The Electric Company 

A comedy variety show that teaches basic phonetic and grammar concepts using live-action sketches, cartoons, songs, and Spider-Man episodes.

Stars:

Jim Boyd, Morgan Freeman, Judy Graubart

Won 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Jim Boyd	...	Andy / ... 780 episodes, 1971-1977
Morgan Freeman	...	Count Dracula / ... 780 episodes, 1971-1977
Judy Graubart	...	Jennifer of the Jungle / ... 780 episodes, 1971-1977
Skip Hinnant	...	Clam / ... 780 episodes, 1971-1977
Rita Moreno	...	Carmela / ... 780 episodes, 1971-1977
June Angela	...	Julie - Member of the Short Circus 780 episodes, 1971-1977
Mel Brooks	...	Blond-Haired Cartoon Man 780 episodes, 1971-1977
Luis Avalos	...	Dr. Doolats / ... 650 episodes, 1972-1977
Zero Mostel	...	Spell Binder 650 episodes, 1972-1977
Hattie Winston	...	Sylvia / ... 520 episodes, 1973-1977
Melanie Henderson	...	Kathy - Member of the Short Circus 520 episodes, 1971-1975
Steve Gustafson	...	Buddy - Member of the Short Circus 520 episodes, 1971-1975
Danny Seagren	...	Spider-Man 390 episodes, 1974-1977

Storyline

"The Electric Company," aimed at children ages 7 to 10, was designed to teach basic reading concepts to its young viewers. Skits featuring the show's regulars, cartoons, vignettes, and regular features revolved around sound clusters (such as -ly, sh-, oo-) and punctuation marks. On occasion, a fun song was played with the audience challenged to supply the lyrics during the second sing-through. Through the years, different features were added including "Love of Chair" (1971-1973, a spoof of "Love of Life"), "The Adventures of Letterman" (added in 1972), cartoon segments featuring Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner (1973), and Spider-Man (1974).

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Plot Keywords:

1970s | superhero | marvel comics | reading | scanimate | 

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Taglines:

For the graduates of "Sesame Street."

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Genres:

Family | Comedy

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Certificate:

TV-G

Did You Know?

Trivia

The release of the Best of the Electric Company DVD boxed set on 7 February 2006 marked the first time in Sesame Workshop's history that unedited episodes of actual shows from its library were made available for purchase by the public.

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Goofs

During the song "Apostrophe S" (sung by Lee Chamberlin), after Lee sings "the hat is Jim's and that's that", a white-sleeved arm appears briefly at the bottom right of the screen.

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Quotes

Narrator of 'The Adventures of Letterman': Faster than a rolling "O"! Stronger than silent "E"! Able to leap capital "T" in a single bound! It's a word, it's a plan, it's Letterman!

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Crazy Credits

At the end of every episode is a disclaimer read aloud by one of the cast members stating, "The Electric Company gets its power from the Children's Television Workshop".

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Connections

Referenced in Family Guy: Hell Comes to Quahog (2006)

User Reviews

The one Electric Company I owe!

Three TV shows mean more to me than any others. The first was Mr Rogers' Neighborhood; the second, Sesame Street; and the third, The Electric Company. Mr Rogers taught me to be kind, that I was special, and that makebelive was a wonderful thing. Sesame Street taught me letters and numbers, how to count, how to spot similarities and differences, and that frogs conducted the best interviews. The Electric Company taught me how to sound out words and phrases, the basics of grammar; and, ultimately, how to read. My mother once told me that she didn't know I could read until I was riding in the car reading road signs out loud. This was before I was in school and was one of the reasons my parents dismissed the school's idea that I should wait a year to start, since my birthday was in mid-November. Thanks to this show and Sesame Street, I could read better than most of my classmates.

I haven't seen this show since the 70's, so I only have vague memories. I remember Morgan Freeman as Easy Reader, Rita Moreno shouting "Hey You Guyyyyyyyysssss". I remember the parts where two silhouetted people would sound out syllables. I remember Letterman (before Dave) and Spider-Man. Mostly, I remember a sense of fun.

When I read stories about what's wrong with education, I know the answer is simple (aside from money and parents and communities who care). School was rarely as fun as this. If education is fun, children will soak it up like a sponge. This show, and Sesame Street and Mr Rogers were fun.

I'm turned on, I have the power. Hey you guyyyyyyyyssss! Thanks.

Details

Official Sites:

Sesame Workshop

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 October 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Reading Program

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$7,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Children's Television Workshop (CTW)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

28 min (780 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1