Talk:The Electric Company

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Contents 1 Rita Moreno 2 theme 3 Gary Gnu 4 The typewriter animation 5 Corporate sponsorship 6 Slow Reader 7 Why did they stop making the show? 8 Unsourced Speculation? 9 Episode list 10 some things about this article don't seem right 11 How were episodes 35A and 57A altered?

[edit] Rita Moreno

Was she with the cast through the entire run? I noticed she wasn't in the final "That's All" segment on the last show and generally wasn't very prominent in the later episodes (showing up mainly in reruns of older sketches).

>>> Yes, Rita was with the cast through its entire run. However, she had other acting duties toward the end of the series and was not always available on certain days. Apparently, the "That's All" sketch was taped on a day when she wasn't available (I guess they figured kids wouldn't notice), as were many of the sixth season sketches. Jphillst 04:22, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

---

Is this quote fair use?

Who can turn a can into a cane?
Who can turn a pan into a pane?
It's not too hard to see,
It's Silent E.

I think that as a limited quote, not representing a major fraction of the whole, it's probably fine as fair use. Mpolo 18:34, Oct 18, 2004 (UTC)

I don't know where Morgan Freeman's career was at the time, but Bill Cosby had already had two tv sereis and a lot of successful comedy albums, and Rita Moreno had won an Oscar by the time the show aired. They didn't "go on" to become big stars, they already were big stars.

[edit] theme

Question: someone said that the words to the show's theme were 'frequently misunderstood'. What do they mean? (Smoke from a Distant Fire and Bad Moon on the Rise come to mind here).

Well, there were three variations of the theme: the first one was just a chorus. The third is basically an expansion of the first to a two-verse song with a bridge. It's the second one I can't completely make out - it has a totally different first verse leading into the chorus. The DVDs don't have subtitles or CCs, so they're little help..

Lambertman 18:08, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

I think it's We're gonna turn it on! (repeat x4) We're gonna open a book, and read every word we can see. We're gonna give you the power to learn about anything, and the power's gonna let us free... power's gonna let us free...

(Chorus)

>>> I think it's "SET us free." Jphillst 04:22, 24 September 2006 (UTC)

Mmmmm, is it "legal" to post a link here? I found the lyrics online at http://www.cfhf.net/lyrics/electric.htm (which made me very happy, as I could never figure 'em out, either). I think there are a few small errors there, but it supplies the most difficult lines nocely. Now I'd like to find the "Yards and Yards of Yellow Yarn" number... :) Hierophany 09:56, 12 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Gary Gnu

Wasn't there a Gary Gnu character? No ganuun is good ganuu with(/out?) gary ganuu (gnuu)--Jondel 14:48, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

"No gnews is good gnews with Gnu." He was on the daytime kids show The Great Space Coaster syndicated to commercial TV stations. Morganfitzp

I remember Gary Gnu and his g-news show, but I can't remember if this was a feature of The Electric Company or some other show. Also, didn't the Blue Beetle (whom DC later acquired) also appear on the show? This may or may not have been limited to the Spidey Super Stories skit. --Archola

Hmmm...Gary Gnu is a character from the The Great Space Coaster --Jojit fb 07:18, 13 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] The typewriter animation

Am I just misremembering my long-ago childhood, or was the Electric Company in fact the home of the typewriter animation? You know the one: anthropomorphic typewriter on wheels rolls out humming to itself ('noo nee noo nee noo noo'), says a letter and a short word ('C! Cat!') accompanied by typing the letter/word on itself. Voiced by Bill Cosby as I recall. Am I completely making this up?

No, I remember it too, but I'm not sure if this was on electric company or sesame street. ike9898 17:17, 10 November 2005 (UTC)

No, that's definitely a Sesame Street piece. Sesame Street concentrated on individual letters, Electric Company concentrated on more advanced reading concepts. thespian 03:27, 26 January 2006

I think he actually appeared on both. It wasn't unusual for TEC to do segments on a single letter.

It was strictly a Sesame Street thing. I remember this because it seemed kind of risqué on Sesame Street for the typewriter to suffer some hilariously slapstick fate that would usher it off of the screen. Morganfitzp 13:28, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Corporate sponsorship

The section on corporate sponsors seems excessive - I feel like I'm being subjected to advertisements. Truly PBS had its share of corporate sponsors in the 1970s whose on-screen presence was greatly augmented in the following decades, but do we really need the play-by-play of what their credits looked like in an article about a childrens' television show? Morganfitzp 13:32, 26 July 2006 (UTC)

Think Star Wars. TEC has that much of a fanatical following. Every little titbit of information is appreciated. Peace. (MuzikJunky 06:17, 3 April 2007 (UTC))

[edit] Slow Reader

I watched the show and I swear I remember the "Giant" episode of Slow Reader reading, "Do not bother this sleeping giant," not "Do not bother this giant person." Can anyone confirm? 67.34.42.36 01:07, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

• My kids watch the DVDs every day. I can absolutely confirm that it's "Do not bother this giant person." That's how I remember it from my childhood, too. ObtuseAngle 01:17, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Why did they stop making the show?

I've seen how many seasons there were and all that but I've never heard anything about why they stopped making episodes after the 6th season - unlike Sesame Street which never stopped?

Anyone know? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Timber92 (talk • contribs) 02:11, 15 December 2006 (UTC).

• They probably just figured the show had run its course. TEC focused solely on reading concepts whereas Sesame Street has a much more extensive curriculum. Jphillst 09:22, 23 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Unsourced Speculation?

Can you source this? If it's unsourced from somewhere reliable, we can't post it, unfortunately. Feel free to add it back once you've found a reference, but this time add it below a section, not within it. Thanks!

Possible television revival In 2005, rumors surfaced that Sesame Workshop was planning a new version of The Electric Company. If the plans go forward, the updated revival could return to the airwaves in 2007—which will coincide with the 26th anniversary of the conclusion of the original TEC.

David 13:48, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

A while ago, before the first DVD boxed set was released, I got an e-mail from someone at the Workshop named Janelle Lannan, dated May 26, 2005, that reads as follows: "Also, we are producing a new version of The Electric Company, hopefully due out in 2007 (maybe later)...." Peace. (MuzikJunky 06:15, 3 April 2007 (UTC))

If the show was revived they would have to update it to fit the modern day, which means that they would have to use modern technology (computer animation) in order to do the graphics and things like that. My mom watched the show when she was a kid and I'm pretty sure my siblings would like it if it was ever to return. sorry if this is a little POV and yell at me for what I've done on my user talk page if you wish.Internetcrazy 23:02, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Episode list

I haven't seen the show but shouldn't there be a seperate article for an episode list?Internetcrazy 15:43, 18 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] some things about this article don't seem right

there are some things I want to point out in this article that I don't think belong there. One the part about the music sounding harsh seems to be a little POV. 2. the part about which episodes technical errors occured in; we do not need to know every episode the errors occured in. 3. when I read the article I didn't see any sources for anything. I'm not the type of person who would want to change the article, but anyone can edit it, including members of the show's cast and crew. Internetcrazy 11:20, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

The harshness to which you refer is not the music but the waaa-WAAAAOOOUUU sound effects used to denote the word(s) of the day in the sketch-of-the-day and next-show teasers for seasons three though five. They can be terribly harsh. Compare them to season six. Peace. (MuzikJunky 06:16, 3 April 2007 (UTC))

Okay thanks. I wasn't around during the time the show was on (my mom was a kid when it was on but she doesn't remember much about it) so I was just a little confused there. Internetcrazy 00:30, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] How were episodes 35A and 57A altered?

Can someone please explain how these episodes were altered for DVD? Evidence for the other altered episodes comes from a lengthy review someone posted at an Electric Company fan club on MSN.com. Peace. (MuzikJunky 06:15, 3 April 2007 (UTC))