also able to recycle some of the short films and animated bits. Even within these 20 episodes, viewers will notice that a few clips (like the "Street Signs" song) appear more than once.
These episodes include cameo appearances by Laugh-In's Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, Sesame Street's Big Bird, Bonanza's Lorne Green and Michael Landon, Walt Frazier, Oscar the Grouch, and Grover. And be sure to listen for voiceovers by Joan Rivers, Gene Wilder, Zero Mostel, and Mel Brooks during the animated segments.
The twenty episodes that make up The Best of The Electric Company are divided onto four discs. The DVDs are housed in a foldout digipak. The inside of the package (which holds the DVDs) is decorated with a trippy pattern involving circles, arrows, and stars. The outside mimics the show's animated title sequence. A booklet (housed in its own pocket) provides several informative essays as well as a basic episode guide. The digipak slides into an outer cardboard sleeve.
The full-motion menus feature songs from the series. Viewers can choose to watch all of the disc's episodes, or can choose an individual one. Unfortunately, the episodes are not divided into chapters. If any release cries out for the ability to jump to favorite scenes and skits, this would be it.
Sketches found in the individual episodes include:
Disc 1
Episode 1: Fargo North, Decoder; J. Arthur Crank, the monolith animation, Easy Reader, Love of Chair, Parrot and Plumber ("It's the plumber. . .I've come to fix the sink") animation
Episode 10: Lorelei the Chicken, Silhouettes, DJ Mel Mounds, "An E on the End" song, I am Cute animation, Vi's Diner, "Unday" song, Love of Chair, Crank Calls
Episode 14: Get it Together animation, Talking Tessie Doll, "Street Signs" song, Fat/Thin animation, "I'm In Love with a Giant" song, Theater in the Dark, Fargo: Stuck on an Island, Love of Chair
Episode 21: Dribble Cola, Mystical Secrets of Life, "He Ho Hi" song, Charlie Chuckle Theatrical Agent, Fargo and the Lone Ranger, Love of Chair
Episode 26: Bees animation, Bob is Tall animation, Bob is a Fink, Broadway Bob, The Same as Your Name Game, "How is Howard" song, Frog Prince animation, Love of Chair
Disc 2
Episode 109: "Golly, This Lollypop is Following Me" song, Arnold and Alice at the Beach, Word Fight, Crank Call, Letter Remover, I am a Fly, Fargo: Fly Your Frog to London, Theater in the Dark, Love of Chair
Episode 131: Cinderella, "Boom" song, The Cool Fools animation, A Very Short Book: Jack & the Beanstalk, Rowan & Martin, Easy Reader, Fargo Gets the Bird, Love of Chair
Episode 181: Jennifer of the Jungle, Dracula, Lorne Greene and Michael Landon, Theater in the Dark, Mel Mounds' Baseball Game, Lorelei, Tarzan: "It's So Nice to Have a Man Around the House" song, Fargo Meets Tex Apthorp
Episode 285: Snug/Bug/Rug animation, The Adventures of Letterman, Movie Set: Don't Bug Me, A Falling Star in a Jar animation, Jennifer of the Jungle, "It's Not the Same Since You Left" song
Episode 321: China Salesman (Don't Break Anything), Letterman: A Jarring Experience, Circus Ticket Seller, "I Love to Take a Bath in a Casket" song, The Creature (The Preacher), "Unbutton Your Heart" song
Disc 3
Episode 379: Little Green Men animation, Found the R in the Alphabet Soup, Road Runner, "Randy, Randy" song, Easy Reader, Simon Says, I Shot an Arrow in the Air, "Greedy Gregory Grabbed the Green Grapes" song, "Hircus of the Circus" song
Episode 386: Road Runner, Do Not Bother This Giant Person, Clown with and IP on His Chest, "Silent E" song, Sneak Thieves, A Very Short Book: Frankenstein's Monster, Marvin's Lamp, Letterman: Sticky Finances
Episode 391: Trick or Treat at Dracula's, "Louise Lander on the Flying Trapeze (Try Not to Tremble)" song, Letterman: The Great Escape, To the Queen, The Punctuation Brothers, Spider-man vs. The Spoiler, Easy Reader
Episode 437: See Spot Run animation, My New Loudspeaker, Marching Band, "Hey Diddle" song, Buster's Messy Room, Honest John's Used Cars, The Blob, "Here Comes the Blob" song
Episode 453: "Oscar the Grouch" song, Captain Kumquat and the Blue Beetle, "Whistle" song, Marching Band, "My Hair is a Fright" song, Shoe Store, "Right On" song, Road Runner
Disc 4
Episode 491: Mmmmm Machine animation, "A New Pair of Sneakers" song, A Very Short Book: The Princess and the Pea, Vi's Diner with Grover, Ask Fairy Godmother animation, Two Guys on a Wrecked Boat
Episode 72A: Trick or Treat, What Has Four Wheels and Flies? animation, Easy Reader, "It Only Rains Where I Am" song, Letterman: Singing in the Train, "Is It Love" song, Cowboy/My Name is Kathy, Happy Birthday Dr. Dolots, Road Runner
Episode 110A: "I Love to Do Things That Begin with SN" song, Sneak a Snack, Fargo's Birthday Party, Mad Scientist: All Purpose Sports Monster, Mary Mary Quite Contrary, "A Pitcher We Know" song, Snowball and the Six Dwarves
Episode 79B: "I'm a Funny Guy" song, Easy Reader, Paul Revere, "If" song, Cinderella: If You Wash the Dishes, Humpty Dumpty/I Am Going to Get That Caterpillar animation, "I Like Fish Food" song
Episode 130B: "I Would Die for a Piece of Your Pie" song, Mad Scientist: Fiend, "Charlie Tried to Teach His Chimp to Cha Cha Cha" song, Three Musketeers, Top of the 9th - There Goes the Ball animation, Spider-man: Up Against the Wall, "We're Glad You Came to Call" song
