"We're gonna turn it on! We're gonna bring you the power!" - "The Electric Company" theme song
The Best of The Electric Company: Volume 2 DVD Review
By A.J. Carson
Children's television sometimes gets a bad rap, and often for a good reason. Some shows clumsily meld education and entertainment to produce the video equivalent of cough syrup. With the government requiring that local stations carry a certain number of education shows per day, broadcasters began claiming that shows like The Flintstones were educational. So that's how cavemen drove around - through the courtesy of their two feet! It's refreshing, then, to see a show that does it right. In February 2006, Shout Factory released The Best of The Electric Company, a collection of twenty episodes of the classic series. Luckily for us, they have now released The Best of The Electric Company: Volume 2. How good is The Electric Company? Some of these episodes are over thirty-five years old, yet they feel as if they could have been filmed yesterday.
Created by the team behind Sesame Street, the series combines the best aspects of its main inspirations - an eclectic mix of animation, short films, skits, and songs influenced by Laugh-In and The Carol Burnett Show - with lessons on reading. The series is successful because it is so funny that it never feels like homework. The humor is sly, sophisticated, and irreverent, appealing equally to kids and adults. It relies heavily on repetition, recurring characters (Easy Reader, DJ Mel Mounds, Jennifer of the Jungle, J. Arthur Crank, Letterman, Pandora the little girl, the ice cream man, Otto the film director, Dr. Doolats, Vi, Fargo North Decoder, Paul the Gorilla, and Spider-Man), and recurring sketches (the soap opera parody "Love of Chair," the syllable-speaking cadences of "Silhouettes," the abrupt storytelling techniques of "A Very Short Book," and the not-so-spooky "Haunted House") to both reinforce its lessons and promote viewer loyalty.
The scripts and songs are great, but even the most well-written material would fall flat without a tight cast, and The Electric Company boasts an especially strong one. The ensemble includes Bill Cosby, Rita Moreno, Morgan Freeman, Luis Avalos, Jim Boyd, Lee Chamberlin, Judy Graubart, Skip Hinnant, Danny Seagren, and Hattie Winston - an impressive group featuring multiple Emmy, Grammy, and Oscar winners. The ensemble also consists of the Small Circus, preteen cast members who doubled as the show's house band. Members included Fame's Irene Cara and Todd Graff, writer and director of the cult indie hit Camp.
These episodes feature cameo appearances by All in the Family's Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton, Wilt Chamberlain, Victor Borge, Laugh-In's Gary Owens, Battlestar Galactica's Lorne Greene, and Dean Martin. 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: Volume 2 are divided onto four discs. The DVDs are housed in four slim, clear plastic keepcases. The fronts of the cases are adorned with the series' trippy logo. The backs of the cases include episode numbers, original airdates, and partial sketch listings for each episode (see below). The interiors of the cases feature large, colorful photos of the cast. A leaflet in disc one's case lists basic credits for both The Electric Company and the DVD set.
The full-motion menus feature songs from the series. Viewers can choose to watch all of the disc's episodes, or can choose them individually. 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.
Selected sketches found in individual episodes include:
Disc 1
Episode 12: The Florist: Looming Violets, "Shoo Shoo Sunshine" song, Once Upon a Time There Was a Dog animation, Wild Guess: Who Wears a Glass Slipper, Love of Chair, Easy Reader's Birthday Party
Episode 73: Milt the Stilt, The Director: All for One and One for All, Fargo North Decoder: Watch Out for Falling Rocks, "Jelly Belly" song, Julia Grownup, "You Can Make Up a Word" song, J. Arthur Crank: Blixit
Episode 150: Mona & Harold Look for an Apartment, "The Sweet Sweet Sway" song, Easy Reader: A Wall Full of Words, "I'm a Rootin' Tootin' Cowboy" song, Wanted: Robin Hood of Sherwood Forest
Episode 166: A Very Short Book: See Sally's Knee, Archie & Edith with Carroll O'Connor and Jean Stapleton, "A Pitcher We Know" song, "Silent E" song, Wilt Chamberlain, Victor Borge: Punctuation
Episode 197: Wax Museum, The Athletic Athlete, A Cup of Coffee and a Sweet Roll animation, Elephant Sneeze animation, I've Come to Robe You, Humpty Dumpty animation, The Adventures of Letterman: Woman Bites Bear
Disc 2
Episode 223: Gary Owens, Big Bad Baby Blocks, Dean Martin, Goldilocks, Robber and the Lady, "My Broken Down Bronco Bruce" song, Mel Mounds, "You Oughta Try Two" song, Letterman: Hands Full
Episode 227: Message Man: Beware of Dog, Norman Neat Man on the Street, "Ly" song, Take a Stride skating film, "Punctuation" song, Love of Chair
Episode 230: Taxi, T-Towel animation with Mel Brooks, I've Got a Secret Sound game show, Mad Scientist and Monster, A Very Short Book: Humpty Dumpty, J. Arthur Crank, Love of Chair
Episode 232: Millie the Helper: Flying School, Cinderella, Julia Grownup: Scrambled Eggs, Fargo: You Diner is Biter, Love of Chair
Episode 253: Gorgeous Gidget, Slip of the Lip game show, "Whimper and Whine" song, Cinderella and the Glass Slipper, Haunted House: I Smell Danger, "Dangerous Dan" song, Easy Reader
Disc 3
Episode 322: "Sign" song, Do Not Bother This Giant Person, First Day as a Police Woman, Mel Mounds, Easy Reader: At the Junk Store, Letterman: What a Dragon
Episode 375: Early Gibbons, Lester Hester Jester Vest, Customs Inspector, Paint Store: Train Paint, Blue Beetle, "Pull/Push/Up/Next Car" song, A Very Short Book: Tom Sawyer, Haunted House: Yes Yet Yell
Episode 502: The Used News, Easy Reader: Grab Bag, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Clown, "Green Gremlins" song, Vaudeville: I'm Taking My Case to Court, Watch Your Hat and Coat, "There's a Hole at the Bottom of the Sea" song, Letterman: The Corniest Concert
Episode 27A: "Yankee Doodle" song, Valley Forge, Spidey Meets the Yeti, Mad Scientist, A Very Short Book: Cinderella, "I Would Die for a Piece of Your Pie" song
Episode 35A: Burglar with Clock Mask, Letterman: In a Pickle, "Knock Knock Rock" song, A Very Short Book: The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe
Disc 4
Episode 57A: Where Words Come From: Grouch, A Very Short Book: Hansel & Gretel, Letterman: The Wigged Out Lady, "Nitty Gritty" song
Episode 60A: Silhouettes: Pr-int, Jennifer of the Jungle, The Corsican Twins, Letterman: Having a Ball, The Movie Set: Is This the Bus Stop?
Episode 77A: "Big Bad Ben" song, Letterman: Silver Threads Among the Bold, "The Story of Boris the Boxer" song, Roy the Toy Boy, This is Mr. Smith's Hat animation, King Howard the Hungry, "Right On" song, "I Feel Light as the Air" song
Episode 105A: Julia Grownup: Bake it U-Self, Rub-a-Dub-Dub, A Very Short Book: Old Mother Hubbard, "Pete's Pickle" song, "My Brother's Mother is My Mother Too" song, Mr. Vinton's Pants
Episode 122A: Mad Scientist and Igor, Letterman: Small Talk, Spidey Meets the Prankster, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Clown, Junkers Cereal, Silhouettes, Breakstone the Magician
